eChapters

Botany

Several vernacular names of kewda are reported in different languages all over the world ; viz.

Keora, Ketgi, Keura, Gagandhul in Hindi; Keya, Ketaki, Kea, Ketkikea in Bengali; Kiya, Kia in Odia; Kewoda in Gujrati; Ato, Keto, Covasso in Konkani; Keoda, Keora in Marathi; Talemara in Kannada; Gedaji, Gedangimogali, Gojjangi, Ketaki, Mugali, Mogali in Telugu; Kaidai, Talhai, Thasai, Thazh, Kechiya, Kedagi, Kedagai, Muchali in Tamil; Kaita, Ketaki, Palliyambu in Malayalam; Gandhapuspa, Dalapushpa, Shivadvishta, Ketaki, Suchika pushpa in Sanskrit; Leram in Nicoberese; Mudukeyiya, wetakey in Sinhalese; Keora in Urdu; Gulkiri, Kader, Kadi in Persian; Satthapu, Tsatthapu in Burmese; Nalu in Nepalese; Togenashiadan in Japanese; Kadar, Kadhi, Kazi in Arabic Kaide, Kedige, Ketaki, Gedege, Mundige in Canarese; Kedgi in Deccan; Vaquois odorant in French and Schrauben palme in German. (Kirtikar and Basu, 1935; Randhawa and Mukhopadhyay, 1986; Kapoor, 1990).

1. Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Wheat has been traditionally grouped into the genera Triticum in the tribe Tritiaceae of the family Poaceae. Bread wheat, 2n=6x=42 is a hexaploid consisting of three distinct genomic complementary, namely, A, B and D, with the genome structure AABBDD. In the past there were 4 species, viz. Triticum aestivum, T. durum, T. dicoccum and T. sphaerococcum, under cultivation in India. T. sphaerococcum has now practically gone out of cultivation because of its low productivity and high susceptibility to diseases. The major wheat producing countries are China, India, USA, the Russian Federation, and Australia. These five countries together contribute more than half of the global wheat production. In India, Uttar Pradesh has registered the highest production followed by Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar. These top six states together contributed around 90 per cent of the total wheat production in the country

Floral Biology

The inflorescence of wheat is known as spikelets. Spikelets are alternately arranged on the rachis; each spikelet’s has a small joint axis which bear two to nine flower known as florets. Close to the base of rachilla are two empty boat shaped bracts known as glumes. Above these inserted alternately on opposite side of the rachilla known as lemma. Opposite it’s a thin membrane bracts known as palea enclosed within the lemma and palea are a single pistil and three steamens. The pistil consists of an ovary bearing two short styles each carrying a feathery stigma. At the base of the ovary are two membranous scales known as lodicules. Each stamen consists of a thread like filament carrying a pollen containing anther.

Plant biodiversity, in particular, is arguably the single greatest resource that humankind has garnered from nature during our long cultural development. Nowhere is the value of biodiversity more evident than in our food supply. Roughly one third of all plant species have edible fruits, tubers, nuts, seeds, leaves, roots, or stems. The World Health Organization estimates that 3.5 billion people in developing countries rely on plant-based medicine for their primary health care, in which tuber crops also play a major role (Tuxill, 1999). There are 25 hot spots of biodiversity of which Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayan are the most important ones in India. About 7% of world flora and 6.5% of world fauna are in India. Indo-Burma region is one of the eight hottest hot spots of the world, and is the centre of origin of tuber crops like Dioscorea, Colocasia, Amorphophallus and Alocasia.

Onion is an economically significant bulb crop cultivated across diverse agroecological environments. Its cultivars vary considerably in bulb size, shape, colour, pungency, maturity, storage behaviour and photoperiod response. Understanding its vegetative and reproductive morphology, growth habit, physiology and taxonomic relationships is fundamental to crop improvement and germplasm conservation. This chapter examines the botanical features and taxonomic position of onion within the genus Allium. It explains relationships among cultivated types, landraces and allied species and discusses varietal classification according to climatic adaptation and consumer preference. Classical characterization and molecular taxonomy are considered important tools for developing productive, resilient and market-preferred onion cultivars.

