eChapters

Grading is defined as sorting of fruits into different grades according to the size, shape, colour, and volume to fetch high price in market. Grading of fruits after harvesting is an essential step in post-harvest management. Grading of fruits is done on the basis of physical characteristics like weight, size, colour, shape, specific gravity and freedom from diseases. The known methods of grading of fruits and vegetables are manual grading and size grading. Sizing produce is usually a part of grading and is optional for direct marketers, but may be worthwhile if certain size grades receive a higher price than others. Round produce units can be easily graded by sizing rings. Several types of mechanical sizers are available for small-scale operations. Sorting by maturity can maximize the market value of crops such as stone fruits and mangoes .The grades of different fruits suggested by Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) are given in Table 1.

INTRODUCTION

Fruits of commercial importance comprise various combinations of tissues that may include an expanded ovary, the seed and other plant parts such as the receptacle (apple, strawberry), bract and peduncle (pineapple). They may develop from a single ovary of a flower as in simple fruits (apple, banana, mango, peach, plum, tomato etc.), number of ovaries of a single flower as in aggregate fruits (strawberry) or from a number of ovaries of different flowers as in compound fruits (pineapple). They are derived from members of a wide range of families of both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. Inspite the huge diversity in origin, structure, composition and climate adaptabilities that exists among different fruits, there is considerable similarity in the pattern of maturation and ripening that occur in different fruits.

INTRODUCTION

With the change in world scenario from plentiful resources to limited with population increasing geometrically, shrinking land and climate change, the pressure on agriculture is mounting continuously. Meeting the nutritional requirements of population by optimum supply of food is the pre-requisite for sustainability of life under such conditions. Rapid urbanization is causing scarcity of cultivable land. Therefore, the productivity per unit area of the crops needs to be increased manifold. Horticulture, in general, has attained a pride status in the field of modern agriculture. However, radical changes are expected in horticultural practices in near future as the situation in terms of area as well as production is not as comfortable as the food grain production.

INTRODUCTION

The initial care of young seedlings and propagated plants is very necessary and important. Efforts should be made in such a way that the young plants can be propagated and grown to a saleable size with no insect-pests and diseases attack and nutrient deficiency. The supply of healthy plant material to the growers helps in good reputation of a nursery as well as to make fruit crops more profitable.

Sometimes young nursery plants suffers from various problems like attack of insect-pests and diseases, nutrient deficiency, scanty or excessive moisture and stagnation of excess or rain water in the field. The young seedlings/plants require light and frequent irrigation and need special care to make them grow well and to save them from adverse weather conditions. They must be protected from intense heat and cold. The young nursery plants growing on light or sandy soils can exhibit deficiency symptoms of macro and micro elements. Such nutrient deficiencies can easily be corrected by foliar or soil application of desired nutrient.

INTRODUCTION

For survival of young seedlings and rooting of cuttings it is essential that they maintain a healthy water and air balance especially to make up the water lost in transpiration. Water stress within the cuttings hinders metabolic activities and cell regeneration and consequently initiation of roots. So medium should be such that it provides adequate water required for rooting and growth. Also these substrates must provide initial nutrients necessary for plant growth. These should also contain micro-organisms that seedlings may need.

SEED GERMINATION

Germination is the growth of a plant contained within a seed; it results in the formation of the seedling, it is also the process of reactivation of metabolic machinery of the seed resulting in the emergence of radicle and plumule. The seed of a vascular plant is a small package produced in a fruit or cone after the union of male and female reproductive cells. All fully developed seeds contain an embryo and, in most plant species some store of food reserves, wrapped in a seed coat. Some plants produce varying numbers of seeds that lack embryos; these are called empty seeds and never germinate. Dormant seeds are ripe seeds that do not germinate because they are subject to external environmental conditions that prevent the initiation of metabolic processes and cell growth. Under proper conditions, the seed begins to germinate and the embryonic tissues resume growth, developing towards a seedling.

INTRODUCTION

Plant tissue culture is basically in vitro culturing of any type of explants such as leaf, root, bud and stem or even single cell except the seed or embryo on a suitable culture medium under controlled environmental conditions. Plant tissue culture employs the totipotency of plant cells to produce whole plant. The term totipotency was coined by German plant physiologist, Haberlandt (1902) who is known as father of tissue culture techniques.

