eChapters

In previous Chapter, a list was furnished mentioning common names, botanical names, family and types of the all plants mentioned in the Ramayana. The purpose was to know the total number of plants and trees mentioned besides providing reference of the Shlokas as well. This information led to identification of the plants and trees but details about their morphological and floral characters were not mentioned. Therefore, in this Chapter details of the trees and other plants have been provided. This will help to know all about their botanical standing, conservation status, nativity, morphological and floral characters so that one can know the full details including present-day status, availability and importance (Cowen, 1950; Randhawa, 1983; Roy, 2015; 2024).

1. Botanical Name: Adenanthera pavonina L.

Synonym: Adenanthera gersenii Scheff.

Common Name: ‘Red Bead Tree’, ‘Curly Bean’, ‘Red Sandal Wood’

Family: Fabaceae

Nativity: India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia to Queensland

Conservation Status: Common (Not Threatened)

Type: Tree

Morphological and Floral Characters: Red Bead Tree is a timber tree found wild in India. Leaves compound, bipinnate, green when young, turning yellow on maturity. Flowers small, yellowish, grows in a dense, drooping almost cat tail like flower-heads. Fruits curved pods, hanging, green that turn brown, coil up and split open on ripening, showing small bright red seeds which are attractive, used as beads in jewellery.

Maize is a tall, determinate annual C₄ plant varying in height from (1-4) meters producing large, narrow, opposing leaves (about a tenth as wide as they are long), borne alternately along the length of a solid stem. The botanical features of various plant parts are as follows: 

Root

Root system of maize consists of seminal roots, crown or coronal or adventitious or fibrous roots and brace, pop or aerial roots. Seminal roots - which develop from radical and persist for long period. Crown roots developing from the lower nodes of stem below ground level which are the effective and active roots of plant and.  Brace or prop roots, produced by lower two nodes. The roots grow very rapidly and almost equally outwards and downwards. Favorable soils may allow corn root growth up to 60 cm laterally and in depth.

12.1 What are Botanical Gardens?
Botanical gardens are the institutions that maintain the living plant collections of different varieties of plants, including the ornamental and cultivated ones, wild, medicinal, of economic importance, of various geographical regions, of special interest, etc. They are of value not only to the botanists, horticulturists and foresters but also to the millions of tourists
A big botanical garden contains plant species from several corners of the globe. It also includes green houses, a library, a herbarium, research laboratories, and several miscellaneous resources including photographs, paintings, illustrations, reprints, note books, and specimens of several types. It is, therefore, not merely a garden but a botanical institution.
Modern botanical gardens serve as centres for documentation, research, reference, data storage, education, conservation, and several other biological facilities to mankind.At present, there are over 600 botanical gardens in the world.

Pyrethrum is the most widely used botanical insecticide. The active ingredient, pyrethrin, is extracted from a chrysanthemum plant, grown primarily in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ecuador. Pyrethrum is the powdered, dried flower head of the pyrethrum daisy, Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium.

A botanical and horticultural library is a library specializing in the preservation and collection of literature and materials about plants. Botanical libraries are like special libraries are specialized information resources tailored to the unique needs of a particular organization, profession, or subject area. A botanical library is a specialized resource center dedicated to the study of plants and plant science. It typically houses a vast collection of books, journals, and other materials related to botany, horticulture, plant biology, and related fields. The mission of many botanical and horticultural libraries is to make accessible and available to those who use it the information on this topic. Botanical and horticultural libraries can be found in arboretums, botanical gardens, research institutions, horticultural societies, conservatories, governmental offices, colleges, and universities as part of a larger university library.
The collections within these types of libraries cover such topics as flowers, grasses, trees, fungi, aquatic plants, weeds, algae, pests, and fertilizers. The typical collection is composed of books, periodicals, and photo collections. The types of materials depend on the types of patrons. A public botanical
garden library may contain books for children, nursery catalogs, seed catalogs, popular how-to publications, movies, and various other media resources. At an academic library, there may be such archived materials, such as historical letters, autographs of famous botanists, plant lists, field notes, and reports of botanic expeditions. These libraries might include:

Abstract

Higher plants can be exploited for the discovery of new bioactive products that could serve as lead compounds in pesticide development because of their novel modes-of-action. Different secondary metabolites of higher plants have been reported to exhibit efficacy as fungitoxicants as well as mycotoxin inhibitors. Pest controls using the botanicals are safer to the user and the environment because they break down into harmless compounds within hours or days in the presence of sunlight. The article presents different plant products found efficacious as antimicrobial and inhibitory to mycotoxin secretions by fungi. Their prospect as safe alternatives to synthetic antimicrobials in plant protection has been discussed.

Botanicals

Botanicals play a significant role in the development of a disease management approach that is both ecologically sound and acceptable to the environment. Plant products have been found to have fungicidal, bactericidal, and antiviral properties. It is known that 346 plant species have fungicidal, 92 have bactericidal, and 90 have antiviral properties. This proves conclusively that the plant kingdom is home to a sizable stockpile of chemicals that can control a range of plant diseases. Because many of them employ many modes of action and plant compounds are safer for species other than the targeted, there is also less chance of resistance developing.Plants and plant products known as botanicals are safer for protecting plants against pathogens.

Botany

Several vernacular names of kewda are reported in different languages all over the world ; viz.

