eChapters

9.1 Introduction and Definition

Literally, econometrics means “Economic measurements”. Although measurement is an important part of econometrics, the scope of econometrics is much broader. Econometrics is an amalgam of economic theory, mathematical economics, economic statistics and mathematical statistics. It can also be stated that “Econometrics consists of the application of mathematical statistics to economic data to provide empirical support to the model constituted by mathematical economics and to obtain numerical results from such data.

Introduction

India pre-dominantly an agriculture-based country, requires constant endeavors to seewhether rural and agricultural credit facilities are enhanced with time. As a part of theseefforts, agricultural credit cards and cash credit facility were introduced in lending system. The Kisan Credit Card is a credit card programme launched by Indian banks in August 1998. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) developed this model scheme to supply term loans for agricultural needs based on the suggestions of the R.V. Gupta Committee. Its goal is to provide financial assistance to farmers in order to address the agricultural sector’s comprehensive credit needs. All commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks, and state cooperative banks are among the participants. Short-term credit limitations for crops are in place, as are term loans. Personal accident insurance covers KCC credit card members up to Rs. 50,000 for death and permanent disability and up to Rs. 25,000 for other risks. The premium is split evenly between the bank and the borrower. The validity period is five years, with the option of an additional three year extension, Kisan Credit Card provides cash and term credit to farmers for a variety of linkedoperations such as pump sets, land expansion, planting, and drip irrigation. Soil Wellbeing Card programming has been institutionalized and online programming built for eight statesunderthee-Government Program to provide coordinated supplement administration suggestions based on soil test edit reaction approach. Ranchers receive data through avariety of channels, including Common Service Centres, Internet Kiosks, and SMS, as partofthe Nationale-Governance Plan for Agriculture. Farmers are spared from the exorbitant interest rates charged by traditional banks under the KCC plan. The interest rate on KCC loans ranges from 2% to 4%. This low interest rate aids farmers in repaying loans more quickly, taking into account the crop’s harvesting season and the date the loan was provide.

The livestock sector is a pillar of the global food system and a contributor to poverty reduction, food security and agricultural development. Livestock play a major role in sustainable food systems—for example, manure is a critical source of natural fertilizer, while livestock used as draft animals can help boost productivity in regions where there is low mechanization. Livestock are important assets for vulnerable communities.

Natural Animal Farming

Government of India is promoting natural farming, through National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) and organic farming through ParamparagatKrishiVikasYojna (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER).On the initiative of NITI Ayog, Natural Farming defined as is a chemical-free traditional farming method. It is considered as an agroecology based diversified farming system which integrates crops, trees and livestock with functional biodiversity. Natural farming is a system where the laws of nature are applied to agricultural practices. This method works along with the natural biodiversity of each farmed area, encouraging the complexity of living organisms, both plants, and animals that shape each particular ecosystem to thrive along with food plants. Natural Farming builds on natural or ecological processes that exist in or around farms. Several studies have reported the effectiveness of natural farming in terms of increase in production, sustainability, saving of water use, improvement in soil health and farmland ecosystem. It is considered as a cost- effective farming practices with scope for raising employment and rural development.

English name : Dill
Botanical name : Anethum graveolens L.
Family : Apiaceae
Chromosome number : 2n = 22
Centre of origin : Mediterranean region
The genus Anethum includes two cultivated species: the European dill (A. graveolens L.) and the Indian dill (A. sowa Roxb.). The seed compositions of these two dill types are as follows:
Indian dill composition
• Moisture: 4.5-7.5%
• Volatile oil: 1.5-4.0%
• Mineral matter: 5.89-11.54%
• Acid-insoluble ash: 0.55-2.71%
• Extraneous matter: 3.16-12.93%

