eChapters

McManus’ Method for Glycogen (PAS)
Tissues fix in 10% neutral buffered formalin and process for routine paraffin sections
Protocol
1) Deparaffinise the paraffin sections with two changes (10 minutes each) of xylene.
2) Descending grades of ethanol from absolute to 50% solution (2 minutes each).
3) Hydrate the sections with distilled water 5 minutes.
4) 0.5% Periodic acid solution for 5-6 minutes.
5) Rinsing in distilled water.
6) Schiff’s’s reagent or Coleman’s Feulgen solution for 10-15 minutes.
7) Washing in running tap water for minimum 10 minutes until pink colour develops.
8) Counter stain with Harris’ hematoxylin for 2-3 minutes to stain nuclei.
9) Washing in running water for 2-3 minutes.
10) Quick dip in ammonia water to develop blue colour of the nuclei.
11) Washing in running tap water for 5 minutes.
12) Dehydrate in ascending grades of 90% to absolute ethanol (one minute each).
13) Clearing in xylene, two changes of 30 minutes each.

Introduction

For raising animal and its products especially protein, food and nutrition plays an important role. Feed cost comprises about 60% of total recurring expenditure. Feed additives play an increasingly important role in animal nutrition by augmenting the performance by maintaining the needs of essential nutrients, improving feed conversion therefore optimize feed utilization (Wenk, 2000). Feed additives are a group of feed ingredients that can cause a desired animal response in a non-nutrient role, such as rumen modifier, growth or metabolic modifier (Hutjens, 1991). These are used in micro quantities and require careful handling and mixing. The development and introduction of various new feed additives is a major and practical solution to improve the efficiency of animal production, to alleviate environmental pollution, to maintain animal health, welfare and to ensure the safe and of good quality food production.

Characterization of Germplasm / Hybrids, Varietal identification, mutants etc.

Accurate identification of plants is desired for patent protection of plant varieties. Accurate characterization is also necessary to trace out the parents of new varieties. Use of present day molecular markers in addition to the classical methods provides more positive identification of new cultivars. RAPD and other molecular techniques have been used in a variety of plant materials for such studies (Sneath and Sokal 1973, Saitou and Nei 1987, Demeke et al., 1992, Selvam and Rajasekaran  1993, 1994, Dubouzet, et al., 1997, 1998, Hallden, et al., 1994, Hu and Quiros 1991, Jain et al., 1994, Matsumoto and Fukui 1996, Williams et al., 1990, Wolff et al., 1995). RAPD technique has been used in the genus Bougainvillea. It is often difficult to distinguish both mutants and hybrids and sports having a common progenitor, or progenitors themselves. Therefore, the industry needs a DNA-based fingerprinting technique to distinguish mutants or cultivars reliably. Reports are available on investigation about the molecular systematics and genetic differences for better understanding of varietal relationships in bougainvillea (Chatterjee et al., 2007, Kumar et al., 2006, Kumar et al., 2014, Hammad 2009, Pavan Kumar et al., 2015). 

Veterinary epidemiology is the study of disease within a livestock population, dealing with the investigation (including identification, quantification, and examination), of the direct and indirect determinants of disease distribution in animal populations. Any epidemiological investigation starts with whether there is an animal health problem in a population, which requires data collection on animal, management, economic, and environmental factors. These data are then analyzed descriptively to assess the frequency of disease occurrence. The results are then used to decide whether investigations of causal relationships between disease occurrence and potential risk factors are necessary for the development of control or prevention policies. Once the relationships are understood, necessary interventions for the disease are then planned and their impacts assessed. Hence, the goal of epidemiological investigations is the control and prevention of animal disease problems by integrating the available pieces of evidence into the decision-making process for disease control policy development.

20.1 Introduction
  
Fertilizers play an important role in improving soil fertility and productivity of crops regardless of nature of cropping sequence or environmental conditions. It has been unequivocally demonstrated that one third of crop productivity is dictated by fertilizers besides influencing use efficiencies of other agri-inputs. In the past four decades, nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of crops had hardly exceeded 35-50%, 18-20% and 30-35 % for N, P and K, respectively, despite our relentless efforts. The remaining nutrients stay in soil or enter into the aquatic environment causing eutrophication. In addition to the low nutrient efficiencies, Indian agriculture is facing a problem of low organic matter, imbalanced fertilization and low fertilizer response that eventually caused crop yield stagnation (Biswas and sharma, 2008).The fertilizer response ratio in the irrigated areas of the country  has dcreased from 13.4 kg grain / kg nutrient applied in 1970’s to just 3.7 kg in 2005. In other words, more amounts of fertilizers is required to produce the same quantity of grain output. For instance, 27 kg NPK ha-1 was required to produce one tonne of grain in 1970 while the same level of production can be achieved by 109 kg NPK ha-1 in 2008. 

