eChapters

Pan Coefficient (Kp) : It is the ratio between reference evapotranspiration (ET_o ) and water loss by evaporation from an open water surface of a pan (E_pan ).
    K_p = ET_o / E_pan

Peat soil : An organic soil containing more than 50 per cent organic matter.

Pan Evaporation : is the value of evaporation from an open pan evaporimeter (usually from standard USWB, class ‘A’ pan evaporimeter) during a day or specified period at a place.

Parcel : A volume of air small enough to contain uniform distribution of its meteorological properties and large enough to remain relatively self-contained and respond to all meteorological processes.

Oasis effect : Vertical energy transfer from the air to the crop. It is the exchange of heat between a growing crop and hot air whereby air over the crop is cooled.
 
Observation : In meteorology, the evaluation of one or more meteorological elements, such as temperature, pressure, or wind, that describe the state of the atmosphere, either at the earth’s surface or aloft. An observer is one who records the evaluations of the meteorological elements.
 
Occluded Front : Also known as an occlusion, it is a complex front formed when a cold front overtakes a warm front. It develops when three thermally different air masses conflict. The type of frontal boundary they create depends on the manner in which they meet.

Nanometre : The unit of length specifically applied to wavelengths of radiation. This is equal to ten Angstrom units or 10-9 meters.

Net Assimilation Rate (NAR) : It is increase in dry weight of plant per unit leaf area per unit time. NAR is calculated from the following equation : 

Macroclimate : It deals with the study of atmosphere over large areas of the earth and with the large scale atmospheric motions that cause weather. It helps in forecasting weather. OR Climate of a continent or over the complete globe.
 
Macrometeorology : A branch of meteorology concerned with the study of large scale meteorological phenomena over a continent or the entire globe.

Macroscale : The meteorological scale covering an area ranging from the size of a continent to the entire globe.
 
Marine climate : Almost similar and on many occasions used as a synonym to maritime climate. The climate is basically influenced by adjacent seas and oceans.
 
Maritime Climate : The climate experienced in areas and regions near the oceans and seas. It is characterised by hot dry summers and mild wet winters. The diurnal variations of temperature are small and air is with high relative humidity.

Lake Effect : The effect of any lake in modifying the weather and climate along its shore and inland which depends on the size of the lake. In some areas such as the North American Great Lakes, lake effect refers to snowfall generated by the lake on the downwind shore.

Lake Effect Snowfall : Snowfalls along the lee shore of a lake or downwind some distance from the shore caused by the modification of cold, subfreezing air by the relatively warmer lake water. The intensity of the lake-effect snowfall depends upon several factors : the temperature contrast between the lake surface and the air passing over it, the over-water distance the air has traversed (the fetch), and the regional weather situation. 

Katabatic Wind : Downslope gravitational flow of the colder, denser air beneath the warmer, lighter air results and comprises the katabatic wind. It is also known as the drainage wind or mountain wind.

Kelvin Temperature Scale : An absolute temperature scale in which the zero point is absolute zero. The scale is based upon the triple point of pure water and the size of the degree is same as on the celsius scale. So the 273.16 K = 0°C. That means the freezing point of water is 273.16 K and boiling point of water is 373.16 K, etc. This is more commonly called as the absolute.

January Thaw : A period of mild weather, usually following a cold spell, which often occurs in late January in the eastern regions of North America, particularly around the Great Lakes region, New England and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. The thaw is associated with a strong flow of warm air northward from the Gulf of Mexico on southerly winds on the back of a high pressure system.

Jet Stream : A relatively narrow band of high-speed winds, generally greater than 50 knots (57 mph or 93 kmph), found in the upper troposphere above regions of strong horizontal temperature contrasts such as fronts. The major jet streams are the subtropical jet and the polar jet stream.

Joule : The unit of work or energy. In mechanical systems, this is the work done when a force of one Newton displaces the point of application by a distance of one metre in the direction of force. In electrical systems, a joule is the equivalent of moving one coulomb through a potential difference of one volt. One joule is equal to one watt per second

Ice Caps : A perennial ice/snow cover over an extensive area of land or sea, found only around the two geographic poles.

Ice Columns : Ice crystals resembling stubby pencils rather than the delicate branched snowflake shape. Columns typically form in the temperature ranges -5° C to -8° C (23° F to 18° F) and below -25° C ( -13° F). They are long in comparison to their hexagonal cross-section.

