eChapters

Theory

Texture testing is a well-established technique for evaluating the mechanical properties of raw materials, food structure, pre- and post- harvest quality control checks. The texture testing has many applications across wide range of foods including cereals, fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, baked foods, confectionaries, snacks, dairy, gelatins, pasta, etc. Food texture analysis of foods can highlight the quality improvement throughout the supply chain. At research and development stage, new or alternative ingredients can be compared with existing ingredients.

Texture profile parameters

The texture profile parameters including hardness, firmness, crispiness, rupture strength springiness, chewiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, gel strength, adhesiveness, consistency, crunchiness, elasticity, extensibility, fracturability, stiffness, stringiness, toughness, work to cut, penetrate and shear can be measured by the mechanical food texture analyzer.

7.1. Crop insurance

Helps in stabilization of farm production and income of farming community.

Helps in optimal allocation of resources in production process.

Crop insurance is sold and bought in a market.

Has a limited role in risk management in farming.

Any limitations to scope for effective and economic crop insurance can change over time.

Precision Agriculture is fulfilled by adapting suitable monitoring and analysis mechanisms. Autonomous monitoring is getting a new dimension using robots. Agriculture is the trending area to attract new professionals, investors and new companies. The technology in agriculture is not only increasing the yields but the time and labour. This chapter illustrates the use of robotics in crop monitoring and analysis.

8.1 Introduction

Monitoring of agriculture farm enhance the productivity. Evolution in technologies in the era of agriculture brought a lot of innovations. Among these innovations robots are one of them to be implemented in agriculture to enhance profitability and reliability with minimum human resource. At the same robots were deployed to monitor the farming land from weeds and try to remove these. Due to which uses of agrochemicals reduced down the time line. When precision farming came in to the pictures robots are the best use cases. In fig. 8.1 autonomous mechanical robots are shown, which are used to remove the weed from farming land. Robots are equipped with sensor modules, actuators and IoT enabled which makes the things very easy to control from remote area with commands.

INTRODUCTION

‘Society’, this word is derived from the Latin word ‘socius’ which literally means a companion. Society is complex organism constituted by persons bound in willing allegiance to some common standards of psychological approach and outward behavior [10]. The story of libraries reflects the social, economical, cultural and educational needs to which libraries have responded. In preliterate society, human beings depended on live memory and the spoken words. By 2700 BC, the Sumerians had established private and government libraries for preserving their varied writings for use in the form of clay tablets. Ancient Egypt, from where writing was developed, produced some libraries which were composed of papyrus rolls [11]. So we can see, from the very initial stage of the society; books, papers, manuscripts, drawings, copper plates and other articles were being presented to it by various sources. We know that there is close relation between books and society. Healthy society is the creation of sound mind by books. Without sound mind, social progress can not be achieved properly. Every significant book may reflect distinct period of history. It is not essential to say that an author and his works can create new culture and lead to social changes. The books of authors of different countries in the world had / have a long influence on society [3].

In this present era, literature and knowledge is growing very fast and for their proper collection, preservation and to properly disseminate to people, we need public libraries. Society always depends on smooth growth and this growth is neither willful nor arbitrary[10]; it is consistent and systematic. For smooth and systemic growth of society, the government of different countries and states in the world have established schools, colleges and universities. No doubt, the government, different organizations, industrialists have to give priority to drinking water, sanitation and other conveniences. On the other hand, to remove illiteracy or to educate the citizens/nations and to introduce the human beings with phenomenal explosion of knowledge and information, government and other reputed agencies have established and also are establishing public libraries whose services play a vidal role in national progress and development.

Previous Year Questions
1. How has food production, incuding  horticultural crops, changed in  India during the last one decade? Write down its impact on food and nutritional security (20 marks, CSE 2023)
2. What is the food production and consumption pattern of India in the last fifty years? (15M, CSE 2021) 
3. Describe food grain production and consumption trends in India (7.5M, CSE 2019) 
4. Food production and consumption trends in India (12.5M, CSE 2015)

Sometimes veterinarians have to deal with disease outbreaks and unexplained changes in herd production. In this situation, broad objectives of the clinician are:- i) To halt the progress of disease ii) To determine the reasons of outbreak iii) To recommend the procedures to reduce the risk of future outbreaks Terminology used in Disease Outbreaks The following terms are commonly used Outbreak - It defines as a sudden increase in the occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy in the population for the location, season or species. It may affect a small and localized group or may affect a large number of animals. Epidemic- It has been described as an unexpected increase in the number of cases of a particular disease in a specific geographical area. In another words an epidemic is an rapid spread

