eChapters

Introduction

Soil resource is as important as water for agriculture as it supplies nutrients to the plants and anchorage for stand and establishment. However, people least bother about its importance despite its role in food security and ecosystem services. Good quality soil is a prerequisite for sustainable crop production. The concept of conservation agriculture (CA) has emerged in the recent past wherein conventional practices are modified to reduce farming cost in addition to sustaining soil health. Improvement in the soil health is achieved by increasing soil organic carbon (SOC), aggregation, infiltration, and also reduction in soil erosion.

Conventional fertilizers often exhibit low nutrient-use efficiency, resulting in nutrient losses, soil degradation, water contamination and unnecessary production costs. Nano-fertilizers offer controlled and targeted nutrient delivery through formulations engineered at the nanoscale. Their high surface-area-to-volume ratio can improve nutrient availability, plant uptake, growth, bulb quality and storage performance while reducing conventional fertilizer requirements. This chapter explains the nature, modes of action and potential benefits of nano-fertilizers in onion production. It also considers nano-biofertilizers, smart nutrient-delivery systems and nano-sensors. Particular attention is given to manufacturing cost, nanotoxicity, effects on soil microorganisms, farmer accessibility and the need for standardized safety and regulatory frameworks.

Abstract
Horticulture comprising a variety of fruits, vegetables, ornamental and medicinal crops has emerged in the recent times as a key sector of the Indian economy contributing substantially towards enhanced income, employment and welfare of the rural poor. A visible shift is seen in crop diversification across regions in favour of horticultural crops, especially vegetables over traditional cropping pattern comprising of cereals and pulses, since early 90s. Definitely higher profitability has been identified in comparison to cereals, increased urbanisation, enhanced living standards, besides the growing awareness for balanced nutrition as the main reason for such a shift. Commensurate with this trend has been a visible shift in enhanced R&D investments into horticultural R&D both from the public and private sectors. There is a growing need for the public sector research organisations like ICAR to increase their visibility and promote public private partnerships through innovative methods of research and development at this juncture.

Seed is the basic input in agriculture that acts as a catalyst for realising the full production potential of the high yielding/improved varieties. The role of quality seed in agriculture has been recognized since the ancient periods. It is a well established fact that among all the agricultural inputs, use of quality seed alone can enhance the crop production up to 15-20 per cent, depending upon the crop, and it can be further raised up to 45 per cent with efficient management of other inputs. If the seed sown is of inferior quality, the efforts of the plant breeders in developing and introducing improved varieties would be rendered futile. Modern agriculture lays great emphasis that each and every seed should germinate readily with full potential and produce vigorous seedlings to ensure high yields.

India has witnessed a phenomenal increase in food grains production since Independence, and achieved a record harvest of about 259 million tonnes in 2011-12. Similarly, there was an impressive record production of pulses : 18.1 and 17.2 million tonnes in 2010-11 and 2011-12,  respectively. However, to meet the increasing demand of the continuously rising population, about 2 to 3 million tonnes of pulses have to be imported every year costing the country about Rs.3000 crores in foreign exchange. Despite the changes in the dietary habits, pulses in India are still considered an important source of proteins, particularly, for the poor. However, the per capita availability of pulses has been declining over time decreasing from 60.7 gm/day in 1951 to about 32 gm/day in 2010 mainly due to stagnant production (except in recent years), rising demand for consumption and other uses. Further, pulses play an even greater role in maintaining and enhancing soil fertility through nitrogen (N₂) fixation.

Learning experiences for improving reading skills, with an emphasis on building vocabulary and correct use of grammar, refer to structured and intentional activities, strategies, and practices designed to enhance an individual’s ability to comprehend written texts effectively, expand their word knowledge, and apply grammatical rules accurately. These experiences aim to foster critical reading comprehension skills, facilitate the acquisition and application of new vocabulary, and ensure grammatical precision in both written and spoken communication.
Building vocabulary involves systematically expanding your knowledge of words and their meanings to improve language comprehension and effective communication. It includes learning new words, understanding their usage, and retaining them for future application. Here’s a detailed guide to building vocabulary:
1. Strategies for Building Vocabulary
1. Read Regularly
• Expose yourself to a variety of texts (novels, newspapers, academic articles, blogs) to encounter new words.
• Use graded readers or challenging materials slightly above your current level.
2. Learn in Context
• Focus on understanding new words in the context of a sentence or paragraph, which helps in grasping their nuanced meanings.
• Avoid rote memorization without context.

