eChapters

For the prospective small business owner who possesses the necessary personal qualities, managerial ability, and capital , and who is not inheriting a family enterprise, there are two ways to get the business started: buy out an existing establishment or start from scratch with a new firm.

Buying an Existing Business

There are both advantages and disadvantages in buying an existing business. If the small business entrepreneur decides to buy an existing business, there are many things (s)he must investigate and analyze the business if (s) he is to make a good purchase decision.

It is necessary to consider both micro and macro climate while planning scientific livestock management strategies. Thermal comfort of animals is the most important environmental consideration affecting the production performance of domestic animals in general and the dairy cattle in particular. Various components of climate like air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind velocity and precipitation affect the thermal comfort of animals and their performance. As these factors produce a combined effect rather than each component alone thermal indices involving two more of these factors are useful for rational decision making information for livestock managers. Considering only the direct effects of microclimate will be an over simplification of the problems because the indirect effects of the macroclimate operating through feed supplies, feed quality, parasitism, and other factors are equally or more important. These factors confound the direct effects of climatic elements and under many situations far overshadow their effects. Thus, evaluation of the direct and indirect effects of climate independent of each other is necessary. We will also examine each factor separately for easiness of understanding keeping in mind that the heat exchange of the animals with their environment is a combined effect of all these intertwined with complex biological and physical factors. Yamamoto (1983) concluded “Heat exchanges between animal and their environment are not readily explainable in terms of physical principles because the relationships are considerably modified by animal factors”. The combined effects of the climatic factors involved in heat exchange between any homoeothermic animal and its surrounding has led to the development of Thermal Indices as a basis for assessing the biological effect and consequent impact of thermal environment (Hahn 2003). Studies on the thermal environment and methods to represent in reliable indices are more important in the tropical world in general and hot tropical humid world in particular.

The advantages and disadvantages of thermal indices and how it can be used as useful guide for environment management of dairy cows are illustrated in this paper through examples. Many salient basic aspects were noted by Thomas C.K. way back in 1969 but the exact use of this information for the farmers is a far cry.

Sales management as the term implies means management of sales. Initially the concept consisted of managing the sales workforce. Now-a-days, it includes managing of all the sales related activities like advertising, sales promotion, physical distribution, pricing and product merchandising.

Abstract

The Sonapur landslide located in the south eastern fringe of Shillong Plateau falls in NH44 connecting Shillong with Agartala. The slide is repeatedly active and massive debris flows occur during every monsoonic season since 1999. The studies carried out under the NRDMS funded project shows that the slide falls in the tectonically active E-W Dauki fault system, which not only forms the southern boundary of the Shillong plateau but also the near vertical plane along which the Shillong plateau has been uplifted due to the northerly compressive force and the collision of Indian plate with Eurasian plate. Such post collision tectonic uplift and the southerly tilt of the Shillong plateau in its southern part, monoclinal southerly dipping sediments south of Dauki fault, Sylhet trough, occurrence of NE-SW sinistral (shears) and NW-SE dextral faults in Sonapur area, high seismic activity and rainfall are responsible for the Sonapur Landslide.

Abstract

Prediction of the occurrences of Landslides requires a set of complex analyses, involving multitude of factors which are to be studied systematically in order to evaluate the landslide vulnerability. The increasing availability of computer-based tools and data storage capabilities are found to be useful in landslide vulnerability mapping. One such significant tool in landslide studies is Geographic Information System (GIS). In this article some approaches were made to model the land slide hazard for Sirumalai Hills, Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu, India using Geographical Information Systems and the same is presented in this paper.

1.1 Introduction

Water is the basis of all forms of life. It supports life system not only to the plants but also to all other animals. The embryo from the conception till birth floats in the liquid medium. Cell, the basic unit of life, contains as high as 95- 98% water. Cellular metabolism is controlled by content of water. Majority of this water requirement of the crops is met from different forms of precipitation. However, when the water requirement is not fully met from precipitation, then growth of the crops is affected. This results in reduction of yield of the crops. The reduction in yield depends on the amount of scarcity of water requirement of the crops. Water requirement of crops depend on many factors. It depends on the type of crops, irrigation schedules practiced, soil texture, position of groundwater table below the effective root zone of the crop and management practice followed in crop cultivation. The pulses, oilseeds, vegetables which are also otherwise termed as dry land crops need less water compared to rice which is a water loving crops and perennial crops like sugarcane and banana.

Water requirement of crops is partly met by the upward flux of groundwater. The capillary rise of shallow water table in the form of upward flux helps in meeting the water requirement of crops to some extent. The upward flux depends on the type of the soil, effective root zone depth of the crop, depth of water table below effective root zone depth of the crop and potential gradient of soil moisture suction. The residual soil moisture helps in supporting water requirement of crops also. The heavy soil like clay has more moisture retention capacity than the light soils like sandy soil. The residual soil moisture held in clay soil is released slowly and supports soil moisture to the crops for a longer period than the sandy soil which has less soil moisture retention capacity. After meeting the water requirement of crops from all sources including different forms of precipitation, ground water contribution by capillary rise and residual soil moisture, if there is any shortage of water, then this shortage should be met from other sources which is called as irrigation.

14.1 Culture from Urine

Infection of urinary tract due to microorganisms affect patient of all age group and both sex., and they vary in severity from an unsuspected infection to a condition of severe systemic disease. Urine is a ordinarily excellent culture medium for the multiplication of common pathogen of urinary tract. Most bacteria found in the urine are due to contamination of skin flora during passage and they tend to increase greatly, exceeding 10⁶/ml. When the bacterial count exceeds 10⁵ per ml of urine it indicates significant bacteriuria and is indicative of a urinary tract infection. Infection of the urinary tract may be limited to a single tissue/ organ or they may spread upward and involve the entire urinary system. Escherichia coli is the most common urinary tract pathogen. Pseudomonas aeroginosa causes another important urinary tract infection, which is characterized by blue green pus. Cystitis (inflammation of urinary bladder), Pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidney) are permanent diseases of urinary tract.

