eChapters

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

14.1 Introduction

The green revolution brought amazing consequences in food grain production but with insufficient concern for agricultural sustainability. The availability and affordability of fossil fuel based chemical fertilizers at farm level in India have been ensured only through imports and subsidies which are largely dependent on GDP of the country. Dependence on chemicals for future agricultural needs would result in further loss in soil health, possibilities of water contamination and calculated burden on the fiscal system. Indiscriminate synthetic fertilizer usage has polluted the soil, water basins, destroyed micro-organisms and eco-friendly insects, made the crop more susceptible to diseases and depleted soil fertility at the primary levels as of today (Pindi, 2012). India is an agricultural based country.

Earthworms have been on the earth for over 20 million years. In this time they have faithfully done their part to keep the cycle of life continuously moving. Their purpose is simple but very important. They are nature’s way of recycling organic nutrients from dead tissues back to living organisms. Many have recognized the value of these worms. Ancient civilizations, including Greece and Egypt valued the role earthworms played in soil. The Egyptian Pharaoh, Cleopatra said, “Earthworms are sacred.”

Most trees legumes thrive in tropical regions but N2 fixing non leguminous trees are prevalent in temperature conditions. Callatiam and coworkers from U.K. cultivated Frankia for the first time in 1978 in pure culture. A number of non-leguminous shrubs and trees as Alnus, Myrics, Hippophae, Casuarina and Elaeagnus are nodulated by N₂ fixing Actinomycetes, Frankia with Frankiaceae (Actinomycetes), the only acyinomycete reported to fix nitrogen to date. The so called actinorhizal plants include 7 orders, 8 families, 17 genera and 173 species of dicotyledons plants reported by Gaur, (2010), whereas 200 plants and 23 genera were reported by Diagne et al. (2013). Some of the important non-leguminous families and genera are given in Table 12.1.

11.1 Introduction

Our Country is a fast developing nation for the overall development and has proved that the country which was known for a begging bowl for food grains has turned up towards self-sufficiency and also has excess production to feed the present level of population. From about 50 MT of food grain production in 1950-51, harvest in 2010-11 reached over 241 MT, highest ever along with high production of fruits, vegetables, milk, egg and fish. This increased food production in the country has mainly been achieved through productivity gains, as the net sown area has remained static for the last four decades.

Phosphorus is the second important key element after nitrogen as a mineral nutrient in terms of quantitative plant requirement (Donahue et al., 1990), which is required in optimum amount for proper growth of plants and soil micro-organisms. Being a constituent of ATP, it is involved in various processes such as cell division, energy transduction through photosynthesis and biological oxidations and uptakeof nutrients. The average soil contains 0.05% phosphorus, but only one tenth (1/10) of this is available to plants due to its poor solubility and chemical fixation in soil (Barber, 1984). About 98% of Indian soils have inadequate supply of available phosphorus (Ghosh and Hassan, 1979). A survey of Indian soils showed that out of 363 districts, only 2.2% were high, 51.5% medium and 46.3% were low in phosphorus content (Ghosh, 1982).

BGA belong to a class of prokaryotic photosynthetic microorganisms also known, as cyanobacteria are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen aerobically. Most abundantly found in tropical zone, never form fibrous growth and are enveloped by a sheath. The trophic independence of algae for C and N makes them responsible for a natural fertility buildup of rice field soils. The nitrogen fixing ability of BGA was first recognized by Frank and Prantil in 1889. The occurrence of the BGA in the rice field was reported by FE Fritsch in 1907.

Azospirillum is a spiral-shaped nitrogen fixing bacterium. It also produces hormones and vitamins. Important species are Azospirillum brasilense and Azospirillum lipoferum. It is widely distributed in soils and grass roots.The genus Azospirillum belongs to family Spirillaceae with four commonly available species viz. A. brasilence, A. lipoferum, A. amazonense and A. halopraeferens or A. seropedicae (Fig. 8.1).

