eChapters

1. Introduction

Nursery is a place, where seedlings and saplings of different ornamental plants (trees, shrubs, climbers, annuals, potted plants etc.) are propagated and maintained until they are out-planted in a prepared bed or in pots. Establishment of an ornamental nursery is emerging as a profitable venture, especially around cities. Rapid urbanization has led to the development of community parks and various sites for people to engage in active and passive recreation. This has led to surge in demand for quality planting material, which ensures rapid establishment and beautification of the landscape site. The following chapter deals with the basic principles and practices of establishment of ornamental plant nursery, with reference to its effective management to enhance the income and reap better profit.

14.1 Introduction

The fast growing field of nanotechnology presents great potential to influence various sectors in the areas of energy, environment, agriculture, health care and consumer goods. To overcome the demanding need of nano-based applications, various strategies to synthesize nanoparticles have been attempted. The major focus is to synthesize nanoparticles of desirable properties such as shape, size and compositions. Various strategies have been employed to synthesize nanoparticles. Foremost among these are physical and chemical methods which include sol-gel technique, solvothermal synthesis, chemical reduction, laser ablation and inert gas condensation. But altogether they suffer from process limitations like difficulty in controlling experimental conditions, feeble reproducibility, polydispersity, costly instrumentation and recovery as well as energy intensive and eco-hazardous processes. However, various factors like cost, speed, efficiency, biocompatibility etc. are still not concerned. Thus, finding a balance between scalability, price and applicability is still a true challenge. These limitations can be potentially overcome by using biological methods for nanoparticle synthesis.

1. INTRODUCTION

The key global challenges facing the mankind in the 21st century are food, water, energy security, environment, combating cancer, and infectious diseases. Solving these challenges requires concerted efforts using modern scientific and technological advances in multiple disciplines. One such technology that has revolutionized life science research is “next-generation sequencing”. The NGS technology has brought an enormous technological shift in DNA sequencing through dramatic high-throughput and a precipitously dropping cost of raw sequence data. NGS technologies changed the dynamics and pace of genomic research in humans, animals, plants and microbes largely due to their rapid, inexpensive and highly accurate sequencing capabilities. The capillary electrophoresis based sequencing technology pioneered by Sanger and Coulson.

Abstract

Medicinal herbs are economically and nutritionally important plants, which are rich in health-promoting compounds. Herbs are the backbone of both the traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, which has long history as part of their culture. Ensuring the quality of herbs is a crucial step for integrating the traditional medicine into science-based modern medicine. Drying is an essential technique in preservation of herbs as it affects directly the quality attributes of the dried products, whereas many producers lose much profit due to poor drying techniques. So, employing a suitable drying technology and selection of appropriate drying conditions are very important for producing high quality herb products. The aim of this article is to summarize the advances in drying technologies of medicinal plants, describe the current status and identify future research opportunities. The current work provides more data and information for selecting optimum technology for herb drying and would trigger innovative drying technologies to enhance drying kinetics and quality of herb drying.

Fertility is the ability of a male to impregnate the fertile female. The reduced or temporary loss of fertility is called infertility whereas permanent loss of fertility is called sterility. A male with low libido or poor sex drive may have excellent semen quality or a male with good libido may have poor seminal quality. So, libido has no direct relation with the male fertility. Male infertility can be categorized into Impotentia coeundi and Impotentia generandi. 1. Impotentia Coeundi • The condition of reduced or lack of sex drive or Inability to copulate (failure of normal service) is referred to as impotentia coeundi. • It may occur due to immaturity, poor experience to perform coitus, inability or unwillingness to mount, inability to perform intromission or failure of ejaculation. • The following conditions may reflect the immaturity or poor/bad experience of the male animal which leads to impotentia coeundi:

Introduction

For many years, it has been acknowledged that “augmentative” or “inundative” biological management can decrease arthropod pests (DeBach, 1964). The goal of increased biocontrol is to bring about behavioral and numerical changes in the natural enemies that live within agricultural environments. This tactic calls for the large production of natural enemies as well as their periodic release, to maximize their potential for reproduction during the growing season. For instance, the use of augmentative releases may be required if naturally occurring populations of parasitoids or pests are either nonexistent, do not successfully colonize fields or orchards, or colonize at a point in the season that is too late to provide effective pest control. The increase is being carried out to establish a population of natural enemies capable of keeping the number of pests at economically hazardous levels until harvesting time.