Definition of Micropropagation

Micropropagation is one of the best and most successful examples of commercial application of tissue culture techniques. The concept of micropropagation was first presented to the scientific community in 1960 by Morel, who produced the virus-free cymbidium through meristem culture. It entails in vitro propagation of plants starting with very small plant parts (0.2-10mm) grown aseptically, followed by their establishment in soil under green house conditions. It is the art and science of plant multiplication in vitro. This technique has been standardized and commercialized for various fruits and vegetable crops.

INTRODUCTION

Plant propagation involves three main aspects: knowledge of mechanical manipulations and technical skills which constitutes the art of propagation; knowledge of plant growth and structures which constitutes science of propagation and knowledge of different kinds of plants and their methods of propagation. The basic objective of plant propagation is to increase the number of desirable types and to preserve the essential characteristics of the plant. Generally, sexual propagation or the seed propagation is used to raise the seedling rootstocks on which to graft or bud the desirable types. The clonal rootstocks are multiplied through vegetative means- layering, cutting etc. Various sexual and asexual methods such as use of seeds, apomicts, specialised plant parts, cuttings, layers, grafts and buds are employed to multiply plants of different fruit crops. In this chapter, the techniques used for raising rootstocks and multiplying the desirable types of different fruits have been discussed.

INTRODUCTION

The propagation of plants has been one of the fundamental occupations of mankind since beginning of civilization. Plant propagation involves the application of specific biological principles and concepts in the multiplication of plants for useful purposes. The present day plant propagation industry is large and complex and involves not only the group that multiplies the plants for sale and distribution, but also a large group of industries that provide services, sell the product, is involved in regulation, provides consultation carries on research or is involved in teaching. The key person with in this complex, however, is the plant propagator who possesses the knowledge and skill either to perform or to supervise the essential propagation tasks for specific plants.

INTRODUCTION
 
Growth and development are often used interchangeably, however, these describe separate events during the life cycle of a plant. To understand these precisely, let us take the example of multicellular organisms like annuals, monocarpic or flowering plants (angiosperms) including fruits, vegetables, flowers etc. which begins their life from a single cell fertilized egg, the zygote. The zygote develops into embryo through the cell division and differentiation. When we sow the seed in garden or pots, in a few days a young seedling emerge. With the passage of time, the seedling grow in size, the number of leaves increases, in perennial plants branching occurs for few years, and after putting forth the requisite vegetative growth plant begins flowering, produces fruits, seeds and finally the plant senesce at certain period. Generally three terms “growth”, differentiation” and “development” are used to describe the different events during the life cycle of a plant.

INTRODUCTION

Plant growth regulators (PGR) are bioactive molecules that modulates the physiological processes in plants and are effective at ultra-low concentrations. Minute alteration in the concentration and bioactive forms of PGRs’ throughout the plant development phases regulate the flowering, fruit set and development. The use of plant growth substances to control fruit set, size, shape, and maturation has become important in agriculture today because they have the ability to increase fruit size, colour, and shape, thereby increasing the marketability. By hastening or delaying maturation the grower can utilize peak demands, avoid unfavourable environmental conditions, and extend the market period. PGRs are applied in fruit crops at all developmental stages for various purposes as discussed below: 

INTRODUCTION

Water is one of the most important inputs essential for tree growth, development and fruit production. Fruit trees need it continuously during their life in optimum quantities. It profoundly influences photosynthesis, respiration, absorption, translocation and utilization of mineral nutrients, and cell division besides some other processes. Both its shortage and excess affect the growth and development of a plant directly and, consequently, its yield and quality. In India, however, rainfall is notoriously capricious, causing floods and droughts alternately. Its frequency distribution and amount are not in accordance with the needs of the particular fruit crops. Artificial water supplies through irrigation on one occasion, and the removal of excess water through drainage on another occasion, therefore, become imperative, if the fruit crops are to be raised successfully. Water management in India, thus, comprises irrigation or drainage or both, depending considerably on the environmental conditions, soil, crops and climate. Applying the proper amount of water at the right time is important for reducing costs and maximizing profits. It is essential, therefore, that there be a scientifically sound method for determining when to irrigate and how much water to apply for optimum crop response and efficient use of resources.

