eChapters

There are stages in seed supply chain where seed losses happen at harvesting and post harvest stage. These losses may occur due to higher moisture at harvest, due to harvesting methods, processing methods, at seed storage, during transport etc. Estimation of these losses is an important function of seed inventory management. Estimating seed losses help to improve processing and seed distribution efficiency. These simple statistical tools will help to measure quantitative post harvest seed losses. Seed testing can be used for measuring qualitative post harvest seed losses.

To assess the quality of the seed is necessary before it is shipped for packaging and made available to the farming community. To assess certain routine seed quality parameters which are statutory for labelling seed sampling and testing are very critical. Seed testing is not only a mandatory trade requirement but also decides the market potential of a particular product in the market and safeguard the brand image of the company. Seed sampling for labelling and other trade requirements is done at processing plant. The reliability of seed testing is depends on the accuracy with which the sample represents the lot and precision of the laboratory test. In many cases variations in the test results are due to variation in the sampling. Hence, seed sampling is one of the important activities of the shop floor or processing unit.

The management of storage in open and closed storage is critical before start of any seed processing activities. When seed lots reach the shop floor, they need to be stored properly. Unlike commercial produce seed lots cannot be stored in bulk. These need to be stacked lot wise and there is problem of “stackburn”-resulting from successive layers in building a bag stack. In crops like soyabean-”stackburn” can have detrimental effect on seed quality. The quality parameters like germination and viability can get lost instantly if not properly stacked on the pallets.

Storage of paddy seed lots after harvesting is one of the crucial aspects of processing shopfloor. Paddy due to increased mechanised harvesting may loose vital seed quality parameters. Since seed growers cannot buy a combined harvester themselves-they resort to hiring of this machine. Sometimes in the hurry of completing harvesting they harvest the crop at un-safe moisture content. This un-safe moisture content may go up to 50-60% also. Harvesting of seed crop with high moisture has adverse effect on storability. Ensuring safe seed moisture is very critical especially during rabi-summer seed production cycle. Most of the growers depend on sun drying for reducing the seed moisture. But paddy should not be dried >3% in one cycle. Follow tempering and convection cooling after every cycle and repeat the cycle till seed attains safe moisture content (14%).

The concept of Self Help Group (SHG) has its roots in rural areas and it has been mooted along the rural poor to improve their living conditions. Though it is applicable to both men and women in our country, but it has been more successful among women and they can start economic activities for improving their livelihoods through SHG movement. Self Help Group (SHG) is a small voluntary association. It is informal and homogenous group of not more than twenty members. SHGs consist of maximum 20 members because any group having more than 20 members has to be registered under Indian legal system. That is why, it is recommended to be informal to keep them away from bureaucracy, corruption, unnecessary administrative expenditure and profit motive. In fact, it is a home grown model for poverty reduction which simultaneously works to empower and shape the lives of its members in a better way. Groups are expected to be homogenous so that the members do not have conflicting interest and all the members can participate freely without any fear. SHG movement has triggered off a silent revolution in the rural credit delivery system in India. SHGs have proved as an effective medium for delivering credit to rural poor for their socio-economic empowerment. In the development paradigm, SHG and micro-finance has evolved as a need-based programme for empowerment and alleviation of poverty to the so far neglected target groups (women, poor, deprived, etc.).

Self Help Group (SHG) and micro finance may be said a recent movement and the literature on SHG and micro finance is relatively one of the youngest. Review of past works in the field of SHG and related issues since 1995 has been considered, which helps to identify the research gap. Therefore, studies related to SHGs were reviewed and presented covering various aspects comprehensively.
 
2.1 Profile of the SHG Members
 
Hemalatha (1995) conducted study in Haryana and found that majority of women taking up pottery activity were illiterate, Sirki making women’s education ranged from illiteracy to primary level and bakery unit were illiterate.

In India, majority of the people live in rural areas and are engaged in agriculture, earning a subsistence wage. Development which has been focused on them seems to have just passed by them. In India out of the 147.90 million rural households around 60 per cent are cultivation households. Eighty-eight per cent are headed by small/marginal farmers with holding less than 2 hectares (Throat, 2005). Therefore to finance this category of the poor, there is an obligation to create opportunities where credit can be used in a meaningful way.

