eChapters

Hides and skin are the important and widely used animal by-products of slaughter house industry. Human beings are utilizing animal skins since time immorial and nomadic people still depend upon them for shelter, clothing, weapons, food containers etc. In general on live weight basis yield of hide is 7 percent while skin is around 11 percent.  Though it is also obtained from the fallen animals but the superior quality hide is always of slaughtered animals. Source wise slaughtered animals account 20-25 percent of hide and 80 percent of skin whereas fallen animals contributes around 75-80 percent of hide and 20 percent of skin. So the major sources for hide are fallen animals and skin is from slaughtered animals.

Blood is a first by-product of animal slaughter house. It accounts about 5-7 percent of animals live weight. It is highly nutritious material particularly rich in protein (17-18%) and essential nutrients. Blood is a rich source of amino acids like leucine, lysine, valine, phenylalanine, histidine etc. It is also rich in haem iron which is biologically most available form of iron. Protein efficiency ratio of plasma is 2.5 while 1.0 for globin. It contains about 80 percent water and responsible for effluent problems. It is a great source of pollution because BOD₅ of whole blood is 250000 mg/litre. It should be collected and processed as soon as possible because whole blood clots easily and is capable to clogs the drainage system, grease traps and septic tank of meat plant or abattoir.

Term rendering is generally used to recover the fat from animal material by heating. However, today rendering word is applied in broad sense in by-products industry to recover stock feed, fertilizers and fats from slaughter house offals, parts and condemned material from animal body. Today many products are recovered by rendering process and can be utilized in different ways. Some of them may be categorized as edible and inedible. The major examples are lard and tallow which may be edible and inedible depending on the processing. Other valuable products include chemicals, meat meals and bone meals. To get these valuable products, various animal by-products are processed like viscera, bones, trimmings, dead stock, feather and other poultry materials.

The vast livestock population requires proper harvesting of animal by-products to generate income to the farmers and to provide the employment to marginally educated masses. The density of livestock in our country demands atleast one animal by-product processing plant in each fifty kilometer range. Proper utilization of animal by-products will also serve in reduction of environmental pollution through slaughter house. Ultimately image of the meat industry can be enhanced by proper utilization of animal by-products. The proper disposal of animal slaughter house and by-products waste is further necessary to reduce the environmental pollution and to enhancement the livelihood of neighourers.

By-products or offal’s are basically every part or particle which is not included in dressed carcass. It can also be explained as everything produced from the animals except dressed meat is considered as by-products. Meat industry now demands the full utilization of by-products to make the industry profitable and economically sustainable. It is also important for environmental management and to enhance the social image of the meat industry. The yield of animal by-products ranges between 50-60% of the live weight.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point is a comprehensive food safety system of food which starts from production to the ultimate consumption. HACCP monitors each and every step of production process, identify the specific hazards, implement the effective control programme and also verify the procedure. However, it is not a zero risk programme and there is possibility of risk of hazards in the process but the theme of programme is to minimize the risk of hazards upto a level which will be considered as safe. Thus HACCP programme is termed as risk management tool. It involves the management of all types of hazards like microbiological, chemical and physical.

Meat cutting and fabrication is a skilled process in which separation of carcass into wholesale primal cuts is done to facilitate meat trade requirements, consumer preference and easy handling to the butchers. The person engaged in cutting and fabrication of carcass cuts must be skilled and expert in their job. He/she must have the expert knowledge of carcass configurations and location of retail cuts in animal carcasses. To obtain good quality retail cuts, carcass should be essentially chilled and temperature of meat cutting room should be 15-20oC with relative humidity of about 80%.

Levitical Law of Old Testament initially authorized meat animals for food of man who had to part the hoof and chew the cud. So man started eating the animals and their edible parts of animals who consume grass and other arable crops.  Examples were cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pigs, horses, deer, reindeer, yak, camel etc. Now poultry have become major meat producing species while rabbit, guinea pigs, various game animals and birds provides substantial meat. Advancement of knowledge on quality and safety enforced the man to evaluate and grade the live animals and carcasses for values decision in marketing.

