eChapters

Introduction

A system is a simplified version of reality and is defined as a collection of interrelated parts that work together. Most systems share certain common characteristics. These common characteristics include the following:
Systems have a structure that is defined by its parts and processes. Systems are generalizations of reality.
Systems tend to function in the same way as nature. This involves inputs getting changed in a process and realization of new outputs.
The various parts of a system have functional as well as structural relationships between each other.
Owing to the functional relationships that exist between the parts there is a flow and transfer of some type of energy and/or matter. In case of information systems there is a flow of information in the structure.
The parts that make up a system show certain degree of integration. In other words the parts work well together.

Since time immemorial, women have played and continued to play a key role in conservation of basic life support system, such as, land, water, flora and fauna. Women power at present constitutes nearly half of the global population and account one third of the total work force. They contribute more than half of duties and responsibilities but are not given proper rights. In India till now rural women continue to struggle with dual responsibilities of economic production and domestic labour, and most are confronted by poverty, illiteracy, high health risks, inadequate access to productive resources, and lack of credit/market access. The empowerment and autonomy of women and the improvement of women’s social, political, legal and economic status is essential for sustainable rural development

Both women and men play critical roles in agriculture throughout the world, producing, processing and providing the food we eat. Rural women in particular are responsible for half of the world’s food production and produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food in most developing countries. Yet, despite their contribution to global food security, women farmers are frequently underestimated and overlooked in development strategies.

Rural women are the main producers of the world’s staple crops – rice, wheat, maize – which provide up to 120 percent of the rural poor’s food intake. Women sow, weed, apply fertilizer and pesticides, harvest and thresh the crops. In the livestock sector, women feed and milk animals, while raising poultry and small animals such as sheep, goat, etc. Also, once the harvest is in, rural women provide most of the labour for post-harvest activities, taking responsibility for storage, handling, processing and marketing.

1. Feminization of Agriculture

Almost all active women in rural India can be considered as ‘farmers’, in some sense – working as agricultural labourer, unpaid workers in the family farm enterprise, or combination of the two. Moreover, several farm activities traditionally carried out by men are also being undertaken by women as men are pulled away into higher paying employment. Thus rural India is witnessing a process which could be described as ‘feminization of agriculture’. The significantly high and growing population of female headed households has also highlighted women’s contribution to agriculture.

The interventions for women empowerment was perhaps started intensively since fourth plan period. Subsequently many more initiatives are taken for the total all round development of women in this country.

A. 4^TH FIVE YEAR PLAN (1969-1974)

Farmers Training and Education Programme

It was for the first time in the 4^th Five Year Plan that an effort was made by Ministry of Agriculture to address the training and extension needs of women farmers with new and improved technology through “Farmers Training and Education Programme”, in which a network of 150 Farmers Training Centers were established to close the visible gap between the recommended package of practices and the farm women’s knowledge and skills about them. In this programme, a linkage of the supply of production inputs with improved technical training, supported by Farm Radio Broadcast and Functional Literacy was provided. The unique feature of this programme was that for the first time, a cognizance of women’s participation in agriculture was taken. The experience of the programme had shown that the states which gave due importance to this programme, especially in terms of curriculum planning and syllabus formulation (based on true status and needs of women farmers), achieved very good results. It was, this programme, which focused many issues that had to be categorically considered while planning and implementing agriculture support programmes for women farmers.

Women are the backbone of rural economy. They play a significant role in domestic and socio-economic life of the society. National development is not possible without developing this important and substantial segment of any society. To achieve anything, women are obliged to surmount host of obstacles. The difficulty in gaining access to land, credit and agricultural inputs hampers their potential as producers who feed the world. Barriers of tradition and discrimination have limited their access towards technology, training and education. Moreover, the extension approaches and strategies usually followed for transfer of technology to women are not keeping match with their specific needs and problems. The World Food Summit convened by FAO in 1996 drew up a plan of action to address the major impediments to universal food security. It also called for the full and equal participation of both the genders so as to ensure gender equality and empowerment of women.

Though India is one of the major fish producing countries in the world, it has no history regarding technical and academic training in fisheries. India has to tackle simultaneously the long range problem of establishing a regular fisheries educational system as one of its fisheries policies for ensuring a reserve of large number trained persons. The short range problem of providing specialized training to the large number of in service personal, who were not basically qualified in all aspect of fisheries had been planned. Therefore, the government of India and the state Governments had put in considerable effort to solve problem of shortage of technical person as by organizing a number of fisheries training institutions in the country at different levels. A few universities are also providing training in fisheries leading to degrees in fisheries.

The following are the main fisheries training institutions which are giving special training in fisheries in India:

The concept of Exclusive Economic Zone, popularly called as EEZ was born out of a conflict on fishing rights among coastal nations. Some nations found their waters being exploited by foreign countries equipped with better and more powerful fishing gear and craft more sophisticated navigational and fish detection systems than their own. In 1950 several such nations unilaterally established fishing limits in their coastal waters for exclusive fishing. In the beginning the limit was just twelve mile. Again in 1970 some more countries are added and then they unilaterally accepted the limit of 200 nautical miles.