High Humidity Hot Air Impingement Blanching (HHAIB) is a modern blanching technology developed to overcome several limitations associated with conventional blanching. This chapter introduces HHAIB as a pretreatment used before drying, freezing, canning and frying, particularly for fruits and vegetables. It explains the underlying principle of high-humidity hot-air impingement and its effects on heat and mass transfer. The chapter discusses applications in pre-dehydration treatment, colour preservation, texture and structural integrity and enzyme inactivation. Comparative analysis with conventional blanching methods highlights its potential advantages in drying efficiency, quality retention and energy utilization, making HHAIB an important emerging technology for modern food processing.

ABSTRACT

The role of community radio has been conceptualized as an important and powerful tool for informing, educating, entertaining and influencing the masses. Community Radio Station at KVK, Barh, Patna has brought about useful contributions to the farmers of surrounding villages and broadcasting different programmes related to agriculture, health, hygiene, nutrition and entertainment in the local language. Present study was carried out to see the impact of organic farming related talks. We found it a very effective tool to communicate with small and marginal farmers of surrounding villages for delivering useful information related with agriculture and organic farming.

Key words: Community radio, farmer, villages, organic farming information

The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is the core of the many climate agreements arrived at so far, including the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Bali Plan of Action (2007).  The differentiated responsibilities aim to meet the special needs of developing countries for accelerated and equitable economic development.  Both at Copenhagen and Cancun, the industrialised countries proposed limiting the rise in mean temperature to 2ºC above normal.  Even this seems to be unattainable in the context of the present rate of emission of greenhouse gases (GHG).  Hence, the principle of common but differentiated impact of the 2º change in mean temperature is essential for prioritising climate victims. For example, small islands like Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean, Maldives, Lakshadweep, and Andaman and Nicobar, as well as the Sunderbans in West Bengal, Kuttanad in Kerala and many other coastal locations will all face the prospect of submergence.  Floods will become more serious and frequent in the Indo-Gangetic plains.  Drought-induced food and water scarcity will become more acute. South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the small islands will be the worst victims.  In contrast, countries in the northern latitudes will benefit due to longer growing seasons and higher yields.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

Rationale of the Programme

A vast majority of the poor people in rural areas of the country depend mainly on the wages they earn through unskilled labour. They are often on threshold levels of subsistence and are vulnerable to the possibility of sinking from transient to chronic poverty, in the event of inadequate labour demand or in the face of unpredictable crises that may be general in nature like natural disaster or personal like ill-health, all of which adversely impact their employment opportunities. In a context of poverty & unemployment, wage employment programmes provide unskilled manual workers with short-term employment. The wage employment programmes provide income transfers to poor households during critical times and so also enable consumption smoothing specially during slack agricultural seasons or years. Durable assets created under these programmes have the potential to generate sustainable livelihood.

Agriculture irrigation is a crucial part of precision farming. An irrigation system required a lot concentration to grow the plant healthy. A smart irrigation system in an agriculture farm leads to maximum profits in terms of yield. Integrating technologies like IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence) in irrigation accomplish to the human efforts. Controlling of water pumps, sprinklers seamlessly draws the kind attention of farmer to adapt these technologies in their day today farming schedules. This chapter illustrates a wide variety of robots used in irrigation to achieve maximum yield and minimizing water loss. The high scalability and reliabilities of these autonomous robots replicates the potential of agriculture 4.0 in coming future. Advanced robots deployed on the field to monitor the land and pass the information to the controllers and further to the water pumps. Here case study of robots is highlighted to reduce water losses by using nozzles mechanisms.

9.1 Introduction

Agriculture faces many environmental challenges. As far as the irrigation in agriculture is concerned it is very essential to maintain soil hydrated and water level in the field. Robotic irrigation enables autonomous irrigation from remote access [3]. Smart irrigation technique enables a lot of water saving. So robotic in agriculture plays a very crucial role in it [2]. In order to avoid water losses agro robots adapt smart irrigation techniques like droplet irrigation and sprinkling. To maintain sustainability, water resource management is required. Technologies like drones, smart sprinkler based on IoT, smart droplet irrigation used across the globe. These technologies have the greatest impact on productivity and sustainability of the environment as well. As far as the country India is concerned, due to diversity in geographical infrastructures rainfall changes from state to states. So, a wide range of water diversity is found to grow agricultural foods. For example northeast and southern part of India due to heavy rainfall paddy cultivation is preferred since it requires a lot of water. Whereas the northern part of India observe a moderate rainfall, so vegetables and other agriculture foods get cultivated. At the same there are certain states like Rajsthan, Gujrat where very less rainfall occurs through varieties of crops related to dal.

