eChapters

1. The smallest size soil separate is

a. Sand      b. Silt

c. Clay        d. Loam

Abstract

Microorganisms that produce methane as their metabolic end product are known as methanogens. Methanogens are prokaryotic, unicellular, obligate anaerobes having fastidious growth requirements making them difficult to isolate and preserve. They catalyse the terminal step in anaerobic breakdown of organic substances. Even though methanogenic archaea or methanogens show very limited metabolic diversity, they are one of the most phylogenetically and ecologically diverse group of Archaea. Methanogenic community varies greatly with respect to temperature. Methanogens have been reported from permanently frozen habitats like permafrost to hyperthermophilic environments such as hydrothermal vents. However, the metabolic and phylogenetic diversity of methanogens in these habitats vary greatly. Methanogens are the biocatalysts, having the ability to provide a solution to help solve energy crisis by producing methane as storable energy carrier. Methane being a flammable gas, can act as a clean and renewable source of energy. The biogenic methane gas thus produced may serve as an efficient alternative for fossil fuels in the future.

Health care and preventive hygiene in rabbits are very important for the productivity of the rabbits and economical viability of a farm.

It is always better to prevent the disease rather than to get an animal treated, which is usually quite expensive. As such it is desirable that the rabbits are checked daily. The health and ailment signs can be recognized from the following things:

2.1 Introduction

The journey through the research work and the resultant publication of research articles, review notes and books by innumerable authors in the field of Information Technology, and Communication, Library Sciences, Social Media and Popular Culture has been the basis for this chapter: The Review of Literature. The following is a report of how and what lead to arrive at the objectives, hypotheses and methods of researching this field and the concerns of the researchers and the authors. Reading innumerable articles, research papers, and books helped in writing this literature review strengthened the knowledge about the topic of this study. It has been of immense use to learn essential concepts, research methods, and experimental techniques used in this field. Another benefit of the extensive reading of relevant literature has been the knowledge and understanding of how to present the insights, research findings, and claims discussed and explained scientifically and systematically. Through this reading exercise, the topic of the research and its objectives were finalized. 

Acid soils are found in India in about 93 million hectares ( Table 1) and they occur in the Himalayan region, the great Indo-Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains, peninsular plateau and uplands and the coastal plains including island eco-systems under varying environmental conditions of landscape, geology, climate and vegetation. Conditions which are conducive for the formation of acid soils, such as high rainfall coupled with high temperature encouraging intense weathering and loss of alkali and alkaline earth metals with a simultaneous accumulation of iron and aluminium hydroxy compounds or the formation of free acidic substances in the humid forest foot hill regions, exist in some region or other in almost all the states in India.  A soil with pH less than 7.0 is deemed as an acid soil (Soil Survey Staff,1951). However, for characterization and classification, acid soils may be defined as those having pH less than 5.5 in 1:1 water extract (Soil Survey Staff, 1999).

Lipids are a diverse group of chemical molecules. They are generally insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. Lipids include long-chain hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, fatty acids, and their derivatives, especially, glycerides, phospholipids, glycolipids and sulfolipids. Other compounds like sterols, fatty acid esters of sterols, vitamins A, D, E, and K, carotenoids, and other poly-isoprenoids also are part of the lipids. Oils and fats are mainly triglycerides and neutral molecules. Those in the liquid state at ambient temperatures are called oils while those in the solid state are called fats. Lipids and lipid components have varied uses in the food and non food sectors. Vegetable and animal matter contain a variety of these constituents in different proportions. It is neccessry to evaluate the composition and quality of these constituents from the point of view of their utility.

Reproduction

Since the life of an individual plant is limited in duration, it has developed certain mechanism by which it can reproduce itself inorder to continue the perpetuation of the species and also to multiply in number. Mode of reproduction determine the genetic constitution of crop plants, that is, whether the plants normally homozygous or heterozygous. A knowledge of the mode of reproduction of crop plants is also important for making artificial hybrids. The various modes of reproduction found in crop plants may be broadly grouped into the following two categories : (i) Asexual and (2) Sexual.