Present study was conducted in an Eastern Indian State ‘Chhattisgarh’, which was purposively selected keeping in view the importance of SHG movement in empowering rural poor in Eastern Indian States, home of the largest proportion of population below poverty line. To have in-depth micro level analyses, one district of Chhattisgarh was randomly selected, which happened to be the Kanker district.

A research methodology is the logical and systematic planning and directing of a research process to accomplish research goals. The components of research methods used in the present study are as follows:
5.1 Hypotheses
5.2 Sampling plan 
5.3 Variables and their measurements
5.4 The interview schedule
5.5 Statistical analyses

Findings of the present investigation on effectiveness of self-help groups (SHGs) in improving livelihood and empowerment of rural poor in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh are presented under the following headings:
    6.1 Features of SHGs formed under different programmes 
    6.2 Socio-personal, socio-economic and communicational profile of the members of SHGs
    6.3 Dynamics and effectiveness of SHGs  
    6.4 Impact of SHGs on livelihood of the members 
    6.5 Influence of SHGs on empowerment of rural poor
    6.6 Overall impact of SHG approach 
    6.7 Constraints faced by SHGs 

The main purpose of this chapter is to summarize the results to draw the conclusions on the basis of the foregoing analyses and to indicate some of the significant implications of the present study.
 
In previous Chapter, the study described a detail account of 12 SHGs, three SHGs from each of four schemes viz. NABARD’s SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (SBLP), National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) in Chhattisgarh state. However, looking back to this study with the salient findings and implications would be the precursor for looking ahead.

In the study of rural development, there are three frameworks of analysis, viz. neo-classical, Marxian and systems approaches. While the latter two are holistic approaches, the neo-classical framework provides the underpinning of modern microfinance, with its focus on the decision making of individual economic agents towards (short-term) profit or utility maximisation. Neo-classical discussion and policy prescriptions in microfinance are directed towards creating the conditions for the operation of free rural financial markets. Institutional economists have further used the imperfect information paradigm to focus on transaction costs of credit delivery that serve to explain and justify high interest rates charged by village moneylenders (Tankha, 2002).

Soil fertility -importance

From edaphological point of view soil is a medium for plant growth. It holds and nourishes the plants. Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to supply plant nutrients. Soil fertility and fertilizers are very much closely related terms; and cannot be neglected one from the other in their function. Soil fertility acts as a ‘SINK’ where in plants can draw nutrients for maximum productivity, where as fertilizer, acts as a ‘SOURCE’ wherein we can apply continuously different nutrients. The importance of soil fertility and nutrient management is being increasingly recognized in all countries recently to meet the demand for food and other agricultural raw materials. Intensive use of fertilizer, intensive cropping and high yielding seeds have no doubt increased the food production and reduced the food shortage but it has also ushered in innumerable problems of soil fertility, soil and water pollution. On the other hand, fast depletion of nutrients due to over exploitation, a wide spread deficiency of N, P, K and S coupled with micronutrients deficiencies specially Zn, B and Mo is taking place. Further deforestation, shifting cultivation, burning of crop residues, trees, bushes, grasses and cow dung, soil erosion, nutrient losses and imbalanced nutrient application, leaching losses etc., have aggravated the depletion of soil fertility status. The productivity of Indian agriculture solely depends on scientific management of soil fertility along with judicious and efficient use of fertilizers integrated with organic sources.

Terminology

    ·    Nutrient: Nutrients are substances required by an organism for their normal     growth and reproduction. 
    ·    Plant Nutrient: The plant nutrient is a “food” which is composed of certain chemical elements often referred to as ‘plant nutrient’ or plant food elements considered very essential for growth and development of plants. 
    ·    Nutrition: The supply and absorption of chemical compounds needed for growth and metabolism of an organism.

The following graph is a visual representation of how plant growth and/or yield is affected by nutrient concentrations

N-Transformation and availability in soils     
    a.    N-Cycle 
    b.    N transformation in  soils 
Phosphorus transformation & availability in soils: 
    a.    P-Cycle 
    b.    P transformation in soils 
K-transformations& availability in soils: 
    a.    K-Cycle 
    b.    K-Transformations

Organic matter and its composition 
Decomposition  
Types microorganisms involved 
Enzymes involved in decomposition process?