Ice Crystals : 1) Hexagonal (6-sided) crystals that form upon freezing of water, may be in one of several shapes : stars, needles, plates, columns or combinations of these forms. 2) Precipitation in the form of slowly falling, singular or unbranched ice needles, columns, or plates, may be called diamond dust.

Ice Fog : Fog composed of minute ice particles that occur in very low temperatures (typically - 30°C or - 22°F & below) under clear, calm conditions in the polar latitudes. 

Haboob : Sudanese name for duststorm or sandstorm with strong winds that carry small particles of dirt or sand into the air, particularly severe in areas of drought.
 
Habitat : A place where a plant or a community of plants or a crop is existing.

Hadley Cell : A mean thermally driven atmospheric circulation in which warm air rises and flows away from the equator at upper level and descends at the tropics. Wind moves from the tropics back to equator poleward. In many cases this term is also referred to as ‘Hadley circulation’.

Hail : Solid precipitation in the form of balls or pieces if ice (hailstones) with diameter ranging from 5 mm to 50 mm or even more. 
Hailstorm : A storm, often too long and severe, consisting largely of hail or frozen rain drops ranging in diameter from 5 mm to 10 mm or more. 

Gale : Wind of force 8 or above blowing continuously and damaging trees, houses etc.

General Circulation : The average general distribution of wind in motion on the Earth. This general circulation includes the scientific description of atmospheric dynamics not only statistically but also from the point of view of physics. The global wind systems like westerlies, trades, etc., are the examples of general circulation.

General Circulation Model : At present, there are different models in vogue, to explain the general circulation of the atmosphere. If the general circulation is modelled in a three dimensional procedure, then it is known as a general circulation model.

Geopotential : The potential energy per unit mass of a body due to the earth’s gravitational field referred to an arbitrary zero.

Fahrenheit Temperature Scale : A temperature scale having freezing point of water as 32 degrees and the boiling point equal to 212 degrees at standard atmospheric pressure. 
    Degree F = (Degree C x 1.8) + 32
    Degree C = (Degree F - 32)/1.8

Fair Weather : Fine sky. Appearance of cirrus or cumulus cover is in fair amount but not covering the sky totally.

Fetch : The distance over which a wind of nearly constant direction has blown, usually over a consistent surface such as water or a forest or a field. Most often the fetch is applied to a distance over water and used to determine the height of wind-generated waves.
 
Fine Weather : A blue and cloudless sky. Even if a few cirrus clouds are noticed, they do not express any vertical development.

Earthquake : A sudden, transient motion or trembling of the earth’s crust, resulting from the waves in the earth caused by faulting of the rocks or by volcanic activity.
    
Easterlies : Usually applied to the broad patterns of persistent winds with an easterly component, such as the easterly trade winds.

Easterly Wave : A wave like disturbance, of the tropospheric easterlies of low latitude. These are synoptic scale and occur in the region of intertropical convergence zone.

Ecoclimate : Climate under crop canopy is called eco-climate. 

Edaphic : A term pertaining to the influence or relationship of soil or other similar media to plant growth in contrast to atmospheric influences. 

Daily Maximum Temperature : As per the IMD guidelines, the maximum temperature recorded in a 24 hour period at any given place or location.

Daily Mean Temperature : The average of the values observed during a day (at any regular intervals or maximum and minimum) of temperature.

Daily Minimum Temperature : As per the IMD guidelines, the minimum temperature recorded in a 24 hour period at any given place or location.

Daily Range of Temperature : The range of temperature (between maximum and minimum) recorded as per IMD guidelines in 24 hour period.

C3 Plant : A plant in which the first product of CO₂ fixation is the 3-carbon compound; phosphoglyceric acid and is comparatively photosynthetically less efficient than C4 plants e.g. wheat, rice, barley etc. 
C4 Plant : A plant in which the first product of CO₂ fixation is the 4-carbon compound oxalo acetic acid (OAA) and is photosynthetically more efficient than C3 plants e.g. sugarcane, maize etc.
Calibration : Calibration with respect to models refers to the adjustments made to model parameters so as to give the most accurate comparison between simulated results and results obtained from field measurements. 
Calm : Absence of appreciable wind : On the Beaufort Scale of wind force calm is accorded the figure 0 and has a wind speed equivalent or less than 1 knot.

