eChapters

1.1. Origin and distribution

• Originated from wild non heading type, Cliff cabbage or Cole wort (Brassica oleracea var. sylvestris).
• Native to Mediterranean region.
• Three cultivated forms
  • Brassica oleracea var capitata f. alba- White cabbage
  • Brassica oleracea var capitata f. rubra- Red cabbage
  • Brassica oleracea var capitata f. sabauda- Savoy cabbage
• Major cabbage producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

1.2. Economic importance

• Contains all essential amino acids, particularly sulphur containing amino acids.
• Red cabbage is rich source of anthocyanin.

Introduction

Prunus armeniaca L. is a highly nutritious fruit belonging to the Rosaceae family and subfamily Prunoideae. It is known for its attractive appearance, pleasant flavor, and aroma. The name “apricot” is believed to have originated from the Latin word “praecocia” meaning “early matured” or the Arabic word “albarquq” meaning “short ripening period.” Apricot is considered to be an important temperate fruit crop due to its high nutritional and health benefits. Apricots are rich in a multitude of vitamins and minerals, including Retinol (Vit. A), Thiamine (Vit. B1), Riboflavin (Vit. B2), Ascorbic acid (Vit. C) and Tocopherol (Vit. E) as well as calcium, iron, sodium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. It also has low levels of fats and carbohydrates, making it an important food in human nutrition (Batu et al., 2007; Karatas and Kamisli, 2007). Research has indicated that incorporating apricots into one’s diet may counteract the risk posed by several ailments, including cardiovascular disease, cancers, cataracts, and other degenerative diseases (Oomah and Mazza, 2000).

Abstract

Advances in genome sequencing technologies have made it possible to uncover the whole genome sequences of numerous organisms from microbes to higher eukaryotes. Haemophilus influenza, a free living bacterium, was the first complete genome to be sequenced in 1995 by a team headed by J. Craig Venter and Hamilton Smith at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR). Immediately after this, Mycoplasma genitalium, a bacterium responsible for reproductive-tract infections and well-known for having the shortest genome of all free-living organisms was sequenced. Subsequently, TIGR unearthed the genome sequences of many microbes like Methanococcus jannaschii, Archaeoglobus fulgidus, Helicobacter pylori, Borrelia burgdorferi etc. During the years 1996-2000, the complete genome sequences of several model organisms such as bacterium Escherichia coli K-12, baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster etc were published. Since then the complete genome sequences of many other eukaryotes have been released by the genome sequencing community.

5.1 Introduction

A reservoir that collects and harvests in-situ rainfall as well as runoff from the catchment area can be used for many purposes: the most important of which is the supply of water to crops as supplemental irrigation. The water of the reservoir can be used for domestic and industrial uses. It is also a good source for recreational use. Total water demand of the reservoir including irrigation to different crops in different seasons, domestic and other non agricultural uses are to be assessed. While estimating the crop water requirement and irrigation requirement, various crops to be grown in the service area of the reservoir, their water requirements, crop duration, extent of coverage and water management practices followed are to be taken into consideration. Multiplying the irrigation requirement with crop coverage area, volumetric irrigation water requirement of crop can be found out. Summation of irrigation requirement of all crops grown in service area of the reservoir gives total irrigation demand of the reservoir.

Small farm reservoirs are normally used for irrigation to crops as well as to meet the live stock water demand. Normally the large live stocks like horse, cattle require 20 thousand litres of water per head per year whereas the small live stocks like sheep, goat, pigs require 2 thousand litres of water per head per year. Adding the irrigation demand to the livestock demand, total water requirement of the reservoir is calculated. In addition to this, water used for industrial, domestic and other sectoral purposes are to be added to irrigation and livestock demand to estimate the total water demand of the reservoir.

6.1 Soil

The term ‘soil ’is defined in various ways depending on the general professional field in which it is used. However to an agriculturist, soil is the substance existing on the earth surface, which grows and develops plant life. For an engineer, soil is the unaggregated deposits of mineral and organic particles covering major part on the earth crust. It includes widely different materials like boulders, sand, gravel, clays and silts. Soil is produced by the weathering of solid rocks. The formation of soil is due to geologic cycle continuously taking place on surface of the earth. The geologic cycle comprises weathering or denudation, transportation, deposition and upheaval, again followed by the above mentioned processes. Weathering may be natural or artificial. In natural weathering, physical processes like temperature changes, flow of water, ice, wind and rain play the role. In artificial weathering animals especially human beings interference causes soil erosion and formation.