Keora, Ketgi, Keura, Gagandhul in Hindi; Keya, Ketaki, Kea, Ketkikea in Bengali; Kiya, Kia in Odia; Kewoda in Gujrati; Ato, Keto, Covasso in Konkani; Keoda, Keora in Marathi; Talemara in Kannada; Gedaji, Gedangimogali, Gojjangi, Ketaki, Mugali, Mogali in Telugu; Kaidai, Talhai, Thasai, Thazh, Kechiya, Kedagi, Kedagai, Muchali in Tamil; Kaita, Ketaki, Palliyambu in Malayalam; Gandhapuspa, Dalapushpa, Shivadvishta, Ketaki, Suchika pushpa in Sanskrit; Leram in Nicoberese; Mudukeyiya, wetakey in Sinhalese; Keora in Urdu; Gulkiri, Kader, Kadi in Persian; Satthapu, Tsatthapu in Burmese; Nalu in Nepalese; Togenashiadan in Japanese; Kadar, Kadhi, Kazi in Arabic Kaide, Kedige, Ketaki, Gedege, Mundige in Canarese; Kedgi in Deccan; Vaquois odorant in French and Schrauben palme in German. (Kirtikar and Basu, 1935; Randhawa and Mukhopadhyay, 1986; Kapoor, 1990).

1. Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Wheat has been traditionally grouped into the genera Triticum in the tribe Tritiaceae of the family Poaceae. Bread wheat, 2n=6x=42 is a hexaploid consisting of three distinct genomic complementary, namely, A, B and D, with the genome structure AABBDD. In the past there were 4 species, viz. Triticum aestivum, T. durum, T. dicoccum and T. sphaerococcum, under cultivation in India. T. sphaerococcum has now practically gone out of cultivation because of its low productivity and high susceptibility to diseases. The major wheat producing countries are China, India, USA, the Russian Federation, and Australia. These five countries together contribute more than half of the global wheat production. In India, Uttar Pradesh has registered the highest production followed by Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar. These top six states together contributed around 90 per cent of the total wheat production in the country

Floral Biology

The inflorescence of wheat is known as spikelets. Spikelets are alternately arranged on the rachis; each spikelet’s has a small joint axis which bear two to nine flower known as florets. Close to the base of rachilla are two empty boat shaped bracts known as glumes. Above these inserted alternately on opposite side of the rachilla known as lemma. Opposite it’s a thin membrane bracts known as palea enclosed within the lemma and palea are a single pistil and three steamens. The pistil consists of an ovary bearing two short styles each carrying a feathery stigma. At the base of the ovary are two membranous scales known as lodicules. Each stamen consists of a thread like filament carrying a pollen containing anther.

Plant biodiversity, in particular, is arguably the single greatest resource that humankind has garnered from nature during our long cultural development. Nowhere is the value of biodiversity more evident than in our food supply. Roughly one third of all plant species have edible fruits, tubers, nuts, seeds, leaves, roots, or stems. The World Health Organization estimates that 3.5 billion people in developing countries rely on plant-based medicine for their primary health care, in which tuber crops also play a major role (Tuxill, 1999). There are 25 hot spots of biodiversity of which Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayan are the most important ones in India. About 7% of world flora and 6.5% of world fauna are in India. Indo-Burma region is one of the eight hottest hot spots of the world, and is the centre of origin of tuber crops like Dioscorea, Colocasia, Amorphophallus and Alocasia.

Onion is an economically significant bulb crop cultivated across diverse agroecological environments. Its cultivars vary considerably in bulb size, shape, colour, pungency, maturity, storage behaviour and photoperiod response. Understanding its vegetative and reproductive morphology, growth habit, physiology and taxonomic relationships is fundamental to crop improvement and germplasm conservation. This chapter examines the botanical features and taxonomic position of onion within the genus Allium. It explains relationships among cultivated types, landraces and allied species and discusses varietal classification according to climatic adaptation and consumer preference. Classical characterization and molecular taxonomy are considered important tools for developing productive, resilient and market-preferred onion cultivars.

Botany: Bottle gourds belonging to the family cucurbitaceae is an annual vine having white flowers and smooth, large, hard-shelled gourds. Brownish seeds are numerous in a whitish green pulp. Each seed is somewhat rectangular in shape with grooved notches near the attached end. Grown most often in warmer climates, this squash grows from 6 to 36 inches long and 3 to 12 inches in diameter.

Seeds leaves, flowers and young stems are all edible. Helpful in shedding extra calories. It contains higher concentrations of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium, Manganese, Protein, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium. A rich source of minerals and vitamins, bottle gourds contains many healing and medicinal properties. The cooked vegetable is not only easy to digest but also contains cooling, calming (or sedative), diuretic properties. It contains low calories also has iron, Vitamin C and B complex. Regular consumption of this vegetable provides relief to people suffering with digestive problems, diabetics and convalescents.

Bottle gourd (Lageneria siceraria) 2n=2x=22 is also known as white flowered gourd. Most important vegetable of ancient China.
 
Origin : According to De Candolle (1882) Bottle gourd has been found in wild form in South Africa and India. However, Cutler and Whitaker (1962) are of the view that probably it is indigenous to Tropical Africa on the basis of variability in seeds and fruits. This species appear to have been domesticated independently in Asia, Africa and the New world (Heiser, 1973).
 
Botany: It is monoecious, annual vine with soft pubescence. Leaves are cordate ovate to reniform-ovate, Flowers are white, solitary, open at night and has hairy ovary. Fruit shape is cylindrical, oval egg shaped, club shaped, round and other shapes also appeared.

