eChapters

Health is defined as a state

a) Where all body system function normally

b) Absence of disease

c) Activities continue within normal physiological limits

d) All of the above

Introduction

The farmer’s socio-economic conditions continue to be poor. The job availability and opportunities are also very poor in rural areas and are declining with time. There are several instances of despair amongst farmers due to heavy burden of loan, which they took for procuring inputs for crop production. In majority of the cases loan is still borrowed from the local moneylenders on a very high rate of interest, as it is convenient and simple for them. The despair arises due to non-payment of loan in the event of crop failure or market crash for that crop, for which he had taken loan. The reason for crop failure may be adverse climatic conditions or pest attack, which could not be managed due lack of know-how and non-availability of good quality agro-chemicals. Report about the presence of spurious pesticide and fertilizers in the market are quite common in media. Farmers meet unfair treatment in the market while procuring inputs and marketing their produce. The market is uncertain and several times the farmers are not able to meet even the variable cost of production.  There is no other option left except ploughing back the crop in the field. The majorities of our farmers are small and marginal and unable to bear such losses on one hand and government doesn’t have a contingency plan to help the poor farmers on other hand. Even if it provides some help it doesn’t reach the affected farmers.

The term “diagnosis” is derived from Greek words dia (between) and gignoskein (to know). It literally means to recognizing a disease and knowing
difference between the two diseases or conditions. Therefore, diagnosis includes – determination of specific cause, abnormality of structure and
function produced by the causative agents and clinical manifestations associated with the abnormality.

Introduction The primary mission of extension services is to facilitate desirable changes in human behaviour through educational means. These changes can encompass various aspects, including knowledge, skills, attitudes, understanding, goals,actions, and confidence. Effective communication is the cornerstone of an extension worker’s role. Their responsibility extends beyond merely informing farmers about improved practices; they are tasked with ensuring that the results of research and field trials are practically applied by farmers. Nevertheless, extension workers often encounter perplexing questions in their line of work.

Definition and Significance of Plant Diseases
Definition
A plant disease is a harmful deviation from normal functioning caused by a persistent or semi-persistent agent leading to physiological disruptions, structural abnormalities, or economic loss in plants. It manifests through the interaction between the host (plant), pathogen (disease-causing agent), and environment, which together form the disease triangle.
According to George N. Agrios (2005), a plant disease can be defined as:
“Any harmful deviation from the normal functioning of physiological processes of plants, induced by continuous irritation of a primary causal agent, leading to symptoms.”
Revised Significance of Plant Diseases
1. Economic Importance: Plant diseases lead to large-scale losses in crop production, estimated to account for approximately 10–15% of global crop yields annually (Agrios, 2005). This translates to billions of dollars in losses each year.
2. Impact on Food Security: The destruction of staple food crops like rice, wheat, and maize by diseases threatens food security, particularly in developing countries.
3. Environmental Effects: Plant diseases contribute to ecosystem imbalances by disrupting natural plant populations and affecting biodiversity.

Concept of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship can be defined as the propensity of mind to take calculated risks with confidence to achieve a pre-determined business or industrial objectives. That points out the risk-taking ability coupled with decision making. The word ‘entrepreneurship’ typically means to undertake. It owes its origin to the western societies. But even in the west, it has undergone changes from time to time. In the early 16th century, the term was used to denote army leaders. In the 18th century, it was used to denote a dealer who buys and sells goods at uncertain prices. Towards 1961, Schumpeter, used the term innovator, for an entrepreneur. Two centuries before, the concept of entrepreneurship was shady. It is only in the recent years that entrepreneurship has been recognized widely all over the world like in USA, Germany, Japan and in the developing countries like ours. Gunnar Myrdal rightly pointed out that Asian societies lack entrepreneurship not because they lack money or raw materials but because of their attitudes. Till recently, in the west, the entrepreneurship is mainly an attribute of an efficient manager. But the success achieved by entrepreneurs in developing countries demolishes the contention that entrepreneur is a rare animal and an elusive character. In India the definition of an entrepreneur being the one who undertakes to organize, own and run a business has been accepted in a National Seminar on entrepreneurship organized in Delhi in 1975. Still there has been no consensus on the definition of entrepreneurship and qualities of entrepreneurship.

Most of the scientific research studies –except few descriptive survey research studies–will have one or more hypotheses to be tested as a part of study. Hypothesis is a prediction intended to be tested in a research study (Aron, Coups, and Aron, 2012). Hypothesis is the guide which directs the purpose and process of research by indicating the dependent and independent variables to be observed, extraneous variables to be controlled and the active variables to be manipulated.

