eChapters

Abstract

Cattle are reared for milk and dry periods are considered loss to the exchequer of livestock farmers. To avoid it, farmers mostly abandon the cattle to become stray animals. Latest research supports that cow dung and urine are endowed with versatile medicinal, biofertilizer and bio-pesticide properties of socioeconomic importance. This has given the concept of dry cattle farming where focus is utilities of cow dung and urine and their value added products. Cow urine is useful for numerous human ailments like, cancer, osteoarthritis, allergies, kidney failures, skin diseases, healing of wounds etc. Cow dung is main source for vermicompost, FYM and biogas. Many products containing cow dung and urine i.e. soap (23% cow dung content and 7% urine), toothpaste (10% cow dung content and 10% urine, 2% Ghee), floor cleaners (Gaunyle: 11% cow urine), hair oil, incense shaving cream, face wash, talcum powders and dark circle removers are available in the market. The term cowpathy has been coined for diverse uses of cow dung and urine and is now focal area of research and innovative products development. Further, the dry cattle farming offers solution to problems of stray animals and helps in empowering the women farming community to exploit dry farming for more profit, product development and economic strengthening.

1.1. Dry farming (Dryland farming)

Cultivation of crops in a region where the annual rainfall is more than 750 mm.

Semi arid crops with growing period of 75-120 days.

Crop failure is less frequent.

Moisture conservation practices are necessary.

3.1 Indian Floriculture Industry

Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers and dry flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions. About 60,000 ha area is under floriculture at present. During nineties, increasing demands for flowers in world market was coupled with production technology available abroad for high quality flowers. This encouraged some entrepreneurs to establish export-oriented units in Hyderabad, especially for the production of long stem rose by importing cultivars and adapting green house technology.

Dry flowers are naturals, dried and preserved with an everlasting value the can be cherished for longer period. According to APEDA investigations, dried flowers accounted for 15% in the total floriculture export during 1988-89 and increased to 64% in 1994-95. Export value of dried plants and planting materials increased from Rs. 109.21 million in 1993-94 to Rs. 364.55 million in 1995-96.
 
India exports dry flowers to U.K., Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, U.S.A., Japan and Singapore. Dry flower production is labour intensive, provides self-employment and job opportunities for a large number of workers and aids in development of subsidiary industries. The industry has many advantages.

Soil is the top layer of the earth surface in which plants can grow, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter and having the capability of retaining water. Soil is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Earth’s body of soil, called the pedosphere, has four important functions

The dry matter content of feed samples and other materials is expressed on three aspects as fed, partially dry, and dry.

As fed refers to the feed as it is consumed by the animal, the term as collected is used for materials which are not usually fed to the animal, that is, urine, faeces, etc. If the analysis on a sample is affected by partial drying the analyses are made on the as fed or as collected sample. Similar terms: Air dry, that is hay: as received: fresh; green and wet.

Partially dry, reports to a sample of “as fed” or “as collected” material that has been dried in an oven (usually with forced air) at a temperature usually about 60ºC of freeze-dried and has been equilibrated with the air; the sample after these processes would usually contain more than 88 percent dry matter (12 percent moisture); some materials are prepared in the way so that they may be sampled, chemically analysed and stored. This analysis is referred to as “partial dry matter” percent of “as fed” or “as collected” sample. The partially dry sample must be analysed for dry matter (determined in an oven at 105ºC) to correct subsequent chemical analyses of the samples to a “dry” basis. This analysis is referred to as “dry , percent of partial dry sample similar term - “Air dry” is also used.

Dry matter is generally defined as the constant  weight a sample  attains when heated at 100ºC (occasionally 150ºC). This definition , suitable for inert materials such as sand, has three main lacunae when applied to biological materials.

    1.    In these materials, water is present in various states ranging from extraneous moisture  as rain or dew, through water present in cell sap, water present in various physico-chemical and chemical combinations.