Back-Door Cold Front : A front moving south or southwest along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States.

Backing : A change in wind direction in a counterclockwise manner in the Northern Hemisphere and a clockwise manner in the Southern Hemisphere.
 
Ball Lightning : A rare form of lightning that may consist of a reddish, luminous ball of electricity or charged air.
 
Banner Cloud : A cloud extending downwind from an isolated mountain peak, often on an otherwise cloud-free day.
 
Bar : A unit of pressure, (usually the atmospheric pressure on) one is equivalent to a pressure of one million dynes per centimeter square one hundred kilopascals; 29.53 inches or 750 millimeters of mercury at zero degree Celsius.

Abiotic Factors : These are physical, chemical and other non-living components of the environment such as light, temperature, moisture, nutrients and other edaphic factors.
 
Absolute Drought : It is defined as a period of consecutive days none of which had rainfall of 2.5 mm or more OR when actual rainfall is less than twice the mean deviation OR actual rainfall is less than half the normal weekly rainfall.
 
Absolute Growth Rate : The rate of increase in size of a growing plant (or part of it) in a given time under specific growing conditions.

Absolute Humidity : Absolute humidity is defined as the actual mass of water vapour present in the given volume of air. It is measured in grams per cubic meter or in terms of partial pressure of water vapour in air in mb or mm.

Abstract

Human Resource Management (HRM) is an essential function of every organization. Information Technology (IT) application has made such ‘human resource management’ function easy, to a great extent. Now a day, IT has been used widely across the organizations to perform different functions like, Recruitment, training, maintenance and development etc. Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is one of the latest contributions of IT to the area of human resource management, which is going to revolutionise management in 21st Century. Technology has brought changes in the existing working styles of organisations. By the introduction of HRIS, it enhances the efficiency of the organisation by changing the traditional way of working. In Human Resource Information Systems, many organizations use employee data in traditional ways. These can create conflict with the rights and interests of employees, with external stakeholders, and with society at large. The present paper discusses such issues. Other soft issues like, challenges and possible solutions are also discussed.

Abstract

Training is essential but expensive. Hence, training impact is a crucial measure. National Agricultural Research System (NARS), India employs about 30000 scientists. To effectively manage such huge scientific-capital, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) establishedCentres for Advanced Faculty Training (CAFT) and National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM). CAFT train faculty of State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), while NAARM trains scientists of ICAR institutes and SAUs. Assessing impact of these training programmes becomes essential. Application of knowledge, skills and attitude (KSA) acquired during training back at job environment is training-transfer that addresses learning, behaviour and results levels of training impact. This chapter critically analyses training-transfer of NAARM and CAFT programmes, suggests empirical framework to enhance impact of NAARM and CAFT programmes and thus contributes to literature. Policy strategies suggested in this paper hold wider applicability.

Introduction

Training is the crucial and expensive component of HRD, intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of performance of the members of organization through planned learning efforts, transfer of such learning at work place and in turn improvement of the organizational performance. Given such objectives, most of the training programmes fail to inculcate the transfer component in trainees (Subedi 2004). Hence, there is an increasing concern over training transfer at work place and the resultant improved organizational performance in terms of productivity, efficiency, effectiveness and turn over etc (Howard 1995, Huselid 1995, Martocchio and Baldwin 1997 and Salas et al.. 2000, Thayer1997).

Improving the skill set of individuals is an important agenda of any development organization. The individuals may be anyone in the system who is directly or indirectly connected to the system.  Agriculture System is a complex and multi-stakeholder system with farmers as the axis of the wheel with other stakeholders’ forms part of spokes of the wheel. The scope for capacity building or training of every stakeholder has been peaking tremendously given the ever changing nature of the profession. The public and private training Institutions are vying with each other for conducting trainings in order to sustain the existence of the Institutions. Though a few institutions are really trying hard to take the technologies in real terms to the farming community, the following observations are very difficult to be masked.

1. Introduction

With the advent of globalization and subsequent economic liberalization, the focus of Indian agriculture is shifting from “subsistence” to “commercial” mode, where farming is viewed as a “business” rather than “life-support” system of poor farmers. Enabling farmers “decision-making” capacity is a primary driver of success in the market-oriented agriculture. This “commercial focus” has brought tremendous changes in the “nature” and “mode” of extension work. On the other hand, extension work organizations in developing countries like India, are being impacted by sharp decline in public sector funding, rapid technological innovations especially in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and the shift to a knowledge-based workforce. These developments created new opportunities for the extension workers to perform the information dissemination, capacity building and technology application more effectively. 

