eChapters

Introduction

Food and water safety is a public health concern. “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver” is a famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi. To provide good health and to maintain it properly for all citizens, the country need to assure the quality and safety of food consumed by it's population (Attrey, 2016). Apart from nutrition and taste, a more important part of food is the safety standards during manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import. Food safety is particularly important in India, where an inordinately high percentage of population suffer from malnutrition and food borne diseases (Bahuguna, 2016). Food borne diseases in India have increased the frequency of mortality and morbidity. Around 5.82 crore cases of food borne diseases and 3.51 lakh food associated deaths were reported in 2010. Nowadays the consumption of unsafe food is being considered as an alarming threat to the growing global food markets. Adulteration and synthetic milk in India, powdered infant formula with melamine in China and adulteration of beef in Europe are a few examples. These issues can be resolved to a great extent, through appropriate food laws and policies. A country should not only possess appropriate statutory, regulatory legislations, policies in place for the su-pply of safe and good quality food at all times, but also should assure that the same is imple-mented seriously (Attrey, 2017).

Apart from health, food safety is vital for economic growth and progress as well. In India, the food processing industry holds tremendous opportunity. It has high employment potential, can boost exports of agro-products out of the country and also provide better returns to farmers for their produce. The concept of food quality and food laws is not totally new in India because food was considered an important aspect of healthy living even in ancient India. India took an important step towards building a safe food culture a decade ago by enacting the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act. In one stroke, it brought about a paradigm shift in the way we look at food safety regulations in India. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) are mandated under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 to protect people from this threat. In its role of a food regulator, FSSAI can be proud that it touches the lives of each of the 1.3 billion people in the country. More than just reaching the people, the watchful eye of FSSAI is assuring them that the food they get in any form, raw or processed is safe to consume (Agarwal, 2016).

Agricultural finance generally means studying, examining and analyzing the financial aspects pertaining to farm business, which is the core sector of India. The financial aspects include money matters relating to production of agricultural products and their disposal.

1. Introduction

Fruit products have their unique identities having large content of micronutrients, polyphenols, vitamins, flavonoids and other nutritional compounds. Characteristic appearance and flavors distinguish among various fruit based products like juice, puree, jam, jelly, squash and other several varieties. Main concern of this fruit processing industry is the stability of the products throughout the post processing storage. Thermal treatment as mean of preservation of these products is the common process implemented so far. It ensures the safety of the product but lacks in retaining the nutritional intact that like of fresh fruit. Today’s consumer demand for minimally processed fruit products and “natural” fruit products tend to think of alternative thermal processing.

High pressure processing (HPP), a relatively new concept compared to conventional thermal processing, also sometimes known as high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), or ultra high pressure (UHP) processing, is a non-thermal food processing method that subjects liquid or solid foods, with or without packaging, to pressures ranging between 50 and 1000 MPa. HPP has already been established itself as an alternative to thermal processing. In food processing it is of great interest due to its ability to inactivate food borne microorganisms and enzymes, at low temperature, without the need for chemical preservatives and it is less detrimental than thermal processes to low molecular weight food compounds such as flavoring agents, pigments, vitamins, etc., as covalent bonds are not affected by pressure. Pressure-treated foods have sensory properties similar to fresh products, which is a major advantage in fruit processing as it matches consumer demand for healthy, nutritious and ‘‘natural’’ products. HPP of fruit products offers the chance of producing food of high quality, greater safety and increased shelf life (Hayashi 1989; Gould 1996; Butz and Tauscher 1998).

The average productivity of pulses (Table 1) is only 460 kg/ha but it ranges from 199 kg/ha (Moth bean) to 1719 kg/ha (Field pea). Year to year fluctuation in productivity of different pulses was also observed. The highest productivity i.e. 1067 kg/ha was observed during the year 2006-07 & the lowest productivity i.e. 497 kg/ha was recorded during the year 2008-09. The trend of area under pulse crop during the last ten years has also shown a wide fluctuation. Year to year and crop to crop variations are most pronounced.  The crop wise major pulse growing districts in Rajasthan are as follows.

