eChapters

2.1    Origin
    
2.2    Production
    
2.3    Distribution

2.4    World Scenario

6.1    Copyrights
    
6.2    Trademarks
    
6.3    Geographical Indications
    
6.4    Trade Secrets

Introduction
At the beginning of the 21^st century, with a population of 6.1 billion in 2000 and expected to be headed for 9.1 billion by 2050 (UN News Centre, 2005), the challenge of yet again increase food production by many folds only in 50 years has become a daunting task in itself. The situation is further worsen because now, we need to increase food production in sustainable way by 2050 on approximately the same area of arable land using less resources, particularly, fossil fuel, water and nitrogen, at a time when we must also mitigate some of the enormous challenges associated with climate change. Furthermore, there is the critical and urgent humanitarian need to alleviate poverty, hunger and malnutrition which is afflicting more than 1 billion people

Introduction

Bamboos are group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants (up to 60 centimeter/day) in the world. Bamboo cultivation, especially in intensively managed and productive plantation has attracted a great interest in recent years leading to huge demand of good quality planting material. The easiest and most common method for propagation is seeds. However, in bamboo due to a long flowering cycles, seeds are not available every year and being a cross-pollinating species seedling population show much variability in characters. Species like Bambusa vulgaris and Bambusa balcooa flowers rarely and do not produce seeds making propagation absolutely dependent on vegetative means. Vegetative propagation offers a tremendous scope for mass multiplication of many commercially important species. Bamboos are vegetatively propagated through clump divisions, rhizomes, offsets, layering, marcotting, culm cutting, branch cutting, macroproliferation and through in vitro techniques. Propagation through clump divisions, rhizomes and offsets yield limited number of plants. Layering and marcotting techniques are not fit for commercial production. In vitro methods offer great scope for mass multiplication, but require high initial cost and skilled manpower and thus are not viable for decentralized forest nurseries.

Introduction

Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages. Packaging may be defined as the art and science which involves preparing the articles for transport, storage display and use. India is a land of large varieties of fruits and vegetables due to its vast soil and climatic diversity. With 38 and 71 million tons of production of fruits and vegetables, India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables next to Brazil and China respectively. Apart from the huge value addition and employment involved in these activities, packaging has served the Indian economy by helping preservation of the quality and lengthening the shelf life of innumerable products-ranging from milk and biscuits, to drugs and medicines, processed and semi-processed foods, fruits and vegetables, edible oils, electronic goods etc., besides domestic appliances and industrial machinery and other hardware needing transportation (FAO, 1985).

INTRODUCTION

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is known as wonder fruit of the tropics. It is unique plant, which produces fruits throughout the year. It owes its popularity due to various reasons, i.e., requires less area per tree, comes to bearing in a year, easy to cultivate and has high nutritive and medicinal value. Papaya is an ideal fruit for growing in kitchen gardens, backyard of homes as well as in orchards, especially those near the cities or big towns. India ranks first in production of Papaya in the world with share of 31% of the total production. Its productivity is highest (43.70 t/ha) among the fruits grown in. It is also  India. It is famous intercrop due to its small stature, short life cycle, precocious in bearing and grown extensively as a filler crop in orchards.
 
Papaya is quick growing, bearing fruits within 8-10 months of transplanting and giving yield in same year. Fast growth with high photosynthetic rate, reproductive precocity, low production cost and more output characterize the uniqueness of this fruit. Now a day, the area under this crop is growing rapidly due to its higher productivity. Indeed, papaya cultivation is very profitable if done on modern lines. Demand for its fruits is growing in domestic as well as export markets and require modern technological interventions for commercial exploitation of these fruits. A ready market for its fruits becomes a big bonus for growers. Immediate availability of a selling point and a good price from a buyer encourage the farmers to grow more papaya crop.

2.1 Introduction

Cabbage is consumed in the raw state as well as in cooked. The word cabbage has been derived from the French word Cobache, meaning head which is best described as single large terminal bud comprised of tightly overlapped numerous leaves attached to an unbranched short stem. It is known for its rich source of vitamin A and C. It is an effective curative against scurvy disease. Cabbage leaves are low in calories (24 %), fat (0.2 %) and carbohydrates (5.4 %). It is a good source of protein (1.3 %). Cabbage is an excellent source of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, potassium and phosphorus. It contains good amount of ascorbic acid. Cabbage is used mainly as a vegetable and nice pickle (sauerkraut) is prepared from it. It is also used as salads. Cabbage is well known for its medicinal properties. 