Agricultural colleges and universities were first formed in the belief that farm production could be increased as a result of the systematic application of current technology and agricultural research findings. The mission of these early educational institutions was to scientifically study agriculture with the participation of the farming community; to carry the results to a broad range of farmers who could use them; and to train farmers, extension workers, agricultural teachers and researchers so that agricultural production could continue to be increased on a sustained basis. In many of the developing countries, agricultural education and training have failed to adapt and respond to the realities of rural societies. In response to the urgent need to review and adjust teaching and training in agriculture at all levels. The training is an important tool to overcome the problem faced by the rural people all over the world. The availability of the resource is the crucial determining factors to strengthen the training Programme for the needy people.

In India’s National Extension Programme, professional workers constitute the link between the people and the institute created to advance economic and social change upon the character philosophy, technical knowledge and compliance of these workers largely rests for the success of the programme. Hence the quality of these workers and their training is the important element to be dealt with properly and guided wisely.

In early fifties, the Gramsevak / Village Level Workers (VLW’s) served as a key-man in Community Development Programme and therefore, the Government of India aimed at imparting him by better training and supervisory assistance. As a step in this direction, Gramsevak Training Centers were started to impart training to GramSevaks / VLW’s and Extension Officers were appointed in block for better supervisory assistance.

Training helps people to become qualified and proficient in doing some jobs (Dahama, 1979). Usually an organization facilitates the employees’ learning through training so that their modified behaviour contributes to the attainment of the organization’s goals and objectives.
 
Training needs refer to the gaps between desired and expected levels of performance. Needs may be numerous. Besides they also need group, affection, recognition and fulfilment of their talents.

Training need may be defined as difference between existing and desired performance of person(s). In other words it is a gap between job requirement and job performance. That means it is gap between the existing and desired level of competency. Thus, the attitude, knowledge and skills of a person are lower than desired if the gap is significant there is a need for training.

Introduction

Today we are part of a highly complex and dynamic society. The complexity and dynamism are primarily due to the chain of changes induced by the scientific and industrial developments. The impetus provided by the information explosion coupled with scientific and technological developments to human life has triggered several unimaginable developments in the number, structure and functions of formal organizations. Realization of the supremacy of human mind over the tangible and exhaustible organizational resources like money, material and machine has led to the concept of ‘human capital’, which is now being considered as the most critical organizational resource to ensure organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Analogously huge investments are going in towards servicing and developing this critical resource of human capital in organizations. In this context, the concepts of human resource development (HRD) and training assume greater significance. In fact, training has been considered as a potential tool for HRD since ages. However, as a distinct profession, and also as a critical management tool, training is still in its early years. At the same time, there have been significant changes in the way training is conceived, understood and practiced.

Mizoram in North East India, is located between 21º58’ to 23º35’ N latitude and 92º15’ to 93º29’ E longitude, surrounded by Tripura, Assam and Manipur in North frontier regions; Bangladesh in west; and Mayanmar in east and south. The undulated topography of Mizoram, known as Lushai hills during British period, has varied altitudes ranging from 21 to 2157 m above mean sea level, annual rainfall of 2000-3200 mm, and mean monthly temperature of summer (monsoon) ranges from 14.6ºC to 29.6ºC. Besides having good rainfall; the vegetable production, including leaf vegetables, during winter period is limited by acute soil moisture stress caused by high rate of evapo-transpiration, almost no rain from November-March, non-availability of irrigation water and low water holding capacity of the sloppy land (Singh et al., 2011; Singh et al., 2013b).

The edible speciality mushrooms are mushrooms that are generally not grown and available commonly in the market. Any mushroom other than popularly grown white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) falls under the specialty category, and these mushrooms are generally not available over the counter or in departmental stores in India or other countries in the world. The mushrooms under this group include the different types of commonly grown Oyster mushrooms like grey, black, white, pink, yellow oyster mushrooms, King Oyster mushroom, Shiitake mushroom, Black Ear mushroom, Shimeji mushroom, Enokutake mushroom, Milky mushroom, the Portabella brown, Cremini mushroom , Straw mushrooms and others. This paper will describe in detail biology and cultivation of these mushrooms as grown under controlled environment conditions or under seasonal growing conditions, where ever possible.