Asexual Reproduction

Heterosis breeding systems depend upon the reproduction system of plants, whether the plant is propagated asexually or sexually. Therefore, before development of hybrids, information regarding type of flower, flowering habits and floral biology is required in hybridization programme (emasculation and pollination). In a sexual reproduction, plants develop from vegetative parts of plants (vegetative propagation) or may develop from unfertilized gametes, ovular tissues, and modified cells (apomixes). Vegetative reproduction includes plant regeneration from underground stems such as tubers in potato, bulbs in onion and garlic, underground tubers such as sweet potato, corms in yams, and rhizomes in ginger and turmeric. In certain cases, aerial parts are used for propagation as stem cuttings in tapioca, sweet potato, watercress, and drumstick, root suckers in curry leaf and globe artichoke and turfts in chive. In apomixes, sexual reproduction or gamete fusion is replaced with other form of asexual reproduction. In this case, embryo develops without fertilization. Apomixis may be of different types: (1) Apogamy—where embryo develops from a gametic cell of embryo sac other than egg cell. Apogamy may be haploid or diploid. Diploid apogamy has been reported in onion. (2) Polyembryony—where more than one embryo develops from a seed, resulting in more than one seedling. In this case, embryos usually develop from nucellus integuments, or chalaza in addition to normal syngametic embryo. (3) Parthenogensis where embryo develops from an unfertilized egg. This may be at haploid or diploid level. Sometimes, embryo development take place from unfertilized egg of a diploid plant. This is called haploid parthenogenesis. It originates in plants due to environmental effects, especially due to effects of high or low temperature, use of foreign pollen, application of chemicals, and use of irradiated pollen. Haploids parthenogenesis produces haploids.

2.1  Write True/False

Q.1    From theoretical point of view, the most general method of estimation is the “Maximum Likelihood Estimation Method.”
Q.2    The method of “maximum Likelihood Estimation” was initially formulated by the statistician named as “C.F. Gauss.”

Leisa

Sustainable agriculture is an important element of the overall effort to make human activities compatible with the demands of the earth’s eco-system. Thus, an understanding of the different approaches to ecological agriculture is necessary if we want to utilise the planet’s resources wisely.

While sustainable agriculture is based on long-term goals but not a specific set of farming practices, it is usually accompanied by a reduction of purchased inputs in favor of managing on-farm resources. A good example is reliance on biologically-fixed nitrogen from legumes versus manufactured nitrogen fertilizers. Low-input agriculture is one of several alternative farming systems whose methods are adaptable to sustainable agriculture.

Low-input farming is based on a reduction—but not necessarily elimination—of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides. Farmers are adopting these practices primarily to reduce costs, but also because they want to minimize impact on the environment or because they perceive future pesticide regulations.

In a search for information on how to farm with fewer chemicals, it is helpful to examine alternative farming systems in existence that largely exclude chemicals in favor of biological farming practices. Experiences of producers who have successfully practiced these methods are valuable to farmers considering a transition to low-input sustainable agriculture.

With the increasing health consciousness of consumers, there has been an increasing concern over the use of thermal processing methods like blanching, pasteurization, sterilization etc. for enhancing the shelf life of foods as these methods fail to preserve the fresh like nutritional, therapeutical and sensory qualities of the food. With the increased consumer demand for fresh and fresh-like foods, interest in minimal processing of foods is increasing. The trend is also shifting from the traditional heat processing to those technologies that employ no or minimum heat application, thereby retaining the quality to a maximum level. One of the ways to accomplish this is via use of non-thermal processes. Over the past few years a number of non-thermal processes or cold preservation methods have been invented and developed. These methods are being evaluated in pasteurization and sterilization of various foods or in the extension of shelf life of various packaged foods. Some of such novel technologies and the products prepared, have been discussed here under.

1. Extrusion

Extrusion is a size enlargement process wherein small granular food or powdered particles are re-formed into larger pieces with different shapes, textures, colours and flavours from the basic ingredients. In extrusion food is compressed and forced to pass through a fine opening (die). As soon as it comes out of the opening, the outside pressure is very less as compared to the pressure inside the screw of extruder and the food expands instantaneously. If the food is heated the process is called as extrusion cooking. It is a process which combines several unit operations including cooking, mixing, kneading, shearing, compressing, shaping and forming. Extrusion adds a variety to the products by changing shape, size, texture and even some of the minor ingredients of the food and at a reduced cost than most of the other processing methods. Extrusion cooking (not extrusion) is a high temperature short time (HTST) process that reduces microbial contamination and inactivates enzymes.