1. Introduction
Animal experimentation remains a cornerstone of scientific research in many fields, from medical advances to pharmaceutical testing. However, the ethical treatment of laboratory animals has become a point of significant concern worldwide. India, through the Committee for the Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA), ensures that ethical standards are maintained in research institutions. Established under the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), CCSEA is tasked with overseeing the use of animals in experiments, ensuring that procedures adhere to ethical guidelines and international norms. CCSEA’s guidelines are in line with international standards set forth by organizations such as the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) and the European Union (EU), but they are tailored to address local needs and conditions. The guidelines, which focus on the welfare of laboratory animals, emphasize the ethical review process, animal care, and the importance of minimizing animal suffering. They also stress the need for researchers to implement the 3Rs—Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement—to minimize the use of animals and ensure humane practices in research. This chapter explores the CCSEA guidelines in detail and compares them with animal welfare regulations from around the world, including the United States, European Union, Japan, and Australia. By understanding the similarities and differences between these regulations, researchers and policymakers can ensure the ethical treatment of laboratory animals on a global scale.
2. Objectives of CCSEA Guidelines
The main objective of the CCSEA guidelines is to ensure that laboratory animals are treated ethically and humanely while also supporting the validity and scientific rigor of research. The guidelines encourage researchers to prioritize animal welfare while minimizing unnecessary suffering. Specifically, CCSEA focuses on:
1. Ethical Treatment of Animals: Ensuring that animals are housed in suitable conditions, given adequate veterinary care, and provided with a comfortable environment to reduce stress.
2. Justification of Animal Use: Ensuring that animals are used only when necessary, and that their use is scientifically justified.
3. Pain and Stress Minimization: Ensuring that experimental procedures cause the least pain, distress and suffering possible.

Ecology is the inter-relationship between organisms and their environment. Weed ecology is study of inter-relationship between weed and their environmneent. Simply, Ecology of weeds means the inter-relationship of weeds with climate, soil, crops and other biotic factors. Terrestrial weed species persist in the soil by virtue of dormant structures, typically seeds or vegetative perennating organs such as rhizomes, tubers and taproots. In dense infestations, the banks of seeds or underground meristems from which new plants may be recruited into adult populations can be exceptionally large. Rao (1968) estimated that in Cyperus rotundus L. tuber populations of 10 million per hectare were possible, whilst Soerjani (1970) calculated that Imperata cylindrica may annually produce six tones of rhizomes per hectare. Typically seed banks of annual weeds in arable soils contain from 1000-10,000 seeds per m2whilst in grassland the upper limit to this range may extend at least to 1 million per m² (Mortimer 1994).

Crop Regulation

Staggering in pomegranate is practiced with a view to regulate crop load on the plant which will help in availability of the fruit for the long period helping the farmer fetching remunerative prices in the market. Also it will help in avoiding the glut in the market leading to distress sale. The relationship between source and sink can be regulated which helps in better fruit development. Pomegranate flowers and fruits through out the year if irrigation is provided to the plant. Taking of particular bahar leads to the glut in the market. This results in distress sale by the farmers. To avoid this staggering of pomegranate crop was attempted to find out and fruiting flowering during various months of the year so that maximum production with best quality fruits can be obtained.

Assumptions

    ·    Freshly calved animals in 1st or 2nd lactation are purchased in two batches of five animals each at an interval of 5 to 6 months.

    ·    Cost of rearing calves not considered as it will be nullified by their sale value or retention value.

    ·    Fodder cultivation considered in two acres and working capital for one crop / season considered. Two crops considered per year.
 
    ·    Manure is utilized for fodder cultivation.

Introduction

Southern blotting was named after Edward M. Southern who developed this procedure at Edinburgh University in the 1970s. To oversimplify, DNA molecules are transferred from an agarose gel onto a membrane. Southern blotting is designed to locate a particular sequence of DNA within a complex mixture. For example, Southern Blotting could be used to locate a particular gene within an entire genome. The amount of DNA needed for this technique is dependent on the size and specific activity of the probe. Short probes tend to be more specific. Under optimal conditions, you can expect to detect 0.1 pg of the DNA for which you are probing.

Biological and chemical reactions in living cells are dramatically reduced at low temperature, a phenomenon that can lead to the possible long-term preservation of cells and tissues. However, freezing is fatal to most living organisms, since both intra and extracellular ice crystals are formed and results in changes to the chemical setting of cells that lead to cellular mechanical constraints and injury. The major hurdle for cells to overcome at low temperatures is the water-to-ice phase transition. Cell injury at fast cooling rates is attributed to intracellular ice formation, whereas slow cooling causes osmotic changes due to the effects of exposure to highly concentrated intra and extracellular solutions or to mechanical interactions between cells and the extracellular ice. Cryopreservation is a process that maintains biological samples in a state of suspended animation at cryogenic temperature for any considerable period and is used to preserve the fine structure of cells (Jang et al., 2017).

Grouping plants in different categories on the basis of similarities and dissimilarities is referred to as classification, which helps for study of these crops in various perspectives. India is endowed with a rich diversity of horticultural plant wealth due to varied agro-climatic conditions. Number of fruits, vegetables, ornamental crops, spices, condiments, plantation crops, etc. is under commercial cultivation in different parts of the country under different sets of growing conditions.

