eChapters

The hind limb (Fig. 6-1) is termed as pelvic limb and it consists of four segments-the pelvic or hip region, thigh, leg and the pes region. The skeleton of pelvic region is formed by the pelvic girdle (os coxae). The skeleton of thigh region is mainly formed by a long bone (thigh bone) the femur and at its lower extremity is a short sesamoid bone, the patella. The leg region is formed by two long bones, the larger one the tibia and the smaller one the fibula. The last segment, the pes has three subdivisions as tarsus, metatarsus and digits. The tarsus has five short bones arranged in two rows on par with the carpus of fore limb. The metatarsus is constituted by two bones of which one is a long bone called the large metatarsal and the other a short small rudimentary bone the small metatarsal bone. The last part of the hind limb is the digits which are constituted by six phalanges and six sesamoids like those of the forelimb.

Introduction

The livestock occupies a significant niche in the social fabric of the Indian subcontinent from the dawn of civilization. During the initial days of civilization, animals served human society in many ways. The livestock is not only producing high biological value products i.e., milk, meat but also provide manure for maintaining soil health, draught power for crop production, wool and fiber for apparel industry, low cost means of transport in rural and desert areas, companion for sports and of course a "readily disposable asset" for any kind of emergency expenditure. Hence, livestock represents one of the major driving forces for the growth of the rural economy. As a result, the livestock industry becomes one of the niche sectors of the national economy to propel faster growth along with securing the livelihood of millions of people. During the twentieth century, balanced ration was the key focal point of animal nutrition research either for enhancing the productivity or managing the livestock economy through interventions of knowledge in the areas of improvement of poor quality roughages, bypass protein, bypass fat, mineral supplements, complete feed blocks, vitamins, area specific mineral mixture, feed additives such as antibiotics, ionophores, hormones etc. However, during the beginning of the twenty first century, several issues appeared pertaining to the livestock sector such as feed quality and safety, designer animal products, healthy animal products, ecological treatment for digestive disorder, organic animal production, residues of antibiotics, hormones and heavy metals in accordance with the consumer preference and awareness. In the light of concerns on "transfer of antibiotic resistance genes from animal to human", several nations have imposed bans on application of antibiotics as feed additives. Keeping in view the above perspective, research is underway around the world to find alternatives to antibiotics to guard the gastrointestinal of animals without compromising productivity or product quality of livestock.

Abstract

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) played and continue to play pivotal role in better decision making of farmers for plant health management under the climate change scenario. For judicious plant health management by farmers through the use of ICT tools (viz. interactive Kiosk, Mobile Apps, Whatsapp, Webportal), information need and information access network to be assessed. Based on farmers’ information need and network, information delivery tree should be designed in ICT tools. Under this backdrop this research work was carried out among the farmers of Bhagalpur district of Bihar. The sample size was 120. From the study it was noted that the major information needs of the farmers were seed availability, crop disease management, insect pest management, weed management and weather information and pesticide application. Farmers were enthusiastic to improve their knowledge on insect pests and disease identification and management. Specifically, farmers need information on insect pest management of wheat (aphid), maize (stem borer), vegetables (fruit borer), pulses (pod borer) and oilseeds (aphid) and also disease management of wheat (leaf blight and spot blotch disease), maize (Turcicum leaf blight), vegetables (wilt and leaf spot) and pulses (wilt disease). Farmers decision making was positively and significantly correlated with crop disease management(0.196*),insect pest management of crop(0.208*) and weed management(0.239**). Through the Path Analysis it was noted that farmers decision making on disease management was mediated by the variables - Bihar Agricultural University-Kisan Diary, Mobile Apps(Bihar Krishi Apps) and Kisan Salahkar. So, it can be concluded that these much needed information should be provided to the farmers though different ICT tools and extension personnel should be trained to operate these ICT tools for accelerated use of ICT tools by the farmers.