Introduction

For the past few decades, a number of chemical feed additives such as antibiotics, ionophores, methane inhibitors and defaunating agents have been introduced into ruminant nutrition in order to improve rumen fermentation, and increase growth and milk production by improving intake and feed conversion efficiency. However, most of these supplements are not used routinely because of toxicity problems to the host animals and microbial adaptation to these additives. Most importantly, growing awareness from public health aspects has centered on the safety of tissue residues of these chemicals and also bacterial resistance to antibiotics as a result of increased use in the food chain. These supplements have been criticized by the consumers’ organizations on the ground of product safety and quality. Antibiotic feed additives are banned in European Union. The consumers’ demands have drived the search for natural alternatives to chemical feed additives for eco-friendly animal production. Plants are part of herbivore diets, and these plants contain bioactive compounds with antimicrobial properties can be of interest in animal nutrition. Therefore, recent research has been greatly focused to exploit bioactive plant secondary compounds as natural feed additives to improve rumen fermentation such as enhancing protein metabolism, decreasing methane production, reducing nutritional stress like bloat, and improving animal health and productivity (Wallace et al., 2002; Patra and Saxena, 2009a, b; 2010; 2011), which may be useful in eco-friendly livestock farming (Patra, 2007). This review discusses the effects of different plant metabolites on rumen fermentation, rumen microbial ecosystems and ruminant performance.

Introduction

The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.), octoploid in nature is a result of hybridization of two American species, the Chilean F. chiloensis and Virginian F. virginiana. The name strawberry does not incidentally, seems to have anything to do with the practice of putting straw around the plants and long predates their cultivation. It probably comes from ‘strayberry’ for the runners cause young plants to stray from the parent. Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) is one of the most important soft fruits, and its cultivated area has increased significantly during the last few years in sub-tropical areas despite of its temperate nature. Being a high input requiring crop, the profit of margin is reduced in sub-tropical areas due to lack of runnering caused by high temperature and high light intensity. Strawberry is one of the most popular rosaceous vegetable used as preferable fruit has a great value for local consumption as well as for export. Attractive appearance, unique taste, availability of fresh fruits during the period of fresh fruits scarcity in the market, short duration nature, high return per unit area, twice earnings in a year (through fruits during spring and runners during autumn) and wider acceptability of its processed products, the strawberry has become a choicest crop of growers of sub tropical areas, and being grown commercially around the various cities of northern India. Although it is a quick and high return giving fruit crop, but the margin of profit in strawberry cultivation under sub-tropical areas is greatly reduced due to regular annual investment (Rs. 0.60 lakhs/ha) by the growers for the procurement of runner plants in every planting season (October) from temperate areas, as high temperature (>35⁰C) and intense light following fruit harvesting restrict the runnering as well as survival of mother plants in these areas (Sharma and Yamdagni, 2000).

Brief History of Cashew Nut Processing Industry in India

As is known in the Cashew Trade Circles, cashewnut was not an indigenous product of India. A few hundred years back, the Portuguese brought it to Goa in India, from Brazil. The Portuguese also took it to their other colonies in Africa viz. Mozambique on the East Coast and Angola on the West Coast. In Mozambique, it spread all over the territory i.e. from Lourenco in the South to Ibo in the North and thence to British East Africa (now Tanzania) and Kenya. Though, now it is known as cashewnut, still in Mozambique and India, it is known by its original Portuguese name ‘CAJU’.

Abstract

Invasion of field crops, orchards and waste-lands by weeds is a matter of concern for farmers and foresters because of the drag they inflict on productivity and the increase in cost of production involved in weed control. Science-based technologies offer workable and reliable recourse to minimizing and/or eliminating these losses to promote healthier and rewarding livelihoods. While studies have been conducted to combat brush-weed in waste-land and plantations, little work has been done on such aspects as biological control of weeds, development of herbicide resistance in weeds, and allelopathic interface of crops and weeds. In this chapter, attempt is made to assess the economics of weed management in major crops. Aspects of R&D on weed management that should be addressed for safeguarding yield in the future are highlighted with particular reference to situation in western Himalaya.

Mycorrhizae denote the symbiotic associations between plant roots and fungal mycelia. Literally it means fungal root. In 1840, Vittandini proposed that ‘tree rootlets are nourished by certain fungal mycelia which mantle them’. The first illustrations of mycorrhiza were published in the same year by Robert Hartig. However, in 1885 A.B. Frank coined the term “mykorrhizen” to the mutualistic symbiotic fungal association of roots (‘mykos’ fungus ‘rhizen’ roots). He characterized the sheath-forming fungi on tree as ‘ectotropisch’ (ectotrophic) and those without such compact sheath as ‘endotropisch’ (endotrophic). Fossil records reveal that mycorrhizae are as old as terrestrial plants.

