eChapters

Introduction

Agriculture and allied sectors have always been the backbone of the Indian economy and despite concerted industrialization in the last six decades agriculture still occupies a place of pride. The significance of agriculture in the national economy arises from the role it plays in India’s national income, employment generation and export earnings; this can be seen from the provisional estimate on contribution of various sectors to the GDP in the f irst quarter of 2020-21, particularly during COVID-19 pandemic, positive percentage change (+3.4) over previous year when all other sectors have negative change.

Mushrooms is known for its delicious and nutritious food with highly digestible lysine rich protein, vitamins and minerals, Mushroom serves as a low calorie food which lacks fats and are low in carbohydrate. They are rich in folic acid, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, copper and iron and vitamin-B complex. In place of starch, mushroom contains sorbitol and linolenic acid. They are excellent sources of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid and vitamin B-12. Further, mushrooms are also reported to have high medicinal attributes. A large number of mushrooms contain biological active polysaccharide protein complex having anti-tumor, immune-modulating and antioxidant properties.

Onion growth, bulb initiation, yield, quality and storage life are strongly influenced by temperature, photoperiod, soil, moisture and crop establishment. Different cultivars require specific day lengths and temperature ranges, making regional variety selection and planting schedules essential. This chapter explains the environmental requirements of onion and the consequences of unsuitable conditions, including premature bolting, double bulbs, poor development and disease susceptibility. It examines soil preparation, planting geometry, direct seeding, transplanting and precision establishment. Modern approaches—including sensor-based environmental monitoring, Internet of Things systems, predictive modelling, precision seeding and machine-learning-supported input management—are presented as tools for improving uniformity, resource efficiency and climate adaptability.

1. The Aflatoxin Molecule

Aflatoxins are chemically difuro-coumarin derivatives. Presently, 18 different types of aflatoxins have been identified with aflatoxin B₁, B₂, G₁, G₂, M₁ and M₂ being the most common. Of these Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and G₁ occur most frequently, with AFB₁ being the most potent. Physicochemical and biochemical characteristics of the AFB₁ molecule reveal two important sites for toxicological activity (Heathcote and Hibbert, 1978). The first site is the double bond in position 8,9 of the furofuran ring (Figure 1). The interactions of aflatoxin, DNA and proteins, which occur at this site alter the normal biochemical functions of these macromolecules and leads to deleterious effects at the cellular level.Monteiro et al. (1966) studied the in vitro interaction of groundnut proteins namely arachin and conarachins with AFB₁ molecule. The second reactive group is the lactone ring in the coumarin moiety (Lee et al., 1981). The lactone ring is easily hydrolyzed and is therefore vulnerable to degradation.

Introduction

The entire living organism from the smaller creatures viruses to the advanced human beings are composed of a set up of biochemical reactions which form the metabolism. These set of metabolic reactions are responsible for the life of organism. The rate of these reactions is a major concern for effective working of organism which is governed by biocatalyst. These biocatalysts are known as enzymes, which accelerates rate of biochemical reaction. These are not utilized in reaction. In 1877, Wilhelm Friedrich Kuhne (Kuhne, 1877) proposed the term enzyme which means ‘in yeast’ and is derived from the Greek word; inzume “leavened” or “in yeast”. At the molecular level of study it is observed that enzymes are proteins which are functional as tertiary and quaratanary structures. Enzymes have active site for the binding to substrate. The active site has two positions; binding and catalytic site (Ogeston, 1948). The former help to bind the substrate with the enzyme followed by the catalysis of reaction by the catalytic site.

1. INTRODUCTION

Enzymes are proteins with highly specialized catalytic functions responsible for many essential biochemical reactions in microorganisms, plants, animals and human beings. Enzymes play an important role in many aspects of life since the dawn of civilization that have used enzymes for thousands of years without understanding what they were or how they work. Food processing through the use of biological agents/enzymes is historically a well-established approach. The earliest applications go back to 6000 BC or earlier, with the brewing of beer, bread baking, cheese and wine making. Whereas the first purposeful microbial oxidation dates back 2000 BC, with vinegar production. In the late 19^thcentury, Christian Hansen reported the use of rennet for cheese making and production of bacterial amylases was started at Takamine (latter became part of Genencor). Pectinases have been used for juice clarification in the 1930s and during World War II, invertase was also employed the production of invert sugar syrup in a process that pioneered the use of immobilized enzymes in the sugar industry. Still, the large-scale application of enzymes could only be really established in the 1960s, when the traditional acid hydrolysis of starch was replaced by an approach based in the use of amylases and amyloglucosidases (glucoamylases) and glucose (xylose) isomerase. From then onward, the trend for the design and implementation of processes and production of products by the use of enzymes has steadily increased.