Quality control in fish feed manufacturing plays a vital role in ensuring the safety, nutritional value, and uniformity of the final product. It involves a structured set of procedures carried out throughout the entire production cycle— from sourcing raw materials to packaging the finished feed—to confirm that the product adheres to standards that support fish health, growth, and environmental stewardship. At the initial stage, raw materials are tested for factors such as moisture, protein, lipid content, fiber, ash, and the absence of harmful elements like aflatoxins, pesticides, or heavy metals. Leading feed manufacturers enforce strict supplier verification and sampling routines to maintain ingredient quality and authenticity. During production, critical parameters are routinely checked, including grind size, mixing consistency, and temperature and moisture levels during conditioning. The physical integrity of pellets is also evaluated during extrusion or pelleting. Specific performance indicators—like water stability, floatability for floating feeds, and feed conversion ratios (FCR)—are assessed to determine feed effectiveness. Post-production checks include examining the pellet’s appearance (size, shape, and color), along with chemical assessments

Tillage management and seedbed preparation is crucial for crop establishment, growth and ultimately, yield. Typically, the aims of cultivation are to incorporate crop residue, bury weeds and loosen soil to allow appropriate soil–seed contact, easy flow of nutrients, air and water and unimpeded root penetration and crop growth (Hermawan and Bomke, 1997; Bengough et al., 2006). The use of tillage to prepare seedbeds and the subsequent benefits are well documented. However, the amount of tillage and best practice in terms of optimumsoil physical properties specifically for the establishment period has received less attention in comparison. The influence of a seedbed can vary greatly in terms of soil aggregation and subsequent porosity. This soil arrangement, therefore, has direct impacts on soil temperature, water content, oxygen availability and strength, all of which have the potential to affect the performance of the seedbed and its ability to provide an adequate environment for crop establishment. In a review, Braunack and Dexter (1989) stated as summary of previous works conducted on soil aggregation that aggregates will exhibit differing physical and chemical properties depending on the size of the aggregates, thus influencing the suitability of a seedbed for germination, emergence and root development, by influencing factors such as intra- and inter-aggregate aeration. Schjønning and Rasmussen (2000) found that cultivation methods can have large impacts on surface soil layers, altering both strength and pore dynamics (air and water filled), which can restrict plant growth. The relationship between soil physical properties and the plant root systems are vitally important in this process since they directly affect seedbed quality (Awadhwal and Thierstein, 1985; Aubertot et al., 1999; Dexter, 2004).

The word ‘monsoon’ is derived from the Arabic word mawsim meaning season. The Arabs during their travel towards India recognised that by June strong southwesterly winds commence over the Arabian Sea and bring a lot of rains to the subcontinent. The term was first used in English in British India and neighbouring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the area. In the Indian subcontinent, monsoon is one of the oldest weather observations, an economically important weather pattern over June through September every year, and the most anticipated weather event and unique weather phenomenon. Due to its effects on agriculture, flora and fauna, and other economic, social, and environmental effects, a monsoon is keenly followed and studied. It has significant impact on the overall well-being of subcontinent residents.

The term ‘monsoon’ is customarily used in India to refer to the rainy season during the northern hemisphere summer from June to September and is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea. Now the term monsoon has been broadened to include almost all of the phenomena associated with the annual weather cycle within the tropical and subtropical land regions of the earth.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) describes monsoon as a tropical and subtropical seasonal reversal in both the surface winds and associated precipitation, caused by differential heating between a continental-scale land mass and the adjacent ocean. India Meteorological Department defines it as the seasonal reversals of the wind direction along the shores of the Indian Ocean, especially in the Arabian Sea, that blow from the southwest during one half of the year and from the northeast during the other half.

The definitions include major wind systems that change direction seasonally. The cyclic change of wind and rain can be separated into the summer monsoon period characterised by warm and humid southwest winds, and the winter monsoon period characterised by dry and cool northeast winds. In fact, monsoon systems are a major feature of the general circulation of the atmosphere in subtropical latitudes of most regions of the world.

Deadweight cost/loss : The extent to which the value and impact of a tax, tax relief or subsidy is reduced because of its side-effects. For instance, increasing the amount of tax levied on workers’ pay will lead some workers to stop working or work less, so reducing the amount of extra tax to be collected. However, creating a tax relief or subsidy to encourage people to buy life insurance would have a deadweight cost because people who would have bought insurance anyway would benefit.

Death-to-case ratio : The number of deaths attributed to a particular disease during a specified time period divided by the number of new cases of that disease identified during the same time period.

