eChapters

Aim

Phytosynthesis of silver (Ag) nanoparticles using Cassia roxburghii aqueous leaf extract.

Introduction

The Ag nanoparticles constantly exhibit adverse effects on microbes such as inhibition and inactivation (Nasrollahi et al., 2011). The Ag nanoparticles synthesized by using various biological sources such as herbs, plants and biological organisms display excellent properties in various fields i.e., non-linear optics and intercalation materials for electrical batteries as optical receptors, catalysts in chemical reactions biolabelling and as antibacterials (Sanghi and Verma, 2009).

Plant diseases caused by variety of pathogens pose a serious challenge and economic threats to various agricultural crops all around the world. It has been evidenced that despite wide use of chemical pesticides in crop production, the losses due to pests and diseases are significant. Phytonematodes are one of the major groups of organisms that live in diverse habitat and continue to challenge variety of agricultural crops all around the world. Since early times the major agricultural crops have been plagued by these noxious nematodes that feed on various plant parts viz. roots, rhizome, sucker, tubers, seedlings, stem, leaves, buds, crowns and cause damage worth more than 100 billion dollars annually. The major crops severely affected by these pests are, vegetables, fruits, sugarcane, sugar beet, cotton, oil seed, pulses, tobacco, tea, coffee, cereals, spices, medicinal and aromatic plants.

Introduction

India has the distinction of being the largest producer of pulses in the world. Among the important pulse crops cultivated in the country are: chickpea, pigeonpea, lentil, mungbean, urdbean, fieldpea, rajmash and lathyrus. The pulse crops occupied an area of 22.85 million ha with a total production of 13.07 million tones and average productivity of 572 kg/ha. Being a high protein grain, pulses have special status in the diet, particularly for vegetarian population. Apart from being a good source of protein, they are also good source of energy, essential amino acids and vitamins in the daily diets of the people, especially of low-income group. Pulses have importance in sustainable agriculture by way of fixing atmospheric nitrogen in the soil.But with intensification of agriculture and introduction of irrigation and other facilities the area and production under pulses is declining so much so that per caput availability of pulses has declined from 69 g day-1 to about  36 g day^-1.

Introduction

Rice (Oryza sativa L.), one of the most important cereal crops of India, occupies 23.3 per cent of total cropped area of the country. Rice contributes 43 per cent of total food grain production and 46 per cent of total cereal production. It continues to play a vital role in the nation’s food grain supply. It is also a staple food of nearly half of the world population. Rice is primarily a high caloric food having protein content (6-17%) with high biological value and a low amount of fat (2-2.5%). B-group vitamins content in rice grains are at par with wheat, however, calcium content in rice is generally low. It ranks third after wheat and maize in terms of worldwide production. Asia accounts for 90 and 92% of the world’s rice area and production, respectively. Thus, rice production, consumption and trade are concentrated in Asia. Among the rice growing countries in the world, India has the largest areas under rice crop and ranks second in production next to China.

Introduction

Banana is the forth ranked agricultural crop in the world and first among fruits. A large number of pests and diseases threaten banana production. The major constraints in production are diseases and pests transmitted through the conventional planting materials. Although the average yield for bananas worldwide is over 40 t per hectare, production in India averages only 20 t per hectare. The nematode parasites are among the most important pests on commercial and subsistence banana production and their control remains difficult, as the nematodes are involved in the destruction of primary roots that disrupt the anchorage system resulting in toppling or uprooting of plants. The most widespread and important are burrowing nematode, Radopholus similes, some species of root lesion nematode, Pratylenchus coffeae and P. goodeyi, species of root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica; the spiral nematode, Helicotylenchus multicinctus, H. mucronatus and semi endo-parasitic nematode Rotytlenchus reniformis.

Pulses are seeds of leguminous plants used as food. They produce dal rich in protein. The important pulse crops are greengram, blackgram, redgram, bengal gram, soybean, cowpea, peas, lentil and lathyrus. The total area under pulses in India is 29.81 m ha with a production of 25.42 m t and the productivity is 853 kg / ha. Pulses can grow both in rainfed and irrigated conditions.

Of the total global pigeonpea production, over 90 percent of this is grown in India. The major pigeonpea growing states are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, contributing to 88.2% of the total pigeonpea basket and the same holds goodover the years. Over the decades, whatever little increase in production level was observed i.e. from 1.75 mt (19701975) to 2.75 mt (20052009), it is neither uniform nor steady. It is mainly through the expansion of area from 2.52 mha to a level of 3.58 mha ( 20052009 ) without significant change in productivity which ( 1970 1975) has remained almost stagnant around 700 kg/ha (Table 1) and is a matter of real concern (Srivastava, 1993).The gross geographical shifting of area ( 467 th. ha) took place mainly from traditional areas (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) to new and less productive areas (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa) with a netgainof area 837 th. ha in Central zoneandSouthzone includingexpandedadditional area (Table 23).

