eChapters

Meeting food demand and escalating food prices are serious issues, as current food scenario indicate that crop demand will increase by 100 to 110% from 2005 to 2050 at global level (Tilman et al., 2011). Precision use of fertilizer is the crucial for achieving sufficient food production for growing population. It is costly input to produce and apply, both financially and environmentally. Fertilizer consumption measures the quantity of plant nutrients used per unit of arable land.

Through green revolution, we have developed high yielding varieties albeit with high nutrient requirements putting much more reliance on chemical fertilizers. The major challenge facing plant biology right now is to improve crop production and to feed an expanding world population. This is against a background of pressure on agricultural land use and climate change having negative impacts on growing conditions. The adverse effects of agriculture, and specifically fertilizer use, include damage to the environment, a large carbon footprint for the manufacture and use of agrochemicals, and the utilization of non-renewable resources. One solution is to increase the area of land for agriculture, as well as increasing production while maintaining the current rate of inputs; however, this is predicted to have substantial negative impacts on the environment (Tilman et al., 2002), is unsustainable in terms of phosphate use, and would have a huge economic footprint in terms of energy demands for nitrogenous fertilizer production. The challenge is to increase yield, decrease inputs, and improve resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Improving crop nutrient use efficiency ideally requires an understanding of the whole system, from the macro (agro-ecosystem) to the molecular level.

Introduction
 
Climate change is a result from emission of greenhouse gases (e.g. CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, etc.) that will cause atmospheric warming (IPCC, 2007). Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcing such as modulations of the solar cycles, volcanic eruptions, and persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. Human induced changes in atmosphere composition are a major concern. Burning of fossil fuels, like oil, coal, and natural gas is adding CO₂ to the atmosphere.

Soil organisms play vital role in agri-ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, soil detoxification and organic matter decomposition. They also influence water infiltration by improving soil porosity through production of polysaccharides. Rhizosphere microorganisms help plant to acquire macro and micronutrients, produce phytohormones for better crop establishment. Soil microbes process organic matter to provide a balance of minerals and nutrients which are utilized by plants to achieve healthy and vigorous growth. Microbes also colonize on plants parts and offers protection by excluding many plant pathogens. They are the basic indicators of soil fertility and are responsible for maintaining a hospitable environment for crop growth.

True/False

Q.1.    The purpose of most medical research is to identify the causes of disease and search out the ways to prevent or cure them.
Q.2.    Now a day, epidemiology has become a basic science for public health
Q.3.    The studies of diagnostics therapeutic and prognostic procedures have successfully incorporated into growing stream of “Clinical Epidemiology”.

Abstract

Quercus species of family Fagaceae are very important from both economic and ecological perspectives. These exhibit irregular fruiting, and produce seeds recalcitrant to storage, thereby difficult to propagate through conventional procedures. Again because of their very difficult to root nature, extremely limited success has been observed in vegetative propagation. Application of new technological approaches like in vitro propagation may be of interest for accelerating tree improvement programs to these hardwood species. This review provides a summary of the advancement in the application of in vitro propagation to oak species of Kumaun West Himalaya India.

Abstract

Classification of the hundreds of possible dryers is essential to the logical selection of appropriate dryer for a given application. Diverse criteria for classification as well as selection of dryers are presented and discussed briefly. The advantages and limitations of different dryer types must be taken into consideration. Initial capital cost is often the key deciding criterion in industrial dryer selection. This is not a good strategy as the user must pay for the operating costs over a long period of life of the dryer. In general several different dryer types are suitable for a given product. Careful selection is essential for cost-effective operation of the dryer.

Abstract

Hot air circulation is the most common industrial method of drying foods which has its own inherited disadvantages. Microwave drying can be an alternative method for removing moisture from foods and there has been a surge of interest in the application of microwave to process the foods, in past few years. The reason being that there is worldwide energy crisis and the growing acceptance and familiarity with domestic microwave ovens. It is well known that conventional means of heat processing irreversibly alter the flavor, colour, and texture of many foods. From the point of flavor alone, it is desirable to improve our present methods of processing foods. Some improvements have been made in this direction with a number of food products by use of high-temperature short- time processing.