Debt forgiveness : Cancelling or rescheduling a borrower’s debts to lessen the pain of the debt burden. Debt forgiveness is increasingly viewed as the best way to relieve the financial problems facing poorer countries. Some of these countries have to pay so much in interest each year to foreign lenders that they have little money left to spend on the long-term solutions to their poverty, such as educating their workers and building a modern infrastructure. In 1998 the world Bank calculated that around 40 of the world’s poorest countries had an “unsustainably high” debt burden : the present value of their total debts was more than 220% of their exports. Debt forgiveness has potential drawbacks. For instance, there is a risk of moral hazard. If countries that borrow too much are let off their financial obligations, poor countries may feel they have nothing to lose by borrowing as much as they can. This is why policymakers often argue that debt forgiveness should come with a conditionality clause, for instance, a requirement that countries have a track record of implementing economic reforms designed to prevent a repeat of the errors that first created the need for debt forgiveness. This is the approach taken by the World Bank’s HIPC (highly indebted poor country) initiative, launched in 1996 and expanded in 1999. However, by 2003, only eight of the 38 poor countries eligible under the programme had made enough progress in reform to have some debt forgiven.

3.1    Cereals
    List of weeds in Rabi season crops
    Management of weeds in Cereals
    
    Wheat
    
    Management of weeds in Pulses
    
    Chickpea
    Fieldpea
    Lentil
    
    Management of weeds in Oilseeds
    
    1. Rapeseed / Mustard / Toria
    2. Pictures of major weeds of Rabi season crops
    
    Non-crop lands weeds and their management
    
    1. Parthenium hysterophorus
    2. Saccharum spontaneum
    3. Lantana camara

Random variable: A random variable is a variable that assumes numerical values associated with the events of a random experiment whose outcomes cannot be predicted with certainty. For example, Height of rice plants in a field; seed weight; No. of tillers per rice plant.

A random variable is of two types:-

1. Discrete random variable: The random variable which takes only countable values i.e., integral values. For Example, Number of tillers per rice plant. Here there can be finite no. of values between any two values.
2. Continuous random variables: The random variable which takes values within intervals. These values cannot be counted but can only be measured. Here there can be infinite no. of values between any two values for example, Height of rice plants in field; seed weight.

Protected cultivation structures such as greenhouses, polyhouses, and net houses represent significant advancements in agricultural production, offering growers the ability to create an environment that is partially or fully isolated from external weather conditions. These structures are vital tools in modern horticulture and floriculture, especially in areas experiencing unpredictable weather patterns, water scarcity, and heightened pest pressures. The core objective of protected cultivation is to optimize the internal microclimate to meet plants’ physiological needs, ensuring higher yields, improved quality, and year-round cultivation. Achieving these outcomes requires a deep understanding and management of various microclimate factors, such as temperature, relative humidity, light intensity and quality, carbon dioxide (CO?) concentration, and air circulation. Each of these elements plays a crucial role in influencing plant health, photosynthetic efficiency, nutrient uptake, resistance to pests and diseases, and overall productivity.
Effective management of the microclimate begins with controlling temperature, which is arguably the most important factor affecting plant growth. While optimal temperature ranges vary by crop, even small deviations can disrupt essential physiological processes like germination, transpiration, and flowering. To maintain ideal temperatures in protected environments, growers employ a combination of passive and active strategies, such as utilizing roof and side vents for natural ventilation, applying shade nets during periods of intense sunlight, using fogging systems for evaporative cooling, and installing heaters or thermal blankets during colder months. These tools are often automated with sensors and climate controllers, making the system responsive and energy-efficient. In addition to temperature, managing relative humidity (RH) is essential.
Excessive RH can encourage the growth of fungal pathogens, while low RH can lead to water stress and hinder pollination. Maintaining RH between 50% and 70% is ideal for most vegetable and ornamental crops. This can be accomplished

Green manure is defined as fresh organic matter/undecomposed plant material/ real organic matter, natural plant food added to the soil for the purpose of supplying plant nutrients.

