eChapters

A microarray, as the name suggests, is a two dimensional array of microscopic probes which captures certain molecules in an environment by a process known as hybridization, and are used to detect quantities of these molecules in the environment. The probes can vary according to requirement of experiment, and so can the environment, which in technical terms is an extract of tissue under study.

1     Introduction

2     Bacterial Flora on Fish

3     Products of Bacterial Activity

4      Bacterial Flora of Fish Caught from Different Waters

5      Fish Spoilage and Bacterial Flora

6      Bacterial Contaminations
    
7      Bacterial Contamination of Harvested Fish
    
8      Growth of Spoilage Bacteria
    
9      Scombroid Poisoning
    
10      Microorganisms on Iced Fish
    10.1     Crustaceans
    10.2     Molluscs
    
References

Abstract
 

Ensure enough food and water to the growing world population and preserve the biodiversity of our planet are among the major challenges of our immediate future. These challenges are essentially addressed to the agricultural world, which is constantly evolving to satisfy the most basic needs of the humankind. The approaches and the possible answers to these big challenges are many and, even if partial, each sustainable solution or innovation can contribute to improve the quality of our life. To overcome the barriers for food and nutritional security microgreens is one of the possible innovative approach in this 21st century. A microgreen is a young vegetable green that is used both as a visual and flavor component or ingredient primarily in fine dining restaurants. Fine dining chefs use microgreens to enhance the attractiveness and taste of their dishes with their delicate textures and distinctive flavors. Smaller than “baby greens,” and harvested later than sprouts, microgreens can provide a variety of leaf flavors, such as sweet and spicy. They are also known for their various colors and textures. Among upscale markets, they are now considered a specialty genre of greens that are good for garnishing salads, soups, plates, and sandwiches.

Abstract

In the recent past we have seen a great upsurge in the production and productivity of food grains as well as horticultural produce which is sufficient to feed our burgeoning population. This way we are self-sufficient to feed our population, but now the major challenge before us is to ensure the nutritional security of each and every individual of the country. Moreover, meeting nutritional security through conventional or molecular breeding demands long time. However, this could be achieved in much shorter period of time i.e., within 2-3 weeks by growing microgreens.Microgreens can be easily characterised by having a central stem with two fully developed cotyledon leaves and mostly one pair of small true leaves.In comparison to their mature counterparts, microgreens of a variety of vegetables and herbs have been reported to be more nutritious. They are rich in ascorbic acids, carotenoids, phylloquinone and tocopherols, which is responsible for its antioxidant properties and also plays a vital role in weight gain modulation, cholesterol metabolism. It may also protects from cardiovascular diseases by preventing hypercholesterolemia. Main problem associated with microgreens are their high price and high perishability and lack of awareness among people about its cultivation practices and health benefits. It demands great attention from the scientific community, to address these problems and make it available in each and every household to ensure the nutritional security of the nation.

Abstract

Plant research often involves growing new plants in a controlled environment. These may be plants that we have genetically altered in some way or may be plants of which we need many copies all exactly alike. These things can be accomplished through tissue culture of small tissue pieces from the plant of interest. The latest list of ISO recognizes 109 spices, but only a few are important commercially such as black pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, large cardamom, cumin, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, saffron and celery. They are extensively used in flavouring food and confectionery, perfumery and soaps and also as colouring materials. Many of these groups of crops have medicinal properties and are used in many Ayurvedic and Unani medicines. Inspite of the rich diversity and importance, the productivity of spices is low in India. Spices are an important group of economic plants with large genetic diversity in the Indian subcontinent and need to be conserved through in- vitro methods. Conservation of the germplasm using traditional method of field maintenance is problematic, normally labour intensive and also face risk of germplasm loss due to pest/pathogen attack or natural disasters. To minimize the problems of their conservation and increasing interest has been shown to use plant tissue culture. In vitro conservation of germplasm has been reported in various crop species including the spices black pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, large cardamom.

Abstract

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials. in vitro technologies are continuously expanding in the field of biology. Plant tissue culture has become a general title for a very broad subject. Commercial use of micropropagation is still limited, because of its relatively high production cost resulting mainly from high labor costs, low growth rate in vitro, and poor survival rate of the plantlets during acclimatization. Micropropagation of woody perennials is essential due their importance in production of secondary metabolites, which are playing a vital role now a days. Stages of micropropagation i.e mother plant selection, establishment of the aseptic culture, multiplication, root regeneration and transfer to the natural environment, which are systematically reproduced in many protocols which will aids in micropropagation studies of many woody perennials. Thus the review of present study attempts to provide a comprehensive account on micropropagation of woody perennials complementing conventional programmes for improvement.