Abstract

The primary commercial energy sources such as coal, oil and natural gas poses an enormous challenge to our development goals including environmental degradation, as India is not well endowed with these exhaustible natural resources. Further, these conventional sources are also not available in right quantity and producing environmental pollution manifold in land, air and water. There are number of unit operations in food processing and value addition consuming bulk of conventional energy sources where renewable energy sources can easily be integrated for energy conservation and environment protection. There is significant potential for application of Renewable Energy Sources in different unit operation of food processing including drying of food products for energy conservation and for reducing hydrocarbon emissions.

SYNOPSIS

Fish has now become an important animal protein for mankind. It is a rich source of essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Fish meat is easily digestible compared to other animal meat and has a higher Protein Efficiency Ratio when compared to casein, the milk protein. Fish oils like body oils of fishes like sardine, mackeral, anchoviella, herring, salmon etc. are the richest source for Omega-3 long chain poly unsaturate fatty acid like Eicos- pentanoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) having therapeutical applications for man. A number of fishery products and by-products like squalene, chitin, chitosan, oyster meat, mussel meat, shark bones etc.

SYNOPSIS

Urban and rural agriculture are different entities in terms of stakeholder involvement and enabling environment for farming but they are dialectically interlinked in providing food and nutrition security of any country. Urban agriculture is more suitable on the production of nutritious crops, while rural agriculture’s first priority is to produce more food from staple. Attaining nutrition security is more complex than it is previously thought. However, while existing systems of production should continue at field levels by developing more nutritionally rich cropping patterns, its integration with farmers’ farming systems remains more important.

Synopsis

Food safety has become increasingly important with globalization due to various factors such as increased volume and diversity of trade in foods, greater public demand for health protection, changing hazards e.g., resistant microbes, more sophisticated methods for detection of hazards, changes in production and consumption pattern, etc. Food safety contributes significantly to food security as unsafe and poor quality food leads to illnesses as well as food wastage. This leads to a strong need to emphasize not only on availability of food but also ensure that the same is safe.

The State of Kerala under the Humid Tropics is one of the wettest places in the Humid Tropics where annual rainfall is of the order of 3000 mm, ranging from less than 1000 mm to greater than 5000 mm. About 68 per cent of the rainfall is obtained during southwest monsoon while 16 per cent in post monsoon and the rest from summer (14 per cent) and winter rainfall (2 per cent). Bi-model rainfall pattern is noticed towards southern districts due to influence of both southwest and northeast monsoons while uni-model rainfall pattern towards northern districts of Kerala. Coconut productivity is better towards south despite dreaded disease of root-wilt when compared to that of northern districts due to less dryspells during summer. Floods during monsoon adversely affect paddy production in the State while prolonged droughts during summer in the absence of post monsoon rainfall adversely affect plantation crops’ production to a considerable extent. The wetlands in Kerala are rich sources of water during summer and act as sink during monsoon season. Such wetlands are fast declining in Kerala and converted as garden lands. Decreasing wetlands might be one of the reasons for frequent floods and droughts in Kerala in recent years. The forest cover of Kerala also declined from 70 per cent to 24 per cent over a period of one- hundred- and - fifty years due to deforestation and forest fires.

Theworld fashioned and occupied by three fourth of the water. Fisheries activities are an indispensable part in the life and livelihood of the peoples. Aquaculture is the most important role for the upward economic strengthening and social mobility. Most of the inland fish farmers are poor due to lack of financial resource. Because of the poor production through the inland fish culture, the most of the farmers in Tamilnadu are undertaking composite fish culture technology. Demand for fish is rapidly increasing due to the growing population and awareness about the superiority of fish to other meats. The marine and freshwater sectors growth were 2.5 and 8 per cent respectively (Ayyapan and Diwan, 2004).

Agricultural practices have been undergoing changes over a period of time throughout the world. The intensive agricultural practices followed during the past four decades in our country resulted in food security and self-sufficiency. This was achieved through development of input responsive varieties coupled with use of chemical fertilizers and plant protection chemicals. Agriculture is an important sector for economic development in India. Crop production is an important income source for millions of farmers in some cases with few cropping alternatives due to ecological constraints. All over the world majority offarmers rely on pesticides and fertilizers to increase yields. Pesticide use in most Indian agriculture is an essential part of production technology. Therefore farmers in developing countries are perceived as overusing pesticides, both in quantity and quality, with mixtures of chemicals, known locally as cocktails, being the favoured form of application (Crissman et al., 1994).