The United Nations General Assembly convened during 1974-1982 conferences on the Third law of the sea. The United Nations convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS) was the outcum of the deliberations after it was ratified by as many as 60 countries in 1994. According to the UNCLOS each coastal country shall have an EEZ of 200 nautical mile zone around the share with exclusive right to exploitation of marine resources. The UNCLOS also imposed certain responsibilities on them. Each Country shall have a duty to properly manage its resources. The resources not being fully tapped by a country other countries shall legally have the right to exploit such waters by use of trawlers. It was also stated that beyond the EEZ, the fisheries of the high seas shall be regulated by the Regional Fisheries Organizations. Thus straddling fish and migratory fish fisheries become the subject of not the coastal states but of the regional fisheries organizations. This agreement was reached in 1992 at the Rio-de-Janerio United Nations conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) which worked under the frame work of the UNCLOS. About 90% of the marine catch is taken in the EEZ many countries including India have yet to realize their full potential from their EEZ. A few countries have not accepted EEZ restriction like South Africa. A number of countries on other hand are almost optimally exploiting their EEZ such countries are New Zealand, Iceland and Canada. The EEZ is a common shared area among member countries of European common market (BCM)

The role of remote sensing in fishery science is one of the established fact. But today remote sensing is used generally everywhere. Success of fishing depends upon capacity for fish detection. Traditional methods like sighting, listening, smelling, locating phosphorescent patches, blue or yellow patches and oily patches in water are absolute now. Application of acoustic devices such as echo sounders, sonar’s started in 1930. Satellite remote sensing technologies have been applied recently since 1980.

In India acoustic fish finder was used in 1946. However its application has remained insignificant. No acoustic survey has been carried out either in the Arabian sea or in the Bay of Bengal. In the Indian Ocean some headway was made in 1977 and there in 1982.

Satellite remote sensing is restricted to the surface of the ocean at present. The Satellite cannot use its sensors to penetrate the column of water. The two important ocean parameters in remote sensing of fish stocks are the colour and surface temperature. Colour is used to assess and map chlorophyll productivity and through fish productivity. Temperature on the other hand helps locating thermal fronts and upwelling Zones. There by assessing nutrient abundance as well as fish abundance.

In the Indian waters, air craft remote sensing has been used for locating shoots of pelagic fish like oil sardines and mackerels in the Arabian sea using colour and bioluminescence only. The signals help distinguish shoals by species and estimate the weight of the schools. Ocean colour map also help in locating tuna schools, which prefer clear oceanic waters as against the turbid.

The per capita consumption of fish has been 3.2kg on an average up to 1992 as against estimated requirement of 11.0 kg pisciculture has the potentiality of popularity. Fish is rightly considered as the “Poor man’s diet”. It is almost zero carbohydrate food, good for diabetics and other such patients. Fish is a rich source of protein, vitamins and minerals. A special feature of fish flesh food is content of vitamin B12, which is almost absent in plant food and also a good source of calcium and vitamin A. Fish also contains polyunsaturated fatty acids which are known to provide protection against cardio-vascular diseases. This has got advantages over the other meat food.

Planktophagus fishes have higher protein contents then do fish with other feeding habits.

When flesh of fish is put to an analysis the following major components are observed.

• Fish cum-poultry farming.

• Fish cum-duck farming.

• Fish cum-pig farming.

• Fish cum-paddy farming.

A) Fish Cum-poultry farming

Inland fish culture in conjunction with poultry rearing is a compatible business and can provide a readymade fertilizer for fish pond. In a larger sense fish and poultry are mutually complementary the former provides fish meal a protein rich poultry feed and the later is droppings which acts as fertilizers for plankton production to serve as natural proteinous fish feed. Fish meal is recognized as perhaps the choicest poultry feed. In an integrated fish cum-poultry farm, birds have to be housed in deep litter of battery system in which the pen flora is covered with hay. The floor of the pen is covered with chapped straw dry leaves, hay broken up groundnut shells maize straw and saw dust. Each bird should have about 0.3 m² space to live on the deep litter flooring bird droppings falling on the litter react with the flooring organic material. The litter has to be periodically churned for aeration and maintenance of hygienic conditions.

The embryogenesis or embryonic development of a sexually reproducing multicellular animal is prefaced by the gametogenesis as ovum and sperms.

In some animals both kinds of gametes are produced by a single individual which is called monoecious or hermaphrodite.

But in majority of animals both kinds of gametes are produced by different individuals to an animal species are called dioecious.

The kind of sex cells as spermatozoa and ova; and those organs which are immediately concerned with their production i.e. male gonads called as testes and female gonads as ovaries form the primary sexual characters of each sex.

Besides these primary sexual characters the male and female sexes differ from each other in many somatic characters, which are called secondary sexual characters.

Such a phenomenon of morphological differentiation or specialization in secondary sexual characters between male and female individuals of a species is called sexual dimorphism. Sexes are generally separate in fishes and only a few species are hermaphrodite.

Fish are of great economic value for man. In addition to it is an important item of food and provides several important by – products also which are as :

1) Fish oil

The most important fish by product industry is fish oil which acts as a vehicle for fat soluble vitamins i.e. A, D, E and K, and source of essential faty acids.

The oil of fish is categorized into two main types as the fish liver oil and fish body oil.

The oil abstained from the whole body of fish is called as body oil and is poor in vitamin contents.

The oil abstained from the only liver of the fish is called as the liver oil, and is good quantity of vitamins.