Slaughtering and dressing of different kinds of animals and birds is an age old practice. Initially slaughtering was done by cutting the throat or stabbing the throat or breast. But today’s world of progress and scientific evolution slaughter methods has undergone material changes. Scientifically there are two essentials of slaughtering i.e. humane slaughter to avoid unnecessary pain and sufferings to the animals and complete bleeding. Legislations require stunning of animals to render them unconscious before bleeding except in Jewish and Muslim slaughter. The animals subjected to slaughter must be clean which is generally achieved by cleaning. The premises and transportation vehicles should also be maintained in good hygienic and sanitary conditions. All the facilities required for slaughter animals and birds arranged well in advance. In commercial plants and export units, slaughtering and dressing is performed on overhead rails but for domestic use, booth and simple rails may serve the purpose due to low throughput. The requirements and systems of overhead rail are mentioned in chapter 1. Some of the requirements are listed in following table

Humane slaughter is an act of killing the food animals in such a way as to cause the minimum stress or distress to the animal. To achieve this objective animal must be rendered insensible instantaneously and remain insensitive to pain until there is a complete loss of brain responsiveness due to exsanguination. The unconsciousness in animals is induced by stunning procedures which are varying in number. The method of stunning primarily based on species, breed, age, sex, kind and mental state of animals. Stunning is essential to safeguard the feelings and anxieties of animals. It facilitates maximum bleeding from the animals because animal becomes unconscious after stunning. To make animal unconscious before bleeding is not only essential for animal welfare point of view but it is legislation in many countries.

Slaughter is an act of killing or destruction of animals for food purpose and includes all processes and operations on all such animals in order to prepare it for being slaughtered. It is an expert act requires expertise and willingness. Slaughter is necessarily to be performed in a slaughter house recognized or licensed by authority empowered under law for the time being in force to do so.  Only authorized animals are to be slaughtered for food purpose and restricted animals or animals prohibited for slaughter should not be converted into meat in any case. Animals in pregnancy, has offspring less than three months or under the age of three months, animals not certified by veterinarian for fitness should never be slaughtered. Slaughterman should also have a valid license or authorization issued by municipal or other authority. The persons below eighteen years of age and suffering from communicable or infectious diseases shall not be permitted to slaughter an animal.

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.

Ante-mortem examination includes all procedure or tests conducted by a competent person on live animals for the purpose of judgement of safety, suitability and disposition. It is an integral step to be performed by qualified veterinarian during conversion of animal to carcass for wholesome meat production. The animals are examined for cruelty due to overcrowding or suffocation or any other inflicted injuries and stress during transportation or otherwise, because it not only directly affects the quality of meat but also downgrade the carcass. Ante-mortem inspection ensures that only healthy animals are slaughtered and wholesome meat reaches to the consumers. A complete record of the ante-mortem inspection of all animals received in the abattoir should be maintained to ascertain that animal’s health status at the time of slaughter. Antemortem examination not only ensures the health animals entry into slaughter house but also assist in postmortem examination. It is also important to make a decision on certain diseases based on symptoms because they may not show the postmortem lesions for final judgment. Ante-mortem inspection has twofold functions as it enables veterinarians to protect public health and to assess the welfare conditions in which the animal is placed.

The aim of pre-slaughter care of animals is to arrange physiologically normal animals for slaughtering without loss of weight and to minimize stress to the animals. Pre-slaughter care of meat animals includes proper handling of animals during loading, unloading, transportation, lairage care and handling of animals just prior to slaughter. Thus due care must be adopted in this stage not only for welfare point of view but also for production of good quality meat. Proper care and handling is also essential to reduce the chances of bruises, cuts, tears and deformities on the animals/birds body.

To streamline the slaughter activities throughout country and to produce the quality meat for domestic as well export market, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) formulated certain standards related to abattoir and other food items. It also harmonizes the standards as per the requirement of importing country. So that traders can easily meet out the demand of importing country. Under the standard provisions of BIS, each and every aspect of abattoir as well as its processing aspect is very well described in these standards. These standards are written and documented and easily available to know how about their implementations.

Abstract

This paper focuses on the paradigm shift that our information economy is witnessing from generic leadership to electronic leadership in a disruptive, holistic, fast changing and turbulent business environment consisting of algorithms, programs and codes, to track user movement over the digital platform. The organizations need not to choose one best way to lead in order to gain the momentum over its competitor’s. In the digital age, the organizations have started tracking user over web, his movements, his browsing information pertaining to his liking’s and disliking are been used by the leaders in order to strategize and the greatest digital minds are providing support to these organizational leaders for strategizing and flooding user with choices based on his likings. Moreover the future leadership will get more and more personalized and advanced with a conglomerate blend of cutting edge technology, leadership and strategy within the existing paraphernalia. This paper suggests a new leadership model that is the coded model, wherein the leadership gets more and more personalized based on the codes that traps user movements and his behavior over the web.

