eChapters

Indian horticulture has shown impressive impact on production, productivity and profitability. Currently, the total production of horticultural produce is 214.7 million tones from the 9% of total cultivated area in India, which contribute 30.4% to GDP of agriculture (Singh, 2010). In world perspective, India is second largest producer of fruits (68.5 mt) from 6.10 m ha area and contributes 11.2% in global fruit production. Vegetable crops occupying 8.0 m ha have the production of 129.1 mt (Table 1). However; India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products in the world and produce more than 50 spices. The spice production in India is the order of 4.14 mt from an area of about 2.63 m ha. India is also the leading producer of plantation crops in the world and contributes 22.34% in coconut, 25% in cashewnut and 55% in arcanut. Commercial floriculture sector has recorded fast pace of growth during the last decade. During the last decade area under floriculture has expended to 1,67,000 ha with production of 9,87,000 MT of loose flower and 4.8 million cut flowers (Singh, 2010). The over all percent share of fruits and vegetables to their total production and contribution of different states for production of fruits and vegetables are repicted in Fig. 1 & 2. From the above fact, it is indicated that the production of horticulture produce has increased manifold but the gap in demand and supply continues simultaneously and is hardly sufficient and meets only 46% of national demand. Hence, there is a strong need to increase the production and productivity through crop diversification.

Abstract

More than 73% of its total population lives in rural areas and depends primarily on agriculture for livelihood. The performance of agriculture determines food and nutrition security which is important for reducing poverty and achieving sustainable growth. Production and productivity has increased manifold and yields of major crops like paddy, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables have more than trebled in the last four decades. The impressive long term growth in agriculture helped in taking the state out of famines and serious food shortages into one of the food surplus states and ensuring food, nutrition and livelihood security. The state is characterized by wide diversity and considerable spatio-temporal variations in growth and productivity. In fact, agriculture isincreasing with public investment in infrastructure including irrigation, establishing appropriate farming systems, developing suitable and affordable technologies and crop varieties, augmenting credit delivery and designing region and crop-specific plans. In this backdrop, a study was conducted to document the indigenous and organic farming technologies in selected communities of the state in tribal dominant Gajapati district of Odisha intended to help the farmers to be aware of their own innovative technologies for weakening balances on the environment due to intensive use of fertilizers and agrochemicals. 

Materials Management deals with purchasing and controlling of the materials used in the production process.

Materials (Goods) Planning and Control

Decisions to be taken in this are:

• Amount of materials needed for output desired
• Amount of inventory and its storage and reordering
• Vendor relations
• Quality materials and price per unit
• Quantity and time of order
• Methods of receiving and transporting
• Handling of defective materials and stock

Policies and procedures should be established so that most of these decisions become routine in nature. When exceptions occur, the concerned authority should correct them.

Abstract

Cattle are reared for milk and dry periods are considered loss to the exchequer of livestock farmers. To avoid it, farmers mostly abandon the cattle to become stray animals. Latest research supports that cow dung and urine are endowed with versatile medicinal, biofertilizer and bio-pesticide properties of socioeconomic importance. This has given the concept of dry cattle farming where focus is utilities of cow dung and urine and their value added products. Cow urine is useful for numerous human ailments like, cancer, osteoarthritis, allergies, kidney failures, skin diseases, healing of wounds etc. Cow dung is main source for vermicompost, FYM and biogas. Many products containing cow dung and urine i.e. soap (23% cow dung content and 7% urine), toothpaste (10% cow dung content and 10% urine, 2% Ghee), floor cleaners (Gaunyle: 11% cow urine), hair oil, incense shaving cream, face wash, talcum powders and dark circle removers are available in the market. The term cowpathy has been coined for diverse uses of cow dung and urine and is now focal area of research and innovative products development. Further, the dry cattle farming offers solution to problems of stray animals and helps in empowering the women farming community to exploit dry farming for more profit, product development and economic strengthening.

3.1. Marketing efficiency

Degree of market performance.

Whether it fulfills objectives assigned or maximizes fulfillment of objectives with given level of resources (or costs)

Whether it is responsive to impulses generated through environmental changes and whether impulses are transmitted at all levels in the system.

