eChapters

Introduction
 
Poor nutrient use efficiency result in loss of nearly 0.8 million tonnes of nitrogen, 1.8 million tonnes of phosphorus and 26.3 million tonnes of potassium annually. Soil health is further deteriorated by imbalanced application of nutrients and excessive mining of micronutrients, leading to deficiency of macro- and micronutrients in the soils (ICAR Vision 2030). Due to the imbalanced use of plant nutrients, mining of nutrients is considered as the main cause for decline in crop yield and crop response ratio.

Introduction

Spice – definition and uses

SPICES are aromatic or pungent vegetable substances, used as whole, broken, or ground form, whose function in food is seasoning rather than nutrition and commonly used as a condiment. It may be a dried seed, fruit, root, rhizome, bark or vegetative substance or flower bud. American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) defines spices as “any dried plant product used primarily for seasoning purposes”. Included are tropical aromatics (pepper, cinnamon, cloves, etc.), leafy herbs (basil, oregano, marjoram, etc.), spice seeds (sesame, poppy, mustard, etc.) and dehydrated vegetables (onions, garlic, etc.). Many spices have other uses like food preservation, medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics, and perfumery or as vegetables.

Trees rise towards the sky, beautiful symbol of Nature’s aspiration for light. Sri Aurobindo writes “When the sun sets and all become silent, sit down under a tree for a moment and put yourself into communication with Nature: you will feel rising from the earth, from below roots of the trees and mounting upwards and coursing through their fibres upto the highest outstretching branches, the aspiration of an intense love and longing, - a longing for something that brings light and gives happiness. There is a yearning so pure and intense that if you can feel the movement in the trees, your own being too will go up in an ardent prayer for the peace and light and love that are unmanifested here”.

The cultural history of India is associated with religious believes and any emphasis on arguments dealing with plant-man-God relationship appeals to people even today. This attitude prevails throughout India and many places of worship have continued to preserve in situ biodiversity of specific species of plants.

The early inhabitants of our country were very conscious of the placement of their dwellings in beautiful surroundings. The best examples are from the West Coast, where the houses were traditionally constructed in the midst of gardens. The Arab traveller and historian, Ibn Batuta, in his itinerary in coastal Malabar recorded their picturesque beauty, as early as in the 10th century AD. The whole compound was planted with trees, which were useful and aesthetic in appeal. The scholarly elite used trees and shrubs mentioned in Kalidasa’s work in their planting schemes. Through the tree and foliage, a path is formed to the main village.

Trees alone on the earth give happiness both here and hereafter. Since they “save” from abject poverty they are named “taravah” (the saviors). Therefore, the trees should be carefully nurtured as through their shade, flowers and fruits they help immensely in the pursuit of dharma, artha, and kama (Vrikshayurveda).

What is the use of several trees grown in the forest? A single tree by the way side is far better where under people can rest (Vrikshayurveda).

The towns and villages are made more healthy, more beautiful and more efficient by well planned streets with avenue planting. There is no doubt that, an impressive avenue gives any property the special distinction that it desires. In the past, Emperor Ashoka and Mughal rulers paid attention to roadside planting. Avenue trees primarily provide shade and act as windbreaks, weather conditioners-by purifying and humidifying the air, check radiation of heat and obstruct glare, limit noise and enhance the beauty of the street where they are planted. Roadside planting has two aspects; beauty and utility and both these aspects should be combined. This requires a thorough knowledge of plant material and imagination in planning.

What is the use of several trees grown in the forest? A single tree by the way side is far better where under people can rest (Vrikshayurveda).

The towns and villages are made more healthy, more beautiful and more efficient by well planned streets with avenue planting. There is no doubt that, an impressive avenue gives any property the special distinction that it desires. In the past, Emperor Ashoka and Mughal rulers paid attention to roadside planting. Avenue trees primarily provide shade and act as windbreaks, weather conditioners-by purifying and humidifying the air, check radiation of heat and obstruct glare, limit noise and enhance the beauty of the street where they are planted. Roadside planting has two aspects; beauty and utility and both these aspects should be combined. This requires a thorough knowledge of plant material and imagination in planning.