The first species of the genus Azotobacter, named Azotobacter chroococcum family Azotobacteriaceae, was isolated from the soil in Holland in 1901. Azotobacter represents the main group of heterotrophic free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria principally inhabiting neutral or alkaline soils. Azotobacter chroococcum and Azotobacter agilis were studied by Beijerinck (1901). In subsequent years several other types of Azotobacter group have been found in the soil and rhizosphere such as Azotobacter vinelandii, Lipman (1903); Azotobacter beijernckii, Lipman (1904); Azotobacter paspali, Döbereiner (1966), Azotobacter nigricans, Krasil’nikov (1949); Azotobacter armenicus, Thompson and Skerman (1981); Azotobacter salinestris, Page and Shivprasad (1991). A. paspali while A. agilis was categorized  under the genus Azomonas (Table 7.1).

Azolla is a free-floating water fern that floats in water and fixes atmospheric nitrogen in association with nitrogen fixing blue green alga Anabaena azollae. Azolla fronds consist of sporophyte with a floating rhizome and small overlapping bi-lobed leaves and roots. Rice growing areas in South East Asia and other third World countries have recently been evincing increased interest in the use of the symbiotic N2 fixing water fern Azolla either as an alternate nitrogen sources or as a supplement to commercial nitrogen fertilizers. Azolla is used as biofertilizer for wetland rice and it is known to contribute 40-60kg N/ha per rice crop. The agronomic potential of Azolla is quite significant particularly for rice crop and it is widely used as biofertilizer for increasing rice yields. Rice crop response studies with Azolla biofertilizer in the People’s Republic in China and in Vietnam have provided good evidence that Azolla incorporation into the soil as a green manure crop is one of the most effective ways of providing nitrogen source for rice.

The role of leguminous plants in improving the soil fertility is known for centuries. The nitrogen uptake in legumes by some unknown process was demonstrated through agronomic experiments by J.B Boussingault in 1838, which was opposed by Liebig and others. The presence of bacteria in the roots nodules of legumes was observed by P.G Lachmann (1858). M. Woronin (1866) further examined and observed them to be rod-shaped and motile.

Under agricultural conditions, the nitrogen removed is usually greater than the nitrogen input. To maintain fertility, nitrogen must be returned to the soil. This takes place mainly by biological nitrogen fixation, which is responsible for the major reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia that is used by the plants. Biological nitrogen fixation accounts for most of the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen in to Ammonium, thus representing the key entry point of molecular nitrogen into the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen (Fig.4.1). Some bacteria can convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium. Most of this nitrogen fixing prokaryote is free living in the soil.

Biofertilizers can be defined as the preparations containing strains of micro-organisms which can augment the microbiological process viz. nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization or mineralization, excretion of plant growth promoting substances or cellulose or lignin biodegradation in soil, compost or other environments. Biofertilizers can be divided into nitrogen fixing bacteria, phosphate solubilizing and mobilizing microorganisms and organic matter decomposers as (Table 3.1 and Fig. 3.1):

On the basis of Nitrogen Fixation: On the basis of N₂ fixation, they are divided in to two sub categories as

2.1 Introduction

Microbes are the oldest form of the life on earth. These organisms date more than 3 billion years to a time when they were discovered with oceans. They are so tiny in size that million microbes can fit into the eye of a needle. Without microbes, we can’t live. Thus, understanding microbes is vital to understanding past and future. Microbes play many roles in the earth’s environment recycling dead plant and animal matter through the soil, removing CO2 from the atmosphere by photosynthesis in the oceans and nitrogen from the atmosphere to form nitrogenous fertilizers plants. Microbes play an important role in nutrient recycling, management, organic matter, decomposition and increasing the crop productivity and quality and protection against diseases (Panwar et al., 2009). Over the past century, many of the basic scientific principles of plant nutrition and soil fertility have been explained. In developed countries, inorganic chemical fertilizers have been widely accepted as a major source of improving and maintaining soil fertility.