The body oil is less valuable as compared to the liver of the fish.

Fishes are used by human beings in different forms from time immemorial millions of human beings suffer due to hunger and malnutrition and fishes from a rich source of food, which has following importance:

1) Fish is an excellent food for mankind is more easily perishable than cattle, sheep and chicken.

2) Fish flesh is easily digestible by child and man.

3) Fish flesh has very great nutritive and medicinal values.

4) Fish flesh contains proteins, bass, vitamins, waters and minerals.

5) All the essential required amino acids are present in the fish flesh.

6) Fish flesh contains proteins about 13-20 % and it is easily digestible and nutritional.

7) Fish flesh is highly perishable commodity constituted as 60-80 % water.

8) Fish flesh contains about 1-8 % fats or oils and it is more important value of fishes.

In order to obtain maximum yield of fish from a lake or reservoir, it is essential to culture fast growing compatible species of different feeding habits is called as composite fish culture.

Any one kind of species cannot utilize the variety of food available in the pond. For a complete utilization of cheap natural food, pond fishes of different age groups or of different species may be selected for stocking. A combination of several compatible species with complementary food habits would make better use of the food resources of the pond as well as ecological potentials of the pond.

When fishes of different age groups and different species are cultured in same pond called as composite fish farming or mixed farming or polyculture. This is based on the principle that compatible species do not harm each other instead they utilize in the most efficient manner, all available food supply of the pond for maximum production of fish yield. There is no competition between different species on the other land they may be beneficial effect on the growth of others.

• Type of Aquatic weeds

• Different control method

• Advantage and disadvantage of Aquatic weeds.

Aquatic weeds are those unwanted and undesirable plants, which reproduce and grow in fast in water bodies. They are more harmful them beneficial for fish culture. Excessive growth of aquatic vegetation prevents effective utilisation of water and reduces productivity because they utilize the nutrients and also prevent the sunlight to read the deep part of the water body. This excessive growth restrict the living space of fishes, resulting into less production. The decay mass of these pollute weeds prevent the growth of more useful microorganisms. And disturb the food web and food chain and equilibrium of physico-chemical qualities of water. Liberation of toxic substance and waste decomposition of water body is most effective so it is necessary to identify and control them. It has the primary problem of management of Inland fishery cultures.

Aquatic plants grow on extremely wet soil and where water is available to plants in abundance such as ponds lanes river banks etc. or those plants which grows and found in the nearby water body or in water body. These plants are called as aquatic weeds because these are not attend the larger size and act as the weeds which is found in water so these are called as aquatic weeds.

Shallow weed infected ponds, swamps, marshes, pools. Bogs infected all inland water bodies. These infected inland water bodies provides shelter food and suitable environmental condition to grow and multiply to different pathogens and microorganism and macro-organism such as mosquitoes, snails other hosts.

Mosquitoes are the vectors of several diseases and carry parasites of malaria, filarial, yellow fever and so on the breed in all sorts of stagnant water and shallow weed infested ponds, swamps, pits gutters and all other kinds of inland water bodies. Different species of mosquitoes prefer different kinds of water for breeding purpose.

A number of fishes have little food value but are of immense utility to public health because of their larvivorous feeding habits. Fish is a natural enemy of mosquito eggs and larvae and its use as means of biological control has been recognized since olden times. Several species of fresh water fishes are known to be larvicidal and of use in the control of mosquito population. Biological control of this type is now regarded as one of the most potent tool in destroying the mosquito population without any causing harmful effect in the food chain and the human system. Man learnt to use them as one of his several measures to combat a number of serious diseases which are spread through the agency of insects. A number of larvicidal fishes directly feed upon mosquito larvae and thus their introduction in such water bodies where mosquitoes breed results in a very effective control on the population the mosquitoes in selection of the larvicidal fishes for such a control of diseases.

The oceans covering nearly 71% of earth surface are classified into several zones. There are different zones such as neritic zone, oceanic zone. Neritic zone consists of different zones. Which are present in bank side of ocean. The oceanic zone forms two major zones as pelagic and the benthic zones. In the pelagic zone the organisms float or swim freely on the surface and in the benthic zone they associations are widely different and there is no light, water is called dark zone water or aphotic this constitute the deep sea fishes which found in the bottom of the sea the region between 200-1000 meters is called as the mesopelagic zone. The part of the ocean below 1000 meters is called bathypelagic zone and the deepest part of the deepwater is called benthic zone. Mesopelagic, bathypelagic and benthic zone constitute the deep sea water. A large number of species of fish in habits the deep sea. Fishes living in the deep water of the oceans are exposed to more or less uniform conditions of life and they are adapted differently.

• Source of colour

• Colour changes in fishes

• Regulation of colour changes

• Significance of colour changes.

The coloration is most well-marked in fishes A large number of fishes are brightly and brilliantly coloured and others are of more uniform and sober shade. On fish body characteristics markings in the form of base strips, spots and blotches etc. coloration is mainly due the skin pigments but the back-ground colour may also be due to the underlying tissues and body fluids. Coloration relates to the life style of the fishes and the patterns so produced have functional significance.