INTRODUCTION

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

INTRODUCTION
Canopy management is one of the most important management practices in an orchard. It is the ‘art’ of fruit growing involving manipulation of tree canopies to optimize the production of quality fruits. In fact it forms the basis of precociousness, productivity and longevity of the fruit trees. Canopy management is an important aspect of fruit culture due to its effect on yield, quality, vigour, and the prevention of diseases.
 
In orchard, light is critical to the growth and development of trees and their fruits. The green leaves harvest the sunlight to produce carbohydrates and sugars which are transported to the sites where they are needed – buds, flowers and fruits. Better light penetration into the tree canopy improves tree growth, yield and fruit quality. Training and pruning, affects the tree shape and facilitate exposure of leaves to sunlight. An ideal training strategy centres around the arrangement of plant parts, especially, to develop a better plant architecture that optimizes the utilization of sunlight and promotes productivity. Besides, development of strong scaffold system helps the trees to produce heavy crop loads of quality fruits without any major limb breakage.

INTRODUCTION

Soil is one of the most important factors associated with the success or failure of fruit production. Orchard soil management refers to those practices in the soil that aim at getting maximum productivity/production of quality fruits within the limits of soil, water and fertility management over the years. The decision regarding the practices of orchard management should always be taken well in advance before planting of an orchard. The practices for orchard management should be executed in a timely manner during the lifetime of the orchard. An efficient orchard management system always ensures higher return to the grower. However, no single management practice can be recommended for all orchards. The management systems varies from orchard to orchard, locality to locality, soil to soil, from one set of climatic conditions to another set of climatic conditions etc. These systems also have their own merits and demerits. Thus the choice of best suitable system depends on many factors such as climate, topography, rainfall, tree spacing, planting system/ orchard design, root depth of tree, economic condition of orchardists, fertility status of soil and type of main fruit crop etc.However, it should be combined with pruning, nutrient and water management, provision for pollination, fruit thinning and disease and pest management in order to obtain desirable tree growth and vigour with the aim to promote precocity with high productivity. The objectives of an ideal soil management system should be:

INTRODUCTION

The planning of new orchard is very important aspect of fruit glowing which needs special attention and care to make it more profitable venture. The climate and soil of particular area are the major chief natural factors in the orchard establishment. The proper combination of this governs the success of fruit growing
 
A. SUITABILTY OF CLIMATE FOR FRUIT PLANTS

Climate refers to an average condition of the atmosphere over a long period, whereas, the term weather refers to the current and temporary atmospheric conditions of an area. Climate is the principal factor for optimum vegetative and reproductive growth of plants. The success or failure of crop in a particular locality depends upon the prevailing climatic conditions. In our environment it is fundamental force which includes various components of climate like temperature, humidity, wind, light, rainfall, hail and frost. These factors should be taken care of for successful fruit production. All cultivated crops including fruit crops have certain natural threshold limits of the climatic parameters for their normal growth. The important climatic components which affect fruit crop production are given below:

A. PLANNING OF AN ORCHARD

Orchard is a long-term investment and needs proper planning and layout before establishment. Mistakes committed during planning and planting of fruit trees cannot be rectified. While planning and planting a new orchard, it is very important to carefully assess all the factors that will ultimately affect fruit yield and orchard sustainability. The aspects like location and site selection, suitability of soil and subsoil, suitability of fruit crop and varieties, plant spacing, market potential and source of nursery plants must be taken care of seriously. Thus, one should avail of expert advice on the establishment of new orchards and their proper maintenance.

INTRODUCTION

The climate of India is favourable for production of a variety of tropical, subtropical and temperate fruits. The area under cultivation, production and productivity of fruit crops has increased significantly during the last fifteen years. Horticulture has emerged as major area of growth in the agricultural sector and has out performed other crops with respect to production and productivity. The increase in fruit production was improved considerably from 43.0 million tonnes in 2001-02 to 91.4 million tonnes in 2015-16 (Table 1). This increase in production has come from an increase in area under different fruit crops and overall increase in productivity. In this way, India has maintained its second rank in global production of fruits next only to China. The fruit area increased from 4 million hectares in 2001-02 to 6.4 million hectares in 2015-16. On the basis of fruit production, it is estimated that per capita fruits availability in India 190 g per day which is still less than the recommended quantity of 230 g per capita per day.

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

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

Preliminaries and Test Based on N. P. Lemma
    
More on Testing of Hypothesis

Method of Maximum Likelihood Estimation (M.L.E.)
    
