eChapters

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).

Cotton is often called as “white gold”. True to its name cotton supports the largest agro based industries in India and cotton industry ranks first in the agro based industries and engages 4 to 5 million people in cotton growing. The industrial sector employs 1.0 million people. At present there are 3660 ginning and 1570 textile mills in India. India earns foreign exchange to a tune of Rs. 2500 million through exports of cotton textiles and products. Cotton is cultivated for ‘lint’ which is used for preparing threads, yarns and medical cotton mixed with synthetic fibre and for various other purposes.

Developmental Anomalies

Hereditary anemia

Hereditary anemia has been reported in mice due to defects in erythropoiesis or reduced vitality of erythrocytes. Erythropenia along with leucopenia occurs in mouse foetus on 20th day of gestation due to defective autosomal chromosome 4. Sex linked anemia in mouse is hypochromic with deficient bone marrow and occurs in hemizygus males or homozygus females. This anemia occurs due to deficiency of iron as a result of poor absorption from gastrointestinal tract.

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia in foals

It occurs due to incompatible blood group antigens of male and female parents. The mare does not have that blood group antigen but foetus acquires it from father. The foetal blood exposed to dam through placental exchanges leads to induction of antibody production in mares against foetal blood group antigen. These antibodies accumulate in colustrum and when foal suck the milk from mares, they are readily absorbed through G.I. tract of foals in blood and cause destruction of erythrocytes leading to anemia.

Introducton

The Working Group Report of Fifth Assessment Report 2013, by UN’s Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says, that to limit warming to a rise of 2ºC above pre industrial levels, 1000 gigatones (trillion tons) is the upper limit of CO₂ that can be emitted. However, by 2011, we have already emitted 531 gigatones since last 260 yrs and in next 25 years, we will cross 1000 gigatones limit. There is a clear long-term global warming trend. Notably, the 20 warmest years have all occurred since 1981, and the 10 warmest have all occurred in the past 12 years.

INTRODUCTION

Farming acts as the primary occupation of majority of the population in India. According to National Sample Survey Estimate, about 49% of the Indian population is dependent on agriculture and allied industries (GOI, 2014, CIA, 2012) making it the largest source of employment to the people of India. Although, being a second largest food producing country in the world (Sarkar, 2009), the contribution of agriculture to the GDP has been declining. The contribution of agriculture to Indian GDP has declined from 30% in 1991 to 15% in 2011-2012 to 13.7% in 2013 (Economic Survey. 2013-2014). This decline is also accompanied by a decline in the participation of people in Indian farming sector. In fact between 2001 and 2011 about 9 million people have quit farming, which is about 2 million more than the decline noted in the previous decade (GOI, 2011). This figure equates to about 2035 farmers quitting farming per day. The recent census (GOI, 2011) also highlighted that for the first time in four decades an absolute decline (about 7%) in the cultivators has been noted.

The classical idea of the existence of a hormone as a chemical  messenger was first reported by Darwin and Darwin (1880). However, Boysen-Jensen (1911) was first who actually demonstrated their prescence by a grafting experiment. Evidence  exist to show that early mankinds often  used these phytohormones  for rooting of cuttings, flower  induction, control of flower drop etc. The  modern age of phyto-hormones began in 1926 when  F.W.Went isolated  an active substance from oat coleoptile  tip which later on proved as IAA (Indole Acetic Acid) or auxin. A dramatic revolution in this field started after the discovery that a chemical  different in structure to IAA could exhibit auxin like activity such as rooting of cuttings (Zimmermann and Wilcoxon,1935) and by 1940,the use of synthetic auxins was well established with the progress in this field, the first generation phytohormones have been replaced with superior product and new crops are being added to take the advantages of its beneficial effects.

Interest Rate : Provisional Interest rate @ 14.50% p.a. has been taken for evaluation of the project report. However, the sanctioning authority may consider the exact rate of interest applicable, on the date of sanction. Development of farm should be completed within 3 months from first disbursement.
 
Repayment of loan : A five-year repayment programme has been drawn with six months moratorium period, the installments will be monthly starting from 6th month onwards. The applicant has to make tie-up with the local MPCS and the repayment should be routed through the MPCS.

INTRODUCTION

In the world of flower, together with lilies, gladioli, begonias; the dahlias are one of the most important and popular flowering bulbs. With the blast of different colours, shape and sizes, dahlias bring life and beauty back to the landscape in late summer and autumn. The diversity of dahlias allows their usage in many different aspects due to huge range of flower types available and fairly easy cultivation.

In modern garden, dahlias are extensively used for exhibition, garden display and decoration. It can be grown in any form in the garden; in beds, in borders or even in mixed borders alongwith other plants. It grows well in pots also. For border purpose dwarf growing type are preferred while in pots usually large flowering dahlias are grown. The long stemmed flowers of various forms and colours are used in flower arrangement. Dahlias make excellent cut flowers, which typically last about a week in the house and are also used in making garlands.

The tubers of dahlias contain appreciable amount of insulin and fructose and small quantities of phytin and benzoic acid which are of medicinal and nutritional value. Flavanone 3-hydroxylase, which catalyses the conversion of flavanones to dihydro flavonols, was detected in flower extracts of cyanic strains of dahlia.