Health benefits of fish consumption

Fisheries and aquaculture play an important role in providing food and nutritional security. Fish is a rich source of quality animal proteins, omega- 3: poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), minerals, and vitamins. Fish is a superfood that is rich in all nutrients except carbohydrates, and its combination with rice or wheat makes it a complete food, forming a balanced diet with the right combination of macronutrients (quality proteins, fats, and carbohydrates) and micronutrients (minerals and vitamins), which are essential for good health.

Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing food production sectors. India is bestowed with all types of aquatic habitats; freshwater, including the cold waters in the highlands, brackish waters, and the marine system. Being a tropical country, India is a biodiversity hotspot. It is rich in a wide variety of fish fauna, and wherever there is water, there are fish. Thus, fish is widely available in India, Thus, India is the third largest fish producing country and ranks second in aquaculture production. In comparison to other sources of animal proteins, fish is more chicken, mutton, beef, pork, etc., as affordable is available in wide varieties in the markets. Therefore, the common man can afford to consume fish regularly and provide his family with a balanced and healthy diet.

As a diet, fish is important for all age groups of humans. Fish oil, especially the omega-3 PUFAs, EPA, and DHA, keeps away several preventable human ailments (Table 1).

Desi chickens reared under backyard systems face several constraints such as lower productivity, higher incidence of disease outbreaks, high mortality rates during the early stages of life, and predation. Despite these challenges, the demand for rural backyard poultry is high, particularly among tribal households in rural areas. Small rural producers typically rear colored birds and produce brown-shelled eggs from Desi backyard poultry, catering to the requirements of rural consumers.

To address these issues, there is a need for specific rural poultry production programs. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, initiated a project to upgrade indigenous low input technology birds through the All India Coordinated Research Project on Poultry (AICRPP) in various parts of the country. This initiative aims to evolve improved rural backyard poultry breeds.

Scientific name: Ocimum sanctum L.
Family: Lamiaceae
The ‘Sacred basil’ or ‘Holy basil’, Ocimum sanctum Linn. a biennial shrub belonging to the family Lamiaceae, is commonly cultivated in gardens. The Hindus of India worship the species and is traditionally grown in courtyards and temples. The aromatic plants belonging to genus Ocimum is popularly known by the name Basil. Basil was derived from Greek word “Basilica” which means royal plant. Among the Ocimum genus Ocimum basilicum is variously known as Sweet basil, French basil or Common basil. Ocimum sanctum is known as sacred basil or Holy basil which is a very sacred plant according to Hindu belief.
Origin and distribution
Ocimum Sanctum has broad distributions, covering the entire Indian subcontinent, ascending up to 1,800 m in the Himalayas and as far as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This plant occupies a wide range of habitats.
Botany
Botanically, Ocimum sanctum is an erect, herbaceous, and softly hairy plant that exhibits extensive branching. It typically grows to a height of 30-75 cm. The leaves are entire, serrate, and pubescent on both sides, while the flowers are characterized by their purplish or crimson hue, arranged in racemes. The fruits of Ocimum sanctum are sub-globose or broadly ellipsoid in shape, slightly compressed, nearly smooth, and exhibit a pale brown or reddish coloration with small black markings. It is a biennial or triennial shrub.

"Where is your Dhoti, Dr. Mehta ?” Dr. Varghese Kurien surprised me as I entered his office at IRMA (Institute of Rural Management Anand). That was April 2000, soon after I had taken over as the Vice Chancellor of the erstwhile Gujarat Agricultural University (GAU) and had decided to call on him during my visit to the Anand Campus. (At that time GAU was the largest University in the Asia with four main campuses – Dantiwada, Anand, Junagadh and Navsari and about 65 experimental farms / stations spreaded all over).