The integration of Large Language Models into software development has created powerful capabilities for automated code generation, debugging, testing and application development. However, AI-generated code can introduce security vulnerabilities when models produce incorrect, unsafe or poorly validated programming solutions. This chapter examines the need for security-aware frameworks that combine LLM-based code generation with verification, rule-based evaluation and risk management. It considers the limitations of conventional rule-based systems, including rule explosion, inflexibility, maintenance overhead and limited personalization, and explores how AI-driven approaches can improve adaptability while maintaining safeguards. Particular attention is given to secure integration in sensitive domains such as healthcare, where generated code and automated analytical systems may influence clinical information and decision-making. The chapter considers data-driven evaluation, machine learning, genomic information and risk detection as components of secure AI systems. It emphasizes the importance of validating generated code rather than treating model output as automatically reliable. Secure deployment requires testing, human oversight, access controls, verification mechanisms and continuous monitoring. The chapter therefore presents safe LLM integration as a multidisciplinary challenge combining AI capability, software engineering, cybersecurity and responsible governance.

Abstract

India’s livestock sector is one of the largest in the world. It has 56.7% of world’s buffaloes, 12.5% cattle, 20.4% small ruminants, 2.4% camel, 1.4 % equine, 1.5% pigs and 3.1% poultry. Dairy Entrepreneurship can be one of the important subsidiary occupations for farmers in rural areas. Since agriculture happens to be mostly seasonal in nature, thereby providing employment opportunities for the people on seasonal basis, there is a possibility of finding employment for many persons throughout the year through dairy farming. The farm income can be enhanced through this subsidiary activity.

Introduction

India’s policy in agriculture sector began in 1950 with a conscious effort to meet out the food needs of Indian population in view of famines but later on shifted to develop the agriculture education and research system for enhancing the productivity of staple crops and develop competent human resource to build skilled man power to strengthen agriculture and solve the problem of food & nutritional security at the nation level (1960,s to 1990,s) to the solution of global problems in agriculture through global solutions (2000,s onward) by forging the regional and global international corporation at different levels.

The closing years of the second decade of 21st century brought one of the most remarkable transitions in the international cooperation for strengthening the agriculture research and education in the history of agriculture in India. In most of the world the transition from a resource-based to a science-based system of agriculture is occurring within a single century.

Science, Technology and Skill Development in 21st Century

In the twenty first century, science and technology are viewed as the drivers of Indian economic growth; and agricultural R&D is expected to play a significant role in the process. Agriculture research and development is being affected by research and development at international level.

As early as in the 18^th century, the anaerobic process of decomposing organic waste was known. During 19^th century, it became clear that anaerobic bacteria are involved in the decomposition process (DST, 1981). Since that time, the applications of anaerobic digestion have grown steadily, in both its microbiological and chemical aspects. The process of anaerobic digestion possesses a double advantage i.e. the process in addition to providing good quality manure also supplies a large volume of combustible gas. Anaerobic digestion provides some exciting possibilities and solutions to such concerns as alternative energy production, handling of human, animal, municipal and Agro-industrial wastes safely, controlling environmental pollution and expanding food supplies. The technology of anaerobic digestion (Kumar et al., 2015) has not yet realized its full potential for manure and energy production even in developed and industrialized countries. In developing countries expansion of this technology has been hindered because of the need for better economic initiatives, organized supervision, proper training and education.

During twentieth century, the method of anaerobic fermentation or digestion was successfully applied by sewage chemists. A considerable amount of research work was carried out by sewage chemists on different aspects of the digestion process and sludge digestion plant, were installed. The gas produced was used for burning as domestic fuel, operating machinery and for tractors. In this context, the studies on anaerobic digestion of cattle dung and vegetable waste has been important. The work is particularly important ones in the Indian context as long as gas production and plant design efforts are concerned. For research on anaerobic digestion energy part (methane generation) received more attention since the early decades of this century when research into bio digestion had gradually begun to take shape. Fertilizer aspect received occasional attention a couple of decades later. The engineering and micro biological aspects of gas production remain a dominant preoccupation even up to 1990s. Emphasis on the energy aspect still dominates in many parts of the world today.

The daily nutrient requirements of animals varies for various stages of life i.e. maintenance ration, growing, working, pregnant, lactating, dry and diseased animals ration. Maintenance ration contains the vitamins and mineral only for life without any other production, while during pregnancy and lactation their requirements changed drastically from the maintenance ration. If not supply the standard amount of vitamins and minerals during these stages may disturb the metabolism and ultimately cause the production or metabolic disease. Therefore, the proper and sufficient (as per standard requirements) supplementation of vitamins and minerals can help in the prevention and control of production diseases in livestock.

Introduction

Precision farming is a site-specific farming method that works on a large scale, while IFS divides the whole land into fragments. Both Precision farming and IFS work on the concept of “no wastage”. When we install some components of precision farming in IFS, such as remote sensors, yield mapping, SSNM, yield monitors, and some others, the yield and quality of output increase. Initially, farmers may not get much profit from them because their installation cost is very high, but after a while, they earn more profit from this. IFS are good for Indian farmers because many enterprises are connected to each other in IFS, and farmers can get income from different sources. It generates employment opportunities for other farmers. It’s good for those with less land, and when we include PF in IFS, entrepreneurship opportunities are generated for educators like farming device installation, operation, maintenance and many others.

