eChapters

7.1. Introduction

The lactating cows are important assets of a dairy farm. The profitability and viability of the dairy farm mainly depend on the overall milk production. The lactation cycle of the cow can be divided into different phases for efficient management as milk production, DM intake and body weight vary considerably during the different phases. In the early lactation, lactating animals loose body weight drastically and they are prone to various metabolic disorders. Efficient nutritional management during lactation is required to support the high milk production, persistency of lactation and health of the cows. Another most important event is the post partum oestrus and subsequent conception, which depends on the care and management of the cows during this period. Therefore, proper care and management of the lactating cows are essential to harvest maximum amount of milk from healthy cows in a sustainable way.

Abstract

An unprecedented tsunami hit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the coasts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala on the 26^th of December 2004. The loss of life and property, though wide spread in all these areas, was very severe in thickly populated low lying coasts, such as Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. Survey of India, in association with the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, New Delhi has taken-up the task of carrying out post-tsunami Mapping of the entire east coast of Tamil Nadu using Digital aerial stereo images acquired immediately after the tsunami. The project aims to generate ortho-rectified photographs on 1: 8000 scale, which are to be used for preparing damage assessment maps of the affected coastal areas. This paper discusses various issues related to Control Surveying, Digital Photogrammetry and Large Scale feature extraction that are involved in the mapping process in general and its credibility for tsunami damage assessment in particular.

Keywords: Tsunami, Digital Photogrammetry, Tsunami damage assessment in India.

Concept and Definition

Desertification is a major problem in the drylands of India, affecting the way of life for its inhabitants. The problem is more severe in the arid lands in the northwestern part of the country. There have been a few numbers of definitions of the word “Desertification”. However for simplicity of its origin and meaning we would refer to two of the frequently used ones; (1) proposed in 1991 by UNEP: “Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting mainly from adverse human impact and (2) prepared for the Earth Summit at Rio, held in June 1992, for inclusion in Agenda 21, as “Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from climatic variations and human activities. (Anonymous 1992).

Comparing two of these initial definitions, it would show that first one indicated desertification as a state of natural resources like soil and vegetation, mainly resulting from human activity while the second one included climate as a major cause. However, it reduced the emphasis of human activities as being the primary responsible factor and tried to link the possible impact of climate change on desertification. But the simplicity of the 1992 definition of desertification helped researchers to bring in sharp focus on the special environmental and socio-economic problems of the drylands.

So over the years, the key words that explains the term “desertification” has been changing or are being amended for specific purposes. This would at least mean that the problem of desertification is still debated world-wide, and its impact is not limited to some nations/regions as was presumed and discussed in first of UNCCD platforms. Therefore, as a precaution and combating this process, few catchy words like non-sustainable management, productivity, over-exploitation of natural resources, dryland livelihood, droughts are found to surround the word desertification. Earlier, some, people equated desertification with advancing boundaries of the existing desert and in India, examples of expansion / contraction of geographical boundary of Thar desert was a public debate among various researchers and planners. In the same time, some of the definitions tried to broaden its geographical scope so that greater populations suffering from adverse effects of land degradation would benefit out of various remedial measures.

The food we eat contains nourishing substances called nutrients which are required by human body for proper functioning and maintenance of body health. They are classified into five groups such as:

Carbohydrates,

Protein,

Fats,

Minerals

Vitamins

Introduction

India is the second-biggest fish producer and fourth-largest seafood exporter in the world. It accounts for 7.96% of the total global fish production. It employs more than 28 million people across the value chain in harvesting, processing, packaging, marketing, and distribution in India (Handbook of Fisheries Statistics 2020 and Shyam Salim 2020). Further, this sector has prosperous growth by contributing about 1.24 percent to the country’s GVA and over 7.28 percent to the agricultural GVA (Economic Survey 2022). Also, the country exports seafood to over 123 countries. The US, China, and European Union being the top importers of Indian seafood.

Introduction

Agriculture forms the bedrock of the Indian economy, employing over half of the country's workforce and contributing significantly to its GDP. Despite the rise of other sectors, agriculture remains vital for ensuring national food security and the livelihood of millions of farmers. However, Indian farmers face several challenges, including volatile market prices, unpredictable weather patterns and high input costs (Chintapalli and Tang, 2021). In this context, the MSP scheme emerges as a crucial government intervention aimed at safeguarding farmers’ incomes and promoting agricultural stability. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the agricultural sector contributes around 15-18% to India's GDP. While this share has decreased somewhat with the expansion of other sectors, agriculture still sustains the livelihoods of over 54% of the workforce, primarily concentrated in rural areas. Furthermore, India ranks as a leading producer of various agricultural commodities, including pulses, cotton, milk, and rice. This highlights the sector's critical role in ensuring domestic food supplies and contributing to global food security (Mahto and Patil, 2023).

