eChapters

38.1 Introduction

To fishery management, understanding the abundance of a given species population is critical to the success of that species’ fishery. In this context, a fish population is a naturally occurring stock of a race of fish that occupy a specific area of space and act as a biological unit. The density of the fish population, on the other hand, is the population size per unit of space.

Introduction

After harvesting of crop, a huge or less amount of residues get produced from crop fields. Crop residue is the most reachable and ready to serve form of biomass. For agricultural lands, to improve soil quality, crop derived residue is considered as “the greatest source of soil organic matter” (Tisdale et al., 1985). But for farmers, the easiest way to get rid of this residue is on farm burning of it. This type of residue management practices not only give rise to fire hazards and one of the main source of atmospheric pollution but also lead to loss of nutrients and organic matter from soil. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, reported that almost five hundred M tons of crop remains is produced every year from India. It has also been reported that a major part of these crops remains is being used in the form of fodder, forage and other industrial purposes. In India, farmers burn their crop residue for feasible management of it, although it costs a lot to our soils. It is estimated that various crops residue contains around 80 percent of Nitrogen, 25 percent of Phosphorus, 50 percent of Sulphur and nearly 20 percent of Potassium and thus, crop residue burning causes loss of these nutrients. The burning of the one tonne of residue leads to loss of 5.5 Kg Nitrogen, 2.3 Kg phosphorus, 25 Kg potassium and 1.2 Kg sulphur, along with the nutrient loss, burning also hampers organic carbon in soil as well as increase in greenhouse gas emission. It also leads to climate change. In agriculture, loss of nutrients from soil depends on the crop which is burned. Sugarcane trash is responsible for maximum nutrient loss followed by rice and wheat straw.

Litchi, Litchi chinensis, is one of the important fruit crops of South East Asia and Australian Continent. The crop thrives well in sub-tropical areas experiencing cool dry winters and warm wet summers. India and China are the major producers of litchi in the world. In India, Bihar, Uttarakhand and West Bengal contribute maximum in litchi production. Few major insect pests and mites are of concern, the details of which are as under:

Red rust, Eriophyid mite, Aceria litchii Keifer (Eriophyidae: Prostigmata) and red rust alga, Cephaleuros virescens Kunze (Trentepholiaceae: Trentepohliales)

Palak or spinach beet or beet leaf, Beta vulgaris var bengalensis under the family Amaranthaceae (previously under Chenopodiaceae) (Chromosome No. 2n = 2x = 18) is one of the most common leafy vegetables of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Its tender, soft and succulent leaves are used as a leafy vegetable. It is a rich and cheap source of β carotene, iron, essential amino acids, ascorbic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, minerals like, calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and zinc and fibre. It is very common vegetable in India, particularly in eastern and northern plains of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. It is also grown in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh however, it is not common in southern states.
Origin, domestication and adaptation in India
Palak originated from Indo-Chinese region. The Romans used this crop as food for humans and animals. The crop was introduced to USA in 1800 AD (Campbell, 1976). However, it is not known when it was introduced into India. Mentioning of palak in the medical treatise, Charak Samhita, c. 600 BC is the testimony of its long history of cultivation in India. Perhaps it was first cultivated in Bengal. In India, earlier improvement through natural selection by the farmers might have been in the direction of larger succulent leaves, late bolters and ability for regeneration after repeated cuttings. However, despite such a long history of cultivation genetic variability recorded in this species is not wide enough, commensurate with outcrossing breeding behaviour.

Principle

Crude protein constitutes a mixture of true protein and non protein nitrogenous substances and is determined by estimating nitrogen and then multiplying the nitrogen content of feed by the factor 6.25.

The factor 6.25 is derived on the basis that all proteins contain 16% nitrogen. The total nitrogen content in the feedstuff is determined by Kjeldahl method which generally consists of three steps, i.e. digestion, distillation and titration. The sample is digested with an excess quantity of concentrated sulphuric acid which hydrolyses the protein, decomposes to ammonia and finally the ammonia combines with the excess of sulphuric acid forming ammonium sulphate. The acid digest is cooled, diluted with distilled water and distilled with strong alkali (sodium hydroxide, 40 per cent), the ammonia released during distillation is taken up into a boric acid solution forming ammonium borate complex and such ammonia is titrated with standard sulphuric acid. While estimating the nitrogen content, following reactions take place:

Rootstocks play a very important role in propagation of plants, It may modify form or stature and adopt a variety to a soil in an incompatible climatic condition and also build up the resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and meanwhile increase the production and productivity.