Tea is the most important non-alcoholic beverage worldwide gaining further popularity as an important ‘health drink’. It is consumed as a morning drink by 2/3^rd of world population. Tea was used initially as a medicine and subsequently as beverage and now has proven to be a potential raw material for pharmaceutical industry. Tea is mainly consumed in the form of ‘fermented tea’ or ‘black tea’, ‘non-fermented’ or ‘green tea’ and semi-fermented or ‘oolong tea’ are also popular in Japan and China. Green leaves are also used as vegetables such as ‘leppet tea’ in Burma and ‘meing tea’ in Thailand.

Natural rubber, cis-l,4 polyisoprene, produced in the milky cytoplasm (latex) of specialized cells called laticifers in certain plants is one of most important biological macromolecules, which is used as an industrial raw material for the manufacture of a variety of products. Natural rubber is found in the latex of over 2000 species of plants belonging to 311 genera under 79 families. However, Hevea brasiliensis, also known as Para rubber tree after the Brazilian port of Para, is the only commercial source of natural rubber mainly because of its abundance in latex, quality and convenience of harvesting. Hevea was first used as a source of rubber by the French.

Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer L.) is a tropical dioecious palm adapted to arid zone tracts. Though it is a versatile plant which yields many edible and non-edible products it is a less exploited species. It is used for sap, fruit, seed, leaf and fiber and timber products. From nutritional point of view, fruit pulp and seed shoot flour are the most important.Successful promotion of these as foods for general consumption depends on subjecting the fruit pulp to a debittering process, and the seed shoot flour, to initial detoxification processes (Thabrew and Jansz, 2004). Palmyra palms are the most numerous palms in the world after coconut palm (Fox, 1977). Despite this, they are the least studied of all the palms.

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is recognised as the cheapest edible oil-yielding crop and has become one of the major oil crops in the world. The most productive oil-bearing crop, oil palm yields about three times the oil yield of coconut, seven times that of rapeseed, and ten times that of soybean. In terms of world production, palm oil maintains second place after soybean as a source of vegetable oil and has overtaken other crops such as rapeseed, sunflower, groundnut, and cottonseed. Under good agricultural management, a hectare of oil palm yields 5 to 7 tonnes of oil / year (Henson, 1991). The crop is unique in producing 2 distinct types of oil- palm oil and palm kernel oil- used for culinary and industrial purposes. Being rich in b-carotene, palm oil contributes substantially to nutritional and energy requirements of masses.

Coffee (Coffea species) occupies a pride of place, in the international trade of commodities, next to petroleum in trade volume and money value. Coffee is also the second important popular beverage for its aroma and mild stimulant action. Its dried beans are roasted, ground and brewed to make a stimulating & refreshing beverage. Its production forms the backbone of more than 60 developing nations. Use of coffee has evolved from original chewing of leaves and beans of the plant to relieve pain, hunger and fatigue to the present more sophisticated uses, like espresso and decaffeinated coffees. Its use was first discovered in Arabia around mid-15th century.

Coconut is the most beautiful and useful of palms known to mankind. Coconut is unique, producing a host of products and by products with distinctive applications at home and in industry. It is essentially an oil seed crop providing all amenities for human life, which include food, energetic beverage, medicine, fibre, wood, shell and a variety of raw materials for production of array of products of commercial importance. In view of its versatile uses and affinity to Indian culture, it is rightly called the “tree of heaven” or “Kalpavriksha”.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is the third important beverage crop grown for its seeds known as beans, used mainly in chocolate industry. It is the source of cocoa butter and cocoa mass.

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is an export-oriented crop grown for its nuts, a true drupe. Often referred as ‘wonder nut’, it is highly delicious and nutritive. Its nutritional composition compares well with almond, hazel nut and walnut. It is a zero-cholesterol nut with high content of unsaturated fatty acids, proteins and carbohydrates with a right combination of amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Kernels extracted from nuts are often consumed as such or used in confectionery items and various kinds of dishes. Kernel oil of pale yellow colour is used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) extracted from its shell has many industrial applications - for making paints, resins, flame-retardants, etc. Testa covering the kernel, rich in tannin, can be an acceptable substitute for wattle bark tannin in leather industry. Cashew apple, the pseudo-fruit, is rich in vitamin C. It is used to cure scurvy, diarrhea, uterine complaints and dropsy.