Despite its significance, Indian agriculture faces several challenges. One of the most significant concerns is price volatility. Agricultural produce is often subject to fluctuations in market prices, leaving farmers vulnerable to distress sales during periods of surplus production. Additionally, unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change can significantly impact crop yields, leading to income losses for farmers. Furthermore, the rising costs of essential inputs like fertilizers, pesticides and seeds put a strain on farmers' profit margins (Aditya et al?, 2017). These factors combined create a situation of uncertainty and economic hardship for a vast section of the rural population. The MSP scheme was introduced by the Government of India in the 1960s as a critical policy intervention to address the challenges faced by farmers. MSP acts as a f loor price for certain agricultural commodities, below which the government guarantees to procure produce from farmers at pre-determined prices.

7.1 Method of Drying Cucumber and Pumpkin Seeds: Seeds are combined with wood ash and spread on a plate (Thali) under direct sunlight. This accelerates drying by allowing the wood ash to absorb excess moisture from the seeds, preventing them from clumping together (Mandi, Himachal Pradesh). Verma (1998).

7.2 Drying of Millets, Pulses, and Oilseeds on New Moon Days: Grains are sun-dried to remove moisture. This practice is typically carried out on a 'new moon' day, believed to reduce vulnerability to pest damage (Tamil Nadu). Parvathi et al. (2000). Most of the farmers are storing grain in Amavasya (New moon) because it is believed that risk of pest attack is high in the moonlight as compared to new moon. The leaf of Azadirachta indica (neem) and Calotropis procera (madar) are mixed with cow dung. This mixture used as an excel- lent insecticide and pest growth inhibitor (Joseph et al. 2013; Misra 2014).

7.3 Drying Wheat and Maize Cobs Using Indirect Heat: For drying wheat and maize cobs, indirect heat from the hearth (Chullah) is employed. In traditional houses, typically with three floors, the ground floor shelters domestic animals, the first floor serves as living quarters, and above the kitchen lies a storeroom where freshly harvested maize cobs and wheat are placed for drying. Sunlight also aids in the drying process (Kangra, Himachal Pradesh). Verma (1998).

I. Introduction
Abiotic stress refers to the detrimental impact of environmental factors such as temperature, light intensity, humidity, and salinity on plants, leading to damage or hindered growth. Unlike biotic stresses caused by living organisms, these abiotic stresses arise from physical conditions like extreme temperatures, droughts, floods, high winds, air pollution, soil erosion, and other natural phenomena. The severity of these stressors varies depending on the plant species and their ability to adapt to changing surroundings. Gaining insights into how plants react to abiotic stress is essential for devising strategies to enhance crop productivity in unfavorable conditions (Huang et al., 2014; Zhu, 2016).
A. Definition and types of abiotic stress
Abiotic stress pertains to the adverse effects of non-living elements on organisms within a particular habitat. These stressors surpass the usual scope of environmental fluctuations and have the potential to damage both plants and animals. In contrast to biotic stress triggered by living disturbances, abiotic stress factors are intangible and encompass factors such as intense sunlight, extreme temperatures, wind, and various other natural phenomena.

Introduction
The skin, also known as the integumentary system, is the largest organ of the human body and protects animals from external factors. It consists of different tissues (epidermis, dermis, hypodermis, glands, hair and nails) and plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis, especially in regulating body temperature, protecting the body from damage and sensing the outside world. The skin consists of three main layers: epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue; each has its own specific function. The epidermis is the outermost layer of keratinocytes that produce keratin as a protective layer. The dermis, beneath the epidermis, is rich in collagen and elastin, which give the skin strength and elasticity. The subcutaneous tissue beneath the dermis consists of fatty tissue and acts as an insulator for the body. Dermal fibroblasts are the primary cells that synthesize and maintain the skin’s extracellular matrix, contributing to its structural integrity and function. The integumentary system also plays an important role in regulating temperature, providing sensation, synthesizing biochemicals, absorbing nutrients, and protecting the body from various types of damage. In general, the integumentary system plays an important role in the body’s overall health and function by regulating body temperature, providing a sense of well-being, producing important biochemicals, absorbing nutrients, and protecting the body from external factors.

Endotracheal intubation is the placement of a tube in the trachea to provide a patent airway.

It is a valuable technique that enables to attach an animal to a breathing circuit or, just as importantly, to secure an airway during an emergency such as respiratory or cardiac arrest.

It is important that time be taken to learn the anatomy of the laryngeal area and the skill of intubation so that intubation may be performed quickly and with little chance of misplacement.