    2.    Biological materials contain active respiratory enzymic systems which continue to function during the early stages of drying; in fact, as the material heats up, activity will be enhanced until it is stopped either  by denaturation of the enzymes or by desiccation. Besides altering the chemical composition of the material, such activity will  lead to loss of dry matter.

    3.    Most biological materials contain organic  compounds which are volatile at 100ºC and which are, therefore, lost on drying. This leads to an under-estimation of dry matter content, for example, in the case of faeces, silage and molasses.

Partitioning of assimilated carbon among sink organs is a critical factor that controls the rate and pattern of plant growth. Environmental stress often restricts resource availability while successful acclimation sets in motion processes that restore the supply. A key mechanism contributing to regulation of carbon partitioning is an expression of genes that control activity of the enzymes which initiate sucrose metabolism at specific sites and stages of ontogeny. Drought stress not only limits the size of the source and sink tissues but the phloem loading, assimilate translocation and dry matter portioning are also impaired. However, the extent of effects varies with the plant species, stage, duration and severity of drought. Crop production faces many challenges, due to changing environmental conditions and evolving needs for new plant-derived materials. 
The extreme temperatures those are consequences of present-day global climate changes are considered as major abiotic stresses for crop plants. 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. Numerous research findings support the notion that induction and regulation of antioxidant defenses are necessary for obtaining substantial tolerance against environmental stress. Plant adaptation to either high temperature or low temperature is a multigenic response which is very complex in nature. 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.

Introduction

Pulses are a part of healthy and balanced diet and have special importance for vegetarians in fulfilling their daily requirements for body proteins. Low productivity in pulses is due to nutritional deficiency in soil and imbalanced external fertilization (Awomi et al., 2012). Nitrogen (N) is more important as it is essential component of amino acids and proteins. It fixes atmospheric N of about 35 kg ha-1 by the help of symbiotic Rhizobium, a soil bacterium (Movalia et al., 2020). Globally, Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium can fix approximately 175 x 106tons of N every year which is higher than the annual total chemical N fertilizer production of 30 x 106tons (Hidayatullah et al., 2016). The element molybdenum (Mo) is crucial for functions of nitrogenase and nitrate reductase, the two important enzymes that act as catalyst for N fixation. These two enzymes work properly in presence of Mo as nitrogenase contains Fe-Mo and Fe-Fd proteins, and N fixation cannot take place without these proteins (Hidayatullah et al., 2016).

Introduction
India is the seventh largest having 329.73 million ha of geographical area and second most populous country having more than a billion population in the world. There is no other substitute other than to use every square inch of land and every drop of water effectively and efficiently. Though there was markedly increase in annual food grain production from 51 (1950-51) million tones t0 206 million tones (2000-01), still the death on hunger is visualized.
The demand for food is increasing with ever-increasing population growth rate. So there is no option other than to increase food production. There is very little or no scope of horizontal expansion due to land limitation, the question of vertical expansion is the only way to fit with the situation. Genetically improved crop variety, hybrids, mechanized agriculture, higher rate of fertilizers and chemicals application may give one or two more green revolution, but the question lies how far it can sustain greenness?
Adoption of improved crop cultivars, cropping system, increasing cropping intensities, precision farming can hold good to get out of this situation where whole system is to be considered.
The cropping intensities in the states like Assam, Bihar, MP, Orissa, UP and West Bengal are 137.7, 137.8, 125.6, 154.6, 148.6 and 159.6 percent, respectively (FAI,1994-95). This indicated that a vast majority of lands remain fallow during dry season due to lack of proper technologies, which are under rainfed conditions, neglected. Except West Bengal, more than half of the arable land remains fallow during rainless period. Increasing cropping intensities in rainfed uplands is not easily achievable but there is great potential of intensification of cropping in rainfed lowland by utilizing natural resources and conserved residual moisture. Pulses like black gram, green gram, lentil, lathyrus, chick pea and oilseeds like linseed, groundnut, rapeseed could not only increase the cropping intensities but also come forward to increase national productivity.