    1.    Acid soil
    2.    Causes of soil acidity   
    3.    Problem of soil acidity 
    4.    Management or Amelioration of soil acidity 
        a.    Lime requirement (LR): 
        b.    Liming reaction in soils      
        c.    Benefits of liming on acidic soils 
    5.    Calcareous soil  
    6.    Formation, characteristics & management of calcareous soil 

    1.    Salt affected soils;
    2.    Classification of salt affected soils; 
    3.    Formation of salt affected soils; 

Alkali soil
 
Alkali soils are those that contain measurable amounts of soluble salts mostly as carbonates and bicarbonates of sodium. 

Definitions of IPNM 
Concept of IPNM 
Main objectives of INM 
Components of IPNM

The objective of nutrient use is to increase the overall performance of cropping systems by providing economically optimum nourishment to the crop while minimizing nutrient losses from the field and supporting agricultural system sustainability through contributions to soil fertility or other soil quality components. NUE addresses some but not all aspects of that performance. The most valuable NUE improvements are those contributing most to overall cropping system performance. Therefore, management practices that improve NUE without reducing productivity or the potential for future productivity increases are likely to be most valuable. An excellent review of NUE measurements and calculations was written by Dobermann (2007). Table  is a summary of common NUE terms, as defined by Dobermann, along with their applications and limitations. The primary question addressed by each term and the most typical use of the term are also listed below.

Fertilizers are applied to supplement nutrient requirement of the crop. It should not be looked as a substitute to organic sources. After determination of nutrient requirement of a crop fora given yield and contribution of nutrients from different sources, articularly, from the soil source, it is necessary to supplement the balance from the inorganic sources. These are determined by field experimentation supplemented by pot-culture, laboratory and green housestudies, if necessary. When a fertilizer is applied all of its nutrient (s) are not absorbed by the crop. The interactions between soil-crop-season and other factors are quite significant. Only a fraction of the nutrient(s) is utilized by the crop.

Methods of soil fertility evaluation          
    I.    Nutrient deficiency symptoms on plants  
    II.    Plant analysis
    III.    Biological tests   
    IV.    Soil testing
    V.    Spectral sensing for site specific evaluation

Soil fertility evaluation is conducted for providing an adequate supply of essential plant nutriens to ensure optimum plant productivity, while maximising economic benefits and minimising environmental degradation.
 
Mathematical modelling of nutrient application

The significance of an essential plant nutrient was contained in the Liebig’s law of minimum.

Fertilizer

Fertilizers are defined as materials having definite chemical composition with a high analytical value that supply essential plant nutrients in available form. They are usually manufactured by industries and sold with a trade name. They are commonly synthetic in nature and also called as chemical fertilizers/inorganic fertilizers/commercial fertilizers other than lime and gypsum. Most of the chemical fertilizers are inorganic in nature.

Methods of fertilizer application

Two major methods are used to apply fertilizers  
I) Application of fertilizers in solid form 
II) Application of fertilizers in liquid forms

Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985 which is administered by Deptt.of Agriculture Cooperation, Govt. of India has been issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The FCO lays, down as to what substances qualify for use as fertilizers in the soil, product-wise specifications, methods for sampling and analysis of fertilizers, procedure for obtaining license/registration as manufacture/dealer in fertilizers and conditions to be fulfilled for trading thereof, etc.

Use of biofertilizers in agriculture and their advantage
 
Bio-fertilizers or bio-inoculants

These are productions containing living organisms such as nitrogen fixers or phosphorus solubilises which are useful for agricultural production. Biofertilizers play a significant role in improving soil fertility and plant growth. By fixing atmospheric nitrogen both in association with plants and without plants solubilize insoluble soil phosphates into soluble phosphates there by increasing the availability of phosphorus secrete growth promoting substances and supplies to the inoculated plants.

Plant nutrients are naturally components of the soil orchestrated by weathering processes and that the abundance of these metals in our soil environment now-a-days is due to numerous anthropogenic activities. In the environment, heavy metals are partitioned among the various environmental compartments such as water, soil, suspended solids and biota. Processes such as dilution, dispersion, sedimentation, adsorption and desorption govern their distribution. They also exist in colloidal ionic particulate and dissolved phases,  have a high affinity for humic acids, organic colloids and oxides coated with organic matter. The soluble forms are generally ions or unionised organo metallic chelates or complexes. The solubility of metals in soil and groundwater is predominantly controlled by pH, amount of metal, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon content, the oxidation state of the mineral components and the redox potential of the system.

