eChapters

  1.    Gender Sensitization: Change of Attitude of people towards gender equality, gender roles etc.

  2.    Public-Private Partnership: Involvement of private stakeholders with public entreprises

  3.    Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Use of computer. fax, video, telephones in information sharing & transfer of technology.

  4.    Cyber Extension: Use of computers in extension management.

  5.    Broad Based Extension: Farming system use for maximum use of all available resource to maximize profit

  6.    Bottom-up Approach: Planning from lowest level of society.

  7.    ITK (Indegenous Technological Knowledge): Use of farm community knowledge for development

  8.    Market Led Extension: Transfer of technology basing on assured & confirmed market of the product.

Introduction

The natural economic movement of a country goes from agrarian economy which is the primary sector to an industrial economy (secondary sector) and then only to the tertiary sector i.e., service economy. But due to various socio-economic factors, India has jumped from an agrarian economy to a service economy in the past and had a low growth in secondary sector.

Though primary sector is vital, there is a natural limit on how much can be extracted from this. The country is witnessing a peak in food grains production (285.21 million tonnes) nonetheless rupees 92,000 crores worth food grains are wasted annually (MOFPI annual report 2018-19). Hence, with an increasing population, decreasing arable land (52.6%), irrigation water resources and with present level of climate change scenario, food processing should be considered as a need to enhance the profitability and sustainability of agriculture in the country (Swaminathan and Bhavani, 2013). Thus, effective post-harvest management is one of the strategies for envisaging an evergreen revolution along with increasing yields. A well-developed food processing industry increases farm gate prices reduce wastages, ensure value addition, promote crop diversification, generate employment opportunities as well as export earnings.

ND is a viral disease of poultry, wild and cage birds characterized by marked variation in morbidity, mortality, signs and lesions. Reported in 235 species of birds.

A disease of primary importance and concern worldwide which causes continuous massive economic loss. It is a reportable disease in many countries of the world.

Occurrence

Species: All birds susceptible. Temporary conjunctivitis may develop in people who come in close contact with NDV for the first time.

Abstract
 
Technological advancement, increased urbanization, awareness and interest of consumer for variety products have given a great challenge to the food sector to develop inexpensive foods that are nutritionally superior and acceptable to the intended consumers. Keeping this objective in view, we have made an attempt to develop technology for variety products from wheat and corn and suitability of available varieties judged. With the emerging trends of food market towards fast foods, there are vast prospects for efficient utilization of cereals by exploring varieties products. A steamed bread (a Chinese traditional product) and Tortilla and corn chips (Mexican snacks) were developed. Steamed bread is defined as the product resulting from cooking or steaming fermented dough. Recipe and method for its preparation was standardized. Nutritionally rich steamed bread can be prepared by supplementing 10% level of chickpea and defatted soybean flour. Corn snacks have become a prime target of some consumer advocates and nutritionists who have referred them as a source of ‘empty calories’. But reality is that these snacks provide instant energy, as they are rich storehouse of nutrients. Process and recipe for the preparation of Tortilla and corn chips from Indian maize were standardized. The quality and acceptability of these snacks were worked out and found that these products were highly acceptable. Indian consumers have versatile taste, so these products will be readily accepted in Indian market. 

A newsletter is a communication tool that plays a vital role in public relations (PR) by fostering engagement, building relationships, and sharing relevant information with a target audience. It is a periodic publication, either digital or printed, distributed to a targeted audience to share updates, news, and information. In public relations (PR), newsletters act as a strategic communication tool to strengthen relationships and disseminate relevant content.
Role of Newsletters in Public Relations
1. Information Dissemination
• Share updates about organizational achievements, new initiatives, or industry news.
• Provide expert insights to position the organization as a thought leader.
2. Building Relationships
• Strengthen connections with stakeholders, customers, and the public.
• Foster loyalty by engaging audiences with regular, valuable content.
3. Enhancing Brand Visibility
• Consistent newsletters ensure that the brand remains visible and top-of-mind.
• Showcase brand values, culture, and mission to reinforce identity.
4. Supporting PR Campaigns
• Amplify key messages from broader campaigns.
• Promote events, partnerships, or corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

