eChapters

Abstract
 
Opencast mining destroys the original land ecosystem and microbial community due to mining and stockpiling of mine rejects on adjoining land, which is a matter of great environmental concern. Mining creates formation of wastelands, formation of gullies, ravines, overburdens, reduced water infiltration and increased runoff. Reclamation of mined out areas is often difficult due to its chemical, physical and biological traits. Absence of topsoil is the most common feature of the mine spoils dumps. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), the synonym of VAM fungi, are important microbes of soil that form symbiotic association with most of the terrestrial plants on the earth. Observations led to use of legume microsymbionts as biological substitutes for fertilizers. AMF diversity increases with species diversity of plants as the potential number of association increases. Dominant arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can prevent the invasion of non-mycorrhizal plants on land where they have established symbiosis and promote their mycorrhizal host.

Abstract

Traditional practices of restoring and vegetating mine spoils, which include mechanical tillage, the addition of tons of organic and mineral inputs, seeding of herbaceous plants, and regular fertilization, are often expensive and not sustainable on the long term in the Canadian boreal forest biome. Phytobial restoration and remediation may be an excellent alternative to these traditional practices while accelerating ecosystem reconstruction and sustainable reforestation of mined sites. In this review, the role and importance of root symbionts – ectomycorrhizal fungi, PGPR, and Frankia – on boreal tree fitness are discussed. Furthermore, highlights of recent research studies done by our team in Canada on ecological restoration and bioremediation of boreal mined sites are presented.

Abstract

With recent advances in molecular biology and rapid developments in new analytical techniques, engineering of microbes for the bioremediation processes has been extensively studied as recombinant microbes can degrade various toxic pollutants effectively. The prospect of microbial engineering has greater potentialities for agriculture and environmental applications and this may provide us deeper insight in understanding the microbial interactions and biotransformation processes. Though much work has been carried out on bioremediation using genetically engineered microorganisms, its application is restricted to environment due to the concerns of health and environment over ecosystem. Nevertheless, evaluation of risk assessment has also been carried out in order to ascertain the potential benefits of transgenic microbes.

Abstract

Now a days, the public has become more sensitive towards the protection of the environment and general awareness has increased about the adverse effects of industrial effluents contaminate with various pollutants, including dyes on the environment. Dyes are an important class of synthetic organic compounds used in many industries, especially textiles. Consequently, they have become common industrial environmental pollutants during their synthesis and later during fiber dyeing. Textile industries are facing a challenge in the field of quality and productivity due to the globalization of the world market. The dyes, which are widely used in textile industries when left in water bodies without any treatment cause environmental pollution and in turn are toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic. The efficient treatment of the sludge from the industries is not economical and a challenging task. Currently, a number of different technologies and methods such as biological, physical and chemical are widely used for the removal of dyes. The treatment technologies for the removal of textile dyes from the textile wastewater found that over the past two decades interestingly focused on biodegradation methods such as microbial decolourization, enzymatic decolourization, adsorption by microbial biomass (living or dead) and bioremediation systems as a better alternative as the available physico-chemical methods.

Abstract

Electronic waste or e-waste is one of the emerging problems in developed and developing countries worldwide. The constantly changing today’s world of technology has led to the serious problem of e-waste. The previous studies show that India has generated 0.6 million tons of e-waste in 2014 which may increase to 0.7 to 0.9 million tons by 2015–2016. E-waste constitutes multiple components some of which are toxic that can cause serious health and environmental issues if not handled properly. The challenge is to develop innovative and cost-effective solutions to decontaminate polluted environments, to make them safe for human habitation and consumption, and to protect the functioning of the ecosystems which support life. Biological approach is currently applied to recovery of metals from contaminated soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediments including air.

Abstract
 
Within the time scale for soil formation, humans appeared to the planet within the last 1 million years. They shifted their lifestyle from hunter-gatherer to nomadic animal husbandry and finally to cultivation of domesticated crops only within the last 10,000 yrs. Earlier, these crops were cultured in a semi-nomadic style as land was plentiful, so when soil lost its productivity, people abandoned it in favor of new-land. Gradually, as land became scarcer and population exploded, agriculture evolved to continuous cropping of the same parcel of land. This discovered the major concern for soil health. As organic matter is key to soil health, humus is the last stage of organic matter decomposition. Humus is a complex aggregate of dark brown colored amorphous substances, which have originated during the decomposition of plant and animal residues by microorganisms, under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Humus and living microorganisms are connected by numerous ways which must be appreciated in order to understand the origin and nature of humus. Our attempt is to narrate the role of organic matter and vital role of microbes in humification process.