World-wide, both in developing and in developed countries;family farming is one of the most predominant forms of agriculture. It includes a wide spectrum of farm sizes and types. In high-income economies, it ranges from very large land holdings that are easily cultivated by one or two family members with the use of labour-saving machinery and hired labour. In low-income economies,with small holdings of a few hectares or less and that are often oriented towards subsistence with low marketable surplus.

Tank irrigation is passing through a critical juncture in India today. Tank irrigation contributes significantly to agricultural production in India in general, and in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, in particular. The tank irrigation system is one of the vast networks of thousands of water bodies that constituted a distinctive landscape which was medieval in origin but still the basis of livelihood in the dry Southern plains(Mosse, 2003, P-4). Tank is a small reservoir constructed across the slope of the valley to catch and store water during rainy season. Water is controlled by sluices attached to the tank bank and is delivered to paddy field by distributing channels. Tank is considered as a common property resource. The National Sample Survey Organization defines common property resources as the resources that are accessible to and collectively owned, managed by identifiable community and on which no individual has exclusive property rights (NSSO, 1999).

With the introduction of high yielding varieties and use of high analysis fertilizer in intensified agriculture under irrigation condition resulted in green revolution in our country. But continuous use of chemical fertilizer in indiscriminate manner without assessing soil also had adverse effect on productivity and environment. Though use of high analysis fertilizer ensured the high production but also resulted in acceleration of mining of native sources of nutrient. This has led to appearance of hidden hunger of several other essential nutrients and sustainability of our agriculture has become venerable.

Introduction

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

Introduction
 
Poor nutrient use efficiency result in loss of nearly 0.8 million tonnes of nitrogen, 1.8 million tonnes of phosphorus and 26.3 million tonnes of potassium annually. Soil health is further deteriorated by imbalanced application of nutrients and excessive mining of micronutrients, leading to deficiency of macro- and micronutrients in the soils (ICAR Vision 2030). Due to the imbalanced use of plant nutrients, mining of nutrients is considered as the main cause for decline in crop yield and crop response ratio.

What is the use of several trees grown in the forest? A single tree by the way side is far better where under people can rest (Vrikshayurveda).

The towns and villages are made more healthy, more beautiful and more efficient by well planned streets with avenue planting. There is no doubt that, an impressive avenue gives any property the special distinction that it desires. In the past, Emperor Ashoka and Mughal rulers paid attention to roadside planting. Avenue trees primarily provide shade and act as windbreaks, weather conditioners-by purifying and humidifying the air, check radiation of heat and obstruct glare, limit noise and enhance the beauty of the street where they are planted. Roadside planting has two aspects; beauty and utility and both these aspects should be combined. This requires a thorough knowledge of plant material and imagination in planning.

What is the use of several trees grown in the forest? A single tree by the way side is far better where under people can rest (Vrikshayurveda).

The towns and villages are made more healthy, more beautiful and more efficient by well planned streets with avenue planting. There is no doubt that, an impressive avenue gives any property the special distinction that it desires. In the past, Emperor Ashoka and Mughal rulers paid attention to roadside planting. Avenue trees primarily provide shade and act as windbreaks, weather conditioners-by purifying and humidifying the air, check radiation of heat and obstruct glare, limit noise and enhance the beauty of the street where they are planted. Roadside planting has two aspects; beauty and utility and both these aspects should be combined. This requires a thorough knowledge of plant material and imagination in planning.

Like many other developing countries, agriculture is the primary occupation of the rural people of North East India. They depend on farming but because of the nature of practices followed, it hardly goes beyond subsistence and so agricultural extension is an important thing in their lives. But in this particular part of the country basically because of the topography which makes it difficult to reach the clusters of villages deep in the hills, forests and valleys, it becomes more and more important to use technologies that reach them like mobile phones, TV and radio. Agricultural information is not something that is needed 24X7 round the year but require on the critical times of the year like before sowing seasons advisories, forecasting diseases and pests when the crop is standing in the field and during harvesting.

