eChapters

Livestock sector has emerged as one of the key components of agricultural growth in developing countries in last few decades. This sector plays a significant role in the economic progress of India as it contributes 26% to the agricultural GDP and provides employment to around 18 million people. Over 70% of the rural households in India depends on livestock farming for supplementary income and is considered as an important instrument in poverty alleviation. It provides the major extra contribution to agriculture through manure, fuel fertilizer, apart from meat and milk that grant a regular supplementary income and employment not only to producers but also to huge size of the population engaged in secondary and tertiary business related to livestock. The economy of Jammu and Kashmir is also agriculture dependent and is the main occupation of majority of the rural people who earn their livelihood from it. Census figures 2011 signify that about 73% of the population of J&K lives in rural areas and are associated with agriculture and allied sectors including livestock rearing as main occupation.

Gypsophila is herbacaeous annual or perennial flowering plant belongs to family Caryophyllaceae. It contains several ornamental species of which Gypsophila paniculataL. is the only species used as a cut flower (Zvi et al., 2008) and it is applied as filler in flower arrangements (Jones, 1995 and Rehman, 2002). Gypsophila derived from “gypson” meaning chalk and “phylos” meaning lover, an etymology which alludes to its preference for calcareous soils (Vettory et al., 2013). Mainly found in temperate or warm-temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere, best developed in the Mediterranean region and Near East (Ataslar et al., 2009 and Cronquist, 1981). It is a perennial plant often grown commercially as an annual crop. Root is rich source of triterpine saponins (Henry, 1993, Hostettmann, 1995 and Gevrenova et al., 2010) which are used for commercially in medicines, detergents, adjuvents and cosmetics (Hostettmann, 1995, Tschesche and Wulff, 1973 and Gevrenova et al., 2010). G. paniculata is one of the ten best selling cut flower species worldwide and thus becomes for the genetic improvement and selection of new varieties of commercial interest. Main regions of gypsophila production are Italy, Israel, Belgium, Germany and Holland while currently its cultivation is spreading across to other countries such as Ecuador, Egypt and Kenya due to lower labour costs. Infact, Gypsophila is among one of the most important varieties of cut flowers in Israel, where it is grown in more than 200 hectares of greenhouses and is almost entirely exported. For these reasons, the competition has increased dramatically, making the world market increasingly difficult for companies which feel the need to introduce new varieties that respond better to characteristics desired by consumers and florists.

Abstract: Phlox, garden annual, is used as an ideal crop for cytogenetical study. The modern cultivars are grown for ground cover in beds, borders, rock gardens or as edging in landscaping. Phlox taxa serve as a model for speciation through hybridization and contribute to domestication of wild species through interspecific hybridization which revitalized the crop. Limited fertility, reproductive barriers, germination challenges, low seed set often pose significant challenges to breeders. The increasing knowledge of the inheritance of traits and molecular genetic techniques are valuable tools aiding modern phlox breeders. Breeding objectives with high priority include dwarf stature, novel forms, winter hardiness and disease resistance.

Women have contributed significantly and selflessly since ancient times to uplifting and bettering any nation. A literate woman builds a country; truth cannot be closer than that. Women have always carried the burden of being a wife, mothers, sisters and daughters, all on their own magnificently. They are leaders, decision-makers, entrepreneurs and service providers in different fields. The valuable contributions of women are significant to the well-being of families and communities and the economic growth of any society. Rural women have tremendous potential for developing culture, and their leadership, participation, and education will help eradicate poverty and hunger.

Introduction

A wide range of agricultural pesticides is currently being used in India. In the financial year of 2015, the size of the crop protection market in India was of about $4.5 billion (FICCI, 2016). A large number of these pesticides are also being used in considerable quantity on horticultural crops, including fruit crops. In general, judicious application of a pesticide following Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) does not leave its residues in crop produces above unacceptable limit. But the GAP recommendations are not available for all crop-pesticide combinations. The usage pattern of pesticides also sometimes gets modified at farm level due to sudden climate changes, and under such situations, the indiscriminate use of pesticides to combat disease and insect complex might result in the contamination of pesticides in fruits.