The average productivity of pulses (Table 1) is only 460 kg/ha but it ranges from 199 kg/ha (Moth bean) to 1719 kg/ha (Field pea). Year to year fluctuation in productivity of different pulses was also observed. The highest productivity i.e. 1067 kg/ha was observed during the year 2006-07 & the lowest productivity i.e. 497 kg/ha was recorded during the year 2008-09. The trend of area under pulse crop during the last ten years has also shown a wide fluctuation. Year to year and crop to crop variations are most pronounced.  The crop wise major pulse growing districts in Rajasthan are as follows.

Introduction

Nature is dynamic; it causes inheritable changes in all living organisms. For thousands of years, farmer around the world have been selecting and conserving varieties of different crop plants that they cultivated. This process has generated a rich wealth of varieties in each crop plant, seen to be most abundant in countries near the equator and India is no exception. In the world there are Mega centers of biodiversity of which aware present in India, this is because in India, the different soils and agro-climatic situations are present, so Indian farmers grow a large number of crops. Generation of Indian farmers, with their continued selection and conservation, has created a rich wealth of varieties in many crops. Therefore India is the original home of many crops such as rice, little and kodo millets, red gram, moth bean, jute, pepper, cardamom, many vegetables and fruit species. These plants were identified from the wild, selected and cultivated by Indian farmers over hundreds of years. The present wealth of varieties in India includes both crops that originated in the country and those that were introduced from the other countries during the distant and recent paste are soybean, sunflower, oil palm and kiwi fruit.

The Indian economy is predominantly rural and agriculture oriented. In agriculture, 85% of the holdings are less than two hectares and the declining trend in the average size of the farmer holdings, poses a serious problem. Majority of them are dry lands, which depend on erratic monsoon rains. The rest of the area is cultivated with supplemental irrigation. The farmers concentrate mainly on crop production, which is invariably subjected to a high degree of uncertainly income and employment.

In India the cultivable land is 143.8 million hectares and there is very little possibility of extending it further. Therefore, to meet the requirement of food grains for increasing population, the only option open is through time and effective space utilization in agriculture. The time concept relates to increasing the intensity of cropping under assured irrigated conditions, whereas space utilization pertains to building up of vertical dimension through multi-tier cropping and farming system approach. Thus by making use of these time and space concept either in irrigated or in rained areas, the productivity per unit area per unit time can be substantially enhanced. Therefore the only way to increase an agricultural production in the small/marginal units of farming is to increase the productivity per unit time and area. This may be achieved of quicker maturing varieties with equal yields or by improving techniques of culture, fertilizer use, weed and pest control.

Crop improvement

Crop improvement refers to the genetic alteration of plants to satisfy human needs. It deals with the improvement of crops and production of new crop varieties, which are far superior to existing types in all characters. In pre-history, our ancestors in various parts of the world brought into cultivation a few hundred species from the hundreds of thousands available. In the process they transformed elements of these species into crops though genetic alterations that involved conscious and unconscious selection, the differential reproduction of variants. Through a long history of trial and error, a relatively few plant species have become the mainstay of agriculture and thus the world’s food supply. This process of domestication involved the identification of certain useful wild species combined with a process of selection that brought about changes in appearance, quality, and productivity.

11. 1 Introduction

Agricultural drainage is the removal of excess water from the farmland for the purpose of providing favorable soil air environment for plant growth. Removal of water may take place form the surface or below the surface of the land. The practice of lowering ground water table below the root zone depth to improve the plant growth or to reduce the accumulation of salts in soil is also called as drainage.

Drainage system is broadly classified as surface and subsurface drainage. Removal of excess water over the land surface is known as surface drainage and that of removing water below the surface is known as subsurface drainage. The flow of water in the form of evaporation or evapotranspiration also play important role in improving drainage situation. It gives the idea of the time required to get the wetland workable though it is not called a type of drainage as because this is very slow process and cannot be controlled by the human activities. However, using of certain tree plants e. g. , Eucalytus, Poplar, Casurina or similar species in wet fields, which transpires at high rate and improves the drainage problem by lowering the shallow water table is the new idea known as bio-drainage.