Genetics of Important Traits

Bitterness: Single dominant gene (Path and Singh, 1950)

Fruit colour: Monogenically controlled (Kalloo, 1993)

Two major genes are involved for fruit shape (Path and Singh, 1950). Single gene for fruit colour involved (patchy v/s white) and reported by Path and Singh (1950). Monogenic recessive inheritance for andromonoecious sex form is reported by Singh et al. (1996). Hermaphrodite sex form is characterized by long corolla (3.5-4.5cm instead of 2.5-3.5cm in normal). In hermaphrodite condition fruits bears prominent blossom scar.  Long fruit conditioned by AA genotype and Round fruit is due to aa genotype where Partial dominance is reported (Kushwaha, 1996).

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria, 2n = 2x = 22, family Cucurbitaceae, monoecious, cross-pollinated but genetically behaving like self-pollinated crop), is grown primarily in India on large scale for consumption as cooked vegetables. Bottle gourd is considered to be one of the earliest species of plants to be domesticated by humans. Bottle gourds are regularly grown and consumed in various parts of the world, particularly Asia. Fruits of bottle gourds are harvested young and used as a vegetable. The mature, dried fruits have been used throughout the world for making storage jars and utensils and hence the name bottle gourd. Shoots and leaves are also cooked and eaten. Lately, bottle gourd juice is also becoming popular in India as a health drink. Other countries growing bottle gourd on limited scale are Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Tropical Africa, Colombia and Brazil. After seed scooping, the hard rind is used as containers also. Seeds are used for oil extraction and oil is used as cooking oil.

During 2017-18, India produced 27 lakh tons (2.7 million tons) of bottle ground from 1.60 lakh ha (0.16 million ha) and this translated into a productivity of 17 tons/ ha (Horticulture Statistics at a Glance-2018, MAFW, 2018). Top six states producing bottle gourd on significant scale are Bihar, UP, Haryana, MP, Odisha, and Pujab, production being in the range of 135,000 to 650,000 tons.

Bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria under the family Cucurbitaceae (Chromosome No: 2n = 2× = 22) is commonly grown vegetable crop of India, Africa, Central America and other warmer regions of the world. Tender fruits are widely used as cooked vegetables in a number of ways. Bottle gourd is a good source of vitamin C and zinc that may offer several skin benefits. It also contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Its dietary fibre enhances gastro-intestinal health and promotes bowel movements and prevents constipation.
Origin, domestication and adaptation in India
It is the only crop known to have been cultivated in pre-Columbian times in both the Old and New World. Bottle gourd is indigenous to the tropical Africa. It has
bihemispheric distribution in Africa, the old world and America, the new World. Its utilization by man is about 16,000 years in the Old World and 12,000 years in the New World. It was independently domesticated in the two hemispheres. It was one of the world’s first cultivated plants grown not primarily for food, but for the use of hardshelled fruit as containers. The apparent wild plant produces thinner-walled fruit that, when dried, would not endure the rigors of use on long journeys as a water container. Today’s bottle gourd may owe it’s tough, waterproof wall to selection pressures over its long history of domestication. The bottle gourd was theorized to have drifted across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to South America.

Abstract

Formulation  of  any  action  plan for women needs understanding of their  access  to  and  control over the resources. To have deep  insight into  this  aspect, a study  was  undertaken with 240  small  and  marginal  farm  women  randomly  selected  from  eight  villages  of  four districts  in  Andhra Pradesh  in  consultation  with  officials of agriculture department. Using an interview schedule, impediments  for development  of  farm  women  (social, economic, psychological, extension and technical)  were  collected  and  prioritized  through  matrix ranking.
To  overcome  social  and  economic  constraints, gender  mainstreaming  and  budgeting  are  now recognized as the most important strategies  for  women’s empowerment at all stages of any developmental  programmes. Such an approach necessarily aims at achievement  of  gender equality. Organizing capacity building programmes in managerial, entrepreneurial, negotiating and leadership skills improves risk taking  ability (psychological) and enhances active participation of farm women in developmental activities.

As mentioned above Bougainvillea is one of the most widely grown important perennial ornamental shrubs with numerous attractive plant colour (leaf) and shape, and bract colours and shape. It is very popular for its multipurpose use. Inspite of beautiful bract colour it can not be enjoyed as cut flower as its shelf-life is very limited. Bracts start drooping within few minutes after cut from the main plant. Dehydration techniques have been developed at CSIR-N.B.R.I., Lucknow, by which flowers and foliage retain their fresh look for several months or even years after dehydration. Their original shapes, colour and size remain as they were before dehydration and, thus, making them highly suitable raw materials for interior decoration and may be enjoyed for a long time and can be used for any occasion. NBRI has standardized two methods viz. Press Drying and Embedding (drying through embedding in sand and silica gel and drying using hot air oven, microwave oven and solar cooker). Bougainvillea leaves and bracts can be dehydrated beautifully by both the methods and the dried products are utilized for preparation of different types of commercial decorative items. 

The genus Bougainvillea, although having broad range of adaptability along with diverging habitate is not rich in scientific literature. The available literature on description of elemental species and mode of origin and description of different sports (cultivated species) are very poor and all the literarture are not available at one place. On the basis of available literature (Philbert 1789, Humboldt and Bonpland 1808, Fitch 1854, Bailey 1914, Merril 1923, Standley  1931, Heimerl 1934, Hottes 1947, Bor and Raizada 1948, Preston 1950, MacSelf 1951, Sargeant 1951, Van 1951, Crane and Lawrence 1952, Holttum 1955a-d, 1957a,b, Pancho and Bardenas 1959, Marigowada 1961, Sharma 1962, Menninger 1970, Ramcharan et al., 1974, Zadoo et al., 1976, Linnaeus 1789, Swarup and Singh 1995, Willdenow 1798, McDaniells 1981, Rodale et al., 1997, Gordon 2002, Lopez and Galetto, 2002, Fatima et al., 2007, Kent et al., 2007, Kobayashi et al., 2007a,b, Hammad 2009, Lack, 2004, 2012) an attempts has been made to give a short description of elemental species and important role played by Bougainvillea cv. 

