eChapters

Abstract

From the vedic time itself goat is popularly known as a poor man’s cow in India. It has the proven potential to make significant contribution to the poor man’s economy thus livelihood with minimal requirement of care. It can be easily managed by women and children in spare time as it is small-sized animal. Other maintenance requirement like feeding, milking and care of goats do not require much equipment and hard work. Capital investment and feeding costs are also quite low. It not only supplies nutritious and easily digestible milk but goat meat has high demand and price in the market thus can act as regular source of additional income for poor and landless or marginal farmers. Also the role of women in goat keeping is very significant in the poor rural families and goat is the most important means through which rural women are able to contribute meaningfully to the cash needs for their family members. Thus, goat rearing can play very important role in balanced socio-economic development of the country as there is a close relationship between the status of women and the socioeconomic development of any country (Alam, 2001 and Ahmed, 2017).

Lucke (1862) first described that the bluish green discolouration of surgical dressing is associated with the presence of small vibrio like organisms. Gessard (1882) first isolated the bacteria as Pseudomonas.

Identification of the etiologic agent of glanders was performed in 1882 by isolating a bacterium from the infected liver and spleen of horse. Since its discovery, the pathogen has been classified as Loefflerella mallei, Pfeifferella mallei, Malleomyces mallei, Actinobacillus mallei, Corynebacterium mallei, Mycobacterium mallei, Pseudomonas mallei, and currently as Burkholdria mallei. The genus Burkholderia was created to accommodate former rRNA group II (Pseudomallei group) Pseudomonas bacteria. It was based on the 16S rRNA sequences, DNA-DNA homology values, cellular lipid and fatty acid composition.

Elephant foot yam, Amorphophallus campanutatus Blume (= Arum campanulatum Roxb.) belongs to the family Araceae. It is also known as elephant yam, Elephant bread, Suran, Sweet yam etc. It is a native to Tropical Asia and is found throughout the plains of the Indian sub-continent and some other parts of South East Asia and Africa growing both wild as well as cultivated.

With the sharp development of urban and industrial growth, the area under agriculture is declining year by year. On the other hand, human and animal population is increasing at a very fast rate. So, to meet the growing demand of food and fodders, a vertical increase in yield is required. Crop productivity per unit area can be enhanced with the manipulations of some agronomist practices such as sowing the crops at appropriate time, selection of suitable field for raising a crop, adoption of best planting techniques, use of appropriate seed rates, adoption of proper irrigation schedule, proper and need based application of fertilizers, adoption of zero till technology, green manuring, mulching, addition of well decomposed farm yard manure, timely and proper weed management, selection of recommended crops and crop varieties, proper control of insects and pests, adoption of marketing tips etc.

Fruits represent a vital component of global agriculture, serving as not only a significant source of essential nutrients but also a lucrative sector of the economy. However, from the moment of their inception on the tree to their arrival on consumers’ tables, fruits undergo a complex journey influenced by a myriad of factors. Among these, pre-harvest practices wield a profound impact on fruit quality, enzymatic activities, texture, ripening, and ultimately, post-harvest transportation losses. Each pre-harvest practice, from mineral nutrition to harvesting methods, plays a distinct role in shaping the biochemical composition and physical attributes of fruits, ultimately affecting their marketability and shelf life. Mineral nutrition stands as one of the foundational pillars of fruit production, with essential minerals serving as building blocks for various biochemical processes. Irrigation practices represent another critical aspect of pre-harvest management, as water availability profoundly impacts fruit development and composition. Different irrigation regimes can influence enzymatic activities, fruit texture, and the timing of ripening, necessitating strategic water management to achieve desired fruit quality while minimizing post-harvest losses. Canopy regulation, achieved through training and pruning techniques, offers growers a means to manipulate light penetration and airflow within the orchard. Moreover, the application of plant growth regulators (PGRs) emerges as a tool for fine-tuning fruit development and ripening processes. By modulating hormonal signals, PGRs can alter enzymatic activities, influence fruit texture, and mitigate transportation losses. However, judicious application is paramount to avoid adverse effects on fruit quality and safety. Harvesting decisions, including the determination of optimal maturity and the timing and method of harvest, profoundly impact fruit quality and post-harvest losses.

