eChapters

Introduction

Seed pathology has been recognized as its own specialization for a relatively brief time, and the term “Seed Pathology” was first coined by Mary Noble in the 1940 (Agarwal and Sinclair, 1997). Seed pathology is an essential part of seed technology as well as a sub discipline of plant pathology. According toAgarwal and Sinclair (1997), it may be defined as the study of seed borne disease and pathogens carried with seed. It also includes studies on the mechanisms of seed infection, seed transmission, the role of seed borne inoculum in disease development, methods for the detection of seed borne pathogens and non-pathogens, seed certification standards, mycotoxins and mycotoxicoses, and various methods for control of seed borne disease. Seed pathology includes the study of diseases and deterioration caused by bacteria, fungi, nematodes, viroids, viruses, physiological and mechanical disorders.

Neergaard Paul is considered the father of seed pathology. He was one of the founding father and later served as Director of the Danish Government Institute of Seed Pathology for Developing Countries, Copenhagen, Denmark, from 1956 to 1974. He served as the Chairman of the Plant Disease Committee of the International Seed testing Association (ISTA). During his tenure as Chair of ISTA, he helped standardize methods for the detection of seed borne fungi.Neergaard (1977) authored a two-volume text entitled “A Seed Pathology”. This text has served as a reference and teaching standard for the science of seed pathology throughout the world (Agarwal and Sinclair, 1997). This text focused on a wide variety of seed pathology issues, ranging from the economic significance of seed borne diseases to the assessment of seed borne inoculum.

Echeveria derenbergii DC (Crussulaceae): Eng.- Painted Lady [NI]. A succulent house plant and green house perennial grown for its succulent coloured leaves which are arranged in rosettes. The orange coloured flowers appear in July on raised stem branches

Artificial intelligence (AI) uses multiple technologies that equip machines to sense, comprehend, plan, act, and learn with human-like levels of intelligence. Fundamentally, AI systems perceive environments, recognize objects, contribute to decision making, solve complex problems, learn from past experiences, and imitate patterns. AI technologies such as deep learning allow computer systems to understand a problem, learn from examples, and make predictions.

The AI has a tremendous potential to solve the diverse application problems in the field of domestic animal breeding and management. Till date, most of the studies have been focused on animal behaviour (Valletta, et al., 2017), cognition (Lake et al., 2017), animal welfare (Neethirajan, 2021), individual identification (Norouzzadeh et al., 2018), growth or body condition scoring (Zin et al., 2020), disease detection and its monitoring (Kumar et al., 2021), precision farm management (Radun et al., 2021) etc. particularly in the pigs, poultry and cattle species. These AI based applications primarily involves data generation, data processing, use of gadgets / IoT devices, development of smart machine learning algorithms and their integration to attain precision to solve various issues in animal husbandry. Having said that, very few works have been carried out with respect to applications of AI in domestic animal breeding, and major problems like breed identification, genomics- based animal selection criteria and breeding decision, are yet to be automated. Moreover, there are some bottlenecks in application of AI in animal breeding, like the lower accuracy of a decision/outcome and large cost involved in creating AI based infrastructure.

1. Anthracnose or Fruit Rot and Die Back
Diagnostic Symptoms
The disease occurs in two forms: the die back and the ripe -rot Die back symptoms
• Small, circular to irregular, brownish black scattered spots appear on leaves.
• Severely infected leaves defoliate.
• Infection of growing tips leads to necrosis of branches from tip backwards.
• Necrotic tissues appear grayish white with black dot like acervuli in the center.
• Shedding of flowers due to the infection at pedicel and tips of branches.
Fruit symptoms
• Ripe fruits are more liable for attack than the green ones.
• Small, circular, yellowish to pinkish sunken spots appear on fruits.