Vagaries of climate and mismanagement of soil have resulted in abiotic stresses, which in turn have lowered yield and quality production of fruits. In the course of its phylogenetic development, several fruit crops have developed various physiological and morphological mechanisms enabling plants to survive under adverse conditions. In case of fruit crops, one of the most important methods is to use rootstocks to overcome such stress conditions. However, over the years in fruit crops, the rootstocks that are present do not cater to the present day needs of pest and disease tolerance. Hence, there is an urgent need to widen the genetic base of rootstocks in different fruit crops by breeding and selecting rootstocks with desirable characteristics. It is acknowledged that the timing and intensity of the response of rootstocks to soil and atmospheric conditions are synergistically beneficial in evolving new cultivars.

Number of attempts has been made in rootstock improvement programmes all over the world. One of the methods that are being followed in perennial crops like mango is the development of large progeny population through half sib families. In this case, the female parent is common and open pollinated progeny population of varieties, in which improvement is sought, is used. Rootstocks were first used in European vineyards in the late 1800’s to combat devastating Phylloxera outbreak. Rootstock can be used to improve vigor, production and help to sustain the health and survival of fruit crops

7.1 Introduction

The rapid population and industrial growth experienced beginning in the middle part of this century has led to spiraling increases in the demand for forest wood. Historical data reveal that there was a 159.6% increase in overall wood production between 1970 and 1993. Wood is defined simply as wood in the rough, and includes trees felled for any purpose. The majority of total wood production has been for use as fuel wood and charcoal, much of which is harvested by villagers, and to some degree urban squatters.

Since 1970, there has been a 160% increase in fuel wood and charcoal production. The largest portion (104%) occurred between 1970 and 1980, which may be attributed to the introduction of fuel wood species earlier, during the Second Five Year Plan period. Looking at the decades to come, the demand for fuel wood is likely to continue growing in pace with future increases in population, which is growing at the rate of 24 % per decade. It is estimated that by the year 2010, demand for fuel wood and charcoal will exceed 33 million cubic meters (FAO, 1993). Since there is expected to be little further change in the area under potential productive forests, there will be an increasing probability of a shortage of wood production in India (Planning Commission, 1992).

Aim

To measure the irrigation water by using weirs

a) Weirs

A weir is a notch or opening of some definite shape installed on a channel or a stream through which waterfalls (Fig.59.1). Materials like wood, concrete, mild steel, rigid PVC etc. can be used for construction of a weir. Mainly a cut on a sheet metal is used for fabrication of weirs, to be installed at various locations in a channel. Advantages of weirs are (i) capable of accurately measuring a wide range of flows (ii) easy to construct, portable and adjustable (iii) tends to provide more accurate discharge rating than flumes and orifices.

Imaging of muscles, tendons, joints and bones is not common practice in canine and feline medicine. However, scanning of tendons and ligaments is extensively done in race horses to see their fitness. Adhesions, ruptures/ tears and inflammation of tendons and ligaments can be detected by sonographic imaging of these structures. These structures are relatively superficial so a high frequency linear or curvilinear transducer (7.5 to 13.0 MHz) is used to scan these structures. For scanning of joints acoustic window is relatively small so micro convex or sector probes are more appropriate.

Plant viruses cause severe crop losses worldwide. Conventional control strategies, such as cultural methods and biocide applications have limited success at mitigating the impact of plant viruses.

Introduction

The key to the advancement of women belong to poor background is self-help groups. Members of society with greater social influence are women. The World Bank estimates that women make up 48.0% of the population in India. Women in India are impacted by a number of economic and social variables. They are essential to any economy. Men and women must be viewed as equal participants in development if a nation is to achieve overall success and positive growth. The nation’s economic growth and social advancement depend on the independence of women. Through collective participation for growth, the empowerment of women through SHGs will benefit not just the individual women but also the family and network as a whole.