12.1. Introduction

Drying refers to the method of removal of moisture content from the food to a level at which the activities of food spoilage and food poisoning micro-organism are inhibited. Drying under open sun is probably the oldest method of food preservation used for agricultural crops including food grains, oilseeds as well as fruits and vegetables. Most of the fruits and vegetables contain enough moisture to permit the activity of enzymes and micro-organisms for spoilage and drying is necessary to reduce the water activity. Therefore, reduction in water activity of the food is the main principle of preservation by drying. Two commonly used terms for dried foods are low moisture foods and intermediate moisture foods (IMF). During drying, a single layer of fruit and vegetables, either whole or sliced after primary pretreatments is spread on trays which are placed inside the dehydrator or in the open sun for drying. In mechanical dehydrator, the initial temperature is generally kept at 43oC which is then gradually increased to 60-66oC for vegetables and 66-71oC for fruits.

6.1 Introduction

In general, the terms drying and dehydration are interpreted as the removal of moisture from a food product. Removal of moisture from a food product offers an excellent protection against most common causes of food spoilage. The drying or dehydration process achieves such protection by reducing the moisture content of the food product to levels which are adequate to limit microbial growth or other adverse chemical reactions. During drying, heat and mass transfer occur simultaneously (Figure 6.1). Heat is transferred from the bulk gas phase (i.e. hot air used for drying) to the solid phase (i.e. food product to be dried), where part of it is utilized for vaporization and the remainder is taken up by the solid phase as sensible heat. Mass (i.e. moisture of food product) is transferred in the form of vapour through various resistances, first from the interior of the solid to the surface, then through vaporization at or near the surface and finally in transport of the vapour into bulk gas phase. Dehydration is the removal of moisture close to bone dry condition.

Drying- Removal of water from product by influence of non conventional energy source like sun and wind.

Dehydration- Process of removal of moisture by the application of artificial heat under controlled condition of temperature, humidity and airflow etc.

Advantage of dehydration over sun drying

The process of dehydration is much more rapid than sun drying.

Dehydration requires less floor area.

Dehydration is done under very hygienic condition.

Sun drying is not possible in cloudy weather or during rain while dehydration or mechanical drying is not dependent on weather.

The colour of dehydrated or mechanically dried fruit and vegetable remain uniform due to uniform drying temperature.

Drying/ Dehydration means the process of removal of water.

Drying : Removal of water (moisture) by using non conventional energy sources like Sun or wind.

Dehydration : Process of removal of moisture by the application of artificial heat under controlled conditions of temperature and / or humidity and air flow.

Abstract

Cocoa and coffee are highly sought after commodity crops in the market owing to the distinct flavor and aroma characteristics. Cocoa beans are mostly used in the manufacturing of chocolates and various types of confectioneries while coffee is mainly consumed in the form of beverages. Both cocoa and coffee need to be dried and roasted in order to produce the flavor precursors which further develop into the desired flavor and aroma in the finished products. This chapter aims to provide an overview of cocoa and coffee processing with particular emphasis on drying and roasting aspects and its impact on product quality.

Drying by Embedding

A desiccant is simply a substance with a high affinity for water which can be used as a drying agent. Embedding the flowers in a granular, desiccating material is probably the most commonly used method and many consider it the best all around method. Several materials are used as drying agents. All the agents used vary in cost and in the results they produce. It is important to use the correct procedure when covering the flowers so that their form is maintained. Most well known is silica gel, but also clean dry sand can be used. Usually an airtight container is used; the flower heads are placed in the drying mixture face up, and very carefully covered with the mixture. The container must be kept closed during the drying process. After 4-14 days, depending on the thickness of the flower, the flower will be dry.

Drying is basically the unit operations which is used in many of the food industry nowadays. It can be desirably known as the process of removing moisture to relent a hard products. It is the transfer of energy source, mostly it derives heat from the outer environment to the dryer in which the food products is placed.

