eChapters

Abstract

Variously defined endophytes are highly diverse in plants in natural ecosystems, and most of them are symbiotic with of them are Asymptomatic presence of endophytic fungi in internal tissues on healthy host plants are able to play vital roles in physiology and biochemical processes. As a result of this interaction endophyte produces chemical substances having various applications. This chapter provides a brief review of certain grass and non-grass endophytes capable to extend beneficial impacts on host plants to sustain the unfavourable conditions of abiotic stresses. However, biotic stresses are also a matter of great concern, where endophytes can play important roles in combating the unfavourable situation. Endophytic fungi used in bio-control and other agriculture related sectors are also  highlighted in this review. Endophytic fungi producing volatile organic compounds reported from all over the world and their various applications find place in this article which has opened new frontiers of bioprospecting of endophytic fungi.

Abstract

Microbes are endowed with a high and exploitable potential of being useful associates with their surrounding environment and host in case of symbiotic relationship. Most of the microbes live alone but many of them require association of other living system for its survival. Hence, the beneficial role of microbes is always correlated with growth promotion and survivability of other associated living system. Now it is established that microbes play an important and key role in plant growth and development, even its survivability in case of symbiotic mycorrhizal association with orchids. They are nothing but potential tool protecting plants from different adverse conditions like diseased state, environmental stress like cold temperature, drought, metal contamination, salt and acidic or alkaline stress.

Abstract

In its natural environment, a plant faces various types of stressors. In fact, stress in moderation is a welcome event in plants. Only when it is in excess, would it compromise the productivity of plants. Beyond a threshold, stress (biotic and abiotic) has a detrimental effect on plant growth causing extensive yield losses in crop plants worldwide. Plants being sessile, have evolved a complex set of mechanisms to perceive the changes in the environment. Plants respond to minimize the potential damage due to stress while simultaneously preserving resources vital for their growth and development. The chapter presents an overview of various types of biotic and abiotic factors that act as plant stressors and the mechanisms by which plants respond to these stresses. The chapter concludes with a perspective on how the plant’s innate stress response machinery can be exploited for achieving higher tolerance to stress in crop plants.

Abstract

Impact of climate change and related stresses on plant productivity are being witnessed worldwide with developing countries being more vulnerable due to more dependency on agriculture. Microorganisms can play important role as economic and farmer’s friendly strategy to combat abiotic stress in agriculture. A wide range of microorganisms associate with plants, and many of them confer beneficial effects to their hosts through different mechanisms like production of growth promoting substances, nutrient acquisition, protection against plant pathogens etc. In the last few decades, role of microorganisms in imparting tolerance to plants against different abiotic stress has been reported in many crop plants. Under stresses conditions, plant-microbe interactions become more common towards coping with the stress. Selection and application of efficient abiotic stress tolerant microorganisms can be a fruitful strategy to alleviate negative effects of abiotic stresses in plants.

Abstract

With increasing population and subsequent human requirements; the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) has increased all over the world. In India, the safe disposal of the municipal solid waste still remaines a problem for the authorities concerned. Depending upon the nature and type of the MSW, there are physical and chemical methods for the disposal of the waste, but these methods have their own limitations. Those limitations may be overcome by biological methods. Higher number of microorganisms are present in MSW which may either be pathogenic or nonpathogenic. These microorganisms may play a vital role in bioconversion of MSW into compost. The compost thus produced is useful in increasing soil fertility and reducing the concentration of the waste.

Abstract

The rhizomicrobiome plays a vital role in maintaining plant health and is highly influenced by the root exudates of the host plant. Plants select a subset of microbes at different stages of their development, and determine the microbiome community composition in its immediate vicinity presumably for specific functions. The rhizomicrobiome is composed of diversified microbial community with specific functions and is highly influenced by the plant type, soil type and environmental conditions. The rhizomicrobiome communities apart from promoting plant growth also elicit induced systemic tolerance to salinity and drought in stressed plants. Bacterial communities producing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase modulate stress ethylene in plants and alleviate the effects of abiotic stress and increases plant adaptability to stressed environment.

