eChapters

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

Plant ideotypes

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

Anthracnose

Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (Sacc. & Magnus)

Glomerella lindemuthianum Shear

Economic Importance

• Anthracnose warrants a serious attention as it inflicts heavy economic losses to the crop, which may reach up to 100%, under conducive conditions.
• In India disease incidence has been reported to vary between 24.59 to 51.72 per cent.
• In Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir state disease incidence of 63.46% was recorded.

ABSTRACT

Senna (Cassia angustifolia), a traditional medicinal crop in Tamil Nadu warrants the modern quality guidelines viz. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for marketing overseas. Buyers of developed countries insist on GAP and organic certification for medicinal plants. With this in view, an experiment was conducted at Medicinal Plants Unit, Botanic Garden, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore to study the effect of various biostimulants on yield and yield attributing characters to standardize the biostimulant(s) for higher yield. The treatments included different concentrations of panchakavya (2% & 4%), moringa leaf extract (2 & 4%) and humic acid (0.2 & 0.4%). The field was laid out in randomized block design. Vermicompost @ 4 t ha^-1 was applied commonly to all the plots. Spraying with the above said chemicals was done at 15 days interval from 30 days after transplanting for four times. The observations were recorded for growth a yield characters and were statistically analyzed. The treatment 2% panchakavya + 2% moringa leaf extract + 0.2% humic acid recorded the highest value of growth and yield characters like plant height (44.58 cm), number of branches (6.1), number of pods (53.0), dry leaf yield (560.8 kg / acre) and dry pod yield (6. 72 g / plant).

Abstract

India with plethora of flora and fauna is a rich repository of cultural and ethnic diversity. Bestowed with varied biogeographically distributed ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots, the country has always been the torch bearer as far as ethnobotanical knowledge is concerned. Jammu and Kashmir in the North-Western part of India has a rich biological and cultural diversity. Owing to the distinct geographical location and varied climatic conditions, district Poonch represents a rich repository of biodiversity including the wealth of medicinal plants. This study aimed at documenting and examining the use of plants in various medicinal herbal preparations. A total of 223 plant species belonging to 77 families and 173 genera were documented to be used as ethnomedicine by people residing in the study area. The portion of plant parts used were leaves (28.14%), followed by root (16.33%), fruit (11.55%), whole plant (10.3%), stem (09.79%), flower (7.53%), seed (5.27% each), rhizome (4.77%), tuber (3.76%), bulb (1%) and bark and latex (0.75% each). These parts are utilized as herbal remedies for curing 109 human ailments such as abscess, acidity, asthma, back pain, body pain, boils, cancer, cholera, cold, cough, dandruff, erectile dysfunction, eye pain, fever, gastroenteritis, haemorrhoid, high blood pressure, menstrual disorders, sexual disorders, stomach pain, diabetes, diarrhoea, dysentery and weakness. The dominant disease was fever (52), followed by abdominal pain (30), cough (29), headache (22), constipation (20), diabetes (18), wounds (17), weakness (16) and others. There is need for proper documentation and an attempt has been made to highlight high value medicinal plants so that proper strategies could be made for their conservation.

1.1 Historical background of the Embryology

Embryology is a branch of Anatomy. It is the study of growth and differentiation undergone by an organism in the course of its development from a single fertilized egg cell into a highly complex and independent living being like its parents. It explains how one develops before he is born. Important changes also take place after birth and continue to occur even to adult stage. eg: Replacement of RbC and WbC is a continuous developmental process and reverting to activities seen in prenatal condition is seen in healing of wounds. So the term ‘Developmental Anatomy’ which includes prenatal and postnatal development is preferred over term embryology as Developmental Anatomy, includes prenatal and postnatal development and as the term embryology refers truly prenatal (Intra uterine) development.

Aristotle (384-332/322 BC) proposed two theories regarding origin of life

Acid and alkaline phosphatase enzymes are among the extensively studied phosphatases and classified so because of their optimum activities in acid and alkaline pH ranges, respectively. Acid phosphatase is predominant in acid soil while alkaline phosphatase is dominant in alkaline soils. The colorimetric assay of phosphatase is based on release of p-nitrophenol from hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate byaction of phosphatase enzyme in buffered soil solution (buffer pH 6.5 for acid and 11 for alkaline phosphatase assay).