Botany: Bottle gourds belonging to the family cucurbitaceae is an annual vine having white flowers and smooth, large, hard-shelled gourds. Brownish seeds are numerous in a whitish green pulp. Each seed is somewhat rectangular in shape with grooved notches near the attached end. Grown most often in warmer climates, this squash grows from 6 to 36 inches long and 3 to 12 inches in diameter.

Seeds leaves, flowers and young stems are all edible. Helpful in shedding extra calories. It contains higher concentrations of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium, Manganese, Protein, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium. A rich source of minerals and vitamins, bottle gourds contains many healing and medicinal properties. The cooked vegetable is not only easy to digest but also contains cooling, calming (or sedative), diuretic properties. It contains low calories also has iron, Vitamin C and B complex. Regular consumption of this vegetable provides relief to people suffering with digestive problems, diabetics and convalescents.

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria, 2n = 2x = 22, family Cucurbitaceae, monoecious, cross-pollinated but genetically behaving like self-pollinated crop), is grown primarily in India on large scale for consumption as cooked vegetables. Bottle gourd is considered to be one of the earliest species of plants to be domesticated by humans. Bottle gourds are regularly grown and consumed in various parts of the world, particularly Asia. Fruits of bottle gourds are harvested young and used as a vegetable. The mature, dried fruits have been used throughout the world for making storage jars and utensils and hence the name bottle gourd. Shoots and leaves are also cooked and eaten. Lately, bottle gourd juice is also becoming popular in India as a health drink. Other countries growing bottle gourd on limited scale are Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Tropical Africa, Colombia and Brazil. After seed scooping, the hard rind is used as containers also. Seeds are used for oil extraction and oil is used as cooking oil.

During 2017-18, India produced 27 lakh tons (2.7 million tons) of bottle ground from 1.60 lakh ha (0.16 million ha) and this translated into a productivity of 17 tons/ ha (Horticulture Statistics at a Glance-2018, MAFW, 2018). Top six states producing bottle gourd on significant scale are Bihar, UP, Haryana, MP, Odisha, and Pujab, production being in the range of 135,000 to 650,000 tons.

Bottle gourd (Lageneria siceraria) 2n=2x=22 is also known as white flowered gourd. Most important vegetable of ancient China.
 
Origin : According to De Candolle (1882) Bottle gourd has been found in wild form in South Africa and India. However, Cutler and Whitaker (1962) are of the view that probably it is indigenous to Tropical Africa on the basis of variability in seeds and fruits. This species appear to have been domesticated independently in Asia, Africa and the New world (Heiser, 1973).
 
Botany: It is monoecious, annual vine with soft pubescence. Leaves are cordate ovate to reniform-ovate, Flowers are white, solitary, open at night and has hairy ovary. Fruit shape is cylindrical, oval egg shaped, club shaped, round and other shapes also appeared.

Genetics of Important Traits

Bitterness: Single dominant gene (Path and Singh, 1950)

Fruit colour: Monogenically controlled (Kalloo, 1993)

Two major genes are involved for fruit shape (Path and Singh, 1950). Single gene for fruit colour involved (patchy v/s white) and reported by Path and Singh (1950). Monogenic recessive inheritance for andromonoecious sex form is reported by Singh et al. (1996). Hermaphrodite sex form is characterized by long corolla (3.5-4.5cm instead of 2.5-3.5cm in normal). In hermaphrodite condition fruits bears prominent blossom scar.  Long fruit conditioned by AA genotype and Round fruit is due to aa genotype where Partial dominance is reported (Kushwaha, 1996).

Bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria under the family Cucurbitaceae (Chromosome No: 2n = 2× = 22) is commonly grown vegetable crop of India, Africa, Central America and other warmer regions of the world. Tender fruits are widely used as cooked vegetables in a number of ways. Bottle gourd is a good source of vitamin C and zinc that may offer several skin benefits. It also contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Its dietary fibre enhances gastro-intestinal health and promotes bowel movements and prevents constipation.
Origin, domestication and adaptation in India
It is the only crop known to have been cultivated in pre-Columbian times in both the Old and New World. Bottle gourd is indigenous to the tropical Africa. It has
bihemispheric distribution in Africa, the old world and America, the new World. Its utilization by man is about 16,000 years in the Old World and 12,000 years in the New World. It was independently domesticated in the two hemispheres. It was one of the world’s first cultivated plants grown not primarily for food, but for the use of hardshelled fruit as containers. The apparent wild plant produces thinner-walled fruit that, when dried, would not endure the rigors of use on long journeys as a water container. Today’s bottle gourd may owe it’s tough, waterproof wall to selection pressures over its long history of domestication. The bottle gourd was theorized to have drifted across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to South America.