Urinary tract infections are generally characterized by bacteriuria, bacteria in the urine. Quantitative microbiological assay of urine can identify the probable pathogen. For this purpose, calibrated loop- direct streak method and pour plate method are routinely used. Now-a-days commercially prepared special plastic device called the urine dip slide and diagnostic urine–culture called Bacturcult is being used for isolation and identification of microorganisms from genitourinary tract infections. The Bacturcult is a sterile disposable plastic tube coated with a special medium on its inner side for detection and identification of bacteriuria.

3. 1 Introduction

Irrigation efficiency evaluates how effectively the water has been distributed for the purpose of crop production. Water is conveyed to crop field through canal water courses and channels. During this process considerable amounts of water get lost through run off, deep percolation, evaporation, etc. The losses of water greatly depend on the skill of the irrigator, degree of land preparation, and design and planning of the system. The extent of water losses starting to diversion of water from its source to crop field though conveyance and ultimate application and distribution of water in crop field which can be estimated separately. The estimation of these efficiencies enables one to identify the step(s) where improvement is required. The method of measurement and evaluation for its efficiency is prerequisite for proper use of water. Irrigation efficiency in developing countries in general is poor particularly in gravity irrigation methods. However, water is become more and more scarce. Due to pressing need of it judicious and efficient management is one of the vital issues to be solved on priority basis.

The main purpose of this lecture note is to provide basic information on patent drafting skills and train applicants for drafting a patent in clear and concise manner.

We will see the components of Complete Specification through the following Case studey (1) of a solar water heater. The figures are provided below for reference and better understanding.

A Patent is a written document explaining an invention with exclusive right. It is used to protect an inventor/scientist and to prevent other from making profits without permission. It is also used as an authority paper permitting license holders to duplicate the results. A patent application requires a combination of legal documentation and technical papers. This issue makes patent writing a very different writing style.

In India, patent applications can be filed by a patent agent or an individual having some scientific and technical background to understand the invention. However, no one can understand the invention better than the inventors themselves. Document preparation requires healthy discussions between the inventor and agent. For inventors, a good understanding on patent writing style can greatly facilitate the documentation process. Before filing the patent application inventor must be sure about that the subject is eligible for patent protection, the invention has something new, the invention is not obvious and is not easily predictable from general consensus, and the invention has practical application.

ABSTRACT

The exponential growth of population and rapid industrialization, urbanization, deforestation and improper landuse practices have led to depletion and pollution of surface and ground water resources in Tamilnadu, India. In addition, a recurrent monsoonal failure further aggravates the problem of water even for drinking water. Water plays vital role in our day to day life and other developmental activities in the area. Thus, the availability of surface and sub surface water potential governs the processes of planning and development. The surface water resources are inadequate to fill the water demand and productivity through ground water is quite high as compared to surface water. Keeping this in view, the present study is aimed to identify the potential location of potable groundwater exploration in hard rock terrain. Thematic information on geomorphic landforms, Landuse/landcover and lineament details are extracted from remotely sensed data. Geology, Soil class, Drainage network and Slope map of the terrain were prepared using existing maps and collateral data by conventional method. GIS based model was developed and appropriate rank and weightage had been assigned to all categories based on local conditions/variations in each layer according to relative contribution towards the desired output. Since the present study built with logical condition and reasoning rule based approach for groundwater targeting, it has been successfully used and clearly demonstrated the capability of Remote Sensing and GIS techniques in identification of potable ground water potential zones.

12.1 Introduction

Micronization is a size reduction in which particles are reduced down to micrometer resulting in particle-size distribution is less than 10 microns. Acceleration of particles has been involved for particle-to-particle impact or impact against a solid surface. Micron technology is an emerging technology which has a great potential in nutraceuticals and functional foods. By increasing the surface area per unit mass, compared with larger-sized particles of the same chemistry, tiny particles are made more biologically active. A lot of attention has been gained by micronization in food research and development. Functional properties, surface areas and structures gets altered by reduction in particle sizes of different materials (e.g., metal salts, metal oxides, chitosan and organic compounds) by micronization or nanotechnology to micro- or nano-sizes and bring some new applications in the academic world as well as in food industry.

They absorb a large concentration (10-40 wt %) of C0₂ that either swells the polymer or melts it at a temperature below (10 to 50 °C) it’s melting/ glass transition temperature hence, this technique is useful for micronization of especially for polymers. Active substrate(s) in a polymer or other carrier substance can be used with suspensions for micronization process. In manufacturing advanced pharmaceuticals, coating materials, micro sensors, polymers and many other chemicals particle design has been gaining importance. Formulation homogeneity and control particle size can be improved by micronization. Moreover, bioavailability of poorly soluble APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredient) by increasing particle surface area and accelerating dissolution rates can also be improved. Because of the high impact velocities possible as a result of particle acceleration in a fast gas stream, fluid energy mills are used for micronization. Particle velocities in a jet mill are in the range of 300 to 500 meters per second, compared to 50 to 150 meters per second in a mechanical impact mill, in many industrial fields like food technology, pharmaceuticals, catalysts, pigments, and biopolymers, for example, are some categories of products that can be used as micro-sized particles, micronized powders are of great interest. High-temperature reactions that require high energies, on jet milling that is characterized by low efficiencies and mechanical stress, and on liquid solvents precipitation that has a poor control on particle size and can pollute the product comes under the traditional techniques for producing micronic powders. Generally, the control of the powder size and the span of its distribution are still very approximate. In recent years, many supercritical fluids-based techniques have been developed for the production of micronic and nanometric particles. Some particular properties of gases at supercritical conditions such as enhanced solubilization modulation and its power, large diffusivities, organic solvent reduced operation, and the connected possibility of controlling powder size and distribution resulted from this process. Important characteristics of powders like particle size and size distribution have significant effects on dissolution properties, flowability and release kinetics. Therefore, particle engineering is the most important step during processing of powdered foods. Lower micrometer range and sizes are needed for many applications particles with special requirements. Processes like jet milling, pearl milling or high pressure homogenization are used for micronization.