Introduction

The world demand for wood is continuously increasing due to increase in population. The ever increasing population has led to depletion of existing timber reserves and the forestland base has been reduced by increased allocation of forest areas to urban, agricultural, recreational and other uses. The growing awareness towards development of plantations has generated a voluminous increase in the demand for quality planting material. Conventionally, propagation is achieved through sexual (seeds) or vegetative methods (rooting of cutting, grafting, layering, etc). Propagation through seeds is routinely used for production of planting material but it generates immense genetic variability which is not desirable while propagating perennial tree species. In order to propagate selected trees with desirable features vegetative propagation methods like rooting of cuttings, grafting, layering etc have been developed. These methods can produce genetically identical off springs thereby preserving the advantageous traits;

By definition, minimal processing would encompass any procedure, short of traditional complete preservation procedures (heat sterilization etc.) that adds value to the fruit or vegetables (Floros, 1993). Other terms used to refer minimally processed products are lightly processed, partially processed, fresh processed, fresh cut and prepared. Minimally processed fruits and vegetables are products those have the attributes of ‘fresh-like’ quality. A number of minimally processed products of fruits and vegetables are now being produced like peeled and sliced potatoes, shredded lettuce and cabbage, washed and trimmed spinach, chilled peach, mango, banana, melon and other fruit slices, vegetable snacks such as carrot and celery stick  and cauliflower and broccoli florets, packaged mixed salads, cleaned and diced onion, peeled and cored pineapple, fresh sauces, peeled citrus fruits and microwaveable fresh vegetable trays. Minimal processing of fruits and vegetables has two purposes. First, it is important to keep the product fresh but convenient without losing its nutritional quality. Second, the product should have a shelf life sufficient enough to facilitate distribution within the region of consumption. The microbiological, sensory and nutritional shelf life of minimally processed fruits and vegetables should be at least 4-7 days but preferably even longer (Ahvenainen, 2000).

Introduction

Agroforestry, the word coined in the early seventies, has made its place in all the developed and the developing countries of the world and is now recognized as an important approach to ensuring food security and rebuilding resilient rural environments (Luedeling et al. 2014).  Agroforestry applies to private agricultural and forest lands and communities that also include highly erodible, flood-prone, economically marginal and environmentally sensitive lands (Continents 1986). The typical situation is agricultural, where trees are added to create desired benefits. Agroforestry allows for the diversification of farm activities and makes better use of environmental resources (Taylor et al. 2007). Agroforestry is defined as a land use system which integrates trees and shrubs on farmlands and rural landscapes to enhance productivity, profitability, diversity and ecosystem sustainability. It is a dynamic, ecologically based, natural resource management system that, through the integration of woody perennials on farms and in the agricultural landscape, diversifies and sustains production and builds social institutions. India has been an all-time leader in agroforestry (Chavan et al. 2015).

Stress, is usually defined as an external factor that exerts disadvantageous influence on the plant. In most cases, stress is measured in relation to plant survival, crop yield, growth (biomass accumulation), or the primary assimilation processes (CO2 and mineral uptake), which are related to overall growth. Some environmental factors (such as air temperature) can become stressful in just a few minutes; other may take days to become stressful or even months (some mineral nutrients) to become stressful. Different types of abiotic stresses that affect fruit production are; water stress, heat stress, chilling and freezing stress, salinity stress, flooding stress. Although, it is convenient to examine each of these factors separately, many are interrelated. For example, water deficit is often associated with salinity in the root zone/ or with heat stress in the leaves. Plants often display cross resistance, or resistance to one stress induced by acclimatization to another. This behaviour implies that mechanism of resistance to various stresses share many common features.

Plants encounter adverse environmental stresses during their life cycle, which have negative impacts on growth and greatly affect crop productivity. As perennial crops, fruit trees are exposed to an array of stresses for a long time once they are planted. If the trees are severely injured by environmental stresses, it would be hard for them to recuperate, leading to retarded growth and reduced fruit production. Furthermore, the negative effects of the stresses are not limited to the fruit production in the current year but can also extend to the next year(s). Therefore, it is of critical importance to develop techniques for reducing stress injury and/or improving stress tolerance in fruit trees for sustainable cropping, which can be fulfilled by the cultivation method or genetic engineering (Holmberg and Bulow, 1998). 

1. Introduction

Cherry peppers (Capsicum frutensis var. cerasiforme) which is locally known as dallae khorsani, is one of the important cash crops of Sikkim and Darjeeling hills. They are small, round shaped, fleshy and heavily seeded. They are green in color in early stage of fruiting and turn red when fully matured. It is an excellent source of vitamin A and C, which are important antioxidants (Howard et al., 1994). Cherry peppers are an ideal size for pickling or brining. Its hotness ranges from moderately mild to very high.

Due to its high moisture content (about 85% w. b. ), shelf life of cherry pepper is limited to 7 - 10 days. This makes it rare and costly during the off season. Hence, preservation of cherry peppers is of considerable importance both to the farmers as well as to the consumers. Drying is one of the oldest methods for preservation of cherry peppers to make it available throughout the year. To increase shelf life of chilies, drying up to 10 % moisture content (dry basis) is required which is accepted in export market.