The crop production is affected by the plant type, climatic condition, soil type and management factors. The production of the plant might be increased by changing plant type and increasing the grain filling period under certain climatic condition where management and soil factors are not limited. There is a direct relationship between the plant type and crop yield because the orientation and number of leaves play an important role in carbon fixation (photosynthesis). Again any variety/cultivar will contribute 21-25 per cent to the total yield of any crop in general. In recent years due to development of photoinsensitive varieties and hybrids which are more fertilizer responsive and high yielding varieties lead to increase overall production in the country.

Plant ideotypes

Refers to plant type in which morphological and physiological characteristics are ideally suited to achieve high production potential and yield reliability. The concept of ideotype was given by Donald in 1968 and he illustrated that there should be minimum competition between the crops and crop must be competent to compete with weeds. Ideotype is defined as a biological model which is expected to perform or behave in a predictable manner within a defined environment. On the basis of environment, Donald and Hamblin (1976) identified two forms of ideotypes that is isolation ideotypes and competition ideotypes. Isolation ideotypes are suitable for mono/single cropping and competition ideotypes are suitable for mixed cultivation.

1.1. Introduction

The green revolution has led our nation from the state of deficiency to the state of self-sufficiency in food production. The grain production has increased substantially from around 50 million tonnes to about 220 million tonnes per annum. As per the latest estimates, annual fruit production is 44 million tonnes from an area of 3.72million hectares.

Depletion of nutrients, from the soil is steadily increasing due to the adoption of modem agricultural technology through intensive and extensive cultivation of high yielding varieties with chemically pure, micronutrients free high analysis fertilizers. So in recent years, the potentiality of many crops could not be exploited owing to the widespread nutrient deficiency observed in many parts of our country. With nutrient removals by crops exceeding the additions, there exists a perpetual negative balance. Consequently, nutrient deficiencies have multiplied in Indian soils and crops.

5.1. INTRODUCTION

The word ‘probability’ means “reasonable likelihood of happening of an event”. In biology it is difficult to predict an outcome with absolute certainty. Probability helps us to estimate the occurrence of relative frequency of any (biological) event and is an accepted measure of uncertainty.

Mathematically, the probability ‘P’ that an event ‘E’ will occur, is expressed as:

Quality has emerged as a decisive source of competitive advantage in the global apparel industry. Liberalization and increasing international competition have encouraged apparel manufacturers to adopt quality-management practices throughout their operations. Sustained quality must be maintained from the procurement of fabrics and other raw materials through manufacturing, finishing and delivery. Although finance, labour and resources are important, they cannot ensure long-term growth when customers are dissatisfied. Modern consumers have numerous choices and expect dependable products at reasonable prices. Consequently, manufacturers must provide consistent quality, value for money and customer satisfaction to build product confidence, brand loyalty and sustainable business growth.

Reliability deals with the dependency, consistency, stability, predictability and accuracy of the research data. In our day to day life, when we say that a person is reliable then it means his behaviour is predictable, his behaviour (the way he behaved in past, he is behaving now and the way he will behave in future) will be consistent and he is dependable. On other hand an unreliable person’s behaviour is unpredictably variable and he cannot be depended upon.

Term ‘Scientific research’ is too broad to be explained by using one or two definitions. One should go through the different expert views about scientific research in order to internalize the concept of scientific research. In essence a scientific research is characterized by its rigor, testability, replicability, precision, confidence, objectivity, generalizability and parsimony.

Research: Uma Sekaran (2006) defined research as an organized, systematic, data-based, critical, objective, scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solutions to it.

The concept of Self Help Group (SHG) has its roots in rural areas and it has been mooted along the rural poor to improve their living conditions. Though it is applicable to both men and women in our country, but it has been more successful among women and they can start economic activities for improving their livelihoods through SHG movement. Self Help Group (SHG) is a small voluntary association. It is informal and homogenous group of not more than twenty members. SHGs consist of maximum 20 members because any group having more than 20 members has to be registered under Indian legal system. That is why, it is recommended to be informal to keep them away from bureaucracy, corruption, unnecessary administrative expenditure and profit motive. In fact, it is a home grown model for poverty reduction which simultaneously works to empower and shape the lives of its members in a better way. Groups are expected to be homogenous so that the members do not have conflicting interest and all the members can participate freely without any fear. SHG movement has triggered off a silent revolution in the rural credit delivery system in India. SHGs have proved as an effective medium for delivering credit to rural poor for their socio-economic empowerment. In the development paradigm, SHG and micro-finance has evolved as a need-based programme for empowerment and alleviation of poverty to the so far neglected target groups (women, poor, deprived, etc.).

Soil pH

 Soil reaction is measured by pH (Puissance de Hydrogen) of a suspension of

soil in water. The word “pH” has originated from the French word “pouvoir

hydrogen” which means powers of hydrogen. The acidity, neutrality or

alkalinity of a soil is measured in terms of hydrogen ion activity (active

concentration) of the soil water system. Most of the agricultural soils have

a pH varying from 4.5 to 8.5. The active concentration of hydrogen ion is

termed as ‘active acidity’ which is 1/50,000 or 1/1,00,000 times lesser than the

exchange acidity or exchangeable hydrogen.