Boost to crop production has been the ultimate goal of researchers involved in agriculture so as to feed the ever-increasing human and domestic herbivorous animal populations. Crop production is not only constrained by the limited inherent potential of available varieties currently in use, but is also largely affected by the limitations of soil nutrient availability and damages by diseases, insects and weeds. To counter later challenges, augmentation of soil nutrients through use of biofertilizers in integrated nutrient management programmes and restricting the use of chemical pesticide by integrating biopesticides in plant protection programmes has received much attention in recent years because of consumer’s preference for organic food.

Members of the family Cruciferae commonly used as vegetable include Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and mustard etc. The genus Brassica is known for its important agricultural and horticultural crops. A dislike for cabbage or broccoli can result from the fact that these plants contain a compound similar to phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), which is bitter or tasteless to some people depending on their ‘taste buds’ (Theresa, 1995). Almost all parts of some species or other have been developed for food, including the root (turnips), stems (kohlrabi), leaves (cabbage), flowers (cauliflower, broccoli), buds (Brussels sprouts, cabbage), and seeds (many, including mustard seed, and oil-producing rapeseed). Some forms with white or purple foliage or flowerheads are also sometimes grown for ornamental purpose.

1. Tea require months from plantation to reach plucking is:
    (a)    18-20     (b)    22-24     
    (c)    36-40     (d)    30-34
2. Fruit of coffee is:
    (a)    Pome     (b)    Drupe     
    (c)    Berry     (d)    Aggregate

Nitrogen is the most important element on which depends growth and productivity of plants. It is also the most abundant molecule in the atmosphere (80%), yet it cannot be utilized by plants. The plant utilizable form of nitrogen is either, its most oxidized form, the nitrates or the most reduced state, the ammonia.  The indiscriminate use of nitrogenous fertilizers amounts to depletion of non-renewable fossil fuels used in fertilizer production. Sustainable agriculture depends largely on renewable resources and on-farm nitrogen contributions are achieved largely through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), which helps in maintaining and/or improving soil fertility by using atmospheric nitrogen. Annually BNF is estimated to be around 175 million tonnes of which close to 79% is accounted for by terrestrial fixation.

Summary

Plants produce over 200,000 metabolites, which are important source of drugs and industrial materials. They have been traditionally classified as primary and secondary metabolites. The primary metabolites like sugars, amino acids and fatty acids that are needed for general growth and physiological development of plants are widely distributed in nature and are also utilized as food by man. Secondary metabolites are natural products, the absence of which does not result in immediate death, but in long term their impairment may lead to malfunction and reduced survivability. These plant secondary metabolites can be divided into groups that share the same core substructure, originated from the same biosynthetic pathways. Secondary metabolites play a major role in the adaptation of plants to the changing environment and in overcoming stress constraints. In this chapter we discussed the structure, properties, classification and functions of some of the important groups of plant secondary metabolites such as phenols, flavonoids, terpenoids and alkaloids. A brief overview of some of the important fungal secondary metabolites, their structures and importance has also been discussed. Biotechnological approaches which can be adopted to engineer plants for production of secondary metabolites have also been discussed.

Abstract

Microorganisms inhabiting in the rhizosphere play a vital role in ecosystem functioning. Rhizosphere is an area around the root surface where pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms repose and influence the plant growth and health. These microbial groups of bioagents found in the rhizosphere include bacteria, fungi, nematodes, protozoa, algae and micro-arthropods. Because of their rich diversity, complexity of interactions and numerous metabolic pathways, microbes are an amazing resource for biological activity. These microorganisms require organic matter for their growth and activity in soil and provide valuable nutrients to the plants and hence maintaining the plant health. The most promising fields for the use of bioinoculants are agriculture, horticulture and forestry. There are many reports on the inoculation of bioagents in agriculture and horticulture crops but only a few reports are available in forestry. This article is an overview on various bioinoculants which are used during inoculation and a compilation of scattered reports of bioinoculants in forestry only.

Abstract

Cyanobacteria have gained a lot of attention in recent years because of their novel applications in biotechnology, besides their well recognized role as inoculants for rice crop. They represent favourite model organisms for a deeper understanding of several plant and microbial metabolic processes and efficient systems for the production of recombinant compounds of pharmaceutical and commercial value. They have been identified as a rich source of biologically active compounds with antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer activities, which illustrate their potential as biocontrol agents. The genus Anabaena assumes significance not only as a diazotroph, but also as a rich source of pharmacologically active and structurally interesting secondary metabolites with diverse applications in agriculture and industry. The present compilation aims to present an overview of the literature available globally, and studies undertaken in India illustrating the diversity and potential of Anabaena strains, besides their significance in biology and evolution.

The dry matter production is maximum in cassava (3.0 m t ha^-1) and is followed by yams (2.4 m t ha^-1) and sweet potato (2.1 m t ha^-1) and are higher than rice, wheat, maize and banana (1.3 to 1.9 m t ha^-1). The energy production is maximum in yams (182 M J ha^-1 day^-1) and it is followed by sweet potato (152 M J ha^-1 day^-1) and cassava (121 M J ha^-1 day^-1) (Horton and Fano, 1985).