Urbanization coupled with industrial development creates problems of environment like air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and civic ugliness. Of late, there is a greater awareness of environmental issues and increasing understanding of several attributes of vegetation. This led to an intensification of activity in the field of landscape horticulture to combat pollution and create an aesthetic environment for recreation and healthy living. Planning and execution of landscape projects for different urban locations should be done to meet both aesthetic and ecological requirements.

Trees are perennial in nature and are valuable elements in a landscape. Trees provide shade, privacy and beauty but a tree in a wrong place may create problem in years to come. To avoid this, care should be taken while selecting trees for landscape. The ultimate size and shape of the mature tree, how much annual maintenance it requires, location and purpose are major considerations while selecting a tree. Matured tree height and tree diameter should fit it into the space when tree is planted. Shape of canopy, colour of flower and season of flowering are also to be considered.

Moniliformis means ‘like a string of beads’ signifying the arrangement of flowers on the spike. The tree is native of tropical Australia. It is valued for afforestation and beautification. It grows in warm climate under both dry and moist atmosphere. It is a medium-sized, thornless, quick growing, evergreen tree of 13 to 15 m height.

Leaves: True leaves are present only in early seedling stage. The apparent leaves are the modified midrib called phyllode, leathery, sickle-shaped, tapered at each end, up to 18 cm long and 6 cm broad; nerves parallel.

Bonsai first appeared in China over a thousand years ago on a very basic scale, known as pun-sai, where it was the practice of growing single specimen trees in pots. These early specimens displayed sparse foliage and rugged gnarled trunks which often looked like animals, dragons and birds.

With Japan’s adoption of many cultural trademarks of China, bonsai was also introduced to Japan during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) by means of Zen Buddhism, which at that time was rapidly spreading around Asia. Once bonsai was introduced into Japan, the art was refined to an extent not yet approached in China. Over time, bonsai, which was confined to the Buddhist monks and their monasteries, were introduced as a symbol of prestige and honour. It became an important part of Japanese life by being displayed on specially designed shelves.  For the Japanese, bonsai represents a fusion of strong ancient beliefs with the Eastern philosophies of the harmony between man, the soul and nature.

Renewable energy sources, are the sources of power that quickly replenish and which can be used again and again. For this reason they are sometimes called energy resources. The main sources of renewable energy and their advantages and disadvantages are :

Solar
Energy from sunlight is captured in solar panels and converted into electricity.  Potentially it is an infinite source of energy supply, but the solar panels are costly.

Vedic literature indicates that the energy in the universe gets transmitted into the human body through star galaxies. The star galaxies of our universe are divided into 27 parts each signified by a particular star (nakshatra). Every human being is assigned to a particular star by virtue of his birth time.  Each star is associated with a tree. The tree associated with his star gives the universal energy to the human being. Thus astrology gives us a chance to identify the tree which is auspicious to us, being associated with our birth star. When one plants the tree associated with his birth star near his dwelling, it will bring good luck and prosperity to him.

The present era is rightly termed as an “Information era”. Therefore, information and wide access to it is considered as wealth. People want adequate and authentic information as early as possible. In recent years, information delivery system has been changed from old ways to the modern ways. At the present time information and communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly being used as effective tool for reaching and delivering professional services among urban and rural communities. Yet the benefits of the information revolution are still much debated, particularly, in case of developing countries like India. There is a growing concern about the gap between the information “haves and have not’s”, which will continue to grow unless the developing countries acquire the infrastructure and resources to access these new ICTs.

A tool is a handheld item that aids in accomplishing a task. It is an instrument or machine that aids in achieving a task. Tools are something you use to do a job. ICT tools that can be used for betterment of Agriculture Research, Education and Extension are discussed here.

    1.    Computer: Computer is an advanced electronic device that takes raw data as input from the users and processes these data under the control of set of instructions (called progamme) and gives the result (output) and saves output for the further use. It can process both numerical and non-numerical (arithmetic and logical) calculations.

What is Computer Network?