For example

Farmers expect quick market clearance and higher prices for their produce

Consumers expect ready availability of products in form and quality desired at lower prices

Traders and other functionaries expect steady and increasing incomes

Government expects system to safeguard interest of all three sections to maximize welfare of society.

Introduction

Human beings are the most critical components of an organization. The organization’s survival has improved all the facets contributing to its success. In a competitive world, human resources are sine qua non in an organization. Quality of work life (QWL) is critical for deciding organizational employee- related outcomes. Human resource management has a unique role in any organization. Organizational goals in an organization are achieved through planning, organization, staffing, direction, coordination, and control. 

Introduction

The performance of any commercial stock (offspring) depends on the careful selection and scientific breeding of their parent stocks, known as “breeders.” Breeders are the backbone of any commercial poultry operation, as they produce the next generation of chickens, ensuring the continuity and quality of the flock. A breeder farm’s primary purpose is to produce a high number of fertile eggs per layer bird and to increase hatchability through proper hygienic handling of these eggs. Effective breeder farm management encompasses several key areas, including:

• Pure Line Management: Focusing on maintaining and improving specific genetic lines.

• Parent Stock Management: Managing the birds that directly produce commercial layers or broilers.

• Grandparent Stock Management: Managing the generation that produces parent stock, critical for maintaining genetic diversity and quality.

Agriculture in India is one of the most important sectors of its economy. It provides livelihood to almost two thirds of the work force in the country and accounts for 18% of India’s GDP. About 43 % of India’s geographical area is used for agricultural activity and large number of production systems are in practice in different parts ofthe country. In pre-independence era (before the 1950s), agriculture in India was a system of harnessing nature for the sustenance of human beings, similar to the presently defined organic farming. Some countries have moved away from inorganic to organic farming yet it is not possible for India to depend entirely upon this system of farming due to large population. Total availability of plant nutrients from organic sources is projected to be 7.75 million tonnes by 2025 (Tandon, 1997) against the total requirement of37.50 million tonnes (Katyal, 2001) for 1504 million population (Sekhon, 1997). Thus nutrients supply through organic sources alone would result in deficiency of about 30 million tonnes of nutrients. Hence, it is imperative to use both organic and inorganic sources of plant nutrients enhance food production for the increasing population (Mahajan et al., 2007). In India the contribution of organic sources was 80-100 per cent in 1949-50 and reduced to about 32 per cent in 1993-94 and 20-25 per cent in 2004-05. So, it is imperative to enhance organic sources to meet total nutrient consumption. Following independence, rapid population growth in India placed great pressure on land and on these traditional farming systems; huge demands for food grains led to increased use of fertilizers and pesticides to boost production. Still a negative balance of about 8 million tones of NPK is foreseen in 2020, even if we continue to use chemical fertilizers, maintaining present growth rates of production and consumption. The most optimistic estimates at present, show that only about 25-30 per cent nutrient needs of Indian agriculture can be met by utilizing various organic sources. Many of the gains in production during the last 4-5 decades resulted from the “Green Revolution,” a campaign of technological interventions in agriculture widely adopted by farmers in developing countries. Expansion of irrigation to cover rain fed areas, popularization of hybrids/ transgenic varieties of crops, and use ofsynthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides were the maj or technologies promoted. This paid rich dividends in India, quadrupling food grain production from 50 million metric tons in 1950-51 to 211 million metric tons in 2001-02, and enabling India to become self-sufficient in food grain. Now a second green revolution is also in the offing, to boost agricultural production and meet the estimated requirement of 337 million metric tons.

Objective: To estimate qualitatively various chlorophyll fractions

Materials Required: Leaf material, acetone, petroleum ether, distilled water, methyl alcohol, potassium hydroxide, diethyl ether, separating funnels, stand beakers and conical flasks.