Self- Help Groups

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have developed in order to assist underprivileged women in obtaining services and resources like loans. In 1985, the idea of SHG was first introduced in India. Self-help Groups (SHGs) are informal associations of people who come together to find ways to improve their living conditions. SHGs help in improve the lives of the poor and marginalised segments of society. They also foster financial inclusion. The self-help groups play an important role in ruler women life.India’s Self Help Group movement has emerged as the world’s largest network of community-based organizations.Under this programme, banks were allowed to open savings accounts for Self-Help Groups (SHGs). This was started in the early nineties. Empowering women is crucial to the prosperity and development of the country.

Guava, Psidium guajava is one of the important fruits of tropical- sub-tropical regions of the world. It is a native of American tropics and probably originated from Peru north to Mexico and the Caribbean. The major producing countries include India, Brazil and Mexico, of which, Brazil is the largest producer of guava in the world. In India, it is grown over an area of over 2, 05,000 hectares with a production of 2.46 million metric tonnes. The fruit is rich in vitamin C and A. It is used both for processing and for table purpose world over. More than 80 insect pests have been reported to inflict varying degree of damage at different stages of crop growth. The important ones of these are discussed hereunder;

Seed rearing in coldwater and hill stream fisheries focuses on nurturing fish from the egg stage to a certain juvenile size, suitable for stocking in natural water bodies or for further cultivation. This process often includes artificial breeding techniques and aims to support fish population enhancement and the sustainability of fisheries in these sensitive ecosystems. Common species reared in these regions include Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Salmo trutta), Mahseer (Tor species), and Snow Trout (Schizothorax species). These fish are native to the high-altitude rivers, lakes, and streams of the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan areas, particularly in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir. These species are highly valued for both ecological balance and economic benefits. Rearing them successfully requires moving hatchlings through the fry and fingerling stages under carefully controlled environmental conditions. These coldwater species flourish in well-oxygenated environments with water temperatures between 10°C and 18°C. Their development is strongly influenced by altitude, steady water flow, and simulated natural habitats. The fish are typically raised in raceways, tanks, concrete troughs, or flowthrough systems. These systems ensure a continuous flow of clean water, which is vital for preserving water quality and supporting the delicate physiology of coldwater fish. Feeding is a key part of early development. After yolk-sac absorption, larvae are introduced to high-quality powdered feeds or live food like daphnia and tubifex worms. For species such as Mahseer, semi-natural hatcheries and earthen raceways with gently flowing, clean water and gravel beds are ideal.

Sectioning of tissue is carried out by using an instrument called microtome and the procedure is known as microtomy. Most commonly used microtome is HYPERLINK http://paramedicsworld.com/microtome/ rotary microtome which allows the perfect sectioning of the paraffin-embedded tissue specimens. For histological purposes, section cutting is done at the thickness of 4-6 microns whereas for histochemical staining techniques, the thickness of sections may be increased.
Pre-steps involved in tissue section cutting
1. Ensure that microtome is placed on an even surface so that it will not be shaken during the procedure of section cutting
2. Ensure that Knob for the rotating handle of microtome is locked to avoid cutting the fingers of handler of microtome while fixing the blade in its holder
3. Ensure that paraffin shavings from the previous section cutting were removed from the various parts of microtome for smooth functioning of microtome
4. Thermostatically controlled water bath or tissue flotation bath should be kept ready with filled water to heat
5. Ice cubes should be kept ready in the refrigerator. Success of sectioning can be greatly improved by cooling the wax blocks before subjecting them to cut. To properly cool the blocks, placing them on a piece of aluminum foil on a levelled tray of ice for at least five minutes before sectioning is preferable. Chilled paraffin wax is harder and in general it allows thinner and higher quality sections .Cooling both the tissue and wax giving them a similar consistency, in addition to a smaller amount of water will be absorbed into the tissue and making sectioning easier.