Introduction

With the advent of agricultural intensification, soil quality has been the important concern for the scientists, environmentalists and the planners at the global level. Research efforts have been made at the experimental fields, research laboratories and few specific locations, in order to establish the yardsticks, standards and critical values of soil parameters to ascertain the quality of the soil. The primary aim is the management of soil resources as per the need and their rejuvenation through best practices in hand. The idea, as it was aimed at, has now percolated down to the minds of end users-the farmers. The state and Central governments have been sensitized and are attaching great priority to the soil health. In states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Goa, Uttar Pradesh crores of farmers are given “Soil Health Cards”. Central Govt. has the plan to issue these cards to all farmers in the country, detailing the deficiencies in soil and the amount of fertilizer needed.

4.1    Provisional and Complete Specifications
    
4.2    Publication
    
4.3    Request of Examination
    
4.4    PCT Application: Gateway to Foreign Patents

5.1    TRIPS
    
5.2    WTO
    
5.3    WIPO
    
5.4    Paris Convention
    
5.5    Berne Convention
    
5.6    Budapest Treaty
    
5.7    Madrid Agreement Marks (MAM)
    
5.8    The Patent Law Treaty (PLT)

2.1    Specification Drafting
    
2.2    Methods and Precautions in Drafting Patent Specification
    
2.3    Disclosure Requirements
    
2.4    Patent Claims
    
2.5    Filing of A Patent Application

INTRODUCTION

Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] is a temperate origin crop but well adapted to sub-tropical regions. It is an important fruit crop of Rosaceae family and is the third most important temperate tree fruit species behind apples and pears. Trees of most peach cultivars require from 100–1000 hours of chilling.

NUTRITIVE AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

Peaches are good source of sugars, vitamins and minerals. It has a rich source of vitamins A and C and also contains potassium and fibre. The fruit has over 80% water and one average sized peach have 7% of the dietary fibre which is required each day. It helps in maintaining healthy vision, skin care, nervous system, healthy bones, and teeth. It has anti-aging properties and also helps in detoxification, as well as improving digestion and cellular health. It has a wealth of essential nutrients and antioxidants which are valuable during pregnancy and it helps in strengthening the immune system. Peaches contain carotenoids and anthocyanins which have antioxidant properties and act as a protective agent against various problems i.e inflammation, cancer, atherosclerosis, obesity, cholesterol and other circulatory problems (Prior and Cao 2000; Wargovich 2000).

INTRODUCTION

Pear is one of the important fruit crops of temperate regions of India after apple. It is one of the few fruit crops that is adaptable to wide range of climatic conditions. It belongs to genus Pyrus and family Rosaceae, subfamily Pomoideae. The pear belong to three categories i.e. European pear (Pyrus communis L.), Japanese or Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm F.) Nakai, var. Culta) and their hybrids (Pyrus communis x Pyrus pyrifolia) are grown commercially in different parts of the country. Asian or Japanese pears are crisp and juicy with some having apple like flavour. European pears are very soft and have melting texture. Japanese pear has gained importance as a commercial crop in Northern India. The area under this pear has been increasing due to its high yield potential and good economic returns.

13.1. INTRODUCTION

Pearl millet crop has a wide adaptability to local environments. It is hardy and can be grown in areas which are very hot and dry and on soils too poor for sorghum. Pearl millet is considered more efficient in utilization of soil moisture and has a higher level of heat tolerance than even sorghum and maize. It is adapted to warm and dry climate but most of the area under the crop is in drought- prone areas of the world. In these areas, pearl millet is usually grown with limited inputs, sparse rainfall, low soil fertility, and also face disease and pest problems, with correspondingly poor yields.
 
The low average yields are primarily a result of the hot, dry conditions where pearl millet is mostly grown, rather than pearl millet plant’s capability. Pearl millet hybrids grown under better conditions yield 3000 to 4000 kg/ha compared to 300 to 800 kg/ha when moisture and soil fertility become limiting factors. A majority of the subsistence farmers who typically cultivate this crop are unable to take advantage of high yield potential because they have limited options for improving their management practices. Pearl millet production can be increased through growing varieties/hybrids with improved tolerance to drought, diseases and responding to higher rates of fertilizer applications.