Improving the skill set of individuals is an important agenda of any development organization. The individuals may be anyone in the system who is directly or indirectly connected to the system.  Agriculture System is a complex and multi-stakeholder system with farmers as the axis of the wheel with other stakeholders’ forms part of spokes of the wheel. The scope for capacity building or training of every stakeholder has been peaking tremendously given the ever changing nature of the profession. The public and private training Institutions are vying with each other for conducting trainings in order to sustain the existence of the Institutions. Though a few institutions are really trying hard to take the technologies in real terms to the farming community, the following observations are very difficult to be masked.

The growing adoption of Generative AI in education offers substantial benefits in personalization, content creation, assessment, tutoring, and administrative efficiency, but it also introduces significant ethical, legal, and pedagogical challenges. This chapter examines the principles and practices required for responsible application of GenAI across educational environments. It focuses on algorithmic bias, fairness, data privacy, academic integrity, intellectual property, transparency, accountability, and the digital divide. AI models trained on large datasets may reproduce historical stereotypes or generate inaccurate and discriminatory content, potentially affecting marginalized learners. The extensive collection and processing of student information also raises concerns about informed consent, data storage, security, and appropriate use. Generative AI challenges traditional concepts of authorship and academic integrity because students may use AI to produce essays, assignments, and other academic work. The chapter discusses institutional policies, ethical audits, transparent content moderation, teacher and student AI literacy, human oversight, and multi-stakeholder governance. International principles such as UNESCO and IEEE guidance are considered as foundations for responsible implementation. The chapter emphasizes that trustworthy educational AI must remain human-centered, transparent, inclusive, accountable, and continuously evaluated.

8.1 Introduction

Earth’s temperature has increased significantly due to the rise in concentration of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapour (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and ozone (O₃). Prior to industrial revolution, the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere matched what could be absorbed by the natural sinks. Industrialization catapulted the addition of anthropogenically emitted gases to the environment, much beyond the natural levels. These greenhouse gases are building up, thus creating the effect of ‘global warming’. Global warming is a consequence of two major phenomena - depletion of the ozone layer and increase in greenhouse gas emission (Ishler, 2008).

16.1 Entering Biological Data into Computer

After the forms have been designed, the database in ready for entry of biological data. Biological data is entered one record at a time. To enter the biological data, the user issues a command, which calls up and displays the appropriate form with blank fields. The user then keys in the data for each field in the appropriate spaces. In this manner, the user enters the data for the first record, then for the second record, and so on. In most database systems, the records are automatically assigned a number as they are entered.

16.2 Saving Biological Data into Computer

While entering data into the fields, the tab key or enter key is usually used to move to the next field. Pressing enter or tab key in the last field on the form saves the record in the database and moves to a new, blank form for the next record to be entered. In addition to using the tab or enter key to move forward through fields, one can directly go to any field on the form at any time by clicking on it with the mouse.

This family Enterobacteriaceae belongs to the order Enterobacteriales. The family comprises 25 genera. Among them there are 10 genera consistently found pathogenic for animals, birds and human. These genera are mentioned below (first 10 are consistent pathogenic).

Enterococcus sp. belongs to Lancefield antigenic serogroup D. Enterococcus is considered normal flora of the chicken intestine.

Etiology

Enterococci bacteria are Gram positive, spherical seen in singles, pairs or chain. Enterococuus sp. Causing disease in birds include E. faecalis, E. faecium, E. durans, E. avium, E. hirae and E. cecorum. E. faecalis is most common isolate from birds.

Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in driving economic growth, and its significance in the agriculture and allied industry cannot be overlooked. As the backbone of many economies, agriculture and its allied sectors provide employment to a significant portion of the global population. In this chapter, we will delve into the concept and overview of entrepreneurship in the context of agriculture and allied industry, exploring its definition, nature, characteristics, and the need for entrepreneurial skills. We will also highlight the benefits of being an entrepreneur in this sector, discuss the different types of entrepreneurs, provide relevant statistics and case studies, and touch upon the factors affecting entrepreneurial behaviour. Additionally, we will examine the current trends and forecast for the next three years in the agricultural entrepreneurship landscape and examine relevant statistics and case studies and shed light on the government’s role in promoting entrepreneurship in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Abstract

As part of the Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) project, an Enterprise-wide Geographic Information System has been implemented through which Intranet / Internet users enjoying different access levels can quickly search for, locate and visualize geoscientific information generated by Geological Survey of India (GSI). The proposed system will provide real-time response to information needs and will use secure Internet technology to deliver information to bonafide users. It consists of an application that will enable data owners to load new data sets, update/replace existing data sets in a highly secure environment, load and maintain metadata about their data sets in a Data Catalog and a subsystem that will query, search, locate and display geoinformation stored in the centralized Geodatabase.