1.     Isolation and Purification of DNA from E.coli
    
2.     Isolation of Plasmid DNA
    
3.     Gel Electrophoresis of DNA
    
4.     Southern Blotting
    
5.     Restriction Digestion

3.1 Introduction

Energy comes in many forms like chemical, radiant, mechanical, electrical, nuclear etc and can transform from one type to another. Energy can also be transferred or moved from one object to another. Electromagnetic (EM) radiation is a form of energy that can take many forms, such as radio waves, microwaves, X-rays and gamma rays even sunlight is also a form of EM energy. Visible light is a small portion of the EM spectrum, which contains a broad range of electromagnetic wavelengths.

Electromagnetic waves, a self –propagating transverse radiation, are created when an atomic particle, such as an electron, is accelerated by an electric field, causing it to move. The movement produces oscillating electric and magnetic fields. The electric and the magnetic components of the wave are perpendicular to each other and also perpendicular to the direction in which wave is travelling in a bundle of light energy called a photon. Photons travel in harmonic waves at the fastest speed possible in the universe: 186,282 miles per second (299,792,458 meters per second) in a vacuum, also known as the speed of light. There are three important characteristics of the electromagnetic radiation, its frequency, amplitude and speed (Figure 3.1).

Initially, rural development followed a top-down approach based on the information collected through the traditional survey method. It was soon noticed that the perception of the development professionals from the “top” was at variance with the perception of the rural masses. Visits were made and extractive surveys were carried out with the help of structured formats and questionnaires. These surveys had several biases such as spatial, season, person, caste, religion, project, education, etc. These limitations led to a search for a new method for understanding rural situations. New methods and approaches such as Farming System Research (FSR), Exploratory Survey and Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) were attempted during the 1970s to overcome the deficiencies of conventional survey methods. Moving away from extractive survey questionnaires, two families of approaches and methods, referred to as Rapid Rural Appraisal and Participatory Rural Appraisal evolved in the 1980s and 1990s.

Origin of PRA

Participatory Rural Appraisal is ‘an approach and methods for learning about rural life and conditions from, with and by rural people’. It is defined as a family of approaches and methods to enable rural people to share, enhance and analyse their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan and act.

According to Robert Chambers (1992), there are five main trends that decorate the principal method of PRA: Activist Participatory Research, Agro-ecosystem Analysis, Social Anthropology, Field Research on Farming Systems, and Rapid Rural Appraisal.

Foot and Mouth disease

Foot and mouth disease is a contagious viral disease of cloven footed animals caused by a picorna virus and characterized by presence of vesicles in oral mucosa and foot (Fig.1.1).

Etiology

• RNA virus of picornaviridae family

• Picorna virus

• Serotypes A,O,C, SAT-1, SAT-2, SAT-3, Asia-1, serotype ‘O’ is most common in India.

Pathogenesis

Inhalation is the main route of infection in ruminants; however, ingestion of contaminated feed and water, inoculation of contaminated vaccines, insemination with contaminated semen and contact with fomites such as clothing, instruments etc. may also transmit the infection. When animal gets infected through respiratory tract, viral replication starts in pharynx followed by viraemic spread to other tissues and organs like epithelium of mouth. Viral excretion commences about 24 hours prior to the onset of clinical form of disease and continues for several days. The aerosols of infected animals contain large amount of virus particularly of swine. Large amount of virus is excreted in milk. In cattle and sheep, virus may be detectable up to 2 years and 6 months of exposure, respectively.

10.1 Introduction

Rainwater is the main source of water for agriculture but its current use efficiency for the crop production is low ranging between 30-45%. The rising demand for water for non-agricultural uses is proportionately decreasing its share for agricultural uses. Efficient methods of water harvesting in the farm reservoirs including farm ponds and its management for subsequent uses in agriculture with improved water use technologies are vital for increasing the productivity and reducing poverty in rainfed ecosystems. It is not to be forgotten that the harvested water in the pond is a very valuable commodity. It may be used for industrial use or for irrigation in agriculture. The harvested water is also a good source to meet the water demand of domestic animals and for human beings (Fig. 10.1). The stored water of the pond can be used for fish farming, tree plantation, intensive irrigation to small area and extensive supplemental irrigation to rainfed crops. Stored water in a pond is developed resource and is, therefore, more expensive than the natural resource. Hence, there is a need to utilize it judiciously and efficiently.

