eChapters

Introduction

Incidence of ectoparasitism is on rise in the livestock population, impeding its production and performance. Those areas which were free of ectoparasites are now under great parasite load because of changing climatic conditions and global warming. Global warming has resulted in vectors shifting their habitats to temperate regions also. Ectoparasites are not only causing irritation to livestock by blood sucking and associated pruritus, they are serving as vectors for a variety of haemoprotozoan and rickettsiae leading to far-flung complications. Major ectoparasites infesting ruminants are ticks, lice, fleas and flies. Though ticks and flies are proclaimed as notorious for transmission of haemoprotozoans, now a days evidences are on rise reporting the role of fleas and lice as vectors for various haemoprotozoan and viral diseases. The need of the hour is to explore more and more ectoparasites to identify their vector potential and their effective control measures. While addressing the ectoparasitism in livestock, another major problem arises with their control. Most ectoparasitism is of seasonal nature at least in temperate areas, while it is a round the year phenomenon in tropics. Only very few compounds are available as ectoparasiticides and used by clinicians, and has resulted in onset of resistance among ectoparasites. New compounds need to be developed and marketed to counter this and at the same time it should be environment friendly also. Lest their rising use can lead to eradication of friendly fauna which can be more detrimental to the ecosystem. Now a days researches are focusing on the development of integrated tick/vector control measures which are making use of minimal chemical compounds and utilizing the synergistic application of farming techniques/practices and cultivating plants of acaricidal properties. In this era of pandemic, zoonotic nature of various haemoprotozoan/rickettsiae affecting livestock is also of concern to the mankind. So, they need to be addressed at the earliest considering their impact. The susceptibility to ectoparasitism varies from animal to animal.

Barley is believed to be originated from Asia and Ethiopia. Its Sanskrit name ‘Yava’ is mentioned in ‘Veda’ and use of barley in religious ceremonies has been described which shows that barley has been grown in India since ancient times. It is widely believed that the ‘Near-East region’ is the probable place of origin of barley around 8000 BC (Harlan, 1968). There are two theories regarding the origin of barley. 

Nurserymen and propagators propagate different types of horticulture plants with seeds, cuttings, and other methods. Regardless of the medium used, an ideal medium should have the following characteristics:

1. The medium should be sufficient firm and dense to told seed or cutting or layer firmly in place during germination or rooting.
2. The volume of the medium should remain constant upon drying or wetting.
3. This medium should be able to hold and deliver an adequate amount of moisture to the seeds, cuttings or layers.

Introduction

Rickettsial diseases in poultry are caused by various species of bacteria belonging to the genus Rickettsia. These diseases can have significant economic implications for the poultry industry due to decreased production, increased mortality, and trade restrictions. Rickettsial diseases affecting poultry are relatively uncommon compared to other pathogens but can still occur. Rickettsial organisms are tiny, pleomorphic, weakly gram-negative bacilli that multiply by binary fission. The Rickettsia requires an arthropod for transmission and to complete its life cycle. The organisms are non-motile and non-capsulated and possess both DNA and RNA. Some of the rickettsial diseases affecting poultry include:

1. Rocky Mountain spotted fever: Chickens can be infected with various species of Rickettsia, including Rickettsia rickettsia, which causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans. In chickens, rickettsial infections can lead to symptoms such as fever, lethargy, decreased egg production, respiratory distress, and neurological signs.

It is a non-contagious, nonfebrile infectious disease of mammals caused by toxin of Cl. tetani and characterized by sposmodic contraction of skeletal muscles.

Etiology: It is caused by Cl. tetani. It is a Gm⁺, slender bacillus, 4-8μ X0.5μ in size. It has a straight axis, parallel sides and rounded ends. It occurs singly and occasionally in chains. The spores are spherical, terminal and bulging, giving the bacillus the characteristic 'drum stick' appearance. It is non-capsulated and motile by peritrichate flagella. Young cultures are strongly Gm+ but older ones may be Gm-. Cl. tetani is widely distributed in soil and in the intestine of man and animals. Soil may have good concentration O organisms if it is fertilized with animal manure. Some strains have been identified but they have same antigenic type of toxin and can be neutralized by single toxin. There are two types of antigen H (flagella) and O (somatic). The H antigen is thermolabile and O antigen is thermostable and responsible for spasms.

It is an obligatory anaerobe that grows only in the absence of O₂ It grows on ordinary media. Growth is improved by blood and serum but not by glucose. The spores are very much resistant and can persist in the soils for even years. The spores can be destroyed by boiling at 115°C for 30-60 min.