Principle: In biological systems the molecule absorbing radiant energy in the visible range is referred as a pigment. To the human eye these pigments are coloured: chlorophyll is green, carotenoids are red or yellow, xanthophylls is yellow and phytochrone is blue. These pigments are complex molecules. Chlorophylls are the most important pigments active in photosynthesis. At least nine different types of chlorophylls are known – chlorophyll a, b, c, d, e bacteriochlorophylls a and b and chlorobium chlorophylls 650 and 660. Chl a and chl b are best known pigments. In addition to chlorophyll, carotenoids, xanthophylls etc. Are also present as accessory pigments. The chlorophylls are directly involved in photosynthetic electron transport the other pigments serve as accessory pigments and they also serve the purpose of light harvesting.

There are different organic molecules are soluble in different organic solutions, however, their solubility is differential in different chemicals. Based on the nature the chlorophyll pigments can be separated and identified.

Abstract

Mushroom cultivation is a women friendly entreprise. High benefit cost ratio, easy and cheap availability of agro-wastes and congenial weather conditions make adoption of mushroom cultivation a lucrative source of rural women empowerment. The rural and tribal farm women can adopt agriculture based agribusiness on individual or group level and raise their income and employment opportunities which make them economically and socially empowered. Mushroom production, Bee-keeping, Dairy, Goatery, Seed production, cultivation of fruits, flower and vegetables can increase the income of rural and tribal farmers up to 70-80%. Mushroom production can be adopted even by landless rural women. Further value-added mushroom products provide good potential for entrepreneurs in view of the growing demand. The focus of Indian mushroom industry is predominantly on trade of the fresh produce rather than the real value-addition. Almost entire domestic trade is in the fresh form while most of the export is in the preserved form (canned or steeped). Current era is characterized by greater awareness about quality and, above all, with the demand for the readymade or ready-to-make food products. Technologies for production of some other products like mushroom based biscuits, nuggets, noodles, papad, candies, pickle and readymade mushroom curry have been developed and trainings need to be imparted to the stakeholders. Attractive packaging of the value-added products is yet another area called the secondary value-addition which can add to profit of the entrepreneurs.

In many experimental situations, it becomes necessary to repeat an experiment over time ( for a number of seasons or years ) and / or over space ( a number of places). This repetition ( or replication ) of the experiment broadens the scope of the experiment in the sense that our recommendations will be applicable for a number of seasons /or a number of places . A single experiment performed in one place for only one season will provide recommendations for that place and for that season . It may not be applicable to other places or for other seasons . In the case of agricultural experiments , for example , there may be present treatment x place interaction and/ or treatment x season interaction . So the results of a series of experiments , performed over different places for different seasons with the same set of treatments,will have wider applicability .

We shall consider the simplest case of repetition of experiments of identical structure over a number of places ( it is the same for a number of seasons ). Let us consider randomized block experiments with t treatments in r blocks and conducted in p places. The analysis of the experiment in a place is based on the linear model . Before attempting a combined analysis for the p experiments ,it is necessary to perform the analysis for the p places separately and interpret the results separately .It may be of interest to find out whether differences among the treatments are the same in the different places so that a ‘ best ‘ treatment may be recommended for all the places, or whether different treatments are to be recommended for different places . The model for this combined analysis may be written as

Introduction

This chapter reviews literature related to the current study on Quality of Work Life (QWL). Scrutiny of the available literature is of great value in gaining insight into the research problem. It is beneficial for strengthening the research problem. As there are fewer studies on QWL in the university libraries in Kerala, the works reported in other places were also reviewed. Hence, the available studies related to the topic are exhaustively reviewed. The review covers studies on the subject made at the regional, national, and international levels.

Seed is defined as a ‘matured ovule’ or a reproductive unit formed from a fertilised ovule consisting of an embryo, food store and protective coat. These essential constituents are common to all seeds in different groups of seed bearing plants. The knowledge of seed morphology is essential for artificial regener ation as it can influence the collection, processing, storage and treatment of seeds. The external and internal morphologies of seeds are stable. Therefore, they provide reliable criteria for the positive identification of unknown seeds.

Importance of Tree Seed

Feeds and Feeding of Poultry

Proper feeding is crucial for the optimal growth, health, and productivity of poultry. It constitutes a significant portion of the total production cost in poultry farming, often accounting for 70-75%. Understanding the different types of feed ingredients and their nutritional contributions is essential for formulating balanced diets that meet the specific needs of poultry at various stages of growth and production.