Gingers  belong to Zingiberaceae family and are made up of about 1000 species in 47 genera. They have numerous members with aromatic oils that have made them popular for perfumes and ornamentals. Ornamental gingers, while related to edibles, are usually grown for their looks instead of their flavor. A very large and diverse group of gingers are valued both for their tropical foliage and for their large, colorful flower heads. From the startling red ginger to the subtle shell ginger, these attractive plants are easy to grow in home landscapes in tropical and semi-tropical areas. They are great for tub gardens They can be very rewarding to grow, and with some simple care will continue to produce beautiful leaves and flowers for many years which also have cut flower value.

Kale (Brassica oleracea L. convar. acephala (DC.) Alef.) is a representative of cole group of vegetables and cool-season cooking green somewhat similar to collard and non heading cabbage that has gained recent widespread attention due to its health-promoting, sulfur-containing phytonutrients. Kale is grown for its large foliage which is mainly used as leafy vegetable. This leafy vegetable is helpful in reducing the chances of cancer if taken regularly. Among the vegetable crops, kale is the richest source of carotenoids which is the precursor of vitamin-A. Besides, it also contains good amount of different minerals essential for human diet. There are several varieties of kale, all of which differ in taste, texture and appearance.

Dyes are one of the most important by products of the plants, as they are related with cultural practices, rituals, arts and crafts, fabrics and to satisfy personal embodiment. However, dye yielding plants have not received significant attention (Grover and Patni, 2011). Dye is a substance that has affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied such as textile fibers, foodstuffs and powder. They are organic coloured substances which absorb light in the visible part of the spectrum and have the property of colouring the substrate they are applied to.
 
Colourants which are obtained from plants and natural sources are known as natural dyes. Natural dyes have been traditionally used in most of the countries. These dyes were obtained from roots, leaves and bark (Akhtar et al., 2012). Natural dyes find use in the colouring of textiles, drugs, cosmetics, etc. Owing to their non-toxic effects, they are also used for colouring various food products. In India, there are more than 450 plants that can yield dyes (Siva, 2007).

Black caraway (Bunium persicum Boiss. Fedtsch ) commonly known as kala zeera is a low volume,  high value, under-exploited and  non-perishable crop that finds place  in cold arid  North -Western Himalayan regions of Indian sub-continent. Its fruits are expensive spice and are used in indigenous system of medicine for curing various ailments and disorders. The proper information on botanical identity of the species, its description and distribution, active ingredients, standardized agro-techniques, processing and value addition and marketing potentials, etc. are very scanty. An attempt has been made to gather information on various aspects of kala zeera to promote its cultivation in the cold arid regions of the Himalayan states and its role in improving the socio-economic conditions of the people by cultivating the cash crop.

Broad dhaniya (Eryngium foetidum L.: Umbelliferae - Apiaceae) is an underutilized leafy vegetable and aromatic plant used for seasoning food items and source of medicine. It is a shade loving plant of tropical regions.  It has got status of a promising cash crop with huge export potential particularly in United Kingdom, USA and Middle East markets. Its medicinal and seasoning properties are well known in various countries like Vietnam, India and in the Amazon region (De Gumao et al., 2002). Broad dhaniya is relatively unknown in many other parts of the world and is often mistaken and misnamed for its close relative Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.).

Dragon fruit, commonly known as pitaya/pitahya (Hylocereus sp.) is a  climbing perennial cacti belonging to the Cactaceae family and the subfamily Cactoidea of the tribe Cactea (Raveh et al., 1993). It is a perennial climbing cactus plant native to tropical areas of North, Central and South America. Main countries growing dragon fruit are Vietnam, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Thailand and Taiwan. Cultivation also occurs in Australia, Israel and Reunion Island. The European Union and Asia, especially China are the largest import markets of dragon fruits (Vinas et al., 2012).

Tropical root and tuber crops are the third important group of food crops after cereals and pulses. Tuber crops hold a premier position among food crops in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. These crops are rich in starch and calories and have great potential in meeting the food and energy needs.  More than 840 million people do not have enough food to meet their basic daily energy needs. Far more - an estimated 3 billion - suffer the insidious effects of micronutrient deficiencies leading to hidden hunger. Apart from its popular use as food, tubers also find an important space in cattle feed and agro industries sector.Tropical tuber crops possess high photosynthetic ability coupled with the capacity to yield under marginal lands, adverse biotic and abiotic stress etc (Ravindran et al., 2008).

