eChapters

Celosia is an attractive flowering crop valued for its distinctive inflorescences, bright colours and use as loose and ornamental flowers. The crop includes forms such as Cristata, Plumosa and Spicata, with the characteristic brain-like appearance of cockscomb resulting from fasciation. This chapter deals with the origin, distribution, genetics, botanical features and important varieties of Celosia. It explains climatic and soil requirements, propagation, land preparation, nutrient management, planting, irrigation and cultural practices for commercial production. The chapter also covers plant growth regulation, insect pests and diseases, harvesting, postharvest management and yield. Its practical approach makes it relevant to students, growers and floriculture entrepreneurs.

Centrifugation is a technique that promotes accelerated settling of particles in a solid-liquid mixture by the application of centrifugal force. The device that accelerates the separation with the help of centrifugal force is known as ‘Centrifuge’. The centrifuge consists of a fixed base or frame and a rotating part in which the mixture is placed and is then spun at high speed.

ABSTRACT

Dairy farming plays a significant role in rural economy. It provides more avenues for increasing rural incomes and sustaining livelihood. Milk and other dairy products are a major source of protein and calcium for vast vegetarian population of India and demand is likely to double within a decade. Many of the educated youth in rural areas are going back to dairy farming as a natural choice with passion, getting involved deeply, continuously learning and innovating in the process. However these young and intuitive farmers face many challenges especially with regard to technical input and availability of green fodder round the year. In order to address these problems, this study was conducted in Muktsar district of Punjab. The young farmers selected belong to age group ranging from 24-35 years. Seventy percent of the respondents were graduates, among them 25 percent being technocrats. About 65 percent had medium family size (5 members). Eighty five percent of respondents had small land holding ranging from 5-8 acres. For majority of the respondents’ dairy was the primary occupation. Sixty percent of the respondents had obtained 45 day artificial insemination (AI) training from Dairy Development Board, Punjab and themselves did AI on their farm. Many (75 percent) had herd size of 35-40 animals. Majority of the farmers had hired labour for milking and daily care of animals with family members involved in management of the farm. Most of them (65 percent) believed in preparing their own silage and breed improvement. The study revealed that many educated youth in dairy farming were of progressive and scientific temper with entrepreneurship potential but were facing many impediments like low milk yield (4.5 – 6.5 kg/ animal/day), poor breed up gradation, green fodder shortage, a large number of services per conception (3 in majority cases) with artificial insemination (AI), low competence of veterinary service providers in remote rural areas in addition to high veterinary costs, difficulty in marketing milk from crossbred dairy cows due to low preference. It was felt that if sincere and sustained efforts were made by all the stakeholders involved, dairy farming had the potential for all round socio-economic development of rural areas.

ABSTRACT

Agriculture and allied sectors is the largest livelihood providers in rural India, still Indian farmers are among the poorest in the World. Agriculture sector is potentially largest employment providing sectors in the country. Despite this, unemployment is high among educated rural youth, and they prefer to migrate to urban areas to take up low paying jobs. The present study was carried out mainly to find out the challenges faced by rural youth in choice of agriculture as a means of livelihood. The study was conducted in four villages in Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand. Data was collected from 115 youth using pre-tested interview schedule. It was found that maximum number of respondents had education up to higher secondary level, majority were students and had medium level of mass media exposure and change proneness. The study indicates that limited access to new agricultural technologies, limited access to farm machinery, perception regarding suitability to agriculture, damage of crops from pests and insects, and lack of information on agricultural inputs and government policies were the main challenges faced by rural youth in choosing agriculture as a means of livelihood. The study indicates that government has developed policy framework for involving youth in agriculture. This study can be carried on training needs of youth in agriculture and allied sectors.

Bibliometric Analysis

1. What is?

Bibliometric analysis is a quantitative research method used to examine and analyze the bibliographic data present in scientific publications.

2. It involves?

The systematic evaluation of publication patterns, citation relationships, and other bibliographic characteristics to gain insights into the scholarly landscape.

3. How?

By applying various metrics and indicators, bibliometric analysis helps researchers and institutions assess research impact, identify emerging trends, map collaborations, and make informed decisions.

China aster (Callistephus chinensis) is a half-hardy annual belonging to the family Asteraceae and is valued for its attractive flowers in various colours and forms. It is an important ornamental and loose flower crop, particularly suitable for garlands and floral decoration. The chapter introduces its origin, genetics, botanical characteristics and important cultivars developed by Indian research institutions. It discusses climate and soil requirements, propagation, nursery management, field preparation, planting and nutrient management. Irrigation and other cultural practices are presented along with major insect pests and diseases such as grey mould and rust. Harvesting, postharvest handling and yield considerations complete the production package

Research related to biochemical analysis has been greatly benefited due to the development of chromatographic technique, since this technique makes it possible to resolve mixtures of closely related substances on a milligram to picogram range and to identify individual components by comparison with reference standard compounds. Chromatography ‘gives information where other analytical means have failed’ [Tswett, M. (1906) The macro-chemical and micro-chemical detection of carotene. Ber. Deut. Botan.Ges. 24 : 384- 393].

