eChapters

In literal sense a species is called underutilized whose potential has not been properly realized. These underutilized crops (referred to also by other terms such as minor, orphan, neglected, underutilized, underexploited, underdeveloped, lost, new, novel, promising, alternative, local, traditional, niche crops) have been included in world-wide plans of action after having successfully raised the interest of decision makers. Wealth of plant genetic diversity currently available holds vast potential. We use only small number of crop plants for our basic requirements. Many thousands of wild plants have great economic and cultural importance and tremendous market potential for vast numbers of people throughout the world. But the majority are still unknown to science. Plant genetic resources have gained global attention in  recent past by agricultural and environmental institutions. Conservation and use of genetic resources attracted  considerable attention. Value of biological diversity in economic terms is very important for human society.

12.1. General Practices for Storage

• Lime juice is mixed with grains and then sun dried before storage to prevent insect pests (Farmers in Nigeria).
• Seeds are safely stored in earthern pots after mixing with the leaves of neem and Vitex negundo (Farmers in Gujarat, India).
• Drying seeds and grains of all the crops on the new moon day before storing to avoid pest attack.
• Store seed materials in earthen pots which are kept on the ‘Paran’ directly above the furnace in kitchen. The smoke acts as a repellent.
• Grains, trees etc. harvested on full moon day are raqre prone to storage pest attack.
• Mixing the dried leaves of neem with seeds while storing them.

Introduction

The better quality of life for the Indians who in majority depend on agricultural would be impossible by keeping the rich tradition of Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) aside (Das, et al., 2002). According to Farrington and Martin (1988), ITK is based on knowledge, beliefs and customs which are internally consistent and logical to those holding them but at odds with the objectively deduced findings of formal science”. Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) is the knowledge that the indigenous and local community accumulates over generations of living in local environment. It encompasses all forms of knowledge, experience, technologies, know-how, skills, beliefs and practices. These are also termed as “indigenous knowledge”, “people’s knowledge” “traditional knowledge” or “local knowledge” and are limited within a community. It is unique to a given culture, location or society.

Fishermen all over the world use some kind of traditional knowledge. ITK provides valuable insight into sustainable aquaculture, because it passes through considerable adaptation, up gradation and modification over a period of time and carried on from one generation to another as a family technology. Naturally, ITK fits well to a particular environment rather than modern technological knowledge. This knowledge has been developed outside the formal education system and refers to the large body of knowledge and skills which includes variety of fish culture practices, when and where to catch, how to process fish with a cost effective methods, and how to maintain their environment in a state of equilibrium. ITK is collective in nature and is often considered the property of the entire community, and does not belong to any single individual within the community.

1.1 Classification

The raw or ungrouped data are in unorganized form and need be organized in meaningful and readily comprehensible form in order to facilitate further statistical analysis. Classification of data is the first step in this direction. It is the process of arranging thing in groups according to their resemblance and affinities. There are two basic types of classification namely-qualitative and quantitative. In qualitative classification, the basis of classification is some attribute or quality like: sex, literacy, religion, etc. A qualitative classification may be simple or manifold. The classification done with respect to one attribute is termed as ‘Simple Classification’. The classification in which two or more attributes are considered and several classes are formed is called ‘Manifold Classification’. In quantitative classification, the collected data are grouped in respect of characteristics, which can be measured and numerically expressed such as height, weight, etc.

Introduction

Manures are obtained from the plant residues, green manure, compost and animal wastes that are used as source of plant nutrients. They release nutrients after their decomposition. They essentially function as sustenance to the crops. They help in the proper cultivation of crops. The addition of manure enables the soil to hold more water. Organic manures have acids that dissolve the nutrients in the soil and make them available to the plants. manures can be grouped into bulky organic manures and concentrated organic manures. Brief dissection about manure given blow flow chart.