Abstract

Ever growing population and associated food scarcity are the major issues of concern globally. Microorganisms are the ultimate solution for addressing this severe problem in association with recent advances made in genomics and molecular biology. Many bacterial and fungal species which are in association with plant rhizosphere soil can immensely contribute in better growth and developments, ultimately leading to better yield. Exploring these novel organisms happens to be the need of an hour. Metagenomics and next generation sequencing technologies can contribute in identifying those microbes which are otherwise impossible to cultivate traditionally.

Significant transformation took place in the traditional variety improvement and seed production programmes in the sixties and modernized with initiation of hybrid development programme in maize, sorghum and pearl millet, as well as with the introduction, breeding and release of semi dwarf high yielding varieties of wheat and rice. To support the release of varieties and their quality seed production Indian Parliament enacted Indian Seeds Act in 1966. Subsequently, National Seeds Corporation was launched by Government of India for scientific growth of seed industry in the country. All these developments led to the green revolution and country attained self-sufficiency in food crops.

Two decades after India’s independence, during the 1960s, the formal seed sector in India was dominated by the Public sector. It was in 1961 that the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) was established under the Ministry of Agriculture and was at the centre of seed production of breeders, foundation and certified seeds and their quality control. In furtherance of their control in the seeds sector, the National Seeds Project (NSP) was undertaken by the Indian Government in 1967 along with the assistance of the World Bank. In the sixties, the traditional crop breeding and seed production programmes were significantly transformed and modernized with initiation of hybrid development programme in maize, sorghum and pearl millet and introduction, breeding and release of semi dwarf high yielding varieties of wheat and rice.  Indian Seeds Act was enacted in 1966 ensuring official release of varieties and their quality seed production

Bioinformatics is a new science conceptualizing biology in terms of molecules and then applying informatics techniques derived from disciplines such as computer science, maths and statistics to understand and organize the information associated with these molecules on a large scale (Gerstein and Jansen, 2000). It is often defined as the application of computational techniques to understand and organize the information associated with biological macromolecules (Luscombe et al., 2001). It represents a new field at the interface of the twentieth-century revolutions in molecular biology and computers (Pevsner, 2000)

Plant genetic resource (PGR) is fundamental to crop improvement programme and key to establish future food and nutritional security. In recent times there is a worldwide awakening about the conservation of natural resources viz., land, water and plant genetic resources for the sustainable development of mankind. With the increasing risk from the events like climatic change, natural resource degradation,habitat destruction and environmental pollution etc, now there is an worldwide  debate asking many questions - where the humanity is heading in the this 21st century? Whether the present form of indiscriminate growth pattern is sustainable over a long run?

As biotechnology increasingly affects almost all aspects of human life, it is essential that the science behind this technology is explained in simple terms to the public to eliminate the misconceptions that may inhibit its acceptability. The basic question that is often asked is what is a gene, a promoter and a terminator? Genes are the basic units of heredity, composed of DNA sequences, which are transmitted from parents to offspring and which, independently or in combination with other genes, control specific traits in an organism. These traits may be, for example, plant height, flower color, fruit and seed size together with regulatory processes, such as assimilate partitioning and drought resistance. Genes are the basis for both the similarity and differences that exist among organisms, and are transmitted from one generation to another.

Tissue culture is the culture and maintenance of plant cells or organs in sterile, nutritionally and environmentally supportive conditions (in vitro). Conventional breeding methods are the most widely used for crop improvement. But in certain situations these methods have to be supplemented with plant tissue culture techniques, either to increase their efficiency or to achieve an objective not possible through conventional methods.

Plant breeding is considered as current phase of crop evolution. It is a combination of art and science, which involves designers activity, conventionally, economically important traits dispersed in different parental lines are combined together to develop a new variety or cultivar and to change the genetic constitution of a plant to make it more suitable for human need with available scientific knowledge. Although plant breeding has been existing since time immemorial, modern plant breeding methods are based on scientific principles begins only with the rediscovery of Mendel’s laws of inheritance in 1900 and chromosomal theory of inheritance in 1902. Significant achievements have been made in crop improvement through phenotypic selections for agronomically important traits, considerable difficulties are often encountered during this process, primarily due to genotype-environment interactions.