Biological Control

Controlling problems caused by things like mites, insects, weeds, and plant diseases with the help of other organisms is called biological control or biocontrol. It uses natural mechanisms like predation, parasitism, herbivory, and so on, but human intervention is almost always present.

Parasitoids

The term “parasitoid” refers to a group of insects, the larvae of which develop on or within the bodies of other insects, which the parasitoid kills eventually. The phenomenon is known as parasitism. The vast majority of parasitoids are classified as either wasps (Hymenoptera) or flies (Diptera). These insects are numerically quite abundant and play a significant role in almost every terrestrial environment.

The review of literature consists of conceptual literature concerning the concepts and theories and empirical literature consisting of studies made earlier which are relevant to one proposal.
The main purpose of this chapter is to present some of the findings/ results of the past research studies related to the present investigation. A few relevant research studies which have been conducted in India and abroad in the field different altitude areas, their livelihood are presented in the following headings:
1.1. Works based on the livelihood of different altitude places of India and abroad
1.2. Works based on the livelihood of different altitude places specially North East India.
1.3. Other general concepts related with the present research
1.1 Works Based on The Livelihood of Different Altitude Places of India and Abroad
FAO, Rome (2011) stated a major factor limiting the food security of household in hill areas is shortage of land for cultivation which are simply too small to support the farmers with current food production practices. Closing the yield gap will produce food production and security.
Alkan S. and Toksoy D. (2008) indicates that the forest villages which are at the high altitude and on the field that are not suitable for agriculture. This complicates living in them and increases their dependence to the forest resources. While determining the forest villages, the distance from the forest, and the socio-economic criterions are considered.
Tejada E. and Nielsen M.O. (2008) stated that the harsh eco-climatic and edaphological conditions of the High Altitude of Bolivia adversely impact most of the agricultural and livestock production indices. However, livestock activity, in addition to dealing with the subsistence of rural families, offers more security than the agricultural activity in those eco-systems, since crops are more vulnerable than animals to abrupt climatic changes.

Abstract

Food proteins are among the commonly used ingredients by food manufacturers to produce different products with desired characteristics. Due to several nutritional and functional properties, proteins have different functions in various food products in addition to their role in metabolic system of the human body. Dilute or concentrated solutions of pure proteins or unprocessed food products which are rich in protein are very sensitive to deterioration or degradation by microorganisms and thus have short shelf life at ambient temperatures due to their highly moist structure and high protein content. Drying is one of the best methods that can guarantee preservation, a longer shelf life, chemical or thermal stabilization and resistance against other stresses. A full understanding of stresses encountered during drying is needed to choose an appropriate drying process and to optimize this process for maximum product quality. A number of methods have been used by various researchers to dry protein-containing foods. Among these methods, freeze drying and spray drying are the most common techniques. Sun drying, convective hot air drying, vacuum drying, heat pump drying, radio frequency drying as well as combined or hybrid drying methods with two or more of the drying methods have also been developed.