Introduction

Globally, now scholars accepted that the climate is changing and it has implications on human culture, social systems, economic stress and ecological problems (Ford et al. 2010). The IPCC advocates to search and develop local solutions for climate change adaptations (IPCC 1996; IPCC, 2001), however, it does not recognize the breadth and strength of centuries-tested community knowledge/traditional knowledge systems (Salick et al. 2009) which are available with the people of developing world, and has been for adaptation practices and strategies to extreme weather and climate change (Turner and Clifton 2009; Salick and Ross 2009). It is well recognized that with fragile ecosystems, poor economic status and with less robust technologies required to adapt climate change, marginal and poor people of developing countries are likely to be more vulnerable with the changing climate than the industrialized countries (Tompkin and Adger 2004; Agrawal, 2008).

Abstract

From very ancient time the farming was practiced organically without using any chemical pesticides or fertilizers. In the mid-19th century, the chemical farming was introduced and the adverse impact of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture is in sight with deterioration of soil quality, quality of food and so on.The indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals in different crops causes numerous health hazards as well. In this context, organic farming came into existence in 20th century due mainly to produce quality foods through the rapid change in agriculture sector. Therefore, an attempt was taken through present investigation to cultivate potato without using any synthetic agro-chemicals by employing Kufri Pukhraj cultivar during kharif season. Potato is basically rabi season crop but due to climatic advantages of the south Chhotanagpurplateau of Jharkhand it can successfully grow during kharif season too.

INTRODUCTION

Persimmon is a subtropical fruit, originated in China and popular in Western countries. It is the national fruit of Japan. However, only four species are cultivated viz., Diospyros kaki L., Diospyros lotus L., Diospyros virginiana L. and Diospyros oleifera Cheng. Persimmon resembles ripened tomatoes, thus it attract the consumers. The ripe fruit is sweet and has admirable flavor.

NUTRITIVE AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

Persimmon fruits contain 79 per cent water, 0.7 per cent pectin, 0.4 per cent each of protein and crude fibre per 100 g. They are also rich in vitamin A (2710 IU) and vitamin C (11 mg of ascorbic acid). There are two types viz., astringent and non- astringent cultivars, astringency is due to water soluble tannins (kaki- tannin) present in the flesh of fruit and the level falls down at maturity stage and in non astringent types it completely disappear at maturity.
Fresh persimmon fruits are used in certain dishes, in jelly, jam and fruit peel/ skin is added to pickles for imparting orange colour. Dried kaki is a traditional dessert in New Year festivals especially in Japan. Tannin is used as a mordant for protecting wood, as an antidote against snake venoms and as a control agent for viral infections in plants.

Introduction

Despite the predominance of attention to insects as pests, many insects are directly beneficial to humans, and as a result, mass-production methods have been developed. The most notable example is silkworms, although many other insects are mass produced for various purposes. For example, Lacewings, ladybird beetles, and some parasitoids are mass produced and sold as biological control agents against various pests. Bumble bees and alfalfa leaf cutting bees are mass produced as pollinators for greenhouse crops and alfalfa seed production, respectively. A major concern in any kind of mass rearing facility is the risk for pest and disease outbreaks. If pest and diseases are not controlled, a sudden collapse of the insect colony can occur and the quality and quantity of their product may be reduced. Sericulture is practiced by scores of farmers in the tropical, subtropical and temperate countries including India, China and other Asian countries. India produces 25,519 metric tonnes of silk and holds second position in the world in silk production (www.csb.nic.in). The Indian silk is comprised of mulberry silk produced by Bombyx mori (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Bombycidae). About 92% of India’s total raw silk production is from the mulberry silkworm. The silk produced by silkworms is known as “Queen of fibers” due to glittering luster, soft-feeling, elegance, durability and tensile properties.

1.     What is IPM
    
2.    What is a Pest
    
3.    Importance of Crops in IPM
    
4.    Impact of Environment in IPM
    
5.    Crop Stage Specific IPM
    
6.    Management Practices
    
7.    Tropical Tuber Crops
    
8.    Ornamental Plants
    
9.    Medicinal Plants
    
10.    Aromatic Plants
    
11.    Plantation Crops
    
12.    Masticatory
    
13.     Spices
    
14.    Fruit Crops
    
15.    Vegetables
        
References

Introduction

All living organisms are subject to infestation or attack by their natural enemies and honeybees of the genus Apis are no exception. Through their long history of evolution by natural selection, they have achieved a high level of eusociality; many thousands of individual bees living together in a tightly knit social organization. Since individual bees have more than frequent content among themselves, and trophallaxis is one of the most important aspects of the bee’s social behaviour in that it allows hormones and pheromones to be widely distributed throughout the colony whenever pathogenic organism is present in the colony it will be spread with great ease. Honeybee diseases create serious problems, which must be met not only by the bee-keeper but also by the bees themselves.