Abstract

Excessive use and treatment of soil with pesticides under the adage, “if little is good, a lot more will be better” has played havoc with human and other life forms and can also cause populations of beneficial soil microorganisms to decline, which indirectly affect soil fertility. Soil constitutes a major environmental sink for many pesticides. These pesticides are either taken up from soil by plants and then pass into the bodies of invertebrates, water or air, directly or indirectly and affect public health and beneficial biota of the ecosystem. Bioremediation provides very attractive, eco-friendly and economic solution to many of our hazardous pollution problems. For both economic and ecological reasons, biological degradation has become an increasingly popular alternative for treatment of hazardous wastes.

Abstract

Contamination groundwater and soil due to heavy metals (HMs) has aggravated into a threat not only for people inhabiting the polluted areas but also for the vegetation of the region. Relying on the use of obligate symbionts, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in remediation of contaminated sites can be a productive approach. These fungi due to high cation exchange capacity have the ability to adsorb heavy metals (HMs) on fungal tissues; they also possess enzymes responsible for reduction of metals to less toxic forms. In areas with high toxicity of various HMs such as lead, AMF extends its extraradical mycelium (ERM) beyond the depletion zone of plant roots increasing the availability of nutrients such as potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sulphur resulting in increased plant growth and yield. Production of phenol and organic acids by the fungus have been reported to increase iron diffusion, that is a co-factor for antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase. AMF sequester HMs in fungal structures and bind them in their chitin cell walls preventing their translocation to aerial plant parts.

Abstract

Contamination of environment with heavy metals has become a serious global problem due to its threat to animal and human health. Removal of this non-biodegradable, hazardous heavy metals through bio-materials has received paramount interest and intense attention in the last few decades as bio-materials play crucial role in remediating heavy metal polluted environment through a process called “biosorption”. The term biosorption, therefore, has become a popular theme in recent years due to its relatively simple, inexpensive, eco-friendly with rapid mechanism of removing heavy metals from polluted environment. There have been burgeoning studies around the globe for alleviating the problem of heavy metal pollution by selecting and developing an effective bio-sorbent with minimum treatment process for field application. This review aims to provide vast information on types of biosorbent available, their exploitation for better efficiency and their economic attractiveness for the restoration of heavy metal polluted environment.

Abstract

Study was undertaken to investigate the toxicity of heavy metals on the structure and function of ectomycorrhizal fungi and their ability to colonize the pine seedlings. Ectomycorrhizal fungi were isolated, cultured and multiplied on MMN medium. Six heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Zn, Pb, Cu and Al) were selected and different concentrations viz; 0 ppm (control), 10 ppm, 50 ppm, 100 ppm, 200 ppm and 500 ppm were used for treating the seedlings. The study was continued for one year. Different growth parameters were measured. Factors such as soil moisture, pH and soil organic carbon on ectomycorrhizal colonization were also analyzed. The mycorrhizal colonization was more in those seedlings having lower concentration of heavy metal treatment. Statistical data analysis has shown that the heavy metals had negative correlation with mycorrhizal colonization. High concentration of metals were toxic to external mycelium, which ultimately resulted in reduction of ectomycorrhizal development. The accumulation of metals in the fungal mycelium and protecting root against metal toxicity was an important factor.

Abstract

The functioning and stability of terrestrial ecosystem are determined by plant biodiversity and species composition. So far, little attention has been paid to the effects of microbe-plant interactions, particularly the mycorrhizal symbiosis, on ecosystem variability, productivity and plant biodiversity. The most common type of mycorrhizal association is the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) type. The role of AM fungi in the uptake of diffusion limited nutrients like P and in conferring resistance to soil-borne-diseases is well documented.

Thiamann (1948) designated the plant hormones by the term ‘phytohormones’ in order to distinguish them from animal hormones. He defined a phytohormone as “an organic compound produced naturally in higher plants, controlling growth or other phy-siological functions at a site remote from its place of production and active in minute amounts.”

According to Johannes van Over-beek (1950), the plant hormones are defined as “organic compounds which regulate plant physiological process – regardless of whether these compounds are naturally occurring and/or synthetic; simulating and/or inhibitory; local activators or substances which act at a distance from the place where they are formed.”