The systematic study of all these crops becomes a difficult and more repetitive part. To avoid it; classification of horticultural crops on different aspects has been made to deal with all these plants separately. Classification of horticultural crops has been made in different groups on similarity or dissimilarity of attributes. Plants having similarity in either of the traits are placed under one group. The overall objective of the classification is to categorize the horticultural plants and make the recollections very easy and convenient.

Introduction

A woman is the nucleus of a family, particularly in rural India. For the rural women, the day starts early in the morning with the responsibilities of fetching water, fodder and fuel, cooking food and looking after the livestock and children. Promila et al. (2003) revealed that farm women spent 15:64 hrs/day and 16:58 hrs/ day for productive work during the slack and peak period, respectively. The time saved by farm women from farm activities during the slack period was diverted towards care of children, family members and household works. Still, there is no recognition for their hard work; just because their work is not evaluated in terms of money.

The contribution of women in agriculture is estimated to be about 50 to 60 per cent. In many places, the entire livestock management is looked after by women only. They help in farm operation, take their animals on distant lands for grazing, washing, milking, fodder, breeding management, sale of milk, if necessary by taking it to the market and so on in addition, perform the functions related to house management. Even though, women are playing a very important role in innovation decision process, they are not allowed to try and see whether they are capable of managing farm and family affairs independently or with the help of family members.Adequate attention is also not being paid for the social and economic development of farm women and to encourage them to avail training facilities on farm and dairy management practices for supplementing their family income through development of occupational skills and proficiency.

Introduction
The use of animals in scientific research has been a cornerstone of medical advancements for decades. However, this practice has also been the subject of intense ethical debate. This lecture explores the necessity of animal experimentation, the ethical considerations involved, and the regulatory frameworks in place to ensure the humane treatment of laboratory animals.
The Need for Laboratory Animals
Animal experimentation has played a crucial role in numerous medical breakthroughs. The importance of laboratory animals in research cannot be overemphasized. Among the various purposes for which humans use animals, experimentation involves relatively few animals and serves a noble purpose in advancing scientific knowledge and human health.
Laboratory animals are invaluable in the drug development process for several reasons:
• Similarity to human organ systems, metabolism, and enzyme functions.
• Suitability as alternatives to human subjects.
• Small size and ability to be reared in controlled environments.
• High reproductive rates.
• Potential for genetic purity, leading to reproducible and reliable results.
The Importance of Animal Welfare
While the benefits of animal experimentation are clear, it’s equally important to consider the ethical implications of using animals for research. The concept of animal welfare is embedded in the Indian Constitution, which states that it is the duty of every citizen “to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, rivers, lakes and wildlife, and to have right compassion for the living creatures” (Article 51 A (g)). This ethical consideration for animals has been emphasized by philosophers, spiritual leaders, and scientists throughout history:

1. Introduction

Cold-Arid areas are unique eco-systems lying in the north-western Himalaya. The Himalayan mountain ranges can broadly be grouped in two categories 1) the Himalayan ranges extending to the south of the main range including the greater Himalaya and 2) the trans-Himalayan ranges to the north of it. The cold-arid areas are situated in the Trans-Himalayan ranges which comprise of the Zanskar Range, the Ladakh Range and the Karakoram Range. The Ladakh region is situated in the rain shadow of the Himalaya and is dry and arid. To its south lie the Himalayan mountains, in west lies the Kashmir, in east lies the Tibet and the northern boundaries are flanked by the Karakoram ranges.

INTRODUCTION

Crossandra is an important traditional flower crop of south India. It is small evergreen shrub that is quite hardy and has the ability to produce beautiful flowers with a remarkable range of colours almost all the year. This has made it extremely popular in southern states of India where the flowers are widely used in temple offering and for making gajras and venis to use as hair adornments.

Owing to their attractive colours, light weight and good keeping quality, crossandra flowers are ideal for garland making. Even though the flowers lack fragrance, they are widely used in garlands either alone or along with jasmine to produce charming colour contrasts. Steady market demand and assured and regular income have made crossandra a profitable venture for south Indian farmers.