INTRODUCTION

Phalsa, Grewia subinaequalis DC (syn. Grewia asiatica L.) is native to the Indian sub-continent and South-East Asia and belongs to family Tiliaceae, to which jute, our major money earning fiber crop, also belongs.Phalsa has been mentioned in our Vedic books and is native to India and other parts of southeast Asia, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It is known by many names viz., Hindi (Phalsa, Shukri, Tadachi, Dhaman, Parusha); English (Indian phalsa, phalsa); Bengali (Phalsa, Shunkri); Kannada(Phulsa), Telegu (Phutiki), Tamil (Unnu), Malayalam (Chadicha) Gujarati (Shukri), Filipino (Bariuangulod) and Thai (Potaohai,Yapkheethao,Malai,Laikhon). The plant is commonly known as Gangeran. Grewia species is one of the best examples of multipurpose fruit species which are useful source of food, fodder, fiber, fuelwood, timber and a range of traditional medicines which cure a number of diseases (Sharma and Patni, 2012). 

A. Bhattacharya
    
5.1.    Chlorophyll
    
5.2.    Response to Drought Stress
    
5.3.    CO2 Fixation Under Drought
    
5.4.    Response to High Temperature Stress
    
5.5.    Response to Low Temperature Stress
    
5.6.    Effect of Cold Stress on CO2 Fixation
    
5.7.    Cold Acclimation and its Role in Providing Freeze-tolerance
    
5.8.    Response to Salinity Stress
    
5.9.    CO2 Fixation Under Salinity Stress
    
5.10.    Response to High Light Intensity Stress
    
5.11.    Stress-induced Changes
         
    5.11.1.    Effects on Photosynthetic Pigments
    5.11.2.    Effects on Photosystems
    5.11.3.    Effects on Gas-exchange Characteristics        
    5.11.4.    Effects on Activities of key Photosynthetic Enzymes
    
5.12.    Improvement in Photosynthetic Capacity Under Stress by Engineering Photosynthesis-related Genes or Transcription Factors
    
    5.12.1.    Transfer of C4 genes/traits to C3 plants
    5.12.2.    Role of Transcription Factors in Regulation of Genes Involved in Photosynthesis
    
5.13    Role of Mitogen-activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) in Photosynthesis
    
5.14    Conclusion and Future Prospects
        
References

Introduction

Microbes (bacteria, archea and eukarya) are single celled organisms that rule the planet. Microbes occupy every possible niche, from the high atmosphere to the deep ocean, from hot springs to artic ice, from hot deserts to deep forests including many regions that cannot yet be accessed for study. The biosphere contains between 1030 and 1031 microbial genomes, which is about 2-3 times more than the number of plant and animal cells combined (67). In fact, studies have shown that microbes associated with the human body are about ten times more than the number of human cells (5).  Microbes play a critical role in the life cycle of all living organism and environment in general.  Some microbes cause disease, but the most of them are either innocuous or play a role in physiology and cellular response including immune response, digestion and vitamin production of various organisms.

The Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), after analysis of more than 6000 peer reviewed publications has assessed potential effects of changing climate on various spheres of life (Solomon et al., 2007). Under different scenarios, the estimated temperature rise of 1.1 to 6.4 °C in the global surface temperature is predicted at the end of 21st century (period 2090-2099 relative to 1980-1999). Global average sea level in the last interglacial period (about 125,000 years ago) was likely 4 to 6 m higher than during the 20th century, mainly due to the melting of ice in the polar regions. It has been detected in changes of surface and atmospheric temperatures in the upper several hundred metres of the ocean, and in contributions to sea level rise (Solomon et al., 2007). The change in climate is concurrent with the changes in global levels of carbondioxide, methane, oxides of nitrogen etc, loss of biodiversity, natural habitat and other natural resources. The IPCC report also estimates a confidence level of 90% that there will be more frequent warm spells, heat waves and heavy rainfall and a confidence level of 66% that there will be an increase in drought, tropical cyclones and extreme high tides. The magnitude of the events will vary depending on the geographic zones of the World (Solomon et al., 2007).