Bougainvilleas (Bougainvillea spp.) are tropical and sub tropical plants belonging to Nyctaginaceae family. They are thorny, evergreen and some are fragrant. Bougainvillea is named for “Louis A. de Bougainville”, a French navigator (1729-1811) who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768. Bougainvillea plant spreading horizontally or hanging downwards as it is climbing upwards, it makes itself at home in almost any situation. It can be grown as a hedge, groomed as a ground cover, pruned as an espalier, trained as a tree or contained in a pot in a variety of shapes. Bougainvillea is ideal for bonsai. Red, violet, orange, yellow or white bracts appear at the ends of new growth.

Bougainvilleas (Bougainvillea spp.) are tropical and sub tropical plants belonging to Nyctaginaceae family. They are thorny, evergreen and some are fragrant. Bougainvillea is named for “Louis A. de Bougainville”, a French navigator (1729-1811) who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768. Bougainvillea plant spreading horizontally or hanging downwards as it is climbing upwards, it makes itself at home in almost any situation. It can be grown as a hedge, groomed as a ground cover, pruned as an espalier, trained as a tree or contained in a pot in a variety of shapes. Bougainvillea is ideal for bonsai. Red, violet, orange, yellow or white bracts appear at the ends of new growth.

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

Bougainvillea is a native of South America (Bailey, 1963, Menninger, 1970 and Hackett and Sachs, 1985) from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina. A French explorer and naturalist, Dr. Philibert Commerson or Commercon (1727-1773), discovered the bougainvillea in Rio de Janeiro in 1768. He may have been traveling on a supply ship at the time. His discovery would soon find a name and go on to make a name for itself all over the world. In 1766, a ship called La Boudeuse set sail from Nantes on a round-the-world voyage of discovery commissioned by the French government. At the helm was Louis-Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811), a mathematician and an admiral in the French navy. When La Boudeuse arrived in Rio de Janeiro to rendezvous with the supply ship, the occasion made horticultural history. Commerson’s newly discovered plant received a name, bougainvillea, in honour of the admiral.

Twenty years after Commerçon’s discovery, it was first published as ‘Buginvillea’ in Genera Plantarum by A.L. de Jusseau in 1789. The genus was subsequently spelled in several ways until it was finally corrected to ‘Bougainvillea’ in the Index Kewensis in the 1930s. Originally, B. spectabilis and B. glabra were hardly differentiated until the mid-1980s when botanists recognized them to be totally distinct species. In the early 19^th century, these two species were the first to be introduced into Europe and soon, nurseries in France and England did a thriving trade providing specimens to Australia and other far away countries. Meanwhile, Kew Gardens distributed plants it had propagated to British colonies throughout the world. Soon thereafter, an important event in the history of bougainvillea took place with the discovery of a crimson specimen in Cartagena, Colombia, by Mrs. R.V. Butt. Originally thought to be a distinct species, it was named B. buttiana in her honour. However, it was later discovered to be a natural hybrid of a variety of B. glabra and possibly B. peruviana - a “local pink bougainvillea” from Peru. Natural hybrids were soon found to be common occurrences all over the world. For instance, around the 1930s, when the three species were grown together, many hybrid crosses were created almost spontaneously in East Africa, India, the Canary Islands, Australia, North America and the Philippines.

Abstract: Bougainvilleas are morphologically diverse and admired for their ornamental value. The considerable diversity exists in bougainvillea species for leaf shape, degree of hairiness, bract colour, spine shape and blooming. These attributes have enabled the ornamental bougainvillea to be used as pot plants, hedge, pergola, standard and bonsai for display. Currently, there are many intra and interspecific hybrid cultivars and numerous mutations from numerous species in the market. Limited fertility, heterozygous nature, strong self incompatibility and seed sterility often pose significant challenge to breeders. Traits of interest to flower breeders for crop transformation include; plant architecture, flower timing, colour diversity, multibracts and multicolour in single variety, environmental adaptation to stressful condition (cold tolerance, heat tolerance, drought tolerance, etc.).

Bougainvilleas (Bougainvillea spp.) are most popular garden plant in India and widely grown in all types of gardens. Colourful bracts in wide array of colours like white, yellow, pink, magenta, bi-coloured besides several bract forms (single, double) are the main reason of their popularity. Nevertheless, free flowering habit and requirement of low maintenance are the other plus points. When in bloom, Bougainvilleas produce strong colorful effect in the landscape gardens and an adorning beauty to see. Flowering of Bougainvillea is comparable only with the ‘Azaleas’ of the temperate region. In tropical gardens, there is dearth of flowers after March when winter annuals start fading out. As a result gardens become drab and unattractive. Bougainvilleas usually start mass blooming from March and help to maintain the gardens in presentable form. Therefore, they are perfect choice for every garden specially getting flowers in harsh climatic condition.

Bougainvillea belongs to the family Nyctagenaceae and is a native of Rio de Janerio, Brazil. Out of ten species, only four have colourful bracts and horticulturally important viz. Bouganivillea glabra, B. spectabilis, B. peruviana and B. x buttiana.

