eChapters

Introduction

The Indian fisheries sector is set in a unique and diverse set of resources ranging from the pristine waters of the Himalayas to the sprawling Indian Ocean. The fisheries biodiversity of the country encompasses a wide spectrum of physical and biological components that support the livelihoods of millions of people. Fisheries resources are set in different ecosystems. With growing population and the increasing demand for fish protein, the need for sustainable development of aquatic resources is now felt much more than ever before.

Fisheries and aquaculture remain important sources of food, nutrition, income and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Global capture and culture fish production during 2019 were 97 and 82 million tonnes, respectively with India being second largest producer of fish in the world after China. From 0.75 million tonnes in 1950-51, total fish production of India touched 12.59 million tonnes in 2018-19 with a contribution of 8.90 million tonnes (70.60%) from inland sector. The sunrise fisheries sector contributes about 0.96 % to National Gross Value Added (GVA) and 5.37% to agricultural GVA (2018-19) while engaging over 14.5 million people (2003 census) at the primary level and almost twice the number along the value chain. During 2018-19 the export of marine products that includes production from aquaculture reached 13,77,244 tonnes valued at INR 46589 crore (US $ 6.93 billion). The inland sector grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 6.5% between 1979 and 2018, while overall fish production witnessed 4.5% growth, which is double the growth rate of food grains production in India.

Introduction

Agriculture is the backbone of India as 50% of its work is engaged in agricultural activities enabling India self-sufficiency in food production. However, agriculture sector is facing several challenges such as reduction in arable land due to urbanization and industrialization, decrease in farm size due to family division, climate change, yield loss due to abiotic and biotic stresses like pest, disease and weed, proliferation of non-genuine/illegal agro-chemicals etc (Murali-Baskaran et al., 2019). FAO estimates that a total annual loss of 20 to 40 percent of global crop production due to pests. Each year, plant diseases cost the global economy around $220 billion, and invasive insects around US$70 billion. While in India, yield loss to crops is estimated as 26, 20, 6 and 8% by insects, plant pathogens, rodents and others, respectively with an annual loss of Rs. 2,25,000 crores annually. Traditionally, ITKs have been practiced by farmers to control pests based on three categories viz., (a) cultural practices, physical, mechanical methods and use of botanicals. Later, IPM has been implemented in various crops to curb such losses caused by biotic stresses. Although cultural, mechanical and biological control strategies are in practice, insecticide application has been the most widely used tactics to reduce such losses to achieve quick control and particularly in case of outbreaks/upsurges. In India 76% of the pesticide used is insecticide, as against 44% globally (Mathur, 1999). First generation insecticides such as sulphur, arsenic, calcium arsenate, copper acetoarsenite, hydrogen cyanide, lead were introduced during 1950’s which are simple, persistent, usually very toxic chemicals used in large scale which harm almost everything they come into contact with. Later second generation insecticide molecules like DDT, chlorinated hydrocarbon, organophosphates, carbamates, and pyrethroids have been introduced with few advantages over first generation molecules. Subsequently, insect growth regulators (IGRs) that mimic insect growth hormones preventing natural young insect moulting which are less harmful to mammals have been introduced. Then, during past decades, newer insecticide molecules have been introduced which are target specific, relatively safe to non-target organisms and low residual activity. In terms of pesticide production and consumption, India is the fourth largest user of pesticides in the world (FAOSTAT, 2017). India is one of the lowest consumer i.e. 0.5 kg/ha (0.06 mt) of pesticides in the world as compared to China (13.06/ha), Japan (11.85 kg/ha), Brazil (4.57 kg/ha) etc. The United Nations has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). The main aim is to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development. FAO estimates that up to 40% of food crops are lost due to plant pests and diseases annually. This leaves millions of people without enough food to eat and seriously damages agriculture - the primary source of income for rural poor communities. .

Introduction

India has progressed well on food production from 51 million tonnes (mt) in 1947, 286 mt in 2018-2019 owing to the largest contribution from wheat and rice (about 213 mt). But simultaneously our population has also grown to about 135 billion in 2018. Therefore, the impact of higher production is not realized in absolute terms. Indian agriculture has come a long way since independence achieving food security in major crops, declining rate of rural poverty, rise in agricultural incomes and nutrition levels have gone up. Higher production has also been recorded in sugar, cotton, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, milk, fisheries and poultry. All this has made us a proud with achieving self-sufficiency in food security. However, on the socio-economic front, the picture does not become rosy as we have a lower strength of socio-economic development indicators even among developing countries. Still the reports of under nourishment, hunger and poverty rings the bell. However, the importance of agriculture cannot be negated because it provides sustenance to mankind, food and employment to all. Considering the emerging challenges of climate change impacting agricultural productivity and increasing variability, poor investment in research, skill development of farmers, post-harvest losses etc. New strategies and innovations in agriculture, particularly on the development of climate resilient varieties with high productivity and better nutritive quality are called for, which has to be led by structural reforms and infrastructural augmentation.