The Indian Himalayan region is a well known abode to numerous plants of medicinal significance. The Western Himalayan ranges are home to a diverse flora of variety of endemic medicinal plants making it a biodiversity-rich region (Samant et al., 1998).  The ancient system of traditional medicines has been using these endemic medicinal plants since time immemorial. Of late the resurgence of herbal system of medication has led to an unprecedented rise in extraction of such plants from the wild for medical preparations. Most of the times the plant collection is unscientific and unthoughtful of ecological status of the medicinal plant, especially herbs. As a result, unplanned collection and other human interferences have brought a threat to survival of several important medicinal plants of the IHR an  example being  Brahmakamal.

The palmyrah palm exists both in the wild as well as in cultivation, ranging from sea level about 800 amsl. It is usually grown in seasonal tropical or subtropical climates on sandy soils. It is a very adaptable palm, however, growing well in dry areas and is quite drought resistant. It also grows in per-humid areas and survives water logging quite well. The worldwide distribution of natural and cultivated populations of the palmyrah shows that it occupies a band on either side of the equator and extends laterally over a considerable girth. The country wise distribution of the palms are Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Nigeria, Gaban, Congo, Sudan, Tanzania, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Lubeigt, 1977), Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia (Kovoor, 1983). In India, the palms are wide spread in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.  Isolated patches are also seen in Assam, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh (Anonymous, 1948). The palmyrah is considered as a slow grower and the growth rate decreases in regions of higher altitude (Tjitrosoepomo and Pudjoarinto, 1982).

Wild edible plants have played an important role in human life since time immemorial. People depend on the wild plant resources for various purposes like fire wood, timber, non-timber forest products, medicines and food (Pushpangadan, 1995). In many cases, rural communities depend on wild edible plants, to meet their food needs in periods of food shortage. Indian subcontinent is blessed with varied and diverse soil and climate conditions suitable for the growth of various plant species. It has been estimated that 9000 of the 15,000 higher plants occurring in India are commercially useful. Of these 7500 are medicinal, 3900 are edible, 700 are culturally important, 525 are used for fiber, 400 are fodder, 300 for pesticides and insecticides, 300 for gum, resin and dye and 100 for incense and perfume (Anonymous, 1992-1993).

Ever since the dawn of civilization, dependence on plants has been indispensable for human survival. Transformation from food gathering to settled agriculture necessitated domestication of plant species useful for mankind leading to co-evolution of plants and man in absolute harmony with nature. Natural disasters like famines, floods, epidemics have often led people to search new plant species for human consumption. Out of an estimated total of 80,000 plants of possible economic use, about 30,000 plants have been found to be edible in nature and approximately 7,000 plants have been cultivated by mankind at one time or the other, of which only 158 plants are widely used for food (Wilson, 1992). Among these, 30 crops provide 90% of the world’s food and only 10 crops supply 75% of the world’s food budget. Out of the above only three crops, rice, wheat and maize provide 60% of the world’s total food requirement (Paroda, 2000). This dangerously narrow level of food base may imperil the existence of mankind during a time of impending crisis in unforeseen times in the future.

Nowadays, revolutionary changes in entire globe have led to the economic, cultural and scientific development in our society and have augmented considerable changes in our food habits and life-style. Continuously growing population had noticeably increased the pressure on land, water and energy resources. All these resources are scarce and going to be exhausted in coming decades at the present rate of consumption. Undoubtedly, production of food is more imperative than the production of energy or any other bioproducts. Moreover, with the world population rising to 9 Billion in 2050, with many inspiring to a western life style and diet, this challenge should be addressed urgently (Draismaa et al., 2013). The challenge to produce about 70% more food by 2050 for a growing and increasingly affluent world population has motivated several review papers addressing the different dimensions of the food system and food security (Verburg et al., 2013). Presently, human beings consume approximately 2.5 billion tons of dry weight of harvested crops which include approximately 2.3 billion tons of cereals (e.g., rice, wheat, and corn kernels) and grass from managed pastures (Smil, 2000).