Method of Moments
    
Method of Minimum X²
    
Interval Estimation

Preliminaries
    
Minimum Variance Unbiased Estimator and Cramer, Rao Inequality
    
Minimum Variance Unbiased Estimator (M.V.U.E.) and Black Wellisation
    
Results on UMVUE and MVUE
    
Efficiency and Consistency
    
Consistency
    
Sufficiency and Completeness
    
Distribution Possessing Sufficient Statistics
    
Sufficient Statistic for Several Parameters
    
Completeness of a Sufficient Statistic
    
Some Important Results in Theorem Forms
    
Minimal Sufficient Statistic
    
Results on Complete Sufficient Statistic

Q.1.    Under what situation, the exact sample tests are required to be used and who discovered it first time ?

Test for Significance for Population Mean
    
Test for Significance of Population Proportion

Q.1.    In what sense the analysis of covariance is an extension of ANOVA ?

    Answer
    
    The analysis of covariance is an extension of ANOVA in the sense that it covers the case where observations are taken on more than one variable from each experimental unit. The interest centers on the study variable y which depends upon on auxillary variable x.

Q.1.    What is progeny row trial ?

    Answer
    
    The replicated experiment designed to compare a number of parent plants with respect to any characteristic under study is known as progeny row trial.

Q.1.    Define strip plot design ?

    Answer
    
    There is a variant of the split plot design in which both factors A and B will be applied to the larger strips by dividing the experimental field into as many rows as the number of levels of one factor A and into as many columns as the number of levels of second factor B. Then the two factors will be applied at random to the rows and columns. Such a layout is known as strip plot design.

Q.1.    What is split plot experiment ?

    Answer
    
    If one has to study two type of factors say A and B in the same experiment where A requires larger plot size and B requires smaller plot size then the structure of the experiment will be that of plots within blocks are known as split plots and blocks within replication are known as main (whole) plots. Such a layout of the experiment is known as split plot experiment.

Preliminaries
    
Results on 22 Factorial Experiment
    
23 Experiment in r Replication
    
Confounding

Partialy Balance Incomplete Block Design (PBIBD)
    
Interblock and Intrablock Information

Analysis of Variance
    
Completely Randomised Design (C.R.D.)
    
Randomised Block Design (R. B. D.)
    
Latin Square Design

Q.1.    What is an experiment ?

    Answer
    
    An experiment is a means of getting an answer to the question that an experimentor (researcher) has in mind. This may be to decide which of the several pain relieving drugs that are available in the market, is the most effective or whether they are equqlly effective.
    
    An experiment may be planned to compare the yield of different varieties of wheat. so that the varity giving the maximum yield may be recommended to the farmers to increase their production.

The choice of hormones and drugs acting on reproductive system are important as therapeutic agents during reproductive disorders like anoestrus, metritis, pyometra, repeat breeder, retention of fetal membranes, delayed puberty, ovarian disorders etc.  The administration of specific chemotherapeutic agent is of paramount importance in treating reproductive disorders in dairy animals.  The dosage, route, frequency and indications of chemotherapeutic agents acting on reproductive system are mentioned in tabular form as below.

Reproductive process involves many events that have to occur in a well balanced manner if satisfactory fertility rate is to be achieved. Any adverse  effect of  physiological, morphological  or environmental effect on the male  or  female may result  in failure  of  fertility  or reduced fertility  depending  on the severity of the cause. Apart from this, the role of person who stands between the cow and the bull play an important role. The efficiency of the person handling the semen and depositing in the reproductive tract of domestic animal will influence to a great extent on the conception rate in A.I. programme. It is observed that certain bovine population fails to conceive at a single service or series of services.   Some times there is loss of conceptus during gestation or produces a dead calf or weak calf that will die soon after birth.
 
Consequences of these factors affect cows and may have long calving interval, abortion or sterility, all of which tend to decrease the average daily production of milk.

The various steps involved in frozen semen technology are vital as the quality of semen determines the conception rate.  The key factor enabling the successful long term storage of frozen spermatozoa is maintenance at ultra low temperature.  Effective semen storage depends heavily on good identification and stock control.  Frozen semen can be easily damaged in the process of repeated handling to establish identity.