It is important to reflect on the path we have traversed throughout this book. We embarked on a journey tracing the evolution of how weather and climate insights are applied to the intricate world of agriculture. From rudimentary observations to the sophisticated analyses of modern agrometeorology, we‘ve witnessed a growing understanding of the critical interplay between atmospheric conditions and crop production. We‘ve explored the groundbreaking integration of remote sensing technologies, offering an unprecedented bird‘s-eye view of agricultural landscapes, and the power of Geographic Information Systems to contextualize this data within specific spatial boundaries. The emergence of advanced data analytics, including the transformative capabilities of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, has been a recurring theme, demonstrating how vast datasets can be harnessed to extract meaningful patterns and drive predictive insights.
• This progression has culminated in the central concept of precision agrometeorological advisory services – the focus of our in-depth exploration. We‘ve examined how moving beyond generalized recommendations towards tailored guidance, customized to the unique characteristics of individual farms and fields, represents a paradigm shift in agricultural support. This precision approach, underpinned by accurate, localized data and scientifically validated models, holds the key to addressing some of the most pressing challenges faced by today‘s farmers. From navigating the increasing unpredictability of weather patterns and the growing threats posed by climate variability to optimizing the use of increasingly scarce and expensive resources like water and nutrients, precision agrometeorology offers practical and impactful solutions. It empowers farmers to make timely and informed decisions, minimizing risks, maximizing efficiency, and ultimately enhancing the productivity and sustainability of their agricultural endeavors. This empowerment is not just about boosting yields; it‘s about fostering greater economic stability, promoting environmental stewardship, and ensuring food security for a growing global population.
This final chapter, „Next Generation Agrometeorology: Empowering Farmers with Precision,“ is designed to consolidate the wealth of knowledge and insights we‘ve gathered. We will synthesize the key findings and highlight the practical implications of embracing these next-generation approaches. Beyond a simple summary, we aim to provide a clear understanding of how the principles

1. Introduction

The present library system has been designated as a treasure of knowledge in virtual environment. The concept of modern library has been considered as the source of high level-information using web technology, digitization, networking,e-resources and multimedia. The rapid development of modern information and communication technologies and smart usage of computers in library and information system and services has given rise to new generation of libraries. The last two decades have radically transformed the library system with new avenues of information transfer in virtual world. An incredible amount of growth in increasing new interfaces have been developed utilising latest technologies to optimise the delivery of contents and services in the context of web environment. The emerging new vision of library interfaces has involved web technologies, digital collection of texts and images, documents, genealogy of records and other materials of importance for the user community. The major shift of new technology has developed the subscription of e-journals, e-books, and e-databases collection in libraries. Such library interface is compelled to provide equal access to the contents or these collection to all users irrespective of area or locality. Another remarkable trend in library technology field is the emergence of open-source software movement that enabled to transform the automation and digital library interface. Open Source Software efforts such as OAI, Grenstone, DSpace, Koha etc, have drastically transformed the library technology scenario in terms of sophistication and functionality. This article/ chapter is dealt with the state of digital library system with stages of generation of digital libraries and future directions.

7.1 Plant Tissue Culture

Spices have great socio-economic impact in moden food habit of human but loss of resources day by day due to various reasons (industrialization, high population pressure) make the access of these valuable spices limited to people. Low production is general phenomena of common spices due to lack of high yielding varieties. Hence there is a need to improve the propagation method to meet the gap between demand and supply. Conventional vegatative propagation method is common approach for propagation but low multiplication rate, seasonal dependency and susceptible to abiotic stresses and diseases are major problems to achieve the optimum productivity. To overcome these drawbacks scientists have chosen the plant tissue culture technique (a modern approach of biotechnology which deals with the propagation the valuable/endangered plants under laboratory condition). Details about this technique and its role on spices are given below.

Plant Tissue Culture: Basic Components and Objectives

The technique of growing of a whole plant cell, tissue or organ under an aseptic condition in suitable synthetic medium is termed as plant tissue culture (Thorpe, 2007). De-differentiation and re-differentiation are two essential fundamental processes which help in the physio-morphological development of the plant.