The competitive relations among the cultivated crop species perform a relation and these are pronounced during the early growth period of the crops and during later phases. The crop’s performance is reflected into the yield output. Intercropping research so far conducted is based on the experimental layout of either replacement or additive series.

Endoskeleton of the Head (Tentorium)

• The tentorium forms during development when 2-4 pairs of apophysis/ apodemes (finger-like invaginations of exoskeleton) fuse internally to create a “bridge”.

• The major components of the tentorium are the anterior tentorial arms, the posterior tentorial arms, the dorsal tentorial arms, and the tentorial bridge.

• The anterior tentorial arms originate as invaginations at the lateral limits of the frontoclypeal suture. The coalescence of the anterior tentorial arms forms a more or less solid structure, the tentorial bridge.

• The posterior tentorial arms arise from pits at the ventral ends of the post occipital suture and they unite to form a bridge running across the head from one side to the other.

• In many insects, e.g. Orhtoptera, the central part of the composite tentorium enlarged to form a broad plate referred to as the Corporotentorium.

• The tentorium serves as an internal “truss” that reinforces the head capsule, cradles the brain, provides attachment for muscles and provides a rigid origin for muscles of the mandibles and other mouthparts. The antennal muscles also arise from the tentorium.

Developmental Anomalies

Aplasia

Absence of one or both kidneys. Absence of one kidney is observed in animals with compensatory hypertrophy of another kidney and such animals may survive well.

Hypoplasia

The size of kidneys remains small as they don’t grow properly due to defect in a single recessive autosomal gene.

Cyst in kidney

Single or multiple cysts in pig and dog kidney are reported with tinged yellow colour. They may arise from nephron due to its distension. Presence of multiple cysts is also termed as congenital polycystic kidney.

Type-I cysts are formed due to dilation and hyperplasia of collecting tubules resulting in spongiform kidneys. In such neonates cystic bile ducts are also present.

Abstract

Plants have been used both in the prevention and cure of various diseases throughout the centuries. An important prerequisite for proper utilization of plants as natural resources is that we should have full knowledge regarding their occurrence, frequency, distribution and phenology. Arisaema jacquemontii Blume (Araceae) is a perennial herb that has been reported in various literatures to be used traditionally in various countries for the treatment of different diseases. Scientific evaluations of this plant have revealed that it harbors various phytoconstituents like alkaloids, phenols, terpenoids, flavonoids, glycosides, tannins and several other chemical constituents which have pharmacological implications with as antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, anticancer and immunomodulatory activities. This chapter collaborates the data with respect to the ethnobotanical and ethno medicinal importance of Arisaema jacquemontii and its role as a natural source of phytoconstituents that have therapeutic implications.

1. Introduction

Freezing is a method of food preservation that involves lowering the temperature below the freezing point of food generally -18 °C or below. During freezing of food the water present in them changes its state to form ice crystals. Human beings in the colder regions have used freezing as a means of preservation since they learnt hunting and gathering foods. The foundation of the modern frozen industry was laid in mid 1920 when Clarence Frank Birdseye, an American inventor used cold brine solution to chill packaged fish and extended it further for quick freezing of meat poultry fruit and vegetables. 

1. Introduction:- Ensuring Quality and Success in Assisted Reproductive
Technology through Good Laboratory Practices Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) in animals has become an increasingly vital set of techniques with wide-ranging applications across agriculture, wildlife conservation, and biomedical research. These technologies, encompassing procedures such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), embryo transfer, and cryopreservation of gametes and embryos, offer solutions to infertility, enable genetic improvement in livestock, and play a crucial role in preserving endangered species. As the application of ART expands throughout the globe, the need for stringent quality control and standardization becomes paramount to ensure the reliability and reproducibility of outcomes. Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) represent a well-established quality system that provides a framework for the organizational processes and conditions under which non-clinical studies are planned, performed, monitored, recorded, reported, and archived. Originally developed to ensure the integrity of safety data for pharmaceuticals and other regulated products, the fundamental principles of GLP are highly relevant to the field of animal ART. This report aims to explore the application of GLP in ART and to thoroughly investigate its contribution to achieving successful outcomes in various ART procedures and across different animal species. By examining the core principles of GLP and their practical implementation in animal ART laboratories, this analysis will highlight the critical role of standardized practices in enhancing the reliability, ethical conduct, and overall success of animal reproductive technologies.
2. Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) in Reference to ART
Good Laboratory Practices are broadly defined as a quality system that governs the organization and conditions under which non-clinical health and environmental safety studies are planned, performed, monitored, recorded, reported, and archived. This system is designed to ensure the quality and

There are some weeds which prefer to in crop field and some of them have a distinct association with some crops.

