eChapters

Introduction: Relation between transportation and meat quality
One of the fundamental aims of animal production system is to ensure better quality meat. Apart from various animal husbandry practices that affect the meat quality, the transportation of meat animals from farm to slaughterhouse and their handling at lairage, affect the meat quality greatly. For better meat quality, the pH of the meat should fall from normal pH 7.0 - 7.2 in live animal to pH 5.5 (ultimate pH) after slaughter at the onset of rigor-mortis. The low muscle pH is required to inhibit the microbial growth and meat tenderization (cathepsins system is activated at low pH). The ultimate muscle pH is achieved through the accumulation of lactic acid which is produced as a result of anaerobic glycolysis of glycogen. After slaughter, as the oxygen supply to muscle ceases, ATP is generated through anaerobic glycolysis of glycogen and in this process lactic acid is produced. ATP is required to keep the muscle in relaxed stage. This anaerobic glycolysis carries on till the glycogen reserve is exhausted. So, higher the glycogen reserve at the time of slaughter, longer the length of time duration of anaerobic glycolysis and higher the quantity of lactic acid production and greater the reduction of muscle pH. Hence, livestock should be transported and handled before slaughter carefully because stress during transit and in lairage could severely deplete the glycogen reserve of livestock.
The following facts should be especially taken care by the farmers raising livestocks for meat
1. Housing arrangement and design
• Any flaws/deficiencies in design, layout, cubicle size and its design, drainage, water bowls, slats, air circulation, etc. should be rectified

Blackrot of Cabbage

Economic Importance

Blackrot is an important bacterial disease of cabbage and other crucifer crops worldwide. The disease was first described in New York on turnips in 1893, and has been a common problem for growers for over 100 years (Smart and Lang, 2013). Blackrot has been given many names such as bacterial blight,black stem, black vein, stem rot or stump rot (Pfeufer and Davis, 2019). These pathogen is particularly damaging to cabbage and cauliflower, but turnip, rutabaga, collard, kohlrabi and Chinese cabbage are also susceptible. Broccoli and radish aregenerally resistant to Blackrot (Flynn,1999).

Artificial intelligence offers practical solutions to agricultural problems associated with population growth, food demand, climate change and limited natural resources. This chapter introduces machine learning, deep learning, computer vision and natural language processing, together with enabling technologies such as IoT, remote sensing and cloud computing. It explains their applications in crop monitoring, disease recognition, yield forecasting, irrigation, soil assessment and livestock management. AI can improve decision-making, resource efficiency, automation and precision farming while reducing reliance on manual labour. The chapter also examines adoption barriers, including high costs, limited digital literacy, data-security concerns and weak rural infrastructure, and considers future developments in autonomous and climate-resilient farming.

Injectable Anesthesia

Injectable anesthetics are the agents which are administered to the patient parentrally. They include drugs which are given intravenously to rapidly induce anesthesia in a patient. Single or combinations of drugs usually administered intramuscularly to patients which are difficult to handle. Injectable agents generally require less equipment and are easier to administer than inhalation anesthetics, but it must be remembered that once they are given to a patient they cannot be removed.

8.1 Introduction

After deciding the optimum size of farm pond and its dimensions, the next step begins the construction of farm pond. Further the site selection and location of the pond in the selected site to be finished before the construction of pond starts. The selection of site and location of farm pond areas have been discussed in Chapter 3. In this chapter, discussion on methodologies for construction of farm pond including spillways, inlet and outlet structures, design of grassed waterways and embankment have been presented. As a guiding principle, the construction of farm pond involves the following steps:

8.2 Site Clearing

The area where the pond is to be constructed has to be inspected first. The site where pond has to be dug out should be cleared to an extent of about 10 m from all sides of top dimensions of the pond. All bushes, shrubs, stumps and other unwanted materials should be dug out and removed. If there are roots of plants, they should be uprooted. The land may be ploughed and harrowed, if necessary, to get a more or less even topography.