Bulky Organic Manure

Bulky organic manures are those materials of plant and animal origin, which contain small percentage of nutrients when added to the soil have tendency to decrease bulk density and to increase soil volume, thus providing better physical conditions for plant growth especially in coarse textured soils and also provide essential nutrients in smaller quantities than the chemical fertilizers. Characteristics of bulky organic manures:

INTRODUCTION

Wheeler bearers commonly referred to as ‘Rotifers ‘are significantly they are often taken as reliable indicators of mesotrophic characteristics in the lake ecosystems (Gannon and Stemberger, 1978). Because of their wide tolerances to varied dissolved oxygen levels and temperature distributions, they are even found to inhabit the deeper waters of aquatic ecosystems (Esparcia et al., 1989). They belong to the Kingdom Animalia, Subkingdom Eumetazoa, Phylum Rotifera (Cuvier, 1798) having three classes Monogononta, Digononta and Seisonidea (Pennak 1953). In other words these wheel animalcules named, because of the presence of their corona, which is composed of several ciliated tufts around their mouth region. This ciliated tuft helps in locomotion and resembles a wheel. These create a current that sweeps food into the mouth, where it is chewed up by a characteristic pharynx (called the mastax) containing a tiny, calcified, jaw-like structure called the trophi. The cilia functions to pull the animal, when unattached, through the water. Most free-living forms have pair of posterior toes to anchor themselves while feeding. Rotifers are bilaterally symmetrical found in various shapes. There is a well-developed cuticle, thick and rigid, providing a box-like shape, or flexible, giving the animal a worm like shape; such rotifers are respectively called loricate and illoricate.

Habitats of Rotifers are relatively easy to find. Many live in ponds, moist soil, or any stagnant water. Rotifers can be free swimming or sessile. Rotifers are mostly omnivorous and some have been observed to be cannibalistic. They normally eat algae or decomposing organic material. As they are a major food source for Cladoceran , Copepodans , juvenile fishes (fry) and fishes, therefore , an important food link of water ecosystem (Arora and Mehra 2003). Presence of abundant Rotifers in freshwaters determines them to be one of the main groups of zooplankton in limnological studies. They are permanently and obligatorily connected to aquatic habitats in all active stages and only their resting stages are drought-resistant (Chopra et al 2012). Various researchers have conducted pioneer study on the diversity and habitat of rotifers such as Anderson 1889; Sharma 1987; Sharma 1998a; Gilbert and Schreiber 1998; Arora and Mehra 2003; George et al. 2011; Tyor and Chawala 2012. However such studies on Madhuganga dam water has not been conducted, hence for assessment of Madhuganga Lentic water has been conducted for the seasonal variation in diversity and density of rotifers.

A disaster is sudden event that causes significant damage to the people, environment and the economy. Disasters are serious disruptions to the functioning of a community that exceed its capacity to cope up using its own resources. The disasters that result either due to excess water or severe water deficit are floods and droughts.
12.1. Floods
The flood is an overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry. Floods may occur due to
• Heavy rainfall
• Ocean waves
• Snow melting
The economic losses due to floods will be very high and nearly 68 per cent of the economic losses are attributed to floods only. During the year 2018, India suffered a loss of nearly 90,000 crores due to floods alone. There are several causes for occurrence of floods in India. The major causes are
• Severe cyclonic storms in coastal areas which produce continuous heavy rainfall for 3 to 4 days in succession
• Encroachment of flood plains with residential structures
• Inadequate strength of river banks when there is high flows of water in the rivers
• Unplanned growth of urban areas
• Silting of water storage structures due to increased soil erosion thereby decreasing the storage capacity of reservoirs
• Simultaneous flooding of rivers and tributaries due to excessive water flows