Introduction

While experimenting with chemicals, sometimes we need to dry the chemical/ solution (solid, liquid or gas) using a process like evaporation or distillation, mainly to remove water or different solvents. Drying is the process of evaporation or distillation to remove water/solvent from a solution, solid or even from gas. Generally, a drying agent (usually an anhydrous inorganic salt) is used for this process, which reacts with the water (present in the chemical/ solvent to be dried) to form a hydrate. For example, anhydrous MgSO4 is one of the drying agents. The drying agents are recognized by their capacity (the rate at which they absorb water) and their intensity (the amount of water left behind in the solvent at equilibrium). No chemical reaction or change in phase occurs during the drying process.

Type of Solvents

Apart from water (a universal solvent), there are three families of organic solvents used in laboratories.

1) Oxygenated solvents: Alcohols, Ketones, Glycol ethers, Glycol esters, etc.

2) Hydrocarbon solvents: Aliphatic and Aromatic hydrocarbons.

3) Halogenated solvents: Chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Dried Leaves

Leaves are dried or preserved to capture the beauty of spring and hold it for a long time. Dried leaves are beautiful when used in any decoration. There are several preserving techniques that help to enhance the prized collection of leaves well. Drying leaves is an age old tradition. Leaves were dried to preserve them. The leaves were picked for their medicinal qualities, fragrance, or to be used as spices and for their decorative value. Leaves can be preserved by various ways: 

Dehydration (or drying) is defined as ‘the application of heat under controlled conditions to remove the majority of the water normally present in a food. The main purpose of dehydration is to extend the shelf life of foods by a reduction in water activity. This inhibits microbial growth and enzyme activity, but the processing temperature is usually insufficient to cause their inactivation. Therefore any increase in moisture content during storage, for example due to faulty packaging, will result in rapid spoilage.

Microwave Oven Drying

Microwave drying is quick and relatively simple. It takes only a few minutes and provides dried flowers that look fresher and more colorful than obtained by other methods. Flowers with thick petals like magnolia are not suitable for drying in microwave. Since flowers vary in moisture content, texture and density, care should be taken to use the same sized flowers from one species at a time. It has been found that many flowers held almost true to life color and form using this process. Brightly colored flowers are best to dry. Flowers such as lilies, roses, violets, zinnias, and dahlias work well with this process.

Introduction
Drying is probably the oldest method of food preservation used for agricultural crops, including food grains, oilseeds, spices, as well as fruit and vegetables. Drying refers to the removal of moisture content from the food to a level at which the activities of food spoilage micro-organisms are inhibited. Therefore, the reduction in water activity of the food as a result of moisture removal is themain principle of preservation by drying. Two commonly used terms for dried foods include low-moisture foods and intermediate moisture foods (IMF). Dried foods or low-moisture foods generally do not contain more than 25% moisture and have a water activity (aw) in the range of 0 to 0.6. Intermediate moisture (IMF) foods on the other hand contain 15- 50% moisture with a water activity (aw) of 0.60 -0.85. Dried grapes (raisins and munacca), apricots, dates, Morchella (Guchhi), bael, chilli, figs, etc. are commercial products prepared by using drying. However, the temperature used for drying is usually insufficient to cause the killing of microorganisms and enzymes, therefore any increase in moisture content during storage due to faulty packaging can also spoil the product. Thus, greater care is required for the packaging and storage of dried products.

The method of preserving various food stuffs by drying them, and thereby depriving microorganisms of the water necessary for their growth, has been known for centuries. According to Marco Polo’s accounts of his travel in Asia in 13^th century, soldiers of Kublai Khan carried dried milk on excursions. Before it was used, water was added to a portion of dried material. Mixing was accomplished by movement of the horse during riding on the trip. The recombined product was then consumed at the mealtime. The belief is that part of the fat was removed from the milk before drying and dehydration was accomplished by solar heating.