To fully harness the potential of human creativity in industrial applications, it’s essential to safeguard and organize it effectively. One of the best ways to achieve this is by obtaining a patent. The term “patent” is derived from the Latin word “patere,” meaning “to lay open” or make available for public inspection. A patent is an exclusive right granted by the government to an inventor/creator for a limited time in exchange for disclosing their invention for public use. With this right, the patent holder can prevent others from making, using, selling, or exploiting the invention for a certain period, thereby providing commercial benefits to the inventor.

Patents are among the oldest forms of intellectual property rights and are territorial in nature, offering protection only within the country where they are granted. However, through conventions and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), applicants can seek protection in multiple countries. Obtaining a patent grants the inventor a monopoly right to control the product’s production, sale, and marketing. Although the rights granted through a patent are limited to a specific country, extending protection to all contracting countries is possible through a PCT application.

Introduction
The term “drug delivery systems” (DDSs) describes sophisticated dose forms that are utilized in the management of illness. The idea behind the design is to deliver the right quantity of medication to the diseased locations at the right time in order to maximize therapeutic efficacy while minimizing negative effects. The “3R” delivery principle—right dose, right place, and right time—is a concise way to describe it. Drug delivery technology can increase a candidate’s draggability while also enhancing the potency and safety of the medication. For example, liposomal drug delivery methods can be used to address issues with poor solubility and significant side toxicity in a variety of medications. The hazardous side effects of conventional chemotherapy medications can be greatly decreased by employing liposomal technology, which increases patient compliance (Andresen et al., 2004). Liposomes are the most widely used and researched nanocarrier for targeted medication delivery. They have improved therapies for a range of biomedical applications by stabilizing medicinal molecules, eliminating obstacles to cellular and tissue absorption, and boosting the biodistribution of compounds to specific locations in vivo. One or more concentric lipid bilayers enclosing discrete aqueous zones are described as the features of phospholipid vesicles, also known as liposomes. Due to the unique ability of liposomal systems to ensnape both lipophilic and hydrophilic molecules, a broad range of pharmaceuticals can be stored within these vesicles. Hydrophilic molecules may become trapped in the aqueous center of the bilayer membrane when hydrophobic molecules are introduced into it (Antohe et al., 2004).
There are many potentials uses for liposomes, and some recent reviews have offered useful details. In order to address the ongoing demand for the R&D of novel liposomal medications, significant efforts must be done. There are still some unanswered questions in this field. This article will summarize technological advancements, address issues, and explore the future of pharmaceutical liposomal delivery by focusing on three key areas: effective application, overcoming obstacles, and the move from idea to clinical application (Allen et al., 2013). Additionally, because of the large aqueous center and biocompatible lipid exterior, a variety of macromolecules, including as DNA, proteins, and imaging agents, can be administered.
Liposomes are a drug delivery technique that have several advantages, including biocompatibility, the capability to self-assemble, a large drug payload, and a range of physicochemical and biophysical properties that may be modified to control their biological features (Allen, 1994).
Among the features that characterize liposomal formulations and ascertain their durability in vitro and in vivo are particle size, charge, lamellar number, lipid content, and surface modification with polymers and ligands. Encapsulated compounds are protected from dilution, degradation, and early inactivation in the circulation by liposomes. Liposomes are generally believed to be low toxicity and pharmacologically inactive because they are frequently composed of phospholipids that occur naturally. But more and more studies are showing that liposomes are not as immunologically inactive as was once thought. Although liposomal formulations have demonstrated efficacy in vivo, their clinical translation has been gradual. The advancements, biological difficulties, biomedical uses, and translational barriers of liposomal technology will all be covered in this review (Dams et al., 2000).