Environmental contaminants are defined as substances introduced into the environment, either naturally or anthropogenically, that pose potentialharm to living organisms and ecosystems (Masindi and Muedi, 2018).These contaminants include a diverse range of pollutants, such as chemicalagents, biological contaminants and physical pollutants (Ahmed et al.,2021). Understanding these contaminants and their toxicity is of paramountimportance, given their profound implications on human health, biodiversityand the overall functioning of ecosystems (Samuel et al., 2023).Environmental contaminations are pervasive in nature and originated fromdiverse sources. Industrial activities are major contributors, releasing heavymetals, organic solvents, and particulate matter into air, water and soil(Williams, 2019). Similarly, agricultural practices contribute to contaminationthrough excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, which often runoff intoaquatic systems, causing eutrophication and harming aquatic life (Zahoor and
Mushtaq, 2023). Urbanization and improper waste management have alsointensified the problem with plastics and emerging contaminants finding theirway into ecosystems (Singh et al., 2022). Even natural events like volcaniceruptions and forest fires contribute to environmental contamination, thoughtheir impacts are often localized and episodic compared to the persistent andwidespread pollution caused by human activities (Ernst, 2012).The study of environmental contaminants and their toxic effects is of vitalimportance for several reasons in today’s context of escalating global pollution(Hussain and Reza, 2023). First, it provides insights into the health risks posedto humans and wildlife (Pereira et al., 2015). Many contaminants, such as lead,mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are known to have chronic andacute toxic effects on biological systems, affecting neurological, reproductivand immune functions (Priyadarshanee et al., 2022). These substances interactwith biological systems in complex ways, often leading to adverse outcomessuch as bioaccumulation, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption and ecologicalimbalances (Satkar et al., 2024). Heavy metals like lead and mercury are
known to accumulate in organisms and disrupt critical biological functions,while synthetic chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) can interfere with hormonalsystems, resulting in reproductive and developmental issues (Pan et al., 2024).Such impacts underscore the need to understand how these substances interactwith living organisms, identify their exposure thresholds and mechanisms oftoxicity to formulate strategies for risk assessment and mitigation (Kumar andSingh, 2023).

Introduction

Plants are the main source of nutrition to farm animals for their maintenance and production. But, under certain conditions, plants intoxicate farm animal life due to the presence of some deleterious substances called phytotoxins. Such plants include a variety of fodder plants (Jowar, wheat straw, Lucerne), grasses (Millet grass), ornamental or fencing plants (Crotons, Nerium sps) and weeds (Tribulis) in the farm premises.

STUDIES ON HUMAN RELATIONS
Introduction

A human relation is frequently used as a general term to describe the ways in which managers’ interact with their employees. A number of things were happening in United States in the 1920s and 1930s, organizations were growing in size and in their dependence upon technology. Social groups were breaking down. The combination of all these factors with the growing dissatisfaction with paced, mechanized, highly standardized work led to changes in two major directions. Management science developed as a technical discipline, concerned with the establishment of efficiency models of managerial and organizational behaviour. The other perspective was initiated by the work of Human Relation scientists. They are discussed in detail here.

    1.    Food : defined as something which is eaten / drunk by human beings or something we eat and which can be utilized by our body.

    2.    Milk and milk products like Dahi, yoghurt, paneer, cheese, Khoa etc these foods are rich sources of Vitamin A, Riboflavin and Calcium.

    3.    Meat, fish, poultry etc besides proteins these foods also provide Iron and B- complex Vitamins.

    4.    Eggs and egg products are also rich in Iron, Vitamin A and Riboflavin (B1).

    5.    Pulses, nuts and oil seeds are also a good source of thiamin, niacin, and Iron.

    6.    Strategies and measures for alleviating the world food problem require.