Drying is defined as the removal of the liquid, usually water, from a product by evaporation, leaving the solids in an essentially dry state. Today the production of dried milk and milk products has become important segment of dairy industry. Dry milk provides a means of preserving the excess milk supply during the flush season for use during the lean season. The value added dried dairy products like malted milk foods, infant food and infant formulae and dairy whiteners are convenient ready to use products having wide acceptance. The water content of milk powder ranges between 2.5 and 5%, and no microbial growth occurs at such low water content. Drying extends the shelf life of milk, simultaneously reducing its weight and volume. The main purpose of drying milk are: a) to improve the storage life of the product due to low moisture content, b) to reduce cost for storage and transportation of product due to reduced bulk, and c) to provide convenient product for utilization in many dairy and food preparations.

The production of dried milks to a great extent is now being governed by the market requirement and to some specialized use of such products. Considerable quantities of dried skim milk powders are being used extensively in the preparation of ‘Reconstituted and Recombined milks”. Milk powders are also used extensively in the manufacture of ice cream, bakery products, confectionary products, cottage cheese and in other cheese varieties. The greatest proportion of milk powder is utilized in confectioneries, such as milk chocolate, caramels, soft sweets, coatings, biscuits and cakes. In these products, milk powder has a special effect on the quality of particular products: it improves consistency, flavour as well as nutritional value and shelf life.

Abstract

Food proteins are among the commonly used ingredients by food manufacturers to produce different products with desired characteristics. Due to several nutritional and functional properties, proteins have different functions in various food products in addition to their role in metabolic system of the human body. Dilute or concentrated solutions of pure proteins or unprocessed food products which are rich in protein are very sensitive to deterioration or degradation by microorganisms and thus have short shelf life at ambient temperatures due to their highly moist structure and high protein content. Drying is one of the best methods that can guarantee preservation, a longer shelf life, chemical or thermal stabilization and resistance against other stresses. A full understanding of stresses encountered during drying is needed to choose an appropriate drying process and to optimize this process for maximum product quality. A number of methods have been used by various researchers to dry protein-containing foods. Among these methods, freeze drying and spray drying are the most common techniques. Sun drying, convective hot air drying, vacuum drying, heat pump drying, radio frequency drying as well as combined or hybrid drying methods with two or more of the drying methods have also been developed.

Introduction

Flowers are associated with mankind since the dawn of civilization. Flowers are required for all the functions, ceremonies, rituals and celebrations from dawn to the dusk. In India, flowers are mainly grown for cut flowers and loose flowers purpose. By using best postharvest techniques, we can preserve the flowers ranging from few days to few weeks, but drying or dehydration is a technique by which flowers can be preserved for months to years. India has rich biodiversity comprising of wide variety of ornamental trees, shrubs, climbers, etc. which are not being used as fresh or loose flowers but their branched, twigs, flowers, fruits, cones, stems, roots, bark, etc. can be dehydrated to preserve their beauty and for utilization in dry flower industry.

Q. 1 LSU dryer was developed at
(A) London State University       (B) Ludhiana State University
(C) Lucknow State University     (D) Lusiana State University

Removal of water from the food by non-conventional energy source like sunlight, wind, and a smoky fire. Drying (dehydrating) food is one of the oldest and easiest methods of food preservation.

Dehydration

Dehydration is the process of removing water or moisture from a food product under controlled condition like temperature, relative humidity, air flow, etc.

Principles of Drying and Dehydration

Drying removes the moisture from the food so that bacteria, yeasts and moulds cannot grow and spoil the food. It also slows down the action of enzymes, but does not inactivate them. Dried food items can be kept almost indefinitely, as long as they are not rehydrated.

1. Introduction

Drying is a thermo physical and physicochemical process, which involves removal of excess water from a solid, semi-solid or liquid food material by evaporating it into vapour phase on applying heat, to reduce growth of microorganism or to completely eliminate their growth. Hence, reducing the water activity increases shelf life of food products. Drying medium for carrying evaporated moisture can be air or steam. Benefits of drying include increase in shelf life, easy to transport, handle food material and reduce packaging cost as it reduces bulk weight. 

