eChapters

Introduction

Cycling of plant material is required for any production system for biological activity, humus formation and thereby formation of a dark colored top soil. Incorporation of biomass results in production and proliferation of soil biota. But under annual crops compared to forest, production is much less, the biomass is largely removed, the soil is tilled several times each year. Consequently, less food and moisture are available for earthworms, insects, micro-flora and fauna; and their habitats are repeatedly disturbed or destroyed. Therefore, the primary need of our agricultural activities is to feed soil organisms (bacteria, fungi, earthworms etc.) and to regulate their living conditions while protecting them from chemical and mechanical impacts.

Definition : It is a technique in which foreiirnb is amputed from elbow joint. Indication : Incurable damage of radius ulna.

ALL LIVING ORGANISMS ARE MADE UP OF UNITS CALLED CELLS

All living creatures are made from 1 or more cells

All cells are produced from previously existing cells (no spontaneous generation)

All cells appear to be descended from the first cell which existed about 4 billion years ago

For a species to exist its reproductive cells must be potentially immortal (no aging)

Our bodies start from a single cell and contain about 100,000,000,000,000 (10^14) cells at maturity

This book is designed to introduce to the students some of the most widely used experimental procedures in biotechnology, including DNA/RNA isolation, manipulation, cloning, protein purification and characterization. The students will also get familiarized with some of the equipments frequently used in biochemistry and molecular biology.

The biotechnology laboratory course is an exploration of procedures. Hence, in order to get full benefit from the course, the students need to read the manual, which is self explanatory. The more effort they put into the course work, the more they will learn. Before the start of actual lab works, one needs to spend some time reading the Laboratory Manual. This reading will provide background information and an outline of the procedures to be performed.

The biotechnology laboratory is conducted as a “directed” research project. This means that although the general procedures are well established, the overall goal of each experiment is the acquisition of new information. Because of the nature of scientific research, predicting the outcome of experiments that have not previously been performed is difficult. It may therefore be necessary to design new experiments based on the results of previous ones, or to repeat experiments that yielded uninterruptable or ambiguous results.

2.1 Introduction

Each step in the food industry system e.g. food production, processing, transportation, storage, distribution and marketing, has some impact on the environment and there is much concern about environmental pollution. Due to the highly diversified nature of the food industry, various food processing, handling and packaging operations create wastes of different quality and quantity, which, if not treated, could lead to increasing disposal problems and severe pollution problems [24]. The preservation of the natural environment from industrial pollution is currently receiving much attention. In food industry, the most important problem is treatment and disposal of large quantities of waste water, a by-product of various processing operations. It is one of the largest industry groups comprising the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy [47]. Likewise, India is the world’s second largest producer of food next to China, and has the potential of being the largest food processor. The total food production in India is likely to double in the next ten years [22]. Flour and grain; soft drinks and carbonated water; breweries; starch and miscellaneous food products; meat, poultry and fish; tea, coffee and other beverages; fruit juices; animal feed; sugar; distilleries and blending of spirits; cocoa, chocolates and sugar confectioneries; agricultural and food chemicals and industrial packaging are important sub-sectors of the food processing industry. Food processing projects involve the processing and packaging of meat products, fish and shell fish, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, grains and beverages production. It includes refinement, preservation, improvement of product, storage, handling, packaging and canning (Fig. 1). The processing may involve receiving and storing raw or partially processed plant, animal or other food materials, processing the raw materials into finished products, packaging and storing the finished products.

1. INTRODUCTION

The contribution of Extension and research to Israel’s agricultural productivity and profitability is a collaborative effort with research hailing back to the late 19^th century. It facilitated technological innovation in agriculture, transfer of information, training of farmers and connectivity. These were in effect a dictate of continuously deteriorating agricultural terms of trade, crippling water shortages and severe climate and soil constraints.