Laboratory pipettes are classified by their method of liquid transfer. There are two types of pipette one is plastic which is made up of polystyrene and are essentially disposable and second one is glass pipettes are very resistant to chemicals. Glass pipette can be used frequently by washing, sterilising and dry heat sterilisation is also available. Some of the common types of pipettes are using in laboratory such as serological, volumetric, micropipettes, multichannel, and Pasteur pipettes. Serological and graduated pipettes are used for transferring various volumes, while micropipettes and volumetric types of pipettes are only considered for precise measurement and transfer. Multichannel pipettes are used for dispensing into multiple wells, and Pasteur pipettes are simple for transferring small amounts.
1. Serological Pipettes
• Also known as graduated pipettes, made of glass or transparent polystyrene they are calibrated with markings to measure and dispense varying volumes.
• Appropriate for cell culture applications, transferring liquids and mixing.
2. Multichannel Pipettes
• It is design to transfer multiple samples at once, often used for 96 well plates or pcr tubes.
• It can be manual or automated, with multiple heads for faster dispensing.
3. Volumetric Pipettes
• It is designed to supply for single and particular volume of liquid.
• Marked by single graduation for an exact volume, such as 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 mL.
• Used in chemical reactions and analysis where accuracy is crucial.

Today the world is facing a variety of interrelated problems such as food production, energy use, pollution, unemployment and urbanization, mainly because the developmental strategies contravene the basic philosophy of ecology. The world ecosystem is becoming increasingly more unstable through an ever growing dependence on finite resources of fossil fuels. Food production system in developed countries, both terrestrial agriculture and fisheries are energy intensive and are thus, not entirely suitable for developing countries. An alternative strategy to an increasing reliance on fossil for agriculture development should depend on locally available sources of renewable energy and resources. A significant effect could be made through recycling organic wastes into fish. Organic wastes can be recycled in ecologically sound pond based systems fueled by solar energy. The reuse of wastes would safeguard the environment from pollution and lead to a reduction in diseases of insanitation. Recycling of animal wastes is the cheapest way of protein production by reducing cost of production. Fish farming in Europe, Israel and USA is energy intensive, since more farmers use commercially prepared feed formulations which resulted in cost to feed often exceeding 50% of the total operating costs.

In recycling of waste through fish culture, fish is considered to have a great potential to change raw protein into high energetic edible protein. The rationale behind raising fish on organic manure is that about 72.98% of the nitrogen, 62.87% of phosphorus and 82.92% of potassium in the feed rations fed to animals are recovered in their excreta. In most of the world, cereals and legumes account for most of the proteins and calories consumed, but fish produced cheaply by recycling wastes would provide a low energy way to produce an animal product and diversify the diet. Fish, being the cheap source of animal protein is now widely accepted to meet the persistent and widespread malnutrition in developing countries.

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector in the world with annual growth in excess of 10% over the last two decades. Much of this development has occurred in Asia, which also has the greatest variety of cultured species and systems. Asia is also perceived as the ‘home’ of aquaculture, as aquaculture has a long history in several regions and knowledge of traditional systems and is most widespread.

Introduction

A planer machine is a commercial machine tool hired for transforming the metal blocks or metal workpiece into the desired calculated shapes by generating the flat surfaces on a workpiece. Similar to a shaper machine, a planer machine is used for forming flat surfaces on the work piece using the single-point cutting tool.Planer machines are generally hired for operation on the larger workpiece or metal structure (blocks) that cannot be achieved by the shaper machine. They generally have larger beds and larger reciprocating movements covering a greater working length and surface area as compared to shaper machines.

The growth and productivity of crops depend on various factors, with the nutrient content of plant parts like leaves and stems playing a crucial role. These parts are often used as indicators to assess the nutrient status of plants. Each crop requires essential elements at specific concentrations during different growth stages, known as ‘critical levels’. When the nutrient content falls below these critical levels, plants may display symptoms of deficiency.

Nutrient requirements and availability can be evaluated through: i) plant diagnosis, ii) soil analysis, and iii) plant analysis using qualitative or quantitative methods. By conducting these tests, necessary nutrients can be identified and applied to crops to sustain growth and correct deficiencies. While rapid tissue tests offer quick solutions for nutritional problems, quantitative estimation of both plant and soil nutrient concentrations is more economical and provides a long-term strategy for managing nutritional issues. Implementing quantitative estimation allows for informed application of fertilizers, whether as basal or foliar, thus addressing deficiencies effectively and ensuring sustainable crop growth.