Introduction

The natural economic movement of a country goes from agrarian economy which is the primary sector to an industrial economy (secondary sector) and then only to the tertiary sector i.e., service economy. But due to various socio-economic factors, India has jumped from an agrarian economy to a service economy in the past and had a low growth in secondary sector.

Though primary sector is vital, there is a natural limit on how much can be extracted from this. The country is witnessing a peak in food grains production (285.21 million tonnes) nonetheless rupees 92,000 crores worth food grains are wasted annually (MOFPI annual report 2018-19). Hence, with an increasing population, decreasing arable land (52.6%), irrigation water resources and with present level of climate change scenario, food processing should be considered as a need to enhance the profitability and sustainability of agriculture in the country (Swaminathan and Bhavani, 2013). Thus, effective post-harvest management is one of the strategies for envisaging an evergreen revolution along with increasing yields. A well-developed food processing industry increases farm gate prices reduce wastages, ensure value addition, promote crop diversification, generate employment opportunities as well as export earnings.

Abstract
 
Technological advancement, increased urbanization, awareness and interest of consumer for variety products have given a great challenge to the food sector to develop inexpensive foods that are nutritionally superior and acceptable to the intended consumers. Keeping this objective in view, we have made an attempt to develop technology for variety products from wheat and corn and suitability of available varieties judged. With the emerging trends of food market towards fast foods, there are vast prospects for efficient utilization of cereals by exploring varieties products. A steamed bread (a Chinese traditional product) and Tortilla and corn chips (Mexican snacks) were developed. Steamed bread is defined as the product resulting from cooking or steaming fermented dough. Recipe and method for its preparation was standardized. Nutritionally rich steamed bread can be prepared by supplementing 10% level of chickpea and defatted soybean flour. Corn snacks have become a prime target of some consumer advocates and nutritionists who have referred them as a source of ‘empty calories’. But reality is that these snacks provide instant energy, as they are rich storehouse of nutrients. Process and recipe for the preparation of Tortilla and corn chips from Indian maize were standardized. The quality and acceptability of these snacks were worked out and found that these products were highly acceptable. Indian consumers have versatile taste, so these products will be readily accepted in Indian market. 

Data-centric artificial intelligence has transformed medical imaging, clinical prediction and electronic health-record analysis, but purely data-driven models face limitations involving generalization, bias, privacy and interpretability. This chapter examines the transition toward knowledge-aware and hybrid healthcare systems that combine machine learning with clinical knowledge, ontologies and knowledge graphs. It discusses explainable AI, clinical reasoning and the integration of structured knowledge into intelligent decision support. Applications include acute-care support, precision medicine, genomic oncology and population-health management. Ethical issues, regulatory compliance, fairness and privacy-preserving technologies are also considered. Future directions include quantum computing, large language models, multimodal integration and equity-focused healthcare-system development.

The most oxidizable form of nitrogen is nitrate nitrogen (NO3 -N), which is found in minimal amounts in surface waters but can reach considerable concentrations in some aquifers. An essential plant nutrient, nitrate also contributes to eutrophication in receiving water bodies.
Principle
Nitrate reacts with phenol disulphonic acid and produces a nitro-derivative which in alkaline solution develops yellow colour due to rearrangement of its structure. The yellow colour follows Beer’s law and is proportional to the concentration of nitrate present in the sample. Ultraviolet (UV) technique measures the absorbance of nitrate at 220 nm, which is suitable for screening uncontaminated water (low in organic matter). A second measurement made at 275 nm, may be used to correct the nitrate value (because 275 nm is not absorbed by nitrate, but absorbed by other matter). The nitrate calibration curve follows Beer’s law up to 11mg NO3 -N /L.
Reagents
1. Stock nitrate solution (1ml=100 µg NO3 -N): Dry potassium nitrate (KNO3) in an oven at 105 oC for 24 h. Take 360.9 mg potassium nitrate and dissolve in distilled water and dilute to 500 ml. Preserve it with adding 1 ml of chloroform in per 500 ml stock nitrate solution. This solution will stable for at least 6 months.
2. Intermediate nitrate solution (1 ml = 10µg NO3 -N): Take 100 ml of stock nitrate solution and dilute it to 1000 ml of distilled water. This solution can be preserve by adding 2 ml of chloroform per 1000 ml. This Intermediate nitrate solution will stable for at least 6 months.
3. Hydrochloric acid (HCL) solution, 1N: Take 83 ml of hydrochloric acid and dilute it to 1000 ml of distilled water