Dryland agriculture refers to cultivation of crops entirely under natural rainfall without irrigation. It is a form of subsistence farming in the regions where deficit of the soil moisture retards the growth of water consuming crops like rice (Oryza sativa), sugarcane etc. Dryland areas are characterized by low and erratic rainfall and no assured irrigation facilities. Dryland agriculture is important for the economy as most of the coarse grain crops, pulses, oilseeds, and raw cotton are grown on these lands. Dryland areas receive annual rainfall between 500 and 1200 mm.

Types of Dryland Agriculture

Depending on the amount of rainfall received, dryland agriculture has been grouped into three categories:

Dry farming: It is production of crops without irrigation in areas where annual rainfall is less than 750 mm. Crop failures are more frequent under dry farming condition owing to prolonged dry spells during crop period. The growing season is less than 200 days. It is generally practiced in arid regions of the country

Introduction

India has predominantly agrarian economy with just 2.5% of the world’s geographical area, but has about 17% of its population. India’s population has increased from 361 million in 1951 to 1270 million at present: a three and half-fold increase in a span of 63 years. By 2020, India will need about 294 million tonnes food grains (Kumar, 1998). However, only 259.29 m t was produced in 2011–12 (Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, 2012), implying that about 34 m t additional food grains have to be produced from the same or even lesser land area.

The term “Poultry” indicates to all the domesticated species of birds like chicken, ducks, turkeys, Japanese quail, guinea fowls, geese, pigeons, ostrich, emu etc. Ducks account for 7% of poultry population and are mostly found in coastal states of the country and in states with more lakes and rivers like West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Tripura. Duck farming is still in primitive stage and indigenous ducks outnumbered the exotic ducks in spite of their inferior performance.

In India 90-95% of ducks are indigenous or nondescript types, which are hardly, with mediocre egg production and highly suitable for extensive system of rearing.

Introduction

Ducks are domesticated before 3000-4500 years. Ancestor of domestic ducks is wild mallard duck (Anas boschos) which are broody. Scientific name of domestic duck is Anas platyrhyncos. Duck farming is the part of poultry farming system. Duck can be raised for meat and eggs. In most part of the world, duck ranks next to the chicken in terms of egg and meat production. Commercial duck farming is increasing as this business has good potential to earn money through egg production. Duck can be feed on agro-industrial waste, swamp and marshy areas. These hardy birds can survive in such as areas where no other agricultural crops could be grown and other livestock raised. Duck farming business is a very profitable business as there are many duck breeds available all over the world. For commercial duck egg production and breeding, must go through water sources for raising ducks. It will reduce cost of feed. Duck can survive without water; but they need water pond kind things for fertile egg laying and mating. If pond is available then it is well and good for commercial duck farming. Chromosome number of duck is 80. Duck sound is whimpering or betch, honk. Incubation period of duck egg is 28 days. Egg weight duck is 72 gm.

Etiology Herpes Virus

Variation in pathogenicity of virus strains has been reported, but all strains appear identical immunologically.

Occurrence

The disease was first reported in the Netherlands in 1923. The disease has been confirmed in France, Belgium, Canada, India, Thailand, England, Hungary, Austria, Denmark and Vietnam, and suspected in China.

DVH is a highly fatal infection of young ducklings. Lesions are primarily in the liver.

It seems that you’re interested in integrated farming systems involving aquaculture combined with other types of livestock. Integrated farming systems(IFS) are agricultural systems that combine different agricultural practices to maximize productivity, enhance sustainability, and diversify income sources. Here’s a brief overview of how these combinations work:
1. Duck/Poultry cum Fish: This system integrates duck or poultry rearing with fish culture in a common water body. Ducks or chickens roam over or near fish ponds, and their droppings directly fertilize the pond, increasing natural fish food (plankton).
• Overview: This system involves raising ducks or poultry alongside fish in a shared environment, often in ponds.
• Benefits
º Nutrient Cycling: Duck or poultry manure can supply nutrients to the water, enhancing fish growth.
º Pest Control: Ducks help control pests in rice paddies while providing additional protein sources.
º Water Quality: The movement of ducks or poultry can improve the aeration of water and help manage algae.
• Considerations: It’s essential to manage feeding and water levels to prevent over-fertilization and maintain good water quality.