INTRODUCTION

DNA sequencing is a process of deciphering the complete order of nucleotide in the DNA molecule with precision. Over the past few years, there has been a shifting from the automated Sanger’s method of sequencing to next generation technologies. There was a milestone in the year 2003 for the researchers when fine sequence of human genome project was declared complete. The project was completed in 13 years with nearly $3 billion expenditure and more than 20,000 researchers and technicians took part in it all over the Globe. DNA sequence determination is performed using dideoxy chain termination technology (Ronaghi, 2001). The dideoxy sequencing method was developed by Frederick Sanger and his colleagues (Sanger et al., 1977) and is called as First-generation sequencing technology. Since early 2000s, there became drastic improvements in the sequencing technologies from Sanger’s method used for Human genome project to Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies used these days. The change in technologies not only reduced the expenditure to the minimal but also involved minimum use of human resource and time. High –throughput sequencing technologies are increasingly being used to address varied range of biological objectives. It provides a promising approach to increase the scale, robustness and efficiency of the results of whole genome within few hours and minimum expense. Key players in the field of NGS are 454 GX Flex Roche, Solexa Illumina, SOLiD ABI (Applied Biosystems), ViSiGen biotechnologies, Helicose Biosciences and Polonater systems.

ABSTRACT

Genomics is a relatively new scientific discipline, having DNA sequencing as its core technology. As technology has improved the cost and scale of genome characterization over sequencing’s 40-year history, the scope of investigation has commensurately broadened. Demand has never been greater for revolutionary technologies that deliver fast, inexpensive and accurate genome information. This challenge has catalyzed the development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. Over the past few years, massively parallel DNA sequencing platforms have become widely available, reducing the cost of DNA sequencing by over two orders of magnitude, and democratizing the field by putting the sequencing capacity of a major genome center in the hands of individual investigators. These new technologies are rapidly evolving, and near-term challenges include the development of strong protocols for generating sequencing libraries, building effective new approaches to data-analysis, and often a rethinking of experimental design. Next-generation DNA sequencing has the potential to dramatically accelerate biological and biomedical research, by enabling the comprehensive analysis of genomes, transcriptomes and interactomes to become inexpensive, routine and widespread, rather than requiring significant production-scale efforts. This article explains the methods, advantages and disadvantages of methods and softwares of Next Generation Sequencing with its impact and applications on genomics and other related field of biology.

Introduction
Next-generation sequencing (NGS), a High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) methodology, sometimes referred to as deep sequencing or massively parallel sequencing, has completely changed genomic research and DNA sequencing. Compared to the traditional Sanger sequencing approach, which took more than ten years to finish the human genome project, this state-of-the-arttechnology allows scientists to sequence a full human genome in a single day (Behjati and Tarpey, 2013). Although Sanger sequencing has mostly been replaced by NGS in research areas, it is still not widely used in clinical areas (Slatko et al., 2018). High-throughput DNA sequencing techniques have developed quickly over the past 20 years, and new approaches are constantly being developed. A greater range of applications in the basic and applied sciences become available as these technologies advance (Reis-Filho, 2009).
Overfishing, pollution, and climate change are putting the world’s aquatic ecosystems, which are home to a wide variety of fish species under previously unheard-of strain (Prakash, 2021). For effective conservation and management, accurate and efficient monitoring of fish diversity is therefore essential (Meinam et al., 2023). Techniques like physical capture and morphological identification have been used historically, but they can be intrusive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. A new age of fish diversity monitoring has been brought about by the development of NGS technologies, which provide a potent and noninvasive substitute (Kumar and Kocour, 2017). Rapid and thorough genetic material analysis is made possible by NGS, which offers previously unheardof insights into the distribution, composition, and population dynamics of species.

Data-centric artificial intelligence has transformed medical imaging, clinical prediction and electronic health-record analysis, but purely data-driven models face limitations involving generalization, bias, privacy and interpretability. This chapter examines the transition toward knowledge-aware and hybrid healthcare systems that combine machine learning with clinical knowledge, ontologies and knowledge graphs. It discusses explainable AI, clinical reasoning and the integration of structured knowledge into intelligent decision support. Applications include acute-care support, precision medicine, genomic oncology and population-health management. Ethical issues, regulatory compliance, fairness and privacy-preserving technologies are also considered. Future directions include quantum computing, large language models, multimodal integration and equity-focused healthcare-system development.