An anti-nutritional factor is a substance which, when present in human or animal foods, reduces growth. Examples are phytate, protease inhibitors (notably soybean trypsin inhibitor) and excessive dietary fiber.

Anti-Nutritional Factors

    ·    Protease inhibitors inhibit the activity of trypsin, chemotropism and other proteases. They are found in legumes such as beans and peas, but also in cereals, potatoes, and other products. Their presence results in impaired growth and poor food utilization.

Phenolics are broadly distributed in the plant kingdom and are the most abundant secondary metabolites of plants. Plant polyphenols have drawn increasing attention due to their potent antioxidant properties and their marked effects in the prevention of various oxidative stress associated diseases such as cancer. Polyphenols are a structural class of mainly natural, but also synthetic, and semisynthetic, organic chemicals characterized by the presence of large multiples of phenol structural units. The number and characteristics of these phenol structural underlie the unique physical, chemical, and biological (metabolic, toxic, therapeutic, etc.) properties of particular members of the class. The term polyphenol derives from poly-, from the ancient Greek word (polus, meaning “many, much”) and the word phenol which refers to a chemical structure/substructure formed by attaching to an aromatic phenyl or benzenoid ring an alcohol-type hydroxyl (-OH) group (giving rise to the “-ol” suffix). The term “polyphenol” has been in use since 1894.

The pigments are energy-rich organic compounds. The potential chemical energy of these compounds comes from the light energy. The light enrgy to be effective in photosynthesis must be absorbed by a suitable pigment. This vital role is performed by a suitable pigment. This vital role is performed by the green pigment. Chlorophyll, carotenoid (carotenes and xanthophylls), anthocynin and phycibilins.

Franz Holfmeister’s (LT, 1850-1922) definition, “vitamins are substances which are indispensable for the growth and maintenance of the animal organism, which occur both in animal and plants and are present in only small amounts in food”, still holds good, although it has been interpreted in various ways.

The term enzyme was coined in 1878 by Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhne to designate these biological catalysts that had previou-sly been called ferments. As they quicken most of the chemical reactions occurr-ing in the body, the enzymes have been designated as the “manifestations of nature’s impatience”.

Nucleic acids like proteins occur in all living cells. They device their name because of their primary occurrence in the nucleus and acidic nature. Deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA), one of the two nucleic acids is a major component of chromosomes. Small amounts of DNA are also found associated with chloroplasts and mitochondria.

Lipids are a hetrogenous group of substances, widely distributed throughout the plant and animal kingdom. In plants they are present in the seeds nuts and fruits, while in the animals they are stored in adipose tissues, bone marrow and nervous tissues. Lipids are relatively insoluble in water and readily soluble in organic solvents such as ether, chloroform, carbon disulfide, benzene, hot alcohol etc. The term lipid was used by the German biochemist Bloor in 1943 for a major class of tissue components and foodstuffs.

Amino acids are essential components of all living cells as building blocks of proteins. They are also metabolically active and supply substrates for many other biochemical reactions. In a bacterial cell, about 0.4% of the dry weight is amino acids. The amino units in other living systems varies according to species, age and part of the body.

Carbohydrates are synthesized from CO₂ and H₂O in chlorophyll containing plants during photosynthesis. The term carbohydrate was originally coined for this class of compounds as most of them were hydrates of carbon or could be represented by the general formula C_n(H₂O)n. Not all the carbohydrates however, have this empirical formula, for example deoxyribose (C₅H₁₀O₄) and glucosamine (C₆H₁₃O₅N). Further lactic acid (C₃H₆O₃) formaldehyde (HCHO or CH₂O) and acetic acid (CH₃­.COOH or C₂H₄O₂) with this general formula is not a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are defined as the compounds having either an aldehyde or a ketone group or a modified aldehyde or ketone group and other carbon atoms with alcoholic (-OH) group. Hence the continued usage of the term carbohydrate is for convenience rather than exactness.

Hypothesis become theories and theories attain rank of laws after withstanding rigorous experimental tests. Feasibility of a process is confirmed in the laboratory. Qualitative and quantitative analyses give complete chemical picture of the substance. It is with these considerations in mind we proceed to learn what is there in a laboratory.

Preserving plant materials in a dried form is not a new idea. It has been considered as an art for hundreds of years. Fragrant dried herbs were placed in Egyptian pyramids. Dry flower arrangements have been popular in Europe for several centuries. During 1700 A.D, the early American settlers used dry flowers to brighten their homes. Any plant material can be preserved for use as dry flowers (Al Pertuit, 2004). Though enormous work is being done in this field, most of the literature is published by horticulture amateurs. Scientific work in this area is less. However, a review of the research work done in dry flower technology is discussed in detail.

Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris or tide wrack.

In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides shelter and food for birds, fish and other aquatic species as it floats in the ocean. Gribbles, shipworm sand bacteria decompose the wood and gradually turn it into nutrients that are reintroduced to the food web. Sometimes, the partially decomposed wood washes ashore, where it also shelters birds, plants, and other species. Driftwood can become the foundation for sand dunes.

23.1 Dry Flower Packing

Careful packing is one of the most important aspects of any product. Dry flower packing is the simplest way to capture the essence of summer flowers till long. Dry flowers should be packed nicely to avoid any damage. They should be packed alone in appropriate sized carton loosely cushioned with paper.They should be packed in a manner to keep them away from direct sunlight leaving some room for air. Packing material should be stable and firm to hold the dry flowers well without any damage during storage or transportation. Dry flowers can be packed in a variety of ways: in poly bags, window box, cardboard box, or in a sachet.

Dry Flower Products

Dry flowers are aesthetically beautiful and they enhance the décor and liveliness of any room. They bring the fiery warmth and bounty of the season into the home with ease every fall. Much of fall’s beauty lies in the glorious changing colors of autumn leaves. These flowers are dried to use them in a wide range of products. Dried floral products are widely used for decoration and for adding zest to a room. Apart from that they are also used as an essential component of many products. They are widely used to make handmade paper, lampshades, candle holders, jute bags, photo frames, boxes, books, wall quilts, topiary, cards and several gifts. The use of dry flowers in the making of these products enhances the appearance and beauty of these products. They look sophisticated when gifted to someone or used as a décor of your own home.

Introduction

Floral arrangement is the art of selecting and organizing flowers and foliage according to the elements and principles of design in order to attain a pleasing and interesting design. Arranging flowers is an artistic activity and a way to express oneself creatively.

21.1 Flowers and Foliage

Successful floral arrangement begins with plant materials that have been properly handled and prepared. Beauty and good composition of an arrangement is not determined by the cost or rarity of plant materials used, but by the way they are selected, cared for and arranged. The plant material has to be handled carefully, handling only the stems. Properly dried, bleached and dyed flowers, foliage and accessories can be arranged following the principles for dry flower arrangement.

Artificial flowers are a great source of handmade decorations. Beautiful handmade artificial flowers are suitable for banquets, weddings or to decorate any room in the home. They are generally made of paper or cloth and in a variety of colors. They come in either a bouquet form or can be ordered as individual stems. There are different kinds of artificial flowers including silk flower, latex flower, flowers made from natural leaves and embroidery flower.

Dried Fruits and Pods

The enchanting beauty and usage of fresh pods or fruits need not end up with the season. They are dried and preserved for years. A colorful array of choice dried fruits are very popular in dried arrangements. There are numerous dried fruits and pods used in potpourri and dried flower arrangements.

Dried Petals

Many types of dried petals are used for making pot pourii eg., land lotus petals, rose petals, mahogany petals, lily petals and lotus petals. Flowers are dried for everlasting beauty. They add an elegant touch to the room and are dried for everlasting beauty. Preserving blooms is a wonderful way to preserve memories and enjoy long lasting splashes of color. Many flower parts are used in dried form. A vibrant and thrilling range of dried petals are used to embellish greeting cards, folders, books, and other personal belongings.

Dried Leaves

Leaves are dried or preserved to capture the beauty of spring and hold it for a long time. Dried leaves are beautiful when used in any decoration. There are several preserving techniques that help to enhance the prized collection of leaves well. Drying leaves is an age old tradition. Leaves were dried to preserve them. The leaves were picked for their medicinal qualities, fragrance, or to be used as spices and for their decorative value. Leaves can be preserved by various ways: 

Dried Grasses

Grasses are easy to collect to dry and use. When the seed-heads have formed, the grass is cut off just above the soil using a sharp knife. They are allowed to lie in a thin layer in the sun for a day or two, turning them over a few times. They should not be allowed to get too damp. After they are dried they are put into a plethora of uses. Bunches of dried grasses can make a wonderful addition to any home or office.