The requirement of micronutrients is always in low amounts while their moderate decrease causes the deficiency symptoms and a moderate increase causes toxicity. In other words, there is a narrow range of concentration at which the elements are optimum. Any mineral ion concentration in tissues that reduces the dry weight of tissues by about 10 per cent is considered toxic. Such critical concentrations vary widely among different micronutrients. The toxicity symptoms are difficult to identify. Toxicity levels for any element also vary for different plants. Many a times, excess of an element may inhibit the uptake of another element.

Toxic elements like Cadmium (Cd), Fluoride (F), heavy metals, radioactive metals are associated with mainly rock phosphates, other organic wastes like sewage sludge and pollutants. Their chemistry is similar to plant nutrients and replace them in their physiology leading to reduced uptake of nutrients, productivity and contaminated food chain.

Synonyms : Aphthous fever; Contagious aptha;  Panzootic aptha; Vesicular aptha.

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is an acute, highly communicable viral disease affecting cloven hoofed animals, both domesticated and wild. It is the most contagious disease known in the animal kingdom. It is characterized by vesicular eruptions in the epithelium of the buccal cavity, tongue, nares, muzzle, feet, teats and udder.

Synonyms : Hog eholera, European swine fever

It is an acute highly infectious viral septicaemia of swine of all ages characterized by rapid and sudden onset, high morbidity and mortality and generalized  haemorrhages. A chronic course  followed by recovery after treatment has been reported in older pigs and appearance of new born pigs with congenital defects.

Etiology : The etiological agent causing hog cholera is a linear  single stranded positive sense RNA virus under the genus Pestivirus and family Flaviviridae. The virions are spherical, 40-50 nm in diameter  and consist of a tightly adherent lipid bilayer envelope covered with glycoprotein peplomers surrounding an icosahedral capsid of 28-35 nm in diameter. The genome is 12 kb in length with 5’end capped but  3’end  not  polyadenylated. The genes for structural proteins are located at 5’ end of genome. The virus replicates in the cytoplasm and matures within cytoplasmic vesicles. Though there is only one antigenic type of the virus, a number of strains of variable virulence and antigenicity has been reported. The causative agent was first thought to be a gram negative bacterium named Salmonella cholera suis. Later, it was confirmed that the disease is caused by a  virus.

Synonym : Hydrophobia, Lyssa, Jalatanka

This is an acute highly fatal viral disease of all warm blooded animals including man characterized by signs of abnormal behaviour, nervous symptoms (increased excitability and irritability), impairment of consciousness, ascending paralysis and death. The disease was variously known as lytta or lyssa coming from the belief that the disease was caused by a worm under the tongue (lytta) or hydrophobia, which describes the thirst and fear of water associated with the disease. The English name rabies derived from Latin word ‘Rabere’ which has been derived from Sanskrit word ‘Rabhas’  meaning raging, furious, savage, madness or   to do violence whereas Greek term hydrophobia is now specifically used  for rabies in man. The symptom hydrophobia (fear of water) is developed due to painful spasm of muscles of deglutition.

Synnoyms : Pseudorinderpest, Goat plaque, Goat catarrhal fever

It is a severe rinderpest like disease of small ruminants viz., sheep, goat and wild ruminants characterized by pyrexia, catarrhal inflammation of ocular and nasal mucous membrane, erosive stomatitis, enteritis and pneumonia. The disease is also called goat plaque, kata, pseudorinderpest and  stomatitis pneumo-enteritis complex. The current and standard name of the disease was chosen by the International Workshop of the disease in Ibadan, Nigeria, 1980.

Synonyms : Variola capra

It is a malignant disease of goats characterized by high rise of body temperature and generalized pock lesions.

Distribution : Goat pox has been reported from all parts of the world. Various workers have reported the  outbreaks of the disease from different states of India. It is widely prevalent in W.B. and may attain epidemic proportion with mortality rate of 80% in kid and ~50% in adults.

Synonyms : Variola ovine, ovine pox

Sheep pox causes a severe and highly contagious disease in sheep which is listed in group A disease of the OIE. It is defined as a malignant pox of sheep characterized by fever and generalized development of pock lesions. Lesions first appear as vesicles which later turn into pustules on the exposed parts of the body. There is high mortality rate in lambs.