Generally the fishes are darker on their upper surfaces this is because their upper surfaces being exposed to sun light undergo pigmentation, while ventral surface with gradual shading on the sides. Some fish species like the gold fish, carassius exhibit almost uniformly bright colour all over the body. Cave fishes living in total darkness have lost the pigments and grown colourless. Several species of the genera synodontis living in the river of Africa swim in inverted position and so the pigmentation is reversed in them.

• Structure and working of electric organs in- Electric eel, electric catfish, electric ray.

• Mechanism of electric discharge formation and control of electric organs.

Fishes possess a number of adaptive structures which have been evolved to meet special requirements faced by them. The electric organs are highly specialized structures that enable their possessors to produce store of discharge to electric current. Fishes are unique in the animal kingdom in being capable of generating an electric current.

About 250 species of both, the cartilaginous and bony fishes of fresh and marine waters are known to possess the electric organs. Most of these restrict to the tropical fresh water of Africa and South America. Many species of rays, skates, and the eels are known to possess small electric organs that give a weak discharge. These fishes can produce electric field outside the body. Electric fishes have been divided into two types-strongly electric and weakly electric, depending on the strength of the current.

In fishes the outermost covering of the body is called as exoskeleton. The exoskeleton is covered by the covering called as skin. In most of the fishes the skin is covered with an exoskeleton in the form of scales, but a few fishes are naked having no scales on the body and body is covered only by thick skin as like the catfishes. While some other fishes like the polyodan and the Acipenser exhibit an intermediate condition, having scales or scale like plates only at same localized regions of the body. The scales of fishes are products of the activity of the skin. The scales of fishes have become modified in various ways mainly to provide protection.

The scales are useful for the classification and identification of fishes (in fish Taxonomy it is used) Fish scales are self for the determination of age of the fish. Scales are also useful for the estimation of the number of the spawning.

Scale provide important information about extinct fishes and useful in identifying food habits of piscivorous animals. Scales are important exoskeleton in fishes According to the mode of origin there are two types of scales i.e. 1) Placoid and 2) Non- placoid scales.

The animals, which are aquatic cold blooded respires with the help of gills and swim with the help of fins such animals are called as fishes. Fishes have various body forms according to the environment and in changing the life of fish the body form of fish are found. The fish swim in water with the help of fins. The fins are present on all body of the fish. In swimming the body form is also important. Following are the various body forms found in fishes.

Body Forms

Following are some of the body forms in fishes:

1. Anguilliform body from:- When in fishes the body form is the anguilliform shape and size, like that of eel or anguilla type, then such body form is called as angilliform body form.

2. Depressiform body form :- When in the fishes body form is flattened from above downwards, means the body form is depressed dorso-ventrally it is called as depressiform body forms like that of angler fish, ray fish is also called dorso-ventrally depressed.

3. Disciform body form :- When in fishes the body form is flattened form sides or the fish is laterally compressed on both sides that type is called as disciform body form of laterally compressed body form like that of flat fishes.

This group includes a large number of bony fishes in which the primary upper and lower jaws are supplemented by the addition of membrane bones which forms secondary jaws. Hence they are called as teleostomi or perfect mouthed fishes.

All major groups of fresh water fishes lived successfully and flourished during the Devonian period which is also called as the “Age of fishes”. Teleostomii are characterized by a unique mechanism of opening the mouth by lowering the mandible through hyoid apparatus, therefore the skull is hyostylic or the amphistylic. Presence of an ossified operculum, an interhyal bone and the branchiostegal rays are the diagnostic features of this group.

The evolutionary classification based largely on the typological methods has been adopted a number of fish taxonomist. Foremost among them are Gunther and Cope (1871) Boutenger (1904); Jordan (1923); Regan (1929); Berg (1940) and Romer (1959). Out of the various schemes proposed by aforesaid taxonomists, there is no agreement among the ichthyologists regarding the classification of fishes. Fishes constitute more than one half of all vertebrates comprising around 40,000 species.

The classification of Berg (1940) is most widely accepted, it is based upon the conclusions of Jordan (1923) and Regan (1929). Many ichthyologists consider Bergs classification as a minor revision. Berg scrutinizing the merits of the other classification proposals and make advanced classification, which is accepted all over the world.

What are Chordates?

The animal kingdom is divided first into several major animal groups called phyla: singular phylum. There are approximately so animal phyla. The last major groups of the animal kingdom are known as phylum chordate it was created by Belfour, in 1880. The name of this phylum is derived from two Greek words, the chorda- meaning a string or cord and ata- meaning bearing. The reference is to a common characteristic feature in the form to a stiff, supporting rod – like structure along the back, the notochord (Gr – noton – back, L-chorda-cord). This is found in all the members of the phylum at some stage of their lives. Chordates are animals having a cord are “notochord” or “Invertebrates” since they have no notochord or back bone in their body structure.

Phylum chordate is the largest to the deuterostiome phyla. It is the highest and the most important phylum comprising a vast variety of living and extinct animals including man himself most of the living chordates are the well known familiar vertebrate animals, such as the fishes, amphibians, Reptiles, birds and mammals.

Three fundamental characters of chordates:-All the chordates possesses three outstanding unique characteristics at same stage in their life history. These three fundamental morphological include,

A fish is defined as the cold blooded vertebrates, which catch with the help of gills and swims with the help of fins and which are aquatic in nature. In broader sense the term fishery is used for the rearing and management of all aquatic animals which are useful to human being e.g. fishes, crustaceans and mollusks. The term fishery science is related to the rearing and management of fish on large scale by proper utilization of available water sources.