The organisms produce 3 types of toxins. The toxins are tetanospasmin (neurotoxin), tetanolysin (haemolysin) and fibrinolysin. Tetanolysin is a heat labile, O₂ labile haemolysin antigenically related to the O₂ labile haemolysin produced by Cl. welchii. This lysin is active against RBCs of several animal species. Tetanospasmin is responsible for clinical manifestation of tetanus. It is O₂ stable but relatively heat labile. It gets toxoided spontaneously or in presence of low concentration of HCHO. It is a good antigen and is specifically neutralized by the antitoxin. It exists in two forms. A monomer of MW 68,000 which is toxic and a dimer which is non-toxic but antigenic. The purified toxin is active in extremely small amounts and has an MLD for mice of about 50-75X10^-6 mg. Horse is the most susceptible animal. Guinea pig, mice, goats and rabbits are susceptible in that descending order. Birds and reptiles are highly resistant. Frogs which are insusceptible, may be rendered susceptible by elevating their body temperature.

Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.), also called chickling pea, is an important crop of economic significance in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Ethiopia. It is also cultivated in China, many countries of Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa. It is a food, feed and fodder crop belonging to the family Leguminacaae and the tribe vicieae (Smartt, 1990).

Grasspea is very tolerant to drought conditions and has been grown successfully in areas with an average annual precipitation of 380 to 650 mm. Despite its tolerance to drought, grasspea is not affected by excessive rainfall and can be grown on land subject to flooding (Sinha, 1977). It has a very hardy and penetrating root system and, therefore, can be grown on a wide range of soil type, including very poor soil and heavy clays. This hardiness together with its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen makes the crop ideally to grow under adverse conditions (Campbell et al. 1994). In India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan, it is often broadcast into a standing rice crop one to two weeks before the rice is ready for harvest where it flourishes on the residual soil moisture after the rice has been harvested.

Despite all the advantages compared to other crops, relatively little efforts have been made to improve this very hardy pulse crop. The main reason has been the knowledge that excessive consumption of grasspea can lead to a neurological disorder, called Lathyrism in man and domestic animals (Jackson and Yunus, 1984). It appears when Lathyrys sativus forms the main component of the diet contributing to at least 30% of the caloric intake for a period of 3 to 4 months (Campbell et al. 1994).

Absorption and Emission

Absorption techniques – It measures the absorption of abundance of light due to electrons going to a higher energy level.

Emission techniques - It measures the intensity of light that is emitted as electrons return to the lower energy levels.

10.1. Classification of pesticides

10.1.1. Based on organisms

History

 • The fossil evidence also indicates the presence of plant diseases 250million years ago.

 • The diseases caused by fungi and nematodes were discovered by Monocernin 1735.

 • Johan Needham (1743) identified wheat gall caused by a nematode.

 • Adolf Mayer (1886), demonstrated the transmission of Tobacco mosaicvirus (TMV).

 • EF Smith (1890) described bacterial wilt in cucurbits.

• The thrips (Thysanoptera) as vectors of plant viruses were identified thescientific studies made by Samuel and his team.

 • Karl Maramorosch (1952) demonstrated the multiplication of Asteryellows virus (AYV) in leafhopper vector.

 • The mite Aceriatulipae has been identified as a vector of Wheat streakmosaic virus by JT Slykhuis in 1955.

 • The term “vir

18.1 Introduction

Sorrel is a perennial herb, which is found in grassland habitats throughout Europe from the northern Mediterranean coast to the north of Scandinavia and in parts of Central Asia. It is of two types such as Garden sorrel that is a native of Europe and south western Asia and French sorrel that is originated in the mountains of southern France and the southern and central regions of Europe and south-west Asia. The name sorrel is derived from the Germanic word, Sur and the old French word Surele, both meaning sour. It is primarily used as a culinary herb for its leaves, which are used in salads too. The leaf of this plant resembles that of spinach and have a lemony lettuce flavour and the plant is well known for strong acidity in Europe and the United States. Sorrel is a rich source of potassium, iron and vitamins A, B1 and C. The flavour of sorrel leaves is mainly due to oxalic acid, which is harmless when consumed in small amount. Owing to high level of vitamin C content, it was rightly believed to protect against scurvy disease. It is a dioecious plant, that bears unisexual flowers, as the male and female flowers appear on different plants. When the plant flowers, they look very attractive and are often used as an ornamental plant.

Procurement is acquisition of goods and services.
Procurement includes:
• Planning the acquisition
• Planning the contracting
• Requesting proposals 
• Selecting a vendor
• Administering the contract
• Closing the contract 

Planning the acquisition

It is based on goals of an enterprise acquisition varies – depends on what, when and where to produce. Based on these factors acquisition requirements are arrived.