This chapter introduces plant analysis as a means of determining crop nutrient status and diagnosing nutritional deficiencies. It explains the selection of representative plant tissues at suitable stages of growth, followed by washing, drying, grinding, digestion and elemental estimation. Recommended tissues and sampling stages are provided for cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fibre crops, vegetables, ornamentals and fruit crops. Procedures are included for estimating nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, boron, zinc, iron, copper and manganese in plant samples. The chapter stresses that reliable interpretation depends on correct tissue selection, careful sampling and freedom from contamination. It thereby connects laboratory measurements with crop nutrition and fertilizer management.

4.1 Sampling and Preparation for Analysis

The determination of nutritional need of crops is an important aspect of nutrient management of any plant analysis programme. The need of fruit plants for mineral nutrients differ from those of annual crop species in a number of ways, many of which are related to the perennial nature of tree crops. In perennial tree crops, there is a need to supply nutrients both for ultimate fruit production, the fruits and the vegetative organs, which persist from year to year. The need for leaf analysis in perennial horticultural crops and forest trees has proved its superiority over soil diagnostic methods. This is essentially because of their deeper root system and the fact that nutrients supplied in one year may have its effect on both the nutrition and crop production in following years. However, it is largely being used not as an alternative method to soil testing, but as a supplement to soil testing. Results of foliar analysis are usually interpreted using the critical nutrient level (CNL) approach. Accurate interpretation of foliar analysis using the CNL approach is possible only when sampling is restricted to the same growth stage at which standard reference values have been established (Beaufils, 1971, 1973). The general purposes of plant analyses are:

Accumulation of nutrient elements in plant tissues indicates the accessibility of the concerned elements from the soil to the plant. Although different plant species and even different varieties of the same species may vary in their nutrient requirements, composition of a part or of the whole plant may well be adopted as a guideline to support the soil-test results for factual assessment of soil’s nutrient supplying power.

Different diagnostic tools are designed to avert nutrient deficiency or sufficiency and if properly used both loss of yield and quality of crop can be minimized. Among several diagnostic tools, nutrient analysis of standing crop seems to be an efficient method in arriving at the need-based fertilizer scheduling for various crops.

Nutrient uptake by plants indicates the actual accessibility of nutrients in soil to the plants. Also, concentration of certain heavy metals in plant indicates their solubility in soil which leads to poor crop quality.Although, different plant species and even different varieties of same species may differ in their nutrient requirements, the concentration of nutrient element in plant can act as guide to support the soil test result in assessing nutrient supplying capacity of a soil and as a tool for correcting any deficiency if carried out early enough to prevent yield loss. However, analysis of harvested or mature crop is like a post mortem as this information only can help in nutrient management planning in subsequent years.

Like soil testingplant analysis also suffers from some limitations. Amongthem, the most important are the risk of sampling error as well as the chances of incorrect interpretation of test report in recommending fertilizers. Selection of right plant part and right stage of crop growth are very crucial for successful plant analysis.

Introduction
Plant breeding and genetics are at the forefront of agricultural innovation, playing a crucial role in enhancing crop traits to meet the ever-growing demands for food, fiber, and fuel. This chapter delves into the scientific principles, methods, and modern advancements in plant breeding and genetics, providing a comprehensive understanding of how these disciplines contribute to global food security and environmental sustainability. The chapter begins by exploring the fundamental principles of plant breeding, including heredity, genetic variation, selection, and hybridization. These concepts form the foundation for developing new plant varieties that exhibit desirable traits such as improved yield, disease resistance, and environmental adaptability. The importance of genetic variation is emphasized as a key driver of plant improvement, with discussions on the sources of genetic variation, the role of germplasm resources, and the impact of genetic diversity on plant adaptation. As the chapter progresses, various breeding techniques and strategies are examined, including mass selection, pedigree breeding, backcrossing, and markerassisted breeding. These methods are crucial for developing new plant varieties that can withstand the challenges posed by climate change, pests, and diseases. The chapter also addresses the role of genomics in plant breeding, highlighting the significance of genomic selection, gene editing, and bioinformatics in accelerating the breeding process and enhancing crop traits. The chapter further explores the controversial topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), discussing the principles of genetic engineering, the rise of genetically modified crops, and the associated controversies and concerns. The importance of GMOs in addressing global food security and environmental challenges is also discussed, providing a balanced perspective on their potential benefits and risks. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the critical role of plant breeding and genetics in ensuring food security and combating global warming. By developing climate-resilient crop varieties, improving water efficiency, and enhancing disease and pest resistance, plant breeding and genetics can contribute to sustainable agricultural practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve natural resources