For drying chillies, sun and hot air drying are the most common drying method used. However, due to the prolonged drying time of 16-48 h, the quality of the dried chillies is reduced (Kim et al., 2002). Many researchers paid more attention to innovative techniques such as short and medium-wave infrared radiation drying (SMIR) which not only maintain product quality, but also increase the drying rate. Moreover, infrared drying could save up 50% energy compared to convective drying (Nowak & Lewicki, 2004). The ability of infrared radiation to penetrate and heat the inner layers results in higher rate of heat and mass transfer (Ginzburg, 1969).

Environmental Biotechnology
    
Global Warming and Animal Health and Production
    
Genome Mapping
    
Human Genome
    
Livestock Genomics
    
Cattle Genome
    
Pig Genome
    
Bioinformatics
    
Major Branches of Bioinformatics Include
    
List of Bioinformatics Software Commonly Used in Animal Genomics Research
    
Sequence Analysis Software
    
Genetics Analysis Software
    
Functional Genomics Software
    
Biofuels
    
Advantages of Bioethanol
    
Ecological
    
Economical
    
Looking to the Future: The Potential of Second-Generation Biofuels
    
Future Role of Biofuels Depends on Profitability and New Technologies

Introduction

Healthy seeds and seedlings are the first and essential requirement for achieving full yield potential of any vegetable crop. In recent years, vegetable growers have become highly conscious of the importance of quality seeds or seedlings. A major portion of the area under vegetable cultivation in India is now sown with hybrid seeds, which are costly but give higher yields and quality produce. In view of the high cost of seeds, some vegetable crops like tomato, brinjal, capsicum and cucurbits are being transplanted after growing nursery under protected conditions to achieve maximum germination count and healthy plant establishment. Raising of seedlings in plug trays or portrays is one such technology that achieves the above requirement. This technology is fast emerging as agro enterprise in India for its obvious advantage to both the nursery grower and the farmer. Soil-less substrate consisting of coco-peat and vermiculite is filled in plug trays and one seed is manually placed in each cell of the plug tray. However, manual seeding is labour-intensive operation requiring about more labour and time consuming. Mechanized precision seeding of plug trays is, therefore, necessary to enhance the capacity of rapidly growing nursery industry in India.

Abstract
This chapter describes how modern quantum mechanical methods can be applied in a systematic manner to understand pharmacophore and mechanistic aspects of drugs. This chapter also explains why accurate computation of drug-receptor interactions is important for in silico drug designing and testing.

WHY in silico DESIGNING?
Drug designing is the inventive art of finding a new lead compound based on knowledge of its biological target and then its slow conversion to a compound of therapeutic benefit to patient termed as “drug”. This whole process comprises of long sequels of synthesizing compounds followed by their testing and activity evaluation procedures; often a seemingly endless task until desired potency level is achieved.

Modern Semen Evaluation Methods

1. Fluorescent Microscopic Evaluation
2. In-vitro Fertility Test
3. Enzyme Estimation

1. Fluorescent Microscopic Evaluation

1.1. Acrosomal Integrity (Giemsa method and FITC-PSA assay)

The acrosomal integrity of the spermatozoa was detected using Fluorescence isothiocyanate – Pisum sativum agglutinin (FITC-PSA) staining procedure adopting method of Mendoza et al. (1992). Pisum sativum agglutinin (PSA) when conjugated to Lectin FITC marks the intact acrosome with bright green fluorescence. PSA is an agglutinin from edible pea that binds to glycoconjugates of acrosomal matrix or outer acrosomal membrane. It has affinity for terminal α –D-glucosyl and α-D-mannosyl residues of glycoproteins and it binds specifically to sugar α-mannoside found in acrosomal content.

Introduction

A number of researchers have used morphological descriptors such as growth habit, leaf, shoot, flower, fruit morphology to classify and discriminate different varieties/cultivars and or detect inter and intra-specific variations in different tree species of economic importance (Saran et al. 2006; Holland et al. 2009). Such morphological descriptors are quite homogenous and often found insufficient to distinguish varieties within morphological groups. The choice of suitable cultivars is of paramount importance for its success. The lack of breakthrough has been due to under utilization of genetic variability for superior quality and high yield potential. Most of the fruit tree species demonstrates a rich genetic diversity mainly through natural cross pollination due to self incompatibility (Godara 1980). The elite plant types with desirable traits have been released as varieties, mass multiplied and propagated through standard vegetative multiplication. However, the authenticity of cultivar identification remains unclear (Devanshi et al. 2007).

Evolution is a self-occurring natural phenomenon by which new organisms develop gradually as a result of change in genetic pool of a population. It is a very widely and historically studied phenomenon which still surprises scientists due to its underlying complexity. The three processes which contribute most to evolution are genetic drift (also known as random drift or allelic drift), natural selection and mutations. Genetic drift and natural selection act at a population level, whereas mutations act at individual level. For evolution to occur, the changes these processes bring about must be heritable, which they are.
 