Nitrite (NO2-) is formed in waters by oxidation of ammonia compounds (by aerobic nitrifying bacteria, e.g. Nitrosomonas) or by reduction of nitrate (by facultative anaerobic denitrifying bacteria, e.g. Pseudomonas). Such oxidation and reduction may occur in wastewater treatment plants, water distribution system, and natural waters. As an intermediate stage in nitrogen cycle, it is unstable. Very high nitrite levels are usually associated with waters having unsatisfactory microbiological activity.
Principle (Colorimetric method)
When nitrite (NO2 -) as nitrous acid (HNO2) mixes with sulfanilamide in an acidic environment (pH 2-2.5), a diazonium salt is created. This salt then combines with N-(1-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine dihydrochloride (NED dihydrochloride) to make a vivid pinkish red azo-dye. The amount of nitrite in the sample directly correlates with the colour that is created. At 543 nm, the colour follows Beer’s law up to 180 µg/L with a 1 cm light path. By diluting a sample, a higher nitrite concentration can be determined. Sulfanilamide + HNO2 + HCl ? Diazonium salt + H2O.
Diazonium salt + NED-dihydrochloride ? Red colouredazo dye

12.1 Introduction-Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element which has the symbol N and atomic number 7. Elemental nitrogen is a colourless, odourless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.1% by volume of Earth’s atmosphere. Nitrogen is a constituent element of all living tissues and amino acids. Many industrial important compounds, such as ammonia, nitric acid, and cyanides are made up of nitrogen.

12.1.1 History

Nitrogen (Latin nitrogenium, where nitrum (from Greek nitron) means “native soda”and genes means “forming”) is formally considered to have been discovered by Daniel Rutherford in 1772, who called it noxious air or fixed air. That there is a fraction of air that did not support combustion is well known to the late 18th century.

Argon was discovered when it is noticed that nitrogen from air is not identical to nitrogen from chemical reactions. Compounds of nitrogen were known in the Middle Ages. The alchemists knew nitric acid as aqua fortis (strong water). The mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids is known as aqua regia (royal water), celebrated for its ability to dissolve gold (the king of metals). The earliest industrial and agricultural applications of nitrogen compounds involved uses in the form of saltpeter (sodium- or potassium nitrate), notably in gunpowder, and much later, as fertilizer, and later still, as a chemical feedstock.

Abstract

Ghee means the pure clarified fat derived solely from milk or curd or from desi (cooking) butter or from cream to which no coloring matter or preservative has been added. It is the second largest dairy product prepared from milk and it is almost 35% of total milk production. Unfortunately, the producers or the middle- men involved in the ghee trade, tend to adulterate ghee with cheaper oils and fats like vegetable oils, animal body fats, hydrogenated fats and sometimes even the non-edible mineral oils, especially during lean season to earn more money. Recently, the problem of adulteration has assumed a very serious dimension. Such a situation has tarnished the image of dairy industry. Methods presently adopted by food law enforcing agencies to ensure the quality of ghee are mainly based on the physico- chemical constants, but all these methods have some limitations. So researchers are always in search of different innovative methods to check the quality of ghee.

Abstract

Probiosis has emerged in the early 20^th century after Ellie Metchnikoff proposed his hypothesis that organisms were reponsible for longivity of ethnic people of Balkan region of Russia and ever since it has grow into a major scientific field which has its applications extending into farming, aquaculture and prophylactics in humans. Vast research was carried out on this topic and Lactobacillus sp. and Bifidobacterium sp, are the two important genus that are highly studied and widely recognized universally as conventional probiotics. Apart from these two genus there exists many other bacterial species which have shown promising probiotic potential. Such non conventional probiotics are widely used in some parts of world as commercial food products with health beneficial effects, pharmaceutical products or being tested for their safe utilization in human beings. The present chapter tries to covers some genera and their potential and application in prophylactics.