A novel zoonotic disease was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan (China) and patients were presumably exposed to a new coronavirus, designated as SARS CoV-2. This virus probably crossed into humans from an animal species, most likely a bat, spreading rapidly across the world and causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This infectious illness was responsible for a global pandemic that caused deaths and economic despair (Santaniello et al., 2023). The latest WHO data (December 2023) confirmed 77,38,19,856 cases worldwide since the beginning of this zoonosis and 70,10,568 deaths (WHO, 2023), making this pandemic one of the deadliest in human history. Human CoVs (HCoVs) are often of animal origin but adapt to humans via direct jumping or through intermediate species. These data and the zoonotic origin of SARS-CoV-2 quickly raised questions concerning the potential role that animals could play in transmitting the virus to humans or other species.

Synonyms :  Three days sickness, Stiff  sickness,  Dengu fever of cattle, Bovine epizootic fever and Lazy man’s disease.

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is a viral disease of cattle, Bos Taurus, Bos indicus and Bos javanicus and water buffalo Bubalus bubalis, although  subclinically infect a greater range of ruminant species. Although the disease has a variety of names, bovine ephemeral fever is most commonly used  and is very apt. The disease in cattle is characterized  by acute febrile reaction, stiffness, lameness and spontaneous recovery in three days.  The morbidity may be high but the mortality is low. It mainly occurs in subtropical and temperate regions of Africa, Asia and Australia.

Bovine pulmonary emphysema (BPE), also known as atypical interstitialm pneumonia (AIP) or fog fever is a respiratory condition in cattle characterized by the over-distension of alveoli in the lungs due to the destruction of alveolar walls. This results in impaired gas exchange and respiratory distress. The condition is more common in adult beef cattle, particularly those exposed to sudden dietary changes or grazing lush pastures rich in tryptophan. BPE can cause significant morbidity and mortality, leading to economic losses in affected herds.
Etiology
Bovine pulmonary emphysema (BPE) occurs when cattle are exposed to factors that damage the pulmonary system, particularly:
1. Lush pastures: Sudden introduction to green, high-protein pastures such as alfalfa, clover, or brassicas leads to excess production of toxic metabolites.
2. Dietary tryptophan: Lush pastures are high in L-tryptophan, which is converted in the rumen into 3-methylindole (3-MI), a toxic compound that damages lung tissue.
3. Dust and environmental irritants: Prolonged exposure to airborne irritants like dust, molds, or smoke can cause chronic lung injury.
4. Viral infections: Respiratory infections caused by viruses like bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) or parainfluenza virus can predispose cattle to BPE.

Synonymous  :  Pearl’s disease, scrofula

It is a chronic insidious contagious disease of man and animals caused by  tubercle bacilli characterized by development of tubercles in lung tissue, lymph nodes or other organs resulting in caseation and calcification. The tubercles are frequently located in lungs and lymph nodes. But they may be formed in the liver, spleen, intestine, peritoneum, meninges and long bones.

Five genospecies of intestinal spirochaetes have been isolated from pigs namely Brachyspira hyodysenteriae,B. pilosicoli, B. innocens, Serpulina intermedia and S. murdochii. The genera Serpulina and Brachyspira were recently combined. These anaerobic spirochaetes have six to fourteen spirals and are 0.1 to 0.5 μm in width.
Usual Habitat
Pathogenic Brachyspira species are found in the intestinal tract of both clinically affected and normal pigs. Carrier pigs can shed B.hyodysenteriae for up to three months and are the principal source of infection for healthy pigs.
Differentiation of Brachyspira Species
The differentiation of B.hyodysenteriae from other intestinal spirochaetes is based on its pattern of haemolysis on blood agar. Tests for detecting indole production or the hydrolysis of hippurate are also useful diagnostically. Restriction endonnclease analysis, restriction fragment length polymorphism, ribotyping using 16s rRNA analysis, PCR-based assays and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis have been developed both for differentiating species and for distinguishing strains of organisms within species. Brachyspira hyodysenteriae isolates can also he allocated to several serogroups and serotypes.
Pathogenesis
Most information on the pathogenesis of Brachyspira species derives from studies of B.hyodysenteriae. Motility in mucus is an essential virulence factor of thisorganism; mutant strains with altered motility are lesscapable of colonizing the pig intestine. Colonization may be enhanced by factors in mucuswith chemotactic activity for the organisms. Factors with such chemotactic activities have been demonstrated in vitro. Haemolytic activity,demonstrated in vitro, correlates with pathogenicity andthree genes encoding haemolytic and cytotoxic activityhave been cloned and sequenced.

The Indian Himalayan region is a well known abode to numerous plants of medicinal significance. The Western Himalayan ranges are home to a diverse flora of variety of endemic medicinal plants making it a biodiversity-rich region (Samant et al., 1998).  The ancient system of traditional medicines has been using these endemic medicinal plants since time immemorial. Of late the resurgence of herbal system of medication has led to an unprecedented rise in extraction of such plants from the wild for medical preparations. Most of the times the plant collection is unscientific and unthoughtful of ecological status of the medicinal plant, especially herbs. As a result, unplanned collection and other human interferences have brought a threat to survival of several important medicinal plants of the IHR an  example being  Brahmakamal.

18.1. Origin and distribution

• Native of wetlands of Southern and Eastern India, Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and North and South America

• Cultivated throughout tropical and subtropical India.

18.2. Economic importance

• Economic part - Whole plant

• Chemical constituents: Bacosides

• Used as a nerve tonic and for epilepsy and insanity.

• Used as diuretic and for treating rheumatisim, asthma and hoarseness.

6.4.1. Function

The brake is used to stop or slow down the motion of a tractor. It is mounted on the driving axle and operated by two independent pedals. Each pedal can be operated independently to assist turning of the tractor during field work or both the pedals can be locked together.

