eChapters

Introduction

Hybrid is the first generation cross-produced through crossing between two genetically different plants, lines or varieties. The seeds produced in this way are called hybrid vigour, which serves as a key for increasing the yield of many self, and cross-fertilized crops. With limited possibilities of horizontal expansion in area and to meet the ever-increasing demand of quality vegetables by growing populations, the exploitation of hybrid vigour is best option for increasing both productivity and quality. Vegetable hybrids under optimum crop production and protection management produce economically more yield than improved, open-pollinated varieties. The uniform size, early maturity, improved nutritional quality, adaptability to adverse environments and resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses, are additional advantages of hybrids resulting in better monetary returns to growers. Development of hybrids in vegetables brought about a near revolution but still India has not been able to harvest full potential of hybrid technology as compared to USA, Japan, Canada, Europe and Israel. About 10-12% of the total vegetable area is under hybrids in India as against 75-90% in Japan or USA. In India, only tomato and cabbage are leading vegetable crops, occupying 30-35% area under hybrids while rest of the vegetables cover less than 15%. The hybrid seed production and their cultivation, therefore, should be popularized on warfooting to achieve the targets. Many hybrids have been developed both by public and private organizations as given in Chapters 6 of Table 6, which are competing among themselves to produce best hybrids to compete in world market and selling seeds on very high rates ranging from Rs 5,000 to 50,000/ kg of seed. Though, they are making very huge profits but their contribution in promotion of hybrid technology is exemplary and cannot be overlooked.

Onion is a major global commodity, but its value chain is characterized by price volatility, post-harvest losses, fragmented marketing and wide differences between farm-gate and retail prices. This chapter analyses production, trade, marketing and supply-chain trends from global and Indian perspectives. It examines India’s role as a leading producer and exporter and discusses the APMC system, intermediaries, storage deficiencies, Farmer Producer Organisations and export-policy interventions. Digital platforms and technologies—including e-NAM, blockchain traceability, IoT-enabled storage and artificial-intelligence-based price forecasting—are considered for improving transparency, efficiency and coordination. Strategic interventions are proposed to create a more resilient, inclusive, competitive and technology-enabled onion economy

1.1. What is Economics?
If we see our day-to-day activities, most of which are related to earning one’s own living and to the manner of satisfying one’s own wants. These human activities, which are generally called economic, are mainly related to production, distribution, consumption and exchange of goods and services. The scientific study of various problems arising out of these economic activities is called economics.
1.2. Basic Economic Problem
The basic economic problem is Human wants are many; but means to satisfy these wants are limited. These limited means are capable of alternative uses and hence there is a need of satisfying maximum wants with limited resources. In reality most resources are scarce. Similarly, Individuals and nations possess boundless desires, yet they are constrained by a finite pool of resources, including labor, machinery, factories, and raw materials. These scarce resources can be allocated in multiple ways to fulfill various needs. Likewise, individuals have limited financial means but an array of wants they aspire to satisfy, necessitating careful decision-making regarding resource utilization.
For instance, a farmer has the option to cultivate crops such as paddy, sugarcane, banana, or cotton on his garden land. However, the choice of crop must be made based on the availability of irrigation water, as different crops have varying water requirements. More example are shown in figure 1.

About two-thirds of the developing world’s three billion rural people live in about 475 million small farm households, working on land plots smaller than two hectares. Many are poor and food insecure and have limited access to markets and services. Their choices are constrained, but they cultivate their land and produce food for a substantial proportion of the world’s population. Besides farming, they have multiple economic activities, often in the informal economy, to contribute towards their small incomes. These small farms depend predominantly on family labour. In China, nearly 98 percent of farmers cultivate farms smaller than 2 hectares – the country alone accounts for almost half the world’s small farms. In India about 80 to 85 percent of farmers are small. In Ethiopia and Egypt, farms smaller than 2 hectares constitute nearly 90 percent of the total number of farms. In Mexico, 50 percent of the farmers are small; in Brazil smallholders make up for 20 percent of the total number of farmers (Rapsomanikis, 2019).

Ecophysiology is the branch of physiology which aims to define the adaptive features of an organism which fits it to its environment. Most of the time the environment in which the animal lives is a difficult one, hence the requirement of adaptation to environment. Environment is defined as the surroundings in which the organism lives.

5.1 Concept of Ecosystem

Ecosystem is the basic functional unit in ecology, since it includes both biotic and abiotic environments influencing each other for maintenance of life.

A.G. Tansky in 1935 first proposed the term ecosystem. According to him, it is defined as the system resulting from the integration of all the living and non-living factors of the environment. In a simplest form, an ecosystem can be defined as a self-sustained community of plants and animals existing in its own environment. The term ecosystem is composed of two terms, “eco” means environment and “system” means an interacting and interdependent complex. It is otherwise known as bio system.

Introduction

Fisheries management is the scientific approach that is heavily influenced by ecosystem theory but primarily focuses on fishing activity. In inland waters, it expanded from wildlife management and involved direct intervention in habitat and species composition. (Lackey, 1999) In marine ecosystems, management strategies focus on controlling fishing while using indicators for ecosystem and resource status. It is an integrated process concerned with collecting information, inspecting, organizing, decision-making, resource allocation, and regulation enforcement. Its goal is to sustainably utilize fishery resources for human livelihood, food, and recreation.