Abstract

Formulation  of  any  action  plan for women needs understanding of their  access  to  and  control over the resources. To have deep  insight into  this  aspect, a study  was  undertaken with 240  small  and  marginal  farm  women  randomly  selected  from  eight  villages  of  four districts  in  Andhra Pradesh  in  consultation  with  officials of agriculture department. Using an interview schedule, impediments  for development  of  farm  women  (social, economic, psychological, extension and technical)  were  collected  and  prioritized  through  matrix ranking.
To  overcome  social  and  economic  constraints, gender  mainstreaming  and  budgeting  are  now recognized as the most important strategies  for  women’s empowerment at all stages of any developmental  programmes. Such an approach necessarily aims at achievement  of  gender equality. Organizing capacity building programmes in managerial, entrepreneurial, negotiating and leadership skills improves risk taking  ability (psychological) and enhances active participation of farm women in developmental activities.

As mentioned above Bougainvillea is one of the most widely grown important perennial ornamental shrubs with numerous attractive plant colour (leaf) and shape, and bract colours and shape. It is very popular for its multipurpose use. Inspite of beautiful bract colour it can not be enjoyed as cut flower as its shelf-life is very limited. Bracts start drooping within few minutes after cut from the main plant. Dehydration techniques have been developed at CSIR-N.B.R.I., Lucknow, by which flowers and foliage retain their fresh look for several months or even years after dehydration. Their original shapes, colour and size remain as they were before dehydration and, thus, making them highly suitable raw materials for interior decoration and may be enjoyed for a long time and can be used for any occasion. NBRI has standardized two methods viz. Press Drying and Embedding (drying through embedding in sand and silica gel and drying using hot air oven, microwave oven and solar cooker). Bougainvillea leaves and bracts can be dehydrated beautifully by both the methods and the dried products are utilized for preparation of different types of commercial decorative items. 

The genus Bougainvillea, although having broad range of adaptability along with diverging habitate is not rich in scientific literature. The available literature on description of elemental species and mode of origin and description of different sports (cultivated species) are very poor and all the literarture are not available at one place. On the basis of available literature (Philbert 1789, Humboldt and Bonpland 1808, Fitch 1854, Bailey 1914, Merril 1923, Standley  1931, Heimerl 1934, Hottes 1947, Bor and Raizada 1948, Preston 1950, MacSelf 1951, Sargeant 1951, Van 1951, Crane and Lawrence 1952, Holttum 1955a-d, 1957a,b, Pancho and Bardenas 1959, Marigowada 1961, Sharma 1962, Menninger 1970, Ramcharan et al., 1974, Zadoo et al., 1976, Linnaeus 1789, Swarup and Singh 1995, Willdenow 1798, McDaniells 1981, Rodale et al., 1997, Gordon 2002, Lopez and Galetto, 2002, Fatima et al., 2007, Kent et al., 2007, Kobayashi et al., 2007a,b, Hammad 2009, Lack, 2004, 2012) an attempts has been made to give a short description of elemental species and important role played by Bougainvillea cv. 

Bougainvilleas (Bougainvillea spp.) are tropical and sub tropical plants belonging to Nyctaginaceae family. They are thorny, evergreen and some are fragrant. Bougainvillea is named for “Louis A. de Bougainville”, a French navigator (1729-1811) who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768. Bougainvillea plant spreading horizontally or hanging downwards as it is climbing upwards, it makes itself at home in almost any situation. It can be grown as a hedge, groomed as a ground cover, pruned as an espalier, trained as a tree or contained in a pot in a variety of shapes. Bougainvillea is ideal for bonsai. Red, violet, orange, yellow or white bracts appear at the ends of new growth.

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

Bougainvillea is a native of South America (Bailey, 1963, Menninger, 1970 and Hackett and Sachs, 1985) from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina. A French explorer and naturalist, Dr. Philibert Commerson or Commercon (1727-1773), discovered the bougainvillea in Rio de Janeiro in 1768. He may have been traveling on a supply ship at the time. His discovery would soon find a name and go on to make a name for itself all over the world. In 1766, a ship called La Boudeuse set sail from Nantes on a round-the-world voyage of discovery commissioned by the French government. At the helm was Louis-Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811), a mathematician and an admiral in the French navy. When La Boudeuse arrived in Rio de Janeiro to rendezvous with the supply ship, the occasion made horticultural history. Commerson’s newly discovered plant received a name, bougainvillea, in honour of the admiral.