Several cryogenic agents have been used in many countries for freezing and preservation of bovine semen like solid carbon-di-oxide (-79°C), liquid air (-183°C), liquid helium (-268°C) and liquid nitrogen (-196°C).  Liquid nitrogen is 4th coldest substance known and its small amount is converted into a very large amount (near about 700 times) of its volume when exposed to atmosphere.  It is a colourless, odourless, non-irritant, non-toxic, non-caustic, non-corrosive, non-inflammatory and inert gas having boiling point -196°C temperature.  Being a liquid it comes into good contact with the surface of the semen straws and constant storage temperature is maintained throughout the straw and due to these properties LN2 is most widely used refrigerant in the world.

There is no rapid direct test to determine fertility of semen sample. During freezing and thawing of semen 20-80% of the spermatozoa become immotile or die. In addition to this, there may be damage to spermatozoa by disintegration of sperm cell membrane and acrosome leading to loss of intracellular enzymes.   The only reliable method to evaluate the semen is to inseminate a cow and get a calf at the end of gestation period.  Now-a-days new methods have been developed for in-vitro assessment of fertility of spermatozoa.  Some of these methods are exhaustive, time consuming, need for a full fledged analysis and difficult under field conditions.

Production is based on reproduction and health of reproductive system. Economy of livestock industry is directly attached to the maintenance of high fertility in the herd so controlling the reproductive diseases in cattle is a must.  Reproductive health may be disturbed by reproductive infections like Brucellosis, Leptospirosis, Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and Bovine viral diarrhea.

A typical repeat breeder cow or buffalo is an apparently normal cycling cow / buffalo with normal genitalia which has failed to settle to services or inseminations during three or more consecutive estrus periods. These animals can neither be considered as sterile nor can settle to subsequent services.  Age of the repeat breeder should not have exceeded beyond 12 years.

The causative factors for repeat breeder animals fall in two main categories as failure of fertilization and early embryonic death.

Infertility means reduced fertility or the cow is ultimately capable of becoming pregnant and giving birth to a live calf but the interval may be much longer than 12 months. 

I. Problems leading to infertility

1. No signs of estrus

When the animal is pregnant and for a short time after calving the cows may not show estrus signs. A thorough palpation of the ovaries and tubular genital tract should be performed and a repeat examination may be necessary.

Buffalo plays an important role in Indian livestock economics.  India has more than the half of the world buffalo population, contributing 50% of total milk production of the country.  The buffalo is said more productive than an average cow due to the higher fat percentage (7%) in the milk, better feed conversion ability and disease resistance.  Buffaloes have lower reproductive efficiency in the form of delayed age of maturity, longer calving interval, weak / silent estrus, seasonality of breeding, poor libido and poor semen quality. A large number of buffaloes do not conceive due to some gynaecological problems and are being slaughtered every year.  The most commonly observed reproductive disorders are detailed below.

Non-specific uterine infections reduce the reproductive efficiency of livestock.  They are called nonspecific because the initial colonizing bacterium is not known and the specific bacteria causing the signs of infection are not known.  Even though numerous bacteria, in a variety of combinations, have been isolated from infected uteri, Corynebacterium pyogenes and Escherichia coli are usually associated with uterine infections in cattle and sheep.  Empirical therapeutic approach, prescriptions without scientific validation (extra-label use) or inadequate clinical judgment itself to ascertain the nature of uterine infection, obviously due to lack of diagnostic tools are the prime reasons for therapeutic failure for the unsuccessful treatment of uterine infection by large animal practitioners.

Laparoscopy is an operative procedure performed through a key-hole opening with a rigid endoscope that allows visual inspection of organs.  The laparoscopy helps in arriving diagnosis of various reproductive and digestive disorders quickly.  By laparoscopy clinician can visualize the external surface of the abdominal organs.  Tumours, abscess, cyst, lesions, growth, hemorrhage, adhesions of the organs in the abdominal cavity can be readily diagnosed by this technique.  Aspiration of follicular fluid, biopsy of lesions and sterilization are commonly employed maneuvers by this technique.  It is having both diagnostic and therapeutic value.  The procedure consists of placement of transabdominal rigid endoscope after establishment of pneumoperitoneum in the body cavity.   The images of different organs are displayed on the TV monitor when the laparoscope is moved within the peritoneal cavity with the illumination through halogen light source.