Fishes comprise of about 33100 species (FishBase 2015) differing widely from each other in shape, size, habits and habitats. Some of them are very small or more than an inch in length, while a few attain a length up to 18.50 m. they live in all free flowing rivers, lake, canals, dams and in almost every place where there is water.

Fishes usually have a stream lined body but some are elongated snake like and a few are dorso-ventrally compressed. They have paired and unpaired fins supported by soft or spiny fin rays. Dorsal, caudal and the anal fins are unpaired while the pectorals and pelvic (ventral) are paired fins. A number of species possess barbless which are excellent organs of touch.

Introduction

The economic choice of any process is the criterion for efficient utilization of the by-product that is produced along side of main product. During manufacture of major dairy products, the dairy industry also ends up in producing different by-products. Various by-products of dairy industry are skim milk, butter milk , whey and ghee residue. Dairy industry is particularly confronted with the problem of economic utilization of whey and ghee residue. The techno-economical problems associated with utilization of these by-products, is now receiving considerable attention. More efficient, cost effective and sophisticated technologies have opened up new vistas for manufacture of number of derived by-products. Further more the market for dairy by-products, as an ingredients in other consumer food products like snacks, ready meals and microwavable food products, has been growing.

Introduction

In the recent past there has been a great deal of questioning regarding role of milk fat in cholesterol metabolism and other body functions. The enormous wave against cholesterol containing foods has damaged the image and market growth of fat rich dairy products. This trend is due to presence of saturated fats and cholesterol that are known to increase the incidence of coronary heart diseases one of the common cause of heart attack. The educated and urban society is more health conscious about the presence of cholesterol in their diets. This has led to the greater demand of cholesterol free foods. Ghee being a saturated fat and containing little amount of cholesterol, is suspected to contribute towards coronary heart diseases. However, critically surveyed scientific literature indicates that there is no evidence of any association of milk fat with increased risk of coronary heart diseases. Age old and proven Ayurvedic system of medicine has proved the usage of ghee to induce several beneficial effects on human health and used extensively for therapeutic purpose like in treatment of skin allergy, respiratory diseases, curative for ulcers and eye diseases. This suggest that ghee is a valuable form of dietary fat.

Introduction
Ghee is the pure clarified butter fat prepared chiefly from cream and/or desi butter (Makhan) to which no colouring matter is added.  Ghee manufacture has great significance and relevance to Indian masses and the dairy industry. Ghee is a very popular product since ancient time and has greater demand during festival and other ceremonial functions where use of ghee in food has been considered to delicacy due to its pleasing flavour and aroma. There are sufficient recorded evidence to prove that the manufacture of ghee originated from India and has been used extensively for religious and dietary purposes since Vedic times. Presently about 28% of total milk production is utilized for manufacture of about 1 million tones of ghee per annum. It is the traditional product with an established market. Cow ghee is golden yellow in colour, and is attributed unique therapeutic value.  The colour of buffalo ghee is greenish yellow due to presence of pigments called billirubin and billiverdin. Ghee is characterized by its pleasant, cooked and rich flavour. The preferred texture is of larger uniform size from grains having non-greasy consistency.

Introduction

The demand for butter as table spread has declined due to high cost, poor spreadability at low temperature, high saturated fat and cholesterol content, changing life style and increased demand for healthy products. Today food industry is actively involved in new product development, this includes new formulations and imitation of foods being designed to compete with or replace existing products based on their superiority in convenience, cost and quality. The wide acceptance of bread in regular diet among urban consumers (75 percent of all household) reflects around 8 percent rate of growth in bread consumption. With this increase, the requirement of a suitable spread to complement has also increased. Table spreads include a variety of spreadable semi-solid products such as fat spreads, cheese spread, peanut butter etc. Butter has also been blended with vegetable oils/fat to produce a product that retains dairy qualities of butter with enhanced spreadability.

Butter is one of the leading milk product in developed countries of the world. It serves as a balance wheel of dairy industry. Surplus milk is generally converted into butter to be used during the times of scarcity. It is an article of commerce and a sign if wealth. Butter is a fat concentrate, which is obtained by churning cream, gathering the fat into a compact mass and then working it for proper distribution of moisture and salt. The art of butter making has a long history. The manufacture of butter was confined to colder regions where gravity creaming was successful. The milk was allowed to stand undisturbed for 10-12 hours until layer of cream collects at the top.

Introduction
Makkhan (Makhan) is an indigenous(desi) butter obtained by hand churning of dahi using wooden beater (mathani). It is traditional unsalted butter characterized by its delectable and rich flavour. It is white in colour with slightly greenish tinge and has typical soft body and a smooth grainy texture with pleasant aroma. This product has been extensively used for dietary and religious practices since vedic times. The entire quantity produced forms an intermediate product for preparation of ghee (clarified butter fat). Nearly 30% of the total milk production goes for desi butter manufacture. The average yield of the product is very low ranging from 5.5-7.0% for every 100 kg milk used for the purpose. The chemical composition of the product is variable depending upon the method of manufacture. It is difficult to achieve the uniform standard of 20% moisture in the final product due to limitations in the technique adopted for its manufacture. The non fatty solids and lactic acid are derived from the method of preparation and preservation. Higher non fatty solids in makhan indicates use of self soured milk, while a high lactic acid content indicates prolonged storage and in sanitary conditions of manufacture.