Introduction

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a critical public health crisis, with far-reaching implications for human, animal, and environmental health. If unchecked, by 2050, the global toll of AMR-related deaths could exceed 10 million, with Asia and Africa alone projected to account for approximately 4 million fatalities. In a potential ‘superbug’ outbreak scenario, the economic loss could reach as high as USD 100 trillion, especially impacting low- and middle income countries (LMICs) like India (O’Neill, 2014). AMR complicates the treatment of a wide array of infections, transforming previously manageable conditions into fatal threats. In 2019 alone, AMR was directly responsible for approximately 1.27 million deaths and contributed to an additional 5 million fatalities—surpassing the mortality rates of major infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria (Murray et al., 2022). The urgency of addressing AMR is underscored by a World Bank report, which warns that unchecked AMR could cause a global GDP decline of 1.1% to 3.8% by 2050, and averting this scenario may require an estimated annual investment of around 9 billion USD (Aslam et al., 2024).

Elephant foot yam, Amorphophallus campanutatus Blume (= Arum campanulatum Roxb.) belongs to the family Araceae. It is also known as elephant yam, Elephant bread, Suran, Sweet yam etc. It is a native to Tropical Asia and is found throughout the plains of the Indian sub-continent and some other parts of South East Asia and Africa growing both wild as well as cultivated. It is a robust herbaceous plant, with an erect solitary stem usually 1-2.5 m in height and bearing at the top one or two tripartite leaves, each part of which is deeply dissected into numerous segments. Towards the end of the plant’s cycle (usually 4-6 years) a large terminal inflorescence is produced, consisting of a short stalk and spathe and a spadix, which emits a malodorous smell, reminiscent of rotten meat.

INTORDUCTION

Spices are strongly flavored aromatic substances of plant origin which are commonly used for seasoning, cooking food and for preserving other food stuffs. There are about 70 species of spices grown in various parts of the world. Those which are used most commonly throughout the world are grown in India and other parts of South Asia.

The seed spices are annual herbs, whose dried fruits or seeds are mostly used as spices. The seed spices are used for culinary, confectionary, perfumery, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industry. There are about 20 seed spices grown in India (Table 1) and nine out of them are prominent. The most important among them are belongs to family Apiaceae (coriander, cumin, fennel etc). about 9 lakh ha area is growing in seed spices in the country with annual production of about 5-6 lakh tones (Anonymous, 2003). India is the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of seed spices. The foreign exchange earned through export of seed spices is more than Rs 200 crores annually. India exports raw spices as well as value added items to nearly 70 countries in the world and is meeting 51% of the global demand of these commodities. There is good potential for increasing export of seed spices, if production as well as quality is increased. The level of productivity in various seed spices is comparatively low as compared to other countries. There are many production constrains attributed to low productivity. The lake of suitable high yielding varieties suiting to different agro-ecological regions and more incidences of diseases and insect pests. Among different insect pests, coriander aphid, Hydaphis coriandari (Das) is one of the most destructive and widely distributed pest of coriander (Jain, 1984 and Jain and Yadav, 1989). Recently brown wheat mite was observed attacking coriander and other spices (Jain and Yadav, 1986 and 1989).

Anthracnose

Colletotrichum lindemuthianum

(Sexual stage: Glomerella lindemuthianum)

Diagnostic Symptoms

• The pathogen can attack all aerial parts at any stage of plan growth.
• Main symptoms are circular, black, sunken spots with dark center and bright red orange margins on leaves and pods.
• In severe infections the affected parts wither off.
• Seedling get destroyed due to infection soon after seed germination.