O    :    Pint.

O antigen      :    A polysaccharide antigen extending from the outer membrane of some gram-negative bacterial cell walls; it is part of the lipopolysaccharide.

O&E    :    Observation and examination.

Oa    :    Open access.

V    :    Volt.

V domain    :    The variable region of the polypeptide chains of an immunoglobulin or T-cell receptor is composed of a single N-terminal V domain. Paired V domains form the antigen-binding sites of immunoglobulins and T-cell receptors.

Buffaloes have been classified in two main categories namely riverine and swamp buffaloes depending upon variation in their habitat and genome structure. Riverine buffaloes are generally large in size mostly with curled horns and are mainly found in India, Pakistan and some of the west Asian countries, prefer to enter clear water and have 50 (2n) numbers of chromosomes and are primarily used for milk production and also used for meat production and draught power. Swamp buffaloes are stocky animals with marshy land habitats and have 48 (2n) numbers of chromosomes. They were primarily developed for draught power in paddy fields and haulage and are also used for meat and milk production. Swamp buffaloes are mostly found in south east Asian countries and also in north eastern states of India.

Abstract

Water scarcity and soil erosion are the two most severe problems in arid region of Gujarat, particularly in Kachchh district being entirely under hot arid climate. Present study examines need of soil and water conservation measures in Kachchh district utilizing topographical details and 34-year (1980-2013) annual rainfall data for ten rainfall gauging stations. The impact of three factors, i.e. rainfall, topography and drainage pattern, on the water scarcity and soil erosion was studied. The rainfall characteristics in the study area were explored by computing basic statistical properties, plotting rainfall bar charts and drawing box-whisker plots. Furthermore, topographic features are examined by using Google Earth image and available topographical details. Drainage characteristics and pattern are explained and usefulness of farm pond for water conservation is demonstrated.

Abstract

Most of the sorghum accessions are landraces, and much of the cultivated area of sorghum is under local land races. The local land races are highly adapted to specific environmental conditions and are useful sources of genetic variation. Under the present investigation one hundred and two local land races of sorghum collected from different geographical origins were evaluated during kharif 2010 and kharif 2011 in order to assess the genetic diversity. The analysis of variances showed highly significant differences among the accessions for all the characters studied.

Abstract

Desert or arid regions present a unique environment for microbial growth. Thar Desert of India harbours a plethora of nitrogen fixing bacteria ranging from symbiotic nitrogen fixers, free living nitrogen fixers, associative nitrogen fixers and blue green algae or cyanobacteria. But the knowledge and extent of diversity is still limited to explore their full potential. On top of that, the documentation of the available knowledge is also scattered. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are crucial for the protection of the nitrogen supply for vegetation in the arid region. Since deserts are poor in soil nitrogen, biological nitrogen fixation plays a crucial role in maintaining soil fertility. In this article, an attempt has been made to cover the nature and extent of diversity in nitrogen fixing bacteria in Indian arid zone.

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the nature and magnitude of genetic divergence and also to identify divergent parents in one hundred eight sorghum germplasm collected from different agro eco-geographical areas in India. Mahalanobis D² statistics revealed considerable genetic diversity among the 108 genotypes of sorghum. The genotypes grouped into 11 clusters.

Abstract

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), one of the oldest oil seed crops of the world is mostly grown by small and marginal farmers of arid and semi-arid regions of India. The productivity of sesame in major sesame growing states ranges from74 kg ha^-1 in Rajasthan to 291 kg ha^-1 in Gujarat, and is far below from national average (368 kg ha^-1). Low yield in farmer’s fields often results because of low level of inputs and frequent soil moisture deficit. Under these circumstances, problems of low yield in resource poor farmer’s field remain a major challenge. The present study aimed at identifying the high yielding sesame cultivars and the potential breeding resources for low input agriculture in arid ecosystems.