Introduction

The protozoa (meaning proto- first and zoa mean animals) are considered to primitive and are unicellular organism. The protozoa are Eukaryotic organism having nucleus in which the genetic information is stored in chromosomes of nucleus. In poultry, the protozoan disease categorized into two main group

1. Intestinal protozoan parasites include Eimeria spp. (Coccidiosis), Cryptosporidia (Cryptosporidiosis) Histomoniasis (Histomonas meleagridis), Trichomoniasis (Trichomonas spp.) and Spironucleus (Hexamitiasis).

Coccidiosis is important disease of poultry caused by protozoa of the genus Eimeria. The disease occurs by ingestion of sporulated oocyst ehcih upon action of trypsin rupture in gizzard and proventriculus relealeses sporozoites. The sprozoites penetrate mucosa of intestine and two generation of asexual reproduction occurs (Schizogony) and releases merozoites which mature and produces gamonts. Sexyual reproduction occurs (Gametogony) and produses zygot which mature to form oocysts. The oocysts are passed in faeces. The high moisture (exceeding 30%), immunosuppressive diseses and environmental and managemental stress lead to occurrence of disease. The birds affected with coccidiosis show depression, ruffled feathers, blood tinged diarrhoea and pale comb and wattle. Specific part of intestine is affected by each species of Eimeria. Diagnosis of coccidiosis is done by finding oocyst in faeces under microscope.

A mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that changes the genetic material (DNA) of an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural incidence. Errors during DNA replication, repair and recombination also causes spontaneous mutations naturally. Mutagens may be of chemical, physical or biological origin. The properties of each mutagen vary by causing damage to the DNA, and most often result in replication error.

Q fever (query fever) is an important global occupational zoonotic disease caused by a bacteria Coxiella burnetti. It is an OIE notifiable disease and showing an emerging and reemerging trend in different parts of the world. It is having great public health importance as the pathogen is transmitted through almost all routes but predominantly by aerosols from reproductive discharges of animals of farm and pet animals which serve as main reservoir of infection. The organism is shed in milk and foods of animal origin for very long period. Q fever is associated with a wide clinical spectrum and most of its acute infections are either asymptomatic, mild or resemble to influenza. Presently, the infection is endemic in many areas and its prevalence has been confirmed in at least 51 countries including India.

Etiology: C. burnetti was classified as a member of Rickettsiaceae family however, recent scientific investigations on 16S RNA based sequence analysis have shown that it is genetically more comparable to bacterial families covering genus Francisella and Legionella therefore it has been reclassified in the family Coxiellaceae or order Legionellales. It is a Gm-, pleomorphic rods (0.2-0.41μX0.4-1.0μ) or sphere (0.3μ-0.4μ in diameter in size) and an obligate I/C organism. It is relatively resistant to physical and chemical agents. The bacterium occurs in two antigenic forms - the pathogenic form (phase I) found in infected animals or humans and the avirulent form (phase II) obtained by repeated passagein embryonated eggs or in cell culture. Phase II cells are autoagglutinable and are readily phagocytosed in the absence of specific antibodies. Phase I activity is attributed to surface carbohydrate antigen which is soluble in trichloracetic acid and is destroyed by periodate. Phase I is a more powerful immunogen than phase II and elicits antibodies in high titer to both antigens. Phase II antigen gives better results in CFT with human and animal sera. Q fever sera do not react with other rickettsial antigens or with Proteus. In nature, bacterium exists mainly in 3 forms, namely - the small cell variant (SCV), the small dense cells (SDC) which are spore like forms that remain very stable in the environment as extracellular infections particles and the large cell variant (LCV) which is the growing and metabolically active form inside the host. In view of the potential for transmission of this infection from animal to people, the disease has been classified as a notifiable OIE disease.

1    Consent form for surgery

2    Consent form for euthanesia

3    Slaughter certificate

4    Wound certificate

5    Proforma for export certificate of dogs

Even after public concern the scientists feel that the GMO foods are quite safe. According to them the genetically-engineered crops are very safe to eat as much as the non-GE of the same crop. According to them the environment has improved by reducing the use of pesticides. GMO stands for genetically modified organism. Soy, corn, or other crops are very common as GM crops which are made by genetically engineered DNA. Many have come to the conclusion that GM foods are safe, healthy and sustainable. However, some people are against them. There are many benefits of GM crops like less water or pesticides to be used. Genetically engineered crops fight diseases to save the foods. At the same time the industries/ farmers that grow them are also benefitted. These foods have higher nutritional profiles, both in the US and abroad like corn which is one of the most prominent GMO foods. Soy is found in tofu, vegetarian products, soybean oil, soy flour and many other products. The other major crops taken for genetic modification are Papayas, Canola and Cotton. For dairy products a lot of work is being done on the genetic engineering of animals in a big way. This is going to be the most intractable environmental challenge of the 21^st Century. Presently, around 92% of the U. S. corn (GE), 94% of soybeans and 94% of cotton are genetically engineered.