This chapter introduces the complete processing sequence through which greasy wool is transformed into yarn and fabric. It covers sorting, scouring, drying, carbonising, carding, combing, drawing, spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing and finishing. The distinction between woollen and worsted processing systems is explained in relation to fibre length and alignment. The chapter also addresses effluent management, grease recovery, energy use, chemical consumption and cleaner processing technologies, emphasizing the connection between processing efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Nanotechnology offers unique opportunities for the development of novel materials and applications. It is set to offer a platform to revolutionize agriculture sector from production, protection, processing and storage (Kuzma and Verhage, 2006). Bulk of nanomaterials produced is used in other sectors; only ten per cent is of use in food, beverages and packaging sector. Studies have projected the opportunities that nanotechnologies might bring to developing countries in the fields of water, energy, food and agriculture and health (Salamanca- Buentello et al., 2005) The key contributions due to application of nanotechnology in agriculture are delivery systems that aid in slow release and efficient delivery of agroinputs.

1.    Wilt
        
2.    Anthracnose
        
3.    Canker

GENERAL CHARACTERS

• Ascomycotina includes only such fungi in which the zygospores are absent and the perfect state spores are the ascospores.
• The Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes are sometimes combindly called ‘higher fungi’.
• Cell wall is made up of chitin.
• Mycelium is well developed branched and septate.
• Asexual spores are non-motile conidia.
• Sexual spores are ascospores.
• Ascospores are usually 8 in an ascus.
• They are produced endogenously inside the ascus.
• The asci are usually grouped to form a definite type of multicellular fruiting body called ascocarp.
• The ascocarps are either cup or saucer shaped ( apothecium), flask shaped (perithecium), or closed, spherical and indehiscent (cleistothecium).
• The characteristic ascospores are present in sac- like body, called ascus and therefore these fungi are also commonly called ‘sac fungi’
• Yeast is single celled organism.

The status of gardening during ancient time has been presented in Ramayana, written by Valmiki. Ayodhya city was described as having wide streets, large houses, richly decorated temples and gardens. These gardens were planted with fruit trees and flowering plants and had lakes full of lotus (Nelumbo sp.) and different kinds of birds. During exile, Lord Rama and Sita are believed to have observed a number of trees and were fascinated by beautiful flowers; one of them was Sita Ashok (Saraca asoca).

Mahabharata, written by Saint Vyasa also contains description about gardens. During the Mahabharata era, pleasure gardens were planted with flowering plants. The famous tree of this era was Kadamba (Anthocephalus cadamba), which is associated with Lord Krishna.

The systematic gardening in India is as old as civilization of Indus of Harappa, which existed between 2400 B.C. and 1750 B.C. At that time, people were living in well-planned roads cut across one another almost at right angles. There are many evidences which prove that trees and ornamental plants were associated with the Harappan civilization. India has a long history of close association of people with flowering plants. It begins with the arrival of Aryans to India in 1600 B.C. They were literate people and brought with them the four Vedas viz., Rig veda, Atharva veda, Yazur veda and Sam veda and the Puranas. They appreciated the beauty of flowering plants, lakes, mountains, forests, etc. and named their children after flowers like Kamal, Champa, Bela, Chameli, Rukmani, etc. The followers of Hindu religion worship their Gods and Goddesses with flowers early in the morning.

The life of Lord Buddha was associated with a number of trees from birth to his Nirvana. He was born in 563 B.C. under the tree of Ashoka (Saraca asoca) at Lumbini. Further, Buddha attained his enlightenment under a Pipal (Ficus religiosa) tree, spread his new teachings under shady banyan and mango trees and breathed his last in a Sal (Shorea robusta) grove.

When Lord Buddha visited Vaishali, Amrapali presented a park known as Amravana which was dominated by flowering trees. Buddhists were planting trees and flowering plants on a large scale for making surrounding peaceful and place ideal for meditation.

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is a hypothesis-testing technique used to test the equality of two or more population (or treatment) means by examining the variances of samples that are taken. ANOVA allows one to determine whether the differences between the samples are simply due to random error (sampling errors) or whether there are systematic treatment effects that cause the mean in one group to differ from the mean in another.

Most of the time ANOVA is used to compare the equality of three or more means, however when the means from two samples are compared using ANOVA it is equivalent to using a t-test to compare the means of independent samples.

ANOVA is based on comparing the variance (or variation) between the data samples to variation within each particular sample. If the between variation is much larger than the within variation, the means of different samples will not be equal. If the between and within variations are approximately the same size, then there will be no significant difference between sample means.