Genes are present on chromosomes inside nucleus of the cell and the collection of all the genes in a cell is known as the genome of that cell. Genome size and complexity varies from species to species. Simple organisms, such as bacteria and protozoans have a very simple genome, with very few genes, whereas complex higher organisms such as humans have a large genome, with thousands of genes. The position of a gene on a chromosome is known as a locus. Organisms may have more than one copy of a chromosome in the cell.

Abstract

The species of liver flukes of the genus Fasciola (Platyhelminthes: Digenea: Fasciolidae)are obligate parasitic trematodes residing in the large biliary ducts of the herbivorous mammalian hosts causing fascioliasis worldwide. While Fasciola hepatica has a cosmopolitan distribution, the other major species, i.e., F. gigantica is reportedly prevalent in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia. To determine the phylogenic location of Fasciola sp. of Assam (India) origin based on rDNA molecular data,ribosomal ITS regions were sequenced (Accession numbers- EF027103 and EF027104) and compared with other species of trematodes in the family Fasciolidae that includes, Fasciolopsis buski and Fascioloides magna besides the species of Fasciola. NCBI databases were used for sequence homology analysis using BLAST; multiple sequence alignments were performed using ClustalW program.The phylogenetic trees constructed based upon the ITS (I & II) sequences by multiple tree building methods in MEGA revealed a close relationship with isolates of F. gigantica from China, Indonesia , Japan, Egypt and Zambia, the isolate from China with significant bootstrap values being the closest. Using the novel approach of molecular morphometrics that is based on ITS2 secondary structure homologies, phylogenetic relationships 

Introduction

Since the onset of human civilization molluscs have a tremendous impact on Indian tradition and economy. In India, molluscs have been in great demand as ornaments, currency, as popular panacea for illnesses and as mascot for ward off evil spirits in olden days. Now, molluscs have assumedgreater significance in our industrial, technological and aesthetic aspects of life, in addition to edible utility. Several species of gastropods and bivalves are traditionally fished for food and shell from time immemorial. About 80,000 - 1, 00,000 species of molluscs are recorded from the world over and a total of 3271 species are recorded from India. They are represented in 220 families and 591 general and the spectrum comprise of 1900 gastropods,1100 bivalves,210 cephalopods,41 polyplacophores and 20 scaphopods (edible and ornamental) and 14 species of cephalopods are exploited on commercial basis in India(Appukkuttan et al.,1989). It is difficult to categories shells satisfactorily according to their uses as many are collected for several purposes. The main categories are shown in the Table-1.

Introduction

The demand for agriculture commodity is growing world over and meets the ever increasing targets as per the demand, productivity needs to be raised further. This can be realized in two ways- by increasing area of cultivation and/or through increased efficiency of inputs (both natural and manmade). The scope for the farmer is very limited worldwide and for the latter, the primary input is the solar energy which is most abundant except in few cases like colder regions. In the coming future, the availability of land for cultivation will be a major impendent due to rapid urbanization, hydroelectric projects, dams and rivers, highway roads and also there is a degradation of fertile land due to soil erosion (120.72 million ha), soil salinity and water logging (8.4 million ha) Nath et al., 2007 and Hegde et al. (2015).  Under this situation, multi-storied cropping system will be a viable option to provide food, nutrition and income security to people Awasthi et al., (2008). The available arable land could be effectively utilized for production of field and horticultural crops to achieve nutritional security for the growing population and sustainable income for the farming community. Increasing food production with limited natural resource is a great challenge to the scientific community. Thus, production per unit area of land, time and inputs can be increased by improving efficiency of the rate and extent to which solar energy is harvested for conversion to economic produced.

Abstract

Water Crisis or scarcity can be explained as when demand for fresh water goes high in comparison to the supply of fresh water. The condition is the cause when there is a high rate of aggregate demand from all water using sectors like food, agriculture etc. are compared with available supply under prevailing institutional and infrastructural conditions. It is evident from economic competition from water quantity and quality, disputes between users, irreversible depletion of ground water, and negative impacts on the environment. Water crisis is actually a relative and dynamic concept irrespective of any level of supply and demand. It is a social construct and its causes are directly related to human interference with the water cycle. This scarcity varies over time due to natural hydrological variability. But the stronger reasons could be more of functions of prevailing economic policy, planning and management approaches. 

ABSTRACT

Gene expression profiling holds tremendous promise for dissecting the regulatory mechanisms and transcriptional networks that underlie biological processes. Microarray expression analysis has become one of the most widely used functional genomics tools. Typical approaches to gene identification and functional characterization have and continue to involve protein characterization, peptide sequence determination, and identification of the corresponding DNA sequence. More recently, expressed sequence tags (ESTs), microarrays, large-scale gene expression (transcriptome) profiling, and associated informatics technologies are rapidly becoming commonplace in the sciences. These ‘genomic’ approaches typically take advantage of technologies for characterizing large numbers of nucleic acid sequences, bioinformatics, and the expanding collection of nucleic acid sequence data.