Introduction

The term, “non-governmental organization” or NGO, came into use in 1945 because of the need for the UN to differentiate in its Charter between participation rights for intergovernmental specialized agencies and those for international private organizations. At the UN, virtually all types of private bodies can be recognized as NGOs .They only have to be independent from government control, not seeking to challenge governments either as a political party or by a narrow focus on human rights, non-profit-making and non-criminal (Ali Mostashari, 2005). On the contrary India is one the poorest countries housing one third of the total world poor population. 43% of Indian children are malnourished, a third ofthe world’s total. Over 25% of Indians are illiterate, and more than 20 million children are out of school (Asheesh Bisht et al., 2013). India is a highly populated and predominantly rural country. It is classified as a country of medium human development, ranked 128th in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index 2007. Life expectancy is 63.7 years at birth, and four fifths of the population lives on less than $2/day. The adult literacy rate is 61 percentages. India has a long history of civil society based on the concepts of daana (giving) and seva (service). Numerous organizations were established during this period, including the Friend-in-Need Society (1858), Prathana Samaj (1864), Satya Shodhan Samaj (1873), Arya Samaj (1875), the National Council for Women in India (1875), and the Indian National Conference (1887). Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India in 1916 shifted the focus of development activities to economic self sufficiency.

Introduction and History

Niger, Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass. [Asteraceae] is commonly known as nigerseed [English]; noug, guizotia oléifère [French]; verbesina da Índia, abisin, negrillo, ramtilla [Spanish]; ramtil, nigersaat [Dutch]; [Amharic];[Chinese]; Ram-til[Hindi]; Gurellu [Kannada]; Verri-nuvvulu (Telugu) Karalle[Marathi] and Jhusetil [Nepali] Niger’s other synonym is Guizotia oleifera DC., Polynya abyssinica L. f.

Niger (Guizotia abyssinica (L. f.) Cass.) is an oilseed crop cultivated in Ethiopia and India for its edible oil. Niger plant is originated in highlands of Northern Ethiopia (Weiss, 2000). The crop is reported to have been introduced into India from Ethiopia during around2000BC. The Ancient Agau people of Ethiopia had a well-developed agriculture, who traded with Egypt which facilitated the exchange by barter that included Niger too (Weiss, 2000). Currently, Niger is an important oilseed crop of Ethiopia. Ground niger seeds and chillies are the main components of the traditional stew known as wat of Ethiopia. Niger is the most important oilseed crop of Ethiopia contributing to 50% of the country’s oilseed production. Although the crop is grown throughout the country, the main production centres are Begemdir, Gojam and Welaga (Weiss, 2000). Since the Ethiopian government actively supports the oilseed industry, production was on steady increase till 1974. With the fall in the production post-civil war in 1974, most of the niger produced is consumed domestically and the exports got dwindled.

1. INTRODUCTION

In the past, conventional ICTs that have been applied to agricultural extension services include the use of television, radio, etc., and these media have been criticized as archetypical, passive, top-down in nature; hence they have not created meaningful impact on agricultural information delivery (Akpabio, 2007). As a result of this, extension roles have undergone several transformation, over the years. One of the objectives of agricultural extension is to create conducive platform for empowerment so that food security can be guaranteed. In order to guarantee food security there is need to utilize faster and more efficient techniques of project identification, selection, implementation and evaluation in the agricultural extension process (Braimoh and Oladele, 2000). The inadequacies of interpersonal communication strategy in development gave credence to the use of media support in development process (Yahaya, 2000). In recent times, further improvements have been made on the use of media support through digital media. This is what makes contemporary ICT more relevant.

Modern ICTs emerged in Nigeria at a time when there was need for change in the agricultural extension delivery system to suit the contemporary situation. The conventional forms of communication used by extension agents include written (bulletin, leaflets, newspapers, articles, personal letters, circular, etc.); spoken (general meeting, special meeting, farm and home visit, official calls, telephone calls and radio); visual (result demonstration, exhibits, posters, motion pictures, charts, slide) and spoken/visual (method demonstration meeting, result demonstration meeting, meeting involving motion pictures, meeting involving charts).Torimiro et al.,(2000) noted the non-usage of telephone calls in extension work, giving reasons as preference for the locally accessible and affordable forms of communication they can employ.

Nipah virus infection is an emerging zoonotic disease first described in 1999 and the virus is under the genus Henipavirus and family Paramyxoviridae. The disease is similar to another emerging zoonotic disease caused by Hendra virus and can spread from its wildlife reservoir to pigs and humans where it causes an often fatal disease. It is a notifiable disease in most countries and to be handled under highest biological security level 4 (BSL-4). In Malayasia an outbreak of viral encephalitis occurred over a 35 week period from September 29, 1998 to 31^st May, 1999 among pig farmers creating considerable anxiety and fear. Of the 265 cases reported to the Ministry of Health in Malaysia, 105 were fatal and the case fatality rate was 39.6%. The outbreak also spread to neighbouring Singapore where 11 workers of an abattoir developed the disease with one fatality. 93% of the reported cases involved those directly in the pig farming industries namely pig farm workers, pig farm proprietors, housewives and family members assisting in the farms. The majority of the cases occurred in those aged 20 and above (92.4%) and actively engaged in pig industry followed by the age group 10-19 years (6.4%). About 82.6% of the cases are male.