The Dumas combustion method, named after the renowned French chemist Jean-Baptiste Dumas, is a widely recognized analytical technique employed in the determination of the elemental composition of organic compounds. This method involves the complete combustion of a sample in an oxygen rich environment, followed by the separation and subsequent analysis of the resulting combustion products.

Principle

The Dumas combustion method involves the complete combustion of a sample in the presence of excess oxygen. The nitrogen present in the organic compound is converted into nitrogen gas (N2 ), which is then measured quantitatively. The process can be summarized as follows:

i. Combustion: The sample is combusted at high temperatures (typically around 900-1000°C) in the presence of oxygen. This results in the conversion of all organic material into carbon dioxide (CO2 ), water (H2 O), and nitrogen gas (N2 ).

ii. Removal of Interfering Gases: The combustion products are passed through various reagents to remove interfering gases such as CO2 and H2 O.

iii. Detection of Nitrogen: The nitrogen gas is then measured, often using a thermal conductivity detector (TCD) or another suitable detection method.

Durian, an exotic fruit, native to Malayasia and Indonesia, is considered to be the ‘King of all fruits’ in South East Asia. The term ‘Durian’ has been derived from the Malay word ‘Duri’ which means thorn. The fruit has a tough, thick, thorny husk that resembles the husk of jackfruit. The notorious odor has given rise to the unflattering terms like “Civet Cat Tree”, and “Civet Fruit” in India and “Stinkvrucht” in Dutch. Durian is delicious, soft and succulent with a distinctive sulphuric smell. It is characterized by the rich, buttery smooth and luscious flesh. The fruit is distinctive for its large size, unique odour and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit is a good source of carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber and energy. Some of the other durian fruit benefits are their high iron content and lack of cholestrol. It is rich in vitamin B, C and E, as well as in amino acids. The jelly is prepared from over ripe fruits which is sour in taste.

Genus : Durio 
Species : zibethinus Murray.
Family : Bombacaceae
Chromosome No. : 2n= 56

The exact place to which durian is indigenous is not established with certainity. The specie is said to be native to Borneo and other adjoining islands of Malay Archipelago. The species is seen growing in Sri Lanka and some other tropical countries. Outside the Malayan region durian cultivation is greatly restricted and is usually confined to the botanic gardens from study point of view. The crop has failed to move away from its native place primarily due to the fact that seeds are highly perishable which has restricted durian movement within tropical places of the world. Further due to the disagreeable flavour this fruit has not met with the favour from the Europeans. The banks of the Sarawak River are covered with many fruit trees that basically fulfill the food requirements of the local inhabitants called as Dyaks. Of the different kinds of fruit tree, durian is the most important found in abundance and is rated very highly.

Introduction

Durum or macaroni wheat (T. turgidum var. durum) is an important crop used chiefly for the production of pasta in Western Europe and North America, and two layered bread, single layered bread, burghul, couscous, pasta, frek and feed in other parts of the world (Table 1). In North Africa and the Middle East, durum is also used for producing flat breads. On a global basis only a small amount of durum wheat is used for baking of pan-style and hearth-style bread. Also, durum wheat for baking is often used in blends with common wheat. In India, durum occupies approximately 2.0 mha area and production is estimated to be around 2.5-3.0 million tones annually amounting to 3-4% of the total wheat production. The consumption of pasta is increasing at the rate of around 5% annually and currently it is estimated to be around 10 Lakh tones. The demand for pasta products may increase further due to increasing population and improving standard of living.

1. DUS TEST

A variety shall express distinct character(s) for verification, uniformity within population and stability for expression of such characters over the year and at different locations, then only its genetic purity is confirmed.