Agriculture is undoubtedly the largest livelihood provider in rural India. As we enter a new post WTO Scenario and IT revolution, new inventions are happening day by day in every sphere. Agriculture is not culture now, it is agri business! Agriculture constitutes over 25% of India’s GDP. In recent years, much emphasis has been given by the Ministry of Agriculture on commercializing agricultural production in the country. Adequate production and distribution of food has become a high priority and global concern. In the fast changing world and increasing competition in a globalized economy, there is a need for exploiting the available resources to the maximum level and use of best technologies available world over, to cope up with domestic demand of food and also to target export market. This will be particularly relevant in South India, where farmers grow a number of crops, but have technical constraints in enhancing production and productivity because of inadequate exposure to high technology & inputs coupled with advanced production practices, logistics and marketing. In addition, shortage of labour is a major concern for progressive farmers of South India who are ready to offer more wages to labourers. Therefore, they are forced to become machinery-dependent in their farm operations. As a result, Southern India is emerging as one of the hottest destinations as well as a strong market with buying potential for farm machinery and equipment.

The market of organic products is growing globally every year. This organic market expansion makes it possible for farmers to reap the benefits of a trade with relatively high price premiums. Organic farming is carried on in almost all countries of the world. The share of organic farms in overall farmland and in terms of numbers of holdings is growing continuously. The market for organic products is also growing very rapidly, not only in Europe, North America and Japan, where the largest markets are to be found, but also in many emerging economies in transition. In India, an organic movement is now emerging on different levels i.e. producer groups, trainers and advisors, certification bodies and processors and traders.

The organic quality is based on standards, inspection, certification and accreditation. All organic food is produced and handled according to strict rules called ‘Organic Standards’. Organic standards do not define a quality status which can be measured in the final products (e.g. quantity of pesticides residues, heavy metals, etc). They define the way of production (e.g. that no chemical pesticides and fertiliser are used).

The problem of insect-pest, disease and weed is acute in case of all the crops and especially so in case of commercial crops. Pesticides, fungicides or chemicals are meant to control harmful pests such as insects, nematodes, diseases, weeds etc. However, excessive use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides not only leave residues in soil, water and air but also have adverse effects on the non-target organisms such as pollinators, parasitoids, predators and wild animals. This has adversely affected the ecological balance resulting in pest resurgence, development of resistance in the pest species, diseases and environmental pollution.

Plant nutrients are drawn up from soil for growth and development. There are more than 90 elements present in the soil. According to the criteria of Essentiality of Nutrients for plant growth, proposed by Arnon and Stout in 1952, only 16 are considered to be essential for plant growth. Out of these, C (Carbon), H (Hydrogen), O (Oxgen), N (Nitrogen), P (Phosphorus), K (Potassium), Ca (Calcium), Mg (Magnesium) and S (Sulfur) are called Macronutrients (required in large quantities) and the remaining 7 elements - Fe (Iron), Mn (Manganese), Cu (Copper), Zn (Zinc), B (Boran), Mo and Cl are called Micronutrients or trace elements (required only in very small quantities). Among the macro elements - N, P and K are called Fertiliser elements or primary nutrients as they are most often applied in the form of synthetic or mineral fertilisers, and Ca, Mg and S are called secondary elements which are applied in smaller quantities than primary nutrients and required subsequent to primary nutrients.

Organic food production is as much a state of mind as it is a production system. The organic farmer must understand how everything is interrelated and how one set of circumstances will influence other factors in how the plant grows. A strong, healthy plant is much more important in an organic system then a conventional system. A two to three year leaning curve must be accepted by anyone intending to switch from conventional to organic farming. What works one year may fail the next.

The need for organic farming in India arises from the unsustainability of agriculture production and the damage caused to ecology through the conventional farming practices. The present system of agriculture which we call ‘conventional+’ and practiced the world over evolved in the western nations as a product of their socio-economic environment which promoted an over riding quest for accumulation of wealth. This method of farming adopted by other countries is inherently self destructive and unsustainable.

Farming is the intervention of man in the growth cycle of plants, animals or birds to get utility products of choice at maximum levels and of highest quality. The growing and caring of plants is called Crop Husbandry, and that of animals is called Animal Husbandry. Farming is our most basic activity. It is considered as the backbone of Indian economy. Farming not only nourishes the whole population, but also provides a means of livelihood to more than 60 per cent of our population. Our history, culture and community values are embedded in farming. Today when we think of farming, what comes to our mind are long stretches of farm land, farmer tilling the field, pumping water into fields, applying fertilizers or pesticides, plants with so many fruits, tractors with loads of farm produce, cross bred cows, a farm chicken, aquaculture, fish and so on. A more advanced image on this subject will be of the small plantlets in conical flasks or test tubes, what we call Tissue culture, High Yielding Varieties (HYV), Genetically Modified (GM) crops, Green House farming and other techniques that increase the crop yields. So all these activities are considered as the products of science that our scientists were able to develop over a period of time and helped the growing population to meet their food requirements.