Introduction

Since the dawn of agriculture, humans have bartered and traded goods and services. Financial markets represent a sophisticated evolution of this basic need to exchange value. Today, they act as the invisible backbone of economies, playing a critical role in channelling resources, facilitating growth, and enabling price discovery. Financial markets fulfil three key functions that keep economies humming. Firstly, they facilitate capital allocation. Imagine a farmer with surplus earnings (savings) from a bountiful harvest (Schar, 2021). In the absence of financial markets, these savings may sit idle. But financial markets connect this farmer with businesses seeking investment capital to expand operations or develop new technologies. According to a 2023 World Bank report, global gross savings reached a staggering $36 trillion, highlighting the immense pool of resources financial markets can tap. This allocation function goes a step further by matching risk tolerance with investment opportunities. A conservative investor seeking stability might favour government bonds, while a risk-tolerant entrepreneur may invest in a promising startup. Financial markets offer instruments to cater to diverse risk appetites, ensuring a healthy balance between stability and growth (Umar et al?, 2022).

Financial markets don’t just connect savers and investors; they also mobilize capital for economic growth. Businesses seeking to expand can raise funds through stock offerings, allowing them to build new factories, hire additional staff and develop innovative products. A 2022 study by the International Finance Corporation found that small and medium-sized businesses in emerging markets face a financing gap of over $5 trillion. Financial markets play a vital role in bridging this gap, fostering business expansion, and driving long-term economic prosperity. Furthermore, financial markets enable governments to finance critical infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, and public transportation. By issuing bonds, governments can raise vast sums of capital to invest in projects that benefit society (Pagano, 1993).

Geographical Indications (GI) are indications or symbols that are affixed to products that possess a specific geographical origin and are known for their unique qualities or reputation. These products can be agricultural, natural, or manufactured goods that are essentially attributed to a particular region, locality, or country where they are produced. According to Article 22.1 of the TRIPS Agreement, GIs identify a good as originating from a specific territory, region, or locality, where a given quality, reputation, or characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.

GIs are a product of collective tradition and decision-making and continue to evolve. They represent a combination of human effort, culture, land resources, and climatic conditions. GIs are limited to a specific region and are not transferable from one owner or region to another. A product that has a GI tag is associated with a specific geographical area where it is developed, and the GI sign on the product indicates its origin. Products designated with a GI acquire a high reputation and are valuable commercial assets for the geographical region where they originated. However, GIs are also exposed to misappropriation and forgery, and therefore require both national and international protection.

The earth has two motions. (1) Rotation and (2) Revolution. The earth rotates about its axis (west to eastward) with a speed of 464 m/s or 1669 km/hr. Its angular speed of rotation is about 7.29 x 10^-5 radians/sec or 0.26244 radians per hour. This rotation causes day and night and diurnal variations of weather.

The rotating earth revolves round the sun in an elliptical orbit (with the sun at one of its Foci) with a speed (orbital speed) of about 1.073 x 10⁵ km/hr or 29770 m/s or 29.8 km/s. This revolution causes seasons. It has been stated earlier that the apparent path of the sun with respect to the celestial sphere is called ecliptic.

Abstract: Limoniums, popularly called as statice/ Sea lavender are morphologically diverse and admired for their ornamental value. Perennial annual statice is widely cultivated worldwide for both, garden decoration and indoor decoration. This chapter includes a short overview of the taxonomic and reproductive behaviour of the genus. Majority of the species are triploids and reproduce apomictically. Limoniums exhibit incompatibility linked with pollen and stigma dimorphism, heterostyly and biparental inbreeding and species cross compatibility leading to genetic variability. Many F₁ hybrids are available for commercialization as potted lines. Use of tissue culture, molecular markers, embryo rescue, cryopreservation, super compact transgenic clones has been discussed. No genetic information and trait heritability has been established for this crop. Traits of interest to flower breeders for crop transformation include: plant architecture, panicle length, number of branches per panicle, novel colours of both calyx and corolla, high number of flowers per stem, environmental adaptation to stressful conditions, etc.

Keywords: F₁ cultivars, interspecific hybridization, polyploidization, self incompatibility, potted plants.

Introduction

The basic resources for agriculture are sunlight, soil and water, besides the seeds and animal breeds, and human Endeavour. Another important input is the agro technique. Agricultural production is adversely affected if any of these factors is limited, or disturbed. Obviously, scientific study enables technological innovations to manipulate these factors to maximize production. Increasingly nowadays, application of science and technology also involves preventing or at least minimizing wasteful use of precious resources. The basic and natural resources in agriculture has been discussed below.

1. Soil

Optimum land utilization is important if agriculture is to be productive. India has a wide variety of soils. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) classifies them into eight major types. Each has its own characteristics as well as deficiencies, and each is suitable for certain crops. Soils should be tested to check their physical characteristics and nutrients before a suitable crop is grown in it: only then can yield be maximized and soil not wasted.