• In male animals, endocrine regulation of reproduction is mainly controlled by pituitary gonadotrophins and gonadal androgens. It is not same as in females as there is only negative feedback controls in case of male while it is positively as well as negatively feedback control in females. In other words the synchrony of pituitary gonadotrophins with gonads in male is non cyclic while in female it is cyclic i.e. after castration the pulse frequency of LH and FSH is retained
• Sex Hormones are sex specific e.g. estrogen and progesterone works primarily in females and testosterone in males but sex specificity is limited as far as sexual behaviour is concern. As estrogen injection in castrated buck recovers the maleness while testosterone injection in ovariectomized female maintain the receptivity for male up to certain extent.
• Hypothalamus acts as interface between nervous system and endocrine system. GnRH synthesized in neurons in hypothalamus, released at nerve endings episodic manner and transferred via hypophyseal portal system to anterior pituitary to stimulate the secretion of gonadotrophins.

INTRODUCTION

Plant growth regulators (PGR) are bioactive molecules that modulates the physiological processes in plants and are effective at ultra-low concentrations. Minute alteration in the concentration and bioactive forms of PGRs’ throughout the plant development phases regulate the flowering, fruit set and development. The use of plant growth substances to control fruit set, size, shape, and maturation has become important in agriculture today because they have the ability to increase fruit size, colour, and shape, thereby increasing the marketability. By hastening or delaying maturation the grower can utilize peak demands, avoid unfavourable environmental conditions, and extend the market period. PGRs are applied in fruit crops at all developmental stages for various purposes as discussed below: 

INTRODUCTION
 
Environment and ecological set up is maintained by the climatic conditions, presence and compositions of gases present in them, humidity level, temperature and the pollution. These conditions are responsible for the emerging of diseases in the environment. The diseases in plants, animals and human beings are due to the factors that affect the ecology. This also depends on the organism whether they are susceptible or resistant to the specific disease. This means the genetic level of the organism is an important factor.
Plant pathology or phytopathology is the study of diseases in plants. The disease evolution may be due to the climatic condition, humidity level, temperature and the genetic character of the plant and the pathogen. The parasitic adaptation of microorganisms to be plant pathogens includes acquisition of the following three abilities: 1) ability to enter into a plant, (2) ability to overcome the resistance of the host and (3) ability to evoke disease.

INTRODUCTION

Pineapple [(Ananas comosus (L.) Merr., Bromeliaceae)] is a commercial, tropical American crop, popularly known as “Golden Queen” all over the globe. The name ‘pineapple’ was given in the mid-17th century because of its resemblance to ‘pine cone’. Its botanical name Ananas comes from ‘anana’, the Tupi word for the fruit, meaning “excellent fruit” and comosus means tufted and refers to the stem of the fruit.
 
Pineapple is a monocotyledonous, low-growing,herbaceous and perennial with a spiral of spiny sword-shaped leaves on a thick stem. It has 90 to 100 cm height with spreading leaves, which give the plant a rosette appearance.The plant bears a single fruit terminally on a peduncle protruding out from the centre of the rosette. The fruit is mostly a large juicy fruit containing aromatic, edible, yellow flesh surrounded by a tough segmented skin and topped with a tuft of stiff leaves.

A. PLANNING OF AN ORCHARD

Orchard is a long-term investment and needs proper planning and layout before establishment. Mistakes committed during planning and planting of fruit trees cannot be rectified. While planning and planting a new orchard, it is very important to carefully assess all the factors that will ultimately affect fruit yield and orchard sustainability. The aspects like location and site selection, suitability of soil and subsoil, suitability of fruit crop and varieties, plant spacing, market potential and source of nursery plants must be taken care of seriously. Thus, one should avail of expert advice on the establishment of new orchards and their proper maintenance.

Abstract

Plant architecture, plays a crucial role in gathering multiple resources from the environment. As a plant grows, they change its architecture with the surrounding environment for altering available resources. The architecture of the plant is modified through the distribution of assimilate, which conclude the growth rates of different organs. Plant roots expand to acquire soil water and nutrients (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus) from different soil layers by adjusting their direction in order to growth which transported and allocated to whole plant for maintenance and expansion of plant organs. All plants gradually develop their architecture according to source–sink activities and endogenous signals. This adaptation can result in complex structures. This chapter deals with the importance, different method for changing the architecture   of vegetable crops for improving their yield and quality.