6.4.2. Principle of operation

The brake works on the principle of friction. When a moving element is brought into contact with a stationary element, the motion of the moving element is affected. This is due to frictional force which acts in the opposite direction of the motion and converts the kinetic energy into heat energy.

INTRODUCTION
The brake is a crucial component used to stop or slow down the movement of a tractor. It is typically mounted on the driving axle and is controlled by two independent pedals. Each pedal can be operated separately to help with turning the tractor during field operations, or they can be locked together using a locking mechanism. The two main types of brakes are: a) Mechanical brake, and b) Hydraulic brake.
The braking system plays a critical role in the transmission system of a tractor, as it is responsible for slowing down or halting the tractor’s movement. Brakes function by converting the kinetic energy of the moving tractor into heat through friction between a rotating and a stationary component. Let’s explore the commonly used braking systems in tractors.

Genus   : Rubus
Species : idaelus L. (European Red
                Raspberry) strigorus Michx. 
                (Red Raspberry occidentalis L. 
                (Black Raspberry)
Family : Rosaceae
Chromosome No. : 2n = 14 
                            (variable 28, 42, 56, 84)

The blackberries, raspberries, dewberries, boysenberry are collectively referred to as bramble fruits.  Mostly found in the north hemisphere. They belong to the family Rosaceae and genus Rubus. The family has nearly 250 species besides also has large number of apomictic segregates. Usually shrub, the woody species has biennial canes i.e. in the first year remains vegetative and in the second year it fruits and dies. Leaves variable in form from simple leaf to pinnately or palmately compound.  Flowers usually occur in clusters and are variable in colour, white pink to red.  Fruit is an aggregate of number of small drupes.

Horticulture includes variety and diversity of crops. Thus, it can be divided into several branches depending upon the crops it deals with. Following are the branches of horticulture.

1. Pomology: The term pomology is a combination of two Latin words pome i.e. fruit and logos i.e. science. Recently it has been designated as ‘Fruit Science’. It deals with the study of fruit crops. It includes all aspects of fruit crops e.g. importance, uses, origin and distribution, area and production, soil and climate requirement, botany, nursery raising, cultivation practices, plant protection measures, stage and methods of harvesting, post-harvest handling, marketing, export, import, etc. e.g. mango, banana, citrus, grape, apple, peach, pomegranate, fig, etc.
2. Olericulture: The term olericulture is also derived from the Latin word. Cultivation of vegetable crops. Recently it has been designated as ‘Vegetable Science’. Vegetables are said to be herbaceous plants of which edible plant parts are used for consumption either cooked or salad. It may be stem, root, leaf, flower, etc. It also includes all aspects of vegetable crops e.g. importance, uses, origin and distribution, area and production, soil and climate requirement, botany, nursery raising, cultivation practices, plant protection measures, stage and method of harvesting, post-harvest handling, marketing, export, import, etc. e.g. tomato, brinjal, chilli, cucumber, red pumpkin, watermelon, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.
3. Ornamental Horticulture: It includes various groups of ornamental plants used to decorate in-door and out-door areas. Ornamental horticulture is the study of growing, arranging and tending decorative plants and flowers. It is further divided into.

Ice cream is an emotional as well as a technical product, often associated with happiness, celebration, indulgence, family experiences, and personal enjoyment. This chapter explores the principles of brand building and marketing strategy in the ice cream industry. It explains the difference between a product, label, and brand and examines consumer understanding, product quality, packaging, pricing, visibility, trade marketing, distribution, and innovation. The chapter also addresses launch strategies for new brands and the role of leadership in building long-term brand equity. A successful ice cream brand must combine a clear consumer promise with consistent product quality, availability, attractive presentation, efficient distribution, and memorable consumer experiences.

Introduction Farmer Producer Company (FPC) is a dynamic form of farmer collective that enables strong backward and forward linkage to the member farmer, leading to enhanced socio-economic status amongst the farming community. As of March 31, 2019, there were 7,374 FPCs with a total of 860.18 crore in Paid-Up Capital (PUC). With a budget of 6,865 crore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare announced in 2021 central scheme to support 10,000 farmer producer organisations. The Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and f lagship programmes like the Agriculture Investment Fund (AIF) have all contributed to expanding farmers' access to capital (www.livemint.com).

FPCs are effective tools that give smallholder farmers more influence over the trading markets. This improves agricultural output and raises the revenues of small-scale farmers. To fully realise the potential of FPCs, cluster-based business organisations must acknowledge the inherent difficulties that they face and understand how to avoid common management mistakes.

Branding scenario of successful FPCs

There have been very few Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) in India that have been running their businesses professionally and have become sustainable organisations over the years with well-established market linkages. Sahyadri Farmer Producer Company (Nashik, Maharashtra), Indian Organic Producer Company (Kerala), Bhangar Vegetable Producer Company (West Bengal), Madhya Pradesh Women’s Poultry Producer Company Pvt. Ltd. (Madhya Pradesh), Nachalur Farmers Producer Company Limited (Tamil Nadu), Maha Gujarat Agri Cotton Producer Company Ltd. (Gujarat), etc. are some of them, to name a few. A lot of sincere efforts have been put into strengthening their marketing linkages, viz. grading, processing, packaging, branding, distribution, etc. All the FPCs have been able to garner a significant market share because of their immaculate branding exercise. Their success has proved the fact that mere branding won’t guarantee large-scale consumer acceptance and it is brand positioning which is the required engine to drag the product towards consumers.