Abstract

This chapter presents the principle of fluidisation and its use in drying of food materials. Being a convective drying process, capacity and kinetics are limited by process conditions and material properties. The influences are discussed as well as presenting the main equations that describe drying in fluidised beds. The main focus lies on hot gas drying, additionally superheated steam drying as well as atmospheric fluidised bed freeze drying and microwave-assisted fluidised bed drying are presented and discussed.

The term ecology was first of all proposed by zoologist H. Pietir in 1865. It was derived from the Greek word ecologic means oikos = living place and logos = study and some definitions of ecology presented below:

1. According to Ernst Haeckel, 1869 “The total relations of the animal to both its organic and inorganic environment is called as ecology”.
2. E. Warming 1895 “Ecology is the study of animals and plants in relation to their environment”.
3. According to Odum 1963 “Study of structures and functions of nature is defined as ecology”.
4. Krebs 1985 says that the “Ecology is the scientific study of interaction that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms”.

The life of insects is dependent on the adaptability of the environment, if the environment is unfavourable then the insect population ceases and vice-versa. This insect move one place to another to get the favourable environment so that they can pull on their life activities properly. There is a deep relationship between the living community and non-living environment. Both are affecting each other greatly. This inter-relationship between living community and non-living environment is called as ecosystem. The term ecosystem was first used by A.G. Tansley as early as 1935 and he defined, “Ecosystem is the system of resulting from the interaction of all the living and non-living factors of the environment”.

Abstract

The study of size, shape and pattern of various bones in the skull of vertebrate fossils constitutes the foundation of their taxonomy and plays a role in understanding their evolution as well. Size and shape change during lifetime, and the growth of an individual bone involves both isotropic enlargement of its boundary due to uniform growth and differential enlargement that changes its shape. This paper attempts to develop a methodology for quantitative assessment of the pattern of ontogenic shape changes for all the individual skull roof bones of a taxon (Benthosuchus) of an extinct amphibian (temnospondyl) from the Lower Triassic of Russia. Published diagrams depicting skulls of different ontogenic stages have been used. A measure for the degree of shape changes is also proposed. In this study, the skull roof bones in dorsal view were represented as polygons. The boundary of each polygon of a juvenile skull was compared with that of an adult. For comparative purpose, the polygons of the younger skull were placed optimally inside that of the older skull, under the assumption of maximised uniform (isotropic) growth. The variance of the distances between the two boundaries measured at a number of points along the boundaries was considered as a measure for the degree of shape change. The results obtained are in partial concurrence with the published observations traditionally obtained from anatomical studies for the above mentioned growth series.

Mites are small arthropods which attack number of crops damaging different parts of the plants (leaves, buds, flowers and fruits) and due to short duration of life cycle and high fecundity, their population increases at a fast rate and when feeding in large numbers they become serious pest of many crops. Since last few years the menace of mites is on the increase in Indian sub-continent causing enormous losses. One of the probable reasons for it is attributed to excessive use of broad-spectrum pesticides, which have led to the development of resistance in mites. Further, owing to their deleterious effect on non target organisms, especially natural enemies of the mites in the ecosystem there is often a spurt in the population of mites which otherwise may be of minor pest category. Because of their small size, the infestation goes unnoticed in the beginning and by the time prominent symptoms appear a lot of damage has already been done.

FRUIT CROPS

In fruit crops, being perennial in nature, the infestation of mites not only affects the trees at a particular time but their overall vigour gets reduced which is reflected in reduction in production as well as poor quality of the fruit in the years to come. The identification characters, nature of damage and the symptoms must be well understood in order to manage the mite pests effectively. A number of mites are associated with various fruit crops and those infesting major fruit crops are discussed herewith.

Computer played a distinctive role in the growth of most advanced, precise and highly sensitive instruments especially in medical and analytical instrumentation technology. Due to the development of different kinds of software the instrumentation analysis has become easy, rapid and result oriented. Auto sampling, development of new methods for detection analysis and the validity of new developed method have been possible with no trouble. Once the standardization of method is over and saved, it can be applied at any time to integrate the unknown samples and their data calculation. Thus, it avoids repetition in calculation and the end result is time saving technique due to the development of computer-organized system in analysis.

The results produced are more reliable and reproducible through various computer based instruments e.g. scanning machines, blood analyzer, gas chromatography (GC), amino acid analyzer (AAA), atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) etc.

HPLC is a technology or a system that works on the basis of software. There have been many definitions of computer shielded HPLC, such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), high-speed liquid chromatography (HSLC), high efficiency liquid chromatography (HELC), and simply liquid chromatography (LC).

5.1 Foliar nutrition of fruit crops

Foliar application of nutrients is gaining importance in horticultural crops in general and fruit crops in particular. The important criterion of the effectiveness of nutrient spray is the rate at which the foliar applied nutrients are absorbed by the leaves and translocated within the plant. For getting optimum yield, foliar fertilization should be carried out when the plant’s requirements are particularly high and the nutrient uptake through the plant roots is restricted. The restriction may be due to either plant or soil limitations.

APPENDIX – 1: Basic Information

Table 1: Spacing and plant population

Since time immemorial, spices have played a vital role in world food trade, due to their varied properties and applications. We primarily depend on spices for flavour and fragrance as well as colour, preservative, inherent therapeutic, medicinal and appetizing properties. The spices that India can offer in abundant quantities are pepper, ginger, turmeric, chili, cardamom, celery, fenugreek, fennel, cumin, dill, coriander, cinnamon, ajowan, cloves, nutmeg, mace etc.

Introduction

Stored-product insects are serious pests of dried, stored, durable agricultural commodities and of many value-added food products and non-food derivatives of agricultural products worldwide. Various estimates on post harvest losses across the country revealed that there is loss of 2–12 per cent during storage exclusively by insects. Almost all the insect species may destroy 10.0 -15.0 per cent of grain and contaminate the rest with undesirable odour. The major loss is done by two internal feeders i.e. rice weevil and grain borer, which are major pests of rice, wheat and millets (Champ and Dyte, 1977). They also help in transportation of fungi (Sinha and Sinha, 1990). The losses during storage are quantity losses and quality losses. Quantity losses occur when insects, rodents, mites, birds and microorganisms, consume the grain. Infestation causes reduction in seed germination, increase in moisture, free fatty acid levels and decrease in pH and protein contents etc. resulting in total quality loss. Quality losses affect the economic value of the food grains fetching low prices to farmers (Das et al., 2013).