The forest manager aims at producing maximum forest produce of desired quality from the unit forest area in a shortest possible period at a reasonable cost. There is a wide gap between production and requirement from forests. Increasing population and improved standard of living increases demand for forest products. Achieving this in a natural forest is more arduous job. Actual growing stocks in natural stand are poor in terms of vigour, size and quality. The regeneration from these poor stands will produce inferior quality trees. Hence management of forest is inevitable for its improvement.

Horticulture, which includes fruits and vegetables, plantation crops, spices, flowers, and medicinal and aromatic plants, has proved beyond doubt its potentiality for gainful diversification. One of the significant developments is that, horticulture has moved from rural confine to commercial production. Recently horticulture has emerged as one of the best option of diversification for effective land use planning and to achieve inclusive growth. The achievement in the development of horticulture through crop improvement is laudable, as the sector now contributes more than 30 percent to GDP of agriculture and has maintained the growth rate of more than 5 percent during the last two decades.

Crop varieties are domesticated since civilization, and their continued cultivation depends on continuous breeding programmes for insect, disease and other stress resistance. World wide, insects and their associated problems cause threat to crop production. Many crops suffer from insects, which may be in the form of direct damage by feeding or indirectly by the transmission of diseases by insects as vectors. Until now, chemical crop protection is seen as the major way to combat these problems. However, insects develop resistance to the insecticides very quickly. Apart from controlling pest insects, insecticides also affect beneficial insects, such as predators and parasitoids of the pest insect, pollinators, and harmless fauna, thus upsetting ecological balance results in many unwanted problems. Hence, the best strategy is to prevent the problems that occur. The most economical and environmental friendly way of controlling the insect pests of crops would be through host-plant resistance (HPR). Resistant plants help farmers to grow crops with minimal use of chemicals. This will lead to a reduction in the cost of production, thereby increasing the profit margin for farmers and thus importance of breeding for pest resistance is manifested.

In general, disease means an impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning. Plant disease is an abnormal deviation from the normal physiological functioning of the plants their by it causes quantitative and/or qualitative losses. Disease may caused by biotic agents (infectious) like fungi, bacteria, viruses, viroids, phytoplasma, spiroplasma, fastidious bacteria, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic higher plants or abiotic agents (non-infectious) like extreme environmental factors includes temperature, light, soil moisture, atmospheric humidity, environmental pollutants, carbon-dioxide concentration, soil nutrient deficiency, acid rain, soil pH and herbicides. 

A. Salinity

Salinity is a predominant problem affecting crop productivity. Over 800 million hectares of land on earth are saline. This accounts for more than 6% of the total land mass on earth. Salinity is a global problem and is prevalent especially in the arid and semiarid regions, where leaching of salts is poor due to low rainfall or irrigation. Brine-affected soil occurs due to natural causes such as weathering and deposition of oceanic salts (eg. recently tsunami in India). In addition, human interference with the environment such as deforestation and/or desertification has resulted in the rising of water table, thus increasing the salt concentration in the root zone. This excess salinity poses a threat to sustainable crop production.

The primary purpose in plant breeding is to develop better varieties. In order to realize the potential benefit from an improved variety, it should be distributed widely and sufficient seed must be produced so that the variety can be grown on farms in the areas to which it is adopted.  Otherwise much of the breeders work would be wasted.

Variety is a synonym of cultivar and has been defined in the International Code for the Nomenclature for cultivated plants (Anon 1980.) in article 10. ‘’The international term cultivar denotes as assemblage of cultivated plants which is clearly distinguished by any characteristics (morphological, physiological, cytological, chemical or others) and which, When reproduced (sexually or asexually) retains its distinguishing characters”. Indian Seeds Act, under its sub-section 16 of section 2 defined variety as “a sub-division of a kind identifiable by growth, yield, plant, fruit, seed or other characteristic”. Both definitions emphasize that variety should be distinguishable from others and capable of retaining its distinguishable features under multiplication. Therefore production of genetically pure and otherwise good quality pedigree seed is an exacting task requiring high technical skills and comparatively more financial investment. During seed production strict attention must be given to the maintenance of genetic purity and other qualities of seeds in order to exploit the full dividends sought to be obtained by introduction of new superior crop plant varieties.