The Israeli Extension Service’s (IES) adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) significantly enhanced extension’s capabilities and scope of activities. ICT empowered extension’s ability to develop, introduce and adopt innovative agricultural technologies and collaborate with research and other partners. Adoption of ICT as one of the tools of technological innovation dramatically improved the transfer and management of information, production chain efficiencies and integration within and with the agricultural sector. These were and are critical success factors contributing to Israeli Extension, Research, Services and Farmers ability to sustain a profitable and thriving agriculture sector. As such the overall results are a major contribution to rural viability and an illuminating case study of technological innovation adoption.

Microbiology

Study of microorganisms, a large and diverse group of microscopic organisms, that exist as single cell or cluster. It also includes virus, which are microscopic, but not cellular.

Abstract

The Nilgiri Mountains of South India is one of the Landslide prone hill ranges in India. The landslides, in general, are due to the independent, interdependent and the combined effects of natural earth system processes, triggering phenomenon and anthropogenic activities. So the scientists, technocrats and the academicians from all over the world have started studying the landslides using various techniques and advanced tools in mapping the morphology, preparing the vulnerability maps and carve out mitigation strategies. But the discrimination of active slides is a difficult task and also needs continuous monitoring and further a time consuming process too. So, in this context, an attempt has been made to study the signatures of active sliding in one of old slides namely the “LINGASLIDE” in which frequent minor sliding events are often reported. In the study, Total station based large scale topographic survey was carried out in LINGASLIDE and from the same 50 cm topographic contours were generated. From such large scale contours, Digital elevation Model (DEM) was generated and from the DEM, shaded relief map was generated.Uutilizing both the contours and shaded relief maps, small slides were mapped in the LINGASLIDE from the well exhibited subsidiary crowns, toes and the traverse cracks. Resistivity tomography surveys were also carried out along two longitudinal profiles and one traverse profile to identify the subsurface geology, the slip surface and the zones of moisture accumulations, if any. The subsidiary crowns, toes, the conjugate fracture systems and the resistivity tomography showed that the LINGASLIDE is active and the sliding is going on towards easterly because of the easterly compression,resulted from the higher slopes caused by the settlements raised over Lingaslide and the obstruction provided by the retaining walls at the toes in the east. Such compressive forces are clear from the NW-SE and NE-SW fractures seen in Lingaslide and the sliding is clear from the cracks seen and monitored in the buildings constructed over Lingaslide.

7.1 Introduction

Food processing has become one of the most competitive sectors in recent years. With increasing consumers’ demands, food industry needs to keep updating technology. These efforts are focussed at improving the organoleptic quality and nutrition of food and improve its keeping quality. This drives the industry to look for newer technologies which include new products as well as new processes. Some of the new processing technologies include non-thermal processes such as high pressure processing, pulsed electric fields and ultrasound processing. Advanced thermal processing techniques such as ohmic heating, inductive heating, extrusion and infrared heating have also been developed. Innovative methods for improving food quality through irradiation, removal of heat and moisture from food are now available. Newer packaging techniques now help to improve shelf-life and attractiveness of the food products and cater to the biodegradability of the packaging material. Hence, there is abundance of new products that have now become part of our daily life.

Food nanotechnology has its long history when the first step of revolution in food processing and improvement in quality of foods was introduced by Pasteur to kill the spoilage bacteria (1000 nm). Later, Watson and Crick’s model of DNA structure, which is about 2.5nm, opened the gateway of applications in biotechnology. Nanotechnology is defined as the design, production, and application of structures, devices, and systems through control of the size and shape of the material at the nanometer (10^-9 of a meter) scale. Nanotechnology is one such technology that has the potential to revolutionize the food industry. Taniguchi first used nanotechnology in 1974 to describe production technology at ultrafine dimensions. The word “nano” means “dwarf” in Greek and one nanometer is equivalent to 10^-9 m. Objects of this scale are not visible through the human eye or the ordinary optical microscope. A nanometer (nm) sized particle measures one billionth of a meter. A human hair measures 80,000 nm while a DNA strand is 2.5 nm wide whereas a protein chain is 5nm in diameter. Nanotechnology can be applied to develop nanoscale materials, controlled delivery systems, contaminant detection and to create nanodevices for molecular and cellular biology. Nanotechnology may be defined as the understanding and management of matter at dimensions of roughly 1-100 nanometers. Unique behavior of matter at the nanoscale enables novel applications. Nanoscale science, engineering, and technology can be used for imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at this length scale. Range of sizes of nanomaterials in the food sector and their relative position on nanoscale/microscopic scale are listed below.