PGPR have shown potentiality against pests and diseases oc curring on crop plants. Wilt and collar rot diseases are caused by soilborne pathogens viz., Fusarium oxysporum fsp. lycopersici (FOL) and Sclerotium rolfsii respectively in vegetables. An attempt was made to manage the diseases with PGPR microbes and 142 PGPR strains were isolated from different vegetable crops. Among them two isolates viz., Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (BA1) and B. subtilis (BS2) were found highly effective in controlling the diseases.  Apart from the disease control, the isolates BA1 and BS2 also registered enhanced crop growth and yield in cowpea under field conditions. Species level identification of BA1 and BS2 was done through PCR amplification and sequencing of 16s rRNA. Both BA1 and BS2 clustered with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and B. subtilis respectively.

Mastitis is a global problem as it adversely affects animal health, quality of milk and economics of milk production. Bovine Mastitis is reported to be the most costly disease of dairy cattle, causing huge economic losses in terms of reduced milk yield, milk discard after treatment, cost of veterinary services and premature culling. While reviewing status of mastitis in India, subclinical mastitis is more important (10–50%) than the clinical mastitis (1-10%). Estimated annual economic losses incurred due to mastitis estimates to Rs.7165.57 crores to dairy farmers (Bansal and Gupta, 2009).

Investigations were undertaken to isolate the fluorescent pseudomonads from the soil and root samples collected from Western Ghats regions of Chikkamagalur district of Karnataka. A total of nine isolates were obtained from 10 sampling sites. All the nine isolates were subjected for morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics and were tentatively identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens. Isolates were examined for different agriculturally important functions like production of plant growth promoting substances (PGPS), solubilization of TCP and biocontrol activity. Results of the study indicated that, five out of nine isolates found positive for IAA production and the amount of IAA production ranged from 1.92 to 6.75 mg per ml.

Introduction

The rumen ecosystem is essentially a fermentation system that houses a vast array of different microbes. Ruminants typically browse low energy forages, such as grasses or other plant material, rich in fibre but not easily accessible to the ruminant without rumen fermentation. These forages are literally food for the microbes present in the rumen first and then, in turn, the products of these microbes are the feed for the ruminant. Microbes break down forage in the anaerobic rumen environment and the products of microbial fermentation provide the ruminant with metabolisable compounds, such as short chain fatty acids, while the microbes themselves account for around 90% of the amino acids entering the lower intestine. There are many significant challenges to investigate rumen ecology.

One of the integral components of human and animal liveli hood is food and water without which life cannot sustain on  earth. However, due to high nutritive value of foods and ubiquitous nature of microbes, it is always at risk of microbial spoilage and contamination. World Health Organization (WHO) defined “food-borne illnesses” as diseases, usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by agents that enter the body through the ingestion of food. Every consumer is at risk of food-borne illness but conversely every incidence of foodborne illness is potentially preventable. Several bacterial pathogens in particular are responsible for foodborne infections and intoxications.

Globally, 2 billion children under the age of five suffer from diarrhoea, of which, more than 50% of the cases being in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease is more likely to be fatal (UNICEF-WHO, 2009). It has been also estimated that the great majority of acute diarrhoeal illnesses in children over the age of two years is attributable to bacterial pathogens (Carpenter, 1980). Amongst the various enteric bacterial pathogens, diarrheagenic strains of Escherichia coli are considerably responsible for causing bacterial diarrhea (Nataro and Kaper, 1998).