1. Introduction

Storage is an important part of any food grain processing chain. Storage of raw and processed food grain has been used by humans since time immemorial as a prerequisite for insuring food security due to off time availability, and for holding seed grain for long periods (Pande and Mishra, 2012). After harvesting grains may be required to be stored for long periods before these are marketed or used as food or seed. The grain storage is mainly carried out for three purposes viz (i) to retain a supply of food (ii) to service a trading system and (iii) to retain seed for planting the following season (Hall, 1980). Storage is, therefore, carried out by the producer, trader, processor, and the exporter and at all these levels the methods adopted affect the quality of food stuffs. The length of time grains can be safely stored will depend on the condition it was harvested and the type of storage facility being utilized. Grain storage and handling is a major concern for food grain growers and processers worldwide (Mohan et al., 2011; Pande and Mishra, 2012). Depending upon the condition and uses food grains may be stored in different storage structures using traditional or modern storage methods. Different storage structures are used by farmers with the traditional names like Gumma, Oliya and Jute bag. Caswell (1973) recorded 50 to 60% of insect damage on food grain after six months of traditional storage. A typical range of storage methods encountered in tropics and subtropics region is given in Table 1.

1. Introduction to Organic Farming

Definition and Principles of Organic Farming

Organic farming is not merely a set of agricultural practices; it is a profound philosophy that seeks to redefine humanity’s relationship with the land. At its core, organic farming is an intricate dance with nature, a commitment to fostering biodiversity, ecological balance, and sustainability.

Defining Organic Farming

Organic farming is a departure from conventional agricultural methods that rely heavily on synthetic inputs. It is an agricultural system that embraces natural and traditional approaches to cultivation.

1. Introduction

India is a land of large varieties of fruits and vegetables due to its vast soil and climatic diversity. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, with an annual production of fruits 45.5 Million tonnes and vegetables 90.8 Million tonnes. It contributes 10.23% and 14.45% of the total world production of fruits and vegetables (F&V) respectively (NHB, 2010). Though fruits and vegetables are grown only on 7–8% of gross cultivated area, these contribute more than 18.8% of the gross value of agricultural output and 52% export earnings from total agricultural produce. These have a high export potential of 20-30 times more foreign exchange per unit area than cereals due to higher yields and higher price available in the international market (Sen et al., 2012). According to estimates, the per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables in India is only around 46g and 130g which are far below the stipulation of a minimum of 92g and 300g respectively as recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Nutrition. The low availability is mainly due to considerably high post-harvest losses. About 15-20% of the fruits and vegetables are wasted every year in the country, due to poor post-harvest management and lack of infrastructural facilities for processing and storage, amounting to a revenue loss of over Rs. 625 billion.

The sensorial, nutritional, and organoleptic quality of fresh produce starts deteriorating after harvest as a result of soon after harvest the altered plant metabolism and microbial growth. The quality deterioration is the result of produce respiration and transpiration, senescence, ripening-associated processes, wound-initiated reactions, development of postharvest disorders, microbial proliferation leading to postharvest quality loss. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the respiration and ripening processes and the physiological and biochemical changes during ripening. The best way to reduce respiratory metabolism is to reduce the storage temperature. All biological processes proceed more slowly at lower temperature (Yahia, 2007). In general, O₂ levels must be reduced to less than 10 % to see a reduction in the rate of respiration. Respiration rate is temperature dependent; so, as the temperature reduces the amount of oxygen required also drops. Therefore, oxygen levels must be substantially reduced at low temperature for it to affect the rate of respiration. It must however, be ensured that O₂ levels do not fall below extinction point as anaerobic respiration and decay may occur. Tolerance to low O₂ varies between species and cultivars and is also time dependent. Commodities may be able to tolerate low O₂ for short periods of time. Low O₂ can also be tolerated when CO₂ is low.