Principles of Incubation

Incubation is a process by which the embryo within egg develops into a fully formed chick capable of breaking free from the shell. Basically, when a hen incubates an egg, it means she is on the egg in order to keep it warm for a certain period of time, 21 days for chicken, until the chick embryo has fully formed and is ready to hatch. The incubation period in other species is given in Table 41. The following factors affect the incubation on egg

1. Temperature

Incubator temperature should be maintained between 99 and 100 oF. The acceptable range is 97 to 102 ^oF. Overheating is more critical than under heating. An incubator should be operated in a location free from drafts and direct sunlight. Temperature is probably the most important single factor influencing the development of the embryo. A higher temperature will advance the hatch and a lower temperature will delay hatch. Younger embryos are especially susceptible to high temperatures because the upper lethal limit is very close to the optimum incubating temperature. High temperature will cause the embryonic membranes to dry out too soon. Chicks that hatch may have an unsteady gait.

Potassium is the third important essential nutrient element after nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) required by all living organisms, including plants and animals. Potassium is essential for many metabolic activities like carbohydrate metabolism, nitrogen metabolism. It is required for the activation of over 60 enzymes in plants. It controls/regulates the activities of various essential nutrients. It is vital to photosynthesis, and synthesis of carbohydrates, starch and proteins in plants. It plays vital role in controlling the opening and closing of stomata in photosynthesis. It also helps in controlling water use by plants by regulating the osmotic pressure of guard cells during transpiration. It plays a major role in transport of water and nutrients throughout the plant in xylem. Potassium improves crop yield and quality of flowers, fruits, vegetables and other field crops in terms of size, shape, colour, taste, shelf-life, and fibre quality. Potassium stimulates the growth of strong stems and provides strength to the plant against some disease by promoting thickness of the outer cell walls. It is required for translocation of assimilates. Under reduced K supply, translocation of NO₃^-, PO₄^3-, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and amino acids is hampered. It also imparts resistance against environmental stresses such as drought, cold and frost. Adequate K can reduce moisture loss from growing plants, thereby giving some drought resistance. It reduces lodging of crops and enhances their winter-hardiness.

It is taken up by the plants as K⁺. Being a basic element, it takes part in neutralization of the acidity in plants caused by several organic acids produced. It does not form organic compounds in the plant system. It is the most mobile element in the plant. Thus, it can move through all the plant system due to osmotic pressure. When any plant sample is dipped into water, some K comes out. This shows that it is highly mobile.

Potassium is also required for animal nutrition and human beings. Potassium is essential for many metabolic functions. It maintains salt balance between cells and body fluids. Adequate K is essential for nerve function and preventing muscle cramps. It is routinely added to many animal feeds. Since K⁺ is not stored in the human body, dietary replacement is required on a regular basis. Government agencies state that diets containing foods that are good sources of K and low in Na may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.

Introduction

Both beneficiary and deleterious microorganisms are present in food. Beneficiary microbes are used for the preparation of a number of dairy and meat products and are called Probiotics, whereas deleterious microbes can cause food poisoning. The quantitative analysis of food products is necessary to find out the presence of types of microorganisms.

Requirements

1. Food sample
2. Mechanical blender
3. Sterilised distilled water
4. Steilised distilled water blanks (9 ml)
5. Petri plates
6. Sterile Pipettes (1 ml)
7. Eiosin Methylene Blue agar medium
8. Incubator
9. Colony counter
10. Marker

Procedure

1. Weigh 1 g of well blended

In 1935, Prof. Ronald A. Fisher laid the foundation for the subject in his monumental work entitled “The Designs of Experiments”. Experimental designs concern the arranging of treatments in such a manner that the inferences and conclusions regarding the effects of these treatments can be easily done and their reliability measured. Experiments are made with a view to find the validity of a particular hypothesis and to have an idea about the extent of the reliability that can be placed on a particular conclusion arrived. The selection of the design will have a very great bearing on the accuracy of the ultimate results. By a random selection of experimental units it is possible to remove the ambiguity about the casual interpretation of the observed associations. Random sampling is the most essential ingredient of all experimental designs. Besides, there are many devices for increasing the precision of the inference and the calculations.

To understand design of experiments, let us first get acquainted with some important terms and concepts associated with design of experiments:

• Experiment: Experiment is a scientifically planned method. The experiment is conducted draw a valid conclusion about a particular problem. The conclusion is based on statistically observation.