 Soil pH is a measure of the activity of ionised H (H+) in the soil solution. The

pH of a solution can be defined as the negative logarithm to base 10 of the H+

ion activity or the logarithm of the reciprocal of the H+ ion activity.

pH = -log10

 a[H

 +] = log10

 1/[H

 +]

 There is difference between activity and concentration. Activity and

concentration are related by the mathematical expression

 a

 c

 F

 = where a = activity of a species (moles L-1)

 c = concentration of that species (moles L-1), f = activity coefficient

 a = c for dilute solutions, f = 1

 Activity coefficient of an ionic species is the degrees of freedom of that species

to participate in an equilibrium reaction or to maintain its charge under an

ionic environment.

The Species Concept in Systematics

The modern biological or, more strictly, genetical concept of a species is a group of interbreeding organisms, genetically isolated from other such groups. The definition of the category species has long been one of the major problems of taxonomy. It is because of two reasons:

1. Because of the congruity of lingering typological concepts with the nature of evolving species.

2. Because evolutionary species may have changing characters and are only gradually differentiated in phylogeny.

For evolutionary study and descriptive purposes, many kinds of variation within species come in to consideration, but the only regular intra specific taxon is the subspecies. Subspecies are widely but not universally useful and their definitions yield to the same sort of criteria as for dividing other phylogentic continuance.

Super Species

According to Mayr (1931, 1942) Linsleg and Usinger (1953),“A super Species is a monophyletic group of very closely related and largely or entirely allopatric Species”.

Super species are, in other words, groups of populations that seem on other grounds (morphology, ecology etc.) to have passed beyond the point of potential interbreeding and to have acquired separate evolutionary roles. They are so by the more conclusive evidence of remaining separate when sympatric. It is to be assumed that they are still near the critical point of specification, near a definitive isolation. They are nascent species that will, if they survive, collectively form a subgenus or eventually a genus but have hardly get reached that degree of divergence.

They are not given special names; the Rules of Nomenclature make no provision for that usual designation and they are mostly known by the name of an included species and are in fact super species.

In sustainable agriculture the word sustain is derived from the Latin word sustinere (sus-from below and tinere-to hold), to keep in existence or maintain, implies long term support or performance. As it pertain to agriculture, sustainable describes farming system that are capable of maintaining their productivity and their usefulness in society indefinitely. Such system should be resource conserving, socially supporting, commercially competitive and environmentally sound. Systems approach is essential for understanding sustainability and it gives us tools to explore the interconnections between farming and other aspects of our environment and sustainability implies at the following,

1. Meeting the basic needs of all people and giving this priority over meeting the greeds of a few
2. Keeping population densities if possible below the carrying capacity of the region
3. Adjusting consumption patterns and the design and management of systems to permit the renewal of renewable resources
4. Conserving, recycling and establishing priorities for the use of non- renewable resources
5. Keeping environmental impact below the level required to allow the systems unaffected to recover and continue to evolve.

Various definitions have been provided for what constitutes sustainable agriculture ranging from the narrow focus on economics or production to the incorporation of culture and ecology. Wendell Berry has simply said A sustainable agriculture does not deplete soils or people.

Agricultural production has made rapid strides in the past four to five decades and has enabled India to achieve self-sufficiency in food grain production. This was only through ìGreen Revolutionî which ushered during 1967-68 onwards, when use of old agricultural practices were mostly done away with. Neglect of old or indigenous agricultural practices such as use of organic manures (farm yard manure - FYM, compost, green manure), cultural control methods like sanitation, tillage/removal of weeds, adjusting sowing/harvesting time crop rotation, trap crops, water and fertilizer management and host plant resistance, and use of plant based insecticides like neem or nim (Azadirachta indica), drek (Azadirachta indica), nirgudhi or bana (Vitex negundo) vis-a-vis biological control measures, has resulted in outbreak of ill-effects in human beings and animals through contaminated food stuffs (Gupta, 2006a).

The concept of multiple dimensions of a sustainable agriculture is more broad which has to be viewed with awareness of potential technologies, fragile ecosystem and human interference to disrupt with limited resource availability. All these aspects have to be taken into account for proper understanding of sustainable agriculture.

The major aspects are,

1. Agriculture must be increasingly productive and efficient in resource use.
2. Biological processes within agriculture systems must be controlled from within (rather than by external inputs of pesticides) and
3. Nutrient cycles within the farm must be closed.

Within this frame work a sustainable model has to be developed. The proposed concept of sustainable agriculture which is best suited for developing and developed countries and is a viable model for the present and future is depicted schematically (Fig. 1).

In its purest form sustainable agriculture would be a complete reversion to subsistence agriculture relying on organic wastes and manures within farms without applying