Louis Pasteur (1881) first isolated the bacterium from fowl cholera outbreak and attenuated the bacteria to develop a vaccine for the chicken. Trevisan (1887) coined the generic name ‘Pasteurella’ in honour of Louis Pasteur. Lignieres (1900) proposed the name of the species according to the animals acted as the major hosts such as Pasteurella aviseptica for fowls, P. suiseptica for pigs, P. boviseptica for bovines, P. oviseptica for ovines and P. leptiseptica for rabbits. Rosenbuch and Merchant (1939) proposed the name of single species Pasteurella multocida which is in use till date.

Mannheimia is an exclusive animal pathogen and is associated with ‘shipping fever’ or bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in cattle. Kitt (1885) first described the bacterium as Bacterium bipolare multocidum isolated from shipping fever in cattle. The nomenclature was further changed into Bacillus boviseptica and finally into Pasteurella haemolytica. Based on fermentation capability of arabinose and trehalose, P. haemolytica was subdivided into two biotypes (A and T) and several capsular serotypes. The biotype A (with 12 capsular serotypes) was classified under a new genus Mannheimia due to disparities in 16S rDNA sequence, cultural and pathological characteristics.

Introduction Carrot (Daucus carota L.) is a member of the Umbelliferae/Apiaceae family. Carrots is an important primitive cool season root vegetable crop cultivated in both tropical and temperate climatic conditions. Carrot is a significant winter root vegetable grown throughout India. Carrots are said to have originated in Afghanistan in western Asia, which is the principal source of variation. Carrots were grown in Asia Minor in the 10th and 11th centuries. It arrived in India from Persia in the 13th or 14th century. Its medicinal cultivation originated between 2000 and 3000 years ago. Carrots are a major root crop in European countries such as the United States, China, Japan, and India. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan are the main carrot-growing states in India. During 2020-21, India produces 1885 thousand metric tonnes of carrot from 108 thousand hectares of carrot production. During 2020-21, Haryana ranked top in both area (19.83 thousand hectares) and production (337.43 thousand metric tonnes) of carrot in India (Anonymous, 2020). Carrot possesses antidiabetic, cholesterol and cardiovascular disease decreasing, anti-hypertensive, hepatoprotective, Reno-protective, and anti-inflammatory effects. Carrot roots are rich in carotene, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic acid, niacin, and sugar.

India faced a series of famines from 1857 to 1901, for which the government was forced to appoint some commissions. The Famine Commission of 1880 recommended the establishment of a separate Department of Agriculture at both the central and provincial levels. Based on such recommendations, the Agricultural Departments were established in 1981–1982, and some acts like the Land Improvement Act and Agricultural Loans Act, 1988 and Co- operative Act, 1904 were passed and development departments were established. As a protection measure, some irrigation projects were created. The Famine Commission (1901) also recommended for establishment of Agricultural Research Stations and Colleges. The Imperial Agricultural Research Institute along with an Agricultural College was established at Pusa Institute. As per the Government India Act of 1919, all departments connected with rural development to the major provinces and agricultural development became a State subject. Rural Development works were made provincial subjects from 1935. Various diversified efforts for rural reconstruction were made for the development of extension in India during the Pre- Independence and Post- Independence periods. These extension programs were launched in four stages as indicated below.

Stage I: Pre- Independence Extension

Stage II: Post- Independence Extension (1947–1953)

Stage III: Community Development and National Extension service (1953–1960)

Stage IV: Intensive Agricultural Development (1960 onwards)

Pre- independence extension in India

Between 1903 and 1946, eight important area- specific programs were implemented for rural development while the Grow More Food Campaign was implemented in the entire country to increase food grains production. The description of these programs/projects is given below in brief.