Microbial diversity is the key to human survival and economic well being. It provides a huge reservoir of resources which can be utilized for our benefit. Yeasts have been isolated from many sources for industrial purposes. The impact of yeasts on food and beverage production extends many fold beyond the popular notions of bread, beer and wine fermentations by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Diverse dynamic mixed populations of prokaryotic and lower eukaryotic microorganisms govern the fermentation and maturation processes and, finally, impact the quality of wine. Both of these parameters apparently contribute to regional differences in the quality of produced wines and characterization of regional wines should involve the study of microbial populations and their members active in the given region.

Ralstonia solanacearum is a phytopathogenic bacterium belong ing to the b subdivision of the Proteobacteria (Yabuuchi et al., 1995) having a wide geographical distribution ranging from tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions (Liu et al., 2009). It has broad host range and infects around 54 plant families and 450 plant species (Hayward, 1991; Wicker et al., 2007). 

Early attempts to study the diversity present in the R. solanacearum species complex resulted in separate race and biovar systems. R. solanacearum has been phenotypically classified into 5 races based on the host range at the plant species level and into five biovars based on the metabolic profiles related to the ability to reduce three disaccharides and three hexose alcohols (Wicker et al., 2007).

Microorganisms are diverse group of organisms differing in many ways and range from saprophytic to virulent one. Virulent are pathogenic and harmful to human and animals and can cause latent to per acute disease. Nowadays although treatment is available for most of the diseases, it is better to prevent the disease rather than going for treatment. Development of immunity is the aim of immunization and hence through knowledge of the host parasite interaction, epitope of the microorganisms responsible for the inducing protective immune responses is of pivotal importance.

Many microbes have ability to attach to various surfaces forming three dimensional extracellular matrix within which embedded the microbes grow and multiply forming thin layer structure called biofilm. Biofilms may form on living or non-living surfaces and can be prevalent in natural, industrial and hospital settings (Hall-Stoodley et al., 2004). Biofilm mainly consist of three components - bacteria, matrix and surface. Extracellular matrix generally composed of extracellular polymeric compounds such as extracellular polysaccharides, proteins, phospholipids, DNA, teichoic and nucleic acids, and other polymeric substances hydrated to 85 to 95% water and polysaccharides (Hall-Stoodley et al., 2004).

Production of Indole-3 Acetic acid (IAA) and mineral phosphate solubilization (MPS) are two predominant and direct mechanisms used by plant growth promoting rhizobacterial strains (PGPR). These traits are widespread among bacteria. Moreover, the role of IAA in plant-microbe interactions is diverse varying from pathogenesis to phytostimulation, to its role as a signaling molecule in microorganisms. With the advent of high performance analytics, molecular tools and recombinant methods, it has become feasible to investigate biochemical pathways of bacterial IAA synthesis at the genetic, biochemical and chemical levels. In the current study, we isolated several PGPRs from Western Ghats region, India.  Of all the efficient isolates, Serratia marcescens SM15 emerged as the most efficient PGPR isolate based on in vitro plant growth assays and ability to express PGPR traits.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are diverse biopolyesters synthesized by many bacteria as carbon and energy reserved materials under unbalanced growth conditions. Sand-dunes have low nutrient contents especially nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) thus could harbor potential PHA accumulating bacteria. There is no report of isolation of PHA producing bacteria from the sand-dunes environment.  Sand samples of rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere regions of the coastal sand-dunes were processed on Nutrient Agar and TYG-Agar media for isolation of heterotrophic bacteria.

The diversity of the haloarchaea found within a crystallizer pond of a solar saltern located in Siridao and Ribandar, Goa, India was examined. Both cultured-based and culture independent methodology were employed which included  surface spreading of samples on different media containing 25% crude salt/NaCl, DNA extraction from sediment and water samples, amplification of 16S rRNA gene and DGGE.

Introduction

Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, filariasis, Japaneseencephalitis, chikungunya and dengue hemorrhagic fever cause extensive morbidity and take heavy toll of life in the developing nations particularly in the tropics. Every year about 300-500 million people are estimated to be affected by malaria alone (WHO report, 2000). In India around two million cases of malaria are being reported annually although real burden is many fold higher (Kumar et al. 2007). Similarly, lymphatic filariasis caused by Wuchereria bancrofti affects about 120 million people worldwide. India contributes about 40%  to  the total global burden of filariasis and accounts for about 50% of the people at risk of infection (ICMR bulletin, 2002). Anopheles stephensi is recognized as a major vector for urban malaria in India (Kumar 1997).