Distribution :  The disease is in existence since very long in Asia and Europe. It is prevalent in many areas of middle East countries, Africa, Asia and  Mediterranean countries. There are lot of disease outbreaks in India around the year. European Union with the exception of occasional sporadic outbreak in eastern areas of Greece, U.S.A. and Australia are free from the disease.

Synonyms : Catarrhal fever, Sore mouth, Epizootic catarrh, Sore muzzle, Pseudo foot and mouth disease, Malarial catarrhal fever.

It is an infectious, noncontagious arthropod borne viral disease of domestic and wild ruminants namely sheep, goat , cattle, camels, llamas, deer and antelopes. This is predominantly a disease of sheep but occasionally cattle and  goats are subclinically affected. The disease is characterized by high fever, catarrhal stomatitis, rhinitis, enteritis and lameness due to inflammation of the coronary bands and sensitive laminae of the feet. There are at least  25 serotypes of bluetongue virus worldwide within the BTV serogroup. Genetic variability occurs within a group due to genetic drift of individual gene segments and genetic reassortment when ruminants or other vectors are infected with more than one strain.

Synonyms :  Viral bovi. rhinotracheitis, Red nose, I.B.R, Infectious pustular vulvovaginits (IPV), Coital exanthema, Infectious pustular balanoposthitis (IPB), Bovine herpes virus 1(BHV 1).

It is a highly infectious disease of bovine characterized by high fever, rhinotracheitis, conjunctivitis, with a short course and high recovery rate. Encephalitis, the systemic form of the disease in new born calves, infectious pustular vulvovaginits/balanoposthitis are other syndromes caused by the same virus. Genetic isolates of various clinical isolates has found subtypes of BHV 1; a respiratory subtype BHV 1.1, a genital subtype BHV1.2 and an encephalatic subtype BHV 1.3, which is now termed as BHV 5.

Synonyms :  Three days sickness, Stiff  sickness,  Dengu fever of cattle, Bovine epizootic fever and Lazy man’s disease.

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is a viral disease of cattle, Bos Taurus, Bos indicus and Bos javanicus and water buffalo Bubalus bubalis, although  subclinically infect a greater range of ruminant species. Although the disease has a variety of names, bovine ephemeral fever is most commonly used  and is very apt. The disease in cattle is characterized  by acute febrile reaction, stiffness, lameness and spontaneous recovery in three days.  The morbidity may be high but the mortality is low. It mainly occurs in subtropical and temperate regions of Africa, Asia and Australia.

Canine parvovirus 2 (CPV-2), the causative agent of  acute haemorrhagic enteritis and myocarditis in dogs, is one of the most important  pathogenic viruses. It is a highly contagious  and often fatal disease.  CPV-2 was first recognized in 1977 and since then it has been well established as an enteric pathogen of dogs throughout the world causing  high morbidity (100%) and frequent mortality up to 10%.   The disease is characterized by 2 prominent clinical forms (i)  enteritis with vomition and diarrhea in dogs of all ages (ii) myocarditis and subsequent heart failure in pups of less than  3 months of age. The virus was named CPV-2 in order to differentiate it from a closely related parvovirus of canine known as CPV-1 or minute  virus of canine (MVC). MVC, a completely different parvovirus, had not been associated with   natural disease until 1992.

Synonyms : Black leg, quarter ill
This is an acute infectious but non contagious disease of cattle, goat, sheep, swine and deer  caused by Cl. chauvoei characterized by development of focal gangrenous and emphysematous myositis. This gives rise to crepitation and serosanguinous swelling in heavy muscles especially in gluteal muscles and associated with severe toxaemia and high mortality.

Synonymous  :  Pearl’s disease, scrofula

It is a chronic insidious contagious disease of man and animals caused by  tubercle bacilli characterized by development of tubercles in lung tissue, lymph nodes or other organs resulting in caseation and calcification. The tubercles are frequently located in lungs and lymph nodes. But they may be formed in the liver, spleen, intestine, peritoneum, meninges and long bones.