INTRODUCTION
Maintenance scheduling involves planning, organizing, and coordinating the tasks required to ensure equipment operates efficiently. A maintenance schedule is a comprehensive plan that specifies the timing and frequency of maintenance activities for machinery, equipment, and facilities within an organization. Its primary goal is to maintain optimal functionality, minimize downtime, and extend the lifespan of assets. The schedule typically includes an inventory of assets, details of maintenance tasks, their frequency, assigned personnel, required documentation, and identification of resources necessary to complete the maintenance work.
IMPORTANCE OF MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING
A well-structured maintenance schedule is essential for ensuring efficient and reliable operations within the manufacturing industry. By using an effective maintenance scheduling system like MaintWiz CMMS, you can enjoy the following advantages:
• Improved Equipment Performance: Performing routine maintenance enhances the reliability of your equipment, which in turn leads to better overall performance and increased productivity.
• Enhanced Safety: Scheduled maintenance includes regular safety inspections, helping to reduce the likelihood of accidents and contributing to a safer working environment.
• Minimized Downtime: Regularly scheduled maintenance reduces the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns and helps to cut down on unplanned downtime, ensuring the smooth functioning of equipment.
• Optimized Resource Utilization: Scheduling maintenance tasks properly allows for the best allocation of resources, ensuring that tasks are completed based on priority and availability, which boosts operational efficiency.

Introduction
 
In India, most of the agricultural soils are deficient in one or more of the essential plant nutrients required for raising healthy crops and harvesting potential yield. Acidity, alkalinity, salinity, anthropogenic processes, nature of farming, and erosion are the main factors that can lead to soil degradation either alone or in combination of more than one factors.

India, one of the largest food producer countries (I in milk production, II in fruit and vegetable production and III in food grain production at world level), possesses the potential of being the biggest with the food and agricultural sector contributing around 26 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is a paradox that people of the country producing such huge quantities of food including fruits, vegetables, milk, cereals grains etc. are still suffering from many nutritional deficiencies in their diet, and even in some places, the stomachs of people remain unfilled for the want of food. The credit of this would predominantly go to the poor postharvest infrastructure as well as knowhow and accessibility to the facilities. All this makes us one among those countries having largest postharvest losses. The reduction of losses occuring during food handling, processing, storage, distribution and use would be an indirect way of increasing the food production and making the country self-sufficient in nutritional requirements.

ABSTRACT

Soil salinity is one of the most serious environmental issues that limit agricultural productivity. Most of the food crops belong to glycophytes and hence, they are not able to withstand salinity stress. Salt stress significantly affects the various morphological, biochemical and physiological processes of the plant which leads to poor plant growth. Therefore, there is an emergent need to find out mitigation strategies to cope with the deleterious impacts of salt stress. Plant breeding techniques, efficient resource management and genetic engineering have been employed to cope with salt stress but these were of limited success as salt tolerant trait is complex both genetically and physiologically. Therefore, using plant growth promoting bacteria seems to be a cost effective and sustainable approach for salinity stress management. Hence plant growth promoting bacteria could play a significant role in alleviating salt stress. This chapter endeavor to provide an overview of the various important mechanisms such as facilitation of nutrient uptake, production of phytohormones, ACC deaminase production and siderophore production employed by the plant growth promoting bacteria to enhance the plant growth under salinity stress.

6.1 Hal for Land Preparation: This plough is constructed from Babool, sal, sisham wood, and mild steel. The body and handle are made from one piece, with a separate shoe. It is operated by one pair of bullocks with a yoke, weighs 48 lbs, and can cover 0.8 to 1 acre per day. It works to an average depth and width of 5 and 6 inches in alluvial soils, with a draught requirement of 185 lbs. It is used by 100% of the farming community in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. (ICAR, 1960)

6.2 Wetland Plough (Dammu Nagali) for Land Preparation: This plough is made from Babool, palmyra, and mild steel, weighing 30-40 kg. Operated by two bullocks and one man, it is attached to the yoke with ropes for puddling rice fields, covering half an acre per day. It has a draught of 200-220 kg and ploughs to a depth of 4-5 inches and width of 5-6 inches in black and red soils. Repairable locally, its annual maintenance costs range from Rs 0.5 to 1.0, with an operational cost of Rs 25 per hectare. It is widely used in the coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh (Guntur and West Godavari). (ICAR, 1960).