The history of genetics dates from the classical era with contributions by Hippocrates, Aristotle and Epicurus. Modern biology began with the work of the Augustinian friar Gregor Johann Mendel. His work on pea plants, published in 1866, what is now Mendelian inheritance. Some theories of heredity suggest in the centuries before and for several decades after Mendel›s work. The year 1900 marked the “rediscovery of Mendel” by Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns and Erich von Tschermak, and by 1915 the basic principles of Mendelian genetics had been applied to a wide variety of organisms—most notably the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Led by Thomas Hunt Morgan and his fellow «drosophilists», geneticists developed the Mendelian model, which was widely accepted by 1925. Alongside experimental work, mathematicians developed the statistical framework of population genetics, bringing genetic explanations into the study of evolution.
With the basic patterns of genetic inheritance established, many biologists turned to investigations of the physical nature of the gene. In the 1940s and early 1950s, experiments pointed to DNA as the portion of chromosomes (and perhaps other nucleoproteins) that held genes. A focus on new model organisms such as viruses and bacteria, along with the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA in 1953, marked the transition to the era of molecular genetics.
In the following years, chemists developed techniques for sequencing both nucleic acids and proteins, while others worked out the relationship between the two forms of biological molecules: the genetic code. The regulation of gene expression became a central issue in the 1960s; by the 1970s gene expression could be controlled and manipulated through genetic engineering. In the last decades of the 20th century, many biologists focused on large-scale genetics projects, sequencing entire genomes.
Pre Mendelian Ideas on Heredity
Diagram of Charles Darwin’s pangenesis theory. Every part of the body emits tiny particles, gemmules, which migrate to the gonads and contribute to the fertilised egg and so to the next generation. The theory implied that changes to the body during an organism’s life would be inherited, as proposed in Lamarckism. Mendel’s work

COMMON FEATURES OF BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES

Membranes are sheetlike, just a few molecules thick and form closed boundaries between cell compartments.

Membranes contain lipids and proteins, with small amounts of carbohydrayes linked to the lipids and proteins.

Lipids in membranes are small with hydrophobic and hydrophilic portions. Lipid bilayers provide a barrier to the diffusion of polar molecules.

Characteristic functions of membranes are mediated by specific proteins, serving as pumps, channels, receptors, energy transducers and enzymes.

Membrane components associate through noncovalent interactions.

Membranes are asymmetrical, with two sides of the membrane differing from each other.

Lipid and protein molecules often diffuse rapidly in the plane of the membrane.

Central transport of ions and molecules into and out of the cell.

Generate proton gradients for ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation.

Receptors bind extracellular signals and transduce the signal to cell interior.

Abstract

The landslide vulnerability of the state of Mizoram is already high due to lithology, structure, geomorphology and seismotectonics and also the rainfall, like the other states of the northeastern region of India. The extensive mining activities along the highways for the building and road materials appear to cause additional problems of landslides. So two prominent landslides occurring in Keifang and Tlungvel quarries,Mizoram were studied. Besides taking stock of the geosystems, boreholes were drilled in both slides and from the total depth drilled and the modified core recovery, the RQD were worked out for the rocks which indicates that geotechnically the rocks of Keifang quarry are weak when compared to Tlungvel quarry. The geophysical surveys too lead to similar inferences. On the basis of the studies a set of mitigation strategies have been suggested.

Introduction

Communication is a process for exchanging ideas, facts, feelings, or impressions between two or more individuals for a common understanding. Communication is required for transferring technology or obtaining farmer feedback to adopt technology in the field. Good communication is the essence of good teaching. Communication is a whole learning process in which the teacher sends a message through a channel to the receiver as a means of teaching. In traditional extension, there was direct contact between the extension worker and farmer to communicate research innovations and to obtain farmer feedback. In this system, only a few farmers had direct contact with the extension worker while the majority of farmers were contacted less frequently. Daniel Benor has tried to improve traditional extension through a “training and visit” (T & V) system designed to emphasize the organizational and training components of extension and improve communication with the farmers. In considering extension as a vehicle for communicating with large numbers of farmers without any discretion, the communication process and its role in extension need to be followed by the extension workers.

what is Communication?