• Treatment: The object or the procedures under comparison in an experiment are known as treatment. For Example: Fertilizers, varieties, cultivation practices, irrigation level in case of agricultural experiments and drugs, breeds, farms, etc. in case of animal experiments.

• Yield: The response of the treatment is measured by some indicator such as crop production, milk production, body temperature, etc. Such an indicator is called yield. The treatments are applied to some units such as field plots, sample of cows, sample of patients, etc. and the effect on the yield is observed.

• Experimental material: The experimental material is nothing but a set of experimental units. In other words, the material which is used in experiment is known as experimental material. For Example: A piece of land i.e. Agricultural field in agricultural experiments and a group of cattle i.e. animals in animal experiments.

Introduction

In the last two decades, sustainable agriculture has grown to become one of the most pressing issues in agriculture. Although there are numerous definitions of sustainable agriculture, most agree on three fundamental overlapping components: Ecological, economic, and social sustainability (Kaur 2013; Pilgeram 2013). Meanwhile, the prevalence of plant diseases is a major impediment to sustainable agricultural production systems worldwide, particularly in the tropics and subtropics. Farmers frequently apply agrochemicals (i.e., pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc.) over their recommended dose to manage plant diseases, raising serious concerns about food safety, soil, environmental quality, and pesticide resistance (Dordas 2008; Kaur 2013).

Disease detection on plants is critical for sustainable agriculture, and manually monitoring plant diseases is difficult. It usually requires a significant amount of work, knowledge of plant diseases, and extended processing time. Early detection is the base for efficient plant disease prevention and control, and it is critical in agricultural production management and decision-making. Plant disease identification has become increasingly important in recent years (Li et al., 2021). Diseased plants usually have visible marks or lesions on their leaves, stems, flowers, or fruits. In general, each disease or pest condition has a distinct visible pattern that can be used to identify abnormalities. Typically, the leaves of plants are the primary source for identifying plant diseases, and most disease symptoms may first appear on the leaves (Ebrahimi et al., 2017). Rapid advances in biotechnology have resulted in the development of various molecular diagnostic tools over the last decade. These tools, which are based on the properties of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) or proteins of the target agents, have improved the efficacy, accuracy, and speed of detecting and identifying disease-causing agents, as well as the characterization of a wide range of pathogens and pests. Various techniques are used in biotechnology for disease diagnosis and management, but molecular markers are used in particular for the detection, identification, quantification, and characterization of plant pathogens that cause diseases in plants (Kumar et al., 2015).

18.1 Introduction

Nano – Science & Technology is design, fabrication and application of nanostructures or nanomaterials, and the fundamental understanding of the relationships between physical properties or phenomena and material dimensions at nano meter scales.

Plant parasitic nematodes can be controlled by several methods. The nematode control aims to improve growth, quality and yield by keeping the nematode population below the economical threshold level. The control measures to be adopted should be profitable and cost effective. It is essential to calculate the cost benefit ratio before adopting control measures.

Plant growth regulators or phytohormones are organic substances produced naturally in higher plants, controlling growth or other physiological functions at a site remote from its place of production and active in minute amounts. Thimmann in1948 proposed the term Phytohormone as these hormones are synthesized in plants (Thimmann, 1963).

What is Fungicide?

The term fungicide is derived from two Latin words, fungus and caedo. The word ‘caedo’ literally means ‘to kill.’ As a result, a fungicide is any agent or chemical that has the power to kill the fungus. Physical agents such as ultraviolet light and heat should also be called fungicides, according to this definition. However, in ordinary use, the term exclusively refers to chemicals. As a result, fungicide is a chemical that can kill fungi.

What is Fungistat?

Certain chemicals do not kill fungal infections. However, they only temporarily stop the fungus’s growth. Fungistat refers to these compounds, while fungistatis refers to the phenomena of temporarily inhibiting fungal growth.