Halophytes are salt-resistant or salt-tolerant plants which thrive and complete their life cycles in terrestrial or aquatic habitats having high salt concentrations. Aronson (1989) compiled a partial list of halophytes containing 1560 species in 550 genera and 117 families. Menzel and Lieth (1999) listed as many as 2600 plants under salt tolerant flora. Although halophytes represent only 2% of terrestrial plant species, they are present in about half the higher plant families and represent a wide diversity of plant forms. Because of their diversity, halophytes are regarded as a rich source of potential new crops. Halophytes are tested as vegetables, fodder and oilseed crops under field trials. The oilseed halophyte, Salicornia bigelovii, yields 2 tones/ha of seed containing 28% oil and 31% protein, similar to soybean yield and seed quality.

1. Introduction
 
The bryophytes are found everywhere in the world except in the sea. They grow on wet soil or rock, the trunk of trees, in lake, river and even in Antarctic island. The bryophytes are placed taxonomically between algae (Fig. 1) and pteridophytes (Fig. 2); there are about 24,000 species in the world. They are further divided into three phyla, Bryophyta (mosses 14,000 species, Fig. 3), Marchantiophyta (liverworts 6,000 species, Fig.4a,b) and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts 300 species, Fig. 5). They are considered to be the oldest terrestrial plants, although no strong scientific evidence for this has appeared in the literature. This hypothesis was mainly based on the resemblance of the present-day liverworts to the first land plant fossils, the spores of which date back to almost 500 million years. Among the bryophytes almost all liverworts possess beautiful cellular oil bodies (Fig. 6) which are peculiar, membrane-bound cell organelles which consist of ethereal terpenoids and aromatic oils suspended in carbohydrates- or protein-rich matrix, while the other two phyla do not. These oil bodies are very important biological markers for the taxonomy in the Marchantiophyta (Asakawa, 1982, 1995; Asakawa et al., 1979b, 2008c, 2012b, 2013a,b; Asakawa and Ludwiczuk, 2008a,b; Ludwiczuk and Asakawa, 2010).

Climate change and variability are concerns of humankind. The recurrent drought and desertification threaten seriously the livelihood of over 1.2 billion people who depend on land for most of their needs. The global economy has adversely been influenced due to droughts and floods, cold and heat waves, forest fires, landslips and mudslips, icestorms, duststorms, hailstorms, thunder clouds associated with lightning and the sea level rise (Fig. 1). The year 1998 was the warmest and declared as the weather related disaster year, which caused hurricane havoc in Central America and floods in China, India and Bangladesh. Canada and New England in the U.S suffered heavily due to icestorm in January while Turkey, Argentina and Paraguay with floods in June 1998. In contrast, huge crop losses were noticed in Maharashtra (India) due to unseasonal and poor distribution of rainfall during 1997-98. The 1997/1998 El Nino event, the strongest of the last century affected 110 million people and costed the global economy nearly US$ 100 billion. A string of 16 consecutive months saw record high global mean temperature in 1997-98.

Abstract

The paper presents an approach of selecting suitable areas for artificial groundwater recharge structures through remote sensing and integrated terrain analysis by statistical method. The study area “Ayyar basin” is an aquifer system of gneisses and charnockite litho-units in Tiruchirappalli district, Tamil Nadu. The area has witnessed a steady decline in groundwater table. Hence, the scope for artificial groundwater recharge was studied in this area with the help of Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology (TNSCS&T).

Abstract

Water has become a scarce resource all over the World. Water resources of Earth can be classified as surface water and groundwater in which groundwater is the main source for the drinking, domestic and agriculture. The Pudukkottai district is one of the chronic drought prone areas in Tamil Nadu. But, at the same time, the district is pitted with over 5,400 tanks/water bodies widely distributed throughout in general and clustered more in Vellar delta in particular, as the interlobel depressions have provided basic depressions for the surface water to accumulate. However, these surface water bodies are heavily silted. In Pudukkottai district, there are three divergent aquifer systems, hard rock aquifer system in the western, sedimentary aquifer system constituted by the Tertiary Sandstone (Cuddalore Sandstone) in the central and Quaternary aquifer system constituted by fluvial, fluvio-marine and marine systems in the eastern parts of the district.

Abstract

The development index and the developmental planning of a Country/Nation mostly depend on its natural resources potential including water resources. The fast emerging Remote Sensing and GIS technology has substantially reduced the problems of water resources management including groundwater. The groundwater is distinctly controlled by western crystallines, central Tertiary sandstone and eastern Quaternary sediments in Pudukkottai district. While the groundwater behavior in crystallines is dominantly controlled by secondary porosity, in Tertiary formations and Quaternary sediments, it is controlled primarily by the primary porosity and by secondary porosities also if these are structurally deformed.