Branding and packaging play a pivotal role in the fish feed industry by helping companies differentiate their products, build market presence, and earn the trust of fish farmers. In a growing and competitive Indian market, branding enables manufacturers to create a distinct identity through logos, color schemes, quality marks, and promotional messaging focused on elements like scientific formulation, locally sourced ingredients, or eco-frWWiendliness. A well-established brand not only drives sales but also raises awareness among farmers about the advantages of using high-quality, nutritionally balanced feed over inexpensive, inferior options. Packaging, on the other hand, ensures both product protection and information delivery. It preserves feed quality by preventing moisture, contamination, and nutrient loss, thereby maintaining pellet strength and palatability. Properly labeled packaging provides vital details such as nutritional composition, manufacturing and expiry dates, feeding guidelines, batch information, and certifications from regulatory bodies like FSSAI or BIS. Attractive and clear packaging also helps farmers quickly identify the suitable feed for their fish species and rearing systems.

Morphological characteristics

Caesalpinia sappan is a thorny, small to medium-sized plant with prominent spines on the stem and leaf rachis that grows up to 10 metres tall. Branchlets are lenticellate, dull, and usually have paired, recurved stipular prickles. With 9–14 pairs of pinnae, the leaves are big, hairy, or glabrate.

Floral characteristics

The inflorescence is a supra-axillary and terminal raceme with golden yellow flowers that creates a huge panicle. The fruit is an elliptical pod that ranges in colour from brown to black. The peak flowering and fruiting season is from July to September, with November being a rare exception.

Distribution

The crop is native to the Indo-Malayan region. The species can be found throughout the Indian peninsula. It is also produced as a plantation crop in all of the Southern states, as well as in Odisha and Bengal to the north.

Introduction

There are large numbers of wheat based products such as fermented pan bread, flat breads including chapati, biscuits, noodles and pasta products. Each product has its own specific requirements. For example fermented pan bread needs wheat with higher protein content, stronger and extensible gluten. Chapati requires hard wheat with high protein content and medium gluten strength. Waxy wheats have been found associated with improved shelf life of breads. White salted Japanese noodles need partial waxy wheats with soft grain characteristics and medium protein content and gluten strength. Partial waxy wheats with comparatively lower amylose content and higher starch paste viscosity improve texture of white salted noodles. Yellow alkaline noodles need comparatively harder wheat with medium strong gluten and without waxy trait. Pasta made from durum wheats requires stronger gluten, high protein content and higher content of yellow pigments. In this chapter detailed account of both fermented and flat breads will be given.

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) belongs to family Moraceae. The Latin name is derived from Greek words (artos = bread, karpos = fruit), and altilis meaning ‘fat’. Baked or roasted in a fire, the fruit has a starchy texture and fragrance, reminiscent of fresh baked food.

Breadfruit is an important staple crop and component of traditional agro-forestry systems in the Pacific for more than 3,000 years. This species originated in the South Pacific and spread throughout Oceania by intrepid islanders settling the numerous islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Due to efforts of Captain Bligh and French voyagers, a few seedless varieties from Polynesia were introduced to the Caribbean in the late 1700s. These gradually spread to other tropical regions. Breadfruit is now grown in close to 90 countries.

The breadfruit is believed to be native to New Guinea. It is grown throughout the tropics. Breadfruit is a staple food in many tropical regions. Raw breadfruit has a very light fragrant taste that is somewhat like a guava, but not as sweet. The texture of raw breadfruit is rather tough and rubbery. It is used more as a vegetable than as a fruit. It can be eaten ripe as a fruit or under-ripe as a vegetable. Soft or overripe breadfruit is best for making chips and biscuits. The dried fruit can be made into flour. Its flour is much richer than wheat flour in lysine and other essential amino acids. Breadfruit is high in calories and contains a good amount of vitamin C and potassium with smaller amounts of calcium, iron and magnesium. The wood is yellowish or yellow grey with dark markings or orange speckles; light in weight; not very hard but strong, elastic and termite resistant and is used for construction and furniture. Fiber from the bark is highly durable and is used for clothing in Malaysia.

In economics and business, specifically cost accounting, the break-even-point (BEP) is the point at which cost or expenses and revenue are equal: there is no net loss or gain, and one has “broken even”. A profit or a loss has not been made, although opportunity costs have been paid, and capital has received the risk-adjusted, expected return.
For example, if a business sells less than 1000 liters of milk each day, it will make a loss, if it sells more, it will be a profit. With this information, the business managers will then need to see if they expect to be able to process and sell 1000 liters of milk per day.

Object: Breaking of seed dormancy to facilitate germination.

Material required: Seeds, water, sharp needle, sharp razor, sandpaper, acids, Potassium nitrate and gibberellic acid. 

Definition: Inability of a viable seed to respond the favorable environmental conditions for germination is known as dormancy.

ICAR-NDRI, Karnal is running a Kisan Seva Kendra at village Lalukheri of district Muzaffarnagar (UP) to cater the requirement of the farmers for frozen semen doses, crops seed and mineral mixture of villages around the center. This centre was established in year 2005; it started fully functioning in 2015. This centre is providing service to the farmers in ~25 villages around the centre. It provides frozen semen doses of high genetic merit bulls with the aim for making improvement in genetic potential for higher milk production of dairy animals of farmers in villages around the centre. The centre is also making available mineral mixture for improving fertility of dairy animals and also making available fodder crop seed to the farmers for growing quality fodder for their dairy animals. Kisan gosthis and farmers awareness camps are also being organized to increase farmers’ awareness regarding benefits of rearing high producing dairy animals and feeding them balance ration for improving their production and reproduction performance.

