eChapters

Introduction

Forest cover of India has been estimated to be 7,01,673 km2 (70.17 million ha) which is 21.34 per cent of the total geographical area of the country. The tree cover of the country is estimated to be 92,572 km2 which is 2.82 per cent of geographical area. The total forest and tree cover is 7,94,245 km2 which is 24.16 per cent of the total geographical area of the country. Out of this, 9.14per cent forest cover is in the form of open forests and another 1.26 per cent is scrub forests (FSI 2015). According to National Forest Policy 1988, one-third (33.33%) of the land area should be under the forest cover for sound ecological balance. It means that we have to bring another 11.66 % area under forest cover and at the same time improve quality of the degraded forests. However the horizontal expansion of land under tree cover is not possible. In order to increase the tree cover and fulfill the requirements of the people and industries,

Abstract: The Trans Gangetic Plains of India is a large fertile tract of north-west India where intensive rice-wheat based farming has led to soil and water problems.  Agroforestry is among the viable options to overcome these problems. It has already shown positive effects such as increasing tree cover, augmenting wood needs of industries and ameliorating socio-economic status of farmers. Poplar based agroforestry models have been widely accepted by farmers. Site specific superior poplar clones have been developed for superiority, growth and resistance to pest and diseases. Farmers successfully grow the annual crops (sugarcane, turmeric), seasonal crops in winter (wheat, potato, mustard, mentha etc.) and summer season (cotton, moong, pearl millet, sorghum etc). The reduction in wheat grain yield varied from 10.2 to 46.6 per cent from first to sixth year as compared to open field. Selection of shade tolerant crop variety, appropriate sowing time, irrigation, seed and fertilizer dozes help to mitigate these losses. Wheat sown during first fortnight of November produced significantly higher grain yield than other sowing times. Wheat variety PBW 502 performed better amongst the six wheat varieties tested under poplar. Tree crop interactions influence the damage caused by insects and diseases. Cultural practices reduce the number of hibernating pupae of poplar leaf defoliators (PLD) which subsequently leads to lower incidence of these defoliators. Percent damaged leaves were more in fallow (5.44 - 60.53) and less in intercropped plantation (2.49 - 49.20). PLD adult emergence percentage was significantly less in intercropped and ploughed (49.5 and 67.5) than fallow (83.0) plantations

9.1    Temperature
    
9.2    Relative Humidity
    
9.3    Physical Damage
    
9.4    Microbial Load
    
9.5    Packaging
    
9.6    Transportation

7.1    Pre-Harvest Factors Responsible for Post Harvest Losses
    
7.2    Harvesting Method
    
7.3    Post-Harvest Causes Responsible for Losses

10.1    Respiration
    
10.2    Effect of Ethylene on Ripening
    
10.3    Transpiration Loss
    
10.4    Postharvest Biochemistry of Banana
    
10.5    Postharvest Pathology of Banana

1. Introduction

Banana is having number of species and belongs to genus Musa of the family Musaceae. Bananas are produced in large quantities in tropical and subtropical areas. World production of Musa in 2003 was estimated at 102 million MT of which about 68% was classified as bananas and 32% as plantains (FAO, 2003). For growing banana need special climate and they are mainly produced in developing countries P (Zhang et al., 2005). The crop is of major importance to the people in the growing. The largest producer of banana is India (27%) and other countries are Ecuador, Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines and China etc. Ecuador (42. 3%), Colombia (24. 7%), Philippines, Dominican Republic, Belgium, Italy, Peru, France, Netherland, Germany are the top exporter countries in 2009.

Banana is a botanically a berry require a warm, humid, frost-free climate with optimum temperatures between 22 and 31°C. In several report it was found that banana plant die in ground level at below temperature -2°C. Primary component of the aroma of fresh bananas is isoamyl acetate which is also called as banana oil. Banana is highly energetic food and rich in potassium, sodium, phosphorus, chlorine, magnesium, sulphur, silicon, calcium; and the vitamins: A, B1, B2, C and B3 (niacin). Banana helps in lowering cholesterol, enhances liver function, regulate heart rhythm and disease, decrease the risk of stroke, regulate Bowel movement, helps keep blood pressure under control and helps in weight loss.

INTRODUCTION

As per National Horticulture Database published by National Horticulture Board, during 2014-15 India produced 89.15 million metric tonnes of fruits. This value however differs from the consumption value depending upon the post harvest losses, storage losses or transportation losses. Transportation and distribution of fruits being the most important factor, plays a key role in determining the net income from horticulture trade. It is an essential link in the modern food chain and exists as complex matrix where not only fresh goods finished products are transported but there is also transportation of bulk raw materials. Locally grown produce may be transported directly from farms to retail outlet. For local market, the produce is brought by bullock cart, tractor, trollies. Mainly the long distance transportation is by trucks, rails which is costly. In India the transportation by Railway is much less than the other means. The road transport is 3-4 times more expensive than rail, yet it is preferred for shipment of fresh fruits simply because of the faster movement of perishable commodities.