Food and beverages and household care industries represent the largest application areas of enzymes, followed by animal feed, biofuels, textile and other technical industries. Recently, several new developments have taken place in the application of enzymes in fruit and vegetable processing. Fruits and vegetables are consumed as fresh or processed into different type of products. Commercial enzyme preparations are used as processing aids in fruit and vegetable processing to improve the process efficiency and product quality, because enzymes show activity on specific substrates under mild processing conditions. Therefore, there has been a striking growth in the enzyme market for applications in the fruit and vegetable industry.

Enzymes are biocatalysts that change the rate of reaction without being changed themselves. All (Most) enzymes are proteins but all proteins are not enzymes. Ribonuclease is the enzyme which is non- protein in nature.

Properties of Enzymes

The following equipment and types of machinery are generally used in the food processing plant which specifically deals with the processing of fruits and vegetables;
I. Machinery/Equipment for general purpose
1. Weighing Balance (Precision balance for chemical and heavy duty for fruits/raw material) 1-500mg, 1kg,10kg,100kg.
2. Cutting Knife (SS), coring knife, pitting knife, peeling knife
3. Abrasive peeler (carborundum crystal) for potato,carrot,ginger etc.,
4. Working Table with Stainless steel/Aluminium top
5. Buckets/ Water tubs/jugs (Plastic/Stainless Steel)
6. LPG/Diesel Bhatti/furnace/Stove
7. Utensils/Bhagona (Aluminium /Stainless steel); 10, 50,100 kg capacity
8. Spoon, ladle (heavy duty), grater,`
9. Belt conveyors

Introduction
With the dynamic change in the pace of human activity and changing life style, the demand for easy-to-prepare drinks is also increasing. Besides being consumed in the household, these drinks are also served in restaurants, clubs, airlines, railways etc. There has been an appreciable increase in the export of processed foods which includes squashes, cordials, and syrups. With the fast pace of growth in the urban sector and the increase in living standards of the Indian people reaching higher levels by the year, there is a good potential to develop this industry in the small-scale sector. To prepare fruits and vegetable juices at commercial level, several equipments are needed. Some of the important equipment required for processing of specific fruit and vegetables are discussed herein.
Pome Fruit and Small Fruit Processing
Generally, most pome fruit (e.g. Apple, Pear, Quince) and small stone fruit (e.g. Plum, Olive, Peach, Cherry) can be used for juice extraction. No peeling is needed. Small stone fruit such as apricots and plums might have to be destoned (pitted) depending on the grinding, extraction equipment selection. Cherries, although containing a pit, may be pressed with the pit intact. Breakage of the pit will release benzaldehyde, the familiar aroma of maraschino- type cherries.

The establishment of a technology transfer office is an important and complex process for an organization. It needs careful planning to ensure its long-term sustainability. Before establishing a TTO, it is essential to evaluate whether institution’s core mission includes research commercialization, and if the volume and quality of its research output justify the need for an inhouse TTO. For institutions that may not meet all criteria, those institutions can collaborate or outsource for TTO services. It is also important to decide about its operational scope, funding, management, and for what kind of issues the office should develop a policy. There is no “right” way to set up a TTO, but successful TTO does require considering some key issues. This chapter outlines key steps and considerations for establishing a TTO. It also explains what physical infrastructures are needed, manpower, outlines the responsibilities and powers of TTOs.
2.1 Evaluating the need for a TTO
Establishing a TTO is an important step for any research focused organization. But before initiating a planning process for a new TTO, the organization must review its relevance by considering a few fundamental points:
Key considerations for institutions
1. Is institution’s mission focused on “research commercialization” If an institute’s primary mission is education, or it does not support research it might not be justified to create a TTO. For such institutions, it usually makes better sense to seek alternative solutions to the occasional technology transfer without the expense of a formal office. But institutions with strong research commercialization focus, a TTO has the ability to contribute meaningfully to the mission. The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), USA has identified following key motivations for initiating academic technology transfer:

