eChapters

The Principles of Democracy

Democracy is a form of government in which power is vested in the people, who exercise that power either directly or through representatives. The principles of democracy are a set of fundamental values and beliefs that are essential to the functioning of a democratic society. These principles are intended to ensure that the government is answerable to the people, that individual rights and liberties are protected, and that all citizens have an equal say in decision-making.

The principles of democracy include popular sovereignty, the rule of law, separation of powers, protection of individual rights and liberties, accountability and transparency, pluralism, civil society, and political tolerance. These principles form the foundation of democratic governance and are essential to ensuring that government is responsive to the needs and desires of the people. While the specific implementation of democratic principles can vary from country to country, they are generally seen as essential to a healthy democracy. By upholding these principles, democratic societies are able to promote freedom, equality, and justice, and to provide opportunities for all citizens to participate in the decision-making process.

A garden is a place where ornamental plants are grown to put on display various forms of plant life which are purposely intended for ornamental or practical use or both. Now days we often use the term landscape gardening, Landscape architecture and Landscape design. Landscape gardening can be defined as arrangements of trees, shrubs, climbers and variety of other plants in concert with the building, walks, drives, artificial and natural features for the use of humanity while Landscape architecture is the art of arranging land and landscape for human use convenience and enjoyment. A good landscape design determines the characters of objectsto serve a certain purpose known in advance.

The subject garden planning is diverse and complex and very difficult to symbolize all ideas of wholeness. In modern living consciousness of interior decoration including furniture,woodwork,wall furnishing, carpets painting also needs careful setting and the services of specialist are considered necessary for this purpose. In order to achieve a rewarding result a garden should be designed carefully as it is semi-permanent feature and frequent change in design is not possible.

Principles of design steer designers to organize elements for a visually pleasant landscape. A melodious composition can be achieved through the principles of proportion, repetition, order and unity which are alllinked and application of one principle assists to achieve the others. By using these principles, two important concepts in garden design i.e. physical and psychological comfort can be achieved. Landscape that has order and repetition creates more psychologically comfortable feeling. Psychological comfort is also affected by the sense of satisfaction that a spectator perceives from a harmonious landscape. Users feel more physically comfortable and secure in a landscape with proportions compatible to human scale. Garden design combines the aesthetic beauty, artistic knowledge and at least the principles of gardening. In order to layout good garden some fundamental principles to be followed

5.1. Introduction

Food processing units range from home-based businesses to large-scale processing plants. The food processing sector is a highly fragmented industry which includes fruit, vegetables, dried, preserved, canned, pulps, pickles, chutneys, milk, dairy products, ready-to-serve products, frozen desserts, meat, poultry, marine products, grain processing, beer and alcoholic beverages, consumer, convenience and packaged food, soft drinks etc.

The main objective of fruit and vegetable processing is to supply wholesome, safe, nutritious and acceptable food to consumer throughout the year. Fruit and vegetable processing also aim to replace import of products such as squashes, jams, tomato sauces, pickles, etc., besides earning foreign exchange by exporting finished or semi-processed products. The fruit and vegetable processing industries are also established in the developing countries due to following reasons:

• Reduction in fruits and vegetables post harvest losses

• Industrialization policy of the government

• Generate both rural and urban employment

• Improve farmer s nutrition by self consumption of processed fruits and vegetables during off season

Introduction
Food preservation refers to an art or science which deals with the process of prevention of decay, deterioration or spoilage of food commodity to allow it to be stored in a safe condition for future use. All foods gradually undergo deterioration or spoilage from the time immediately they are harvested or manufactured. Some commodities spoil rapidly, while others can keep longer but for limited periods. The basic purposes of food preservation are:
1. Extension of shelf life of foods thus increasing the supply
2. Ensuring the availability of seasonal foods throughout the year
3. Adding variety to the diet
4. Saving time by reducing preparation time and energy
5. Stabilizing farm prices and prices of food
6. Improving the nutritional qualities The food spoilage can be caused due to growth and activity of micro-organisms, insects or rodents, action of enzymes, chemical reactions and physical changes that takes place during processing, drying, or freezing etc. Classification of Food Depending upon the type of spoilage and level of perishability, the foods are classified into three broad categories:

1. PLANT DOMESTICATION AND INTRODUCTION

Domestication is the process of bringing wild species under human management. Under domestciation, the crop species have changed considerably as compared to the wild species from which they originated.

Preservation means just protect the foods against the spoilage, but scientifically it may be defined as a science which deals with the process for prevention of decay or spoilage of the food is called preservation.

In other words, just controlling the physical, chemical or microbial changes in the foods is called preservation.

Physical Changes: Colour, flavour, texture and taste etc.