Anthurium (Anthurium andraeanum Linden) belongs to the complex family Araceae, is a slow growing perennial that requires shady, humid conditions as found in tropical forests. The name anthurium is derived from Greek word “anthos” meaning flower and “oura” tail referring to the spadix. Thus, anthurium is also known as “tail flower” (Tajuddin and Prakash 1996). Anthuriums are gaining popularity due to higher returns per unit area and their beautiful and attractive long lasting flowers. Anthurium ranks ninth in the global flower trade and commands a respectable price both for its cut flower and whole plant. Commercial production has focused on two major species viz. A. andraeanum and A. scherzerianum. A. andraeanum is grown mostly for cut flower production, the main production areas being Hawaii, The Netherlands, and some other tropical and subtropical countries. A. scherzerianum is sold as a flowering potted plant, with main production areas located in Europe. In India, the anthurium cut flower industry is still in its infancy. At present anthuriums are mostly grown in some small gardens and nurseries. The important states cultivating anthuriums are Assam, Kerala, Tamilnadu (Salem), Karnataka (Coorg) and Mizoram where the favourable climate exists (Agasimani et al., 2011).

Tree-borne vegetables spring out from woody perennial plants. There are too many trees in nature across the globe which offer edible fruits, a few of them are exploited for vegetable purpose. Of course, in popular parlance, vegetable gives the connotation of the product of herbaceous crop, but there are vegetables which are the product of woody perennials. In the present agri-horti-scenario, where diversity in product range is the most sought after aspect, attempts are underway to popularize culture of such vegetables which have not yet found commercial momentum at the grower’s field. Tree-borne vegetables are one such group which needs proper popularization to really help to percolate their farming. These vegetables being vested with woody nature, tap root system, bark covering and stress tolerance mechanism are worth exploitation under diverse farming systems prevalent across the country. Further many tree-borne vegetables are rich in nutrients also and as such add to their plus identity.

2.1 Introduction

Biomass store solar energy in the chemical form and it is most precious and versatile resources on earth. Biomass, unlike fossil fuels, is a renewable energy resource that is available where the climatic conditions are favorable for plant growth and production¹. The term biomass is used for all organic materials which are combustible in nature, mainly plant and animal origin present in land and aquatic environments. Biomass is considered carbon neutral, because the amount of carbon it can release is equivalent to the amount it absorbed during its life time. There is no net increase of carbon to the environment in the long term when combusting the lignocellulosic materials. Therefore, we can say that biomass is a renewable source of energy and can play vital role in responding to concerns over the protection of the environment and the security of energy supply^2,3.

Biomass energy accounts for about 15% of the world’s primary energy consumption and about 38% of the primary energy consumption in developing countries⁴. Furthermore, biomass often accounts for more than 90% of the total rural energy supplies in developing countries⁵. It is the main source to meet out domestic energy in developing countries⁶. The efficient use of fuel wood is much more eco-friendly than the use of efficient and conventional fuels like kerosene and liquefy petroleum gas (LPG). LPG emits 15 times more CO₂ per kg than wood, and kerosene emits nearly 10 times as much. CO₂ is the prominent candidate for global. It is commonly assumed that biomass fuel cycles based on renewable in nature and greenhouse-gas (GHG) neutral because the combusted carbon in the form of CO₂ is soon taken up by re-growing vegetation⁷.

2.1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Forests covered only 31 per cent of the land in the world in 2011, while land used for agriculture, (cultivable land, perennial crops and pastures), covered 38 per cent (FAO 2011). In the history of humankind, agriculture is a recent invention (Mazoyer and Roudart, 2005). With the transition from the huntergatherer lifestyle to one of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution, farmers quickly expanded their activity into forest areas. They developed shifting cultivation, an agricultural practice with temporal rotations in forest ecosystems. Shifting cultivation still exists today in tropical regions and is the livelihood basis for hundreds of millions of people (Mertz et al., 2009). The range in the population estimate is extremely wide, because of difficulties in counting smallholders spread out under the tree canopy at the margins of tropical forests, as also due to confusion that exists in differentiating shifting cultivators from other farmers involved in small-scale agriculture (Thrupp et al., 1997).