Twenty years after Commerçon’s discovery, it was first published as ‘Buginvillea’ in Genera Plantarum by A.L. de Jusseau in 1789. The genus was subsequently spelled in several ways until it was finally corrected to ‘Bougainvillea’ in the Index Kewensis in the 1930s. Originally, B. spectabilis and B. glabra were hardly differentiated until the mid-1980s when botanists recognized them to be totally distinct species. In the early 19^th century, these two species were the first to be introduced into Europe and soon, nurseries in France and England did a thriving trade providing specimens to Australia and other far away countries. Meanwhile, Kew Gardens distributed plants it had propagated to British colonies throughout the world. Soon thereafter, an important event in the history of bougainvillea took place with the discovery of a crimson specimen in Cartagena, Colombia, by Mrs. R.V. Butt. Originally thought to be a distinct species, it was named B. buttiana in her honour. However, it was later discovered to be a natural hybrid of a variety of B. glabra and possibly B. peruviana - a “local pink bougainvillea” from Peru. Natural hybrids were soon found to be common occurrences all over the world. For instance, around the 1930s, when the three species were grown together, many hybrid crosses were created almost spontaneously in East Africa, India, the Canary Islands, Australia, North America and the Philippines.

Bougainvilleas (Bougainvillea spp.) are tropical and sub tropical plants belonging to Nyctaginaceae family. They are thorny, evergreen and some are fragrant. Bougainvillea is named for “Louis A. de Bougainville”, a French navigator (1729-1811) who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768. Bougainvillea plant spreading horizontally or hanging downwards as it is climbing upwards, it makes itself at home in almost any situation. It can be grown as a hedge, groomed as a ground cover, pruned as an espalier, trained as a tree or contained in a pot in a variety of shapes. Bougainvillea is ideal for bonsai. Red, violet, orange, yellow or white bracts appear at the ends of new growth.

Abstract: Bougainvilleas are morphologically diverse and admired for their ornamental value. The considerable diversity exists in bougainvillea species for leaf shape, degree of hairiness, bract colour, spine shape and blooming. These attributes have enabled the ornamental bougainvillea to be used as pot plants, hedge, pergola, standard and bonsai for display. Currently, there are many intra and interspecific hybrid cultivars and numerous mutations from numerous species in the market. Limited fertility, heterozygous nature, strong self incompatibility and seed sterility often pose significant challenge to breeders. Traits of interest to flower breeders for crop transformation include; plant architecture, flower timing, colour diversity, multibracts and multicolour in single variety, environmental adaptation to stressful condition (cold tolerance, heat tolerance, drought tolerance, etc.).

Bougainvilleas (Bougainvillea spp.) are most popular garden plant in India and widely grown in all types of gardens. Colourful bracts in wide array of colours like white, yellow, pink, magenta, bi-coloured besides several bract forms (single, double) are the main reason of their popularity. Nevertheless, free flowering habit and requirement of low maintenance are the other plus points. When in bloom, Bougainvilleas produce strong colorful effect in the landscape gardens and an adorning beauty to see. Flowering of Bougainvillea is comparable only with the ‘Azaleas’ of the temperate region. In tropical gardens, there is dearth of flowers after March when winter annuals start fading out. As a result gardens become drab and unattractive. Bougainvilleas usually start mass blooming from March and help to maintain the gardens in presentable form. Therefore, they are perfect choice for every garden specially getting flowers in harsh climatic condition.

Bougainvillea belongs to the family Nyctagenaceae and is a native of Rio de Janerio, Brazil. Out of ten species, only four have colourful bracts and horticulturally important viz. Bouganivillea glabra, B. spectabilis, B. peruviana and B. x buttiana.