Chemical Changes: Carbohydrate, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Microbial Changes: Mould, yeasts and bacteria

9.1. Principles of food preservation by heat

• Pasteurization temperature at below 100°C

• Heating at about 100°C

• Sterilization temperature at above 100°C

9.1.1. Pasteurization

• Heat treatment kills part, but not all microorganisms present and temperature below 100°C.

• Heating by means of steam, hot water, dry heat or electric current and cooled after heat treatment.

• Surviving microorganisms are inhibited by low temperature or some other preservative method, if spoilage prevented.

• Preservative methods used to supplement pasteurization include

? Refrigeration, e.g. milk

? Keeping out microorganisms usually by packaging the product in a sealed container

Concept: Reduction of seed moisture content to the acceptable levels for enhancement of storability and longevity is known as seed drying.

The moisture content of seed is negatively related to its storability. As the moisture content of seed increases, its storability decreases. Adequate drying of seed prolongs viability for reasonably long periods without cold storage. The process of drying begins with physiological maturity till storage/packaging of seeds to avoid deterioration. The seed is hygroscopic in nature therefore it adjusts its moisture content in equilibrium to the existing environment.

Seed Drying

Seed drying is the process in which an environment with low humidity is created to remove moisture from the seed up to the desired level without any damage to its viability and physical appearance. This seed is stored at low moisture content under the low relative humidity to enhance its longevity. The initiation of seed moisture content and the desired level are what dictate the amount of the drying process, and these elements are determined by the following

• Type of seed: This will consider the longevity behaviour, seed content, and seed structure (i.e., how well the species stores energy).

Objective

Vegetable seed separation requires specialized training. A little carelessness during the seed extraction process can seriously harm the plant’s viability and vigor in addition to its outward look. Inadequate extraction methods can also result in in-situ germination. The seed can be separated by the following methods.

1. Manual Method

(a) Maceration e.g., watermelon,

(b) Crushing e.g., brinjal,

(c) Scraping e.g., cucumber

(d) Separated e.g., muskmelon,

(e) Scooping e.g., pumpkins and

(f) Extraction e.g., squashes.

Absorption and Emission

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

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

Chromatography is the set of laboratory techniques used for the separation of molecular mixtures by developing chromatograms. Chromatogram is a collection of different bands on the chromatographic column. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid called the “mobile phase”, which carries with it another material called the “stationary phase”. The various constituents of the mixture travel at different speeds, causing them to separate. Chroma (colour) and graph in (to write) contribute to the word chromatography, as coined by Mikhail Tswett (1903). Solute moves only when it is in stationary phase. In chromatography, the mobile phase flowing into the column is called eluent, the solution emerging from the column is elute, and the process by which solutes moves and separate is called elution.

This method employs the differences in absorbability of components of mixtures and the differences in the mobility rate. The molecules of a substance which interact strongly with the fixed phase will move slowly through the column whereas substances which do not interact strongly are carried through more rapidly. It is used to separate different substances having similar chemical properties.

Colorimetry is the quantitative analysis of a coloured constituent. It is determined by measuring the relative amount of absorption of light passing through a solution of a constituent.

When a monochromatic light is passed through a homogeneous medium, a part of the incident light is absorbed and part of the light is reflected and part could be transmitted. This can be mathematically expressed as

Various aspects of micorbial plant pathogens have been studied with the ultimate aim of gathering information that may be useful for development of effective disease management systems. Principles of management of crop diseases caused by microbial pathogens fall into three categories : exclusion, eradication and immunization.

7.1 Exclusion of Microbial Plant Pathogens

Exclusion of microbial pathogens may be expected to reduce the amount or efficacy of the initial population of pathogens that may be introduced into a geographical location / field. Exclusion is an important component of management of diseases, if the initial population of pathogen is large. This approach is particularly effective in the case of monocyclic pathogens that complete their life cycle only once during one cropping season. The methods with the aim of excluding the introduction of pathogens or to prevent the build up of inoculum required for disease spread are generally applied elsewhere. Hence, they have lower level of visibility compared to other approaches. Introduction of new pathogens present in plant and plant materials into another country or locations within a country may be effectively prevented by establishing plant quarantines. Build up of inoculum of microbial pathogens can be reduced considerably by the use of disease-free plants or planting materials supplied through certification agencies. These regulatory programmes have to be manned by trained technical personnel and supported by adequate infrastructure in terms of equipments and mobility (Chapter 8).