Synonyms : Bang’s disease, Contagious abortion, Infectious abortion, Enzootic abortion, Undulant fever, Malta fever, Mediterranean fever

Brucellosis, one of the most ancient diseases,  continues to be a problem for humans and animals throughout the world causing enormous economic losses and significant human morbidity in endemic areas. The bacterial pathogen is classified by the CDC as a category B pathogen that has the potential for development as a bioweapon. It is one of the important zoonotic disease and considered  as the most common laboratory acquired pathogen with >5 lakh human cases reported  annually  around the world. Brucellosis is a chronic infection which can result in infertility, delayed heat, interrupted lactation, loss of calves, wool, meat and milk production in animals and undulant fever in humans.

Synonyms : Farcy, Pacin, Carn

Glanders is a contagious, acute or chronic, usually fatal anthropo-zoonotic disease of Equidae caused by Burkholderia mallei and characterized by serial development of ulcerating nodules that are most commonly found in the upper respiratory tract, lungs, and skin. The first recorded description of glanders is from the third century from Aristotle. In 1664, glanders was recognized as a contagious disease and in 1830, it’s zoonotic potential was suspected. In the late 1800’s, the Mallein test (1891) was developed for diagnosis of glanders. By 1910, the U.S., Canada and Great Britain all implemented glanders-control programs. B. mallei was eradicated from the United States in 1929.

Synonyms : Pasteurellosis, shipping fever, Stockyardis disease, Stockyardis pneumonia, Barbone disease

Hemorrhagic septicaemia is a particular form of pasteurellosis caused by Pasteurella multocida and manifested by an acute and highly fatal septicaemia mainly in  cattle and water buffaloes. The disease includes pneumonic pasteurellosis (shipping or transport fever), a disease caused mainly by P. haemolytica, although various serotypes of P. multocida are occasionally involved. Although the morbidity of pneumonic pasteurellosis of cattle can be high, the mortality rate is much less than that of hemorrhagic septicemia.

Synonyms :  Weil’s disease, Stuttgart disease, Infectious jaundice, Haemoglobinuria, Rice field worker’s disease, Swine handler’s disease, Sugarcane worker’s disease, Canine typhus

Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis. According to the occupational groups involved and the nature of the disease presentations, different names have been used, e.g. seven-day fever found commonly in Japan, Cane cutter’s disease in Australia, Rice field Leptospirosis in Indonesia and Fort Bragg fever, which appeared as an outbreak in the US. Weil’s disease, which is one of the severe forms of this disease, occurs in many countries, including India and other South-East Asian Countries, China, continental Europe and England. Leptospirosis exists in all the five inhabited continents and in a large number of countries. It occurs in tropical, subtropical and temperate zones.  Leptospirosis is also an important cause of abortions, stillbirths and reproductive failures in cattle and pigs.  Periodic ophthalmia in horse is commonly associated with leptospiral infections. Leptospirosis was first recognized in humans in 1886 by Weil and characterized by icterus.  Leptospira have been isolated from a variety of animal species and humans manifesting various clinical syndromes such as mud fever and swine herd disease.

Synonyms : Infectious adenitis, Equine distemper
It is  an acute infectious disease of equines characterized by catarrhal inflammation of the upper respiratory tract with suppuration and abscessation of the associated lymph node.
 
Etiology :  Strepococcus  equi subspecies equi is a Gm+ cocci that produces a -b haemolysin characterized by clear haemolysis surrounding colonies growing on blood agar. It is a biovar or genovar of S. zooepidemicus. Equines are very much susceptible and different genetic clones occur geographically. S. equi varies in virulence which is related to M protein and hyaluronic capsule produced. S. equi variant without capsule causes mild disease.

Synonyms :  Splenic fever, wool sorter’s disease, Tarka
It is an  infectious disease of livestock and worldwide in distribution. This is a zoonotic disease. It is also  known as splenic fever because of enlargement of the spleen (splenomegaly).

Etiology : It is caused by a rod shaped bacteria of 4-8 µm X 1-1.2 µm known as Bacillus anthracis. It is non-motile, capsulated, aerobic, spore bearing and Gm+  in nature. The organisms  remain in chains. It was the first pathogenic bacterium to be observed under the microscope, the first communicable disease to be transmitted by inoculation of infected blood, the first bacillus to be isolated in pure culture and shown to possess spores and the first bacterium used for  preparation of an attenuated vaccine.