Introduction
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global concern that poses a significant threat to contemporary healthcare systems, potentially hindering the management and treatment of various diseases. Microorganisms can act as reservoirs for AMR across various ecological niches; thus, a “one health” proposal is essential for coordinating a multisectoral strategy aimed at investigating and tackling this alarming issue. This method seems to be an effective strategy for addressing and alleviating the challenges posed by AMR; however, it demands the collaborative efforts and assets that are consistently and efficiently executed by health practitioners. Horses have been pivotal in human history; they have served in wars, provided transportation, and even aided in mining operations. In contemporary society, horses are significant as sport animals and in therapeutic settings involving animals. Given these close interactions between humans and equines, it becomes essential to effectively identify infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) impacting both species, particularly in instances of highly contagious diseases. Resistant bacteria represent a significant threat to the health of both equines and humans. Horses may obtain resistant bacteria through several avenues, such as interaction with other animals, exposure to contaminated materials, or to antibiotic uses. The responsible utilization of antibiotics and the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs are essential in reducing the transmission of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within equine populations. A variety of zoonotic pathogens that exhibit resistance to antibiotics has been identified in equines. This includes Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBL) which produces E. coli, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), and Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) Salmonella. Horses can develop AMR through various channels like:

This chapter introduces approaches for converting egg-processing residues and by-products into useful materials and products. It examines eggshell composition and applications, eggshell membrane and its biomedical and industrial potential, utilization of surplus and inedible egg material, and extraction of high-value components such as lysozyme and IgY. Waste management, sustainability and circular-economy approaches are also discussed. The chapter emphasizes that successful by-product utilization depends not only on technical feasibility but also on economics, scale, infrastructure, biosecurity and appropriate markets.

Introduction
 
Library automation in the first giant step towards the use of ICT based products & services in libraries. It brings great revolution and saves tremendous time of users and library staff for collecting and disseminating information. Library automation refers to use of computers, associated peripheral media such as software for automation, magnetic tapes, disks, optical media etc. Library automation makes the provision to provide the 'right information to right reader at the right time in a right form in a right personal way' it is the basic aim of libraries. There are some open source software available e.g. Evergreen, CDS Invenio, Koha, NewGenLib, PMB, PhpMyLibrary, OpenBiblio as well as many commercial software: SOUL, Alice for windows, Netlib, LibSys etc.

10.0. Introduction

Food processing is an important sector in agriculture, the scope of which has increased manifold that can help to prevent wastage of perishable commodities to a great extent. But, at the same time, food processing industries generate a large quantity and variety of food products, provide employment to a large number of people and uplift their economic status. The production, processing and preparation of food, all results in generation of huge quantity of waste material causing health hazards due to environmental pollution. The waste material may be in the form of leaf/ straw, waste during harvesting, food preparation waste, after processing waste, unused material as waste, food processing operation waste etc. The huge wastage of the food material is due to lack of control on such agri-economy practices. So, the disposal of waste material has become a challenge to the processors, as different agencies are pressurizing for an environment friendly treatment of waste material. The utilization of waste for the production of value added products is very important in the management of food processing waste. Different types of food industries wastes are: i) fermentation industry waste, ii) fruit and vegetable industry waste (Table 10.1) iii) Sugar and starch industry waste, iv) diary industry waste, v) meat processing industry waste, vi) coffee industry waste and vii) palm oil industry waste, viii) fish processing industry waste. So, there is great need to find out options which have positive values of food waste. The options having positive values are: i) minimization of the waste generation, ii) development of value added products. Most of fruit and vegetable wastes are a rich source of vital constituents like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, fibres etc. Mango seed kernel is rich in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals; orange, melon and pumpkin seeds can provide fats and mineral matters. Apricot kernels are rich source of oil (45%) and proteins.

ABSTRACT

The paper discusses the problems of soil and water erosion in the Shivalik foot hills and suggests strategies for improved land use planning and the role bamboo species can play in mitigating the problems. The paper also discusses the various bamboo species of the Shivalik foothills, their regeneration, planting practices, management and utilization pattern in detail.

Introduction

The Food Security is one of the most important dimensions of livelihood security of household (Rahman and Akter, 2010), because all efforts of the family members are directed towards fulfilling the family need including food. Food security defined as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life”. Food security includes at a minimum: (1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and (2) an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (Anderson, 1990). It is also an indicator of sustainability of any vocation be it fish, crop, livestock production or combination of it. In case of Tripura very little study has been made in this aspect. Therefore, in this paper it is attempted to assess the status of food security of fish farmers of Tripura, using Index of Food Consumption (IFC) and Clustering Technique.