CLASSIFICATION OF GREEN MANURES

Nonlegumes: Rape seed, buck wheat, niger, rye, oats and maize

Legumes:

Grain legumes: cowpea, mungbean, pigeon pea, soybean, khesari (Lathyrus sativus)

Dual purpose legumes: cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba). pillipesara, Sesbania speciosa.

Non grain legumes: sunnhemp, dhaincha, pillipesera (Phaseolus trilobus), stylosanthes and desmodium.

Sources of agriculture/ Livestock finance
Finance for agriculture can be obtained from formal and informal sources Formal sources
Credit co-operatives
Commercial banks
Government
Regional Rural Banks
Informal sources
Money lender
Friends and relatives
Traders
Landlords
3 R’s OF CREDIT
To estimate the rationality of a loan, it is essential to know credit analysis.

Among the pulses, rajmash is one of the high potential pulse crops with a yielding potential of 18 to 20 q per ha. Rajmash or French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a short duration non–traditional grain legume and one of the precious and highly relished pulse crops of North India. Rajmash is known by various names viz., French bean, rajma, haricot bean, field bean, kidney bean, snap bean, pole bean etc. It is an important winter vegetable grown both for tender pods and dry seeds, which form a rich source of crude protein (21.25%), fat (1.7%) and carbohydrates (70%). Besides, it contains 0.16 mg iron, 1.76 mg calcium and 3.43 mg zinc per 100 g of edible part (Jasvinder Kaur and Mehta, 1994). The fresh pods and green leaves are used as vegetable. The antimetabolites of dry beans needs removal by cooking and soaking in water.

Climate
This refers to the long-term statistical data of temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count, and many other meteorological parameters in a particular area. However, weather refers to the current state of these same elements over a maximum of two weeks. The statistical long-term representation of the shortterm weather is called climate. A region’s “climate” is its average long-term weather. Temperature and readiness determine the climate. The variations between the average circumstances at two different times can be used to define changes in the climate. The atmosphere, seas, ice sheets (cryosphere), living things (biosphere), and soils, sediments, and rocks (geosphere) all contribute to and are a part of the global climate system.
When the sun falls on moisture droplets in the earth’s atmosphere, a spectrum of light appears in the sky, creating an optical and meteorological phenomenon known as a rainbow.
A wilderness is an area of the planet’s natural ecosystem that has not seen major alterations from human activities.
The atmosphere, a body of gases or air around the earth, shields it from harm and makes life possible. The planet’s atmosphere is primarily made up of nitrogen, with only 21% being oxygen; the remaining little portion is made up of carbon dioxide and other gases. The earth is divided into five separate layers, ranked from lowest to highest:

Introduction

The resource conservation technologies (RCTs) is primarily focussed on resource savings through minimal tillage, ensuring soil nutrients and moisture conservation through crop residues and growth of cover crops, and adoption of spatial and temporal crop sequencing. These practices have long been practised by the farmers in the Indo Gangetic Plains (IGP) but it got eroded in recent times due to various geo-socio economic- political reasons. This region (10.5 million ha) comprises of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal and have major share in production of rice and wheat due to adoption of green revolution technologies followed by area expansion. It has been reported that rice-wheat system has strained the natural resources of this region (Swarup and Singh, 1989; Kumar and Yadav, 1993; Lal et al., 2004). In present scenario there is little scope to meet future target by earlier approaches like area expansion and intensive use of natural resources. Therefore, RCTs can be regarded as energy, water and labour efficient system to sustain soil health and production environment and produce more at less cost (Jat et al., 2012; Gathala et al., 2011b).

Major emphasis is given upon the RCTs components like zero/reduced tillage, direct seeded rice, crop residue management and crop diversification. However, other RCTs like site specific nutrient management, leaf colour chart, laser land leveller, nutrient use efficient genotypes, integrated crop and pest management provide options to the farmers as per their resource endowment.