Introduction

Synthetic seeds are defined as artificially encapsulated somatic embryos, shoot buds, cell aggregates, or any other tissue that can be used for sowing as a seed and that possess the ability to convert into a plant under in vitro or ex vitro conditions and retained its potentiality also after storage (Capuano et al., 1998). In other words, synthetic or artificial seeds defined as somatic embryos engineered seed used in the commercial propagation of plants (Gray and Purohit, 1991; Redenbaugh, 1993).

Artificial seeds have great potential for large scale production of plants at low cost as an alternative to true seeds (Roy and Mandal, 2008). An artificial seed is often described as a novel analogue to true seed consisting of a somatic embryo surrounded by an artificial coat which is at most equivalent to an immature zygotic embryo, possibly at post-heart stage or early cotyledonary stage (Bekheet, 2006). There are various advantages of artificial seeds such as better and clonal plants could be propagated similar to seeds, preservation of rare plant species extending biodiversity could be realized, and more consistent and synchronized harvesting of important agricultural crops would become a reality, among many other possibilities (Khor and Loh, 2005). In addition, ease of handling, potential long-term storage and low cost of production and subsequent propagation are other benefits (Bekheet, 2006).

ABSTRACT

Soil salinity is one of the most serious environmental issues that limit agricultural productivity. Most of the food crops belong to glycophytes and hence, they are not able to withstand salinity stress. Salt stress significantly affects the various morphological, biochemical and physiological processes of the plant which leads to poor plant growth. Therefore, there is an emergent need to find out mitigation strategies to cope with the deleterious impacts of salt stress. Plant breeding techniques, efficient resource management and genetic engineering have been employed to cope with salt stress but these were of limited success as salt tolerant trait is complex both genetically and physiologically. Therefore, using plant growth promoting bacteria seems to be a cost effective and sustainable approach for salinity stress management. Hence plant growth promoting bacteria could play a significant role in alleviating salt stress. This chapter endeavor to provide an overview of the various important mechanisms such as facilitation of nutrient uptake, production of phytohormones, ACC deaminase production and siderophore production employed by the plant growth promoting bacteria to enhance the plant growth under salinity stress.

ABSTRACT

The people meet their need by taking pulses as their daily meal and therefore, the pulse play a significant role as food supplements. Pulses are called ‘Nutrient Powerhouse’ and are edible food of plants in the legume family. It contains high protein, fibers, various vitamins and amino acids. Starch is the main form in which plants store carbon. It occurs as semi crystalline granules composed of two polymers of glucose called amylose and amylopectin, depending on the plant organ. Starch granules are characterized by internal growth rings. Starch grain is a very useful taxonomic tool in plant systematic. In this investigation we atudied the morphological variations of starch grains in seeds. These starch grain contain the composition of carbon to form different structural diversity of seeds like simple i.e. two types: concentric and eccentric, semi-compound and compound. Polarized microscopy (PM) was used for better micro-morphological (Maltase cross) study. These micro-characters are carried out by UPGMA and construction dendrogram for visual appreciations of taxonomic relationship.

ABSTRACT

Plants are the basic requirement upon which all other living organisms depend. Plant resources have been used over the decades for human welfare in promotion of health as medicine, flavour and fragrance. Natural essential oils derived from plants are used as cosmetics, perfumes and flavors in foods and beverages. Development of processsing industries are directly linked to specific needs, available resources and intervention of technological capabilities. Resourgence of public interest in herbal products has created a huge market for plant based products which not only satisfies human needs, but also provides quality and safety insurance. Himalaya range in Southeast Asia is a hub of medicinal and aroma bearing plants globally recognized for their chemical constituents as well as endemic and threatened nature. These plant resources has high demand in international market for development of value added products, for isolation of commercial important compounds used in drug discovery programmes, preparation and formulation for development of new nutraceutical products and semi-synthetic derivatives for medicines. Aromatic plants are valued for their aromas, tastes and their applications in treatment of various illness, and mostly prefered in cosmatics, perfumes, confectionery food items and medicines. More than 3000 aroma bearing plants have been characterized world wide, of which, 116 aromatic plants are recorded from Indian Himalayas. Lavender, Geranium, Lemongrass and other aroma bearing plants are the main primary ingredient for many new and existing herbal products. An attempt has been made in this communication to present an account of different aromatic wealth of Himalaya, extraction techniques and their major chemical constituents, which will be helpful to pharmaceutical industries in development of value added products in time to come.

ABSTRACT

Wetlands play an important role in provisioning of numerous goods and services for mankind. However, the type and the quantum of ecological services differs amongst wetlands. In the present study, we documented the various plant resources used by the riparian communities of two well-recognized wetlands, Dhir beel and Diplai beel, located in Brahmaputra Valley of Assam. The findings of study indicate that the riparian communities are dependent on wetlands for various purposes. The riparian communities uses 48 plant species as vegetables, fruits, fodder, fuel wood, medicine, roofing materials, craft making materials, bio-fertilizer and fish poisoning agent. Some of the plant species such as Enhydra fluctuans, Lasia spinosa, Colocasia esculenta, Diplazium esculentum, Ipomoea aquatica and Monocharia hastata aresold in the village market as local vegetables. The wetlands generate income for the riparian communities and save cashof many households settled plant near the wetland. Nevertheless, this study also revealed that some near the wetland resources are declining due to population pressure, encroachment near the wetlands, deforestation and over-exploitation of the wetland habitats for creation of many fishery ponds within the wetland and cultivation practices on wetland edges. The socio-economic condition, unemployment, easy accessibility and lack of alternativesources are plausibly themajor factors, whichare leading to the decline and depletion of the wetland resources. Therefore, appropriate management strategies are required for the conservation and the sustainable utilization of these plant resources.

