eChapters

Introduction 

In the thirst of modernization and industrialization man has contributed pollution to the life and ecology of plants, animals and microbes. Increased demand for food and fiber has lead to the chemicalization of agriculture we have reached to such a stage that modern agriculture is dependent on high yielding varieties, which can only be grown under the influence of fertilizers and pesticides. Pesticides are the man made chemicals which are being used to produce enough cheap food. In India, 90,000 MT of technical grade pesticides are used annually to control pests and plant diseases. The pesticides are classified as insecticides, fungicides, weedicides, herbicides, nematodicides and rodenticides; of which insecticides constitutes 77% of the total pesticides used in different agricultural and animal husbandry practices and in public health operations.

A. Mesta diseases

1. Anthracnose

Occurrence & severity status

Mesta (Hibiscus cannabinus) is very much prone to be attacked by anthracnose disease (Singh, 2014). It is very destructive disease in India (Ghosh, 1983). The disease also occurs in South Korea with overall disease incidence of 20%. (Kwon et al., 2015).

Symptoms

Symptoms on kenaf plants include dark brown spots on the leaves, petioles and stems. New leaves and shoots are most susceptible to infection (Kwon et al., 2015). Initially the terminal bud is attacked, where stipules and young leaves are affected and develop necrotic spots and withers (Singh, 2014). Mature lesions on fully expended leaves are dark brown and often irregular in shape, and not vein delimited. Later, the infected leaves fall off; Flowers and seed capsules are also affected by the disease (Singh, 2010). The stems are affected in patches. On stem the lesions are elongated and black, which later form cavities and in severe cases, stem-dieback or wilt occurs (Singh, 2010; Kwon et al., 2015).

Plant breeding/genetic improvement aims at altering plant genotypes in a way that they suit human needs for food, feed and industrial raw products and support sustainable plant production. In that sense, plant breeding may be regarded as the evolution of plant type by the will of mankind. Plant breeding/genetic improvement is important because an improved cultivar is the most-economic and least laborious input for farmers.

Plant breeding is one of the early accomplishments of humankind. Many of the cultivated plants are the result of slow and involuntary improvement from wild progenitors by human being over centuries. In fact, the process of domestication of wild plants is one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of humankind. Concept of plant breeding came in the being through domestication as it involved selection of the most desirable types. Among the ancient domesticates, some of the vegetable crops are front-runners, like peas, radish, muskmelon, watermelon, etc. Other present day popular vegetable crops were domesticated later in the Neolithic times. Some species including certain vegetables are still undergoing the domestication process. However, for all practical purposes, the breeders have given up domestication of wild relatives of the cultivated species. Today, breeders often incorporate important characters, like resistance to biotic stresses, adaptability to environments, etc. to the cultivated forms from their wild relatives.

Selection from the available variations is the oldest and the most effective breeding procedure. However, genetic recombination at present forms the basis of modern plant breeding approach. In this respect, Josef Kolreuter’s extensive crossing experiments between 1755 and 1806 were essentially the first attempts to scientifically-reconstruct naturally occurring species and types by combining their characters. Any way, no matter what method is adopted in the breeding approach, it inevitably involves selection, which is the most difficult part of overall breeding process.

The industrial revolution in Western Europe and concomitant flourish of capitalism and increasing commercial agricultural production stimulated breeding activities as a profitable venture of capitalistic economy. Throughout the 19th century, thousands of large and small seed companies were developed in Germany, England and the United States out of this impetus.

India ranks ___________ in area and production of vegetables in the world.

A. First           B. Second

C. Third         D. Fourth

TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS

2.1 Mango
 

Mango is considered to be an allopolyploid. The chromosome number is 2n =40. The polyembryonic seedlings of cv. Vellaikolumban, earlier reported to be 2n= 80 was later shown to be a diploid. In Canary Island, a putative tetraploid viz Gomera-1 has been identified.

Floral biology

Flower starts opening early in the morning from 4-7 a.m. and maximum flowers open between 9.30-10.30 a.m. and complete 11 a.m. Dehiscence of anthers takes place at 11.30 a.m. and it continues up to 3.45 p.m. The pollen grains are oval, or triangular or oblong. Stigma becomes receptive even 18 hours before flower opening. Mode of pollination is entomophily; nectar is present to attract the insects.

The flowering duration is usually of short i.e. 2 to 3 weeks. The mango inflorescence or panicle bears mainly two types of flowers - male and perfect. The number of flowers per panicle varies between 1000 to 6000 depending upon the variety and climatic factors. The percentage of perfect flowers varies between 0.74 per cent in Rumani, 16.41 to 55.7 per cent in Neelum and up to 69.8 per cent in Langra.