Crops plants are broadly classified into two groups based on their mode of reproduction viz. sexually propagated and asexually propagated. In sexually propagated crops seeds are the primary propagules and it is produced by the fertilization of male and female gametes. Whereas, asexual reproduction or clonal reproduction covers all those modes of multiplication of plants where normal gamete formation and fertilization does not take place and vegetative propagules are the means of reproduction. Since sexual reproduction involves meiosis, segregation and recombination, the creation of variation is a continuous process which is inevitable in these crops. On the other hand, in asexual propagation progenies are identical to the parent clones and they are genetically similar without any variation and they reproduce via mitosis. The most important vegetatively propagated food crops are potato, sugar cane, cassava, sweet potato, yam, plantain/banana, and fruit trees. Other crops with asexual propagations are some ornamentals, grasses, and forages.

Crop improvement

Crop improvement refers to the genetic alteration of plants to satisfy human needs. It deals with the improvement of crops and production of new crop varieties, which are far superior to existing types in all characters. In pre-history, our ancestors in various parts of the world brought into cultivation a few hundred species from the hundreds of thousands available. In the process they transformed elements of these species into crops though genetic alterations that involved conscious and unconscious selection, the differential reproduction of variants. Through a long history of trial and error, a relatively few plant species have become the mainstay of agriculture and thus the world’s food supply. This process of domestication involved the identification of certain useful wild species combined with a process of selection that brought about changes in appearance, quality, and productivity.

Summary

Reaching large-scale implementation should be the overriding objective of all projects that have successfully ISFM practices to share provide markets support them. All too often ISFM results are only reported in peer-reviewed journals that are not accessible outside the research community.
 
Funding agencies often fail to make the production of extension materials an integral and mandatory requirement of research projects.
Unfortunately, in the past, adoption of economically proven technology has often been poor. Some of the reasons include:

Summary

Food production starts with a good soil. No matter the kind of seed and good agronomic practices that are put in place without a good soil yields will be low and hence income. ISFM is a technology that helps to solve the problem of soil infertility and production.
 
Farmers only accept and adopt a technology if they see it to be superior to what they have been doing and it makes business sense. Farmers will not worry about the bigger picture of food security or increased production – they need to make a profit to support their household.

Summary

ISFM is important, cost-effective and has the potential of improving farming efficiency and crop productivity. This is only possible when farmers understand the concept and follow recommended practices in the ISFM approach.
 
The challenge is how to effectively disseminate ISFM practices to farmers for sustainable crop production.

Summary

Fertilizers are materials when applied replenish lost soil nutrients on farmer’s field. Without the use of fertilizers farmers would find it extremely difficult to increase their production to meet the ever-growing mouths. The purpose of this session is to discuss what a fertilizer is, and the different terminologies used in fertilizer technology.

Summary

The use of organic resources in modern agriculture implies the production of crops through organic farming without doing any damage to the environment. Synthetic chemicals are never used in organic farming. This avoids having much pressure on nature’s non-renewable resources used in farming activities. In this unit, we shall discuss many organic resources, their quality and management within ISFM.

Sources of plant nutrients include residual soil nutrients, crop residues, green manures, animal manures and biosolids, biologically-fixed nitrogen and manufactured fertilizers. Crops use plant nutrient from all sources but the nutrient elements must be transformed into the ionic forms before being taken by plants. The amount of nutrients provided by different sources varies between and within agro-ecosystems. Integrated plant nutrient management identifies and uses all available sources of plant nutrients

Summary
 
ISFM has been defined in a number of ways – but here an emphasis is placed on finding a way to explain ISFM that makes sense to the intended audience. When combined with general good agronomic practices the combination of improved planting material, chemical fertilizer along with the addition of organic mater, increases productivity.  There are, however, constraints at the smallholder level – in terms of access to farm inputs e.g. seed, credit &labour.This section looks at short and long-term approaches to the application of basic nutrients. The issues of recycling nutrients and the impact of erosion on the nutrients in the soil. There is a review of the pros and cons of ISFM – it does increase yield (4 -6 times more production).  There is a brief outline of the role of cover crops, mulching and conservation tillage as forms of agriculture that can help reduce soil erosion.The section locates the idea of ISFM along side integrated pest management and explores the impact of biological control agents in Ghana and the role of micro-organisms.