Most of the plant parasitic nematodes affect the root portion of plants except Anguina spp., Aphelenchus spp., Aphelenchoides spp., Ditylenchus spp., Bursaphelenchus cocophilus and B. xylophilus. Nematodes suck the sap of the plants with the help of stylet and causes leaf discolouration, stunted growth, reduced leaf size and fruits, lesions on roots, galls, reduced root system and finally wilting. Symptoms of nematode diseases can be classified as

Symptoms produced by above ground feeding nematodes
Symptoms produced by below ground feeding nematodes

1.1 WHAT IS PLANT PROPAGATION?

Propagation of plant is defined as multiplication and perpetuation of new individuals from a selected plant having all the characters of the original one. It is the process of increasing the number of plants of a particular species or cultivar. It refers to the multiplication of an individual plant or group of plants, which have specific value to mankind. New plants or new individuals are required for establishing new plantings/new gardens/new orchards.

1. Botanical Name : Leptadenia pyrotechnica Forssk. Decne

2. Family : Apocynaceae

3. Common Name : Kheep, Broom bush

4. Name in Indian languages

Kheep (Hindi), Khip(Punjabi), Jivanti (Sanskrit).

5. Description

It is a much branched often leafless erect shrub. The edible part is tender fruit. It can grow up to 3 metres height. A desert plant, it is often utilized by local people within its native range, particularly as a fibre plant and for fuel. It is also planted in soil stabilization in arid areas.

6. Origin and distribution

It is originated from North Africa to desert areas to Western India. It is distributed throughout the arid zone of Rajasthan particularly in Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaiselmer districts of Rajasthan. Kheep is also found gorwing in Pakistan, Iran, Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Libya and Algeria.

Propagation

Plant propagation means multiplication of plant by sexual or asexual method. The success in plant propagation depends on a thorough knowledge of the growth of plants, choice of suitable method and technical skill. The propagation of plants may be done either by the gametes or from the somatic cell, tissues or organs. In other words, propagation may be done by sexual methods or by asexual methods. The details of the methods are presented below.

10.8.1. Function

A power take-off (PTO) is a splined drive shaft on a tractor that can be used to provide power to an attachment or a stand alone machine. PTO shaft gets the drive from hydraulic pump shaft. This in turn gets drive from engine. PTO is designed to be easily connected and disconnected (Fig 10.8.1.). It is used to operate implements, viz., rotavator, fertilizer spreader, duster and many more machines which are stationary such as threshers, water pump and portable flour mill. These shafts either run at 540 rpm with 6 splines in the shaft or at 1000 rpm with 21 splines in the shaft. But many old tractors have 540 rpm PTO. The present day equipment is designed to operate with 1000 rpm PTO shaft. The manufacturers of old tractor models provide an auxiliary gear box which increases the speed of PTO to 1000 rpm. Selection of implements, equipment and machinery should be done on the basis of available tractor PTO speed.

Abstract

The unique characteristics of mare’s milk help to prevent many chronic diseases. The health beneficial properties of this milk is even acknowledged since ancient time and this milk is being successfully used as medicated food against a wide range of chronic diseases. The merits of mare’s milk has also been noted by the cosmetic and pharmacy industries. Lastly, considering many health beneficial effects of this milk, attempt should be made to augment the production and popularization of mare’s milk. In this chapter different aspects of mare’s milk has been pointed out in different sections and subsections.

Introduction

Globally, 16.9% of milk consumed by humans comes from species other than cattle. Non-cattle milk is linked more to territories than cows’ milk: sheep in the Mediterranean basin, horse in Central Asia, yak in Himalayas, camel in desert regions. The domestic equid species (horse and donkey) belong to the taxonomic order Perissodactyla, family Equidae and genus Equus. The nutritional and therapeutic properties of horse (Equus caballus) milk have been known since ancient times according to the historian Erodoto (V century BC). Although horses are of minor importance for milk production in comparison with cows, buffalo, sheep and goats, they have been traditionally important dairy animals in Mongolia and in the southern states of the former Soviet Union, e.g., Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Aristotle (322 BC) reported the existence of a dairy product in Mongolia that processed mare’s milk to transform it into a fermented product with an alcohol content of 3% and Herodotus also reported something very similar performed by the Scythians;

4.1. Role of soil microorganisms

Soil N utilization by plants.

Dead organic matters decomposed.

Nutrient transformation.

Physical and chemical properties of soil.

CO₂ content.

Soil formation.

Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) is a tropical tree crop of industrial importance which is mainly cultivated for its latex. It is also known as ‘Para Rubber’ tree, a commercial source of natural rubber. Rubber latex is a milky white liquid, a suspension of rubber particles (cis-1,4–polyisoprene) known for its elastic properties produced in specialized cells called laticifers which have to be coagulated to obtain the rubber. Rubber was introduced by the British in India for commercial cultivation and became an established industry. The rubber industry is divided into two sectors: tyre and non-tyre of which automotive tyre sector is the single largest sector of rubber consumption.