Perennial Flowers

Perennial flowers have a life span of more than one year and usually bloom during a specific time period every year during the growing season. These flowers are hardy and herbaceous. They need less maintenance, less water, and fewer pesticides than annuals. Perennials are easily used as ground covers, mixed with annuals, grown in containers and used as accents or specimen plants. Many perennials are short bloomers and are best mixed with others that bloom at different times or included with other landscape plants. These flowers are treasured by gardeners as heirloom plants and have proven themselves to be hardy enough to withstand weather and climate extremes. They are treasured in their dried form for beautiful and exotic dried flower arrangements.

Flowers blooming in a garden can be preserved by drying them for use in arrangements, decorations and various other applications. Natural dry flowers can be annual or perennial. Some of the important annuals used for dry flower making are described below.

14.1 Annual Flowers

Plants classified as annuals are those that complete their life cycle within the space of one year. Annual flowers are versatile and sturdy. The annuals have many uses in landscaping. Annual flowers are beautiful and garden lovers tend to preserve these flowers throughout. They dry these flowers and store them for use in several beautiful dry flower arrangements.

Skeleton Leaves

Skeleton leaves are semi-transparent leaves, also called fossil leaves. They are prepared by soaking the fresh leaves in bleached water and then by hand rubbing the soft green flesh from the network of veins. The leaves can be then dyed to variant colors to give them a beautiful and pleasing appearance. Although delicate by nature, they are actually sturdy and can easily be glued to a variety of surfaces. They come in several colors and sizes to meet a complete line of crafting needs. The delicate beauty of these leaves is sometimes meant to capture life, hope and memories. These delicate, gorgeous skeleton leaves are a perfect accent for all craft projects. They make a beautiful and elegant statement when they adorn your wedding invitations. They work surprisingly well on gift tags, greeting cards, scrapbooks, collages, papermaking, stenciling, and stamping. They are perfect for decorating bridal bouquet, wedding reception table, candles, and wedding favors.

One of the important aspects of dry flowers is the pleasure of gathering flowers and grasses to make wonderful dried arrangements. The only drawback is that the original colors fade and the floral arrangements can end up looking like a bunch of straw. To enhance the colors of dried flowers, dyeing is advocated. While coloring ferns or small leaves, it is better to work on an aluminum foil or waxed paper so it can collect extra paint, which can be used on another leaf. Leaves should be lightly brushed, and never saturated with paint. The painted specimens are placed on the waxed paper or on a computer paper to dry. Newsprint should not be used.

The major drawback of dried arrangements and other dry flower products is that they are dull and lack the brightness of fresh flowers. To overcome this problem, flowers are bleached and dyed. This enhances the visual appeal of the product. Both chemical and natural dyes can be used. Squires (1971) reported on the use of various types of paints to colour dried foliage and flowers using brushes or by dipping and spraying. Enamel paints, interior paints, poster paints and tube paints could be employed for this purpose. Tampion and Reynolds (1971) explained the three ways by which dyeing can be carried out for fresh flowers. They are as follows:

Bleaching is essentially whitening or decolourizing. It is an important step in the processing of dry plants. It involves chemical processes that can change the ability of colour bodies to absorb light by changing their degree of saturation (Robson, 1967). This chemical action removes the discolouration occurring during the dehydration phase of preservation of plants. It allows the effective use of dyes for colouring. Bleaching agent is a material that lightens or whitens a substrate through chemical action. To reduce the processing costs, multistage bleaching is suggested. In this method, both oxidative and reductive bleaching chemicals are used.

The process for freeze dried flowers began in 1989. Freeze drying was first used by the Peruvian Incas of the Andes, who stored their food on the heights of the Andes. The ancient Incas were the first to learn the benefits of sublimation. They discovered that when they dried food at high elevations, the results were better. Even though the food would freeze, it would dry well if left exposed to the sun. The reduced pressure at high elevation, combined with the dry air and energy from the sun, had caused sublimation to occur.

Microwave Oven Drying

Microwave drying is quick and relatively simple. It takes only a few minutes and provides dried flowers that look fresher and more colorful than obtained by other methods. Flowers with thick petals like magnolia are not suitable for drying in microwave. Since flowers vary in moisture content, texture and density, care should be taken to use the same sized flowers from one species at a time. It has been found that many flowers held almost true to life color and form using this process. Brightly colored flowers are best to dry. Flowers such as lilies, roses, violets, zinnias, and dahlias work well with this process.