Data and Methodology

This study was undertaken in Tripura state and study area comprises 6 Rural Development Blocks viz. Bishalgarh, Melagarh and Mohanpur of West Tripura district; Hrishyamuk, Rajanagar and Matabari of South Tripura District. From these blocks a sample of 105 fish farmers was selected using stratified sampling method for gathering the primary data. The pretested, semi structured survey schedule was administered to collect the data during 2010.

Poultry holds significant value as it provides essential protein, vitamins, and mineral nutrients, including eggs and chicken meat.Poultry is a significant source of organic fertilizer and generates income and employment for millions of farmers and other poultry cultivators. The bigger and richer the industry, the more problems they face.Infectious diseases transmitted by flies, majorly house flies (Musca domestica) and other insects are the primary concern for poultry farmers on their farm. The threat of flies is a major problem worldwide wherever poultry farming is an important economic activity.In livestock and medical treatments, flies are significant pests that can cause irritation, spoilage of food, and serve as vectors for various pathogenic organisms. They are also highly destructive.

The significant interest in the diffusion of innovations stems from the challenge of adopting new ideas, even those with clear advantages. A substantial gap often exists between available knowledge and its practical application across various fields. Many innovations experience a lengthy period, sometimes spanning several years, from their initial availability to widespread adoption. Consequently, individuals and organizations frequently grapple with the issue of accelerating the diffusion rate of an innovation.

Diffusion refers to the process by which an innovation is communicated over time through specific channels among members of a social system. This form of communication is distinct in that it involves the dissemination of new ideas. In contemporary society, information technologies like the Internet and mobile phones, which blend mass media and interpersonal communication, serve as powerful diffusion tools. The novelty of the idea in the communication content gives diffusion its unique character.

1. What is Genome Sequencing?

Genome sequencing is the process of determining the complete DNA sequence of an organism’s genome. The genome is the genetic material that contains all the instructions necessary for the growth, development, functioning and reproduction of an organism. It is composed of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid., which is a long molecule made up of four building blocks called nucleotides adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G).

2. Why is genome sequencing important in plant pathology?

Genome sequencing is essential in plant pathology for several reasons

i. Genome sequencing in plant pathology identifies and characterizes plant pathogens at the molecular level.

ii. It helps trace the evolution of pathogens and their genetic adaptations.

iii. Genomic data enables the development of precise diagnostic tools for rapid pathogen detection.

iv. Understanding host-pathogen interactions informs disease management strategies.

Animal’s response  to external stimuli is a behavior. Domestic animal behaviour and performance are correlated. Man’s intervention has led to huge modifications and modulations in animal behaviour patterns over ages but certain characters and normal behaviours of animals are needed to be expressed, otherwise may lead to abnormalities or performance loss. Animal freedoms also ensure certain basic freedoms to domesticated animals including freedom to express normal behaviour. With the developing concern over animal welfare among consumers, growers and animal activists, the need to ensure animal freedoms is call of the hour. Measuring animal welfare is a complex process which requires multidisciplinary approaches. There are four approaches to determine animal welfare viz, productivity, animal health and disease, physiology and behavior which are used individually or in combination.

Introduction

Nature has been performing wonderful feats for millions of years. All organisms from microbes to humans are powered by highly evolved molecular and cellular machines that operate at nano scale. The capability to manipulate, control, assemble, functionalise, produce and manufacture things at atomic precision provides an opportunity to understand this new and exciting field of science. Nanotechnology is application of science to control the properties and structure of matter at nanometric scale.

1. Introduction

Radio Frequency Identification popularly known as RFID is a term used for a radio-enabled device that communicates with or interrogates a tag or smart label, which is embedded with a single microchip processor and an antenna. "This is an automatic identification method that relies on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices such as RFID tags or transponders (Mamdampur and Rajgoli, 2011)". This technology is similar in concept to a cell phone (Singh and Midha, 2008) which refers to the subset of automatic identification that uses radio waves to automatically identify bulk or individual items (Chavan, 2012).While the origin of RFID lie more than 50 years in the past, passive RFID technology is actually only in its infancy (Sarma, 2008).