1. Sweet Potato

Both sweet potato roots and tops are nutritious foods which could be used to advantage in combating nutritional deficiencies in parts of the developing world if means could be found to overcome resistance to their increased consumption. The roots are used primarly as human food and are eaten boiled, steamed, fried or baked. They are not only a moderately good energy source, but also contain significant quantities of the water-soluble vitamins viz., ascorbic acid and thiamin, besides supplying part of the daily requirement for riboflavin and niacin. Their contents of pyridoxine, folic acid and pantothenic acid may be relatively high. Raw leaves and tender tips are also excellent sources of ascorbic acid and some of the B-vitamins, especially riboflavin which is deficient in many Asian diets. However, high percentages of water-soluble vitamins are lost on cooking (Woolfe, 1992).

Abstract

Fusion is a well known entity in various fields (e.g. medical imaging, weapon detection, flood monitoring etc.) that surmises information originating from several modalities. This chapter is an attempt to assort the various image fusion techniques available for human face recognition and to put a review of the advancements being made by the different researchers. The various types of fusion those have been used or may be used for face recognition have also been discussed here.

The term bioinformatics was coined by Paulien Hogeweg in 1979 for the study of informatics processes in biotic systems. It was primarily used in genetic and genomic studies, particularly in those areas of genomics involving large-scale DNA sequencing. Bioinformatics involves application of information technology to store, organise and analyse the vast amount of biological data available in the form of sequences and structures of proteins (the building blocks of organisms) and nucleic acids (the information carrier). There are umpteen ways to define bioinformatics, mainly owing to its rapid evolutions.

Post-mortem examination is a thorough examination or inspection of all relevant parts of slaughtered animals including carcass and organs by qualified veterinarian immediately after slaughter and evisceration to find out the possible changes and lesions that indicate unsuitability of the meat for food. Postmortem examination should be carried out as soon as possible after carcass dressing otherwise carcass gets set and the examination of lymph nodes becomes difficult particularly in beef and pork in winters.

Biofertilizer is still an unclear term. It can be easily found that biofertilizers are identified as plant extract, composted urban wastes, and various microbial mixtures with unidentified constituents, and chemical fertilizer formulations supplemented with organic compounds. Likewise, the scientific literature has a very open interpretation of the term biofertilizer representing everything from manures to plant extracts.  Quality control of biofertilizers involves several major aspects such as isolation and identification of various strains, screening of the pure isolated strains, fermentation and quality control and finished product.

Abstract

Thermophiles mainly harbor in highly temperate environments such as hydrothermal vents, hot springs, fumaroles etc. The main importance of thermophiles is due to their thermostable proteins, enzymes and their adaptive mechanisms at higher temperature which are very useful for industrial applications. The main rationale behind this research was to isolate industrially important thermophilic bacteria from the Hot Springs of Sikkim which can be used as tools for genetic engineering and vector based research activities.

Abstract

In recent years microwave processing have attained increasing recognition in food industries particularly in drying and dehydration. During microwave processing, electromagnetic energy is supplied directly to the food material for volumetric heating. This provides rapid temperature rise throughout the material with reduced thermal gradients. This unique heating mechanism reduces processing time and saves energy. In-spite of advantages of microwave heating it leads to overheating in food material and formation of cold and hot spots if applied improperly during drying. To overcome these challenges different microwave assisted hybrid drying technologies have been developed by many researchers. These techniques are microwave assisted hot air drying, microwave assisted osmotic dehydration, microwave assisted vacuum drying, microwave- infrared assisted hot air drying, microwave assisted rotary drying. This chapter comprises the fundamentals of microwave and provides comprehensive update of microwave assisted hybrid drying processes for food and agricultural materials.

4.1 Write True/False

4.1.1 Preliminaries

Q.1    In selection of a test, one should try to keep the probabilities of both types of error small.
Q.2    Under a non-sequential sampling scheme (i.e. fixed sample size n), it is not possible to minimise both the errors at the same time.

8.1 Write True/False

Q.1    Any linear function of sample observations which is used to estimate the population parameter or parametric function,is called the “Linear estimator.”

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.

Fruit beverages

Fruit beverages are highly refreshing, thirst quenching, appetizing, easily digestible and nutritionally far superior to synthetic drinks. The fruit beverages includes natural and sweetened juices, squash, syrup, cordial, nectar, Ready to Serve (RTS) beverages, fruit juice concentrate and citrus juice barley water. Fruits most commonly used to prepare beverages are oranges, lime, pineapple, grapes, cashew fruit, mango, jack fruit, apple etc. To prepare fruit beverages select fresh, fully ripe, tart, juicy and seasonal fruits.