Introduction

Today, increasing attention is focused upon the impact farming practices, are having on the environment and there is an increasing emphasis on more sustainable methods of crop production. Systems need to be adopted that are more sensitive to environmental issues, genetic diversity, wildlife and their habitats and in some cases the social structures of rural communities. Furthermore, consumers around the world are more sophisticated and critical than in the past, demanding to know how and what has been used to produce their agriculturally derived products. These issues can be taken up as three main challenges: 1) to improve food security, rural livelihoods and income; 2) to satisfy the increasing and diversified demands for safe food and other products; and, 3) to conserve and protect natural resources. Several scientific advancements have been made in the field of agriculture to address these challenges.

Potentiometry

Potentiometry is based on measurement of potential of an electrode system

Principle

When a metal electrode is immersed in a solution containing its own ions, the metal atom pass into the solution in the form of metal ions and a potential difference is established between the metal and the solution. This potential is called as electrode potential.

Potential on an electrode depends on the ions present in solution and their concentration which can be determined by using electrochemical cells and expressed by Nernst equation

Objectives of Seed Grading

Minimization of heterogeneity to the lowest level and enhancement of the homogeneity to the highest level in the seed lots received by the processing unit.

Principle

Separation of seed lots based on differences in the physical properties of the seeds.

Post harvest activities include threshing/ seed extraction, drying, pre-cleaning and conditioning, cleaning, fine-cleaning or grading, seed treatment, weighing and bagging/ packaging, sealing and labelling, storing, and transportation for marketing. Except for transportation and marketing, all these activities collectively known as seed processing. However, for most of the crop, threshing or seed extraction, basic cleaning even drying is done in the farm itself and in the processing unit, the threshed seed is received.

The objective of the seed processing is to prepare the harvested seed in such a way that seed of highest purity and quality would be available for marketing, also for planting. The cleaning and the grading are the foremost activity of the seed processing. The seed, which is received in the processing unit, contains many undesirable particles, which as such cannot be used for marketing, hence cleaning and grading become necessary.

1. Seedling management in the nursery

Seedlings of many seed propagated vegetable crops like, tomato, brinjal, chillies, sweet pepper, cauliflower, cabbage, knolkhol, broccoli, Brussels sprout, kale, endive, chicory, celery, lettuce, parsley, onion, etc. are first raised in the nursery beds before transplanted in the main field although, many of these crops like, tomato, sweet pepper, onion, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. are also direct seeded using precision seed drills in the USA, Japan, the Netherlands, Italy and other European countries. Many seed propagated vegetable crops viz., okra, peas, beans, radish, carrot, beet, turnip and all the cucurbits (e.g. bitter gourd, bottle gourd, pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon, muskmelon, snake gourd, sponge gourd, ridge gourd, etc.) are conventionally grown through direct seeding in the main field.

Transplant groups

1. Plants easy to transplant: They form new roots rapidly, put forth shoots rather slowly and absorb water readily e.g. beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Swiss chard, lettuce and tomato.

2. Plants transplanted with moderate ease: This group replace roots and grow shoots a bit slower than the previous group and do not absorb water very efficiently e.g. celery, brinjal, onion, pepper, leek and cauliflower.

The techniques used in disease management mainly based on two principles,: Prevention or prophylaxis and cureThe first principle prevention includes disease management tactics applied before infection i.e., the plant is protected from disease. It includes: avoidance, exclusion, eradication, resistant&protection. Second principle curative action: functions with any measure applied after the plant is infectedi.e., the plant is treated for the disease.It includes therapy.

Endoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure that allows the clinician to look within a hollow organ or body cavity and obtain diagnostic information, which includes grossly evaluating an area of interest and obtaining tissue for histopathologic evaluation. Endoscopy is also used for therapeutic purpose and termed as interventional endoscopy. Endoscope An endoscope is basically consists of an insertion tube, hand piece and umbilical cord, Insertion tube -Encases the mechanism for image transmission. It consists of fiberoptic glass bundles (fiber-scope) or charge coupled device (CCD) chip (video endoscope), biopsy/suction channel, irrigation/insufflation channel and deflection control cables. Handpiece – It includes deflection control knobs,accessory channel entrance, irrigation/insufflation and suction valves.

Endoscopy provides direct visualization of internal structures and is valuable for diagnosing mucosal and luminal disease. This chapter describes the principles, equipment and applications of endoscopy in veterinary patients. Gastrointestinal endoscopy allows examination of the esophagus, stomach and proximal small intestine and can facilitate tissue or fluid sampling and selected therapeutic procedures. Appropriate patient preparation and preliminary investigations, including history, physical examination, radiography and ultrasonography, are emphasized. Endoscopy is particularly useful for detecting mucosal lesions, foreign bodies, ulceration, inflammation and other gastrointestinal abnormalities. The chapter also introduces other endoscopic applications, including laparoscopic examination.