Arecanut palm (Areca catechu L.) is the source of common masticatory nut, popularly known as arecanut, betelnut, or supari. It is used extensively in India by all sections of people as masticatory, and is an essential requisite for several religious and social ceremonies.

Commercial crops include a variety of high value plantation crops, which play a vital role in the agricultural economy and export trade of many developing and developed countries (Table 1). Tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, coconut, arecanut, oil palm, cashew, palmyra and cardamom are the major crops grown on a plantation scale. These crops are perennial in nature and the cultivation is labour intensive, generating considerable employment opportunity during on farm operations and off farm processing activities. The most obvious characteristic is that plantations are monocultures; the same species occupying large contiguous area usually in even aged stands. Exceptions are coconut, arecanut, cocoa and coffee, which are grown either as mono crop or as multiple crops. These crops are grown in humid tropics, mainly between 20°N and 20°S of equator in an area of 35.7 million ha yielding about 74.4 million tonnes of produce and contributing US $ 11 billion to global trade during 2002.

13.1 Introduction
In the previous chapters, we have considered different tests of significance based on normal distribution, F distribution, student’s t distribution and Chi-square (χ2) distribution which are frequently applied by the users of different disciplines of applied sciences and social sciences. In this chapter some more tests of significance are considered which have not been covered in those chapters. These tests are also based on t, F, Fisher’s z transformation, χ2 and some other test statistics are also discussed one by one in the following sections.

12.1 Chi-Square Variate
The square of a standard normal variate is known as a chi – square variate or chi square statistic with one degree of freedom.

11.1 Introduction
In the preceding chapter 10, we have discussed in detail, the test procedures for which it has been assumed that the sample size n is large, (i.e n >,30). Those tests are also known as approximate tests or z tests. But in case when sample size n is small i.e. n<30, the approximate test fails to deal with such problem and we apply the theory of exact sample, for small sample tests. The exact sample tests however can be applied to large samples also though the converse is not plausible. In all the exact sample tests, the basic assumption is that the parent population is normally distributed.
In this part we will discusse in details the exact sample tests (based on exact sampling distributions namely snedekor’s F, student’s t and chi square (χ2) distributions. These distributions will be simply introduced in short because main emphasis has to be given only on the test procedures based on them.

10.1 Normal Distribution
The normal distribution is the most widely used distribution in statistics. Almost all biological data including the agricultural data eg. crop yield, plant height, seed weight, seed size, protein percent in pulse, oil content in an oil seed etc are assumed to be normally distributed. In practice their distribution is rarely verified. In distribution theory, for large values of n, the number of trial (or sample size), almost all the distributions e.g. Binomial, poission, Negative binomial, chi square, student’s t, and Snedenor’s F distributions etc. are very closely approximated by normal distribution. It is a continuous distribution with mean and variance as its two parameters.

9.1 Introduction
In the preceeding chapter, we have studied the estimation part of statistical decision (inference) infered about the parameters of the population on the basis of information available in the sample observations drawn from the parent population under study. In the present chapter we discuss the problems related with the tests of statistical hypothesis and its significance about the population parameters under study. For understanding of the subject matter considered in this chapter, very clearly and easily, one must be familier with the statistical terminologies used in the subject matter. Hence we discuss the various notable terminologies with some suitable examples in a simple way for better understanding.

8.1 Introduction
We have already discussed in details how different sampling schemes can be employed to draw the representative samples suitable to many kinds of population whose sampling units differ in nature. From practical view points, however, it is often more important to be able to make decision about certain unknown characteristics of the population on the basis of informations available in the representative samples which are drawn from the parent populations. Such decisions taken, are known as the “Statistical decisions”. For example, we may wish to decide on the basis of sample data whether (i) One educational system is better than the other or not, (ii) A given six faced die is unbiased (balanced) or not, (iii) A new insecticide is really effective to control the attack of insects or not? etc. Such problems are dealt with in the theory of statistical decisions which uses the principles of sampling theory.