What is Antisporulent?

Introduction

Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and meteorological conditions in the Earth’s atmosphere. It is caused by unsustainable human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and rampant industrialization which released massive quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun and cause the planet to warm, resulting in various impacts on the environment and human society. Climate change is likely to disrupt the monsoon patterns and lead to more extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. This will have a significant impact on crop yields and food security in India, which is already facing a growing population and increasing demand for food. Additionally, rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may also lead to the spread of new pests and diseases, further exacerbating the challenges faced by Indian farmers.

Additionally, climate change impacts are disproportionately affecting the livelihoods of smallholder and resource-poor farmers, who are more vulnerable to weather-related risks and have fewer resources to adapt. The Indian government and private sector are implementing various measures to help farmers adapt to changing conditions, but more needs to be done to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector. The agricultural sector in India is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, as it employs a large portion of the population and is a major contributor to the country’s economy. The Indian government and various organizations are working to develop strategies and technologies to adapt to the changing climate and mitigate the effects on the agricultural sector. Time to time the Indian government have implemented various policies and programs to improve the productivity and profitability of the agricultural sector, including the transfer of technology and extension services.

Abstract

A key problem in spatial-mathematical-model-based mineral potential mapping is the selection of appropriate functions that can effectively approximate the complex relationship between target mineral deposits and recognition criteria. This paper evaluates a series of spatial mathematical models based on different linear and non-linear functions by applying them to base-metal potential mapping of the Aravalli province, western India. Linear models applied are an extended weights-of-evidence model and a hybrid fuzzy weights-of-evidence model, while non-linear models are knowledge and data-driven fuzzy models, a neural network model, a hybrid neuro-fuzzy model and an augmented naive Bayesian classifier model. The parameters of the knowledge-driven fuzzy model are estimated from the expert knowledge, while those of the neural network and Bayesian classifier model are estimated from the data. The two hybrid models use both expert knowledge and data for parameter estimation.

As compared to the linear models, the non-linear models generally perform better in predicting the known base-metal deposits in the study area. Although the linear models do not fit the data as efficiently as the non-linear models, they are easier to implement using basic GIS functionalities and their parameters are more amenable to geoscientific interpretation. In addition, the linear models are less susceptible to the curse of dimensionality as compared to non-linear models, which makes them more suitable for applications to mineral potential mapping of the areas where there is a paucity of training mineral deposits. The hybrid models that conjunctively use both knowledge and data for parameter estimation generally perform better than purely knowledge-driven or purely data-driven models.

Abstract

As part of the Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) project, an Enterprise-wide Geographic Information System has been implemented through which Intranet / Internet users enjoying different access levels can quickly search for, locate and visualize geoscientific information generated by Geological Survey of India (GSI). The proposed system will provide real-time response to information needs and will use secure Internet technology to deliver information to bonafide users. It consists of an application that will enable data owners to load new data sets, update/replace existing data sets in a highly secure environment, load and maintain metadata about their data sets in a Data Catalog and a subsystem that will query, search, locate and display geoinformation stored in the centralized Geodatabase.

Enterprise GIS has been deployed primarily using a relational database, a spatial database engine tool, an Internet Map server tool, and integrating the existing ArcGIS desktop GIS clients. The approach is to import data from distributed data sources into the centralized repository using a customized extraction-transformation-loading (ETL) tool, thereby making appropriate structural changes to ensure homogeneity at various levels, and load into the main Geodatabase.

While delineating the functionalities of enterprise GIS solution an earnest attempt was made to accommodate the diverse needs of the organization, including its processes, activities, products and the whole gamut of users at different levels from the field geologist to the decision makers. An effort was also made to standardize various data automation processes and to iron out the heterogeneities existing in legacy data. Ultimately, GSI aspires to create a seamless geospatial database for the entire geographic extent of the country, which can be easily shared by the geoscientific community.