Plant hormone is an organic compound synthesized in one part of the plant body and translocated to another part where in very low concentration it causes a physiological response. However, this definition could not demarcate the vitamins and other growth influencing substances from hormones. For this reason, the term Phytohormone was introduced with included vitamins, growth hormones and flowering hormones. Phytohormone can be defined as an organic substance produced naturally in higher plants, controlling growth or other physiological functions at a site remote from its place of synthesis and active in minute amounts, whereas, an organic substance, which promotes growth, i.e., irreversible increase in height or volume, when applied in low concentration to the shoots of plant is known as growth hormone.

The plant hormones are naturally occurring as they are synthesized by the plant. On the other hand, there are several manufactured chemicals, which often resemble the hormones in physiological action and molecular structures, are called growth regulators. Generally, there are five classes of phytohormones.

The phytohormones universally present in all plants are classified as under:

Horticulture, which includes fruits and vegetables, plantation crops, spices, flowers, and medicinal and aromatic plants, has proved beyond doubt its potentiality for gainful diversification. One of the significant developments is that, horticulture has moved from rural confine to commercial production. Recently horticulture has emerged as one of the best option of diversification for effective land use planning and to achieve inclusive growth. The achievement in the development of horticulture through crop improvement is laudable, as the sector now contributes more than 30 percent to GDP of agriculture and has maintained the growth rate of more than 5 percent during the last two decades.

1. Introduction

Foods are complex biologically and chemically active systems that require close monitoring of their manufacturing, distribution and storage conditions in order to maintain their nutritive value, safety and sensory qualities by suitable chemical. The determination of trace impurities in food system presents considerable difficulties owing to complexity as it contains thousands of major and minor compounds (Nilufer and Boyacio, 2002). The choice of the method of analysis depends on the sample, the analyte to be assayed, accuracy, limit of detection, cost and time to complete the analysis (Aboul- Eneim et al., 2000). The chemical methods employed for food analysis and quality control are generally time consuming and require tedious or destructive sample preparation. For development of the new detection method, emphasis should be on development of simplified, cost-effective and efficient procedures that complies with the legislative requirements (Stroka and Anklem, 2002; Enker, 2003).

The molecular spectroscopy is a fast, accurate, easy and non-destructive technique that can be used as a replacement of time-consuming methods. Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has proved to be a powerful analytical tool used in the agricultural, nutritional, petrochemical, textile and pharmaceutical industries (McGlone and others, 2002; Esteban-Diez and others, 2004). Infra red spectroscopy is based on the absorption of infra red light by the substance to be measured. This absorption excites molecular vibrations and rotations, which have frequencies that are the same as those in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum (Pande and Mishra, 2015). This application uses a fiber optic coupled FT-NIR system operating in the 10,000 – 4,000 cm^-1 region in reflectance mode. It involves the analysis and quantification of molecular responses to introduced signals of known energy or frequency. All molecules (e.g. water, glucose, protein) have a definite amount of energy. When alternate energy (e.g. infrared radiation) is introduced, an energy exchange occurs between the introduced energy and the energy contained within the molecule. This is expressed as absorbance (energy is absorbed resulting in a loss of introduced energy), attenuated (energy is scattered resulting in a loss of introduced energy) or emitted (energy is released resulting in a gain on the introduced energy). As individual molecules and molecular groups (e.g. alcohols, nucleic acids, proteins, sugars and fats) have definite energy, by applying external energy of a known amount/type, one can structurally identify, quantify and even determine the natural state of these molecules within complex samples and mixtures.

Introduction

Water preceded all forms of life on earth and is believed to be the very origin of all organic life forms. For ages water was forming oceans, separating landmasses and shaping the terrain. It further influenced the emerging atmosphere of the young planet. The first organism formed and began to evolve in the primeval oceans. Mankind entered into the scene several million years later. The history is rather too long and infinitely complex. Variety of models with different degrees of certitude and consensus attempt to cogently explain what could have happened. But in spite of all the differences on the course of evolution, there is a universal consensus that water played a decisive role in the changes.