A computer network is a collection of computers and devices connected to each other. The network allows computers to communicate with each other and share resources and information. The Advance Research Projects Agency (ARPA) designed “Advanced Research Projects Agency Network” (ARPANET) for the United States Department of Defence. It was the first computer network in the world in late 1960’s and early 1970’s

A cellular phone is also known as a mobile phone, cell phone, portable phone and a hand phone. It is a device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone network.

The cell phone was invented by Dr. Martin Cooper who led a team of developers at Motorola and made the first cell phone call in April 3, 1973 at Motorola.

Today, cell phones are becoming capable of doing almost anything a computer is capable to do. Below, are few examples of what a phone can do?

There are many problems in the fields and offices for which we seek the advice of an expert. We recognize persons and experts not only for their knowledge through study but also their ability to apply the knowledge very effectively by virtue of the experience gained over a period of time. The need for experts increases in both dimensions as numbers as well as in the spheres to which expertise is needed. The sphere in which the opinion of an expert can influence decisions or actions is referred to as the domain of the expert. For last few years application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has brought revolution in many fields. It is the need of the hour that we explore the possibility and the fields of application in agriculture to acquire maximum benefit from the most promising technology of this information era. ICT is one of the thrust areas in the list given by the planning commission (Now Policy Commission), where emphasis can be given to increase the production and productivity of agriculture commodities. During last 50 years, lot of research has been done in the field of Agriculture, which has not been properly extended to the farmers. ICT could be applied as a means in extending the technologies brought up by National Agricultural Research System (NARS) to the farmers.

Introduction

The world is said to be a global village organizations and people must learn, unlearn and relearn to expand their capacities and survive in the highly competitive market place. In view of rapidly changing socio–economic circumstance, it is a challenge to survive, excel and grow. It is knowledge which can make difference in getting the competitive edge. Thus, organizations need to pool their internal knowledge and find ways to update, enhance, share and create value. Organizations need to analyze their collective knowledge and use them most efficiently. Need for new and new technology is driving people to innovate in every sphere.

The vision 2020 document of the Department of Agriculture and Co-operation envisages that “the tools of ICT will provide networking of Agriculture Sector not only in the country but also globally and the Centre and State Government Departments will have reservoir of databases” and also “bring farmers, researchers, scientists and administrators together by establishing ”Agriculture Online” through exchange of ideas and information”. To get realize the vision 2020 a large number of agriculture based websites and web portals have been established in India which is working for wellbeing of farming community. Majority of agricultural websites and web portals are providing need based technological information to the farmers as well as extension professionals. To revitalize our extension system these web based services can be used as ICT tool by extension personnel and farmers also. Therefore, to get access services from these websites and web portals or to replicate these ideologies in other part of country, elementary knowledge of working process and services available on these websites & web portals is essential. This chapter will provide a brief description about major ICT based projects dedicated to Indian farmers.

Like many other developing countries, agriculture is the primary occupation of the rural people of North East India. They depend on farming but because of the nature of practices followed, it hardly goes beyond subsistence and so agricultural extension is an important thing in their lives. But in this particular part of the country basically because of the topography which makes it difficult to reach the clusters of villages deep in the hills, forests and valleys, it becomes more and more important to use technologies that reach them like mobile phones, TV and radio. Agricultural information is not something that is needed 24X7 round the year but require on the critical times of the year like before sowing seasons advisories, forecasting diseases and pests when the crop is standing in the field and during harvesting.

A mobile phone often referred to as a cellular phone or cell phone is an electronic telecommunication device that can make and receive telephone calls through radio wave or satellite transmission whilst moving around a wide geographic area. Most mobile phones provide voice communications, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), short range wireless communication (Infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, gaming, photography and internet services such as web browsing and e-mail. Mobile communication technology has become the world’s most common way of transmitting voice, data and services, and no other technology has ever spread so fast. The mobile phone is especially important for India because it is growing here faster.