7.1 Introduction
In chapter 5, the cluster sampling has been discussed in which clusters were considered as sampling units and all the elements in the selected clusters were enumerated completely. It has been stated there that the cluster sampling is economical under certain circumstance but the method restricts the spread of sample over the population which results generally in increased sampling variance of the estimator under consideration. It is, therefore, logical to expect that the efficiency of the estimator will be increased by distributing the elements over a large numbers of clusters. Hence instead of observing all the units in the selected clusters, one may like to observe only few elements of the selected clusters. This will involve the sampling work to be done also within the selected clusters. If we do so, the process of selection will involve sampling work to be done at two stage, one for selecting the clusters where sampling units are the clusters and the second for selecting the units (elements) within the selected clusters where sampling units are the elements.
The process of sampling can be done at more than two stages. In this case the first stage unit will be larger than the second stage units and the second stage units will be larger than the third stage units and so on. Due to process of sampling in stages, such sampling is called “Multistage sampling.”

6.1 Introduction
So far we have considered the methods of sampling in which the successive units (elements or clusters) were selected with the help of random numbers. Now, we shall consider a new method of sample selection in which only the first unit of the sample is selected with the help of random number, the rest being selected automatically according to a predetermined pattern. The method is known as systematic sampling. It is operationally more convenient than simple random sampling and which at the same time ensures for each unit, equal probability of inclusion in the sample. The systematic sampling can also be termed as systematic random sampling because of the first unit of the sample being chosen randomly. The pattern usually followed in selecting a systematic sample is a simple pattern involving regular spacing of units.
Thus, suppose a population consists of N units and is serially numbered from 1 to N. Suppose further that N is expressable as the product of two integers k and n so that N=nk. Draw a random number i such that 1 < i < k and select the unit with the corresponding serial number and every kth unit in the population there after i.e. the sample consists the units bearing the serial numbers as

5.1 Introduction
In random sampling it is assumed in prior that the population is divisible into a finite number of distinct and identifiable units and these units are known as sampling units. The smallest unit into which the population can be divide, is called an elementary unit (element) of the population. A group of such units is known as cluster. When such cluster is treated as sampling unit, then the sampling procedure adopted is known as cluster sampling. If the entire area containing the population under study is divided into smaller area segments and each element in the population belongs to one and only one such area segment, the sampling is sometimes known as area sampling.
Generally, identification and location of an element requires considerable time. However, once an element is located, the time taken for surveying a few neighbouring elements is small. Thus, the main function in cluster sampling is to specify clusters or to divide the population into appropriate number of clusters. Clusters are generally made up of neighbouring elements and hence elements within a cluster happen to be of similar nature. As a matter of fact, the number of elements in a cluster should be small and the number of clusters should be large. The required number of clusters can be selected either by equal or unequal probabilities of selection. All the units in the selected clusters are enumerated completely i.e. complete enumeration is made in all the selected clusters.

4.1 Introduction
In many surveys, information on an auxiliary (supplementary, ancillary or apriori) variable x, which is highly (positively or negatively)correlated with the variable y under study, is readily available and can be used for improving the sampling design. Stratified sampling and probability proportional to size (p.p.s) schemes are two examples of improved sampling designs, in which the use of data on auxiliary variable has been made. However in both the schemes, it implies that the information on auxiliary variable on individual sampling units is available prior to presentation of sampling design. In case, data on auxiliary variable for individual sampling units are not available but only the aggregate value for all units of auxiliary variable is available, the two schemes can not be used. In such a situation, the aggregate data on auxiliary variable can still be used at the time of estimation of parameters under consideration, provided the data on auxiliary variable for the sampled units can be easily obtained at the time of recording the values of the study variable. Such types of estimation are based on ratio, product, difference and regression methods of estimation.

3.1 Introduction
Out of all methods of sampling, the most commonly used procedure in surveys is the stratified random sampling. When population units are of heterogeneous nature and if we select a sample using SRSWOR scheme then the sample selected may not be the representative sample and the estimate worked out from that sample will not be the reliable estimate of the population parameter. The estimate of sampling variance of the sample estimator obtained from that sampling scheme may happen to be very high leading to get a less precise estimate of the parameter. In such type of population, to overcome these draw backs, we use another sampling scheme known as stratified random sampling which is defined as follows.

2.1 Simple Random Sampling
The simplest and common most method of sampling is simple random sampling. In this procedure, the sample is drawn unit by unit with equal probability of selection for each unit at each draw. It is sometimes referred to as unrestricted random sampling.