Since the beginning of the Planning process, efforts have been made to ensure that the tribal people were included in the growth process. However, the strategy changed with each Five-Year Plan as new lessons were learnt from various developmental efforts. The First Five Year Plan emphasized the provision of additional financial resources through a community development approach to address the problems of tribal people rather than evolving a clear-cut tribal development strategy. Towards the end of the Plan (1954), 43 Special Multipurpose Tribal Development Projects (MTDPs) were created. These MTDPs could not fully serve the interest of the tribal people since the schemes were numerous and of a general nature. This approach continued during the second Five Year Plan. In the Third Plan, a different strategy for tribal development was evolved by converting the Community Development Blocks, where the concentration of tribal population was 66% and above, into Tribal Development Blocks (TDBs). By the end of the fourth Five Year Plan, the number of Tribal Development Blocks in the country rose to 504. The strategy of development through Tribal Development Blocks had its limitations as well, as it failed to address the cause of the tribal population of the country living outside the Tribal Development Blocks, which comprised more than 60% of the total tribal population. During the th on 5 Five Year Plan period, the exercise of identification of tribal majority blocks was undertaken. These were later constituted into 194 ITDAs/ITDPs in the country.

The present Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) strategy was initially developed by an Expert Committee set up by the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare in 1972 under the Chairmanship of Prof. S.C. Dube for the rapid socio-economic development of tribal people and was adopted for the first time in the Fifth Five Year Plan. The TSP strategy, with some modifications, continues till this day and the salient features concerning TSP for States, are given below:

Knowledge of fertilizer dose, selection of fertilizer sources, time and method of application is essential for achieving efficient use of fertilizers and profitable yield.

A. Fertilizer Dose

Fertilizer dose for crops is determined based on the field experimentation. It varies with the crops and varieties, initial fertility of the soil, soil properties, cropping system, climate, season, rainfed or irrigated crop, expected yield etc. Fertilizer dose for rainfedcrops (Kg/ha)

Q₁₀ (Temperature coefficient): The ratio of the rate of chemical reaction at a particular temperature to the rate of that chemical reaction exactly at 10°C lower.

Qualitative photoperiod: Qualitative plants are those in which a particular photoperiod is an absolute requirement for the occurrence of a response. Ex: Common cocklebur

Qualitative response (absolute response, obligatory response): A plant response, usually flowering, that absolutely depends on some day length, temperature, or other environmental stimulus. If the plant does not experience the required stimulus, the response does not occur (e.g., the plant remains vegetative). Opposite to quantitative response.

Quantasomes : Quantasomes are particles found in the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts in which photosynthesis takes place. They are embedded in a para crystalline array on the surface of thylakoid discs in chloroplasts. They are composed of lipids and proteins that include various photosynthetic pigments and redox carriers.

Clinical conditions similar to brucellosis have been described since the time of Hippocrates (450 BC). J. A. Marston (1861) first described brucellosis as gastric remittent fever in Malta, the Southern European island country. Sir David Bruce (1886) first isolated small coccobacilli from an infected soldier’s spleen and purified the culture in 1887, and named Micrococcus melitensis. Later the genus was renamed as Brucella in his honour. Similarly, Bang and Stribolg (1897) first isolated Brucella abortus from abortion material of a cow. Traum in 1914 isolated Bacillus abortus suis, currently known as Brucella suis. In 1953, Brucella ovis was firs isolated in New Zealand by Budlle and Boyes from the aborted material of sheep. Carmichael and Bruner (1968) first isolated B. canis from the aborted placenta of a dog.

In India first report of ‘contagious abortion’ associated with Brucella was found in annual report (1918) of imperial veterinary research institute (presently Indian veterinary research institute), Mukteswar, Uttarakhand and later in 1942 by Polding.

Nisin is produced by strains of

a) Streptococcus lactis b) Pseudomonas

c) E. coli d) Clostridium

This research seeks to address some major concerns of communication through cyberspace and its socio-cultural implications. In particular, it seeks to address the use of cyberspace or Internet as a potential medium of communication for the people of Odisha and the relatively positive and negative outcomes of the use of this medium. It investigates the current Internet-mediated communication practice in the twin city (Bhubaneswar and Cuttack) of Odisha and explores the social and cultural implications of the new communication mode.