Introduction

While tracing the history of veterinary medicine, we come across the Chinese writings about the diseases of horses, oxen and buffalos in the past about 2500 B. C. Similarly we can find about 4000 years old.  Indian art showing the people caring the horses and elephants. Even we can find in the art about ancient Egypt how they cared for their cattle and dogs health. The Ancient Romans had a word for the people that are doctors for animals, which is, veterinarius. In about A.D. 500 a Roman wrote a book on what veterinarians do.  In 1598, Carlo Ruini, an Italian author wrote a book named as, “Anatomy of the Horse”.

ABSTRACT

Agriculture is an important sector of economy that ensures food security of the nation. About 58 per cent of the Indian population is engaged in Agriculture and planners are concerned to increase agriculture productivity. The National Knowledge Commission has also looked into various problems of this sector and made some recommendations from the knowledge perspective. This paper includes review of existing plans and programs for improvement of knowledge accessibility to Indian farmers. Article also discusses how the Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications, especially, the hand held devices like mobile phones can improve knowledge accessibility in the agriculture sector and describes how the ongoing programs of mobile telephony are helping Indian farmers.

ABSTRACT

Farmers in India are at the mercy of traders especially the middlemen who fix lower rates at the farmers end. The farmers are desperate as they are not aware of the prices elsewhere and they have meager produce at their hand. Market led agriculture is need of the hour which needs market intelligence. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu in collaboration with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Hyderabad centre initiated the project for the benefit of farmers and traders covering six major markets of South India as Pilot project. Main emphasis of the project is covering Perishable items of 161 commodities, updating the daily wholesale and retail price through www.tnau.ac.in/ www.indg.in @ 1.00 PM with the help of Market Analysts recruited for this purpose. Ensuring the last mile connectivity and reaching the large number of users, the price information is being delivered through Mobile phone. This paper also explains about its additional features.

ABSTRACT

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the driving force for the fundamental economic and social revolution. It accelerates globalization, makes access to knowledge and information much easier for the people in respect of creation of technologies, diffusion of old innovation and diffusion of human skills for rural prosperity. The National Conference on Informatics for Sustainable Agriculture Development (ISDA) organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and National Informatics Centre (NIC), in May 1995, has given much needed “roadmap” to usher in “ICT led agriculture development” in the country.

ABSTRACT

A methodology for depiction of Brown Plant Hopper (BPH) pest incidence on rabi rice crop using Remote Sensing (RS) data was attempted. The reflectance and geographically registered RS images of Feb.12, Mar.13, and April 30, 2009  as well as Feb.23 and March 14, 2007 were used to classify the Godavari district for generation of rabi rice crop area map. The rice crop map thus generated was used as an overlaying layer of rice crop mask in GIS to derive other RS based indices described below over this crop mask. Land Surface Temperature (LST) data product for rice growing areas was generated using rice crop mask. Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI), Temperature Vegetation Dryness Index (TVDI) onices derived from MODIS data and NDWI from AWiFS data were correlated with pest count data for two years 2007 and 2009.

ABSTRACT

The major part of the agriculture in India is Rainfed. The increasing pressure of population on land has resulted into over exploitation of land, water and other ecological resources, resulting in water scarcity, land degradation and rapid depletion of ground water-table. Government of India has adopted watershed management strategy to address these problems, but all existing watershed management programmes are mainly fragmented and governed by different departments. This has resulted in formation of providing better service delivery and governance. In this study an attempt is made to identify the scope of convergence between National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) with Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) for generation of social capital and self-employment in the command area of a watershed using geospatial technology.

ABSTRACT

The study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of ICT-Enabled Village Information Centres (VICs) with special reference to dairy farming in Tamil Nadu. Ex-post-facto research design was followed, wherein 180 users and 90 non-users of VICs constituting 270 dairy farmers covering three ICT-VIC initiatives viz., Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and n-Logue communication in Tamil Nadu were selected using random sampling technique. Data collected through personal interviews were analysed using appropriate statistical tools.

An anti-nutritional factor is a substance which, when present in human or animal foods, reduces growth. Examples are phytate, protease inhibitors (notably soybean trypsin inhibitor) and excessive dietary fiber.

Anti-Nutritional Factors

    ·    Protease inhibitors inhibit the activity of trypsin, chemotropism and other proteases. They are found in legumes such as beans and peas, but also in cereals, potatoes, and other products. Their presence results in impaired growth and poor food utilization.