ABSTRACT

Agriculture is an important sector of economy that ensures food security of the nation. About 58 per cent of the Indian population is engaged in Agriculture and planners are concerned to increase agriculture productivity. The National Knowledge Commission has also looked into various problems of this sector and made some recommendations from the knowledge perspective. This paper includes review of existing plans and programs for improvement of knowledge accessibility to Indian farmers. Article also discusses how the Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications, especially, the hand held devices like mobile phones can improve knowledge accessibility in the agriculture sector and describes how the ongoing programs of mobile telephony are helping Indian farmers.

ABSTRACT

Lineaments are the surficial expression of sub-surface phenomena which are well discerned from low-orbital data, satellite data with its synoptic view and repetitive coverage and help to bring out more information on structural features hither to unknown by conventional geological surveys. Their study paved way to many new concepts on tectonism, mineralization, structural deformity etc. of an area both in regional and local perspective. In the present study, a small area was selected after careful observation, for their importance in mineral deposits. The lineaments are mostly structurally controlled and analysed for their relationship with the base metal deposits of the area. Moreover satellite parameters like spatial resolution, scale etc., and are observed for their changes in their orientation and relationship with the deposit of the study area, Jambughoda of Panchmahal District, Gujarat Satellite data of Landsat MSS and TM are used for the analysis. The results proved that the satellite parameters are important criteria and play a vital role in lineament analysis for mineral investigation.

15.1 Introduction

The oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface and it acts a natural collector and store of solar energy. On an average day, 60 million sq. km. of tropical seas absorb an amount of solar radiation equivalent in heat content to about 245 billion barrels of oil, if this energy could be trapped, large scale renewable source becomes available especially for tropical countries. The energy available in the ocean is clean, continuous throughout the year and renewable.

Renewable energy contribution to the available energy resources is very important to the country as it is presently facing an energy resources crunch. Out of the total installed capacity of approximately 370.106 GW as on March 2020, Renewable Power Plants including hydro-electric plant contribute 35.86 % of total installed capacity. However, with the present increase in demand, more attention is required to extract the renewable sources so that at least 50 to 60 % share for the total energy requirement by the renewable energy sources.

There are various forms of ocean energy such as Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), Wave Energy, Tidal Energy, Salinity Gradient Energy, Offshore Wind Energy, Marine Currents, Marine Biomass Conversion. Among these, the first three forms are likely to be technically viable for the future.

More recently Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India hasdeclared Ocean Energy as renewable energy, and clarified to all the stakeholders that energy produced using various forms of ocean energy such as tidal, wave, ocean thermal energy conversion among others shall be considered as renewable energy.

MNRE reported that, the total identified potential of tidal energy is about 8000 - 9000 MW, with about 7000 MW in the Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat, about 1200 MW in Gulf of Kutch and less than 100 MW in Sundarbans. Primary estimates of wave energy potential along Indian coast are about 5 – 15 MW/m, so that theoretical estimates are around 40 – 60 GW. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) has a theoretical potential of 180,000 MW in India subject to suitable technological evolution. As of date, there is not any installed Ocean Energy capacity in India.

The processing of wool encompasses multiple stages that convert raw fleece into functional fabric or yarn. Each phase in the wool processing procedure is vital in influencing the ultimate quality and appropriateness of the wool product for diverse uses. Below is a concise overview of the steps involved in wool processing:
1. Shearing or pulling
2. Skirting
3. Washing or scouring
4. Carding
5. Combing
6. Spinning
7. Dyeing
8. Weaving and knitting
9. Finishing
10. Packaging

For crop improvement and more specifically to develop new varieties a number of plant breeding methods are available. CSIR-NBRI from very beginning selected all available techniques and standardized their practical application for all ornamental crops. All crop specific basic information was collected/generated for successful application of techniques for development of new varieties by creating genetic variability. Ornamental plant species fall into two main categories. In the first group the plants that are capable of sexual reproduction, but are commercially propagated vegetatively. The second group of plant species are the apomicts. In obligate apomicts hybridization fails to generate any variability. For development of new variety creation of genetic variability is pre-requisite. Breeder should have all up-to-date knowledge about all the available techniques and their merits and demerits for improvement and development of new varieties.