Definition

It is one of the important portion of milk which forms a fatty layer on top of milk when left un-disturbed. It is a prime component of milk and comprises mainly of milk fat. It may be defined as “that portion of milk which is rich in milk fat” meaning portion of milk into which larger portion of milk fat has been gathered.  According to FSSAI, 2011 Malai and Cream are defined as –

Malai means the product rich in butter fat prepared by boiling and cooling cow or buffalo milk or a combination thereof. It shall contain not less than 25.0 per cent milk fat.

Several centuries ago, perhaps as early as 6000-8000 BC, ancient man learned to domesticate species of animals for obtaining milk for their consumption. These included cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats, and camels, all of which are still used in various parts of the world for the production of milk for human use. The significance of milk as the most wholesome single food available in nature has never been debated. It is as ancient as mankind itself. The role and consumption pattern of milk in the traditional diet varies widely in different regions of the world. The tropical countries have not been traditional milk consumers, whereas in Europe (especially Scandinavia) and North America, milk and milk products have been traditional parts of the diet.

There are many environmental risks associated with stubble burning. Thus the adoption of alternative straw management strategies is the best interest of all concerned. Key points when considering harvesting surplus cereal straw are: i) maintain sufficient crop residue on the land to protect the soil from erosion. This can be accomplished by keeping the stubble standing particularly after seeding; ii) harvest surplus crop residue with an appropriate frequency so as not to lower soil organic matter, soil fertility and crop productivity; and iii) fertilize crops according to soil test recommendations. The decision regarding the amount of straw to be removed should be based on the inherent value of the straw for maintaining the viability of the cropping system and protecting the soil resource versus the value of the straw for other uses (e.g., feed and bedding for livestock, industrial strawboard and feedstock for alternative energy forms). The value of retaining the straw on the land is difficult to determine but should be based on a number of factors such as: value of straw for soil erosion control; equivalent fertilizer value of the nutrients contained within the straw; value of the straw for building soil organic matter, soil quality, and soil tilth; and value of the straw for soil moisture conservation (Singh et al., 2003; Singh et al., 2009). At harvest, it is best to chop the straw as fine as possible and spread both the straw and chaff across in the field. A number of equipment have been developed for managing the straw in the field and discussed here.

Indian agriculture is predominantly a rainfed agriculture under which both dry farming and dry land agriculture is included. Dry farming was the earlier concept for which amount of rainfall (less than 500 mm annually) remained the deciding factor for more than 50 years. In modern concept, dry land areas are those where the balance of moisture is always on the deficit side. In other words, annual evapo-transpiration exceeds precipitation. In dry land agriculture, there is no consideration of amount of rainfall. It may appear quiet strange to a layman that even those areas which receive 1100 mm or more rainfall annually fall in the category of dry land agriculture under this concept. The success of crop production in these areas depends on the amount and distribution of rainfall, as these influences the stored soil moisture and moisture used by crops. The amount of water used by the crop and stored in the soil is governed by the water balance equation: ET = P-(R+S). When the balance of the equation shifts towards right, precipitation (P) is higher than ET, so that there may be water logging or it may even lead to run off (R) and flooding (S). On the other hand, if the balance shifts to the left, ET becomes higher then the precipitation, resulting in drought in the various severity. Taking the country as a whole, as per meteorological report, severe drought in large area is experienced once in 50 years and partial drought in five years while floods are expected every year in one part of the country or the other, especially during rainy season. In fact the balance of the equation is controlled by the weather, season, crops and cropping pattern. Out of 142 million ha of net sown area in the country, rainfed agriculture is practiced in 95 million ha (67%). Nearly 67 m ha of rainfed area falls in the mean annual precipitation range of 500-1500 mm.

9.1 Farm Tools and Equipment for Horticulture and Plantation Crops

Agriculture in India is one of the most prominent sectors in its economy. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounts for about 14% of the GDP and employed 60% of the country’s population. About 43% of India’s geographical area is used for agricultural activity. Despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, agriculture is still the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socioeconomic development of India. Nearly 80 percent of the farm population operates smallholdings, the average size of holding being 1.16 ha. Out of a total geographical area of 329 m ha, about 142 m ha constitute the net sown area. Nearly 63 percent of this area is rainfed and its contribution to the overall production is 44%.

Forage harvesting is more complex as compared to grain crops. Forage crop is of great bulk and mass, containing 70-80% water when first harvested. For storage it must be dried, either naturally or artificially, to a safe moisture content of about 20 to 25%. Due to low product value it limits the economic feasibility of mechanization of harvesting operation. The mowers are used to cut the crop and windrow in the field, which is manually collected for further chopping. The forage harvester consists of a combination of plant-cutting unit and a chopping unit and is called field forage harvester. The field forage harvester performs the functions of both row binder and silage cutter, as it severs the standing stalks from the ground and chops them into silage in one continuous operation in the field. It can be grouped into two according to the mechanism used to cut the crop viz. field choppers and flail harvesters.