Chrysanthemum is one of the important commercial loose flower crops in India, valued for its wide range of flower forms, colours, sizes and long-lasting florets. It is extensively used for religious offerings, garlands, Veni, bouquets and ornamental purposes. The chapter describes its origin, distribution, genetics, botanical characteristics and important annual and perennial types. It provides information on suitable varieties, climate, soil, propagation and field establishment. Production practices including nutrient management, irrigation, pinching and other cultural operations are explained systematically. The chapter also discusses important pests and diseases, harvesting, postharvest management and yield, providing a practical foundation for commercial chrysanthemum cultivation and floriculture teaching.

Introduction

Natural resources support livelihood of a large section of India’s population, despite its steady declining share in the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) and, in all probability these will continue to play the dominant role even in future. Interaction of several factors in the global climate change scenario has markedly limited the capability of natural resources and thereby threatened livelihood of small holders throughout the world. Factors like agriculture production crisis, fresh water unavailability, energy crisis, deforestation; degradation, wide pandemic, active climate change effects and continuous rise of input cost of farming create threats to the livelihood of millions and it has become imperative to collectively understand the complexities and challenges in natural resource conservation and management.

Introduction

Almost every test of reasoning contains questions on coding. In such questions, generally one word and its code are given, and the students are required to find the code for the other word. The student is required to apply the same logic, as was applied in the given words.

Let’s discuss some of the commonly asked questions based on coding : Some of the major types of coding logics are

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

It is emphasizing the systematic approach required for the successful planning and funding of projects:
Components of Project Formulation
1. Needs Analysis: Identifying and defining the needs that the project intends to address, typically involving stakeholder consultation and market analysis. This process involves systematically gathering and analyzing data about a community, a group, or a market to identify both the current conditions and the gaps between these conditions and desired outcomes. Effective needs assessment aids in designing projects that are relevant, targeted, and likely to produce significant impact. Here’s a more detailed exploration of how needs assessment is integral to project formulation:
Key Steps in Conducting a Needs Assessment
• Stakeholder Identification: Early in the project formulation, identify all relevant stakeholders, including direct beneficiaries, community leaders, funders, and other affected parties. Understanding who will be impacted by the project helps in targeting the needs assessment process more effectively.
• Data Collection: Utilize various methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, and field observations to gather comprehensive data about the current state and deficiencies experienced by stakeholders. This might involve looking at socioeconomic data, environmental conditions, or specific community challenges.
• Gap Analysis: Analyze the data to identify gaps between the current state and the desired outcomes. This analysis helps pinpoint the specific areas where interventions are needed.formulation: 

Introduction

Agriculture has played an important role in the global economy in recent years. The further growth of the population is leading to a gradual decrease in the area of the agricultural land and further growing stresses on the farm system. Agricultural food production methods are rising in demand for successful and healthy. Innovative sensoring and motive technologies and advanced information and communications systems and Artificial Intelligence must supplement conventional agricultural management methods to speed up farm productivity growth more accurately, thereby promoting the production of high-quality and high-performance agriculture. Computer vision monitoring systems have become valuable tools in farm operations over the past decades, and their use has increased significantly.

What is Computer Vision?

Computer vision can be characterized as a field of AI for extracting information from digital images. The type of data obtained from an image may be different from recognition, navigational space measurements or applications of increased reality.

The applications of computer vision can also be described. Computer vision builds algorithms that recognize and use the quality of pictures for other purposes.

Agriculture and its allied sectors support the livelihood of a large section of India’s population and these ultimately play a pivotal role in life. National Agricultural policy describes predetermined goals, objectives and pathways set by the national government for the purpose of achieving a specified outcome, for the benefit of the society and the nations’ economy at large. Effective policies are the best beginnings for driving effective programs that deliver to the people. The best policies are those that take a realistic view of our context, needs, priorities and future challenges. Government initiated economic reforms in 1991, which involved deregulation, reduced government participation in economic activities, and liberalization. Much of the reforms did not affect the agriculture sector. But agriculture was affected indirectly by devaluation of the exchange rate, liberalization of external trade. T

Food prices have risen 6% in the last six months. But it is expected to rise further as expensive energy, squeezed supplies and volatile weather take a combined toll. The biggest factor pushing prices is the cost of producing and marketing crops. Several factors will make farming more expensive in the coming months. The first variable is weather. Preliminary forecasts by a few foreign and private Indian meteorologists say India could have a below-normal monsoon because a weather phenomenon called El Nino is warming the Pacific Ocean. El Nino usually affects monsoon winds headed for India. Forecasters say monsoon might arrive on time but could falter during August-September, especially in the north.