Introduction
At the moment, liposomes, which are tiny bubble-like structures made of phospholipid bilayers, are an important part of all drug transport methods. Their unique ability to hold medicinal chemicals that both like and don’t like water is what makes them stand out. These molecules’ ability to change forms is very important for making different medicines more bioavailable, stable, and effective (Shah et al., 2020; Wagner and Vorauer-Uhl, 2011). Since Alec D. Bangham first found liposomes in the 1960s, they have gone from being simple experimental models to highly advanced carriers that are now used in both clinical and business settings. Liposome production has changed over time from simple lab methods to complex systems used on a commercial scale. At the moment, these methods can make liposomal formulations that are of high quality and consistently good traits (Alavi et al., 2022; Wagner et al., 2006). It is very important to know how to control the physicochemical qualities of liposomes during the manufacturing process. This includes things like size, charge, lamellarity, and how well they encapsulate (Mozafari et al., 2005; Watwe and Bellare, 1995). It is important to know the qualities of liposomes in order to figure out how they act in biological systems, like how fast drugs are released, how long they stay in circulation, and how they spread throughout the body. What method is used to make liposomal pharmaceutical compositions has a big effect on how safe and useful they are. Over the years, many methods have been developed to make liposomes with specific properties that are useful for their purpose (Sorgi and Huang, 1996; Patil and Jadhav, 2014). One of the first and easiest ways to make liposomes was through thin-film hydration. It was mostly used in places where study was being done. “Thin-film hydration” is the process of an organic liquid evaporating after lipids dissolve in it, which makes a thin film (Redziniak et al., 2017). After that, a watery phase is added to the film, which causes multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) to form. This method is easy to use and works well for smallscale applications, but it often creates liposome populations that aren’t all the same size or level of encapsulation. In order to get around these problems, methods like sonication and extrusion are used to make liposomes that are smaller and more uniform (Vemuri et al., 1990).
There is a method called “sonication” that can be used to efficiently change larger liposomes into smaller unilamellar vesicles (SUVs). The size of liposomes can be reduced very well with this method, which is known for being one of the first to do so. With this method, liposomes with diameters generally smaller than 100 nm can be made very efficiently. Because of this, these liposomes work well for many cellular purposes. Despite this, sonication could create heat and mechanical forces that could damage the structure of the liposome membrane or make it less stable for molecules that are particularly fragile. Improving the sonication settings is necessary to find the best balance between making the liposomes smaller while still protecting the inside parts (Liu and Meng, 2021).
An effective way to make liposomes with a precise and uniform size distribution is through extrusion. A pressure-based method can let liposomes pass through

Wilt

Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum

Economic Importance

• Wilt is one of the major diseases of cotton, found wherever this crop is grown like Mexico, African countries, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, India and West Indies.
• In India, the disease was first reported from Nagpur by Evans in 1908.
• It appears in almost every cotton tract of the country. However, it is more or less absent in the loamy soils of Indo Gangetic plains and sandy loams of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other States.
• In affected susceptible varieties yield losses exceed 45-50%.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an agro-ecological approach for sustainable crop production and intensification. CA comprises the resource conserving agricultural production practices that aim to achieve more produce at less cost while enhancing the quality of the natural resource base. CA is all about providing multiple options for farmers, endowed differentially. The basic components of CA include drastic reduction in tillage, adequate retention of crop residues on the soil surface, use of economically feasible diversified crop rotations, avoidance of freewheeling and practice of controlled traffic, if possible. These elements of CA are not site-specific but represent unvarying objectives that are practised to extend CA technologies efficiently across all production conditions. No-till agriculture is considered as a revolutionary step in the direction of preventing land degradation and rehabilitation of the resilient but fragile lands. No-till agriculture together with other associated management practices such as direct seeding into loose crop residues to provide soil cover and to conserve soil moisture, judicious choice of crop rotations and agro-forestry tree species constitutes CA. CA is thus being widely accepted as an important component of the overall strategy for enhancing productivity, improving environmental quality and preserving natural resources for food security and poverty alleviation in such areas.  Recent CA trials conducted in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu seem to bring out that the rainfed tropical India stands to benefit more from CA than the irrigated areas.