Enterprise GIS has been deployed primarily using a relational database, a spatial database engine tool, an Internet Map server tool, and integrating the existing ArcGIS desktop GIS clients. The approach is to import data from distributed data sources into the centralized repository using a customized extraction-transformation-loading (ETL) tool, thereby making appropriate structural changes to ensure homogeneity at various levels, and load into the main Geodatabase.

While delineating the functionalities of enterprise GIS solution an earnest attempt was made to accommodate the diverse needs of the organization, including its processes, activities, products and the whole gamut of users at different levels from the field geologist to the decision makers. An effort was also made to standardize various data automation processes and to iron out the heterogeneities existing in legacy data. Ultimately, GSI aspires to create a seamless geospatial database for the entire geographic extent of the country, which can be easily shared by the geoscientific community.

Introduction
Speaking to entertain is both an art and a skill. Unlike informative or persuasive speeches, entertaining speaking prioritizes engagement, emotion, and enjoyment, aiming to captivate an audience while delivering a memorable experience. This form of speaking is essential in various contexts be it a wedding toast, a comedy performance, or a motivational talk.
In this chapter, we will explore the elements, techniques, and considerations that make an entertaining speech impactful. From crafting compelling stories to mastering delivery, this chapter provides a comprehensive guide for those seeking to charm and amuse their listeners.
The Purpose of Entertaining Speaking
Entertaining speaking is a unique form of communication designed to captivate an audience while eliciting positive emotions such as joy, amusement, and inspiration. It goes beyond mere information delivery, aiming to create a shared experience that leaves the audience feeling uplifted and engaged. Below are the primary purposes of entertaining speaking:
1. Engagement
The foremost purpose of entertaining speaking is to grab and hold the audience’s attention. Unlike other types of speeches, which might prioritize educating or persuading, an entertaining speech creates an immersive experience that keeps the audience invested from start to finish. Effective speakers achieve this through humor, storytelling, or charismatic delivery.

Characters 

Three orders i.e. protura, diplura and collembolan are group together as Entognatha because the mouth parts are withdrawn into the head

Antennal flagellum (if present) are masculated

A database is a collection of data, typically describing the activities of one or more related organisations. Biological database is meant for storing and organising biological data, collecting information from life sciences, scientific experiments, computational analysis and contents from published literatures.

Biological databases play a vital role in bioinformatics, since it helps varieties of researchers to access and analyse data from different parts of the world. The knowledge obtained helps to solve disease oriented and environment related issues and to make vital policy decisions. Biological databases remain as tool to identify insect species as well as in comparing their relationships with related species. The biological knowledge distributed among different general and specialised databases, can be retrieved with efficient queries.

Various information like genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, microarray, genes expression, phylogenetics etc. are also stored and maintained as biological databases in terms of genome databases, protein structure databases, taxonomic database etc. These computerised web databases facilitate effective data management and analysis help in knowledge transmission, make coherent information exchange between the studies and public audience.

Entomology, a Greek word entomoV, entomos, “ that is cut in pieces or engraved/segmented”, hence “insect”; and -logia, logia -study, is the scientific study of insects , a branch of arthropodology. The arthropods made their appearance during the earliest Devonian period while humans appeared only in Quarternary. Insects possess an immense degree of evolutionary maturity as against man, account for more than two-thirds of all known organisms, date back some 400 million years, and have many kinds of interactions with humans and other forms of life on earth. Entomology is a speciality within the field of biology and it is rooted in all human cultures from prehistoric times.

In India, insects were known from Vedic era and records of insects in India were evident from India’s mythological epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharatha. 

1. Who was the first Entomologist to the Government of India? Lionel de Niceville.
2. Who succeeded Lefroy and devoted his attention mainly to insect taxonomy and built up an excellent library and a valuable insect collection? T.B. Fletcher.
3. When was the Zoological Survey of India started in the Indian Museum at Calcutta? 1916.
4. Who was the first Plant Protection Adviser to Government of India? Dr. Hem Singh Pruthi.

Important Points

Factors for Insects Abundance

• More number of species: In the animal kingdom more than 85 per cent of the species belongs to insect group. Total number of insects described so far is more than 9 lakhs.
• Large number of individuals in a single species: e.g., Locust swarm comprising of 109 number of individuals, occupying large area.
• Great variety of habitats: Insects thrive well under varied conditions.
• Long geological history: Insects were known to occupy this earth for more than 350 million years, which is a good track record. This has given the insects’ great variety of adoptions under different conditions.