ABSTRACT

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench. is a medicinal and nutraceutically important herb of American origin, extended its distribution to other parts of the globe in subtropical and temperate environment. This species is known for various biological properties such as antimicrobial, immuno-stimulatory and anti-inflammatory properties due to the presence to several bioactive compounds loaded in the form of phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, terpenoids, lipids, nitrogenous compounds, carbohydrates and others such as ascorbic acid, sitosterol, linoleic acid, cyanidin glycosides and sesquiterpene esters in different quantities. Published data reveals that its major chemical constituents possess anti-anxiety, anti-depression, cytotoxicity, anti-infective and anti-mutagenicity properties. Besides, plants respond to abiotic and climatic signals that are responsible for various adaptive responses at the cellular level and vary with ecosystem in which the species grows. It may behave differently in different ecological climates, thereby, modifying their gene expressions, and this reveals that the plant growth and the adaptability are mainly affected by microclimatic factors. Experimental trials conducted to collect data on growth phenology in relation to crop-weather interaction and investigated result is presented in this research. Studies on chemical evaluation of E. purpurea under two constrasting environment, subtropical and temperate climate, with reference to cichoric acid and chlorogenic acid undertaken for this plant is also presented. Future studies in relation to the application of biotechnological interventions and chemical evaluation at different time scale would be a great contribution to the science for this species as it has the tremendous potentials which may lead to development of various nutraceuticals and value added products in future for human health and medicines.

ABSTRACT

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. is a perennial rhizomatous herbaceous plant, commonly called as kuth had a wide application in drug discovery programme and indigenously known for its medicinal usage in Indian system of medicine. Wide distribution of this species recorded from Himalayas and Indo-Mynamar hotspot biodiversity regions. This species is traditionally used for treatment of several seasonal diseases happen to occurs in hilly and mountaneous regions. It has been scientifically validated that this species possess various biological activities such as anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-arthritic, anti-convulsant, anti-oxidant, angiogenesis effect, hepatoprotective, gastro-protective, anti-obesity, and anti-inflammatory due to the presence of various bioactive principles such as costunolide, germacrene, lappadilactone, isodihydrocostunolide, cynaropicrin, linoleic acid, cyclocostunolide, alantolactone, isoalantolactone, sesquiterpene-saussureamines and several others in minor quantities. This species naturally grows in wild and mostly collected from the wild for its herbal usages, and this wild collection activities put S. costus under threatened and critically endangered categories, hence there is need for the development of agrotechnology for cultivation in large scale. This species has the potential components for developing new molecules in future for drug development. The present communication provides traditional usages, phytochemistry, therapeutic potentials, and future perspectives of S. costus. This baseline information provided in this article will be helpful in future for research to be carried forward in drug discovery programme using this plant species.

1. Introduction

Microbial diversity is becoming increasingly essential with the requirement to preserve the integrity, function and long-term sustainability of natural and managed ecosystems. However, our knowledge of the diversity of microbes remains obscure due to lack of appropriate approaches to evaluate the contribution of different components of the soil microbes to ecosystem. This lack of approaches together with the complex and heterogeneous matrix that soil microbes are embedded in, poses great challenges to understand the dynamics of microbial communities in soils (Nautiyal et al. 2010; Chauhan et al. 2013).

In classical terms, diversity is described as the total number of species present, i.e. species richness or species abundance, and the distribution of individuals among those species i.e. species evenness or species equitability. However, the incorporation of these two components into diversity indices has led to much controversy among ecologists (Atlas 1984). The Shannon-Weaver index (Shannon and Weaver 1949) is probably the most widely used index for measuring diversity of a microbial community. But this index, as many others that have been proposed, has its own limitations. A major difficulty is that both richness and evenness play a role in determining the value of the index. Therefore, any diversity index is a single value and thus cannot indicate the total make-up of a community. It is recommended that evenness, richness and diversity values should be calculated in order to obtain an objective assessment of community structure (Atlas 1984). From molecular point of view, diversity often refers to the number of different sequence type present in a habitat e.g. a soil (Ogram 2000). Measuring this type of diversity does not give information about the frequency of individual species, but it can give valuable information about changes in the community structure and species richness in response to changes in the physico-chemical properties of the soil and soil management practices (Nautiyal et al. 2010).

1. Introduction

Among the various well associated morphological units in plants, the reproductive units demand maximum protection which is achieved in pollen grains (also in spores) by encasing the germplasm with a well organized wall with a unique structure and ornamentation. Apart from its functional significance, the wall bears important characteristics which are of immense diagnostic and phylogenetic values. The morphological diversities in pollen and spore organization are greatly exemplified in the vascular plants. The term ‘Palynology’ was coined by Hyde and Williams in 1944 for the science of pollen studies, which include the study of pollen as well as spores. Although some investigators tend to limit the scope of palynology to morphological investigations but others include pollen analyses of peats, coals, honey, and rocks as well as the resulting conclusions drawn from this information, and in a wider sense it is also connected with the pollen chemistry.

The wall of pollen and spores is a very peculiar substance which is resistant to the destructive action of corrosive acids and alkalis and is readily preserved in nature under suitable conditions. The shape, size, and ornamentation or sculpturing of pollen has been the subject of study since the invention of the microscope. Pollen morphology is therefore greatly utilized in interpretation of ancient floras, for determining authentic species phylogeny, distribution and climatic conditions under which they grew, based upon the pollen content of the matrices. Pollen which lodges in moss tufts and lichen mats, or falls in water and gradually sink, or those that fall on sphagnum and clays particularly under anaerobic conditions, are well preserved. This pollen is not destroyed in the transformation of peats to lignite or clay in shale and thus has been preserved for hundreds of thousands of years.

During the present century pollen morphological studies are substantiated and elaborated magnanimously with the aid of Electron microscopy. The surface configuration and finer details are being accurately analyzed for their proper application in plant taxonomy as well as in microfossil diagnosis.