The estimation of moisture in foods is one of the most important and most widely used measurements in the processing and testing of food products. It is used to determine the nutritive value of food, to express results of analytical determinations on a uniform basis, and to meet compositional standards or food laws. The level of moisture in different fruits and vegetables varies widely. Most fresh fruits contain more than 85-90% moisture in edible portions. Broad range of moisture content in common fruit, vegetables and their products as general guideline are given in Table 3.1.
Estimation of Moisture content in food products: Moisture content in foods can be estimated by following methods.
i. By Drying in an oven
ii. By distillation with an immiscible solvent
iii. By Chemical and physical methods (Infra-red heating method)

Introduction

In India, the ground water recharge in arid and semi-arid regions is very important particularly as most of the population residing in these regions depend on groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes. In such scenarios, to alleviate the problems of drinking water, the collection and storage of rainwater to supplement existing water supply sources should be implemented. The utilization of rainwater is one of the best methods that can aid in sustainable urban development (Kim et al., 2005). Every drop of rainfall should be utilized to cater the demand of an ever increasing population as the present system of water supply may not be sufficient in future. The rain water collection & its utilization, seems to be the only option to satisfy the demand of arid and semi arid regions. In most cases, the rain water is the purest water source & contains very low impurities. It is necessary to adopt rainwater harvesting methods in places where the conventional water supply has failed to meet the peak period demand of the people for drinking water. Rain water harvesting is one of the most economical and practical methods to provide supplementary water supplies for drinking purpose.

Plant hormone ethylene is involved in a number of physiological activities within the plant system, ranging from seed germination to fruit development. Ethylene acts as a key player in accelerating fruit ripening by regulating the activities of different enzymes, and is responsible for shortening the shelf life and associated post-harvest losses during the storage of fruit crops. However, all fruit crops have different ethylene production capacities and vary in their response to ethylene. Hence, effective management of post-harvest ethylene is imperative for addressing the global challenge of reducing fruit losses after harvesting. In recent periods, numerous technologies and compounds have been developed for the suppression of ethylene and for enhancing in-situ oxidation of ethylene or inhibiting its production at a receptor level. Among these emerging techniques, the use of sachets, fumigating agents, catalysis and composite films embedded with nanoparticles has been found to be trending, but the use of some of compounds has been limited due to health risks or consumer unacceptance. However, most of these technologies are very costly and are not affordable for marginal farmers and developing nations. In order to address these issues, long term breeding approaches for shelf-life improvement, targeting the tfs, ERFs have been involved. This manuscript fills the knowledge gap by encompassing all the recent progress made in enhancing the shelf life of fruits by managing ethylene during storage.

Ethylene (C₂H₄ also known as ethene) is a gaseous organic compound that is the simplest of the alkenes chemical structures (alkenes contain a carbon-carbon double bond). The hormone effects of ethylene on general plant growth were first noted in 1864 when leakage from gas street lighting systems caused stunting and deformation of nearby plants. In 1901 Neljubow identified the active component of the gas to be ethylene but it was not until 1934 that Gane identified that plants could synthesize ethylene and in 1935 Crocker proposed ethylene to be the hormone responsible for fruit ripening and senescence of vegetative tissues.

Ethylene play important role in many plant during development processes, including seed germination, vegetative growth, leaf abscission, flowering, senescence and fruit ripening. Ethylene also plays a role in response to water stress, chilling and mechanical injury.

Introduction

The international fish trade increases day by day reaching to a tune of USD 151 billion in 2020 (FAO, 2022). Many developing countries like India gain benefits from this trade as income through net foreign exchange reached to a level of 8.09 billion USD in 2019-20. Seafood supplied by developing countries contribute to 77% of fish consumption worldwide. The European Union (EU) is the single largest market for fish and fishery products to a tune of 91.74 billion USD in 2022 as a consequence of an increased per capita consumption among its Member States. Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom are the largest importer of fish and fishery products.