Antirrhinum is a genus commonly known as snapdragon belongs to family Scrophulariaceae. Snapdragon is one of the flowering plant present with vast genetic diversity in India. The term Antirrhinum is derived from the Greek word “anti” means like and “rhin” means a nose, referring to the snout like shape of the flower. The cultivated Antirrhinum majus is grown in tropical, subtropical and temperate countries. The common name snapdragon, originates from the flowers reaction to having their throats squeezed, which causes the mouth of the flower to snap open like a dragon’s mouth. Flowers are borne on terminal long spikes of many colours except blue and with numerous shades. It is one of the excellent cut flowers which have long lasting qualities. These are also used as garden plants, bedding plants, in rockeries or herbaceous borders and as potted plants. Plants can be grown for cut flowers in an open field or under protection depending on the climate. The leaves and flowers are antiphlogistic, bitter, resolvent and stimulant (Chiej, 1984).

Jasmine (Jasminum spp.) belongs to the family Oleaceae, order Oleales are climbing, trailing or erect shrubby plants and there are both deciduous and evergreen species. The generic name Jasminum is derived from Arabic word “Jassamine”, “Jasmin” and “Jasminum” (Bailey, 1963). Flowers are white, yellow or rarely reddish. Flowers are used for making garlands and Veni. Jamine oil extracted from the flower is highly valued in perfumery industry. France, The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Algeria, Turkey, Morocco and Tunisia are major jasmine oil producing countries (Singh, 2006).

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

Jasmine is native to tropical and subtropical regions; a large number of species are centred on the regions comprising India, China and Malaysia. Jasmines distributed in warm parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Pacific region, nearly absent from America (Bailey, 1963).

Jasmines have adorned the gardens of central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal and many other tropical and sub tropical countries. The distribution patterns of nearly 72 species in India, Malaysia and China provide a strong base to claim that India is one of the principal centers of origin of Jasminum species. Among these, about 40 species are reported to occur in India and mostly cultivated in South India (Bhattacharjee, 1980). Large number of species are however, centered to the region comprising of The Himalayas, China and Malaysia. Other countries where jasmine is cultivated are France, Italy, Morocco, Algeria, North Africa, Spain and Egypt. The cultivated jasmines fall into four species viz., Jasminum sambac, Jasminum auriculatum, Jasminum grandiflorum, and Jasminum multiflorum (Kakada).

In India, the three species Jasminum sambac, Jasminum auriculatum and Jasminum grandiflorum have been mentioned in the ancient Tamil Literature of ‘Sangam’ period (500 B.C. to 200 A.D.). Jasmines are commercially grown in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Other growing states are Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

ABSTRACT

The people meet their need by taking pulses as their daily meal and therefore, the pulse play a significant role as food supplements. Pulses are called ‘Nutrient Powerhouse’ and are edible food of plants in the legume family. It contains high protein, fibers, various vitamins and amino acids. Starch is the main form in which plants store carbon. It occurs as semi crystalline granules composed of two polymers of glucose called amylose and amylopectin, depending on the plant organ. Starch granules are characterized by internal growth rings. Starch grain is a very useful taxonomic tool in plant systematic. In this investigation we atudied the morphological variations of starch grains in seeds. These starch grain contain the composition of carbon to form different structural diversity of seeds like simple i.e. two types: concentric and eccentric, semi-compound and compound. Polarized microscopy (PM) was used for better micro-morphological (Maltase cross) study. These micro-characters are carried out by UPGMA and construction dendrogram for visual appreciations of taxonomic relationship.

Introduction

In recent years, agriculture has undergone a transformative evolution driven by technological advancements. Precision Agriculture (PA) has emerged as a revolutionary approach to farming, utilizing cutting-edge technologies to optimize resource utilization, enhance productivity, and promote sustainable practices. The integration of technology into crop management processes has played a pivotal role in ushering in a new era of precision and efficiency. This essay explores the significance of technology integration for sustainable crop management in precision agriculture, emphasizing its potential to address global challenges such as food security, resource depletion, and environmental sustainability.

Marigold (Tagetes spp.) an annual flowering plant belongs to family Asteraceae, alternately known as Compositae. The word “marigold” means “Mary’s Gold” and refers to the “Virgin Mary”. However, word “Tagetes” named after the Etruscan God “Tages” who supposedly emerged from the earth as it was being ploughed and was imbued with the power of divination. Cultivated species include Tagetes erecta commonly referred as African marigold and Tagetes patula as French marigold. Marigold commonly propagated by seed and cutting is a leading loose flower of India. Selection of variety is favoured by a higher proportion of double inflorescences.

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

Origin of marigold is central and South America especially Mexico (Kaplan, 1960). Bailey (1951, 1963 and 1976) reported that marigold is a native to Arizona and Mexico to Argentina.