The success of any crop improvement programme springs mainly from sound and genetically investigations carried out in the fields. However, the moment such biological populations are subjected to field evaluation, some external and non-heritable agencies come into active role. As a result, these agencies or factors mask real differences among the tested populations which stem purely from heritable or genetic factors. Their influence gets confounded with the latter. Consequently authentic data related to genetic differences are not available due to controllable and non-controllable errors. Further, physical data that are assembled in an experiment are often so voluminous and so vast that is perhaps humanly not possible to arrive at meaningful conclusions. Hence, an adequate knowledge of statistical principles and their appropriate use warrant perfection to a point where all possible sources of error can be well accounted for.

Climate change has become real and tangible affecting people. It is a major challenge for agriculture, food security and rural livelihoods. Climate change impacts on vulnerable groups have social, economic, political, and environmental implications. The impacts of climate change are global. India is more vulnerable in view of the high population depending on agriculture, which in turn is dependent on the seasonal monsoons. India is confronted with the challenge of sustaining rapid economic growth amidst the increasing global threat of climate change. Government of India has accorded top priority for addressing climate change related concerns.

Nanotechnology is a field of applied science focused on the design, synthesis, characterization and application of materials and devices on the nanoscale. It is a sub classification of technology in colloidal science, biology, physics, chemistry and other scientific fields and involves the study of phenomena and manipulation of material at the nanoscale. This is involved in the creation of useful materials, devices, and systems used to manipulate matter at an incredibly small scale; between 1 and 100 nanometers. With nanotechnology, a large set of materials with distinct properties (optical, electrical, or magnetic) can be fabricated. Nanotechnologically improved products rely on a change in the physical properties when the feature sizes are shrunk.

Abstract

Sundarban is the largest mangrove wetland ecosystems in the world. This World Heritage site along the Bay of Bengal has evolved over the millennia through natural deposition of upstream sediments accompanied by intertidal segregation. Indian part of Sundarbans is estimated to be about 4,110 square kilometres of which about 1,700 square kilometres is occupied by water bodies in the form of river, canals and creeks of width varying from a few metres to several kilometres, which together form the complex ecosystem of this Ganges delta.. Rivers in the Sundarbans are confluence points of salt water and freshwater. Environmental crisis is caused by severe cyclones sea level rise and storm surge followed by coastal erosion, flood and earthquake phenomenon. River water is saline. Shallow aquifer is brackish/ saline, which is not suitable for drinking. Fresh potable ground water is occurring in deeper aquifer, the exploitation of which is not cost-effective. Sundarbans houses around 500 different species of mammals, fish, bird and reptiles and it is the largest habitat of royal Bengal tigers. Conservation of flora and fauna in the typical ecosystem of Sundarbans in India with emphasis on judicious use of ground water resources along with retrospection of historical trend and future sustainable management strategies is a pre-requisite.

1.1. Characteristics and categories
                
1.2. Litter
    Patterns of accumulation
    Successional trends
    Seasonal variations
    Fluctuations in accumulation

1.3. Dissolved organic matter
    Sources of DOM
    Fluxes of DOM

1.4. Woody detritus

1.5. Soil organic matter

Abstract

Never ending additional need of farmers have forced them to grow more cash crop along with crops used for the staple food. The prime crops as per the food habit, social need has to be produced in the respective locality. The micro planning for agricultural and food production has to be planned for different blocks of a district to meet above needs. The production planning has to be simulated first and programmed for trial production. After successful trail, the same has to be replicated in larger area. Mathematical model development approach is one of the solutions to predict the need of the people and plan production depending on the availability of the input materials like natural resources and other inputs. In addition to this food and nutrient security for the people living in those different areas are very important in present context. Global population is growing fast with 1.2% per annum. Feeding these people increases the responsibility of farmers for growing more crops without considering the soil health. Improper crop sequencing has resulted in imbalance in soil nutrient which results in unsustainable production of forth coming crops. 

Nematodes are the most numerous metazoa on earth. They are either free living or parasites of plants and animals. Although currently only about 4100 species of plant parasitic nematodes have been described (i.e. 15 % of the total number of nematode species known), their impact on humans by inflicting heavy losses in agriculture is substantial. Most of the developing countries including India lie in tropical or sub tropical regions where climate is suitable for activity and multiplication of nematodes almost throughout the year. Sandy and warm soils such as found in India other developing countries in the arid zone are very favorable for nematode infection, especially in irrigated areas which are used for crop production continuously. The percentage of crop losses caused by plant pathogens, insect pests and weeds world wide has been estimated to 42% according for $500 billion worth of damage. The estimated overall annual yield loss of world’s major crops due to damage by plant parasitic nematodes has been reported to the extent of 12.3% (Sasser & Freckman, 1987). Estimated losses due to nematodes attack on different cultivated crops all over the world by FAO are around 400 million dollars. Annual crop losses in India is Rs. 242.1 billion. A large number of plant parasitic nematodes have been found associated with pulse crops in allover India but pathogenicity has not been proved for all. Plant parasitic nematodes are one of the most unwanted organisms in agricultural soils. They parasitize the roots of our carefully nurtured crops, reduce their ability to produce yields, make them weak and perhaps vulnerable to many pests and diseases. They reduce the crop yields that may equal those associated with more severe and easily identifiable plant diseases and we do not even realize their presence. Damage to crops by nematodes often goes unnoticed or attributed to other causes such as lack of fertility, deficient soil moisture. Sandy and warm soils such as found in India other developing countries in the arid zone are very favourable for nematode infection, especially in irrigated areas which are used for crop production continuously (Taylor, 1967).