H    :    Hour.

H    :    Planck’s constant.

H antigens, histocompatibility antigens   :    H antigens or histocompatibility antigens, are known as major histocompatibility antigens when they encode molecules that present foreign peptides to T cells and as minor H antigens when they present polymorphic self peptides to T cells. See also histocompatibility.

Lilium is a popular genus of ornamental bulbous plants, belonging to family Liliaceae. Lilium is originated from a Greek word “li” meaning whiteness. It is an herbaceous perennial plant having scaly bulb. Despite the range of forms and their popularity as garden plants, there are two main groups of commercial importance as cut flowers i.e. Asiatic and Oriental Hybrids. They are the result of interspecific hybridization. However, intraspecific and interspecific hybridization face the hurdles like interspecific incompatibility, embryo abortion, degeneration of ovule, poor seed set and pollen sterility. There are several breeding methods and techniques which have been used to overcome these hurdles.

Introduction

Introduction of improved high yielding varieties of crop plants, use of modern agricultural practices coupled with essential control of pests of food and fiber crops have significantly contributed towards increasing the food production in green revolution era in India. Pesticide application forms the foremost limb in hiked agricultural food production and management practices. The production and post production management of crop yield requires increased use of pesticides.

Nitrate - Nitrite Poisoning
Sources
Accidental ingestion/grazing of Plants which are Nitrate accumulators 

Pulses play an important role in improving the soil health through biological nitrogen fixation. These crops also help to conserve natural resources and therefore help to conserve natural resources and sustain the agricultural productivity. With almost one-fourth population below the poverty line, the recent steep hike in prices has made the availability of pulses for this section of society even more difficult, thus, further jeopardizing both food and nutritional security.

Abstract

People are the most important and valuable resources of any organization. Dynamic people can build dynamic and growth-oriented organizations. No wonder that late Homi J Bhava advocated on identification and selection of a dynamic scientist and building a laboratory ‘for’ him and ‘around’ him and not the reverse, that is, building a laboratory with certain aim and then search a suitable candidate to steer it. Effective employees can contribute to the effectiveness of the organization. Competent and motivated people can make things happen and enable an organization to achieve its goal. Therefore, organizations should continuously ensure that the dynamism, effectiveness, competency, and motivation of its people remain at a high level. Human resource development is a continuous process to ensure the development of employee dynamism, effectiveness, competencies and motivation in a systematic and planned manner.

3.1 Redgram or Pigeon Pea

In any production programme, the importance of quality seed needs hardly be emphasized. In fact, the major bottleneck in the pigeon pea cultivation programme is the restricted or poor availability of quality seeds of the desirable varieties. The seed has been considered as the ‘vehicle of change’. With better attention paid to their interaction among water, fertilizer and seed of improved varieties, the production can be maximized. Although a numbers of improved varieties of pigeon pea have been released since 1970, organized seed production programmes have been rather limited. Most of our national efforts in this direction continue to be centralized on cereal crops like wheat, rice and hybrid millets. Moreover, the benefits of the current research will not reach the farmers unless large-scale seed multiplication programmes are organized. Most farmers continue to use seeds of traditional varieties and consequently have not been able to expedite the higher production potential of the new strains.

Sustainable agriculture requires sincere attempt by the farmers to be sustainable in their approach. The practices are neither new nor difficult. But the minds of the farmers are so much inclined to inorganic farming that it is not so easy to divert their minds for sustainable agriculture.

10.1. CADMIUM
10.1.1. Introduction

Cadmium (Cd) is a strongly phytotoxic heavy metal in an increasing environmental problem worldwide. It is one of the most dangerous metal due to its high mobility and the small concentration at which its effects on the plants being to appear. It is released into the environment by the power stations, heating systems, metal-working industries or urban traffic. It is recognized as an extremely significant pollutant due to its high toxicity and large solubility in water (Pinto et al., 2004). Soil solutions which have a Cd concentration ranging from 0.32 to 1.00 mM can be regarded as polluted to a moderate level (Sanita di Toppi and Garbrielli, 1999).

Introduction

Chickpea, the world’s third most important food legume, is currently grown on about 10 m ha worldwide, with 95% cultivation in the developing countries. India is the largest producer of chickpea in the world. Chickpea is grown under rainfed conditions in winter in India subjecting it to abiotic stresses. Consequently it experiences water deficit stress at one or the other growth stage(s) which affects the crop productivity.  Among the abiotic stresses to which chickpea is subjected to drought stands to be the number one problem in major chickpea growing regions because the crop is grown on residual moisture and the crop is eventually exposed to terminal drought (Johansen et al., 1994). A distinctive variation exists between the plant in sensitivity to water stress. Chickpea is considered relatively more tolerant, possibly because of its deeper root system is and its smaller leaves and canopy. Several adaptive mechanisms are evoked by plants in response to water stress (Chaves et al., 2003). These traits enable chickpea to ensure its survival in different environmental conditions.