The use of sampling in making decisions about an aggregate (or population) is possibly as old as civilization itself. Sampling is first broadly classified into two categories known as subjective and objective. Any type of sampling which depends upon the personal judgement or discretion of the sampler himself, is called subjective sampling. But the sampling method which is governed by a sampling rule or is independent of the sampler’s own judgement is known as objective sampling. The main difficulty with subjective sampling is that the sampler is ignorant of the degree of representativeness of his sample or the accuracy of the final estimates of the population values obtained.

Objective sampling is further subdivided as non-probabilistic, probabilistic and mixed. In non-probabilistic objective sampling, there is a fixed sampling rule but there is no selection probability attached to the sampling unit e.g. selection of every 10th individual from a list, starting with the first, or selecting every 10th line in a paddy field. If however, the selection of the first individual is made in such a manner that each of the first 10 gets an equal chance of being selected, it becomes a case of mixed sampling, partly probabilistic and partly non-probabilistic). On the other hand, if for each individual unit there is a definite pre-assigned probability of being selected, the sampling is said to be probabilistic sampling.

22.1 Introduction

Nanotechnology has proved to have infinite potential in increasing the quality of life of the human population. There is however, a growing realization regarding the potential health and safety risks of associated with development, production and application of these nanoparticles. Nanoscale particles are produced from a variety of different processes. Nanoparticles are the end product of a wide variety of physical, chemical and biological processes, some of which are novel and radically different, others of which are quite commonplace. Nanometer sized particles are also found in the atmosphere where they originate from combustion sources (traffic, forest fires), volcanic activity, and from atmospheric gas to particle conversion processes such as photochemically driven nucleation. A large quantity of nanoscale particles are also produced during the various human activities, Welding can generate large quantities of nanoparticles usually in the form of a well defined plume of aggregated nanoparticles.

21.1 Introduction

Nanotechnology is an emerging field of science which is being highly exploited in the sphere of medicine where “nano” plays a vital role in delivery of drugs or chemical molecules to the point it is required in précised quantities in right proportions. Nanoscience infuses intelligence to the truck load of chemical constituents that are to be delivered at appropriate locations and cleave from the site after the task is complete. Such process will likely to reduce the cost besides ensuring environmental safety. Nanoscale devices with its unique properties make the agricultural system more smart and effective; such devices are capable of responding to different situations by themselves, thus taking appropriate remedial action with the need of external directions from humans. In short, these devices act as a detectors and if need arises serve as a solution/remedy for the particular issue. These smart delivery systems of chemicals in controlled and targeted manner can be considered synonymous to the proposed nano-drug delivery system in human (Patolsky et al., 2006). 

20.1 Introduction
  
Fertilizers play an important role in improving soil fertility and productivity of crops regardless of nature of cropping sequence or environmental conditions. It has been unequivocally demonstrated that one third of crop productivity is dictated by fertilizers besides influencing use efficiencies of other agri-inputs. In the past four decades, nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of crops had hardly exceeded 35-50%, 18-20% and 30-35 % for N, P and K, respectively, despite our relentless efforts. The remaining nutrients stay in soil or enter into the aquatic environment causing eutrophication. In addition to the low nutrient efficiencies, Indian agriculture is facing a problem of low organic matter, imbalanced fertilization and low fertilizer response that eventually caused crop yield stagnation (Biswas and sharma, 2008).The fertilizer response ratio in the irrigated areas of the country  has dcreased from 13.4 kg grain / kg nutrient applied in 1970’s to just 3.7 kg in 2005. In other words, more amounts of fertilizers is required to produce the same quantity of grain output. For instance, 27 kg NPK ha-1 was required to produce one tonne of grain in 1970 while the same level of production can be achieved by 109 kg NPK ha-1 in 2008. 

19.1 Introduction

Nano technology or Nano Science is a new branch of research though nano materials or Nano Structures are not new. In nature nano particles or nano materials are abundant .The idea of manipulation, production, controlling size and physico - chemical properties and application as well as making devices out of these nano materials is the subject of Nano Science & Nano Technology. As the name suggests, the domain of Nano starts from 10-9 m but especially the effect of nano structures exists mostly in the 1-100 nm regime where quantum - mechanical behiviour is prevalent. Molecules with more than 10 atoms fall into the nanometer range  and scientists were not able to visualize individual molecules and nano scale objects until the invention of some very powerful microscopes. Working in Nano domain requires two basic facilities -

18.1 Introduction

Nano – Science & Technology is design, fabrication and application of nanostructures or nanomaterials, and the fundamental understanding of the relationships between physical properties or phenomena and material dimensions at nano meter scales.