Horticulture is a wide field and includes a great variety and diversity of crops. In general, these crops are classified as follows:

1. Crops grown for the food and/or vitamin and mineral content, for e.g., apple and sweet potato.

2. Crops grown for their beverage properties, for e.g., tea and coffee.

3. Crops grown to beautify the environment, for e.g., the grasses of the well planned lawn.

4. Crops grown to express sentiments, for e.g., cut roses, jasmine.

5. Crops grown for perfume for e.g., rose, jasmine.

6. Crops grown for spices for e.g., pepper, nutmeg.

Botanical Name: Cocos nucifera L. Family: Arecaceae / Palmae Chromosome No: 32 Place of Origin: Malaysia Common Name: Coconut 2.1 Introduction Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), is widely known as ‘Kalpavriksha’ (i.e., tree of heaven) as each and every part of the palm is useful in one way or the other and is an important perennial oil yielding crop of humid tropics. It provides food security and livelihood opportunities to 20 million people around the globe and 10 million people in India (Chowdappa et al., 2017). Even though India is the largest coconut growing country in the world, its contribution to the export market is not significant. Coconut as an edible oil and food crop, is now slowly transforming into raw material for various pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetic products. Coconut is rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals. Because of its health benefits beyond its nutritional content, it has been considered as “functional food”. Hence, there exists a huge scope for coconut-based agribusiness in India, which will increase the present 8% level of value addition to 25%. The coconut-based value-added products are desiccated coconut powder, coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut milk powder, coconut flour, coconut water concentrate, coconut jelly (Nata-de-coco), coconut vinegar, virgin coconut oil, coconut chips, coconut pickle, coconut ice cream, neera and neera based value added products such as syrup, squash, honey, jaggery, candy and sugar (Chowdappa et al., 2017).

Management approaches to soil, including problems of soil degradation and low soil fertility, have recently undergone major changes. The earlier concept was to concentrate on achieving high levels of production from the more fertile areas, leaving the marginal lands for extensive use only. Steeply sloping and highly drought-prone areas were mostly left without any cultivation as production from these areas was hardly cost effective. Soil constraints were to be overcome by inputs like improved crop varieties, fertilizers, chemical control of pests and diseases, and the use of irrigation. The approach of use of newly developed high yielding crop varieties, improved agronomic management practices, use of chemical fertilizers, efficient water management and timely plant protection measures has been successful in achieving large increases in crop productivity in recent years. On the other hand, continuous application of fertilizers at higher rates leads to environmental problems. Yield responses to fertilizers have declined because of soil physical degradation and micronutrient deficiencies.

Zoonoses

Zoonoses are those diseases and infections which are transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans under natural conditions. The emergence of a pathogen into a new host species is called disease invasion or “disease emergence”.

Anthrax is a notifiable disease and primarily occurs in herbivores but it is a type of bio-terrorism agent and called as malignant pustule, malignant edema, woolsorters disease, ragpickers disease, maladi charbon, splenic fever etc. Causative agent is Bacillus anthracis contains vegetative spore and lethal dose is 2,500 to 55,000 spores.

Brucellosis is one of the world’s most widespread zoonoses caused by the genus Brucella. In human it is called Malta fever, Undulant fever, Mediterranean fever, Rock Fever of Gibraltar and Gastric Fever while in animals it is called Bang’s disease, Enzootic abortion, Epizootic abortion, Slinking of calves, Ram epididymitis and Contagious abortion etc. it is also called occupational disease.

Leptospirosis is a disease of animal sand humanbeings caused by genus Leptospira and called as Weil’s syndrome, Canicola fever, Canefield fever, 7-day fever, Rat Catcher’s Yellows, Autumn fever, black jaundice). Fletcher’s EMJH media is used to culture the organism.

The transfer foreign gene to the plant cell is a very crucial method to production of transgenic plant. So improvement of plant quality requires to transfer our interest gene or we can say useful for production of our interest product. To achieve genetic transformation in plants, we need the construction of a vector (genetic vehicle) which transports the genes of interest, flanked by the necessary controlling sequences i.e. promoter and terminator, and deliver the genes into the host plant. The two kinds of gene transfer methods in plants are.

1. Vector-mediated or Indirect Gene Transfer

Among the various vectors used in plant transformation, the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens has been widely used. This bacteria is known as “natural genetic engineer” of plants because these bacteria have natural ability to transfer T-DNA of their plasmids into plant genome upon infection of cells at the wound site and cause an unorganized growth of a cell mass known as crown gall. Ti plasmids are used as gene vectors for delivering useful foreign genes into target plant cells and tissues. The foreign gene is cloned in the T-DNA region of Ti-plasmid in place of unwanted sequences.

To transform plants, leaf discs (in case of dicots) or embryogenic callus (in case of monocots) are collected and infected with Agrobacterium carrying recombinant disarmed Ti-plasmid vector. The infected tissue is then cultured (co-cultivation) on shoot regeneration medium for 2-3 days during which time the transfer of T-DNA along with foreign genes takes place. After this, the transformed tissues (leaf discs/calli) are transferred onto selection cum plant regeneration medium supplemented with usually lethal concentration of an antibiotic to selectively eliminate non-transformed tissues. After 3-5 weeks, the regenerated shoots (from leaf discs) are transferred to root-inducing medium, and after another 3-4 weeks, complete plants are transferred to soil following the hardening (acclimatization) of regenerated plants. The molecular techniques like PCR and southern hybridization are used to detect the presence of foreign genes in the transgenic plants.