Meteorology is not merely the study of weather patterns; it is a critical science that intersects agriculture and allied sectors in numerous ways. In a world where food security is intimately tied to climatic variability, understanding the basic principles of meteorology is essential for both traditional farming practices and modern integrated food production systems. This chapter explores the foundational concepts of weather and climate, examines the atmospheric dynamics that directly impact agricultural systems, and contrasts historical meteorological practices with modern forecasting approaches. By delving into these topics, we can better appreciate how the environment influences agricultural productivity and how innovative meteorological tools can improve decision-making in the food production chain. Weather describes the state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. It is the sum of short-term atmospheric conditions such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, and visibility. In contrast, climate refers to the long-term average of weather patterns over a period of decades or more. Understanding this distinction is crucial for agriculture, as farmers and allied sector professionals must respond to immediate weather events (such as sudden frost or heavy rainfall) while also adapting to long-term climatic trends (like gradual temperature increases or shifting precipitation patterns).

Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was first reported in the 12^th century as a hemorrhagic syndrome in present day Tajikistan. However, in the modern era, the first outbreak of the CCHF was reported in 1944-1945 in the Crimea region with more than 200 cases and the disease was called Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever. Ten years later in 1956, the virus was isolated from a febrile patient in Belgian Congo and this isolate was noted to have the same antigenic structure with the Crimean strains. For this reason, the virus was called Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever. Nowadays, outbreaks of CCHF have been documented in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Western Asia including India. CCHF is a severe hemorrhagic fever with a case fatality rate of up to 50%.

Etiology: It is a tick-borne viral disease belonging to the family Bunyaviridae, genus Nairovirus. Like other Nairoviruses, CCHF virus is an enveloped single stranded negative-sense RNA virus and its tripartite genome consists of a small (S), a medium (M) and large (L) segment which encode for the nucleocapsid protein (NP), the envelope glycoproteins G1 and G2 and an RNA-dependent polymerase, respectively. The virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks or by direct contact with viremic animals or humans. Infected humans can spread the disease via close contacts which may result in community outbreaks and nosocomial infections. It is an important human pathogen and could be used as a bioterrorism agent.

Pathogenesis: The pathogenesis of CCHF is not well understood. A common pathogenic feature of hemorrhagic fever viruses is their ability to disable the host immune response by attacking and manipulating the cells that initiate the antiviral response. This damage is characterized by marked replication of the virus together with dysregulation of the vascular system and lymphoid organs. Endothelial damage contributes to hemostatic failure by stimulating platelet aggregation and degranulation, with consequent activation of the intrinsic coagulation cascade. DIC is noted as an early and prominent feature of the disease process. In another study, the levels of interleukin IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-alpha were higher among patients who subsequently died as compared to survivors. The DIC score was higher among fatal cases, correlating positively with IL-6 and TNF alpha levels, and negatively with IL-10 levels. These findings demonstrate that proinflammatory cytokines play a major role in pathogenesis and mortality of patients with CCHF.

Abstract

Agro-food industries generate a large amount of by-products and wastes. These byproducts and wastes have a negative impact in terms of the environmental concern due to the increase of pollutant disposal, and industrial sustainability because of high costs related to their management. These byproducts and wastes are rich in minerals, sugars and proteins. The composition and characteristics of wastes from different food processing industries vary and rely upon the production technique and the nature of the product. India is the second largest producer of rice/paddy in the world and the utilization of rice bran is gaining importance. However, a small fraction of these have been utilized. In case of fruits and vegetables, industrial processing of potato generates between 70 and 140 thousand tons of peels worldwide annually. Moreover, 37% of world’s total annual production of banana is shared by India. Hence, to minimize the disposal fees and trash collection new policies and methods have been developed for handling and treatment of wastes and byproducts. This chapter envisages the status of different agro-food industrial byproducts and wastes for the development of different food and non-food products.