Summary

This chapter looks at the various approaches available to the farmer for the management of soil fertility. In general there are four approaches, namely, physical, biological and chemical approaches as well as the cropping systems or agronomic approach.This chapter discusses three approaches, physical, biological and cropping system or agronomic approaches. Chemical approach has been treated in chapter 7 of this book. Inoculation is an important technique in legume production. This chapter also looks at inoculation and how it is done.

Summary
 
This chapter explores different approaches to manage water in rain-fed and irrigated agricultural systems. The first methods support the retention of water and reduce soil erosion. These methods include mulching – the application of a surface coating over the soil – which is usually organic mater. This reduces the damage to soil caused by rain and wind and reduces water loss to evaporation and helps with infiltration. The other methods explored are bunding and terracing.  These approaches are about stopping the flow of water across land to increase the amount of water infiltration into the soil and to reduce or prevent soil run off.  These approaches are labour intensive. A less labour -intensive approach is contour ploughing. This approach is about encouraging farmers and tractor drivers to plough across sloping fields not up and down them. The second group of technologies refers to the introduction of water through irrigation methods.

Summary

The soil is the basis of agriculture as the productivity of the farm enterprise is strongly linked to the fertility status of the soil. The soil acts as a reservoir for the essential nutrients that crops need for growth. When these nutrients are in sufficient quantities and balance, agricultural productivity is greatly enhanced. On the other hand if the nutrients are in short supply and imbalanced, crop growth is hampered. When crops grow and produce harvest, they remove nutrients from the soil. These nutrients are exported when the grains or edible parts are eaten and the stover removed. Consequently with time, a soil that is considered fertility will also lose its fertility if no nutrients are added periodically. It is important to assess the fertility status of the soil before planting and all necessary ameliorations effected in time to ensure a good harvest. Various methods exist for evaluating soil fertility. The best indicator of a fertile soil is good growth of crops growing on it.

Summary

Soil fertility is the ability of the soil to support plant growth. The productive capacity of the soil depends on complex interactions between biological, chemical and physical properties of the soil. In essence, soil fertility does not refer only to plant nutrients but also soil organic matter, structure and maintenance of thriving soil organisms. Good farm practices aim at managing the various factors that make up each of these three properties to optimize yields of crops in an environmentally friendly manner. The debate on soil fertility is often erroneously limited to issues relating to plant nutrients.

ABSTRACT

This paper presents few measures to be taken up by academic institutions, professional societies, industrial bodies and governmental agencies for the propagation of information of IPR in terms of encouragement of publication of books on IPR, establishment of IPR cells in academic and professional institutions and making IPR education as part of curriculum in Universities and institutions of higher learning.

ABSTRACT

This paper is an attempt to draw the attention of readers of this volume to understand the importance of documentation and preservation of earth’s resources.  

Introduction

Earth has innumerable treasures that were and are being exploited by mankind. Geo-resources in the form of minerals, non-renewable hydrocarbons, paleontologic relics and related evidences indicate earth’s evolutionary history. Continuum of biological activity albeit varying rates of proliferation had resulted in accumulation of natural resources embedded in Earth and distributed at specific geographical niches. Biological perspective of earth history is significant in unraveling bio-geo-sphere interactions through geological time. Fossil records of invertebrates, vertebrates and plants are signals of major changes in earth’s evolutionary history. These constitute unparalleled windows to understand continental separation. Intercontinental and intra continental migration of living forms are also traced through fossil study.

ABSTRACT

The concept and nature of intellectual property have undergone a paradigm shift during the last few decades. The importance of effective IPR governance has attracted the attention of its stakeholders. Hence, this paper focuses on the role of IPR governance and management practices for improving the quality of relationships among stakeholders besides documenting current and future trends of IPR governance and management.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – AN INTRODUCTION

Intellectual property rights refer to the privileges granted by the government to any individual or organization for creative prowess. In recent years, such rights have gained immense importance. The laws in existence for protection and enforcement of these rights are meant to foster innovation and for regulating the use of inventions.