Objectives
• Understand what non-linguistic barriers to communication are and how they affect the communication process.
• Identify different types of non-linguistic barriers and provide examples of each.
• Recognize the impact of non-linguistic barriers on personal and professional communication.
• Learn strategies to overcome non-linguistic barriers to enhance effective communication.
• Develop skills to create a more inclusive and understanding communication environment.
Introduction to Non-Linguistic Barriers
Non-linguistic barriers to communication refer to obstacles that hinder the effective exchange of information and ideas but do not stem from language itself. These barriers can arise from a variety of sources, including emotional, physical, social, and environmental factors. Unlike linguistic barriers, which involve issues related to language, vocabulary, or grammar, non- linguistic barriers affect how messages are received and interpreted.

Non-thermal preservation technologies inhibit microorganisms and enzymes without relying primarily on high temperatures. They are designed to preserve freshness, colour, flavour, texture and heat-sensitive nutrients more effectively than conventional thermal treatments. These methods employ hydrostatic pressure, electrical energy, electromagnetic radiation, reactive species or mechanical forces to damage microbial cells and disrupt essential biological functions. The chapter examines high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, cold plasma, ultrasound, irradiation, pulsed light and edible coatings. It explains their operating principles, mechanisms, applications and nutritional implications. These technologies offer promising alternatives for producing safe, minimally processed foods, although equipment costs, process optimisation and industrial scalability remain important considerations.

Abstract

The research work was conducted on the moisture dependent physical properties of kidney bean (White speckled kidney beans) were analyzed. Length, width, thickness varied between 1.53-1.90, 0.79-0.94, 0.58-0.76 cm for kidney beans, respectively. Arithmetic mean diameter and geometric mean diameter were 0.96-1.19 and 0.88-1.11 cm₂, respectively. Volume, Sphericity and surface area ranged between 0.44 -0.87 cm₃, 0.57-0.60 and 2.91-4.68 cm₂ for white speckled kidney beans, respectively. The kidney bean was soaked in normal water with initial moisture content 14.22 % (db) upto 270 min and attained the final moisture upto 83.23 % (ab).

Introduction

With growing concern about climate change, environmental sustainability, soil health and food safety, conservation agriculture, organic agriculture and protected cultivation are emerging production systems being popular in India. The changing farm practices in these production systems invite many biotic stresses and demand novel approaches for their sustainable management for profitable farming. The dynamics of biotic stresses vary from system to system; therefore they require system specific approaches for sustainable management. The different agronomic/ plant protection measures practiced in above mentioned emerging systems are listed in Table 1. Protected cultivation is meant for the high value crops are grown, the management of biotic stresses is the foremost important to minimize losses. Organic farming demands more preventive measures for sustainable control of biotic stresses rather than curative measures because of complete restriction on use of harmful chemical pesticides. Conservation agriculture demands more of ecofriendly measures for biotic stress management with minimal use of pesticides. In this chapter, we discussed novel approaches for biotic stress management in emerging production systems.

The possibility of making genetic changes in the laboratory in plants, animals and microbes used in food started almost 10,000 years ago. Along with natural changes taken place during the evolution totally different species have come into existence. This has helped in increased food production with better taste and nutrition. The losses caused by biotic and abiotic stresses from fungi and bacterial pathogens have reduced.

7.1. Developing Sector in Scientific and Technological Approach of Waste Management

From the very past, many traditional practices have been put into use for waste management like landfilling, composting, and recycling, which are practiced even today. However, the boundless upsurging waste compels the modern world to modify the traditional methods or to introduce innovative techniques with the grace of technology

Abstract

Groundwater flow modeling in hydrological sciences is one of the main tools used to assess the resource potential in terms of quantity and to predict the future impacts under different stresses/scenarios. This case study is prepared to present the  groundwater flow model for the Osian-Mandore pilot area with 12 villages of Mandore Block and 21 village of Osian Block in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. The spatial model parameters and spatio-temporal fluxes were acquired and processed using remote sensing, GIS and Groundwater flow modeling interfaces. MODFLOW software was used to model the groundwater flow system in three interfaces PMWIN 5.3.0, Groundwater Modeling System and Visual MODFLOW. 

Aim

To study the numerical problems on grain moisture content and equilibrium moisture content.

Problem 1

Five hundred kilograms of paddy at 22% moisture content (wb) is dried to 14% moisture content (wb) for milling. Calculate the amount of moisture removed in drying.