Introduction

In the past few decades, there has been a considerable demand for certain air-breathing fishes from India, mainly in the research laboratories of western countries. This is probably due to their unique modifications, especially in the respiratory and circulatory systems. Though, the air-breathing fishes are capable of extracting oxygen both from water as well as air, yet their transportation to long distances in living conditions posed several problems, such as hypoxia, injury, disease and finally death.

Proper sanitization of all the equipment and accessories is one of the essential steps for the study of the structure of gills, determination of oxygen uptake of fishes under normal conditions, under the association, under anaesthetization, under ammonia toxicity and all other steps of packing and transportation in this pandemic of COVID-19.

For effective live fish transportation, inside and out comprehension on the ideal ecological conditions for negligible pressure and greatest endurance is required. At the point when the fish leaves its normal climate, it should be in a self-supportable climate that provisions important necessities, for example, ideal temperature, oxygen and so forth.

Transportation of different life cycle stages (spawn, hatchlings, fry, fingerlings and adults) of fish is traditionally done in different types of containers. The age-old practice of transportation entails heavy mortality probably due to depletion of oxygen, hypertension of carbon dioxide, the toxicity of accumulating wastes, hyperactive strain and exhaustion, infection, injury and variation in pH, temperature, salinity and hardness etc (Jhingran, 1985). A portion of dissolved oxygen is utilized both by the fish and other microorganisms for their metabolism. As a result, the system becomes gradually deplete of oxygen and affects the fish. To overcome the problem of high mortality during transportation, it is essential to evaluate suitable conditions for their transportation. An inexpensive or less expensive method of live fish transport will help our aqua-culturists in many ways.

Introduction

Fish play an important role in meeting current and future food needs within the global food system. Fish farming holds tremendous promise in responding to the surging demand for food, which is taking place due to increasing population. Fish now accounts for almost 17 percent of the global population's intake of protein, and in some coastal and island countries, it can top 70 percent. Aquaculture has been identified as an important solution to address the challenges to global food security arising from climate change and the projected world population of 9.5 billion by 2050. However, the challenges facing this sector, including overfishing, habitat degradation, and climate change, necessitate international cooperation and coordination.

Introduction
Liposomal formulations constitute a distinctive category of nanomedicine platforms, showcasing potential applications in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics (Salave et al., 2024). Since their discovery, liposomes have attracted considerable interest because of their biocompatibility, ability to encapsulate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, and potential to improve drug bioavailability while minimizing toxicity (Bangham, 1992; Dhayalan et al., 2024). The pharmaceutical industry is rapidly recognizing liposomes as effective drug delivery vehicles capable of changing pharmacokinetics, targeting particular tissues, and managing drug release. The unique properties of these vesicles, mainly made up of phospholipids and cholesterol, have created new opportunities for developing drugs that present difficult therapeutic indices (Wang et al., 2023). Nonetheless, the intricate architecture and functional diversity require comprehensive and advanced analytical evaluation, essential for maintaining quality, efficacy, and stability during the formulation’s lifecycle (Fan et al., 2021 a). The swift progress in liposomal drug development has resulted in a heightened need for strong analytical techniques. Establishing reliable, reproducible, and precise analytical methods is a crucial step in the formulation and commercialization of liposomal drugs (Khan et al., 2024). These methods must consider not only the physical and chemical stability but also the entrapment efficiency, particle size distribution, surface charge, and drug release kinetics, along with other essential characteristics. Considering that liposomal formulations consist of multiple components that interact dynamically, a thorough analytical approach is crucial. The complexity of ensuring quality and performance in liposomal products arises from the diverse physicochemical characteristics of liposomes, which can be affected by formulation composition, the encapsulated drug, and external environmental factors (Giordani et al., 2023).
The primary focus of liposomal characterization is the assessment of particle size and size distribution, as these factors have a direct impact on pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and cellular uptake. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) are widely used methods for assessing liposome size and distribution, offering important information regarding batch-to-batch consistency and formulation stability (Nadkarni et al., 2024). Furthermore, the size of the particles influences their circulation duration in living organisms, as smaller vesicles typically attain extended circulation and enhanced tissue infiltration. A key parameter, zeta potential, or surface charge, offers insights into the electrostatic stability of liposomal suspensions, which is essential for predicting aggregation behavior and shelf-life (Biscaia-Caleiras et al., 2024; Paramshetti et al., 2024).
Encapsulation efficiency is a crucial metric for therapeutic effectiveness, indicating the ratio of the drug contained within the liposome to the overall quantity utilized in the formulation. This aspect is essential, particularly for powerful medications where precise dosing is required. Measuring encapsulation efficiency typically requires the use of separation methods such as ultracentrifugation,