Touch Screen Kiosks
 
A touch screen is a device, which allows users to control a Personal Computer by simply touching the display screen by finger or pin. This type of input is suitable for a large number of computing applications. Most PC systems use a touch screen as easily as other input devices such as track balls or touch pads. If a touch screen computer system is installed at the kiosk it is known as touch screen kiosk. It may be Just like ATMs or modern plasma TV set which are developed as information kiosk and the information are made available to the users. A visitor can see the visuals and interact with kiosk to get the desired information. He can elicit the expert information by pressing keys or touching icons. Users can also follow the method of application of any technology through seeing of clippings at touch screen kiosk. In the touch screen kiosks, information is made accessible in the form of images, voice, video, graphics and texts. A large number of touch screen kiosks have been established by Indian railway, government offices, Banks and private companies where by touch of finger users can get access to various services (G2C and B2C) offered by the organization or company.

ICTs are emerging as very important tools for agricultural extension and it is now essential for every extension worker to have working knowledge of ICT tools and devices like computers, internet, mobile phone, kisan call center, information kiosks, e-mails, expert systems, touch screen systems, mobile telephony and World Wide Web. Keeping in mind wide scope of ICT application in agriculture, the entire study entitled “Status and prospects of ICT application in agriculture through extension functionaries” was undertaken with following specific objectives.

(+)sense RNA (plus-sense RNA)     :    A virus with a single-stranded RNA genome of the same polarity (‘sense’) as mrna.

B    :    Born.     
B cell, also known as a B lymphocyte      :    One of the major types of cells in the immune system. B cells can differentiate to form memory cells or antibody-forming cells. OR A type of lymphocyte derived from bone marrow stem cells that matures into an immunologically competent cell under the influence of the bursa of Fabricius in the chicken and bone marrow in nonavian species. Following interaction with antigen, it becomes a plasma cell, which synthesizes and secretes antibody molecules involved in humoral immunity.

C    :    Cytosine.
C domains    :    The constant regions of the polypeptide chains of immunoglobulin molecules are made up of one or more constant domains or C domains of similar structure; each immunoglobulin chain also has a single variable or V domain.

D gene segments, diversity gene segments     :    D gene segments, or diversity gene segments, are short DNA sequences that join the V and J gene segments in rearranged immunoglobulin heavy-chain genes and in T-cell receptor â and ä chain genes. See gene segments.    
D loop    :    An extended loop of single-stranded DNA displaced from a duplex structure by an oligonucleotide.

E    :    Reduction potential.    
Early induced responses    :    The early induced responses or early nonadaptive responses are a series of host defense responses that are triggered by infectious agents early in infection. They are distinct from innate immunity because there is an inductive phase, and from adaptive immunity in that they do not operate by clonal selection of rare antigen-specific lymphocytes.

F    :    Faraday constant. OR Food - represents BOD in the F/M ratio. Expressed in pounds.

F factor    :    The fertility factor, a plasmid that carries the genes for bacterial conjugation and makes its E. coli host cell the gene donor during conjugation. OR A large bacterial plasmid, known as the sex-factor plasmid because it permits mating between F+ and F- bacteria. 

G    :    Gibbs free energy OR Guanine.

G proteins    :    G proteins are intracellular proteins that bind GTP and convert it to GDP in the process of cell signal transduction. There are two kinds of G protein, the heterotrimeric (α,β, γ) receptor-associated G proteins, and the small G proteins, such as Ras and Raf, that act downstream of many transmembrane signaling events.

H    :    Hour.

H    :    Planck’s constant.

H antigens, histocompatibility antigens   :    H antigens or histocompatibility antigens, are known as major histocompatibility antigens when they encode molecules that present foreign peptides to T cells and as minor H antigens when they present polymorphic self peptides to T cells. See also histocompatibility.

I&D    :    Incision and drainage.     
I&E    :    Internal and external.     
I&O    :    Intake and output.     
I.P. (IP)    :    Intraperitoneal .    
I.V. (IV)    :    Intravenous.

J    :    Joule.

J    :    Joining segment.

J chain      :    A polypeptide present in polymeric IgM and IgA that links the subunits together.
    
J gene segments, joining gene segments     :    The J gene segments, or joining gene segments, are found some distance 5' to the C genes in immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor loci. A V and in the case of IgH chains, tcrâ chains and tcrä chains, a D gene segment must also rearrange to a J gene segment to form a complete V-region exon.

K    :    Kilo (10³g).
 
K    :    Potassium.

KA    :    Ketoacidosis.