Abstract

Geochemical processes occurring within the groundwater and reactions with aquifer minerals have a profound effect on water quality. Hydrogeochemical composition of groundwater can also be indicative of its origin and history of passage through underground materials which water has been in contact. Assessing groundwater quality and developing strategies to protect aquifers from contamination are necessary aspects for proper planning and designing water resources. Anthropogenic activities like explosion of population, industrial growth, inputs of fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation has been a crucial factor for determining the quality of groundwater. In this scenario, 43 groundwater samples were collected from the Dindigul district of Tamilnadu, a Hard rock terrain. The samples wereanalyzed for major cations and anions along with heavy metals to derive the different quality parameters and to obtain the pollution indices of different samples. This study focuses to find out the spatial relationship between the analyzed fluoride concentration in groundwater and pollution indices derived from the heavy metal concentration in the groundwater of the study area and their variation with respect to season.

The Environment (Protection) Act
In 1986, the Environment (Protection) Act was introduced. Concern over the environment’s declining condition grew, leading to the passage of this act to safeguard it. The goal is to plan, organize, and carry out the long-term requirements for environmental safety as well as to oversee and coordinate the development of an effective system for responding to environmental emergencies.
If we want to protect our environment, we must move far more quickly to execute this legislation. Food cycles are disrupted and species are lost when dangerous substancesare present in the atmosphere and aquatic environments in excess.
The Environment Act of 1986 has a Global Context in Addition to Aignificant Constitutional Ramifications.
• This act put into practice the spirit of declaration approved by the United Nations Conference on Human Environment, held in Stockholm in June 1972.
• In the 1970s, environmental protection gained national priority because to the significant growth in damages.
• Food chains are disrupted and species are lost when there are excessive quantities of dangerous substances in the atmosphere and aquatic habitats.
• Goals
• Clearly defining what environmental conservation is.
• Determining the generally acknowledged regions that pose a threat to the life support system.

Introduction

Lonar Lake, near Lonar town in the Buldhana District, India is not just the source of excitement for the visitors but also for the scientist community. Lonar is the third largest natural salt-water lake in the world, with a diameter of 1800 meter. Fredrickson, et al (1973) found that, about 50000 year back a massive meteor entered into the Earth’s gravitational forces ranging 60 meter long and weighing 2 million ton. It was racing at a speed of 25 kms per second towards the planet earth. When it struck the earth the energy released was equivalent to that released by six-megaton atom bombs. The impact was so severe that rocks from all sides came on the surface and reached the height of 20 meters. This impact left a massive crater 170 meters deep and with 1800 meter in diameter. Today it is natural salt-water lake.

Cloudy Swelling

Swelling of cells occur with hazy appearance due to a mild injury. The cells take more water due to defect in sodium pump leading to swollen mitochondria which gives granular cytoplasmic appearance. It is the first reaction of cell to the mildest injury. Cloudy swelling is a reversible reaction (Figs. 4.1 & 4. 2).

Etiology

• Can be caused by even mildest injury.

• Any factor causing interference with metabolism of the cell like bacterial toxins, fever, diabetes, circulatory disturbances etc.

Macroscopic features

• Organ becomes enlarged and rounded.

• Weight of organ increases.

• Bulging on cut surfaces.

• Amount of fluid increases in organ.

Microscopic features

• Swelling of cells, edges become rounded.

• Increased size of cells.

• Cytoplasm of the cells becomes hazy/cloudy due to increased granularity.

• Can be seen in liver, kidney and muscles.

Introduction

Any computer that has Microsoft office excel in it can operate this statistical calculator. Operating system requirement is Windows 7 or its higher version. Usually looking at a data we become nervous and start thinking that how to analyse the data using computer programme, how to write the report of the research analysis etc. This newly developed statistical calculator will remove the fear of data analysis and make our life easy. This calculator will get the data analysis done within a very reasonable computing time.

This chapter introduces a new statistical calculator which provides a step-by-step guide to data analysis of the research data generated in agriculture, biological sciences and in other fields (Singh and Chaudhary, 1985; Chandel, 1998; Bhattacharya and Chowdhury, 2010). The process used to develop the program is quite involved with statistical theories and is not understandable to those who do not have any background in statistics and data analysis. Here we will explain the procedure adopted and the programme used, step-by-step so that it becomes easily comprehensible. We have provided examples in each spreadsheet for analysis. Data analysis with this statistical programme is not really difficult. According to the draft format required for analysis, you only need to arrange and enter the raw data. It does not require much information and knowledge about the formula used as well as the program developed to analyze the data (http://www.sbear.in/).