A. General
        
B. Leaves and Floral Terminologies
        
C. Diversity in the Flower
        
D. Diversity in Fruits
        
E. Terminologies Related to Seed

Abstract

DNA barcoding, an additional global standard taxonomic tool for identifying plant species helps the non-taxonomists also to identify the plant species in a more reliable way with the help of devices including nanotechnology. Researchers proposed various genes or gene portions as potential barcodes either singly or in combination, yet there is no standard/ universal barcode DNA region for plants. The more accurate plant DNA barcode region would have to be from highly variable markers in the nuclear genome preferably from multiple loci and in combination with variable DNA regions of chloroplast genome, to resolve the problems that arise due to hybridization, allopolyploidization and introgression. Nonetheless, the phylogenetically informative sites might not be the potential DNA barcode regions as the former requires synapomorphies unlike autapomorphies with high levels of informative characters in the latter DNA taxonomy, but could provide insights into genetic distances between species.

1.     Isolation of Plant DNA
    
2.     RAPD Analysis of Genomic DNA
    
3.    Agro Bacterium based Transformation in Plants
    
4.     Assay for Gus Operon
    
5.     Confirmation of Transformation using Polymerized Chain Reaction (PCR)
    
6.     Primer Designing
    
7.     Isolation, Purification and Identification of Plant Secondary Metabolites
    
8.     Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity of Plant Extract
    
9.     Estimation of Total Phenolic Content in A Plant Extract
    
10.     Estimation of Total Flavanoid Content

SYSTEMS BIOLOGY

The ultimate goal of any biological experiment is to understand biological systems in sufficient detail to enable accurate, quantitative predictions about the behavior of the systems, including predictions of the effects of modifications of the systems. To precisely simulate the behavior of the system using a computer model is one of the ways to achieve the above goal and in this venture we are nowhere close to the goal. Systems biology will help us to get closer to this goal and it is expected that biologists to adopt to take advantage of the power of systems biology approach. Systems biology is an emergent field that aims at system-level understanding of biological systems. Systems Biology is the study of the interactions between the components of biological systems, and how these interactions give rise to the function and behavior of that system. For example, theenzymes and metabolites in a metabolic pathway.With the progress of genome sequence projects and range of other molecular biology projects that accumulate in-depth knowledge of molecular nature of biological system, we are now at the stage to seriously look into possibility of system-level understanding of solidly grounded on molecular-level understanding.Unlike molecular biology which focus on molecules, such as sequence of nucleic acids and proteins, systems biology focus on systems that are composed of molecular components. Although systems are composed of matters, the essence of system lies in dynamics and it cannot be described merely by enumerating components of the system.

1.     Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory
    
2.     Cleaning and Sterilization of Glass Wares
    
3.     Media Sterilization
    
4.     Media Composition and Media Preparation
    
5.     Callus Culture in Carrot
    
6.     Culture of Shoot Tip (Vanilla)
    
7.     Anther Culture of Datura
    
8.     Subculture of Carrot Callus
    
9.     Hardening of Plantlets
    
10.     Isolation of Protoplast from Plant Leaves

1.    Land Preparation
    
2.    Tillages
    
3.    Planting
    
4.    Field Maintenance
    
5.    Vegetation Control
    
6.    Animal/ Bird Control
    
7.    Insects and Diseases Management
    
8.    Irrigation
    
9.    Manuring
    
10.    Harvesting
    
11.    Collection and Transportation
    
12.    Integrated Mechanization
        
References

INTRODUCTION

The European plum (Prunus domestica L.) is the most important plum species grown in different countries in the world. The Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) is the next important species grown in many Asian countries. It is more vigorous, productive, precocious in bearing and more resistant to diseases than the European plum. The Japanese plum a temperate fruit is unique amongst the stone fruits. It is a strong small growing tree, performing well as major crop of hills and considered as important minor fruit crop in north India. Its low chilling varieties comes into the market when the other crops are scarce and find little competition in the market. The fruit growers are now preferred to grow Japanese plum on account of giving higher yield and excellent return per unit area. It is successfully grown in temperate zone and subtropical climate of northern Indian states. Moreover, it is preferred as filler tree in permanent orchards of mango, litchi and pear. It start bearing after 2-3 years of planting and giving good economic return to the growers during pre-bearing period of permanent fruit crops.