Drying by Embedding

A desiccant is simply a substance with a high affinity for water which can be used as a drying agent. Embedding the flowers in a granular, desiccating material is probably the most commonly used method and many consider it the best all around method. Several materials are used as drying agents. All the agents used vary in cost and in the results they produce. It is important to use the correct procedure when covering the flowers so that their form is maintained. Most well known is silica gel, but also clean dry sand can be used. Usually an airtight container is used; the flower heads are placed in the drying mixture face up, and very carefully covered with the mixture. The container must be kept closed during the drying process. After 4-14 days, depending on the thickness of the flower, the flower will be dry.

Pressing Flowers

One of the most popular methods for drying flowers is to put them under pressure, to remove the moisture out while leaving the color of the flowers and structure intact. There are several ways to apply pressure to flowers. The easiest method is placing them in heavy books and allow for drying. Flower presses can also be used. Some guidelines for pressing flowers in the traditional way are explained below:

Various methods are employed to dry flowers and foliage. The method adopted for drying depends largely on the character of the plant, that is to say whether the plant is glabrous, succulent or not succulent, hardy or delicate in nature. The suitable method for drying any given plant has to be studied elaborately. However, the different methods of drying are described broadly in this and consequent chapters.

4.1 Dry Flower Garden

Contrary to popular assumptions, the area required for producing large quantity of dried flower material need not also be large. However, the garden should be planned so as to harvest dry flowers all year round by planting evergreens, deciduous plants, annuals and perennials. Rows of flowering plants should be planted in the dry flower garden. Herbs are easy to grow, and can be planted in pots and window boxes. They are useful in transforming simple cooking into gourmet dishes, while also lending their delicate scents to a room when dried and for use in wreaths, pot pourri and arrangements. Gardens for dry flower production should include a wide selection of weeds, grains, seed-heads and pods. Flowers such as hydrangeas, zinnias, roses, dahlias and sunflowers and a selection of line flowers such as golden rods, statice, gladiolus, larkspur and delphinium can also be grown as these will provide a greater variety of flowers needed in flower arrangements.

3.1 Indian Floriculture Industry

Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers and dry flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions. About 60,000 ha area is under floriculture at present. During nineties, increasing demands for flowers in world market was coupled with production technology available abroad for high quality flowers. This encouraged some entrepreneurs to establish export-oriented units in Hyderabad, especially for the production of long stem rose by importing cultivars and adapting green house technology.

Preserving flowers dates back to earliest recorded history. The first evidence of use of dry flowers was when the bones of a pre historic man discovered in the Middle East were found with a mantle of delicate wild flowers. The pollen grains that remain indicated specific flowers that were used. During ancient times people used to freshen or enliven their rooms with fresh sweet smelling flowers. In the sixteenth century, when the Elizabethan Age was coming to a close, it was considered fashionable to wear silk flowers as part of one’s attire. These days flowers are dried and are versatile in their use. They supply us with food, medicines, ornaments and adornment. Flowers became essential for a fashionable appearance. Each civilization developed its own interpretation of flowers. Pressed flower art became popular in Victorian times. The Japanese use pressed plants and colorful papers to create Oshibana Art.

Flowers attract both young and old alike. They are associated with mankind from the dawn of civilization. These have become an integral part of human life in the modern era.
 
The Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers and dry flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions. About 60,000 hectares, area is under floriculture at present. During nineties, increasing demands for flowers in world market was coupled with production technology available abroad for high quality flowers.

Peer-reviewed academic journals publish a variety of article types, such as “research articles” that report original research, “reviews” of the literature, and “case reports” of a small number of interesting cases. Each article type has its own specific format, and it is important that you use the appropriate one.

Crop growth rate (g m^_-2 day^_-1)

Crop Growth Rate is referred to a whole crop, so you need to consider the area of the ground where crop is present. It is measured as mass increase in crop biomass per unit ground area per unit time.
Equation for that is, CGR= W₂-W₁ / t₁-t₂

Definition of terminologies and concept

Variables: Variables are the characteristic, number or quantity which increases or decreases over time and takes different values in different situations. Variables are those, whose value varies according to the situations. For example, maize yield, Stover, fertilizer, labor, land, pesticides, etc.
 
Dependent variable: Variables whose value is dependent on independent variables. These variables take different values only in response to independent variables. Yield of maize is dependent on amount fertilizer, fertilizer application methods, labor, pesticides etc. So in this case maize yield is dependent variables while amount fertilizer, fertilizer application methods, labor, pesticides are independent variables. However in other situation, maize yield can be used as independent variables also.