Abstract
 
Opencast mining destroys the original land ecosystem and microbial community due to mining and stockpiling of mine rejects on adjoining land, which is a matter of great environmental concern. Mining creates formation of wastelands, formation of gullies, ravines, overburdens, reduced water infiltration and increased runoff. Reclamation of mined out areas is often difficult due to its chemical, physical and biological traits. Absence of topsoil is the most common feature of the mine spoils dumps. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), the synonym of VAM fungi, are important microbes of soil that form symbiotic association with most of the terrestrial plants on the earth. Observations led to use of legume microsymbionts as biological substitutes for fertilizers. AMF diversity increases with species diversity of plants as the potential number of association increases. Dominant arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can prevent the invasion of non-mycorrhizal plants on land where they have established symbiosis and promote their mycorrhizal host.

Abstract
 
Much attention has been paid to mycorrhza as a tool for improving the growth and health of plants.  The use of mycorrhiza in agricultureal, horticultural and forestry has been described. The significance of AM fungi in sustainable agriculture has been a subject of growing interest for the past several decades. In sustainable agriculture it is imperative to maximize benefits with low input costs. The fact remains that stable and lower human population is an integral component of sustainable agriculture and more so in an Indian context. Therefore, it is imperative to collect further information on the different aspects of AM fungal symbiosis as discussed in this article so as to utilize this plant microbe symbiotic system for the increased production and productivity in a sustainable manner. This may become possible when the integrated approach is made to study AM fungi right from the isolation of AM fungal spores to the high quality inoculum production and its application in the field. It is also imperative to stimulate new mutualism between mycorrhizal scientists and ecologists. It this regard, recent advancement made in the molecular techniques should be encouraged in order to obtain more authentic results. Adequate field testing of mycorrhizal inoculation and commercial exploitation of the potential benefits of mycorrhiza still rests on the development of suitable technology for mycorrhizal inoculum preparation.

Abstract

Eight species including 1 variety, 2 macro and 6 micro-lichens from Garhwal Himalaya, c 1500-2700 m, have been found to glow and emit fluorescent light, when exposed to long wave-length (254 nm) ultra-violet radiataions. Taxonomy and chemistry of all these species have been critically evaluated. The recorded taxa belong to families Physciaceae (4 species); Pertusariaceae, Rhizocarpaceae (1 species each) and Lichen imperfecti (2 species). The reported taxa are: Buellia hemispherica Singh and Awasthi, B. sub-glaziouana Singh and Awasthi; Pertusaria pertusa (Weig.) Tuck., Pyxine berteriana (Fee) Imsh. var. himalayensis Awasthi; P. cocoes (Swartz) Nyl., Rhizocarpon geographicum (L.) DC.; Lepraria taxonomic species I and II.

Abstract

C. albicans is a diploid, dimorphic yeast producing three morphologic forms: yeast cells, pseudohyphae and true hyphae. It is an opportunistic pathogen causing various types of candidiasis which are on the increase around the globe. It is a polymorphic yeast with its genome organized in eight diploid chromosome with its genome size ranging between 14.3 and 16 Mb having 5,733 to 6, 318 genes. It has two mating-type like (MTL) alleles that control the mating behavior. In its genetic makeup it resembles with Saccharomyces cerevisiae hence classified in the Saccharomycetales. The chromosome number from tetraploid to diploid is brought about by the parasexual mechanism. Keeping in view the increase of incidence of candidiasis due to C. albicans around the globe, it is important to identify the causative organisms to the species level correctly. Morphological, biochemical, germ tube test and growth on different media are often used for identifying isolated yeasts which sometimes takes days to week to develop in culture hence, rapid identification of Candida species in clinical laboratory is becoming increasingly important. Molecular techniques utilizing amplification of target DNA or PCR amplification of conserved regions of the genome and sequencing of the resulting PCR product and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the ribosomal DNA, provides quick and precise methods for diagnostics or, identification of Candida species.