Introduction

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important traditional oilseed crop of India contributing to 3.9 million tons of global vegetable oil ranking the sixth in the sequence of oilseed crops. Added to its importance as an oilseed, groundnut is also an important food legume cultivated in an area of about 22 million hectares worldwide leading to a production of 38.6 million tons as per the FAO statistics of 2011 (ICRISAT, 2017). China and India are the leading groundnut producers followed by USA and Nigeria. Africa with 12.40 m ha area and 11.54 m tons of production, and Asia with 11.87 m ha and 29.95 m tons, together account for 95% global groundnut area and 91% of global groundnut production. There was a substantial increase in global groundnut production by about 5 m tons in 2013, from 40 m tons in 2012. In the last decade, 2004–2013, global groundnut production increased by 24%, contributed by 7% increase in groundnut area, and 16% increase in yield. The projected global demand for groundnut and its related products is expected to increase and so there is a need to further increase production and productivity to meet the demand.

Among the different oilseed crops grown in India, groundnut is the major crops grown in kharif / monsoon season. Among different states if India, Gujarat is the prominent state growing groundnut.

Groundnut has a long history of cultivation since the plant was domesticated and cultivated by the indigenous tribes such as Incas of Peru in South America for more than 1500 years. It is believed that the cultivated groundnut was introduced into India by the Spanish colonizers (Krapovickas, 1968). Groundnut is believed to have been introduced into the USA by the African slaves. Groundnut crop has found an ecological niche in the tropical and warm temperate zones of world, due its impressive adaptability.

Extension Reform Strategies Global Perspective

In an effort to respond to the new paradigm, countries worldwide have adopted a variety of institutional reforms. These reforms are either market-oriented or non-market-oriented (Smith 1997). This distinction, provides an imperfect but hopefully useful framework for considering these reforms as individual, non-overlapping constructs. Following the discussion of Figure 3, a dynamic view of extension institutional reforms is presented in Figure 4 which suggests possible interconnections among the various constructs. Inferences drawn from the two Figures will shape the discussion in the final section.

The recent adoption by FAO and the World Bank of a fundamental vision and guiding principles for developing agricultural knowledge systems forms the focus of this section. This vision and these principles are reviewed in relation to the plethora of the ongoing agricultural and rural extension reforms.

The extreme temperatures those are consequences of present-day global climate changes are considered as major abiotic stresses for crop plants. Different studies clearly show that temperatures exceeding the limits of adaptation substantially influence the metabolism, viability, physiology, and yield of many plants. Plants exposed to extreme temperatures often show a common response in the form of oxidative stress. However, the extent of damage caused by extreme temperatures depends greatly on the duration of the adverse temperature, the genotypes of the exposed plants, and their stage of growth. There is ample need to develop temperature tolerance in crop plants by exploring suitable strategies. Numerous research findings support the notion that induction and regulation of antioxidant defenses are necessary for obtaining substantial tolerance against environmental stress. The development of genetically engineered plants, by the introduction and/or overexpression of selected genes, would to be one feasible strategy. However, plant adaptation to either high temperature or low temperature is a multigenic response which is very complex in nature. Thus the task of identifying the traits those correlate with stress tolerance is incredibly difficult for researchers. Plant response to continuous light depends on plant tolerance and can be modified by alteration in temperature, light intensity, CO2 level, and other environmental factors.

7. 1 General

The major portion of water in a crop field gets lost through evaporation and transpiration. Evaporation is the process by which water is changed from the liquid state to vapor state. It takes place from the adjacent soil, water surface or from the surfaces of leaves of the plants. Transpiration is the removal of water vapour through plant body. Evapotranspiration (ET) is the sum of evaporation and transpiration. The process of evaporation and transpiration goes on simultaneously and difficult to separate them in a crop field.

The term consumptive use is used to refer evapotranspiration together with the water used in the metabolic activities of the crop plants. The actual amount of water used in metabolic activities is insignificant (less then 1% to ET). Therefore, the consumptive use and evapotranspiration are often used as synonymous term. It includes the water consumed by the plants for metabolic activities or transpiration plus the water evaporated from the land and water surfaces of the cropped area.

The factors affecting the rate of evaporation are the vapour pressure at the water surface and air above, air and water temperatures, wind speed, atmosphere pressure and size of the water body. Other factors remaining same, the rate of evaporation increases with an increase in the water temperature. Higher wind velocity causes greater scope for evaporation. Decrease in atmospheric pressure increases evaporation. The solute dissolved in water causes reduction in the rate of evaporation than that of pure water. The evaporation from soil surface occurs in same way to free water surface when the soil particles are surrounded by thin film of water and pore spaces are partially filled. However, in such situation greater resistance has to overcome for evaporation from the soil particles than while evaporating from a free water surface. The evaporation process practically stops when the moisture content in soil goes below a threshold value.

1.1.1 Definition and Scope of Soil Science

Definition: Soil science encapsulates the scientific exploration of one of Earth’s most vital components—soil. It goes beyond the everyday understanding of soil as mere dirt, positioning it as a dynamic and complex system that supports life. At its core, soil science is an amalgamation of various scientific disciplines, each contributing to the comprehensive study of soil. This multidisciplinary approach ensures a holistic understanding that extends far beyond the surface.