1.1. Requirements

Authentic seeds of existing varieties, pure seeds of variety under tests, list of characters to be examined and their expression.

This test is conducted in the most optimum conditions of soil and climate and the crop is exposed to the best agronomic management conditions to ensure full expression of the characters.

1.2. Distinctness

The variety under test is compared with the existing varieties (having similar plant height, growth habit, days to flowering, days to maturity and reaction to diseases) for qualitative morphological characters at seed, seedling and plant levels. Biochemical differences may also be considered. To establish the distinctness, the test is performed for 2 years for self pollinated crops.

In order to provide for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties, plant breeders’ rights and the farmers’ rights and to encourage the development of new varieties of plants it has been considered necessary to put in place a legal protection mechanism the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 has been enacted in India (www.plantauthority. gov.in). For the purposes of this Act, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority has been established and is located at NASC Complex, DPS Marg, Opp - Todapur, New Delhi-110 012.

Introduction

In order to implement the sui generis system for plant variety protection for granting PBR to a breeder or farmer or institution, DUS testing is compulsory. A new variety shall be registered, if it conforms to the criteria of novelty, distinctness, uniformity and stability. An extant variety, a variety about which there is a common knowledge shall also be registered within a specified period, if it conform such criteria as distinctness, uniformity and stability.

Once a valid application for PBR is accepted the seed / plant material of the variety will be requested for official DUS tests. These official DUS tests need to be conducted by crop based institutions on behalf of the PPV & FR authority by following universally acceptable test procedures. This necessitated in the development of test guidelines, descriptors and procedures to be followed in each crop. National Test Guidelines have been developed for 96 crops representing harmonized approach for the testing of new varieties which will form the basis for DUS examination. These National Test Guidelines contain details on i) subject of the guidelines, ii) material required, iii) conduct of tests, iv) methods and observations, v) grouping of varieties, vi) characteristics and symbols, vii) table of characteristics, viii) explanations on table of characteristics, ix) literature and x) technical questionnaire. The registration was open for 107 crop species for new variety and for 114 crop species for extant / farmers varieties.

In order to provide for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new varieties of plants it has been considered necessary to recognize and protect the rights of the farmers in respect of their contribution made at any time in conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources for the development of the new plant varieties. Moreover to accelerate agricultural development, it is necessary to protect plants breeders’ rights to stimulate investment for research and development for the development of new plant varieties.

Such protection is likely to facilitate the growth of the seed industry which will ensure the availability of high quality seeds and planting material to the farmers. India having ratified the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of the Intellectual Property Rights has to make provision for giving effect to Agreement. To give effect to the aforesaid objectives the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 has been enacted in India

DUS testing is a way of determining whether a newly bred variety differs from existing varieties within the same species, or the characteristics used to establish distinctness are expressed uniformly and that these characteristics do not change over subsequent generations. Testing the distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) of crop varieties is a statutory requirement before varieties can be entered into the Registers of Cultivars (National Lists) and/or granted Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR). In India, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right (PPV&FR) Act (2001) provides the registration of new variety of plant if it conforms to the criteria of distinctness, uniformity and stability.
Why do we need a DUS test? New (candidate) varieties should be distinct from all other varieties whose existence is a matter of common knowledge, and also sufficiently uniform and stable with respect to the characteristics used to demonstrate distinctness. ‘Common knowledge’ is broadly defined to include all known varieties, i.e. any variety entered into or subject to an application for PBR, varieties grown commercially, held in publicly accessible reference collection, or of which there is a published description (UPOV 2002).
The responsibility for DUS testing of potato varieties in India lies with the ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla, which is the national institute for potato research and development. Currently a set of 51 DUS characters in potato are defined by CPRI and being used for distinguishing new variety.

Pesticide Dusting

The dusting powders are low concentration ready to use type, dry formulations containing 2 to 10% pesticide. The inert material or dry diluents is talc, soapstone, attapulgite, etc. and it is non toxic. The sulphur dust is not diluted with inert material.