The ultrasonography is a technique which uses sound waves of very high frequency to scan the various organs of the body. The ultrasound waves of 2-10 mHz frequency are used in veterinary practice. A quartz crystal when stimulated by short pulse current ultrasound waves are emitted. The ultrasound waves emitted are directed towards a specific target organ are reflected back as echoes. The echoes are received by the same quartz crystal and are processed in the electronic circuit and finally displayed as image on the monitor.

Buffaloes, though have great production potential, do suffer with many reproductive problems viz.  delayed age of puberty and  sexual maturity, weak / silent estrus, longer inter-calving period,  seasonality in breeding, poor libido  and poor semen quality. Little information is available about the buffaloes as compared to cattle because all the time we try to apply the knowledge available about the cattle to the buffalo.  Some comparative reproductive parameters in cow & she buffalo & cow bull and buffalo bull are depicted in Table 8. 1 and Table 8.2 respectively.

Synchronization of estrus is making a group of cows to come into estrus at the same time.  Effective estrus detection requires much time, labour, skill and expense and it is a major limiting factor in artificial insemination programme in cattle.  It was the principal stimulus that led to research in the development of progestational and prostaglandin compounds. 

Advantages

1.     Improve the efficiency of heat detection

2.     Management tool, better planning of breeding activities and wider use of artificial insemination 

3.     Solve problem of unobserved estrus

4.     Maintain short calving interval

5.     Overall improvement in herd productivity and reproductive efficiency

6.     Controlled lactation

7.     Management of replacement heifers

8.     Useful in embryo transfer programmes

9.     Reduce labour

10.     Possibly reduce involuntary culling for reproductive reasons

After the Second World War, the 1940’s and 1950’s was the wide spread establishment of artificial insemination and the introduction of frozen semen in cattle breeding.  In the late 1960s came revolution in measurement of hormones in the body fluid with the introduction of sensitive radio-immuno-assay (RIA) techniques, which provided a new approach to early pregnancy diagnosis, emerging around the same time were early forms of the ultrasonic which could also employed in the detection of pregnancy. The 1970’s were to see embryo transfer and freezing of embryos in cattle becoming commercial realities and their incorporation into increasingly effective breeding improvement programme with the availability of prostaglandins (PGs) and Gonadotrophin releasing hormones (GnRH) that decade also witnessed new possibilities for estrum control in cattle and horses.  Few years later came the ability to produce the cattle embryos in the laboratories in large numbers and at low cost.

Faulty estrus detection is the most important problem in reproductive management.  There are two requirements for good estrus detection: a skilled observer must spend sufficient time to make observations and cows must show overt signs of estrus during the period of observation.  There are various ways to detect the estrus signs in cows and buffaloes as detailed below.

1.    Palpation of reproductive organs:  Routine rectal examination of all cows between 30-40 days after calving and individual cow that has not been inseminated within two months after calving should be encouraged.   This is to confirm that the reproductive tract is normal and to predict when the next estrus will occur or to identify cows for prostaglandin treatment when estrous cycles are occurring, but estrus has not been detected. 

2.     Teaser bulls:  Teaser bulls are useful in identifying estrus in large number of animals especially buffalo cows.   Teaser bulls can be prepared by vasectomy or by applying apron to a bull. 

3.     Heat detector animals:  Sexually active animals like bulls, cystic cows, hormone treated steer, cows and heifers can be used to identify estrus cows.    They may be fitted with halters containing ink- filled reservoirs and ball paint pen type devices (chin ball markers) that will mark animals that mounted or they can be used without these devices to increase the sexually activity and make visual detection programs more effective.

India has a mega animal bio-diversity, which is manifested in the form of availability of a large number of species, and a variety of breeds even within species. India is bestowed with rich and varied domestic animal biodiversity having a total of 32 breeds of cattle and 10 buffalo breeds. The diversity of livestock is not only accidental, nor purely natural; it is more the outcome of thousands of years of continuous selection. The trends in livestock population over the last three decades have shown that, there is significant increase in the population of buffaloes i.e. from 60.5 crore in 1973 to 96.9 crore in 2003, while cattle population has increased from 180.1 crore to 226.1 crore in the same period. The share of buffaloes, in the bovine population increased from 22 to 32 per cent while that of cattle has shown declining trend. Within the cattle, there has been marked shift from work animals towards milch animals which has resulted in loss of important draught breeds of cattle. Further indiscriminate crossbreeding has resulted in significant decline in number of important milch breeds like Sahiwal.