1.    Fruit Crops
    
2.    Spices
    
3.    Masticatory Crops
    
4.    Vegetables
    
5.    Plantation Crops
    
6.    Tuber Crops
    
7.    Medicinal Plants
    
8.    Ornamental Plants
    
9.    Future Prospects
        
References

Raj Bahadur
    
3.1.    Nitrogen Fixation in Saline Soil
    
3.2.    Legumes and Nitrogen Fixation
    
    3.2.1.    Legumes in Saline Agriculture; Nitrogen Fixation Capabilities
    3.2.2.    Legumes in Saline Agriculture; Salinity Tolerance of Legumes
    3.2.3.    Improvement of Salinity Tolerance of Legumes
    3.2.4.    Legumes of the HALOPH Database
    
3.3.    Perspective for Saline Agriculture
    
3.4.    Impacts of Agriculture and Global Climate Change Terrestrial Biogeochemical Cycle of Nitrogen
    
    3.4.1.    Nitrogen Chemistry and Terrestrial Life
    
3.5.    Nitrogen Fixation
    
    3.5.1.    Decomposition
    3.5.2.    Nitrification
    3.5.3.    Denitrification
    3.5.4.    Bio-geochemical Linkage of Nitrogen and Carbon
    3.5.5.    Soil Organic Matter
    3.5.6.    Perturbations and N and C Biogeochemistry
    3.5.7.    Organic Nitrogen
    3.5.8.    Mineralization
    
3.6.    Factors Influencing Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Legumes
    
    3.6.1.    Temperature
    3.6.2.    Soil Water Status
    3.6.3.    Nitrogen Concentration in the Root Zone
    3.6.4.    Carbon Demand for Fixation
    3.6.5.    Seasonal Regulation of Legume Biological Nitrogen Fixation
    
3.7.    Quantification of Biological Nitrogen Fixation
    
    3.7.1.    Estimation with Empirical Models
    3.7.2.    Potential N Fixation Rate
    3.7.3.    Impact of Soil Temperature
    3.7.4.    Impact of Soil Water Status
    3.7.5.    Effect of Soil Mineral N or Internal Substrate N
    3.7.6.    Influence of Plant Substrate C or C supply
    3.7.7.    Changes in N Fixation with Plant Growth Stage
        
    References

Q.1.    What is the most fundamental assumption to be followed by random variable for using the standard method of parametric statistics or parametric inference ?

    Answer
    
    The most fundamental assumption required to be followed by random varibale for using the parametric statistics to have statistical inference drawn from certain set of data is that the random variables have normal distribution.

Introduction

In livestock production system, it is traditional to feed cereals, cakes and meals in the ration. With increase in human population and urbanization the area under fodder or cereal production cannot be increased. There is a huge gap between demand and supply of all kinds of feeds and fodders. Also, rise in global temperature is threatening food and fodder security as a whole. Climate change affects natural resources (such as water sources, land and pastures), biodiversity and livestock health. This has a direct effect on livestock production and livestock systems and as such it is not desirable for the livelihood of the people especially those residing in hilly region. The situation is acute in developing countries where annual feed deficits and increasing animal populations are major problems.

Non-Probability sampling methods are also known as non-random sampling methods or deliberate sampling. These types of methods are reliant on the researcher’s ability to select members at random. These sampling methods are not fixed or pre-defined selection processes making it difficult for all elements of the population to have equal opportunities to be included in the sample.

Types of non-probability sampling techniques

1. Judgmental or Purposive sampling

This technique involves the purposive selection of units of samples based on the judgement of the researcher. The researcher selects the sample on the basis of his a priori knowledge and experience.

Non-Response

Non response occurs when respondents are not available or do not occur in the survey and refuse to respond by any means. This non response is mainly of two types either item non response or unit non response.

If we are conducting an online survey and mailing a questionnaire to various persons. But sometimes we get a reply for some questions and sometimes not i.e., in case of questions in which income is concerned. In some cases, the mail is ignored due to lack of time. So, if the whole questionnaire is ignored by any means, then it is known as non-response and if some of the questions are ignored due to their fussy nature such type of response is known as a unit non response. Such types of non-response problems are very common in surveys. Whenever we carry out a survey non response always exists because it is almost impossible to get every response from each individual.

The individual chosen for the sample is not ready to participate in the survey is known as non-response. This type of selection bias is unit/item non response.