Introduction

Foraminifera or forams for short are the most abundant, diverse and widely distributed Protists in marine realm. They are found in all marine environments, from the inter-tidal to the deepest ocean trenches, and from the tropics to the poles (Todo et al., 2005). In some places, foraminifera are so abundant that the sediment on the bottom is mostly made up of their shells. For example, tourists from all over the world get attracted to the pink sands of Bermuda. These sands get their colour from the shells of Homotrema rubrum which has pink to red-colored shells. Living representatives of foraminifera provide ecological data and their mineralized tests are a geochemical record of palaeoclimatic conditions.

Introduction
 
Biodiversity a term to describe variability between organisms or populations of organisms, has different facets depending on the level of diversity considered (Species, population, ecosystem) or the organisms concerned (Barbault, 1992). Biodiversity can be exploited in many ways at scientific levels, the best known and the most ancient no doubt being in taxonomy and systematics, and more recently for studies of population biology, evolution and conservation of ecosystems, or for selection of materials for biotechnology.

The quest for drugs from the sea has yielded a remarkable di versity of natural products mostly from invertebrates such as sponges, tunicates, bryozoans etc. These molecules are either in late stages of clinical trials or have already entered the market. There has been an increased emphasis on marine microorganisms as sources of bioactive compounds over the past decade. Marine bacteria alone constitute 10% of the total living biomass carbon of the Earth’s biosphere and they have unique metabolic and physiological capabilities to ensure their survival in diverse habitats. In the marine environment, some microorganisms associate with living and non-living surfaces and the competition amongst these microbes for space and nutrients leads to the production of bioactive secondary metabolites.

The microbial community is a gold mine for gene(s) and pathway(s) that encode novel biocatalysts for biosynthetic or biodegradation processes, including degradation of pollutants, synthesis of biofuels and production of novel drugs. Sequencing of the microbial genome will also provide insights into the ecology of  microorganisms that are beneficial to, or threaten, crop production, and that ensure the quality and provision of ecosystem services. These unique genetic and biosynthetic capabilities of microorganisms have made them likely  candidates for solving particular difficult problems in the agriculture. For many years microbiologist and microbial  ecologists have tended to differentiate microorganisms as beneficial and harmful according to their function and how they affect soil quality, plant growth, and yield and plant health.

Duff and  Daly (2002) briefly describes the commonly found orchid diseases. These include the Bacterial soft rot caused by Erwinia carotovora, black leg or slow decline caused by Fusarium spp., petal blight caused by Curvularia eragrostidis [PseudocochlioBolus eragrostidis] and Alternaria alternata, top rot/shoot rot caused by Phytophthora parasitica, and stem rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii [Athelia rolfsii].

India ranks 23^rd among world exporters of floriculture products and its share in the world exports are at around 0.38 per cent. It is estimated that fresh cut flowers of worth Rs. 100 crores are being exported annually from India. On the other hand the post harvest losses are estimated to be more than 30-35 per cent. The loss of quality in ornamentals may result from wilting or abscission of leaves and petals, yellowing of leaves and geotropic or phototropic bending of scapes and stems. Several factors prevailing during pre harvest, harvest and post-harvest stage affect the post harvest quality and longevity of cut flowers. Each step in the life span of post-harvest flower is associated with a number of coordinated biochemical, physiological, hormonal and structural changes that are strongly modulated by the fluctuations of environmental factors and stresses of biotic and abiotic origin.

Orchids are perennial ornamental crop, grows well in shady and humid places in wild habitat. The same growing conditions can be achieved by making special structures known as orchidaria or orchid houses.
Basics for Orchid House Cultivation
The following points should be considered during the construction of orchid houses:-
    ·    Topography of land.
    ·    Climate of region.
    ·    Type of soil and water.
    ·    Accessibility of area, transport and marketing facilities.
    ·    Proper drainage facilities.
    ·    Availability of good quality irrigation water.
    ·    A good infrastructure like availability of electricity.