1.    Postharvest Losses of Fruits and Vegetables
    
2.    Minimization of Postharvest Losses
    
3.    Postharvest Management Practices
    
4.    Selection of Varieties
    
5.    Harvesting
    
6.    Sorting /Grading
    
7.    Washing
    
8.    Trimming
    
9.    Curing
    
10.     Delatexing or De-sapping
    
11.    Waxing
    
12.    Pre-cooling
    
13.    Hot Water Treatment
    
14.    Postharvest Disease Management
    
15.    Regulation of Ripening
    
16.    Sprout Inhibition
    
17.    Packaging
    
18.    Transportation
    
19.    Marketing
    
20.    Storage
    
21.    Conclusion
        
References

Ornamental Industry

Floriculture as a multi-billion dollar industry has been undergoing unique revolution in terms of production and marketing of high value ornamentals such as cut flowers, loose flowers, potted and foliage plants there by emerged as fully export oriented activity. Owing to the steady increase in demand of flowers, floriculture has become one of the important commercial businesses in horticulture. Presently, floriculture industry in India has been growing with compound annual growth rate of 25 percent over the past decade (Muthukumaran, 2009). It has been found that commercial floriculture has higher potential per unit area than most of the field crops and therefore, it is a lucrative business. Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers for export purposes.Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan, West Bengal have emerged as major floriculture production areas. The export of floricultural products from India has been on an increase in the past five years due to high demand for floriculture products in importing countries. The estimated total area under floriculture in India is 2,82,000 ha. Tamil Nadu stands first followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana. Approximately 16,57,000 metric tonnes of loose flowers and over 5,20,000 metric tonnes cut flowers are produced in India during 2015-16. Total export of floriculture products is 22,518 MT with value of 479 crores (APEDA, 2015). Major importers of ornamental products from India are USA, Germany, UK, Netherland, and UAE.

1    General post mortem examination and detection of date and time of death

2    Pathogenomonic lesions of different diseases

3    Livestock insurance

4    Pet-dog insurance

Abstract

Fruit, Vegetable, Flowers, Medicinal and Aromatic crops are as horticultural crops play significant role in improving the productivity of land, generating employment, enhancing exports, improving economic conditions of the farmers and entrepreneurs and providing food and nutritional security to the people. For better management of the existing crops and to bring more area under horticulture crops, updated and accurate database is necessary for systematic planning and decision making. Remote sensing (RS) is an advanced tool that aids in gathering and updating information to develop scientific management plans. Many types of sensors namely microwave radiometers, laser meters, magnetic sensors and cameras collect electromagnetic information to derive accurate, large-scale information about the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. Because these data and images are digital, they can easily be quantified and manipulated using computers. RS can be used in efforts to reduce the risk and minimize damage. The same data can be analyzed in different ways for different applications. A number of studies were aiming at identification of crop, area estimation, disease and pest identification, etc. using satellite data in horticulture. The potential use of RS techniques in Horticulture is briefly reviewed in order to exploit the available techniques for efficient crop management.

Introduction

Trees play an important role in ecosystem in all terrestrials and provide a range of products and services to rural and urban people (Gogoi 2015). As natural vegetation is cut for agriculture and other types of development, the benefits that trees provide are best sustained by integrating trees into agricultural system - a practice known as agroforestry. Agroforestry focuses on the wide range of trees grown on farms and other rural areas. Among these are fertilizer trees for land regeneration, soil health and food security; fruit trees for nutrition; fodder trees for livestock; timber and energy trees for shelter and fuel wood; medicinal trees to cure diseases and trees for minor products viz. gums, resins or latex products. Many of these trees are multipurpose, providing a range of benefits. Although effective and valuable tools have been introduced to evaluate the risk to construction in areas prone to geo-hydrological hazards, fewer steps have been made in the field of ordinary land use planning at different scales. 

Introduction

Throughout the arid zones, there is no dearth of problems, but rapidly increasing desertification (some call it land degradation) is a problem of worldwide dimension. Water is a scare commodity in arid zones. Much of rainfall is lost by evapo-transpiration and as a result, ground water recharged only by seepage through soil profile. However, it is a common phenomenon in arid zones of the world that ground water is frequently used at the rate that exceeds recharge. The situation in arid tropics of India, which is spread over an area of 31.7 million ha, is no more different. Considering the role of agriculture in the social and economic progress of developing countries, the vulnerability of agricultural systems to the impacts of climate change has received considerable attention from the scientific community (Fischer et al. 2002; IISD 2003; Kurukulasuriya and Rosenthal 2003). Much of the available literature suggests that the overall impacts of climate change on agriculture especially in the tropics will be highly negative, although in a few areas there may be minor increases in crop yields in the short term (Maddison et al. 2007). Research on agroforestry as an adaptation to climate change and as a buffer against climate variability is in the process of evolving.