Symbolic to its nomenclature, ’PULSE’ (P = people, U = umbrella, L = livestock, S = soil and E = energy) is a superb group of agricultural crops extending an energy umbrella to people (as a major source of dietary protein), livestock (as a green nutritious fodder and feed) and soil (as a builder and restorer of soil fertility through biological N₂ fixation). On account of these qualities, pulses have occupied a unique position in the Indian farming system. Crop diversification with greater inclusion of legumes is essential to alleviate declining factor productivity, input use efficiency and increasing cost of cultivation for realizing sustainable use of natural resources. Pulses are increasingly becoming a component of the intensive cropping systems as intercrop, substitute crop or catch crop. In upland situations, pulses play an important role as intercrops and ensure more income and efficient use of resources. While analyzing the reasons of low productivity of pulses in various parts of the country, it is observed that non availability of high yielding disease resistant varieties, cultivation on marginal and sub-marginal lands under deficit moisture and fertility and poor pest management are the major constraints in realizing optimum yield potential.

INTRODUCTION

Potato ranks third among the major food crops after wheat and rice in the world. It is most important and versatile food of the world. India is second largest potato producer next to china.Potatois bulky and watery in nature and requires lot of energy for production and processing. It is a shortduration crop of 90-120 days, having highest yield per ay per unit area as compared to other major crops. Being a relatively short duration crop in the plains of India, its mechanization assumes a special importance in order to accomplish various farmoperations inverylimited time foritshigherproduction.Manualproduction of potato is time consuming and tedius job, it requires about 1600-2000 man-hours per hectare. With the rising cost of production and depleting energy reserves, increase in crop productivity with minimum input of energy and cost one of the paramount concerns (Garg and Singh 2002). Sustenance of agriculturalproductivitygoes handin handwith mechanization of differentfarm operations, which aims at achieving timeliness of operations, efficientuseof inputs safety and comfort of farmers, reduction in cost of produce and drudgery of farmers (Verma et. al, 1992).With the emergence of new crop rotations and enhanced cropping intensity, many farmers experience scarcity of time and labour. Mechanization plays an important role in timely completing farm operations involved in potato production. It implies a resource management strategy to increase productivity and economic returns. Efforts have been made at various levels to mechanise both production and processing. Various mechanical tools, implements and machinery have been developed for land development, fertilizer application, planting, weeding, harvesting, preparation for storage and on-farm processing of potato (Singh and Gulati 2014).

CALCIUM

Calcium is important in imparting structure and permeability to cell membrane. Deficiency produces general breakdown of membrane structure. Calcium enhances the uptake of NO₃ ^– N and interrelated with NO₃ ^– metabolism. It regulates cation uptake, required for cell elongation and cell division. Deficiency causes failure of terminal buds and apical tips of roots to develop. Blossom end rot of tomato, bitter pit of apples are due to calcium deficiency. Calcium is beneficial in imparting good soil structure.

It is immobile in plant. Very little translocation of calcium in the phloem is observed. Hence there is poor supply of calcium to fruits and storage organs. Downward translocation of calcium is also limited. Hence roots fail to enter the low calcium soils.

The first use of milk in a solid chocolate product is commonly attributed to Daniel Peter in 1875. Milk chocolate is the most popular type of chocolate, and milk ingredients are critical in delivering the highly desired properties and taste profile to consumers. Milk ingredients also have a significant effect on chocolate processing.

Milk is one of the most complex raw materials used by the food industry. A typical bovine whole milk has a solids content of about 13.5%, comprising about 3.4% protein, 4.6% fat, 4.7% lactose and 0.7% minerals.

Milk proteins can be classified as either caseins or whey proteins - typically found in milk

Introduction

Insect pests cause a loss of 18-26% of global yearly agricultural yields. A wide range of the losses 13-16% occur in the field prior to harvest. Furthermore, post-harvest pests are responsible for a significant portion of agricultural product storage losses. Poor management practises might result in the loss of 50-60% of stored grains over the storage period of time.Farmers have used chemical pesticides to control insect pests for many years but the effects on non-target organisms, groundwater contamination, residues on food crops and the emergence of insect pests resistant to chemical pesticides have forced scientists to concentrate on the development of alternative eco-friendly measures.