The soil fertility is depleting in the current scenario of gap between nutrient removal from soil and supplies. Moreover, increase in the fertilizer prices has become unaffordable to small and marginal farmers. There is also a growing concern about the environmental hazards and its threat to sustainable crop production. Indiscriminate use of synthetic fertilizers for intensive crop production has resulted in large quantity of nutrient (particularly P) accumulation in soils which has resulted in generating a dead soil. In this context, the long term use of biofertilizers are considered to be economical, eco-friendly, more efficient, productive and accessible to marginal and small farmers over chemical fertilizers (Subba Rao, 2001). Biofertilizers mainly consists of specific living cells which supplies nutrients to plants through their root system. Microbes in these fertilizers provide nutrients to the plants by nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, phosphate mobilization, and promotion of beneficial rhizobacteria (Bhat et al., 2010). Biofertilizer application improves the supply of nutrients, organic carbon, accumulation of soil enzymes, productivity, soil fertility index, economy of farmers, and maintenance of sustainability in natural soil ecosystem and horticultural crops. The production of efficient and sustainable biofertilizers for crop plants needs to be undertaken to make the biofertilizers popular and efficient. The important and specific research in future may be focused on the following aspects.

Introduction

Guava ranks 4^th in area and production after mango, banana, and citrus. It is a very hardy sub-tropical plant, prolific bearer. It is known as the “poor man’s apple” in India and has spread widely throughout the country. Allahabad has the reputation of growing the best guava in the country as well as in the world. A native of tropical America, guava was spread rapidly throughout the world’s tropics by the Spanish and Portuguese. The major guava producing countries are India, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Pakistan. In India, it is grown in Uttar Pradesh (largest area and production), Bihar, M.P, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The fresh fruits are very rich in vitamin C (100-260 mg/100 g pulp). Vit-A, B and minerals like Calcium, P, acidity 2.4 per cent, carbohydrates 9-10 per cent, TSS-13 per cent, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamin and niacin, also a rich source of pectin. The fresh ripe fruits are used as table/salad fruit. Fruits are rich in pectin. The best quality jelly can be prepared.

Origin of Insects

Insects are highly specialized group of invertebrates belonging to the largest animal Phyla, the ARTHROPODA, which also includes in it, the prawns, crabs, lobsters, centipedes, millipedes, scorpions, ticks, mites and spiders. Practically three fourth of the animal species come under this phylum.

The Arthropods evolved during Cambrian period from primitive annelidan ancestor. The main evolutionary stem of Arthropod is represented by the Crustacia- Insecta- Myriapoda.

The insects originated in the Devonian period of Palaeozoic era. Diplura and Thysanura are the most primitive wingless insects while mayflies, damselflies, dragonflies and stoneflies represent the primitive winged insects.

Evolution

Evolution is a process whereby population are altered over a period of time and may split into separate branches, hybridize together or terminate by extinction.

English name : Bishop’s weed, Ajowan
Botanical name : Trachyspermumammi (L.) Sprague
Family : Apiaceae
Chromosome number : 2n = 18
Centre of origin : Egypt
Ajowan is an annual herbaceous plant grown for its herb and greyish brown fruits (seeds) which constitute the spice. The trade name ajowan or ajwain
is based on the Indian name which is derived for adarjawan. It is known as ‘Bishop’s weed’ in English. Ajowan is grown for its seeds (fruits) the composition of which is as follows; moisture 8.9%, protein 15.4%, fat (ether extract) 18.1%, crude fibre 11.9%, carbohydrates 38.6%, mineral matter (total ash) 7.1%, calcium 1.42%, phosphorus 0.30%, iron 14.6 mg/100 g, vitamins (per 100 g) thiamine 0.21 mg, riboflavin 0.28 mg, nicotinic acid 2.1 mg, carotene 71 mg. Its calorific value is 379.

The skin is the largest organ of the body that plays an important role in defending the body against minor physical injuries, providing some defense against microbial invasion, maintenance of homeostasis, water conservation, temperature conservation, supporting hair growth and heat loss. Changes in the secretion of sebaceous glands lead to compromised defence. Abnormalities of the skin may arise from specific skin disease or by the poor general health status. Therefore, a detailed clinical examination of the animal as a whole and of its skin in particular, is an essential part of the process of diagnosis. The skin has three main layers starting from outside as the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutis. The epidermis consists largely of epithelial cells and pigment. The dermis is a connective tissue layer containing blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles, sebaceous and sweat glands. The inner most subcutis contains fibrous and fatty tissues that provides insulation and support. In healthy animals, the skin has considerable elasticity. It reduces in dehydration and inflammation / injury to skin. General clinical examination should be carried out first as a routine followed by special examination