Introduction

Global food production, already under the credit crunch, must double by 2050 to level off hunger. According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), this will be possible only if food security is given top priority. The food security has become a complex issue influenced by climate and non-climate induced stressors which operate independently or in combinations are tackled appropriately. This climate induced stress is further augmented by climate change which affects agriculture and food production in complex ways. It affects food production directly through changes in agro-ecological conditions and indirectly by affecting growth and distribution of incomes, and thus demand for agricultural produce. Climate change has emerged as a major challenge in achieving goals of sustainable agriculture. Climate change refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or/and as a result of human activity (IPCC, 2007). Agriculture impacts climate change with greenhouse gas emissions, and is at the same time impacted by effects of climate change as well. Amongst elements of climate change, the most important relate to increasing uncertainty in availability of water due to increasing frequency of drought and/or excess water events resulting in uneven water availability over time and space. Drought is a normal, recurring feature of the climate in most parts of the world. Drought is defined as the absence of rainfall or supplemental irrigation for a period of time sufficient to deplete soil moisture and injure plants. According to USDA drought occurs when annual precipitation is 75 percent of normal, or monthly precipitation is 60 per cent of normal. Drought stress results when water loss from the plant exceeds the ability of roots to absorb water and when the plant’s water content is reduced enough to interfere with normal plant processes.

Introduction

India is an agriculture based country with 60% of the manpower employed in agriculture (World Bank, 2010). Few of the main environmental issues are soil erosion, water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides. There is a need to maintain a sustainable environment and a sustainable agricultural system.  Sustainable Agricultural system is a self sustaining system, is dependent up the ability to bring together and manage simultaneously the soil, water, plant and animal resources with the limitation of climatic and environment in such a way that the agricultural production/profitability can be maintained in the future too. So initiatives need to be taken to achieve a sustainable agricultural system. Tools have been developed to aid agriculturist, extension personnel and policy makers. The World Wide Web has made the tools easy accessible.

Tamil Nadu has unique physiography with western and eastern Ghats on the west and northwest, Bay of Bengal in the east and Indian Ocean to the south. Tamil Nadu has high dependence on natural resources and hence faces the threat of climate change and its impacts. Available evidence shows that there is high probability of increase in the frequency and intensity of climate related natural hazards (Stephen, 2012). Out of 13 million hectares of geographical area, about 7 million hectares of land is under cultivation. Of this 55 per cent is irrigated and rest is under rain fed / dry lands. In Tamil Nadu, ground water has been harnessed fully and dry land productivity is found oscillating with ruling variability in seasonal monsoon rain and hence agricultural productivity is always under stake.

1.    Introduction
    
2.    Dressing of Fish
    
3.    Preparation of Minced Meat
    
4.    Preparation of Flavor Ingredients
    
5.    Preparation of Colouring Ingredients
    
6.    Leaching of Minced Meat

7.    Ingredients Selected and their Role
    
8.    Preparation of Flavors
    
9.    Starch and its Role
    
10.    Extraction of Colours and its Application
    
11.    Taste Eenhancers
    
12.    Addition of Oil
    
13.    Standardized Preparation of Prawn Analogue from Bigeye Snapper
    
14.    Prawn Analogue Developed from Lizard Fish
    
15.    Cooking of the Shrimp Analogue
    
16.    Battering and Breading of the Analogue
    
17.    Freezing of the Product
    
18.    Frying of Prawn Analogue
    
19.    Packing of the Analogue
    
20.    Storage of Analogue
    
21.    Bacteriological Quality of Analogue
    
References

8.1    Climatic Conditions
    
8.2    Water
    
8.3    Spacing
    
8.4    Crop Nutrition
    
8.5    Pests and Diseases
    
8.6    Bunch Covering
    
8.7    Maturity and Maturity Indices
    
8.8    Maturity vs Shelf life and Quality
    
8.9    Pre-Harvest Sprays
    
8.10    Harvesting

Precision Farming

Precision farming is a concept of proper crop management based on the observation, technology, measurement and response during inter and intra field variability in crops. It is also known as satellite farming or site specific crop management (SSCM).It is an application of right things, in right place, in the right way and at the right time. It has three main requirements viz. first identify various field location, second capture, interpret and analyzed the data in a proper scale & frequency and third, adjust the input with farming practices for efficient economic yields. There are 17 Precision Farming Development Centers (PFDC) located in different agro-climatic zones of India. It is mostly exist in SAUS, ICAR Institute and IIT Kharagpur. 

Introduction

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) occupies an important position among commercial ornamental bulbous crops, because of its highly fragrant flowers which can be used in various ways and is essentially a florists flower. The white tubular flowers emit the most popular odour and hence are cultivated on a large scale in some parts of the world for the extraction of its highly valued natural flower oil. The lingering delightful fragrance and excellent keeping quality are the predominant characteristics of this crop. It is popularly known as Rajanigandha, derives its generic name from the greek word Polios, which means white or shinning and anthos meaning a semi perennial bulbous plant. It is commercially cultivated for cut flowers and loose flowers trade and also for extraction of its highly valued natural flower oil. The serene beauty of the flower spikes, bright white flowers, sweetness of blooms and delicacy of fragrance of this ornamental crop, transform the entire area into a nectarine and joyous one. Fresh flowers and value added products of tuberose are exported from India to USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, The Netherland, Japan, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.