1. Introduction

In the last few decades there has been worldwide revival on the use of herbal drugs/phytochemical for diverse purposes including medicinal, nutritional and as cosmetic. The revival of interest in natural drugs and the herbal products was due to the widespread belief that ‘green’ medicine is healthier than synthetic products. This has led to the rapid spurt of demand for health products like herbal tea, ginseng and such products of traditional medicine during the 1980s. The health promotion and disease prevention strategy in treatment is widely prevalent in oriental systems, especially the Indian (‘Ayurveda’, ‘Siddha’, ‘Unani and ‘Amchi’) and the Chinese systems of medicine, which are finding increasing popularity and acceptance in the world over. Because of this sweeping ‘greenwave’ a large number of herbal drugs and the plant derived herbal products are sold in the health food shops all over the developed countries. Export– Import Bank reports revealed that the global trade of plant-derived and plant originated products is around US $60 billion (with growth of 7% per annum) where India holds stake of US $1 billion which is expected to reach 3 trillion US$ by the end of 2015 (Pandey et al. 2008). These targets can be achieved by providing scientifically validated, safe and standardized herbal products in domestic and international markets.

Standardization is an important step for the establishment of a consistent biological activity, a consistent chemical profile, or simply a quality assurance programme for production and manufacturing of herbal drugs. It is now well known that the pharmacological activity of a medicinal plants is due to the presence of certain bioactive phytochemicals, which are either primary or secondary metabolites. Amount of these compounds are controlled and conditioned by a variety of factors such as its genetic predisposition, habitat of the plant agro climatic conditions, season and also the stage of growth and development of the plant etc. Therefore, it is desirable to study the effect of these on secondary metabolites to get the right/optimum amount of secondary metabolites in the plant part/raw drug. The formation of herbal drug based on the traditional knowledge using modern tools is the requirement of the present day. WHO’s specific guidelines for the assessment of the safety, efficacy and quality of herbal medicines as a prerequisite for global harmonization are of utmost importance. Considering the importance of the herbal drugs/products, quality assurance of raw drug/formulation and developing botanical and chemical parameters for assuring their quality, have become major riders on the pharma or drug research and industry.

Eggs are considered as Nature’s original functional food because they are abundant source of nutrients like vitamins and minerals. It contains valuable nutrients from the high-quality protein to significant levels of beneficial vitamins, antioxidants and other healthful compounds. The protein of eggs is considered as highest quality protein as compared to other animal protein sources which is readily available and most inexpensive. Eggs are good source of all well balanced nutrients for persons of all age groups. Egg is a unique combination nutrient like it is rich in protein and low in calorie. The nutrients concentration in eggs is dependent on breed, strain, species, feed, age, season, storage and processing methods.

The nutritional value of eggs lies chiefly in their proteins of good biological value; an average-sized egg (60 g) provides approximately 7 g of proteins. These proteins are rich in essential amino acids with a very good balance between these amino acids. So the egg protein can be regarded as a reference protein. On comparison we can say that 2 eggs provide as much protein as 100 g of meat or 100 g of fish. The energy value for an average egg (60 g) is approximately 376 Kj (90 kcal). The lipid content is 7 g, most of these lipids being contained in the yolk. Among the total fatty acids 2/3^rd of these are unsaturated. Egg also contains 180 mg of cholesterol and rich in vitamins (A, D, E) and trace elements (iron and zinc).

Clouds are visible mass of little drops of water or frozen crystals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of the earth. The World Meteorological Organisation defined cloud as a visible aggregate of minute particles of water or ice or both, in the free air. This aggregate may include larger particles of water or ice and particles such as those present in fumes, smoke or dust.

Clouds are the most important form of suspended water droplets caused by condensation. The typical size of these water droplets and ice crystals range from less than 1 μm to 50 μm. When surrounded by billions of other droplets or crystals, they become visible as clouds. In the atmosphere sufficient moisture is required to allow condensation to take place. Then, moisture needs a suitable surface upon which it can condense. In free air, condensation begins on hygroscopic nuclei such as aerosols. These are microscopic particles and include dust, smoke, salts and chemical compounds. Nuclei range in size from 0.001 μm radius to over 10 μm. On an average, oceanic air contains one million condensation nuclei per litre and land air holds some 5 or 6 millions. On hygroscopic particles such as sea salts, condensation can begin before the air is saturated. Supersaturation in clouds rarely exceeds one per cent. On an average, clouds contain only four per cent of the total water in the atmosphere at any one time. Almost all clouds exist in the troposphere, although the tops of some severe thunderstorms occasionally extend to the stratosphere. Clouds move along with the wind and remain stationary in calm winds. They grow vertically and horizontally, depending on the temperature of the cloud and its ambient temperature. They may dissipate or precipitate. Under favourable atmospheric conditions, they burst and fall as rain.

Different crops are grown over a wide range of agroecosystems. Though the crops are raised in varied climates, ranging from very hot to very cold, and very wet to very dry, across temperate, tropical and semiarid zones, they are very sensitive to climate. The crop production is dependent on climatic parameters like rainfall, light, temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration. Each kind of cultivated crop plants has its own optimum growth requirements. Breeding and selection of new cultivars have allowed for a greater adaptability to less favourable growing conditions than was possible in the past, but the inherent climatic requirements of a specific kind of crop have not changed materially. Crop management is therefore very much about managing climate risk so as to have financially viable and sustainable agricultural systems. Professor Henry Nix of the Australian National University posed three questions that need to be addressed when considering what crop can be grown where (Nix, 1981).

The word ‘remote sensing’ was coined by Evelyn L. Pruitt, an American Geographer in 1960. Remote sensing is defined as collection and interpretation of information about a target without being in physical contact with it. Remote sensing is the science and art of obtaining information about an object, area or phenomenon through the analysis of data acquired by a device that is not in contact with the object, area or phenomenon under investigation (Lillesand and Keifer, 1994).

The information needs a physical carrier to travel from the objects/events to the sensors through an intervening medium. Any force field such as gravity, magnetic or electromagnetic could be used for remote sensing. However, the electromagnetic radiation is conventionally used as an information carrier in remote sensing. Remotely sensed data may be gathered by different devices, including sensors, film cameras, digital cameras and video recorders. Instruments capable of measuring electromagnetic radiation are called sensors.