Definition

Adjuvants are chemicals incorporated in a pesticide formulation or added to the tank mix, to increase effectiveness and safety. They generally have no effect on pests in themselves.

Abstract: Gerberas are popular seed and vegetatively propagated flower crop with numerous phenotypes, series and cultivars available on the world market. Crop improvement is currently focused on bicoloured mini gerbera, semi-double and spider type forms, and hybrid cultivars with expanded colour range to boost productivity and profitability. Application of genetic engineering techniques and tools are aiding in modern gerbera breeding. The need for new cultivars remains strong as production system become more specialized and new markets develop. Breeding objectives with high priority include cut flower cultivars highly resistant to diseases, tolerant to low temperature, and floral longevity.

ABSTRACT

Techniques could be standardized for the induction, initiation, maturation and germination of somatic embryoids from the nucellar tissue isolated from 30-45 day old fruits of mono embryonic mango variety Neelum and poly embryonic variety Vellari Manga. The treatment half strength Murashige and Skoog basal medium containing 2,4-D 5.0 mgl^-1, GA3 5.0 mgl^-1, glutamine 400 mgl^-1, coconut water 200 mll^-1, activated charcoal 500 mgl^-1, sucrose 60 gl^-1and agar gl^-1was found to be the best in induction of embryogenic callus. The treatment 2,4-D 4.0 mgl^-1 + BA 1.0 mgl^-1+ GA3 5.0 mgl^-1in half strength MS basal medium supplemented with glutamine 400 mgl^-1, casein hydrolysate 500 mgl^-1, sucrose 60.0 gl^-1, coconut water 200 mll^-1and agar 6.0 gl^-1was the best in initiating somatic embryos from the induced nucellus of the three varieties. In the variety Neelum BA (8.0 and 16.0 mgl^-1) and kinetin (8.0 to 32.0 mgl^-1) were as effective as 2,4-D in inducing somatic embryogenesis. Polyembryonic variety Vellari Manga showed better response to induction treatments than the mono embryonic varieties. B5 major salts with MS minor salts in combination with 40 gl^-1sucrose, 10 gl^-1PVP, 200 mll^-1coconut water, 5.0 mgl^-1 ABA, 100 mgl^-1 casein hydrolysate and 6.0 gl^-1agar were the best suited for the maturation of the somatic embryos. The positive influence of cobalt chloride, casein hydrolysate and coconut water on the germination of embryoids of both mono and poly embryonic mango varieties could be well established. A basal medium consisting of B5 major salts and MS minor salts supported the highest percentage of germination of somatic embryoids in Neelum and Vellari Manga. However, abnormalities in germination were observed in most of the cases. Excellent germination of somatic embryos was observed in a liquid medium consisting of half strength B5 macro salts and full strength MS micro salts and supplemented with GA3 1.0 mgl^-1+ glutamine 400 mgl^-1 + sucrose 30gl^-1.

Introduction

Geostatistics is a branch of statistics that deals with the analysis and modelling of geo-referenced data. Its main aims are to quantify spatial variability and to create maps from point observations. Of course there is much more to geostatistics than just that and indeed some of the other uses of geostatistics are addressed in this chapter too, but the emphasis is on the assessment of spatial variability and geostatistical interpolation.