The scientific community working in the field of crop protection is experiencing an increasing academic and industrial interest in the discovery and development of new bio-insecticides as environmentally friendly pest control tools to be integrated, in combination or rotation, with chemicals in pest management programmes. In this context, Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) as a bio-control agent have proven successful and are now commercially mass produced in six of the seven continents to treat pest problem in agriculture, horticulture and forest crops. They actively search for the host, including those in cryptic habitat stages of insect pests in soil environment. They can be considered as good candidates for integrated pest management in ustainable agriculture due to plants and mammals which are not adversely affected and have ease of mass production. We present a general overview on the current state of knowledge of EPN and their mutualistically associated bacteria and their utilization as biological control agent against insect pests in world and India are briefly presented in this chapter.

5.1 Mass Multiplication Techniques
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are currently produced by different methods either in vivo or in vitro (solid and liquid culture) (Friedman, 1990). Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages relative to production cost, technical know-how required, economy of scale, and product quality, and each approach has the potential to be improved. Following production, a variety of formulation and application alternatives are also available (Shapiro- Ilan et al., 2012). Mass multiplication of EPNs can be achieved through in vivo (using insect hosts) and in vitro (using artificial media) methods, with the latter being more efficient for large-scale production.
1. In Vivo Multiplication
Method: Involves rearing insect hosts (like Galleria mellonella or Corcyra cephalonica) and infecting them with EPNs, allowing the nematodes to multiply within the host’s cadaver.
Process
• Rearing of insect hosts.
• Inoculation of host larvae with EPNs.
• Collection of dead, infected larvae.
• Extraction of infective juveniles (IJs) from the cadavers using methods like the White trap.

5.1 Mass Multiplication Techniques
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are currently produced by different methods either in vivo or in vitro (solid and liquid culture) (Friedman, 1990). Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages relative to production cost, technical know-how required, economy of scale, and product quality, and each approach has the potential to be improved. Following production, a variety of formulation and application alternatives are also available (Shapiro- Ilan et al., 2012). Mass multiplication of EPNs can be achieved through in vivo (using insect hosts) and in vitro (using artificial media) methods, with the latter being more efficient for large-scale production.
1. In Vivo Multiplication
Method: Involves rearing insect hosts (like Galleria mellonella or Corcyra cephalonica) and infecting them with EPNs, allowing the nematodes to multiply within the host’s cadaver.
Process
• Rearing of insect hosts.
• Inoculation of host larvae with EPNs.
• Collection of dead, infected larvae.
• Extraction of infective juveniles (IJs) from the cadavers using methods like the White trap.
Advantages: Simpler and requires less capital outlay.
Disadvantages: Labor-intensive and may not be as efficient for large-scale production.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are obligate parasites that infect and kill insects. Their short life cycles, simple rearing requirements, and straightforward molecular manipulations render them ideal to study host– parasite interactions. Additionally, their efficacy in reducing herbivore damage in the field contributed to their use as biological control agents in agriculture (Xi Zhang et al., 2021). EPNs comprise three genera, Heterorhabditis, Steinernema, and Oscheius. Infective juveniles (IJs) are third-stage free-living nematode larvae (iL3) that locate, select, and infect a host by entering through
a natural orifice or by penetrating through the cuticle. Upon infection, IJs release venom proteins and regurgitate an endosymbiotic entomopathogenic bacterium, leading to a fatal toxemia and septicemia of the host. Juveniles then undergo a transition from free-living to parasitic lifestyle and resume growth and development by feeding on the infected flesh. Adult nematodes reproduce inside the host generating several new generations of nematodes. Resource depletion and elevated nematode densities induce the production of ascaroside C11 ethanolamine, an ascaroside triggering the production of next generation IJs, often through Endotokia matricida. The newly hatched IJs emerge from the resource-depleted host and search to infect new hosts.
Juvenile host-seeking strategies are typically classified along a gradient ranging from ambushing to cruising (Xi Zhang et al., 2021). Ambusher nematodes are stationary and infect mobile hosts. Attachment to a mobile host can be achieved through nictation, which corresponds to the nematode standing on its tail, curling, and propelling itself in the air. Cruiser nematodes disperse in the soil and locate sedentary hosts. Nematodes with intermediate strategies can ambush or disperse depending on the soil matrix and host presence. Additionally, recent studies highlighted that EPNs can attract insects to infected cadavers just before emergence (Zhang et al., 2019). Being the first step of host–parasite interactions, host-seeking is critical in determining the success of a parasite.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are obligate parasites that infect and kill insects. Their short life cycles, simple rearing requirements, and straightforward molecular manipulations render them ideal to study host– parasite interactions. Additionally, their efficacy in reducing herbivore damage in the field contributed to their use as biological control agents in agriculture (Xi Zhang et al., 2021). EPNs comprise three genera, Heterorhabditis, Steinernema, and Oscheius. Infective juveniles (IJs) are third-stage free-living nematode larvae (iL3) that locate, select, and infect a host by entering through a natural orifice or by penetrating through the cuticle. Upon infection, IJs release venom proteins and regurgitate an endosymbiotic entomopathogenic bacterium, leading to a fatal toxemia and septicemia of the host. Juveniles then undergo a transition from free-living to parasitic lifestyle and resume growth and development by feeding on the infected flesh. Adult nematodes reproduce inside the host generating several new generations of nematodes. Resource depletion and elevated nematode densities induce the production of ascaroside C11 ethanolamine, an ascaroside triggering the production of next generation IJs, often through Endotokia matricida. The newly hatched IJs emerge from the resource-depleted host and search to infect new hosts.
Juvenile host-seeking strategies are typically classified along a gradient ranging from ambushing to cruising (Xi Zhang et al., 2021). Ambusher nematodes are stationary and infect mobile hosts. Attachment to a mobile host can be achieved through nictation, which corresponds to the nematode standing on its tail, curling, and propelling itself in the air. Cruiser nematodes disperse in the soil and locate sedentary hosts. Nematodes with intermediate strategies can ambush or disperse depending on the soil matrix and host