7.1 Harvesting and threshing equipment for cereal crops

Harvesting and threshing is an important operation in the farming. This can be done either manually or with the help of power operated machinery. Harvesting of field crops continues to be one of the most labour intensive operations in agricultural production system. Harvesting of crop is generally done by hand using sickle in India. Power operated harvesting machinery has not caught up with Indian farmers because of limited size of land holdings, economic constraints and non-uniformity of field conditions. Manual harvesting with different hand tools continues to be dominant, which takes 170-200 man-hours to harvest one hectare of paddy crop. Due to high labour demand at the time of harvesting, the operation continues for weeks together, resulting in over drying of crops in the field causes grain losses to the extent of 5 to 15 percent and even results in loss of crop due to untimely rain during harvesting. Mechanical devices to harvest wheat and paddy crops have become popular especially in northern India to minimize the field losses resulting from shattering, unfavourable weather conditions and pilferage.

Ever since man started domesticating plants and animals for food, feed and fiber, he is facing competition from insects, disease and other pests. The struggle is going to continue as long as man wants plants and animal. The need to save plants/crops from the ravages and depredations of pests and to reduce the losses caused by them became more urgent (Patel, 2004).

India is a predominantly agricultural country and will continue to be so. Neither individuals nor nations can live without agriculture. India is witnessing growth of its agriculture, industry and economy in general, at the same time the population is growing at an alarming pace.

The crop losses by pests in our country are enormous. Chemical control continues to play a major role in crop protection; at the same time it enhances the environmental pollution problem. One has to use chemical control in a precise way by adopting Integrated Pest Management (IPM). In applications of pesticide (which are poisonous), the technique used should be such that minimum quantity of pesticides is applied to cover the Target-Leaf-Foliage with less environment pollution. Water is usually used as a carrier to apply pesticides to the Target-Leaf-Foliage. Beside water, air stream is also used, to carry fine droplet-particles to reach the Target-Leaf-Foliage.

5.1 Weeding and Interculture Equipment

The aim of weeding and intercultivation operation is to provide best opportunity to crop to establish and grow vigorously up to time of maturity. The main objectives of weed control are to improve the soil conditions by reducing evaporation from the soil surface, improve infiltration of rain or surface water, and reduce runoff to maintain ridges or beds on which the crop is grown and to reduce competition of weeds for light, nutrients and water. Mechanical methods of weed control are simple and easily understood by farmers. The tools and implements for mechanical weed control are mostly manual and animal operated. Manual method is most effective but is slow. It is popular in regions where labour wages are low and labour is easily available during the season. The additional cost of weeding using implements is comparatively less than the gains due to extra yields obtained. First weeding operation is mostly done between and along the rows. Remaining operations are done mostly between the rows. Hand hoes are generally used for removing weeds between plants in a row.

4.1 Seeding equipment

Sowing is an art of placing seeds in the soil to have good germination in the field and thereby gives better productivity. Seeding is one of the most important farm operations after soil preparation because the time of sowing and the way in which it is done decisively influence germination of the seed and growth of the seedling during its early stages. This in turn affects the subsequent time of weeding and inter-culture, harvesting and threshing and finally the yield. Seed needs an adequate supply of moisture, temperature, air and protected environment for good germination.

Crop sowing refers to broadcasting seeds on the surface of soil, placement of seeds in the soil or transplanting seedlings in the soil, under optimum conditions. The primary functions of any planting operation are to establish an optimum plant population and spacing, the ultimate goal being to obtain the maximum net return per unit area. Plant population and spacing requirements are affected by various factors such as the crop type and variety, soil type, soil fertility level, soil moisture and row spacing upon the cost and convenience of operations such as thinning, weed control etc. In order to get better returns, the right amount of seed should be placed at the right time and at a predetermined depth and spacing in the soil. Usually the depth of sowing depends upon the moisture availability and seed emergence capacity. The amount of seeds to be sown varies according to the size of seeds, percentage germination etc.

Tillage is a mechanical manipulation of soil to provide favourable condition for crop production. Soil tillage consists of breaking the compact surface of earth to a certain depth and to loosen the soil mass, so as to enable the roots of the crops to penetrate and spread into the soil. A good seedbed is generally considered to imply finer particles and greater firmness in the vicinity of seeds. The depth up to which tillage operations disturb the soil can classify the operation as shallow, medium or deep. The depth of tillage depends on the crop and soil characteristics and also on the source of power or energy available. The optimum seedbed preparation for raising upland crops, involves the many unit operations. Strength of soil is affected by soil moisture content and can be represented in terms of cone index. Compacted soil has more cone index than the loose soils. Movement of machine in the field causes soil compaction. Sometimes it forms hard pan which is to be broken by the tillage operations to enhance root growth and penetration and infiltration of excess water.

Declining water table and degrading soil health are the major concerns for the current growth rate and sustainability of Indian Agriculture. Thus proper emphasis is being given on the management of irrigation water usage for adequate growth of agriculture. Keeping in view, the need for judicious use of our natural resources, concerted efforts are being made to enlighten the farmers for efficient use of irrigation water at farm level. Generally, in rice-wheat rotation farmers believed that their fields are levelled and needed no further levelling, but this is not true. Most of the fields are not adequately levelled and requires further precision land levelling. The enhancement of water use efficiency and farm productivity at field level is one of the best options to redress the problem of declining water level.