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses IPR concepts in the light of Indian culture and issues emanating from enforcement of those concepts in developing countries such as India.

INTRODUCTION

The adage “Knowledge is wealth” suits the present era well than any other period. India is known for its innovative thoughts since ages. However, it never monopolized the knowledge it possessed. In India, the knowledge of a person is thought to be utilized for the benefit of the society as an obligation of the knowledge holder. Does this mindset of Universal humanity (Vasudevo Kudumbagam) and common good (Sarva Sugino Bavandu) would benefit us in the materialistic society? This paper is an attempt to answer this query.

ABSTRACT

This paper is an attempt to analyze the plausible impacts on the economy and social issues of developing countries with reference to enforcement of IPR.

Introduction

From commodity based nature, business has changed during the past hundred years in a way that ideas and knowledge have taken higher value than commodities. Today, many companies find their most valuable assets being intangible and they are therefore dependent on functioning IPR systems. But does the rigid protection of IPR serve all the people in our globalized world? The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of the introduction of IPR protection on developing and under developed countries in the light of TRIPS Agreement.

ABSTRACT

This paper attempts to portray prevailing scenario of IPR in the light of globalization with special emphasis on harmonization of IPR systems and laws of different countries. 

INTRODUCTION

The globalization of information, facilitated by the Internet, has significant implications for intellectual property regimes of national and international levels. Assessment of these implications and their probable outcomes is unavoidably value-driven. Globalization represents ever-increasing influence of developed nations and transnational entities over developing and less developed nations. The process has also brought in significant changes in understandings of sovergenity. An analysis of the implications of globalization of information on international and domestic intellectual property rights and legal regimes is a complex endeavor.

ABSTRACT

This paper takes cues from the previous paper on the evolution of IPR concepts and attempts explaining the nuggets of TRIPS and analyzes the current trends in its implementation.

Introduction

As the TRIPS Agreement signifies stronger protection of conventional and new areas of intellectual property, the question that how implementation of TRIPS could influence developed and developing countries is to be addressed. The implications of such influence have far reaching consequences in terms of socio-economic development of Nation States, including geopolitical strategies and hence, a proper understanding on the plausible influence is essential.

ABSTRACT

This paper provides an account on the origin of the concepts of IP, gradual development and their culmination at the TRIPS.

Introduction

Intellectual property rights form the most prominent and ever-expanding category of rights in the 21^st Century. It differs from other proprietary rights in many respects and prevails in most articles of law, which influence our daily life. The economic significance of intellectual property rights has made it a subject of global political interest. In the broader sense, the term “intellectual property rights” connotes different categories of rights such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, designs, plant varieties, semiconductors, geographical indications, trade secrets and data exclusivity with varying scope

ABSTRACT

This paper provides an overall view on the history, structure and functions of World Intellectual Property Rights Organization.

Introduction

Human genius is the source of all works of art and invention. These works are the guarantees of a life worthy of men.  It is duty of the state to ensure with diligence the protection of the arts and inventions,” reads an inscription on the copula in the WIPO Headquarters building in Geneva. True to this inscription, WIPO functions through various mechanisms fostering judicious utilization of human intellect.  This paper intends presenting an overview on WIPO.

Abstract

Intellectual property right (IPR) is the most serious, new branch of law and a legal right conferred by federal government in accordance with International conventions and treaties. IPR protects some of the finer manifestations of human achievement. IPR safeguards the application of ideas and information that are of commercial value. The exploitable ideas become more sophisticated and hope for a successful economic future depends increasingly upon the superior corpus of new knowledge and fashionable conceits.  Copyright law is one of the effective tools of IPR. Copyright law provides an incentive to creative activity of author and permits the society to benefit from those inventions. However, the technological advancement has made violation of copyright very easy and regulation very difficult. This paper aims at familiarizing  copyright laws and the powers enshrined in copyright laws.

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an outline on the patenting system prevailing in India. 