The basic knowledge of normal physiological values in different animal species is essential for selection of the animal, diagnosis of any abnormality if any and its correction. The chapter provides the normal physiological values viz temperature, pulse, respiration etc in different domestic animals.

Appendix-'H'    :    Do's & Don'ts During Commercial Nuclear Disasters

1. Introduction

King chilli belongs to the genus Capsicum and species chinense, which is world famous for its heat content. King chilli measures 60 to 85 mm (2. 4 to 3. 3 inches) long and 25 to 30 mm (1. 0 to 1. 2 inches) wide with a red, yellow, orange, or chocolate color. The plant came into limelight when it was announced as the hottest chilli in the world in 2006 (Baruah et al., 2014). The people of the North-eastern India use the fruits of King chilli in different food formulations like flavouring curries due to its high-quality fragrance and pungency and also for various medicinal treatments like rheumatism, arthritis, gastritis, ankylosing spondylitis, digestive diseases (Sarwa et al., 2012) and to reduce chronic congestion (Raktim and Changkija, 2009). It is also used as a bird, animal and insect repellent as well as a biochemical pesticide. The extremely hot or burning sensation of chilli is due to the presence of capsaicinoids found only in Capsicum (Hoffman et al., 1983).

In northeastern India, King chilli has been cultivated in a traditional manner since time immemorial and there exists a considerable amount of genetic variability among the landraces (Raktim and Changkija, 2009). The pharmaceutical applications of capsaicinoids are attributed to their analgesic, antiarthritic, anticancer and antioxidant properties. In fact, capsaicin has been at the centre of intense research for elucidating the basis of its pharmacological properties and exploiting the therapeutic potential (Prasad et al., 2005). It has also been reported that capsaicin inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells (Mori et al., 2006). The antioxidative capacity of chilli is higher than ginger, garlic, mint and onion (Shobana et al., 2000), which may play an important role in the process of chemoprevention (Yu et al., 2002).

Abstract: This chapter reports variations in organic C, total N and P, mineral N and P, and exchangeable K, Ca and Mg, and microbial biomass C in soils in relation to leaf litter and root biomass (0 to 10, 10 to 20 and 20 to 30cm) at two canopy positions viz. under canopy and between canopy of homegarden trees i.e. coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.), and clove (Eugenia cariophyllata Thunb) and nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt. Nees) spice trees. It also deals with seasonal variations in pool sizes of mineral N (NH4+-N and NO₃--N), and net N mineralization rate (0-15 cm) in relation to rainfall and temperature under the homegarden trees, and examines how high rainfall (incessant rainfall) influences water filled pore space (WFPS), net nitrification and net ammonification rates, pool sizes of NH4+-N and NO₃--N and microbial biomass C in the soils and conserves nutrients in humid tropical climate. The chapter also describes how high rainfall makes phosphorus available in high regime of iron in the soils; and perennial cover crop like Pueraria separately and together with phosphorus increases soil N mineralization. Organic C, total N, total P, exchangeable NH₄+, NO_3- , exchangeable K, Ca and Mg are higher in the under canopy and between canopy positions of all the homegarden trees than that in open. Rate of mineralization is the highest during the post-wet season and the lowest during the dry season (February to April) under all homegarden trees. High rainfall during the wet season, however, reduces the rate of nitrification under all the trees.

INTRODUCTION

The chemical compounds needed for growth and metabolism in plants are termed as nutrients. Mineral nutrition of fruit plants is a vital soil management practice in an orchard. The nutrients are converted to cellular constituents or used for energy purposes through metabolic process. Broadly the essential plant nutrients may be divided into macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients. Macro nutrients are needed in plants in relatively higher amounts than micronutrients.
 
Macro nutrients: C,H, O, N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg. 
Micro nutrients: Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Mo, B, Cl, Ni.
 
Altogether 17 elements are considered essential for normal growth and production of a plant.While elements like cobalt, sodium and silicon have been established as essential elements for some plant species and not all. C-H-O matrix accounts for over 90% of the dry matter and is usually 20 to 50% of the fresh weight of the whole plant. Chloride is a most unusual nutrient as it is often present in plants in high concentrations yet its essential requirement is very much lower. Chlorine like Na and K plays an important role in osmoticum. The nutritional needs of fruit trees can be assessed through leaf and soil analysis, tree growth and cropping, and past experience.

Agricultural research has been primarily focused to assure food self-sufficiency and security, and little concern on nutritional value “nutritional security” or health promoting qualities of food being produced. Food security has three dimensions, namely: (1) endemic hunger caused by poverty-induced under-nutrition and malnutrition; (2) hidden hunger caused by the deficiency of micronutrients like iron, iodine, zinc and vitamin A in the diet; and (3) transient hunger caused by natural calamities or civilian conflicts. Micronutrient malnutrition is recognized as a massive and rapidly growing public health issue especially among poor people living on an unbalanced diet.
 