21.1 Introduction

Nanotechnology is an emerging field of science which is being highly exploited in the sphere of medicine where “nano” plays a vital role in delivery of drugs or chemical molecules to the point it is required in précised quantities in right proportions. Nanoscience infuses intelligence to the truck load of chemical constituents that are to be delivered at appropriate locations and cleave from the site after the task is complete. Such process will likely to reduce the cost besides ensuring environmental safety. Nanoscale devices with its unique properties make the agricultural system more smart and effective; such devices are capable of responding to different situations by themselves, thus taking appropriate remedial action with the need of external directions from humans. In short, these devices act as a detectors and if need arises serve as a solution/remedy for the particular issue. These smart delivery systems of chemicals in controlled and targeted manner can be considered synonymous to the proposed nano-drug delivery system in human (Patolsky et al., 2006). 

Introduction

Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores. An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. Pyrethroids are widely used insecticides in agriculture as they control pests and diseases effectively in plants. Because of their low biodegradability and high persistence, they are extensively found in environmental samples such as air, water, soil, sediments, food and biological tissues [1-4]. Moreover, these chemicals induce cancer and act as endocrine disrupters in several organisms due to their high degree of toxicity. Although the use of most pyrethroids has been prohibited or limited in developed countries, they are used in many developing and under developed countries for controlling of pests and insecticides [5-8].

From very early times, humans were astonished, fascinated and frightened by the weather events and the dynamism of changes that weather brought around them. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century. He has tried to predict or forecast the weather mainly based on many indicators around. In the earliest record of weather forecast, the Babylonians have predicted the weather from cloud patterns as well as astrology in 650 BC. In 904 AD, Ibn Wahshiyya, an Iraqi alchemist and agriculturist in his work Nabatean Agriculture have discussed the behavior of plants and animals also along with atmospheric, planetary, solar and lunar signs in weather forecasting. This is perhaps the first work that have discussed about the animal and bird indicators for weather forecast. Though there are a variety of end uses to modern weather forecasts, indigenous knowledge and application of weather forecasts were mainly for agricultural operations. Farmers have to rely on weather forecasts to decide on what work has to be done on any particular day. They are astute weather watchers and are quick to recognize weather that is either favourable or unfavourable to their production systems. In traditional weather forecasting, the farmers has identified a set of indicators and developed a reliability factor for each of them. Predicting weather is also an important cultural component for farmers, as it is common for farmers to discuss weather indicators on the street, markets and with family members.

Farmers have used traditional knowledge to understand weather and climate patterns in order to make decisions about crop and irrigation cycles. This knowledge has been gained through many decades of experience, and has been passed on from previous generations, and the knowledge is also adapted to local conditions and needs. But the scientific forecasts are formulated at a much larger scale and so access to get location specific rainfall forecast to take proper decision at the farm level is very limited. Besides forecasting weather, the farmers has also evolved several coping strategies in rain-fed systems across the world and so today many international development agencies, universities and research institutions have started focusing on indigenous knowledge and have incorporated it in development perspectives.

Abstract

The agriculture and allied sector provide livelihood for 58% of India’s population. A large population and rising disposable incomes are key growth drivers. Growing external demand has increased its contribution to exports. The demand for processed food has also led to increasing requirements for agricultural inputs, hybrid seeds, machinery and fertilizers. Investment opportunities in storage infrastructure and agrochemicals also present immense opportunities. Organised retail has made India attractive for multinationals. The industry has a combination of multiple organisational forms, like associations, co-operatives, government (departmental) undertakings, foreign entities, trusts and companies, private and public. Unlisted companies encompass a vast range (private limited companies, family business, group-owned firms, and joint ventures are major actors.) The form and complexity of business ownership highlights Corporate Governance (CG) debate. Given this background, our objective is to understand the CG characteristics of unlisted agricultural and allied companies operating in India, the driving forces for improving CG practices, and the need for a policy framework in supporting good CG. We propose to examine the extent of control in the various types of entities and explore the mechanisms that contribute to the development of an efficient CG framework. Using data from the Prowess database, on 2,879 firms, from 2012-2013 to 2016-17, we analysed how CG problems are caused and how it can be alleviated. The results provide stakeholders and agri entrepreneurs with an overview of the policy and managerial issues that arise in the debate on CG of companies in this key sector. Finally, we conclude how the unlisted companies are likely to stimulate growth and development if CG mechanisms are enhanced.

The Annonaceae or custard apple family comprises about 120 genera and more than 2000 species (Leboeuf et al., 1982). The genus Annona is the most economically important one, containing 120 species. The major commercial species throughout the world are: the cherimoya (Annona cherimola), sweetsop (Annona squamosa) and atemoya (a hybrid of Annona cherimola and Annona squamosa). The custard apple species name ‘squamosa’ refers to the knobby appearance of the fruit. Custard apple is a small tropical tree originating in the New World tropics, probably Central America. This species is the most widely grown in the tropical regions of the America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Sweetsop is synonym also named sugar apple and has many other regional names, such as Custard apple (India), anon (Spanish), ata (Portuguese), noi-na (Thailand), stis (The Philippines) and fan-li-chi (Taiwan). Sweetsop is the mostly grown Annona species. The fruit is frequently found in village markets but has not shown much potential for large commercial cultivation due to the small fruit size, frequent cracking at maturity and poor shelf life. The perishable nature and supply shortages make marketing localized or air shipment essential.