Structure

Structural unit of edible portion of most fruits and vegetables is the parenchyma cells and makes up bulk of cells. A parenchyma cell is rather thin walled and may be polygonal or cubical in shape.  Walls of parenchyma cells in young plants are composed almost entirely of fibrils of cellulose. In parenchyma cells of plants actively metabolising protoplast portion represents only about 5% of total cell volume. This protoplast is rather film like and is pressed against cell wall by large water filled central vacuole.  Protoplast has inner and outer semi permeable membrane layers between which is confined cytoplasm and its nucleus. 

Every research in agriculture aims at developing a promising new technology or refines an age old technology that can help addressing the improvement in crop yield. This is a worldwide scenario to meet up with the food needs of the growing population and reducing agricultural land resources. Many traditions in the world are associated with vast knowledge of cultivating the food crops, vegetables, fruits etc using selected methods that are modified based on the needs, climatic conditions and the resources available in the place of settlements. Soil based agriculture is the most popular method of growing plants since soil is considered as the main source of nutrients and water required for the healthy growth of crops. Generally it includes 3 major steps, ploughing, sowing and harvesting.

Methylene-cyclo-propyl-glycine (MCPG), is a cyclopropyl derivative, grouped into the amino acids that have been isolated from the higher plants (Fowden, 1960). MCPG was identified to be closely related to two other cyclopropyl derivatives (Fig. 1), 1-aminocyclopropane – 1 – carboxylic acid from Vacciniumvitis-idaea and perry pears (Vahatalo and Viertanen, 1957; Burroughs, 1957) and â- methylenecyclopropyl alanine (MCPA or Hypoglycin A) from Blighia sapida (Hassall and Rayle, 1955; Anderson et al., 1958; Ellington, Hassall and Plimmer, 1958).

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important vegetable crops cultivated in the world. It is used as raw in salads and also used as cooked vegetable in the preparation of curries. Processed items such as tomato puree, ketchup, pickle, chutney, whole peeled tomatoes and tomato powder are also consumed considerably. It is a rich source of Vitamins A & C. Lycopene and other flavonoids in tomato serve as good source of antioxidants. Tomato occupies 5 million hectares with a productivity of 34t/ha. in the world. In India it is cultivated in an area of 0.88 million hectares with productivity of 21 t/ha.

Micropropagation refers to the production of plants from very small plant parts, tissues or cells, grown aseptically in a test tube or containers under controlled nutritional, environmental and aseptic conditions. It is also called as in vitro propagation, which implies clonal, true-to-type propagation of plants by a variety of tissue and cell culture methods and is considered as the most efficient and commercial method of plant propagation. Tissue culture or in vitro culture is two broadly used terms for micropropagation, which basically include aseptic culture of various plant parts. Micropropagation was developed as the result of accidental findings of French Professor G. Morel in 1958, when he was attempting to obtain virus-free plants through meristem culture in dahlia and orchids. All the biological principles of micropropagation technique are based on the phenomenon of totipotency of cell, in which a cell of a plant has the capacity to regenerate in to a full-fledged plant having different organs. German plant physiologist, Haberlandt (1902) is known as the father of tissue culture technique, who for the first time coined the term totipotency.

Kamrakh or Carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) known as ‘Star fruit’ is an important fruit of tropical and subtropical regions of the world. However, it is  a drought hardy plant and grow in dry land areas. Its fruit pulp is  sour-acidic in taste due to oxalic acid content.
 
Carambola are still in wild form or in homestead gardens and therefore, no improved and recognized varieties and /or systemic cultivation practices for this fruit has been developed so far. It is mainly grown as a fancy fruit in the garden and only limited plants are maintained. The plants prefers warm, moist climate but it can grow on any type of soil with good drainage system.

Synonyms : Bang’s disease, Contagious abortion, Infectious abortion, Enzootic abortion, Undulant fever, Malta fever, Mediterranean fever

Brucellosis, one of the most ancient diseases,  continues to be a problem for humans and animals throughout the world causing enormous economic losses and significant human morbidity in endemic areas. The bacterial pathogen is classified by the CDC as a category B pathogen that has the potential for development as a bioweapon. It is one of the important zoonotic disease and considered  as the most common laboratory acquired pathogen with >5 lakh human cases reported  annually  around the world. Brucellosis is a chronic infection which can result in infertility, delayed heat, interrupted lactation, loss of calves, wool, meat and milk production in animals and undulant fever in humans.