Nematodes and insects probably have influenced the shape of each other’s evolution from as early as the Devonian (409 million years ago). Over the course of their shared history, nematodes have established many different types of associations with insects.
2.1 Evolution and Types of Insect–Nematode Associations
The majority of nematodes associated with insects (Rhabditida, in particular) are not true parasites, but have established only phoretic relationships. These phoretic nematodes usually are referred to as insect “associates.” Nematodes in phoretic relationships with insects usually rely on their host to transport them to food resources or improve their chances of finding a mate (or both) (Adams and Nguyen, 2008). Bacterial feeding soil nematodes often are found associated with insect cadavers and incorrectly inferred to be contributing factors to insect pathology. However, it has been proposed that nematode parasitism in some groups may have been initiated by necrogenous nematodes. Early stages in the evolution of insect parasitism may have involved necrogeny (feeding and reproducing on the bacteria of decaying insect cadavers). The association with decaying environments or insect cadavers may have become successively more intimate, as the nematodes began to utilize other saprophagous insects for transportation to new sources of food. Eventually, the nematodes could have changed from being passengers to parasites, invading and feeding on the tissues of their hosts.

Nematodes and insects probably have influenced the shape of each other’s evolution from as early as the Devonian (409 million years ago). Over the course of their shared history, nematodes have established many different types of associations with insects.
2.1 Evolution and Types of Insect–Nematode Associations
The majority of nematodes associated with insects (Rhabditida, in particular) are not true parasites, but have established only phoretic relationships. These phoretic nematodes usually are referred to as insect “associates.” Nematodes in phoretic relationships with insects usually rely on their host to transport them to food resources or improve their chances of finding a mate (or both) (Adams and Nguyen, 2008). Bacterial feeding soil nematodes often are found associated with insect cadavers and incorrectly inferred to be contributing factors to insect pathology. However, it has been proposed that nematode parasitism in some groups may have been initiated by necrogenous nematodes. Early stages in the evolution of insect parasitism may have involved necrogeny (feeding and reproducing on the bacteria of decaying insect cadavers). The association with decaying environments or insect cadavers may have become successively more intimate, as the nematodes began to utilize other saprophagous insects for transportation to new sources of food. Eventually, the nematodes could have changed from being passengers to parasites, invading and feeding on the tissues of their hosts.
i. Facultative Parasitism: Nematodes that are facultative parasites can infect a healthy insect and receive nourishment at the expense of its host, yet retain the ability to complete its life cycle independent of its

Nematode associated with insects are referred as entomophilic, entomogenous and entomophagous nematodes. Generally they belong to the superfamilies Tylenchoidea, Rhadbitoidea, Oxyuroidea and Mermithoidea of the phylum Nematoda.

Nature of parasitism

Christie (1914) divided the nematodes associated with invertebrates into three groups.

• Those nematodes which live in the alimentary tract of he invertebrates.
• Those nematodes which are more or less closely related to free living species and often have a combination of saprophagous and parasitic habits.
• Those nematodes which parasitizes the body cavity or tissue of their host.

Entomophilic nematodes are group of parasites that cause debilitation, sterility or death of insects. Entomophilic nematodes vary greatly in size and shape having the insects as intermediate or as definite hosts. Many group of insects are parasitised by nematodes.