To protect consumer health and to protect the territory from the introduction of animal and plant diseases, the European Community (EC) has laid down joint conditions for imports of foodstuffs. The Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO) is responsible for food safety in the EU. The import rules for fishery products are framed of high standards with respect to hygiene, consumer safety and animal health status. It is important that importing countries and food business operators (FBOs) must understand the fundamental principles and requirements of the European Food Law to ensure efficient and smooth imports. The EU system relies on Government to Government assurances without any intervention of any private type certification or standards. The Competent Authority (CA) in the country of origin is responsible for giving the official guarantees to the EU regarding compliance and conformity to all requirements of its legislation. The Export Inspection Agency (EIA) is the Competent Authority in India for issuing the required official guarantees for export of fish and fishery products. The EIA maintains a complete list of all establishments under its control.

1. Multiple Choice Questions

Performance metrics and indicators
Traditionally, in the past, TTOs’ performance was measured in monetary terms, such as universities’ revenues derived through commercialization. The methodology, however, is prone to shortcomings, in light of the fact that various TTOs do not receive significant amounts of financial proceeds through their technology transfers. In addition, relying on income does not depict a TTO’s true potential, in light of the fact that it does not account for the total range of outputs of research and commercialization opportunities. Recognizing these limitations, academics have found innovative ways to measure TTO efficiency, such as monetary and non-monetary indicators. Financial indicators typically entail measurable outcomes such as number of signed licenses, income from licenses, royalties collected, equity income, and number of spin-offs or startups created. These are actual gauges of the economic returns from commercialization efforts, and in the majority of instances are used in the context of benchmarking the performance of a TTO in a comparative context, perhaps against peer institutions or industry averages. Non-financial indicators consist of royalty distributions to academics, having an integral role in encouraging academics to participate in commercialisation activity. By incorporating monetary and non-financial metrics, universities might have an enhanced, comprehensive evaluation system for their TTOs. Such evaluation is sure to ensure assessment extends beyond short-run monetary metrics and looks to incorporate several organization, institutional, and research-oriented determinants in driving successful technology transfer.

Rice is the longest continuously grown cereal crop in the world and according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) it is “one of the most important developments in history” (Forssell, 2008). India has to produce 114 million tons of rice by the year 2030 to meet the food grain requirement of burgeoning population. In state Bihar, Kharif is the predominant season with rice cultivated in 3.2 m ha. On the other hand the rice is cultivated in about 1 lakh ha during Rabi season (Anonymous, 2014). The process-based dynamic simulation crop models based on soil, crop and weather factors could be effective research tools for planning alternative strategies for crop management, land use and water management and also a useful tool for planning and developing technological interventions in diverse areas like India (Aggarwal and Kalra, 1994).

1. INTRODUCTION

Food is constantly being rated for its quality either consciously or subconsciously by all people. Consumers choose food on the basis of its quality and their individual likes or dislikes. The attractiveness of food is clearly a quality which is important both to the manufacturer and to the consumer. When consumers make a selection they basically look for food that is attractive in terms of colour, flavour and texture apart from other psychological and social factors, which they may associate with food. The nutritional quality, shelf-life/keeping quality and cost factor are other criteria which may affect their selection.

The distinctive and attractive colour of food is not only pleasing but is also an indicator of good quality and freshness. The senses of taste and odour help us in detecting and appreciating different flavours and deciding on whether we like the food. The feel and texture of food entering the mouth should be firm, juicy, crisp and are extremely important characteristics that dictate the acceptance of a food. Today’s consumers are discerning, demanding, and more knowledgeable about food. They expect safe products having good value and high sensory quality. Therefore, knowing consumer’s preferences and perceptions of the sensory characteristics of food and beverage products is vital to food manufacturers. Without appropriate evaluation, there is a high risk of market failure.

1. INTRODUCTION

During fermentation, the fruit wines have to be monitored for different parameters to know the progress of fermentation and to control the quality of the finished products. It is essential to maintain the quality of the products, for which it is necessary to keep a complete record of wine fermentation. One such form is the fermentation control record or fermentation logbook, which is kept to monitor and record fermentation progress. It includes the name of fruit, variety, original characteristics of juice/pulp, amelioration, tank number, inoculum type and quantities, sampling time, date of start of fermentation and completion. It should also have daily record of temperature of fermentation, total soluble solid or ^oBrix reading, titrable acidity and volatile acidity, racking time/date and other comments on the fermentation. Fermentation control records should be completed and all new wines be entered in the bulk wine book inventory, the annual supplemental records can be kept in a file entitled, for example ‘Vintage season 2018’.