ABSTRACT

Rural youth are the future of the agricultural sector in the country. A rising number of rural youth are migrating to urban areas from villages in search of better employment as well as better life. They are migrating towards cities due to limited resources, weak infrastructure, and unemployment in rural areas. Thus, the number of young people in rural areas is falling and the exodus of rural youth means fewer small-scale farmers for today and tomorrow. Agribusiness may prove important tool to stop the exodus of rural youth from rural to urban areas. Agribusiness provides the various employment opportunities in the areas of agricultural inputs, crop production, agro chemicals, fruit and vegetable cultivation, agricultural marketing and processing of agricultural produce. Agribusiness helps in remunerative farming which increases the level of income, employment and living standard of people in rural India. The present paper will discuss the role and importance of agribusiness in attracting and retaining rural youth in farming.

Experiment - 1 
Aim: Mobilization of recombinant Ti plasmid (with gene of interest) from  
(E. coli) to an Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain. 

Principle: Due to ease of cloning and harvesting plasmids, E. coli is most popular for maintenance of plant transformation vectors. Consequently, the plant transformation vector with cloned gene of interest is mobilized to recipient Agrobacterium strain harbouring vir plasmid. Plasmid are closed, circular DNA molecules that are able for autonomous replication with a host cell. 

Abstract

Arsenic, although a non-metal, is very often referred to as a heavy metal. Its provenance and contents in recently formed or least weathered soils depend on the type of rocks and intensity of geochemical processes. The variation is exemplified in shale, where As content varies from 1 to 900 mg kg-1. In highly weathered soils, where pedochemical processes exceed geochemical processes, the content is generally below the levels that are toxic to life forms. In the Bengal basin, As content is low in soils, but high in the ground water (beneath the vadose zone). This suggests that As has been sufficiently leached from soils. The solubility of most of the As-bearing soil minerals is high, and it occurs as anions (AsO33-, or AsO43-) in soil solution. The soils of the Bengal basin are alkaline in reaction, mostly fine textured with almost even distribution of particle size fractions, and moderately drained. Minerals like micas and feldspars dominate their coarse fractions, whereas illite (40-47%) and smectite (24-30%) are dominant in clay fractions. Both inorganic and organic colloids are negatively charged that cannot retain anions. In many soils in the world, leaching of As is well documented. 

The reproductive efficiency in dairy herd is one of the important factor in determining total production and profitability. To remain profitable, dairy cows must reproduce at greatest efficiency and should calve every year (12-13 months). The measure of fertility in a herd is the calving rate (percentage of live, normal calves born). However, it is also necessary to measure fertility based on services per conception. In a healthy herd in which fertile bulls are used, an average of about 1.6 to 1.7 services is required per conception. The number of services per conception is particularly useful for analyzing costs and in comprising the A.I. quite similar to that obtained through natural service in well managed herds. Another measure of fertility is the non-return rate that is calculated from insemination records. Non-return rate is the percentage of cows that are not subsequently rebred within a defined period (60 to 90 days) following an insemination. On an average, about 70% percent of cows inseminated fail to return for service after first service on a 60 to 90 days non-return basis.

Introduction

Interactive media is the integration of digital media including combinations of electronic text, graphics, moving images, and sound, into a structured digital computerised environment that allows people to interact with the data for appropriate purposes. The digital environment can include the Internet, telecoms and interactive digital television. No wonder it is difficult for new entrants to understand. The important concepts to hold on to are ‘interactive’ and ‘media’ across a range of ‘delivery channels’ or ‘platforms’. There are many terms used to denote the interactive nature of digital applications—multimedia, new media and interactive design are common examples. Because the interactive sector has quickly evolved through phases, the terms have often been coined to reflect a phase that then gets surpassed. A quick historical overview will give the background that causes confusion for those joining the dynamic sector.

The word Multimedia used to have a specialist connotation for the audio-visual industry. Uses of multiple or mixed media in such analogue systems as slide shows or overhead projectors were known as ‘multimedia’. But this specialist use was superseded by the arrival of digital technology. Integrated digital media was termed interactive multimedia and usually shortened to plain multimedia for convenience. The need to differentiate between analogue (linear) and digital (interactive) uses of media spawned other terms like New Media and Digital Media. The term ‘New media’ carries its own problems as the media associated with the original term are replaced with newer instances of the ‘new’. Obsolescence is endemic in the interactive arena. However, the term remains in use although Digital Media and Interactive Media are more stable terms and are being used increasingly. The term Interactive Media highlights the interactive connotation that is a key characteristic of the difference between the older style media and the new. ‘Social media’ has evolved to describe the more recent success of digital social sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and would include the phenomenon of mobile texting, especially twitter.