Across the globe, mankind managed to establish different civilizations with dissimilar cultural and material advancements much later. But then invariably all civilizations considered water holy and water bodies were sacred places. Holy wells, springs, rivers, cenotaphs were held in awe all through human history. The mysterious properties of water are studied from time immemorial. And water indeed is a strange compound! Availability of water for consumption and agriculture has determined the zenith and nadir of surviving and extinct civilizations.

Ancient Indian temples as part of design, have a prominent sacred well or a pond with an associated purana/myth narrating the mystical properties of the theertha / waterbody. It is still is a living tradition. In the west wishing wells survive from remote antiquity.

Improved Varieties of Cole Crops

A. CAULIFLOWER

Introduction

Since times immemorial, world agriculture is following the traditional agri-horticultural methods for livelihood support. With unusual growth of population and faster development of industrial sector, a steep competition surfaced among the domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors for land, water and other natural resources. Though agriculture uses a major chunk of land and water for crop production, it becomes insufficient to provide food, nutritional and aesthetic security to the growing millions at global level in general and the third world nations in particular. Hence, there lies a need to take the avenue of Integrated Farming practices by following the logics of Precision Farming. All over the world, farmers work hard but do not make money, especially small farmers because there is very little left after they pay for all inputs (seeds, livestock breeds, fertilizers, pesticides, energy, feed, labour, etc.). The emergence of Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) based on horticulture farming could help to develop a framework for an alternative development model to improve the feasibility of small sized farming operations in relation to larger ones. Integrated farming system (or integrated agriculture) is a commonly and broadly used word to explain a more integrated approach to farming as compared to monoculture approaches.

Genetically engineered crops refer to alterations in the genetic makeup of the crop by introgression new traits such as herbicide tolerance, virus resistance, drought, flood and frost resistance, delay in maturation time of the crop and increased crop yield. They can be made resistant to pests and diseases which can significantly reduce the consumption of insecticide. Biodiversity is the feedstock for biotechnology industries. The issues relating to the Genetically Modified (GM) Foods have generated intense public debate in many parts of the world. Even though the issues under debate include the costs and benefits of the GM crops and the inherent safety concerns, the outcome of the debate differs from country to country, depending on its geographical location, strength and resilience of the farm sector, attitudes of people towards food, and so on (Anonymous, 2009). In India also, this debate has engaged the attention not only of the Government but also of the farming community and the civil society.

Introduction

Honey bees are the most fascinating creature found in the nature and are very closely associated with our cultural heritage. They have been evolved with structural perfection and behavioral instinct to render their service as the best pollinator and enable to realize the potential yields of several cross pollinated crops under various agro-ecological situations. They are indispensable for human survival. The words of the great scientist Albert Einstein quoted below is very pertinent in this context “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man”.(Thakur, 2011). Thus, starting from honey hunting since time immemorial to traditional bee keeping and its present transformation to scientific bee keeping has been a continuous endeavor of human for harnessing both direct and indirect benefits from bee keeping activities. Bee keeping has been a very popular agro based enterprise which does not compete with any resource of farming system rather acts as an integral component of Integrated farming system. Now-a-days it has not only attracted the attention of a diverse group of people, administrators and institutions for various purposes but also it has been the point of attraction of the rural poor and youth for their livelihood improvement.

8.1 Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
i) Understand the concept and significance of index numbers;
ii) Identify different construction methods;
iii) Understand the importance of selecting appropriate base and current periods;
iv) Recognize the properties and tests of adequacy;
v) Recognize the challenges and limitations of index numbers;
vi) Stay informed of recent advances;
vii) Synthesize practical examples and calculations for creating index numbers.

8.2 Introduction

In this chapter, we embark on a journey through the intricate world of index numbers, a cornerstone in the realm of statistics. We will explore what index numbers are; their various types; and the methodologies employed in their construction. Delving into real-world applications, we’ll uncover how these numerical tools are pivotal in measuring economic trends, informing policy decisions, and shaping our understanding of complex data sets. By the chapter’s end, you’ll gain insights into not only the mechanics but also the profound impact of index numbers in our data-driven society.