16.1 Fuel Cell

Fuel cell is an electrochemical device that convert chemical energy of a reaction directly into electrical energy. The basic physical structure of a fuel cell consists of an electrolyte layer in contact with a porous anode and cathode on either side. A schematic representation of a fuel cell with the reactant or product gases and the ion conduction flow directions through the cell is shown in Fig. 16.1

Economic analysis provides a rational basis for making decisions in allocating scare resources among various options to achieve competing goals. If resources were not limiting, there would be no need for economic consideration. Some important basic principles of economic analysis are outlined below.

PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Optimization criteria

The additional return obtained from using one additional unit of an input should be considered to optimize net income from several possible production options. If option ‘x’ gives a higher return to land than other options, then additional units of land should be allocated to option ‘x’.

1. INTRODUCTION

Fruits and vegetables represent highly perishable items of agricultural produce, mainly because of their high water content in the fresh form. Fruits and vegetables vary greatly in their protective covering, peel or rind, and also in shape, size, colour, texture and flavour. Their care starts from the field of harvest, including pre- harvest care to reduce postharvest infections and maintain quality. Because of the high rate of perishability in fresh form, fruits and vegetables are preserved by processing into several forms and choices, depending on the specific commodity to ensure reduction in mass, render storage stability for extension in storage life for both domestic and foreign trade over variable distance and time.

Food preservation can be defined as the science which deals with methods of prevention of decay or spoilage of food, thus allowing it to be stored in a fit condition for future use. In this chapter, food preservation and have been discussed in abroad way.

Thus, sugar serves as a preservative in jam and jelly, whereas salt is the major preservative for pickle. RTS (Ready-to-Serve) beverage under acidic conditions in pasteurized form can be stored at room temperature for approximately three months while dehydrated products with 5% residual moisture with suitable packages, depending on the low hygroscopicity can find storage life upto 12 months. Intermediate moisture product with 25% residual moisture is becoming popular to consume mango or papaya strips directly in ready-to-eat form. Storage quality of such forms assumes greater importance. The use of synthetic preservatives is highly questioned in the modern days. However, low concentrations of potassium meta-bisulfite and sodium benzoate are still in use. Formation of benzene under acidic conditions for example in products like RTS beverage by the use of sodium benzoate is said to be dangerous, as benzene is known to be carcinogenic. This takes us to a subject of food safety including hygiene and HACCP. Good manufacturing practices are practically the most useful form of product preparation to expect safety.

Abstract

This paper is rooted in the issue of the failure of Green Revolution which was intended to achieve self-sufficiency in the agriculturally dominant country of India, following its independence. However five decades later, the current focus of the country is on engaging in a sustainable and economically feasible agricultural practice using principles of agro ecology. This paper tries to explore the potential of application of organic farming in a vast country like India. The author posits that organic farming can help India reverse the damage caused by Green Revolution by allowing for natural methods of agriculture rather than a severely mechanical form. This paper focuses on the modern concept of organic farming combining tradition, science and innovation, and the debatable issues surrounding organic farming particularly dealing with its economic feasibility and sustainability prospects. It is acknowledged that for the successful implementation of organic farming there has to be appropriate matching of the supply and demands the organic products. However, there is a need to address the challenge of adoption of organic farming in a diverse country like India because of its huge variance in education, income, living standards and health of the existing and potential consumers. The prospect of organic farming is discussed from the perspective of consumer awareness and state initiatives, in this paper.

Both dryland crops and irrigated crops experience an assortment of ecological or environmental stresses which include abiotic viz., drought, water logging, salinity, extremes of temperature, changes in atmospheric gases and biotic viz., insects, birds, other pests, weeds, pathogens. Dryland crops are more vulnerable to stress in the present context of changing climatic scenarios. The ability to tolerate or adapt effectively by challenging these stresses is a very complicated phenomenon would be due to various plant interactions occurred in the specific environment. Both biotic and abiotic stresses occur at various stages of plant growth and development and frequently more than one stress concomitantly affects the crop. It is difficult to distinguish effects of these stress factors on the performance of crop plants with respect to yield and quality of harvested products. This is of special significance of maximizing productivity of dryland crops in changing climate scenarios, with complex consequences for ecologically and environmentally sound Indian agriculture. In order to successfully meet this challenge, one should understand the various aspects of stresses in view of the current development and to promote a competitive dryland production system.