2.1. INTRODUCTION

Pollination is the process of mating in plants, that is, the transfer of pollen from anther to stigma. In flowers, pollen delivered to the stigma through a wide range of mechanisms that ensure an appropriate balance in the genetic makeup of the species. Most plant species have evolved ways to ensure an appropriate degree of interchange of genetic material between individuals in the population, and cross-pollination is the normal type of pollination. Plants benefit most by being pollinated by other individuals because this broadens the genetic characteristics of individual plants. As a result, they are more adaptable to necessary changes. Self- and often-pollinated crops evolved from cross pollinated crops.

Pollination followed by fertilization is important in agriculture, particularly for the crops whose economic part is either fruit or seed, such as, rice, wheat, fruit vegetables etc. For other crops, these events are also important for production of seed for cultivation of next generation, for examples, green vegetables (amaranth, palak, cabbage, cauliflower etc).

The study of pollination brings together many disciplines, such as botany, plant breeding, horticulture, entomology, and ecology. The pollination process as an interaction between flower and vector was first addressed in the 18th century by Christian Konrad Sprengel. It is important in horticulture and agriculture, because fruiting is dependent on fertilization, which is the end result of pollination.

1.     Groups of Polyembryony (PE)
    
2.     Mechanism of Polyembryony and the Genetic Bases
    
3.    Classification of Polyembryony
    
4.    Polyembryony – Its Practical Implications
        
References

INTRODUCTION

The pomegranate(Punica granatum L.) is one of the oldest known edible fruits, occupies the eighteenth place among the main world-fruit cultures.The fruit was naturalized throughout the Mediterranean region through ancient times and today the main areas of world production are Turkey, Spain and California. Around the world pomegranates are generally grown in Mediterranean climates, often with very warm dry summers (Wetzstein et al., 2011). During recent past, this ancient fruit has emerged as commercially important fruit, owing to its enormous medicinal and nutritional properties, built-in ability to tolerate heat and drought, low resource input demanding nature and high returns on investment (Singh et al.,2012). The fruit has growing consumer demand both for fresh use as well as processing into juice, syrup, squash and anardana (an acidulant product), owing to its attractive, juicy, and refreshing arils (Pruthi and Saxena, 1984).

Introduction

Forest cover of India has been estimated to be 7,01,673 km2 (70.17 million ha) which is 21.34 per cent of the total geographical area of the country. The tree cover of the country is estimated to be 92,572 km2 which is 2.82 per cent of geographical area. The total forest and tree cover is 7,94,245 km2 which is 24.16 per cent of the total geographical area of the country. Out of this, 9.14per cent forest cover is in the form of open forests and another 1.26 per cent is scrub forests (FSI 2015). According to National Forest Policy 1988, one-third (33.33%) of the land area should be under the forest cover for sound ecological balance. It means that we have to bring another 11.66 % area under forest cover and at the same time improve quality of the degraded forests. However the horizontal expansion of land under tree cover is not possible. In order to increase the tree cover and fulfill the requirements of the people and industries,

Abstract: The Trans Gangetic Plains of India is a large fertile tract of north-west India where intensive rice-wheat based farming has led to soil and water problems.  Agroforestry is among the viable options to overcome these problems. It has already shown positive effects such as increasing tree cover, augmenting wood needs of industries and ameliorating socio-economic status of farmers. Poplar based agroforestry models have been widely accepted by farmers. Site specific superior poplar clones have been developed for superiority, growth and resistance to pest and diseases. Farmers successfully grow the annual crops (sugarcane, turmeric), seasonal crops in winter (wheat, potato, mustard, mentha etc.) and summer season (cotton, moong, pearl millet, sorghum etc). The reduction in wheat grain yield varied from 10.2 to 46.6 per cent from first to sixth year as compared to open field. Selection of shade tolerant crop variety, appropriate sowing time, irrigation, seed and fertilizer dozes help to mitigate these losses. Wheat sown during first fortnight of November produced significantly higher grain yield than other sowing times. Wheat variety PBW 502 performed better amongst the six wheat varieties tested under poplar. Tree crop interactions influence the damage caused by insects and diseases. Cultural practices reduce the number of hibernating pupae of poplar leaf defoliators (PLD) which subsequently leads to lower incidence of these defoliators. Percent damaged leaves were more in fallow (5.44 - 60.53) and less in intercropped plantation (2.49 - 49.20). PLD adult emergence percentage was significantly less in intercropped and ploughed (49.5 and 67.5) than fallow (83.0) plantations