Since 2015, center has organised ~35 meetings for farmers awareness for adopting scientific techniques/practicesfor dairy husbandry and animal health checkup camps in ~25 villages for improving production and fertility of dairy animals. The maximum numbers of progenies so far, through the use of frozen semen doses from the centre, have been produced of dairy cows and buffaloes in the village- Bhorakhurd (300), Sonjanikheri (440), Alipur (300), Sotta (250) and Sallakheri (250), total 1540 calves.

Breeder management includes pure line management, parent stock management, and grandparent stock management depending on the context. Except for small variations in management among these stocks basics are common within layer breeder stocks and broiler breeder stocks. The main objective of the breeder management is to produce more fertile eggs per pullet and increasing the hatchability by hygienic handling of these fertile eggs.

Location of the breeder farm

Location of the breeder farm should be away from commercial poultry farms in order to prevent the spread of diseases between the flocks. However, they must be in close vicinity of the city/town to have a good transport facility and other amenities such as water, electricity and availability of labour.

Introduction

The performance of any commercial stock (offspring) depends on the careful selection and scientific breeding of their parent stocks, known as “breeders.” Breeders are the backbone of any commercial poultry operation, as they produce the next generation of chickens, ensuring the continuity and quality of the flock. A breeder farm’s primary purpose is to produce a high number of fertile eggs per layer bird and to increase hatchability through proper hygienic handling of these eggs. Effective breeder farm management encompasses several key areas, including:

• Pure Line Management: Focusing on maintaining and improving specific genetic lines.

• Parent Stock Management: Managing the birds that directly produce commercial layers or broilers.

• Grandparent Stock Management: Managing the generation that produces parent stock, critical for maintaining genetic diversity and quality.

1) Origin and distribution

Pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L) Leeke, 2n-14) originated in west Africa from where it was introduced into India. Large variability is still found in Africa. Pearl millet is a dual purpose crop; its grain is used for human consumption and its fodder as cattle feed. It is cultivated mainly in Africa and Asia, primarily as a grain crop in an area of 26 million ha with a production of 13 million tonnes. As a poor man’s bread, it sustains a large population of Africa and Asia. It also contributes to the economy of countries like the U.S.A. where it is grown as a forage crop.

In India, Pennisetum americanum (bajra) is cultivated on 11 to 12 million ha land with a production of about 6 million tonnes. It is grown on marginal lands and in areas of scanty rainfall. Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana account for about 90 per cent of the total area under this crop.

No breeding work has so far been done on kewda except selection of some promising morphotypes. Varietal improvement in kewda by breeding poses problems mainly due to dioecious nature and long life cycle of the plants, besides heterozygosity. Lack of promising strains is a major drawback. The wild growing population of kewda has a measure of variation and this has never been documented and utilized, which naturally offer a good scope for improvement of kewda by resorting to selection and subsequently propagating them vegetatively. Since a wide range of variation is available and the plants are mostly propagated by vegetative means, it is worthwhile to collect genetic stocks, access variability in morphological characters and attempt a breeding programme after selecting the desirable types for high flower production as the ultimate economate economic value of the plantations depends on the quantity of flower production to be used industrially in the distillation units.

(I)  Breeds

Basically swine is a clean animal and in our country, mainly, poor people  are rearing them with the least available infrastructure and poor quality feed, usually garbage, and that is why swine  are forced to take garbage as a feed (Fig. 23). With good food and shelter, they can give birth twice a year with better productivity. Even 8000- 9000 years back swine stood at 3^rd position for being reared by humans after cattle and sheep. Swine comes under phylum Chordata as they have vertebral column and their class is mammalia. They come under Artiodactyla for being ungulate animals. Swine comes in Swede order and their species is swiss. They have 3 subspecies. The domesticated subspecies comes under Swede domesticus and wild pigs comes under Swede vitatus and Swede scrofa. In India there are 4 breeds of pigs. Wild, desi, exotic and crossbred.

One of the attractions of ornamental fish keeping is to multiply the fishes in captivity. Although techniques used for ornamental fish breeding are not much difficult, the breeding methods for specific ornamental fish species are closely guarded secrets. Farmers have operated almost entirely on their own, developing their own methods and rely on many years of experimentation. In India, the most important breeding centres for ornamental species are located in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi. Ornamental fishes are broadly classified into two groups based on their breeding methods- Egg layer or oviparous and live bearer or viviparous species. Oviparous fishes lay floating, adhesive or non-adhesive eggs that may be scattered, laid in bubble nests or deposited on substrates or in shallow pits. The breeding and rearing of live bearers are easier than egg layers, which begin with handling the live bearers.

The indigenous ornamental fish which are very popular overseas, are being harvested from the wild and exported. This in the long run, may lead to depletion of stock due to over harvesting of our valued native fish species. Hence, breeding of native fish species is also equally important for a sustainable trade of ornamental fishery and to conserve the natural stock. Some fishes breed naturally with ease, whereas others are bred by artificial techniques like hand stripping and hypophysation. In nature, the fishes are stimulated by changes in environmental factors. These conditions can be simulated to some extent in the aquaria by providing specific biological requirements for spawning.

I. Breeding of Zebra danio (Brachydanio rerio)

Brachydanio rerio is commonly known as zebra danio. The zebra danio, as the name implies, is characterized by a number of bright blue or purple horizontal lines, which run from the head to the caudal fin. This pattern is repeated in the anal and caudal fins too. The flanks have prussian blue colouration and operculum has golden blotches. The dorsal fin of this species has an olive yellow base and there are blue gold markings on the anal fin.