Key Points

• Dogs exhibit respiratory distress symptoms more frequently than cats.

• Respiratory distress might have overt or covert clinical symptoms.

• The thorax and belly move paradoxically in cases of severe respiratory distress.

• Immediate intubation is the first step in managing a respiratory emergency: opening the airway.

Introduction

The telltale symptoms of "oxygen hunger" include tachypnea, stretched head and neck, abducted elbows, flare of the nares, cyanosis, open-mouth breathing, anxiety, and inability to lie down or relax. It is more usual for dogs than cats to exhibit symptoms of respiratory distress. Tachypnea and conspicuous breathing motions when in a sternal recumbency position are the only indications of respiratory dysfunction in cats, who often mask the severity of their illness. Despite their seeming stability, these patients are often extremely vulnerable and can rapidly decompensate when under stress.

Entrepreneur is a person who takes the responsibility of initiating and establishing an enterprise or an organisation under conditions of uncertainty.

Some of the essential qualities of entrepreneurs are as follows

1. Creativity
2. Passion
3. Motivation
4. Product or service knowledge
5. Ability to network
6. Self-confidence
7. Optimism
8. Vision
9. Goal mindset
10. Risk-taking
11. Persuasiveness
12. Decision-making
13. Tenacity
14. Money management
15. Adaptability

Probably since the beginning of human life on the planet, they have used local fruits and vegetables. For a long time, they have enjoyed the fruit of the wild trees without knowing how to successfully produce them. Such native fruit trees have many advantages. These trees have an extraordinary genetic diversity that can be exploited in breeding programs and genetic advancement of domestic varieties (Khadivi et al., 2020). Many indigenous fruits are still highly valuable, and the harvesting and selling of these forest fruits contribute significantly to the local economy of families in the area. The product collected from forest trees is completely healthy and in terms of quality, they may even be equal to “organic fruits”. In a most recently published book chapter entitled organic pomegranate production in Iran, compiled by Alizadeh and Varasteh (2024), wild pomegranates were considered as noble source of healthy food. Given the multifunctional, ubiquitous nature of wild edible fruits the present chapter was compiled to introduce wild fruit trees of northern Iran with a focus on providing more detailed information about wild pomegranates.
Geographical Aspects of Northern Iran Northern Iran
is a geographical region encompassing a relatively large and fertile area, located along the southern border of the Caspian Sea and the Alborz Mountains. Upon closer examination of the map of Iran (Fig. 1), one can identify three northern provinces: Golestan, Mazandaran, and Gilan. These provinces all share borders with the Caspian Sea and the Alborz Mountains. The Alborz mountain range extends from the western border with the Republic of Azerbaijan to the eastern border with Turkmenistan (Fig.1).

Introduction

In the existing socio-economic scenario, economic independence is considered as one of the main status indicator in the society. Women especially in rural areas are the deprived section of the society on account of their dependence on others for economic reasons. This necessitates generation opportunities so as to make them economically independent. Moreover, women’s contribution to national development is crucial. The process of development would be incomplete and lopsided, unless women are fully involved in it. Many innovations have failed due to non-satisfaction of women on the perceived attributes of innovations. So, it is necessary that they should be informed, trained, convinced of a technology primarily.

Farm women can’t emerge as a good entrepreneur, if they are not equipped with any skill, knowledge, education and information. So, research studies are essential to assess the training needs of them to become a successful entrepreneur. In order to know the training needs of farm women for entrepreneurial development, and the constraints faced by them to become a good entrepreneur.

Concept of correlation was given by Karl Pearson in 1890.

The study of strength and nature of relationship between two variables is called correlation. Two variables are said to be correlated, if the change in one variable affects the other variable. Correlation is also known as covariation.

Bivariate Distribution: Distribution involving two variables is known as bivariate distribution. For example, Height and weight of persons, yield and production of a crop in.