Introduction

After water, nitrogen is the most critical nutritive element for crop productivity and human efforts to produce food and energy have greatly changed the nitrogen cycle of the earth. Sustainable cropping systems throughout history and across the world have relied on the combination of a cereal with an N-fixing legume. In recent history, cereals have dominated global agriculture, while legume areas and productivity have stagnated or even declined. An atmosphere around us contains nearly 78% nitrogen, which is in free form. Hence it is not available to plants. At present, India produces around 206 million metric tones of foodgrains for its growing population, increased foodgrain cannot be produced unless we carefully make use of biological nitrogen. Biological nitrogen fixation is the key to sustain agricultural productivity through the application of biofertilizers in the field. However, there is an urgent need to transfer this technology on the field to farmers and industry by producing these fertilizers on large scale.

Words like rDNA (recombinant DNA) technology, cloning, genetically modified organism (GMO), living modified organism (LMO) and transgenics are of today’s common knowledge. However rather than scientific interest, debates on biosafety issues have made these terms more agnized among general people. Global, sectorial and individual protests against transgenic plants and animals are enunciated allover the world raising issues and concerns over risks and health hazards of using these organisms. Despite these protests and concerns, commercial use of transgenic organism as food, feed or other purposes are increasing at an exponential rate. Although there is not much scientific evidence where transgenics have caused havocs on ecological balance or human health, the biosafety issues need to be solved to provide a safer environment rather than be sorry and lament in the future for today’s mistakes. One of the major problems in supporting use of GMOs lies in the incapability of biosafety science to draw reliable and widely acceptable conclusions for labeling a safe tag on these organisms and their derivatives.

INTRODUCTION

Insecticide resistance poses a severe threat to agricultural productivity in India and in other countries of the world. Humans have had the ingenuity to develop thousands of pesticides to protect foodstuffs, livestock, and health and the use of these poisons has triggered a rapid evolutionary response in many target species and some nontarget species of invertebrates, microorganisms, higher plants and vertebrates. Insecticide exposure led to nullify their toxic effects through genetic selection for individuals with the biochemistry or behaviour. Continual development of new compounds and its greater use and increase in input insecticide cost is mainly due increase in resistance. Reduction in insecticide efficacy from insect resistance has major economic, environmental and human health implications. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a convenient descriptor for wide range of still-evaluating pest control program that emerged from chemical prophylaxis practiced. IPM theory has fostered a transition from primarily chemical control to programs tempered with biological information and input tailored to each agro ecosystem, crop and pest situation in production.

Introduction

Banana is the forth ranked agricultural crop in the world and first among fruits. A large number of pests and diseases threaten banana production. The major constraints in production are diseases and pests transmitted through the conventional planting materials. Although the average yield for bananas worldwide is over 40 t per hectare, production in India averages only 20 t per hectare. The nematode parasites are among the most important pests on commercial and subsistence banana production and their control remains difficult, as the nematodes are involved in the destruction of primary roots that disrupt the anchorage system resulting in toppling or uprooting of plants. The most widespread and important are burrowing nematode, Radopholus similes, some species of root lesion nematode, Pratylenchus coffeae and P. goodeyi, species of root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica; the spiral nematode, Helicotylenchus multicinctus, H. mucronatus and semi endo-parasitic nematode Rotytlenchus reniformis.

Abstract

The rhizosphere or the zone of influence around roots harbors a multitude of microorganisms that are affected by both abiotic and biotic stresses. Among these are the dominant rhizobacteria that prefer living in close vicinity to the root or on its surface and play a crucial role in soil health and plant growth. Both free-living and symbiotic bacteria are involved in such specific ecological niches and help in plant matter degradation, nutrient mobilization and biocontrol of plant disease. While the rhizosphere as a domain of fierce microbial activity has been studied for over a century, the availability of modern tools in microbial ecology has now permitted the study of microbial communities associated with plant growth and development, in situ localization of important forms, as well as the monitoring of introduced bacteria as they spread in the soil and root environment. Plant-microbe researchers have studied the diversity of rhizobacteria in a variety of plants, cereals, legumes and others along with assessment of their functionality based on the release of enzymes (soil dehydrogenase, phosphatase, nitrogenase, etc.), metabolites (siderophores, antifungals, HCN, etc.), growth promoters (IAA,

SUMMARY

The primary requirement for sustainable agriculture is the maintenance of a satisfactory balance of water, air and salt in the root zone encouraging for plant growth. This balance can be achieved by sufficient drainage. About 22% of the World's irrigated area is affected by waterlogging and salinity. Vertical drainage by pumping can control the increase of ground water table in those areas where the ground water is of good quality. Horizontal sub-surface drainage in which the saline ground water is drained away through pipes and drains, is the other regularly used anti waterlogging methods. In bio-drainage system, the characteristic of the trees to transpire water is used to control the increase of ground water table. It is an alternative drainage method, which would be most economical and environmental congenial. But there are worries and doubts on the long-term sustainability of biodrainage. This chapter describes various aspects of biodrainage.