Communication is a process of transferring a message from a source (communicator) through a channel to the receiver (communiqué). It is defined by different scientists in a different manner keeping the intent in view. However, it is accepted that communication is a process where a message is transferred from the source (communicator) to the receiver (communiqué). Some definitions of communication are indicated below.

• J. Paul Leagan (1961) defines communication as a process where two or more individuals exchange ideas, facts, and impressions for mutual gain and common understanding of the content and use of a message.

• “Communication is a purposeful process, which involves sources, messages, channels, and receivers.” – Andersch et al. (1969).

Van den Ban and Hawkins (1988) defined communication as the process of sending and receiving messages through channels that establish a common meaning between a source and receiver.

Introduction
The endocrine system comprises a network of glands responsible for producing and releasing hormones that regulate essential bodily functions, particularly the conversion of calories into energy for cellular and organ function. Endocrinology, a medical branch, focuses on these disorders, which often present complexities involving a combination of hypersecretion and hyposecretion due to intricate feedback mechanisms within
the endocrine system. Glands within this system release distinct hormones into the bloodstream, where they travel to various cells, playing a pivotal role in coordinating and controlling numerous physiological processes. The coordination of normal physiological processes involves the interplay between the endocrine and nervous systems. Neurons with neurosecretory functions in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus
generate peptides and amines. Endocrine disorders refer to a broad range of conditions that affect the endocrine system, a complex network of glands responsible for producing and regulating hormones in the body.
Hormones play a crucial role in controlling various bodily functions, including growth and development, metabolism, electrolyte balance, and reproductive processes. When the endocrine system fails to function properly, it can lead to a wide range of disorders that can significantly impact an individual's quality of life. The endocrine system comprises several glands located throughout the body, each producing specific hormones that regulate various physiological processes. The main endocrine glands include:
1. Pituitary gland: Often referred to as the "master gland," the pituitary gland regulates the function of other endocrine glands and produces hormones that control growth and development.
2. Thyroid gland: Located in the neck, the thyroid gland produces hormones that regulate metabolism, energy production, and growth.
3. Adrenal glands: Situated on top of the kidneys, the adrenal glands produce hormones that control electrolyte balance, blood pressure, and stress response.

Introduction

Soil resource is as important as water for agriculture as it supplies nutrients to the plants and anchorage for stand and establishment. However, people least bother about its importance despite its role in food security and ecosystem services. Good quality soil is a prerequisite for sustainable crop production. The concept of conservation agriculture (CA) has emerged in the recent past wherein conventional practices are modified to reduce farming cost in addition to sustaining soil health. Improvement in the soil health is achieved by increasing soil organic carbon (SOC), aggregation, infiltration, and also reduction in soil erosion.

To prepare a series of dilutions of the original more concentrated stock solution, one need to consider both the required final concentration and required volume of the diluted material. The dilution can be readily calculated by the equation:

Clinical conditions similar to brucellosis have been described since the time of Hippocrates (450 BC). J. A. Marston (1861) first described brucellosis as gastric remittent fever in Malta, the Southern European island country. Sir David Bruce (1886) first isolated small coccobacilli from an infected soldier’s spleen and purified the culture in 1887, and named Micrococcus melitensis. Later the genus was renamed as Brucella in his honour. Similarly, Bang and Stribolg (1897) first isolated Brucella abortus from abortion material of a cow. Traum in 1914 isolated Bacillus abortus suis, currently known as Brucella suis. In 1953, Brucella ovis was firs isolated in New Zealand by Budlle and Boyes from the aborted material of sheep. Carmichael and Bruner (1968) first isolated B. canis from the aborted placenta of a dog.

In India first report of ‘contagious abortion’ associated with Brucella was found in annual report (1918) of imperial veterinary research institute (presently Indian veterinary research institute), Mukteswar, Uttarakhand and later in 1942 by Polding.