During early 16^th century it spread to various parts of world from Mexico. African marigold (Tagetes erecta) first reached Spain and from there it become popular as rose of Indies in Southern Europe. Major work on improvement and cultural practices on marigold have been done in USA, Switzerland, France and Germany. In India, marigold was introduced by Portuguese and it became popular and spread quickly because of its wide adaptability to varying climatic and soil conditions. Marigold is well distributed in different states and union territories of India (Singh, 2006).

SPECIES

Earlier, Rydberg (1915) reported that genus Tagetes comprises about 33 species and Bailey (1951 and 1976) mentioned over 30 species, however, Turner and Nesom (1993) reported that Tagetes is made up of nearly 55 species distributed in the American continent, most of them located in Mexico. The two species Tagetes erecta and Tagetes patula are commercially important. Details of these species are given below.

ABSTRACT

Our country is well known for developing into rich and ancient traditional system of medicines based on plants. For centuries, these ancient cultures and professional practicing on traditional system viz. Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha could remain in house hold and pass through generations to generation. India is being a developing country, of late uses bioactive natural products (secondary metabolites) using in vitro culture technology of the medicinal plant species. Recently, commercial utilization of these compounds using modern techniques is in good progress. The developed western affluent world has to now depend on these compounds mostly in drug and pharmaceutical industry in recent years. Orchids as medicinal herbs, details on plant medicinal potentialities, traditional medicinal systems viz. Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha have been described.

Almost half of the population in the world comprises women, indicating that women are at par with men, but the issue is ‘Is she really at par with men in the status too?’ Numerous studies have drawn attention to the fact that women are half marginalised in every society; they have not yet got their share. The concern over women’s problems started with the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, which led to the declaration of 1975 as ‘International Women’s Year’ and the years between 1975- 1985 as the UN Decade for Women. For the first time, the attention was focused on the unnoticed and forgotten halves, who by birth were women, performing 2/3^rd of the world’s work, receiving 1/10th of the world’s income and owning less than 1/100^th of the world’s property (Rath, 1996). 

2.1 Introduction
Building upon the foundational understanding of meteorology and data science established in Chapter 1, we now turn our focus to the fundamental physical processes that govern our atmosphere and the essential principles behind how we measure them. The Earth’s atmosphere is a dynamic fluid system, and its behavior is dictated by a complex interplay of physical laws. To truly comprehend weather phenomena, from the smallest updraft to the largest global circulation patterns, one must grasp the underlying atmospheric physics. This includes understanding how energy is transferred, how gases and
water vapor behave, and how forces shape atmospheric motion.
This chapter will delve into these core physical concepts, providing the theoretical bedrock necessary for a deeper appreciation of meteorological processes. Furthermore, accurate and reliable data is the lifeblood of modern meteorology and, by extension, data science applications within the field. Therefore, we will also explore the fundamental principles that underpin the measurement of key atmospheric variables.

14.1 Introduction
The other topics of the metal forming are as listed below.
a. Stretch forming operation
b. Formability of sheet metal
c. Test methods
These topics are presented in this chapter.
14.2 Stretch Forming Operation
A sheet metal is simultaneously stretched and curved over a die during the stretch forming process to create big shaped parts. Stretch forming is done using a stretch press, where jaws are gripped firmly to fix a sheet metal along its edges. To stretch the sheet, the grasping jaws are individually coupled to a carriage that is drawn by a hydraulic or pneumatic force. A stretch form block, also known as a form die, is the tooling utilized in this procedure. It is a solid contoured piece that the sheet metal will be pressed against. The most common type of stretch press is vertically orientated with the form die situated on a press table , which will be elevated by a hydraulic ram into the sheet. Tensile stresses build and the sheet plastically deforms into a new shape when the form die is pressed into the firmly gripped sheet. The sheet is pulled horizontally around the form die by the gripping jaws of a horizontal stretch press, which mounts the form die sideways on a stationary press table

Biometric observations

The phenological stages i.e. germination, tasseling, silking, and physiological maturity were recorded from fixed mid three rows of each plot. A particular stage was supposed to be completed while 90% of the observed plant showed the characteristics of that phase and number of days was counted from date of sowing.

Days to emergence (DOE)
 
When the plant shoot pokes through the soil surface. Count the 75% seedlings emerged from at least 50% of the total rows starting from the centre. If 75% of the total expected seedlings emerged, then can be considered as 75% emergence. How the growth stages of maize are distinguished can be observed from the chart below.