Abstract

It is evident from the previous studies that, in the crystalline terrain, the Fractures / lineaments act as master conduits for the groundwater movements and also act as favorable loci for groundwater storage. Because of this, the mapping of fracture patterns has become very popular among geoscientists. However, after witnessing failures and the fractures turned out to be water barren at many instances, geoscientists have started concentrating more on understanding the origin and the morphology of the fractures for precise groundwater targeting. In this context, a study has been conducted in parts of Western Ghats in Madurai, Dindigul and Theni districts of Tamil Nadu, South India, using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS). In the said study, the maxima zones of transmissivity were studied in relation to fractures systems, which are normally reflected as lineaments in satellite images in the area. This study in general indicates that the transmissivity is controlled by the fractures, which are interestingly the active faults of the Quaternary period in the area.

Abstract

The groundwater targeting in hard rock aquifer systems is complex, because of the heterogeneity of the aquifer systems. The ground water mobility and stability in such aquifer systems varies because of the lithology, folded structures, fracture density, geomorphology, slope etc., These occur in various permutations and combinations and control the overall water holding and conducting capacity in different parts of the aquifer systems. Hence, one needs to analyse all the data so as to understand and bring out precise spatial models on the groundwater probability in hard rock aquifer systems. In the present study, the authors have carried out GIS based appraisals to understand the relation between the lithology and groundwater movement in hard rock aquifer systems of parts of Central Tamil Nadu covering 1300 sq.km. In the said study, GIS images were generated on the maxima zones of various aquifer parameters such as water level, width of aquifer depletion, transmissivity, permeability, specific capacity, storage co-efficient, optimum yield and recovery rate. These were overlaid with the lithology GIS image. Such an analysis has shown that, in general, the fissile hornblende biotite gneiss appears to have some control over the groundwater systems.

Abstract

The groundwater behaviour in hard rock aquifer systems has always remained enigmatic owing to the heterogeneity of the aquifer systems. This is the reason why there are a lot of failures in groundwater targeting and management in hard rock aquifer systems even after the employment of many modern technologies. For precise groundwater targeting in hard rock aquifer systems various parameters like lithology, the type and the degree of structural deformation, the degree of weathering, geomorphology, etc., will have to be analysed which involves spatial analysis of voluminous data. In the sphere of spatial modelling, GIS plays an important role. Hence, a newer study has been carried out in parts of Madurai, Dindigul and Theni districts, Tamil Nadu, to identify the groundwater provinces and their functions using GIS. In the said study, GIS images were generated on the groundwater targets through GIS integration of transmissivity, permeability, storage co-efficient and water level. Such GIS image showing groundwater maxima was overlaid with GIS image of fracture maxima, subsurface geology maxima and the geomorphology maxima and thus by various GIS based spatial manipulations, aquifers controlled by structure, geomorphology, subsurface geology, and combinations of the above various variables were brought out. This has provided potential method for precise targeting of groundwater.

Abstract

Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) have emerged as potential tools for competent planning and administration of water resources. In this study, a new methodology is proposed to delineate groundwater target zones using integrated RS, GIS and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The developed methodology is confirmed by a case study in Karur district of Tamil Nadu, Southern India. Seven thematic layers, viz., Lithology, Lineament Density, Geomorphology, Slope, Post– Monsoon Water Level, Drainage Density and Land use / Land cover were considered in this study. Selected seven thematic layers and their features were assigned suitable weights on the Saaty’s scale according to their virtual significance in groundwater incidence. The assigned weights of the thematic layers and their features were then normalized by using AHP. Finally, the selected seven thematic maps were incorporated by weighted linear combination method in a GIS environment to produce a groundwater target map.

Abstract

As the available surface water is too inadequate to fulfill the man’s requirements he was forced to locate newer groundwater reservoirs on one side and to control the fast depleting water table on the other side. As the ancient techniques have failed to give precise models on groundwater targeting, he was to invent and employ newer technologies. Under this scenario the recently invented spatial technology has emerged as a very powerful tool in groundwater targeting and management. The vistas and virtues of such spatial technology in groundwater management have been discussed in this overview paper by citing some case studies from Tamil Nadu, India.