Different Feed Ingredients Used in Poultry

Poultry feed ingredients are broadly classified into four categories: energy rich feedstuffs, protein-rich feedstuffs, vitamin and mineral sources, and non nutritive feed additives. Typically, commercial poultry feeds are formulated by blending 10-15 different ingredients to provide a balanced diet that meets the nutritional requirements of the birds.

1 History

Animals are culturally worshipped and revered as gods in India by different communities such as cow as Kamadhenu by Hindu religion. The scientific study of animal welfare has rapidly grown during last few years. Many religions follow principles of ahimsa such as Jains and Hindus do not harm cattle; Muslims do not harm pigs etc. Thus caring for welfare of animals is an inborn attitude of majority of Indians. As per the Indian tradition and culture, animals always had a respect and a special place in society. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism have always preached kindness and compassion to animals. Each Hindu God or Goddess is seen with an associated animal as vehicle or incarnation. For example, Lord Krishna was a shepherd and is seen with a cow, Lord Rama with the monkeys, Lord Vishnu with the eagle and Lord Shiva with a snake around his neck and the bull ‘Nandi’ at his feet, Goddess Saraswati is the goddess of wisdom and literacy is seen with swan.

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schn.) is a non traditional crop in arid and semi-arid areas. The search for a replacement for sperm whale oil has led to the investigation of jojoba, as a potential crop plant, because its seeds contain a wax that is essentially identical to the whale oil. Development of jojoba as an economically viable crop requires improved methods of propagation and culture since it is a dioecious in nature. Jojoba is a new oil-producing industrial crop that has attracted much attention in recent years. Jojoba oil is unique in nature. No other plant is known to produce oil like jojoba. It is remarkable to note that, in spite of the variability in size or where grown, each jojoba seed contains an average of 50% pure oil by volume. Jojoba is native to the semiarid regions of southern Arizona, southern California and north western Mexico. Now Jojoba is being cultivated in many countries like Israel, Egypt, Arizona and Mexico. In Rajasthan (India) it provides a renewable source of unique high-quality oil. It is suitable oil yielding plant for hot arid region (Muthana,1981)  because of its adoptive nature to arid environment. Much of the interest in jojoba worldwide is the result of the plant’s ability to survive in a harsh desert environment. Jojoba can be grown as an oil-producing cash crop. Jojoba is a drought resistant plant and can be grown on marginal lands without replacing any existing crops. Moreover, for optimum production, the crop needs irrigation, management and a good cultivar.

1. House Plant

The screwpines or kewda plants are characteristics of many tropical regions with long ringed trunks, bracing roots and crowns of Dracaena-like foliage. The young plants are amongst the most popular foliage plants for home decoration as the plants do not flower at early stages (Wickham, 1950). They are also grown as pot and tub specimens for green house, residence, veranda and lawn decoration where their stiff clustered foliage gives them a formal decorative character. They may be kept as indoor ornamental foliage plants in the warm and semi light places of a house. (Wickham, 1982a).

2. Fence

The plant is useful for binding the soil, so checks soil erosion and not browsed by the cattle due to its spiny leaves; hence sometimes used as fence around the crop field in the coastal districts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujrat. The plants are often used for hedges as in the Casuarina plantations at Puri of Odisha (Haines, 1961a) (Fig. 17).

This is an extension of the analysis of variance to cover the case where observations are taken on more than one variable from each experimental unit. Interest, however, centres on one of these (y, called the dependent variable) and the question is whether the variation of the dependent variable over the classes is due to class effects or due to its dependence on the other variables, (x’s, called the independent or concomitant variables ), which also vary from class to class. The analysis of covariance controls the experimental error by taking ito consideration the dependence of y on x.

Q.1 Systematic random sampling or systematic sampling, both are different sampling schemes.

Q.2 The pattern usually followed in selecting a systematic sample is a simple pattern involving a constant spacing of units in the sample.

Cellulose is a homopolymer of β (1–4) glucose linkage. It is the most abundant polymer present on the surface of the earth, which is mainly produced by the vascular plants (Sharma et al., 2019; Dayal et al., 2013; Sheykhnazari et al., 2011). Cellulose obtained from higher vascular plants has been employed for making textile and papers.