Karlvon Baer    :    Person who‚ in 1828‚ published on the developmental stages in mammalian eggs and showed that an undifferentiated‚ single-celled egg grows into a many-celled embryo.

K    :    Kilo (10³g).

K    :    Potassium.

KA    :    Ketoacidosis.

Karlvon Baer    :    Person who‚ in 1828‚ published on the developmental stages in mammalian eggs and showed that an undifferentiated‚ single-celled egg grows into a many-celled embryo.

M    :    Milli (10^-3l).

M    :    Molar (mol/L).

M    :    Microorganisms - small organisms which require a microscope to be seen. M represents the SS in the mixed liquor and is part of the F/M ratio. 

N    :    Avogadro’s number.

N    :    Nano (10^-9m).

N&M    :    Nerves and muscles.
   
N&T    :    Nose and throat.

N&V    :    Nausea and vomiting.
    
NA    :    Nucleic acid.

O    :    Pint.

O antigen      :    A polysaccharide antigen extending from the outer membrane of some gram-negative bacterial cell walls; it is part of the lipopolysaccharide.

O&E    :    Observation and examination.

Oa    :    Open access.

P    :    Phosphate.

p    :    Pico (10^-12).

P&S    :    Permanent and stationary.

PO    :    Per oral; by mouth (see also IV; IP;).

PA    :    Postero-anterior; pulmonary artery.
   
PAC    :    P1-derived artificial chromosome.

Q    :    Ubiquinone (coq).

Q    :    Every.

Q fever      :    An acute zoonotic disease caused by the rickettsia Coxiella burnetii.

R    :    Gas constant.

R factors  R plasmids      :    Plasmids bearing one or more drug resistant genes.

R group    :    Shorthand for the side chain of an amino acid. 

S    :    Second.

S    :    Sedimentation coefficient. OR Svedberg unit.

S phase    :    The period during the cell cycle when the chromosome is replicated.

S7P    :    Sedoheptulose-7-phosphate.

T    :    Thymine

T    :    TH1 cells are a subset of CD4 T cells that are characterized by the cytokines they produce. They are mainly involved in activating macrophages, and are sometimes called inflammatory CD4 T cells. OR TH2 cells are a subset of CD4 T cells that are characterized by the cytokines they produce. They are mainly involved in stimulating B cells to produce antibody, and are often called helper CD4 T cells. OR The term TH3 cell has been used to describe unique cells that produce mainly transforming growth factor-â in response to antigen; they develop predominantly in the mucosal immune response to antigens that are presented orally. OR See regulatory T cells.

U    :    Units.

U&L    :    Upper and lower.

U&MNP    :    Ulnar and median nerve palsy.

U/O    :    Under observation for.
  
U/WB    :    Unit of whole blood.

UA    :    Umbilical artery; uric acid; urinalysis.
   
UC    :    Ulcerative colitis; unchanged; unconscious. 

V    :    Volt.

V domain    :    The variable region of the polypeptide chains of an immunoglobulin or T-cell receptor is composed of a single N-terminal V domain. Paired V domains form the antigen-binding sites of immunoglobulins and T-cell receptors.

W    :    Watt.

W&D    :    Warm and dry.

W/A    :    Weakness atrophy.
    
W/C    :    Wheelchair.
    
W/E    :    Wound of entry.
    
W/U    :    Workup. 

X    :    Times; power; multiplied by.

Xenobiotic    :    Compound foreign to biological systems. Often refers to humanmade compounds that are resistant or recalcitrant to biodegradation and decomposition.

Climate change impacts on agriculture are being witnessed all over the world, but countries like India are more vulnerable in view of the high population that depends on agriculture and excessive pressure on natural resources. The warming trend in India over the past 100 years (1901 to 2007) was observed to be 0.51°C with accelerated warming of 0.21oC per every 10 years since 1970 (Kumar, 2009). The projected impacts are likely to further aggravate the yield fluctuations of many crops with impact on food security and prices. Climate change impacts are likely to vary in different parts of the country. Parts of western Rajasthan, Southern Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Northern Karnataka, Northern Andhra Pradesh and Southern Bihar are likely to be more vulnerable in terms of extreme events (Mall et al., 2006).