9.1    Temperature
    
9.2    Relative Humidity
    
9.3    Physical Damage
    
9.4    Microbial Load
    
9.5    Packaging
    
9.6    Transportation

7.1    Pre-Harvest Factors Responsible for Post Harvest Losses
    
7.2    Harvesting Method
    
7.3    Post-Harvest Causes Responsible for Losses

10.1    Respiration
    
10.2    Effect of Ethylene on Ripening
    
10.3    Transpiration Loss
    
10.4    Postharvest Biochemistry of Banana
    
10.5    Postharvest Pathology of Banana

1. Introduction

Banana is having number of species and belongs to genus Musa of the family Musaceae. Bananas are produced in large quantities in tropical and subtropical areas. World production of Musa in 2003 was estimated at 102 million MT of which about 68% was classified as bananas and 32% as plantains (FAO, 2003). For growing banana need special climate and they are mainly produced in developing countries P (Zhang et al., 2005). The crop is of major importance to the people in the growing. The largest producer of banana is India (27%) and other countries are Ecuador, Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines and China etc. Ecuador (42. 3%), Colombia (24. 7%), Philippines, Dominican Republic, Belgium, Italy, Peru, France, Netherland, Germany are the top exporter countries in 2009.

Banana is a botanically a berry require a warm, humid, frost-free climate with optimum temperatures between 22 and 31°C. In several report it was found that banana plant die in ground level at below temperature -2°C. Primary component of the aroma of fresh bananas is isoamyl acetate which is also called as banana oil. Banana is highly energetic food and rich in potassium, sodium, phosphorus, chlorine, magnesium, sulphur, silicon, calcium; and the vitamins: A, B1, B2, C and B3 (niacin). Banana helps in lowering cholesterol, enhances liver function, regulate heart rhythm and disease, decrease the risk of stroke, regulate Bowel movement, helps keep blood pressure under control and helps in weight loss.

INTRODUCTION

As per National Horticulture Database published by National Horticulture Board, during 2014-15 India produced 89.15 million metric tonnes of fruits. This value however differs from the consumption value depending upon the post harvest losses, storage losses or transportation losses. Transportation and distribution of fruits being the most important factor, plays a key role in determining the net income from horticulture trade. It is an essential link in the modern food chain and exists as complex matrix where not only fresh goods finished products are transported but there is also transportation of bulk raw materials. Locally grown produce may be transported directly from farms to retail outlet. For local market, the produce is brought by bullock cart, tractor, trollies. Mainly the long distance transportation is by trucks, rails which is costly. In India the transportation by Railway is much less than the other means. The road transport is 3-4 times more expensive than rail, yet it is preferred for shipment of fresh fruits simply because of the faster movement of perishable commodities.

1.    Postharvest Losses of Fruits and Vegetables
    
2.    Minimization of Postharvest Losses
    
3.    Postharvest Management Practices
    
4.    Selection of Varieties
    
5.    Harvesting
    
6.    Sorting /Grading
    
7.    Washing
    
8.    Trimming
    
9.    Curing
    
10.     Delatexing or De-sapping
    
11.    Waxing
    
12.    Pre-cooling
    
13.    Hot Water Treatment
    
14.    Postharvest Disease Management
    
15.    Regulation of Ripening
    
16.    Sprout Inhibition
    
17.    Packaging
    
18.    Transportation
    
19.    Marketing
    
20.    Storage
    
21.    Conclusion
        
References

Ornamental Industry

Floriculture as a multi-billion dollar industry has been undergoing unique revolution in terms of production and marketing of high value ornamentals such as cut flowers, loose flowers, potted and foliage plants there by emerged as fully export oriented activity. Owing to the steady increase in demand of flowers, floriculture has become one of the important commercial businesses in horticulture. Presently, floriculture industry in India has been growing with compound annual growth rate of 25 percent over the past decade (Muthukumaran, 2009). It has been found that commercial floriculture has higher potential per unit area than most of the field crops and therefore, it is a lucrative business. Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers for export purposes.Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan, West Bengal have emerged as major floriculture production areas. The export of floricultural products from India has been on an increase in the past five years due to high demand for floriculture products in importing countries. The estimated total area under floriculture in India is 2,82,000 ha. Tamil Nadu stands first followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana. Approximately 16,57,000 metric tonnes of loose flowers and over 5,20,000 metric tonnes cut flowers are produced in India during 2015-16. Total export of floriculture products is 22,518 MT with value of 479 crores (APEDA, 2015). Major importers of ornamental products from India are USA, Germany, UK, Netherland, and UAE.