Levelling, smoothing and shaping the field surface is as important to the surface irrigation system and as the design of laterals, manifolds, risers and outlets for sprinkler drip irrigation systems. It is a process for ensuring that the depths and discharge variations over the field are relatively uniform and, as a result, that water distributions in the root zone are also uniform. These field operations are required nearly every cropping season, particularly where substantial cultivation following harvest disrupts the field surface. There are basically two types of land levelling viz. (i) to provide a slope which fits a water supply; and (ii) to level the field to its best possible condition with minimal earth movement. The second one is generally the most feasible one, because land levelling is expensive and large earth movements may leave significant areas of the field without fertile topsoil, and is the most economic approach also.

The application of machines to agricultural production has been one of the outstanding developments in world agriculture during last fifty years. The results of this development can be seen in many aspects such as reduction in burden and drudgery of farm work and worker, increase in production per worker, increase in cropping intensity due to timeliness of operations, reduction in grain losses and increase in farm employment. Mechanization is particularly advantageous when it can minimize a high peak labour demand that occurs over a relatively short period of time each year. For example, sowing of wheat and harvesting of paddy in the months of October and November, transplanting of paddy in the month of June and harvesting of wheat in the months of April and May. Severe labour shortages and high rate of wages during peak period, together with simultaneous demands for increased agricultural production had a marked influence on the mechanization of certain farm operations such as seedbed preparation, sowing/planting/transplanting, harvesting and threshing. Mechanization encourages better management of farms, improvement in working conditions and performance of jobs that would otherwise be difficult by hand. It also helps in reducing the cost of production.

X engine: An in line engine with the cylinder block so arranged around the crankshaft that they resemble the letter X when the engine is viewed from the end.

Walking machine: A machine designed to carry its operator over various types of terrain; the operator sits on a platform carried on four mechanical legs, and movement of his arms control the front leg of the machine while movement of his legs control the rear legs of the machine.

Wane: Wane is a defect in a timber or plank.

Washer: A small, flat, perforated disk, used to secure the tightness of a joint, screw, etc.

Washer cutter: A device having a fixed center and either one or two adjustable cutting points for cutting washers from leather, rubber, etc.

Waste heat: Energy, that must be dissipated to the atmosphere from a process such as the heat transferred from condensing steam in the condenser of a steam power plant.

Waste spark system: An ignition system, that energizes the spark each time the piston is at top dead center whether or not the piston is on the compression stroke or on its exhaust stroke. For hydrogen engines, the waste sparks are a source of pre-ignition.

Water (H₂O): 1. A colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid byproduct of the combining of hydrogen and oxygen, 2. The liquid form of steam and ice. Fresh water at atmospheric pressure is used as a standard for describing the relative density of liquids, the standard for liquid capacity, and the standard for fluid flow. 3. The melting and boiling points of water are the basis for the Celsius temperature system. 4. Water is the only substance that expands on freezing as well as by heating, and has a maximum density at 4°C.

V belt: An endless power transmission belt with a trapezoidal cross section, which runs in a pulley with a V-shaped groove. The top surface of the belt approximately flush with to top of pulley. V belt transmits higher torque at less width and tension than a flat belt.

V blocks: Metal blocks cut ‘V’ shaped on one side to permit holding cylindrical work while machining or testing.

V type engine: An engine with cylinder blocks arranged in a ‘V’ shape. One crankshaft serves both banks of cylinders.

Vacuum: Negative gauge pressure, or a pressure less than atmospheric pressure. Vacuum can be measured in psi, but is usually measured in inches or millimeters of mercury (Hg); a reading of 30 in. Hg (762 mm Hg) would indicate a perfect vacuum.

U clamp: A clamp shaped like the letter ‘U’ used for clamping down work on planer beds.

Ultimate strength: The highest unit stress that can be sustained, this occurring just at or just before rupture in stress strain diagram.

Ultrasonic drilling: A vibration drilling method in which ultrasonic vibrations are generated by the compression and extension of a core of electrostatic or magneto static material in a rapidly alternating electric or magnetic field.

Ultrasonic machining: The removal of material by abrasive bombardment and crushing in which a flat-ended tool of soft alloy steel is made to vibrate at a frequency of about 20,000 Hz and an amplitude of 0.001-0.003 inch (0.0254-0.0762 millimeter) while a fine abrasive of silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, or boron carbide is carried by a liquid between tool and work.

Uniform: Implies no change with location over a specified region.

T bolt: A bolt shaped like the letter “T, the head being a transverse piece, which fits into the recessed under cut T slots, as on a table of a milling machine or planning machine.

T head engine: A cross section of an engine block resembles the letter T. Valves are arranged on both sides of the engine; requiring two camshafts and two camshafts drive gears. An expensive type of construction.

Tachometer: An instrument for measuring the speeds of shafts in revolutions per minute.

Tail pulley: A pulley at the tail of the belt conveyor opposite the normal discharge end; may be drive pulley or an idler pulley.

Tail screw: The screw, which operates the spindle of the tailstock on a lathe.

Taillight: A signal light, required by law to be carried on the rear of every automobile, and lighted when the car is driven at night.

Tailstock: The movable head of a lathe as distinguished from the headstock, which is fixed.

Take up: A tensioning device in a belt conveyor system for taking up slack of loose parts.