INTRODUCTION

Ideas and knowledge are increasingly important parts of trade. Most of the value of new medicines and other high technology products lies in the amount of invention, innovation, research, design and testing involved. Hence, protection of such values is paramount. This paper details how these values are protected in India.

ABSTRACT

This paper provides an overview on existing IP protection and registration systems of India and adds information culled from publicly available sources pertaining to modernization efforts of Government of India towards establishment of foolproof IP protection in accordance with international treaties, conventions and bilateral and multilateral agreements.

ABSTRACT

The law of intellectual property has assumed utmost importance the World over, in the recent past and it is being considered as one of the most important subjects of law in view of its implications on economic, social and cultural realms. The term “intellectual property” has come to be internationally recognized as covering, patents, industrial designs, copyrights, trademarks, know-how and confidential information or trade secrets. This paper presents an overview on nature and scope of these elements of IPR.

ABSTRACT

Concomitant with paradigm shift from agrarian and brick and mortar economy to knowledge and service based economy, India needs to adhere to the international conventions for the benefit of enriching its knowledgebase with which economic development and social welfare could be achieved. Although geoscientific research has been at the forefront and contributed immensely to our country’s economic development, number of applications for patents, copyrights, etc., on geoscientific concepts, databases, innovations, designs or processes has been negligible when compared with other branches of science. This paper intends drawing the attention of geoscientists on this lacuna and provides information on fundamental aspects of IPR that may be of help to geoscientists whose innovations are waiting to be filed for patents or copyright.

26.1 Introduction

The green revolution brought dramatic changes in productivity of rice and wheat and the production increased tremendously using high yielding wheat and rice varieties coupled with fertilizers and pesticide use to meet urgent demands of food. The world population is growing rapidly at an alarming rate. It has crossed 7 billion mark and is expected to become between 8.3 and 10.9 billion by 2050 (United States Census Bureau (USCB). India is second largest populous country of the world with 17.4 % of world population. Such an enormous overpopulation will result in extreme pressure on environment, global food supplies and energy resources. The less arable land and fewer renewable and non-renewable resources, the food production has to come from increases in production rather than expansion of cultivable areas.

Like other sciences, the insect–pest management research is also based on scientific methods requires formulation of hypothesis from observed facts through logical arguments which in turn, verified through objective methods. For instance, in integrated pest management the entomologists are primarily concerned with the estimation of insect-pest population, its distribution pattern over time and space, its relationship and fluctuation in population with the effect of weather parameters and ultimately its control measure through the judicious use of chemicals, biological control agents and resistant varieties etc. Two major practical aspects of scientific investigation are as 
    ·    collection of data and 
    ·    interpretation of the collected data.

24.1 Introduction

Taxonomy, which includes identification and classification has transformed into systematics and biosystematics in the recent times and is integrating itself into the biodiversity, which is now a global phenomenon occupying the main thrust of human life (Narendran, 2001). The magnitude and cause of this biodiversity is the central problem of taxonomy and one of the key problems of science as a whole, not to speak of pest management. The science of taxonomy started in the late eighteenth century by a Swedish biologist, Carl Linnaeus who with a small number of similar minded scientists pioneered a standard system of using two Latin names for an organism, denoting “genus” and “species” which is still in vogue. This led to referring of biological organisms by an universally agreed name and identity, and further providing means for their realistic classifications. When these identifications and classifications got strengthened further with accumulated biological knowledge, it allowed the development of modern biology on a sustainable and stable base.

23.1 Introduction

Cultural methods have been in practice for pest management in traditional systems of agriculture since time immemorial. The worldwide awareness of safe environment provided the impetus to foster non-chemical pest management strategies. Of these strategies, cultural control constitutes the most farmer-oriented approach, where the weak points in the biology and behaviour of insects are exploited and pressure is exerted on the population by manipulating the environment.  In addition to the cultural practices, the other widely used approach is the use of physical control methods which hold promise and provide an attractive alternative to current practices, particularly when integrated into a general control scheme incorporating cultural methods, plant breeding, biological or behavioural methods and pesticides. In physical control methods, the physical environment of the pest is modified in such a way that the insects no longer pose a threat to the agricultural crop.