17.1 Introduction

In industrialized nations the air is filled with numerous pollutants caused by human activity or industrial processes, such as carbon monoxide (CO), chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), heavy metals (arsenic, chromium, lead, cadmium, mercury, zinc), hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, organic chemicals (volatile organic compounds, known as VOCs, and dioxins), sulphur and other particulates. The presence of nitrogen and sulphur oxide in the air generates acid rain that infiltrates and contaminates the soil. The high levels of nitrogen and sulphur oxide in the atmosphere are mainly due to human activities, particularly burning of oil, coal and gas. Only a small portion comes from natural processes such as volcanic action and decay of soil bacteria. Water pollution is caused by numerous factors, including sewage, oil spills, leaking of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides from land, by-products from manufacturing and extracted or burned fossil fuels.

16.1 Introduction

The stabilization of ultra fine as nano-particles in suspension is very important for both controlling the particle size and for developing process based application of these suspensions to achieve a desired result. Generally, two approaches, namely, Top Down and Bottom-Up approaches are followed for the preparation of ultra fine or nano particles. In the Top-Down method, production starts from the micro-scale and the particles size is reduced to nano-size through repeated impact and collision in high-energy ball mills. However, controlling of size, morphology, surface properties and electrostatic charge is often difficult. In the Bottom-up approach, production of nano-particles starts with the individual atoms and building up to a nano-structure by chemical processes.

15.1 Introduction

It is important that we understand some terms like clay, mineral, clay mineral, activated clay, and nanocomposite clearly. In fact, “clay” is a soil separate consisting of particles of <2 µm (equivalent to <0.002 mm) in equivalent diameter (Brady & Weil, 2002; pages 18-19) in both USDA and International systems. While in nanotechnology, uniqueness of micro- and nana- aggregates is of crucial consideration. (In Chapter 8: The Colloidal Fraction (Brady & Weil, 2002) size dimensions of minerals are given eliminating any chance of confusion.) Now let us look at some definitions provided in the Glossary of the Clay Minerals Society (CMS) Nomenclature Committee – Clay Science Project (www.clay.org; August 2011).

14.1 Introduction

The fast growing field of nanotechnology presents great potential to influence various sectors in the areas of energy, environment, agriculture, health care and consumer goods. To overcome the demanding need of nano-based applications, various strategies to synthesize nanoparticles have been attempted. The major focus is to synthesize nanoparticles of desirable properties such as shape, size and compositions. Various strategies have been employed to synthesize nanoparticles. Foremost among these are physical and chemical methods which include sol-gel technique, solvothermal synthesis, chemical reduction, laser ablation and inert gas condensation. But altogether they suffer from process limitations like difficulty in controlling experimental conditions, feeble reproducibility, polydispersity, costly instrumentation and recovery as well as energy intensive and eco-hazardous processes. However, various factors like cost, speed, efficiency, biocompatibility etc. are still not concerned. Thus, finding a balance between scalability, price and applicability is still a true challenge. These limitations can be potentially overcome by using biological methods for nanoparticle synthesis.

13.1 Introduction and Physical Principles

A microscope is a tool that enables the user to see objects at a magnification greater than the actual specimen. Resolution and magnifying power are the two integral aspects of microscopy. Resolution is a measure of capability of an image forming system to separate images of adjacent objects. The resolving power (8) is numerically defined as d = 0.61l/n sin a, where,  l is the wavelength of the light, n is the index of refraction of the medium between the specimen and lens, a is half the angle of the cone of light from the specimen plane accepted by the front surface of lens and n sin a is the numerical aperture (NA). The NA represents the light gathering power of the lens aperture or in other words, the measure of obliquity of rays which the lens can accept and utlilize and is limited by blurring of image due to spherical aberration of the lens.

12.1 Introduction

“Precision farming,” also known as site-specific management, describes a bundle of new information technologies applied to the management of large-scale, commercial agriculture. Precision farming technologies include, for example: personal computers, satellite-positioning systems, geographic information systems, automated machine guidance, remote sensing devices and telecommunications. If they function as designed, ubiquitous wireless sensors will become an essential tool for bringing this vision of precision farming to maturity.