Soil science is not confined to the physical substance beneath our feet; rather, it embraces a nuanced perspective that involves decoding the intricate language of the soil. It is the science of uncovering the secrets embedded in the Earth’s outer layer—examining its history, composition, and the myriad interactions that shape its character

Coconut is the most beautiful and useful of palms known to mankind. Coconut is unique, producing a host of products and by products with distinctive applications at home and in industry. It is essentially an oil seed crop providing all amenities for human life, which include food, energetic beverage, medicine, fibre, wood, shell and a variety of raw materials for production of array of products of commercial importance. In view of its versatile uses and affinity to Indian culture, it is rightly called the “tree of heaven” or “Kalpavriksha”.

9.1 Farm Tools and Equipment for Horticulture and Plantation Crops

Agriculture in India is one of the most prominent sectors in its economy. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounts for about 14% of the GDP and employed 60% of the country’s population. About 43% of India’s geographical area is used for agricultural activity. Despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, agriculture is still the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socioeconomic development of India. Nearly 80 percent of the farm population operates smallholdings, the average size of holding being 1.16 ha. Out of a total geographical area of 329 m ha, about 142 m ha constitute the net sown area. Nearly 63 percent of this area is rainfed and its contribution to the overall production is 44%.

5.1 Present Status

Export of pomegranate has decreased in quantity from 36,027.43 tons in 2012-13 to 20,997.02 tons in 2014-15, whereas in value term it show an increase trend during the same period. There is tremendous potential for exports of pomegranate from India and it is fact that India is largest producer of pomegranates in the world. Moreover, India produces finest edible quality of pomegranates which are available almost throughout the year. The major Markets of India’s pomegranate during the year 2014-15 were UAE, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Netherland.

Rice (Oryza sativa L., 2n = 2x = 24, monocot, family Poaceae formerly called as Gramineae, grass family, self-pollinated crop) is one of the Four Big Crops (rice, wheat, corn and soybean) globally and is the world’s most important food crop after wheat and corn. In crop year 2018, there was around 167 million hectares of paddy (rough, un-milled rice) cultivated area worldwide with production of 782 million tons resulting into a productivity of 4.68 tons/ha. The top ten countries in rice production during this period globally were China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Brazil and Pakistan. Chinese production was 212 million tones followed by India with 172 million tons (FAOSTAT). Indian production of 172 million tons of rough rice can be converted into milled rice by multiplying a conversion factor of 0.67 and this way it comes to 115 million tons.

1. Introduction

Olive (Olea eurpaea L.) is an evergreen species commonly grown in the Mediterranean basin. The oil extracted from the fruit is a predominant component of the ‘Mediterranean diet’, which has documented heart- and cancer-protective benefits. These derive from the lipid composition and from biologically active molecules that accumulate during olive fruit development. The oil can reach up to 30% of the total fruit fresh weight at full ripening and is highly present in the mesocarp and at lower levels in seeds. Oil increase reaches a plateau in pulp after varaison. A marked triacylglycerol accumulation in seed and pulp occurs after endocarp lignification, when about 40 mg of oil per fruit per week can be synthesized. The fatty acid profile of the oil accumulating in the fruit is important in relation to its nutritional properties. The main fatty acid is oleic acid (C18:1), which represents about 75% of total fatty acids, followed by linoleic (C18:2), palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0) and linolenic (C18:3) acids (Martinelli and Dandekar, 2014).

The olive, Olea europaea L, is the only species of the botanical family Oleaceae with edible fruit. The tree blooms with small white flowers in May, and fruit set begins almost immediately afterward in May or June. Ripening is complete toward the end of November or December, depending on the variety. Its cultivation began more than 6000 years ago in the Middle East, and spread west on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea.

Economics

The term “Economics” is derived from the Greek words ‘OIKOS’ and ‘NOMAS’ or ‘NEMEIN’. ‘Oikos’ means house hold and Nomas or Nemein means management. So in its original sense economics means house hold management; i.e. satisfying as many wants of the house hold or family as possible by allocating the limited resources at the disposal of the family wisely among different wants.

4.1 INTRODUCTION

India enjoys a wide range of climates and agro-meteorological zones which are suitable for growing various kinds of horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, f lowers, spices and condiments, plantation crops, and medicinal and aromatic plants.

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices in the world. India stands second both in production of fruits and vegetables next to China. China contributes 21.2% in the world fruit production whereas India produces 12.6%. When we think of vegetables, China produces 49.5% and India produces 14.09%. India is the largest producer of Mango, Banana, Papaya, Coconut, Arecanut, and Cashewnut in the world. In the country, Andhra Pradesh (13.0%) is the leading state in fruit production followed by Maharashtra (11.2%). In case of vegetables, Uttar Pradesh stands first occupying 15.1% share followed by West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh in the range of 14.6% and 10% respectively. In cut flower production West Bengal ranks first.

Total horticultural production for the year 2017–18 was 311.71 million tonnes from cropping area of 25.43 million hectares of land and an estimated production for the crop year 2018-19 is 314.87 million tonnes from an area of 25.6 million hectares.