Remote sensing is nothing but opposite of astronomy. In astronomy, man looks from the earth to the sky to understand and gain more knowledge about the celestial objects. But remote sensing refers to going upward in the sky to look downwards to understand and gain more knowledge about terrestrial objects. In remote sensing, the aerial sensor technologies are used to detect and classify objects on earth by means of electromagnetic radiation.

Organic farming is a crop production method respecting the rules of the nature, targeted to produce nutritive, healthy and pollution free food. It maximizes the use of on -farm resources and minimizes the use of off – farm inputs.

The general guidelines on organic production of crops are prepared based on National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) launched by Government of India. These guidelines enable the growers to attain more or less the same level of the productivity of conventional farming within a few years and at the same time maintain the fertility of the soil and protect the ecological balance.

Abstract

Among the 29 Indian states, 14 are linked with 585 regulated mandis with electronic national agricultural market. Across the states, 7.35 million farmers with 53,163 commission agents are registered in these regulated mandis. Every year Government of India announces modified agricultural policies to safeguard the interest of the farming community. Amongst the policies, one of the mechanisms to protect the producers from price fluctuations is Minimum Support Price (MSP). While determining MSP, government takes into account cost of production, cost of living, as well as economic and socio-political factors. For the past two decades, it has been observed that one MSP graph is moving upward but still the farming community seems dissatisfied. The reasons behind MSP variation among states include offering bonus prices additionally with MSP by some states, due to variation in government procurement procedures and policies. As a result, MSP is playing an important role in manoeuvring of prices amongst the various state markets. MSP deviation provides chances for the private sector to take undue advantage and the farmers are adversely affected. The study analyses existence of deviation in mandi prices of staple food between two states from year 2007 to 2018. It will disclose whether centralized price system reduce the cost of government and aid the farmer to get fair valuation.

Abstract: Phlox, garden annual, is used as an ideal crop for cytogenetical study. The modern cultivars are grown for ground cover in beds, borders, rock gardens or as edging in landscaping. Phlox taxa serve as a model for speciation through hybridization and contribute to domestication of wild species through interspecific hybridization which revitalized the crop. Limited fertility, reproductive barriers, germination challenges, low seed set often pose significant challenges to breeders. The increasing knowledge of the inheritance of traits and molecular genetic techniques are valuable tools aiding modern phlox breeders. Breeding objectives with high priority include dwarf stature, novel forms, winter hardiness and disease resistance.

1. INTRODUCTION

Landscaping is a branch of ornamental horticulture having aesthetic and beautifying value which freshens up the atmosphere, enhances the look of the environment and improves beauty of land. In the area of landscaping, it is beneficial to know about ground covers (grasses etc), hedging plants, and focus plants that will complement one another.

A garden by definition is a piece of land devoted to growing flowers, fruits, vegetables, shrubbery and turf. Gardens brighten their surroundings and they add to the beauty of the landscape. The types of flowers that can be grown in a garden depend on the size of the garden, its location and the amount of sunshine and shade it gets.

Lipids are a class of compounds that are defined by how they are isolated, rather than by their composition. Lipids are molecules that can be extracted from plants and animals by low polarity solvents such as ether, chloroform, or even acetone. They are not appreciably soluble in water. Fats and the fatty acids from which they are made belong to this group as do oils, waxes and steroids. Hydrolyzable lipids are those that contain a functional group that will react with water. The functional group is usually an ester and the list of compounds includes neutral fats, waxes, phospholipids, and glycolipids. Non- hydrolyzable lipids lack such functional groups and include steroids and fat-soluble vitamins (e.g. A, D, E, and K).

Fats and oils are composed of triacylglycerols. These are compounds prepared by the union of glycerol (1,2, 3-tri- hydroxypropane) and 3 fatty acids to form a triester. Fats and oils belong to a group of biological substances called lipids. Lipids are biological chemicals that do not dissolve in water. They serve a variety of functions in organisms, such as regulatory messengers (hormones), structural components of membranes, and as energy storehouses. Fats and oils generally function in the latter capacity. Fats differ from oils only in that they are solid at room temperature, while oils are liquid. Fats and oils share a common molecular structure. The fats and oils contain three ester functional groups. Fats and oils are esters of the tri- alcohol, glycerol (or glycerine). Therefore, fats and oils are commonly called triglycerides, although a more accurate name is triacylglycerols. Triglyceride molecules contain mostly carbon and hydrogen atoms, with only six oxygen atoms per molecule. This means that fats and oils are highly reduced (un-oxidized). Oils are particularly common in seeds, where the stored energy helps seedlings during germination, until they can exploit solar energy through photosynthesis. Fatty acids contain an even number of carbon atoms, from 4 to 36, bonded in an unbranched chain. Most of the bonds between carbon atoms are single bonds. If all of these bonds are single bonds, the fatty acid is said to be saturated, because the number of atoms attached to each carbon atom is the maximum of four. If some of the bonds between carbon atoms are double bonds, then the fatty acid is unsaturated. When there is only one double bond, it is usually between the 9th and 10th carbon atom in the chain, where the carbon atom attached to the oxygen atoms is counted as the first carbon atom. If there is a second double bond, it usually occurs between the 12th and 13th carbon atoms, while a third is usually between the 15th and 16th.

Introduction

Alstroemeria also known as the lily of the Incas, Peruvian lily or Inca lily, has been grown mainly as a cut flower crop. Recently, it has become popular as a garden flower and also as a potted flowering plant. The plants produce beautiful large inflorescence in many different colours viz. lavender, orange, yellow to dark yellow, white, pink, red, purple and bi-colors. Flowers are characterized by black dots at the base of the petals and throats. The cut flowers have a long post harvest life, up-to two weeks. These valuable characteristics have made Alstroemeria one of the top cut flowers at the Dutch Flower Auction Centers. The plants produce high yield and possess an ever blooming habit after flower initiation has occurred but in general most cultivars flower best during spring and early summer. The straight, un-branched shoots emerge from underground rhizomes which also produce enlarged storage roots. It is gaining popularity in Indian flower market due to long stem flowers and prolonged vase life. Recently flower growers have shown great interest about its production as a cut flower crop.