9.1. Introduction

Reproduction is an important event in the life of an animal (both male and female). The success of a dairy farm depends on the reproductive efficiency of cattle which depends on the efficient reproductive management. The animals should be reproductively sound. The cow should be a regular breeder with calving interval of 12-13 months to minimize the generation interval and to increase the profitability of the dairy farm. The bull should have high libido, produce good quality semen with high fertility rate.

Wood apple (Feronia limonia (L) Swingle) is a thorny tree commonly found in dry deciduous forests. In India, it is known by several common names like elephant apple, curd apple, monkey fruit, kavat, curd fruit and kath bel. In Malaysia, it is known as gelinggai or belinggai; in Thailand, ma-khwit; in Cambodia, kramsang; in Laos, ma-fit; in French, pommed’ elephant, pomme de bois or citron des mois. The tree is very hardy and has tolerance to drought and salinity. Its cultivation as a fruit tree is rare, but fruits of naturally occurring trees in community lands, forests and on roadsides are  used for chutney and pickle making. Fruits being rich in pectin, minerals and vitamins offer unique opportunity to utilize them extensively for processing. Extensive root system and synchronization of its reproductive phase with high moisture availability make it a suitable crop for arid zones.

Origin and Distribution
The wood-apple is native and common in  wild in dry plains of India and SriLanka and cultivated along roads and edges of fields and occasionally in orchards. It is also grown throughout Southeast Asia, in Northern Malaysia and on Penang Island. In India, the fruit was traditionally a “poor man’s food” until processing techniques were developed in the mid-1950’s. It is one of the very hardy trees  growing all over the plains of India, especially in the semi-arid and arid regions. It is more common in Deccan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhatishgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Iit also occurs in the Western Himalayas upto an elevation of about 500 m amol.

Grape, Vitis vinifera Linn. is one of the most important fruit crops grown in India. It belongs to the family Vitaceae and is a remunerative temperate fruit crop of India. It is believed that Armenia near the Caspian and Black seas in Russia is the centre of origin of grape. By the end of 12^th century, it was introduced in India from Iran and Afghanistan. Grapes are normally eaten fresh as table fruit.

Grapes are used in a wide range of food products - from raisins to wine. They are also loaded with several nutrients and antioxidants and also have high amounts of phytonutrient resveratrol. According to some studies, this phytonutrient is good for heart. It is a good source of calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamins. In fact, while grapes are good for our overall health, it is especially lauded for its heart benefits. There are several colours of grapes, including red, black, purple or blue (concord), green (which is used to make white wine), pink and yellow. Concord grapes are usually used to make grape juice, grape jelly and grape flavouring.