Introduction

Aonla or Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis Gaertn. Syn. Phyllanthus emblica) is one of the important indigenous fruits of the Indian subcontinent. Most of the xerophytes are members of the Euphorbiaceae.

The tropics are evergreen, while the subtropics are deciduous. The highest concentration of vitamin C in aonla is found in mature fruit rather than immature fruit. The special attribute is its capacity to retain vitamin C even in a dried stage, which is not possible in other fruits.

Aonla contains six seeds per fruit, and in it is found zygotic dormancy. Flowers are borne in the axils of the leaves on determinate shoots.

Indian Government has several developmental programmes to promote agriculture and rural sector. It includes Drought Prone Area Program, Antodaya Programme, Integrated Rural Development Programme, Hill Area Development Programme, Desert Development Programme, Intensive Jawahar Rojgar Yojna and Employment Assurance Scheme, Indira Awaas Yojna, Integrated Waste Land Development Programme, National Food Security Mission, National Horticulture Mission, etc. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has the main focus to provide guaranteed employment for 100 days in a year to every rural household. Since 2014, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been a major initiative by the Government of India.
THE FOOD SECUR3ITY BILL
The Food Security Bill is here. Some of the salient features are
Nearly 82 crore (820 m) poor people to get food grains at highly subsidized rate, nearly 20 crore poor in urban areas and 62 crore in rural areas will be eligible to get 5 kg rice, wheat and coarse grains at Rs.3, 2 and 1 respectively. Additionally for pregnant women, there will be a provision for free food for 10 months and for children below 7 years, food will be free. There is one danger point feared in this scheme that in the long run, many farmers will stop farming and go for easier way for casual labour and take food security cover in stead of farming the low production lands. But on the other hand we should look at the solution to this keeping in mind that the Food Security Bill is here and how best we can build on our strength rather than weakness. The areas of strength to look for should be :

Heat stress induced by climate change is a serious issue of livestock industries worldwide (Bajagai, 2011). When environmental temperatures move out of the thermo-neutral zone (or comfort zone) animals begins to experience either heat stress or cold stress. Both these stresses require the animals to increase the amount of energy used to maintain the body temperature so that less energy is available for productive processes. Atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, air movement and solar radiation are the major factors that determine the heat load on animal. Thermoregulation is the ability of the animals to maintain their body temperature in cold or hot environments. It consists of behavioural, physiological and anatomical responses that affect energy metabolism. At lower temperature as a physiological adjustment to maintain the body temperature the animal increases the metabolic heat production by increasing the basal metabolic rate and uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation. Hence the maintenance energy requirement of animals increases in a cold environment, which reduces the amount of energy available for production. From a practical point of view higher temperatures are much more dangerous for producing animals than a cold environment. Temperatures exceeding the higher critical level compromise animal performance not only by changing the energy and nutrient metabolism, but also by upsetting the body homeostasis, with detrimental consequences both for immune competence and for product quality. In general, livestock with high production potential are at greatest risk of heat stress, and require most attention.

Due to the globalization of the food supply there has been a need to strengthen food safety systems in and between the countries. In this regard the World Health Organization (WHO) has promoted efforts in improving the food safety from farm to plate which started on World Health Day, 7 April 2015. The World Health Day 2015 slogan was “From farm to plate, make food safe”. The informal food production and marketing system is still strong in most countries of the South-East Asia Region, for the enforcement of food safety regulations. Traditionally, the preferences have been for hot and well-cooked food. These habits are partially responsible for preventing foodborne infections. In many countries street food has become very popular as it is cheap. Hygienic conditions are improving, provided that potable water supply and clean facilities are ensured by municipal authorities. Many waterborne and diarrhoeal diseases could be prevented with the introduction of bottled drinking water. The awareness and education on food safety by the consumers has strengthened in the enforcement of food standards. This has improved the hygienic practices and has helped in the prevention of foodborne illnesses. The “WHO Five keys to safer food” serves as the basis for educational programmes to train food handlers and educate the consumers. These help in preventing the foodborne illnesses. The important points are to keep food surfaces clean, washing of all utensils, plates and cutlery, keeping the raw food separate from the cooked food. Cooking food thoroughly to the appropriate temperature, keeping food at safe temperatures, both for serving and storage and using safe water and raw materials.