INTRODUCTION

All plant species grown on this universe are attacked by insect-pests and diseases, resulting huge yield losses in agriculturally important species. Among diseases, extensive yield losses occurred due to soil borne fungal plant pathogens. Soil borne fungal pathogens infect roots or stem bases, their dispersal and survival stages are primarily confined to the soil. Although many soil pathogens may also produce air or water dispersed spores which results in long distance dispersal. Soil borne fungal diseases are specifically those diseases where the soil borne fungi has the capacity to survive in soil for long periods in the absence of their hosts, or survive in the soil outside of seed or host residues, but infection and symptom expression are confined to the subterranean organs of the plant. Soil borne fungi may be divided into two classes: i) The  soil inhabiting fungus which is characterized by its ability to survive indefinitely as saprophyte (e.g. Rhizoctonia, Sclerotium) and ii) The soil invading or root inhabiting fungus which is characterized by an expanding parasitic phase and a declining saprophytic phase after  the hosts death.

1. Introduction

Fruits and vegetables in fresh form in general contain very high water content, with the fast rate of metabolic activity, including respiration rate, which may vary with the fruit type. Accordingly, the storage life at room temperature is considerably less, to expect acceptable quality. A range of transformational changes occur in various features of the fruits and vegetables, such as color, flavor, texture, structure, sweetness, sourness, pungency, astringency and so on. Phenolic browning of mushrooms, intensive softening of papaya, coloration and softening of ripe banana, softening of pear and jackfruit , flavor transformations of mango, banana and jackfruit after ripening, their color and texture transformations, are classic examples of post-harvest changes in fresh commodities, over a course of storage period at room temperature. These physical and sensorial perceptions of fresh commodities over a length of storage period are based on the range and multitude of operations of physical, chemical and bio-chemical reactions occurring in various constituents of the fresh fruit or vegetable such as moisture, pigments, vitamins, pectin, cellulose, hemicelluloses, phenolics, lignin, sugars, flavor compounds, amino acids, fatty acids and so on. In order to increase the storage stability, the fresh fruits and vegetables are processed and converted into various products such as juice, RTS beverages, jam, jelly, marmalade, fruit spread, dehydrated, spray dried powder, frozen stored, fruit cereal flakes, canned, candied, fruit bar and so on. Based on the nature of processing, the original form, shape, size, texture and structure are transformed, however with due maintenance in storage acceptability. A number of external factors are applied to achieve this product range such as heat, air velocity, pressure, radiation, chilling, freezing, vacuum impregnation etc. The ultimate quality of the final product is essentially an interaction between and amongst the various chemical constituents so characteristic of each fruit or vegetable under study, and a sum total of positive and negative reactions related to sensorial acceptability of the product. This quality is again a function of the storage period and the conditions of storage. Consumers in modern days are more health conscious to choose between consumption of fresh or processed fruits and vegetables. For trade over distance and time and particularly for geographic regions not producing a particular fruit or vegetable, it is of utmost importance to process the fresh produce. Enzymatic transformations in color, texture and flavor deserve utmost attention to ensure acceptable quality of the processed product, in particular over the course of storage period or until consumed after transportation and marketing. Microbiological quality of the product in final form is a most vital factor of consumers' health and this is dependent on water activity, sugars and protein / amino acid contents. In this regard, additives and preservatives come into picture. Strict regulations are imposed on their use, type and concentration over a storage period, for healthy consumption. Accordingly, this chapter would deal with several examples of processing conditions influencing the quality of the product, that emanates. Processing involving chemical, bio-chemical, engineering, bio-technological and microbiological methods to achieve a product are vivid, varied and different to different species / variety of fruits or vegetables to target different products.

Lilium is a popular genus of ornamental bulbous plants, belonging to family Liliaceae. Lilium is originated from a Greek word “li” meaning whiteness. It is an herbaceous perennial plant having scaly bulb. Despite the range of forms and their popularity as garden plants, there are two main groups of commercial importance as cut flowers i.e. Asiatic and Oriental Hybrids. They are the result of interspecific hybridization. However, intraspecific and interspecific hybridization face the hurdles like interspecific incompatibility, embryo abortion, degeneration of ovule, poor seed set and pollen sterility. There are several breeding methods and techniques which have been used to overcome these hurdles.