Orchid Morphology

Most of the orchids are perennial herbs with simple leaves. Although the specialized flower structure confirms to a standard plan, the vegetative parts are shown great variation, a large number of them being epiphytes, or terrestrial and a few saprophytes are leafless in nature. Orchids can be divided into two groups - monopodial or sympodial depending upon their habit of growth. Monopodial orchids such as Vanda have a main stem which continues to grow year after. Sympodial orchids such as Cymbidium have a main stem, which terminates growth at the end of each season. A new shoot then grows from the base forming its own bulbous stem called pseudo-bulb, which eventually flowers. The pseudo-bulb or thickened stem is a very useful device for the storage of food and water and function like bulbs. In addition to the epiphytic orchids, there are also grounds orchids or terrestrial orchids, which grow like ordinary plants with their roots in soil. Most of the temperate zone orchids are terrestrial and tropical orchids are epiphytes.

Theophrastus gave the name “ORCHIDS” to the group of bizarre plants on the basis of the resemblance of paired underground tubers of these plants to masculine anatomy. This resemblance was also responsible for the mistaken belief that the orchids posses aphrodisiac properties and eating of underground tubers might “provoke venus” and they may be get male children. The appreciation of orchid beauty has a very long history in both the Western and Eastern cultures. Much of this is attributed to the diverse form and structure of orchids and the large number of species in the orchid family. Orchidaceae is amongst the most diverse family of the flowering plants consisting of 35,000 species under 880 genera (Kumar and Sheela, 2007, Fay and Chase, 2009). Orchids belong to the highest level of organization and are distinguished by the complicated biology of reproduction with long developmental cycle (Vakhrameeva et al., 1991, Sherif et al., 2012). They are beautiful and exotic perennial herbs grown in both north and south hemispheres. They exhibit an incredible range of diversity in size, shape and colour of flowers. Its flowers have lustrous, translucent petals rich in variegated colors and fragrances. Generally Orchids can grow at different elevations (Kumar and  Sheela, 2007).

Abstract
 
Nigeria has a very large domestic market, but consumers, farmers, processors and other agribusiness investors are often faced with challenges getting timely and relevant information. However, it has been found out that in Nigeria many people preferred receiving information over a mobile phone than a computer. The problems farmers encounter in exchanging information and that more than half of Nigeria’s population are mobile phone subscribers of which majority of them are farmers necessitate overview of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)  and agricultural development in Nigeria. Literatures were consulted, secondary data, and personal observations were tools used to compile the chapter contribution.

Abstract

With the evolution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Agriculture as the major employer of Ugandans population with over 82% of the population, agricultural information is a key component in improving small-

Abstract

The contribution of agriculture to the Tanzania’s economic growth has not been fully realized due to the sector’s’poor performance. This is attributed to a combination of constraints, which are often aggravated by lack of access to timely, relevant and reliable agricultural information. The traditional approach of delivering agricultural information through extension services has been criticized widely as there are weak information flows amongst agricultural actors.

1. Introduction

For the last years, Peru’s GDP has been continuously growing, and in 2010 the agricultural sector has played a significant role in this process. According to the National System on Agricultural Innovation, the sector has an important contribution in economic and social aspects.Regarding the former, national agrarian production represents 8% of global GDP.
 
Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture of Peru show that the agricultural sector includes 31% (3 million people approximately) of the country’s Economically Active Population (EAP), and 65% of the EAP in rural areas. The latest agrarian census indicates that almost 5.5 million hectares are used for agricultural activities, which accounts for 15% of the total surface.

1. Introduction

A cooperative agricultural extension service has been implemented in Japan by both national and prefectural governments to support small-scale farmers who emerged as a result of land reform after the Second World War (Yamada, 2008).  In recent years, however, the scope and level of agricultural extension advisors’ activities have become more sophisticated and diversified because of technological progress and a wider range of activities, from production and selling to promoting relevant political measures.  On the other hand, the number of agricultural extension advisors has been decreasing for several years because of a cut in government expenditure for the cooperative extension service.  For this reason, information and communication technology (ICT) is needed to promote advanced and efficient extension activities (Yamada, 2010).