Technologiocal intervention is essential for improving pulse productivity through introduction of suitable high yielding varieties (Masood Ali and Shiv Kumar 2009). This is only possible through: (i) development of high yielding varieties with multiple resistance/tolerance to major diseases like mung bean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV), powdery mildew (PM) and Cercospora in mung bean and urdbean; (ii) development of varieties having resistance and tolerance to pre-harvest sprouting in mung bean, (iii) development of efficient plant type with high biomass and harvest index, (iv) development of varieties suited for intercropping system, (v) broadening genetic base of developed varieties, (vi) development of 50-55 days varieties of mung bean having 1 tonne/ha productivity and resistance to YMV for summer cultivation, (vii) development of high yielding and early maturity varieties of peas having resistance to powdery mildew, (viii) developing rajmash genotypes resistant to bean common mosaic virus and sclerotia rot, tolerant to high/low temperature and shattering resistance are important ones for increasing production through varieties intervention (AICRP MuLLaRP, http://iipr.res.in/mullarp).

Seed is the basic input in agriculture that acts as a catalyst for realising the full production potential of the high yielding/improved varieties. The role of quality seed in agriculture has been recognized since the ancient periods. It is a well established fact that among all the agricultural inputs, use of quality seed alone can enhance the crop production up to 15-20 per cent, depending upon the crop, and it can be further raised up to 45 per cent with efficient management of other inputs. If the seed sown is of inferior quality, the efforts of the plant breeders in developing and introducing improved varieties would be rendered futile. Modern agriculture lays great emphasis that each and every seed should germinate readily with full potential and produce vigorous seedlings to ensure high yields.

There is an urgent need to take up productivity improvement programmes in the senile plantations, with fresh stock supported with appropriate and integrated combination of inputs, pruning and grafting as well as training techniques taking care of health, vigour and productiveness. This require proven technology implementation through individual farmers, farmers’ cooperatives, self-help groups, NGOs, growers’ associations and commodity organizations. However, technology depends upon the nature and requirement of a particular fruit crop. The rejuvenation technology for transformation of old senile orchards into young productive ones in sustained manner requires well-planned and concerted efforts. Though processes and procedures require scientific skill with precision in application/implementation as these important commercial crops have been associated with livelihood of many farmers/growers, i.e. why economic production is of utmost important for the growers as it holds true for all the region specific important commercial fruit crops in general.

The successful translation of rejuvenation technology in old senile orchards includes sequential operational steps. They should be followed in scientific manner for different category/group of fruit crops.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) commonly known as ‘Anar’, is an ancient favourite table fruit of tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It belongs to family, Punicaceae. There is a great diversity in pomegranate. Originated in southern Asia and said to be native from Iran to the Himalayas in the northern India (Sandhu and Gill, 2013). The orcharding of pomegranate is somewhat expansive and skilful job. The perennial nature of fruit take longer period to come to bearing stage (3-4 years). Thereafter due to neglect in management practices the annual production, many a times compels the orchardist have to go for distress sale of entire poor quality produce. But, the successful commercial fruit production with increased quality production has made significant contribution to economic development of the grower and ultimately those in the growing region in sustainable manner.

Agriculture – world-wide – is a vital determinant of the livelihoods of the rural communities and small holders in particular. Farm households consume as well as produce the food items. Diet diversity increased with farm size. Large farm- households obtain their food energy from more diverse sources – intake of pulses, milk, edible oil and sugar. Calorie intake per person per day decreased as farm size decreases. So also the protein intake on large farm house holds is substantially higher than for sub-marginal farm households and correspondingly for fats. So far the protein consumption is concerned the main source is pulses the small holder farmers grow. This is justified by the Simpson Index of diet diversity-0.43 for sub-marginal and 0.56 for large households (Singh et al., 2002). The production of pulses including the traditional/potential pulses keep priority for combating the protein deficiency in addition to earning monetary returns from export of processed and value added pulse products. The pulse production is not sufficient to cater the domestic consumption need. The area under pulse is declining over the years. The productivity is not satisfactory in comparison to the potential yield of the varieties as well as the low yield from traditional plant types grown mostly under rain fed and residual soil moisture condition after harvest of paddy or as pyra crop in paddy without proper crop management. The trend in total factor productivity of black gram and green gram, the major pulses is declining in state of Odisha and that of chick pea in Madhya Pradesh. The deficit in pulse production has led to rise in price of processed pulses due to its import to meet the domestic requirement.

1.1 General

Access to energy is a crucial enabling condition for achieving sustainable development. Prudent energy policies and research can play an important role in steering both industrialized and developing countries onto more sustainable energy development paths. Specifically, they can strengthen the three pillars of sustainable development: the economy, by boosting productivity, social welfare, by improving living standards and enhancing safety and security, and the environment, by reducing indoor and outdoor pollution and remediating environmental degradation.

1.2 Energy and it’s Requirement

Energy in any form is necessary to meet many of our requirements. It’s varying definitions shows the importance of energy in our life.

Abstract

The art of remote sensing has opened up many vistas in the study of river migration as satellite photographs, both in their normal and digitally enhanced modes, vividly show the rivers and their migratory signatures. The rivers migrate for various reasons amongst which tectonic movement is one of the main causes. In the present study an attempt has been made to exhibit the palaeochannel network of the rivers of Western India and integrate them with lineament fabric, so as to understand the Quaternary tectonics of the region. The study has shown that Western India shows considerable signs of Quaternary tectonics.

Abstract

The art of remote sensing has opened up many vistas in the study of river migration as satellite photographs, both in their normal and digitally enhanced modes, vividly show the rivers and their migratory signatures. The rivers migrate for various reasons amongst which tectonic movement is one of the main causes. In the present study an attempt has been made to exhibit the palaeochannel network of the rivers of Western India and integrate them with lineament fabric, so as to understand the Quaternary tectonics of the region. The study has shown that Western India shows considerable signs of Quaternary tectonics.