A novel zoonotic disease was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan (China) and patients were presumably exposed to a new coronavirus, designated as SARS CoV-2. This virus probably crossed into humans from an animal species, most likely a bat, spreading rapidly across the world and causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This infectious illness was responsible for a global pandemic that caused deaths and economic despair (Santaniello et al., 2023). The latest WHO data (December 2023) confirmed 77,38,19,856 cases worldwide since the beginning of this zoonosis and 70,10,568 deaths (WHO, 2023), making this pandemic one of the deadliest in human history. Human CoVs (HCoVs) are often of animal origin but adapt to humans via direct jumping or through intermediate species. These data and the zoonotic origin of SARS-CoV-2 quickly raised questions concerning the potential role that animals could play in transmitting the virus to humans or other species.

Synonyms :  Three days sickness, Stiff  sickness,  Dengu fever of cattle, Bovine epizootic fever and Lazy man’s disease.

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is a viral disease of cattle, Bos Taurus, Bos indicus and Bos javanicus and water buffalo Bubalus bubalis, although  subclinically infect a greater range of ruminant species. Although the disease has a variety of names, bovine ephemeral fever is most commonly used  and is very apt. The disease in cattle is characterized  by acute febrile reaction, stiffness, lameness and spontaneous recovery in three days.  The morbidity may be high but the mortality is low. It mainly occurs in subtropical and temperate regions of Africa, Asia and Australia.

Bovine pulmonary emphysema (BPE), also known as atypical interstitialm pneumonia (AIP) or fog fever is a respiratory condition in cattle characterized by the over-distension of alveoli in the lungs due to the destruction of alveolar walls. This results in impaired gas exchange and respiratory distress. The condition is more common in adult beef cattle, particularly those exposed to sudden dietary changes or grazing lush pastures rich in tryptophan. BPE can cause significant morbidity and mortality, leading to economic losses in affected herds.
Etiology
Bovine pulmonary emphysema (BPE) occurs when cattle are exposed to factors that damage the pulmonary system, particularly:
1. Lush pastures: Sudden introduction to green, high-protein pastures such as alfalfa, clover, or brassicas leads to excess production of toxic metabolites.
2. Dietary tryptophan: Lush pastures are high in L-tryptophan, which is converted in the rumen into 3-methylindole (3-MI), a toxic compound that damages lung tissue.
3. Dust and environmental irritants: Prolonged exposure to airborne irritants like dust, molds, or smoke can cause chronic lung injury.
4. Viral infections: Respiratory infections caused by viruses like bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) or parainfluenza virus can predispose cattle to BPE.

Synonymous  :  Pearl’s disease, scrofula

It is a chronic insidious contagious disease of man and animals caused by  tubercle bacilli characterized by development of tubercles in lung tissue, lymph nodes or other organs resulting in caseation and calcification. The tubercles are frequently located in lungs and lymph nodes. But they may be formed in the liver, spleen, intestine, peritoneum, meninges and long bones.

Five genospecies of intestinal spirochaetes have been isolated from pigs namely Brachyspira hyodysenteriae,B. pilosicoli, B. innocens, Serpulina intermedia and S. murdochii. The genera Serpulina and Brachyspira were recently combined. These anaerobic spirochaetes have six to fourteen spirals and are 0.1 to 0.5 μm in width.
Usual Habitat
Pathogenic Brachyspira species are found in the intestinal tract of both clinically affected and normal pigs. Carrier pigs can shed B.hyodysenteriae for up to three months and are the principal source of infection for healthy pigs.
Differentiation of Brachyspira Species
The differentiation of B.hyodysenteriae from other intestinal spirochaetes is based on its pattern of haemolysis on blood agar. Tests for detecting indole production or the hydrolysis of hippurate are also useful diagnostically. Restriction endonnclease analysis, restriction fragment length polymorphism, ribotyping using 16s rRNA analysis, PCR-based assays and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis have been developed both for differentiating species and for distinguishing strains of organisms within species. Brachyspira hyodysenteriae isolates can also he allocated to several serogroups and serotypes.
Pathogenesis
Most information on the pathogenesis of Brachyspira species derives from studies of B.hyodysenteriae. Motility in mucus is an essential virulence factor of thisorganism; mutant strains with altered motility are lesscapable of colonizing the pig intestine. Colonization may be enhanced by factors in mucuswith chemotactic activity for the organisms. Factors with such chemotactic activities have been demonstrated in vitro. Haemolytic activity,demonstrated in vitro, correlates with pathogenicity andthree genes encoding haemolytic and cytotoxic activityhave been cloned and sequenced.