Although great progress has been made in reducing the prevalence of hunger, over 805 million people are undernourished in 2012-14, still unable to meet their daily calorie needs for living healthy lives. This number has fallen by 100 million over the last decade (Table: 1 & Table: 2; Source: FAO, 2014). Undernourishment refers to food intake that is insufficient to meet dietary energy requirements for an active and healthy life. About one in nine people go to bed daily on an empty stomach. In cases where food is available, often the quality of the food does not meet micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) needs. More than two billion people continue to suffer from nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin A, iron, zinc and iodine. Despite progress, the number is still high, and marked differences across regions persist. 

Introduction

Until the 1960’s poultry in India remained largely a backyard dual purpose activity for eggs and meat. People from low social order and economically weaker sections in villages and suburbs generally took to poultry keeping primarily to supplement their diet with more nutritious eggs and meet, and secondly to enrich their livelihood. Despite on a small scale, the activity attracted sizeable proportion of population contributing immensely to the egg and meat supply. The Indian society, though largely vegetarian, gradually accepted eggs and meat in their diet. As demand for poultry products increased, small units transformed into larger well organized farms paving way for a poultry products supply network throughout the country.

6.1    Phytochemicals
    
6.2    Health Benefits  and Therapeutic Properties of Banana
    
6.3    Validation of Health and Therapeutic Claims

One Health is defined as “the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment.” The concept of ‘One Health’ dates back to the Greek physician Hippocrates (ca. 460 BCE–a.370) who in his text “On Airs, Waters and Places” stated:

Whoever wishes to investigate medicine properly, should proceed thus: in the first place to consider the seasons of the year, and what effects each of them produces, for they are not all alike, but differ much from themselves in regard to their changes.

ABSTRACT
Biomethanation is the process of generating energy from anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic refuse. This helps reduce dependency on fossil fuels while reducing CO₂ emission. Organically-rich kitchen refuse (KR) generated daily from the households all over the world could be a good candidate to biogasify, though the quantity and quality of biogas depends on the KR proximate. To enhance biogasification, KR is subjected to physical, chemical and/or biological pretreatment. Physical pretreatments include chopping, grinding, ultrasonication and steam explosion, whereas chemical pretreatments could be by an alkali or a base. Biological treatment involves digestion of the organic matters by individual microbe or its consortium, although it takes place naturally. For biological treatment, standardising the substrate and inoculum ratio is essential. Candidate strains must be mutually compatible to formulate a microbial consortium. Bacillius seems to be a potential candidate as it is a facultative anaerobe exhibiting multiple essential enzyme activities (viz., amylase, cellulase and lipase). Maintaining an optimal pH of 7.0 and temperature of 37°C before and during anaerobic digestion is suggested. Other important factors in digestion include organic loading rate, retention time, C/N ratio, volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration, etc. VFA content is vital as its accumulation during acidogenesis adversely affects the AD by dropping pH values to unfavourable levels. Acetogens convert VFA to acetate, CO₂ and H₂ in acetogenesis, finally converting it to CH4 in methanogenesis. For effective methanation,

Introduction

India is bestowed with wide range of climate and physic-geographical conditions and as such is most suitable for growing various kinds of horticultural crops such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, nuts, spices and plantation crops (coconut, cashewnut and cocoa). Its horticulture production has increased significantly over the last two decades and as per the final estimates, by 2013-14, it has increased to about three times (2.87) since 1991-92 and to about twice (1.90) compared to the production in 2001-02. This has placed India among the foremost countries in horticulture production, just next to China. As per National Horticulture Database 2014, during 2013-14, India’s contribution in the world production of fruits & vegetables was 13.6% & 14%, respectively. Total production of fruits during 2013-14 was about 89 million tonnes while that of vegetables was 163 million tonnes.

Inorganic pest management systems using external inputs such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, high yielding varieties have resulted in increased yields in certain areas, but resulted in ecological degradation hence a decrease in productivity. Under organic farming systems, the fundamental components and natural processes of ecosystems, such as soil organism activities, nutrient cycling, and species distribution and competition are used to work directly and indirectly as farm management tools. For example, crops are rotated, planting and harvesting dates are carefully planned, and habitat that supplies resources for beneficial organisms are provided. Soil fertility and crop nutrients are managed through tillage and cultivation practices, crop rotations, cover crops, and supplemented with manure, composts, crop waste material and allowed substances.
 
Bio intensive IPM incorporates ecological and economic factors into agricultural system design and decision making and addresses public concerns about environmental quality and food safety. The benefits of implementing bio intensive IPM can include reduced chemical input costs, reduced on-farm and off-farm environmental impacts, and more effective and sustainable pest management. An ecology-based IPM has the potential of decreasing inputs of fuel, machinery, and synthetic chemicals—all of which are energy intensive and increasingly costly in terms of financial and environmental impact. Such reductions will benefit the grower and society.

1.1. INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, we will know how to classify raw data. The purpose of classifying raw data is to bring order in them so that they can be statistically analysed easily. Classification of objects or things saves our valuable time and effort. It is done in a logical manner and similar things are arranged into a group or class.