Nematode associated with insects are referred as entomophilic, entomogenous and entomophagous nematodes. Generally they belong to the superfamilies Tylenchoidea, Rhadbitoidea, Oxyuroidea and Mermithoidea of the phylum Nematoda.

Livestock sector is an important subsector of the agriculture of Indian economy. It forms an important livelihood activity for most of the farmers, supporting agriculture in the form of critical inputs, contributing to the household, supplementing incomes, offering employment opportunities, and finally it acts as a supplementary and complementary enterprise. Livestock plays a vital role in the economic development of the country. Livestock Sector has continuously been growing and contributed 4.90% (at constant prices) of total GVA (Gross Value Added) in 2020-21 (Annual Report, 2021-2022). India ranks first among the world’s milk producing nations, achieving an annual production of 230.58 million tonnes of milk and with per capita availability of 459 gms/day during the year 2022-23 (Annual Report, 2022-2023). In India, livestock population includes cattle (193.46 million), buffalo (109.85 million), sheep (74.26 million) and goat (148.88 million) (20 th Livestock Census, 2019). The rapidly expanding demand for livestock products offers an opportunity as well as a challenge to livestock production. The livestock sector is moving towards specialization with the increasing involvement

Entrepreneur is a person who takes the responsibility of initiating and establishing an enterprise or an organisation under conditions of uncertainty.

Some of the essential qualities of entrepreneurs are as follows

1. Creativity
2. Passion
3. Motivation
4. Product or service knowledge
5. Ability to network
6. Self-confidence
7. Optimism
8. Vision
9. Goal mindset
10. Risk-taking
11. Persuasiveness
12. Decision-making
13. Tenacity
14. Money management
15. Adaptability

Introduction

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world. Indian turmeric is considered to be the best in the world market because of its high curcumin content. India accounts for about 80 per cent of world turmeric production and 60 per cent of world exports. Major turmeric exporting countries are India, Thailand, Taiwan, and several other Southeast Asian, Central and Latin American countries. The major turmeric importing countries include Japan, Sri Lanka, Iran, UAE, US, UK and Ethiopia.

Turmeric is native of India and china. The word turmeric is derived from the French word ‘Terre-merite’ meaning merit of the earth. Its botanical name is Curcuma longa L. and belongs to family Zingeberaceae, it is also known as ‘Indian Saffron’ is an herbaceous perennial plant growing up to the height of 60 – 90 cm with short stem. The plant is propagated from rhizomes. The leaves are long, broad lanceolate and bright green. The flowers are pale yellow and born on dense spikes. The pseudo stem are shorter than leaves. The rhizomes were ready for harvesting about 7 to 9 months after planting.

India is popularly known as the “Spiced Bowl of the World” as a wide variety of spices with premium quality grown in a country since ancient times. Indian turmeric is considered to be the best in the world due to presence of high curcumine content. Turmeric contains up to 5.00 per cent essential oil and up to 5.00 per cent curcumine, a polyphenol.

Introduction

Entrepreneurship has become a major driver of economic development in recent years. It involves starting new businesses or revitalizing existing ones, often through recognizing and seizing new opportunities. Entrepreneurs are individuals who organize, manage, and take on the risks of a business venture with the aim of making a profit. They identify market opportunities and introduce new technologies and organizational improvements. Entrepreneurs constantly innovate and create value from these opportunities. According to Hisrich (1990), entrepreneurs are proactive and creative individuals who can organize resources and manage risks and failures to succeed.

To grow as an entrepreneur, it is essential to develop and refine key entrepreneurial traits. These traits shape an entrepreneur’s skills and abilities, aligning with their motivations and guiding them to drive their business forward. Entrepreneurial characteristics are a mix of personal, social, and environmental factors that influence a business ecosystem. These traits play a key role in shaping a company’s goals and strategies, ultimately affecting its performance.

Introduction

Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in ensuring our country’s economy as well as social welfare. Entrepreneurs are considered national assets to be motivated, cultivated and remunerated for the greatest possible outcome. It is a fact that our societies today give importance to entrepreneurship and have higher income levels, and are self-reliable. Entrepreneurs have the highest potential to change the way how people work and live on a local and national level. Along with the creation of wealth and entrepreneurial projects, entrepreneurs have the ability to create jobs and employment opportunities which will contribute to the growing economy of India. These reasons it signifies the importance of entrepreneurship. In the current era of science and technology, many youths are not afraid to try out their idea, talents, skills and knowledge to become an entrepreneur. The present entrepreneurs are well established with the recent technologies and are prone to the effects of changes. The majority of society has access to the internet, and the youth are reintegrating their technological powers into their passion for bringing changes into society with entrepreneurship. India is facing a major issue regarding employment generation; however, with its rich, resourceful, distinctive geographic and demographic advantage, it has a major prospective to raise and innovate the entrepreneurs resulting in employment generation and hence contributing to the nation’s economy. 