Etiology: Henipavirus is a genus of the family Paramyxoviridae and order Mononegavirales containing two members, Hendravirus and Nipah virus. The henipaviruses are naturally harboured by Pteropid fruit bats (flying foxes) and are characterized by a large genome (18.2 Kb), wide host range and their recent emergence as zoonotic pathogens capable of causing illness and death in domestic animals and humans.

The viruses are pleomorphic ranging in size from 40-600 nm in diameter. They possess a lipid membrane overlying a shell of viral matrix protein. At the core is a single helical strand of genomic RNA tightly bound to N (nucleocapsid) protein and associated with the L (large) and P (phospoprotein) proteins which provides the RNA polymerase activity. F (fusion) protein trimers and G (attachment) protein tetramers are embedded within the lipid membrane. The genome of the Nipah virus consists of a non-segmented, single stranded negative sense RNA. In common with other members of the Paramyxovirinae subfamily, the number of nucleotides in the Henipavirus genome is a multiple of six, known as the 'rule of six'. The Nipah virus has been classified by the CDC as a Category C agent.

INTRODUCTION

Among plant nutrients, our soils are particularly low in nitrogen and therefore, require is high doses of nitrogenous fertilizers for getting optimum productivity. Added to this is the problem of poor efficiency of nitrogeneous fertilizers which under normal conditions is only 40 – 50 %, still less for rice ranging from 25 – 35 %, and the residual effect for the succeeding crops is never more than 10 %. The rest of the applied nitrogen is lost either through volatilization, leaching or denitrification (Kashyap, 1978). The high cost of nitrogenous fertilizers and their poor utilization efficiency very much add to the high cost of cultivation. Hence, the need of the hour is to decrease our dependence on chemical fertilizers and increase the efficiency of the fertilizer thus used. The increase in nitrogen efficiency in crop plants can be achieved by reducing denitrification with the use of nitrification inhibitors, reducing the soil compaction, improving drainage conditions, use of soil improving crops, and adopting carefully the irrigation procedures (Carlson, 1980). No doubt exploration of this possibility is a big task, nevertheless, the understanding of physiology and biochemistry of nitrogen nutrition at molecular level is obligatory and is likely to add insight to achieve the hard task goal.

Abstract

Nitrogen is the most important element in terms of nutrition for plants, nitrate being the most preferred form. Nitrate not only acts as nutritional element but also as a signal to modulate metabolism and plant architecture. Nitrate sensing mostly happens in the root tip through a hitherto unknown mechanism, but its response can be demonstrated on an organism-wide scale. Functional genomic studies revealed over a thousand nitrate-responsive genes, involved not only in N and C metabolism, but also in various other physio-logical processes. Identification of nitrate response element/s common to all these genes could pave the way to unravel the mechanism of nitrate signaling, but findings in this direction have remained inconclusive so far. Several trans-acting factors have been implicated in N signaling and response, but none of these have been convincingly demonstrated to be specific to this response. Nitrate uptake, which is sometimes associated with nitrate sensing, is also highly regulated process and involves multiple transport systems like HATS, LATS and dual affinity transporters.

INTRODUCTION

? Nitrate poisoning is generally caused when animals eat too much forage that is high in nitrates not changed to protein in the plant.

? Poisoning can also happen when animals eat too much urea or nitrogen fertilizer spilled in the field or left where the animals can find it.

? Nitrate fertilizer is palatable, especially to cattle.

? Nitrates are relatively non-toxic.

? Reduction of nitrates depends on the supply of fermentable energy as carbohydrates supply hydrogen ions for reduction of nitrates and production of nitrite in rumen.

Nitrates and nitrites are known to have injurious effects on animals when excess amounts are ingested. Nitrites are much more toxic but nitrates are reduced to nitrites by bacterial action in the digestive tract

Nitrites (NO₂) are rarely found in plants  in appreciable amounts except under very unusual conditions such as severe disease infections; therefore, the results are usually reported in terms of nitrates (NO₃). The usual method is to determine the total nitrate and nitrite in terms of nitrate. However, the method can also be used to determine the nitrite content of a feed separately if a nitrite problem is suspected.