Packaging : Packaging of fruits, vegetables, flowers or any other commodity is chiefly done to assemble the produce in convenient units of different sizes, shapes & types for storage, transportation, marketing and distribution. The size of units may vary depending on the requirement e.g for retail marketing smaller units are preferred and for bulk transportation and storage, large units would be more convenient.

Why do we Require Packaging?

Imagine there is no packaging material and technology available. How we are going to transport apple, mango etc. to distant markets? Definitely as loose. Then how can we weigh or count the fruits being transported or marketed? This would be very difficult. Had there been no packaging the commodity would have suffered great physical, chemical and microbiological losses. It would have been very difficult to handle, manage, transport and market the produce as loose and unpacked. Therefore, the packaging of fresh as well as processed commodities was needed to contain, unitize and protect the produce.

Introduction

In the contemporary landscape of economic development, the fusion of sustainable technology practices with growth strategies has emerged as a compelling imperative. This chapter embarks on an exploration of the intricate interplay between sustainable technology practices and economic development. As societies grapple with the escalating challenges of environmental degradation and resource depletion, the integration of innovative technologies becomes pivotal for forging a path towards sustainable and resilient economies.

These are the drugs that reversibly block the propagation of action potentials along nerve axons. General anesthesia may be advantageous where complete immobilization and relaxation of the patients required. However, local anesthetic techniques are advantageous for providing surgical anesthesia in animals that are considered at risk for inhalant or intravenous anesthesia. These drugs are injected directly at the target site.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fifth assessment report (AR5) stated that warming of the climate system is unequivocal and is more pronounced since the 1950s. The atmosphere and oceans warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and rise in sea level is noticed. Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850 and the globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperature data show a warming of 0.85°C over the period 1880 to 2012. The recent years viz., 2015, 2016 and 2017 were the hottest years on record. The warming trend in India since 1961 has indicated an increase of 0.9°C, which is likely to impact many crops, negatively impacting food production. There are already evidences of negative impacts on yields of wheat and paddy in northern India due to increased temperature, water stress, and reduction in number of rainy days. Coastal agriculture has the onus of providing livelihood to nearly 20 % of Indian population. The water logging and coastal salinity are the major factors affecting the agricultural output from the regions.

Abstract

A large tsunami triggered due to a massive earthquake of 9.3M in the offshore of Sumatra on 26^th December 2004 created havoc in several countries of the Indian Ocean. The deadly tsunami waves lashed the towns adjoining the coastline of several countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka causing more than 1,50,000 deaths. The earthquake occurred along the plate boundary is marked by a subduction zone between the Indian plate and the Burmese micro plate. In Andhra Pradesh, six coastal Districts were affected and amongst them four south coastal districts experienced maximum damage. In the present study, Tuppalapalem (vagarru revenue village) of Vakadu mandal, Nellore District was selected as a case study for discussion in the article. The objective of the study was to make an inventory of the damages to the natural and physical resources, by preparing pre and post-tsunami maps on geomorphology, land use / land cover, tsunami inundation and finally the tsunami risk zonation map on 1:8,000 scale. In this process, water and soil samples of the affected regions were also collected and chemical analysis was carried out. The data on damages were collected using a specially formulated data sheet. High resolution IKONOS data of January 2000 and IRS data of January 2005 were used for the generation of respectively the pre and post-tsunami geomorphology and land use / land cover maps. Ground truth data were also incorporated in these thematic maps.

The study has revealed that the water in all the bore wells became brackish after tsunami. About 80 country boats, 40 fibre boats and nets were lost with an estimated loss of about one crore. The tidal waters damaged the bunds of the aqua-farms and deposited the transported sediments in them. The extensive casuarina plantations, were reduced by the onslaught of tsunami and the casuarina trees became brown due to their contact with tidal waters. From amongst the various geomorphic units mapped in the study area, the beach, spits, shoals, creeks, swales, palaeo creeks were inundated by tsunami where as beach ridges, dune complexes and stabilized sand dunes were not affected and hence inferred as barriers. Geomorphology, land use / land cover and the tsunami inundation maps, tsunami risk zonation map were prepared showing very high, high and moderate zones of tsunami risks. It is recommended to take up casuarina plantations extensively along the coast as a biowall, which will also provide employment to the local people. The shallow aquifers of the coastal environment were contaminated by the tidal waves. Hence, drinking water should be supplied through protected water supply schemes. As a part of the community development, proper awareness must be created through training and appraisal to the fisherman community to face such natural disasters. The coastal regulation zone act, which prohibits any construction activity within 500m of the high tide line, should be strictly enforced. Keeping in view of the experience, a holistic tsunami protection plan is needed to safe guard the Indian coasts.