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

All species of Lilium are native to northern hemisphere. The northern limit extends up to Canada and Siberia, whereas in south, this extends up to Florida and the Nilgiri mountains of India. Majority of lilies known to cultivation are native to the northern hemisphere, chiefly South Canada, Siberia, Florida and India. It is distributed to east coast of Asia, the west coast of North America and the Mediterranean region. Several species i.e. Lilium nepalensis, L. wallichianum and L. polyphyllum are native of Himalayan region and L. niligiriensis have originated from Nilgiri hills. Few species have also been found in north east India. The Far East is the home of almost half of the world lilies and most garden lilies grown in the world have originated there.

The Assyrian monuments dating back to 1000 BC with sculptured lily forms is the first authentic record. The Palestinian coin makers were stamping lily on shekels before 143 BC. Lilium longiflorum popularly known as Easter lily became a florist flowerwhich existed in the Japanese gardens before trade opened the orient to the west. After that it was brought to the England by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1819. Lilies reached to Bermuda from England where it flourished well. Lily depicted an ancient Greek pottery, featured in literature and religions as diverse as pagan myths. Today lilies are enjoying a renaissance of recognition. In Italy and France they are among the most fashionable of flowers. In the USA their popularity has increased tremendously. A number of lily bulbs were imported by the US from the Netherlands for both professional forcing and garden usage. In India, lilies are mostly grown in the hills but Lilium longiflorum do well in the plains, especially under subtropical regions. There are about 7000 registered varieties of lily. The International Lily Register is maintained, under international agreement by the Royal Horticultural Society in London.

1. Introduction

The demand for non-dairy based beverages in form of non-dairy milk is on rise due to several reasons. Firstly, the prevalence of lactose intolerance and milk allergy amongst a major percentage of population who cannot consume dairy milk and look for alternate source of proteins. The need for functional drinks is also a major factor which contributes to the increase in demand of milk-alternatives. It has also been reported that milk processors around the world face an uphill battle, including the dominance of private labels; consumer concerns over the presence of growth hormones in non-organic milk; fluctuations in commodity prices; supply shortages for organic milk; and growing consumer concern about the safety of animal products in general. With that long list of challenges, the market has had few growth opportunities even though consumers continue to prize milk for its nutritional benefits.

2. Need for Non-dairy Beverages

2.1 Prevalence of lactose intolerance

Lactose intolerance is estimated to affect 33 % of the global population, but the prevalence of the condition varies from country to country. It is also estimated that an average of 75 % of human adults have decreased intestinal lactase activity after weaning (NDDI, 2012).

1. The Aflatoxin Molecule

Aflatoxins are chemically difuro-coumarin derivatives. Presently, 18 different types of aflatoxins have been identified with aflatoxin B₁, B₂, G₁, G₂, M₁ and M₂ being the most common. Of these Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and G₁ occur most frequently, with AFB₁ being the most potent. Physicochemical and biochemical characteristics of the AFB₁ molecule reveal two important sites for toxicological activity (Heathcote and Hibbert, 1978). The first site is the double bond in position 8,9 of the furofuran ring (Figure 1). The interactions of aflatoxin, DNA and proteins, which occur at this site alter the normal biochemical functions of these macromolecules and leads to deleterious effects at the cellular level.Monteiro et al. (1966) studied the in vitro interaction of groundnut proteins namely arachin and conarachins with AFB₁ molecule. The second reactive group is the lactone ring in the coumarin moiety (Lee et al., 1981). The lactone ring is easily hydrolyzed and is therefore vulnerable to degradation.

There is no single factor as important in the production of fine quality dairy products as absolute and complete cleanliness.

R.B. Barrett

It is not enough to provide milk for man, it must be high quality milk. It would be impossible to provide man with milk and milk products of superior quality if we were unable to remove milk soil and to kill residual microorganisms. Respectively, these are the processes of cleaning and sanitizing.

To successfully provide the atmosphere for proper food safety, the basics must be thoroughly understood. The basics of food safety begin with good understanding of sanitation processes, food-handling procedures that protect from, or eliminate cross contamination problems and specific attention to inspection of and follow up for all processes. Food safety activities need to be programmed into available time of day scheduling just as production requirements do. Whether special personnel or separate shifts handle cleaning responsibilities or you clean as you go on the production line, time must be made available. Safe products leaving the facility must be the watch word of all employees involved with the process.

In order to ensure safe food supply a high level of sanitation should be maintained throughout the food production chain. The word ‘sanitation’ is derived from the Latin word “sanitas” which means “health”. To further apply this word to the food industry, sanitation is the creation and maintenance of hygienic and healthful conditions when processing, preparing and handling food. Sanitation is the application of science to provide wholesome food handled in a hygienic environment by healthy food handlers to prevent contamination by food spoilage microorganisms. Effective sanitation refers to the mechanisms, which accomplish these goals.