ABSTRACT

Human resources are one of the most strategic and critical determinants of growth. A country cannot make rapid social and economic advancement unless it has enterprising people with necessary knowledge, skill and attitudes. Entrepreneurship development not only helps individual to become self reliant but also adds to wealth creation process, thereby paving the way to past growth and development of the nation. Rural entrepreneurship is required to capitalize on the opportunities available and to create job, mainly for rural youth and the farm family. In order to achieve this we are promoting mushroom production and processing as an enterprise for rural youths and farm family through their capacity building activities like training, consultancy, forward and backward linkages and to some extent by making available the much required inputs in the initial stages as the scenario of mushroom production in state is far from satisfactory. With the vast opportunities both at the international and national levels lying at the door steps of India, nothing less than a mushroom revolution in the coming decade will help to achieve the targets of nutritional security of people. During last year we have trained 215 farmwomen and youth in mushroom production and processing out of which 110 trainees started producing it at small scale and selling in the local market. Three villages of Patna district have been developed as “mushroom village” namely Sadikpur, Chaknawada and Mahmadpur. A sample of 100 mushroom growers of Patna district was taken for present investigation. All of them agreed that growing mushroom is a beneficial enterprise as it is capable of recycling agricultural wastes and generating employment opportunities. But, they revealed that important constraints in recommended practices of mushroom cultivation are spawn availability, perishable nature and marketing of mushroom in local villages because of poor infrastructural facility and lack of institutional finance available to them. So, in order to encourage mushroom Production at household level in villages, it is required to uplift farmers, initiating new applications, providing them with adequate marketing information and sufficient agri-business finance knowledge. Two of the most important problems in India, unemployment and malnutrition, will be addressed to a larger extent by promoting the cause of mushroom growing and its utilization as health food.

Consumer Behaviour / Buyers Behaviour

Marketing management can succeed easily and smoothly of the behaviour of present & potential consumers are understood properly. Marketing success or failure depends on target customers individual and group reactions. The individual buyer behaves in a different design and pattern depending upon the internal & external marketing environment. The individual attitude & motivation along with economic conditions influence the consumers to behave in a certain fashion. The consumer behaviour is primarily understood in the content of consumption goods. The factors influencing their behaviours are demographic, economic, sociological, cultural and psychological.
The aim of marketing is to need and satisfy target customers needs & wants. The field of consumer behaviour studies how individuals, groups and organizations select, buy, use & dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and desires.

7.1. Introduction
The concept of consumer’s surplus was first introduced by Alfred Marshall. When a consumer plans to buy a commodity, they assess the utility they will gain from its consumption. A rational consumer always compares the utility derived from a good with the price they must pay for it. If the utility exceeds the price, the consumer chooses to buy it; otherwise, they do not. The excess utility gained over the price paid is known as consumer’s surplus.
In nutshell, Consumer’s surplus is the difference between the amount a
consumer is willing to pay for a good and the amount they actually pay.
Consumer’s surplus = Price that a consumer is willing to pay - Price he actual pays
Suppose a consumer wants to buy a shirt and is willing to pay `250 for it, but the actual price is only `200. In this case, the consumer gains a surplus of `50. This difference, known as consumer’s surplus, represents the extra benefit the consumer receives from the purchase.
Consumer’s surplus is often experienced with commodities that are highly useful but relatively inexpensive, such as newspapers, salt, matchboxes, and postage stamps. In these cases, consumers are willing to pay more than the actual price, resulting in a surplus of utility

Organizations Indebtedness Towards Society

The organizations in the present world operate as an open system by having ongoing interactions with the society for their existence and effective functioning. There is an interdependence between corporations and societies and as such, company’s activities have a direct impact on the communities with which they work.  As a part of such interactions, the organizations use valuable resources of the society, for producing goods and services, which are exchanged with the customers for a profit margin. Due to these exchanges, the business organizations take away the profits reflecting the debt they owe to the society and the world.

Theory of Costs

In both short-run and long-run analyses, there exist different cost curves.

Short run is the duration of a given factor or factors. Equipment and business owners are typically fxed in the near term

Long run is the period over which all factors become variable.

Fixed costs: are those expenses that remain constant regardless of output or production levels.. Eg: depreciation, annual maintenance cost etc.

Variable cost: are those expenses that change depending on the volume of output eg : inputs/raw material costs, wages etc.

Short Run Cost Curves

There are seven cost concepts or curves in short run analysis. They are :

1. Total cost (TC)
2. Total Fixed cost (TFC)