Entrepreneurial climate depends on the existing economic system. Existing social and political establishment and existing economic policies of Government determine the economic system. Entrepreneurial development is largely due to the existence of this economic system. Business development functioning as a new component, economic structure and economic transformation. The economic system varies from country to country, so the business development process varies.

The term entrepreneur is derived from the French word entreprendre, which translates to “to undertake. “In the context of business, this refers to the initiation of a business. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an entrepreneur is defined as an individual who organizes, directs, and takes risks in a business or enterprise. An entrepreneur can be described as “a person who establishes, organizes, and directs any enterprise, particularly a business, typically involving significant initiative and risk. “ Peter F. Drucker (1985) characterizes an entrepreneur as a person who continuously seeks change, responds to it, and leverages it as an opportunity. Innovation serves as a unique tool for entrepreneurs, enabling them to perceive change as an opportunity for launching another business or service. An entrepreneur is often regarded as an innovator – a creator of new ideas and business processes. Essential leadership skills and effective team-building abilities are frequently considered crucial traits for successful entrepreneurs. Economist Robert Reich (2002) regards leadership, management skills, and team building as vital attributes of an entrepreneur. The realm of entrepreneurship is influenced by a variety of combinations of socio-economic, psychological, cultural, and additional factors, including caste/religion, family background, educational level, level of insight, professional experience, migration capabilities, entrepreneurial spirit, nature of the business, investment capacity, and ambition/moderation. Entrepreneurship is often defined as “the ability and desire to develop, organize, and manage business activities and associated risks for profit”.

Abstract

Entrepreneurial training was offered to village women in the field of agriculture especially for women members of Self Help Groups. These women were trained in the production, utilization and marketing of Bio dung compost and vermicompost from agricultural wastes. They were also trained in the production, utilization and marketing of vermiwash (a liquid foliar spray), Panchagavya, biopesticides and herbal pest repellents using locally available plant materials. An attempt was also made to educate the people on the importance of food and nutrition through diet counselling and the importance of nutrient (kitchen) gardens. They were trained about Circular (Ring) Gardens and Double Digging gardens. The women were given these trainings as part of converting them from dependence on chemicals in agriculture to organic farming. There was overwhelming response, and the women now use these agricultural products in their own fields.

Introduction

Entrepreneurship refers to the capability and willingness to develop, establish and run an enterprise and manage uncertainties to profit. It can also be defined as a process concerned with the creation and extraction of economic value. Entrepreneurship is more than just starting a business purely to make money. The person who bears the risk of starting a new enterprise is an entrepreneur. In this chapter, we will discuss entrepreneurship and its development in detail.

Entrepreneurship development is a process involving several phases and steps. The process has been viewed at the level of individual-developing entrepreneurial quality in an individual and the group of community-creating an environment in which entrepreneurship activities can grow.

Pandemic brought in tough times, especially for different business sectors. However, the floriculture business was one such sector that people embraced, especially in India. In the current scenario, the floriculture industry in India has emerged as a huge trend setter and a survivor, albeit with a drop in earnings and the convenience of working from home. Flower Market report summarizes top key players overview as Syngenta, Floret Flowers, among others. The Indian economy has been starved of sustainable ideas, especially when the outbreak of COVID-19 saw the loss of jobs and the reverse migration of rural people. The floriculture business provided a vast opportunity that involves specific technical know-how and provided flower and allied business as a medium to earn income and generate opportunity for others.

According to a recent study, over 94% of new businesses fail during first year of operation. Lack of funding turns to be one of the common reasons. Money is the bloodline of any business. The long painstaking yet exciting journey from the idea generation to revenue generating business needs a fuel named capital. That’s why, at almost every stage of the business, entrepreneurs find themselves asking – How do I finance my startup?

Now, when an entrepreneur require funding depends largely on the nature and type of the business. Here is a comprehensive list of funding options for startups that will help the entrepreneur to raise capital for business.

Abstract

Peri-urban horticulture is fast catching on as a viable business proposition. Participation of women is envisaged as a significant input in such an enterprise. Tissue culture propagation or ‘’Micro propagation’ is a good candidate in this context among several biotechnologies available today. Micro propagation as a means of rapidly multiplying plants in a relatively small space irrespective of the season of the year has steadily gained popularity. Planting material in horticultural crops like banana and several other vegetatively propagated crops like ornamentals is in perpetual demand and can be met economically if women launched micro propagation as a peri-urban cottage industry. As against low rates of multiplication with conventional technologies, it is possible to raise thousands of propagules from a single starter-culture in a year’s time using newer technologies. Details of setting up the industry on a home-scale and participation of women in peri-urban areas in this enterprise are discussed in this plenary talk.