On basis of type of association between variables, correlation is of two types:

Introduction

Increase in population in our country with decrease in cultivable land is putting the challenges to the scientists and policy planners for increased food supply. There is very little scope for horizontal increase in cultivable land. Hence, the way to meet the need for providing food to ever increasing population is to increase the production of food per unit area of cultivable land.

Farmers, generally apply fertilizer to soil on blanket recommendation. Sometimes, the addition of nutrients is inconsistent. Sometimes, the application of fertilizer is much higher than the recommended dose. Imbalanced application of fertilizer to soil results in low nutrient use efficiency and low crop yield. There is need of site specific nutrient management for increased crop yield and for achieving higher nutrient use efficiency. Proper care should be taken for selection of fertilizer, method of application of fertilizer, rate of fertilizer application and also time of nutrient supply to the soil. Excess application of fertilizer has an adverse effect on soil health.

Traditional tillage may affect physico-chemical as well as biological properties of soil. Change in tillage practice from conventional tillage to conservation agriculture method may have an impact on soil properties and nutrient dynamics. Conservation agriculture affects soil health, proper fertilizer application, both rate and time, along with efficient use of soil moisture improves nutrient use efficiency. For obtaining a good crop yield nutrient should be available for plants in adequate quantity and in right proportion. Nutrients removed by the crop should be replenished by application of inorganic fertilizers alongwith incorporation of organic manures. Soil test is an important tool for determining the quantity of nutrients available in the soil. Based on soil test values and nutrient requirement of the crop rate of fertilizer to be applied in the soil for the plant is determined. Ample quantity of farm yard manure is not available nowadays. Hence, other organic manure such as town waste, green manure etc should be used.

Methods of crop disease management are based on the principles of exclusion, eradication and immunization. Various methods of excluding the pathogens primarily through establishing plant quarantines and production of disease-free seeds and asexually propagated planting materials have been discussed earlier (Chapter 8). The pathogens that have been introduced and those that have established in a geographical location have to be eradicated by employing different methods for removal of infected plants, plant debris and alternate and alternative host plants for reducing pathogen inoculum and consequent reduction in disease incidence. Other methods may be broadly divided into two classes as chemical and nonchemical methods. The chemical methods involve the use of chemicals that may act indirectly by creating conditions unfavourable for the development of the disease (Chapter 9) or chemicals that have direct inhibitory activity on the pathogens (Chapter 11). Pathogen populations may be kept under check by adopting cultural practices either alone or in combination with chemical and nonchemical methods (Chapter 10). Biological agents have been employed for reducing pathogen inoculum or for inducing resistance in host plants resulting in different degrees of reduction in disease incidence. The methods involving the use of biological agents as a strategy of crop disease management are discussed in this chapter.

Biological control methods aim to reduce the pathogen inoculum or disease producing activity of a pathogen by employing live microorganisms or using products of biological origin. Use of antagonistic microorganisms, avirulent strains of pathogens, cross-protection induced by mild strains of pathogens in susceptible host plants and induction of resistance in the susceptible crop cultivars are some of the approaches made to reduce the adverse effects of infection by microbial pathogens.

Introduction

Increasing public concern regarding the use of pharmaceuticals in livestock feeding due to the emergence of drug resistance has led to an enhanced interest to plant derived bioactive compounds as alternative means to improve livestock health and production. Plants bioactive compounds are the plant secondary metabolites having pharmacological or toxicological effects in animals. Secondary metabolites are formed within the plants as well the primary biosynthetic and metabolic routes for compounds associated with plant growth and development, and are considered as products of biochemical deviate in the plant cells and not required daily for the performance of the plant. Some of them are found to have various important functions such as protection, attraction or signaling in the plants. Most species of plants seem to be competent in synthesizing such compounds. Plants with potent bioactive compounds are often characterized as both poisonous and medicinal, and a beneficial or an adverse effect may depend on the quantity eaten by the animal. Some tropical tree leaves and typical food and feed plants with bioactive compounds with less prominent effects, their intakes are usually considered as advantageous.