The first step of geostatistical interpolation is to quantify the spatial correlation structure of the variable of interest. This can be done by examining the observations and how these vary in space. Next spatial interpolation makes use of the quantified spatial correlation to derive optimal predictions at unobserved locations and create a map. The interpolation error is quantified as well, which helps to design optimal spatial sampling schemes that balance data collection costs and map accuracy. All this will be explained in this chapter, but in order to do so we first need to explain the statistical theory that underlies geostatistical interpolation followed by representation of the spatial correlation structure, the basics of geostatistical interpolation (‘kriging’), kriging extensions and spatial stochastic simulation.

When crops are grown in either intercropping or sequential cropping interaction between different component crops occurs which is essentially a response of one species to the environment as modified by the presence of another species is commonly referred to as interference or interaction.

The interaction are classified into three groups

1. Competitive interaction: One species may have greater ability to use the limiting factor and will gain at the expense of the other and this is called competitive interaction or when one or more growth factors are limiting, the species that is better equipped to use the limiting factor(s) will gain at the expense of the other and this is called competitive interaction.
2. Non competitive: If the crops are grown in association and the growth of either of the concerned species is not affected, such type of interaction is called non competitive interaction or if resources (growth factors) are present in adequate quantities, as a result of which, the growth of either of the concerned species is not affected, then it is non-competitive interaction or interference.
3. Complementary: If one species is able to help the other, it is known as complementary interaction or if the component species are able to exploit growth factors in different ways (temporal or spatial) or if one species is able to help the other in supply of factor (like legumes supplying part of N fixed by symbiosis to non-legumes), it is complementary interaction or interference and also referred to as Annidation.

Anthracnose

Colletotrichum lindemuthianum

(Sexual stage: Glomerella lindemuthianum)

Diagnostic Symptoms

• The pathogen attacks all aerial parts of plants and at any stage of their growth.
• Initial symptoms are circular, black, sunken spots with dark center and bright red orange margins on leaves and pods.
• In severe infections, the affected parts wither off.
• Seedlings get blighted due to infection soon after seed germination.
• The infected pods have discolored seeds.

Abstract

Medicinal plants growing around us are the biggest gift to mankind from the nature. They grow abundantly and over centuries, humans have learned how to utilise plants for the treatment of illness. The great Himalayan belt is home to many endemic medicinal plant species. These plants are the rich source of traditional medicines and form a basis for livelihood of rural and indigenous populations. The present study is aimed to investigate the medicinal wealth of Bani valley that lies in Kathua district, (J&K) which is a part of Western Himalaya. Due to varying climatic conditions, terrains and forest types, the valley is home to various endangered and endemic medicinal plant species. A total 231 plant species belonging to 69 families ranging from angiosperms, gymnosperms and cryptogams (lycophytes and ferns) were documented by frequent field surveys and reviewed by published literatures and floras. Out of 231 plant species, herb species were 142, shrub species were 43 and tree species were 46. Asteraceae was recorded as dominant family followed by Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Rosaceae, Polygonaceae, Ranunculaceae, Poaceae, Solanaceae, Acanthaceae and Urticaceae. Ethnobotanical data used for various ailments and diseases were obtained from local tribes.

Principle

Pesticide residues are extracted from soil using a mixture of acetone/water in a soxhlet apparatus for 7-8 hours. This extract can be determined directly by GLC.

Scope: This method is suitable for most OPs, OCs, SPs, and herbicides residue analysis.

Biological activity or index of a soil is the function of number of organisms present in soil and their physiological efficiency. The rate of respiration can be used as an index of the biological activity of soil as it reflects the physiological efficiency of the organisms. Monitoring of dehydrogenase, which are respiratory enzymes and integral part of all soil organisms, will give a measure of biological activity of soil at a given time.

During respiration biological oxidation of reduced compounds occur which is catalyzed by dehydrogenase. In the process TTC gets reduced to a pink coloured compound Triphenyl formazan (TPF) which can be quantitatively extracted by methanol and measured colorimeterically. The soil dehydrogenase activity in the current experiment was measured as per the methods of Cassida, (1977).