Environment: Environment means “surrounding”. First definition of environment was given by “Ernst Haeckel”. According to this - The relation between all organic and inorganic atmosphere of any animal is called environment.

Introduction
An ecosystem is any unit that consists of all the creatures, or communities, in a certain area that interact with the physical environment to produce a trophic structure, biodiversity, and material cycle within the system. Various biosphere ecosystem types are
1) Natural ecosystems
2) Man-made ecosystems
Natural Ecosystems
Under natural conditions, these ecosystems function independently with little to no significant human intervention. These are further separated as follows based on the specific type of habitat:
• Terrestrial: grasslands, deserts, and forests
• Aquatic (open to the water), which is further subdivided into

2.1 Ecosystem

An ecosystem can be defined as a dynamic entity composed of a biological community and its associated abiotic environment. Often the dynamic interactions that occur within an ecosystem are numerous and complex. Ecosystems are also always undergoing changes or alterations to their biotic and abiotic components. Some of these alterations begin first with a change in the state of one component of the ecosystem which then cascades and sometimes amplifies into other components because of relationships.

The human activities of various kinds have resulted in caused a number of dramatic changes to a variety of ecosystems found on the Earth. Humans use and modify natural ecosystems through agriculture, forestry, recreation, urbanization, and industry. The most obvious impact of humans on ecosystems is the loss of biodiversity. The number of extinctions caused by human domination of ecosystems has been steadily increasing since the start of the Industrial revolution. The frequency of species extinctions is correlated to the size of human population on the Earth which is directly related to resource consumption, land-use change, and environmental degradation. Other human impacts to ecosystems include species invasions to new habitats, changes to the abundance and dominance of species in communities, modification of biogeochemical, and modification of hydrologic cycling, pollution, and climatic change.

Introduction

`The living and nonliving components of ecosystems, as well as the conditions and processes that occur within them, create services thus connecting ecosystems and human cultures. The preservation of Earth’s biological diversity and the protection of the benefits, or “ecosystem services,” those functioning ecosystems bring to humanity are two primary goals of environmental conservation. Agroforestry is increasingly viewed as providing ecological services, environmental advantages, and economic gains as part of a multifunctional working landscape. The multifunctional importance of agroecosystems was emphasized in both the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MES 2005) and the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (2008).

Introduction
• Biosphere: Living things and the non-living systems that support them in their surroundings are intricately linked and mutually influence one another. Living things inhabit a comparatively small sphere that spans the surface of the globe, measuring less than 20 km in thickness and spanning roughly 8 km above and 10 km below sea level. The biosphere is the thin layer of soil, water, and land that covers the surface of the world. The land (lithosphere), the water (hydrosphere), and the air (atmosphere) are its three non-living constituents.
• Lithosphere: The solid portion of the earth is made up of the rocks and soil found both underneath and on the surface. About 4.6 billion years ago, a hot ball of substance gave rise to the earth and the lithosphere. Just eight of the 92 elements that make up the lithosphere are frequently found in crystal rocks. Of these components, 47% are oxygen, 28% are silicon, 8% are aluminum, and 5% are iron. The other ingredients are calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium, each making up 4%. When rocks break down, they create soil, which is what humans need for agriculture.
• Hydrosphere: The hydrosphere is the area of the earth that is covered in water. It encompasses 0.7 of the planet’s area. Only a minorportion  of the hydrosphere is made up of fresh water; the majority of the hydrosphere is made up of the marine ecosystem

Definition: Ecotourism that involves traveling to relatively undisturbed natural areas with specified object of studying, admiring and/or enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals as well as any existing cultural aspects found in these areas.

OR A tourism which contains a visit to an ecosystem is ecotourism.

OR Ecotourism is now defined as “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people and involves interpretation and education” (TIES, 2015).

The word ecotourism has been derived from two words ‘Ecosystem’ and ‘Tourism’, together it is made Ecotourism. Green globe 21 International Ecotourism Standard has adopted Ecotourism Australia’s definition of ecotourism as “Ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservations”.

It entails not only travelling to such ecosystems, but also helping to conserve them. It involves travel to areas of natural or ecological interest, typically under the guidance of a naturalist for the purpose of observing wildlife and learning about the environment and at the same time focusing on conservation of wildlife and environment.

Characters

Two orders i.e. Archaeognatha & Thysanura are grouped together as Ectognatha because the mouth parts are more or less exposed and not covered by cranial fold.

LICE

Introduction

Lice are common ectoparasites of birds. There are many species of bird lice and are found on chicken, turkey, guinea fowl, duck, goose and pigeon. Lice species prefer a different part of the body. Most of them are straw colour and measure 1-10 mm. Lice from one host can parasitise another host if they are in close contact. For example, a louse from chicken can parasitise guinea fowls kept on the same premises. Hence, the species of lice is determined if cross contamination from another species is suspected. Lice are not highly pathogenic to mature birds. However, severe lousiness may lead to weight loss, as well as low production and death.

Flea of Brds

Ceratophyllus gallinae – commonest flea of domestic poultry may be responsible for irritation, restlessness and even anaemia Feeds readily on humans and domestic pets and its often acquired in the handling of poultry and from injured and wild birds brought into houses could migrate into rooms from nests under adjacent caves.

Echidnophaga gallinacea -‘stick tight’ flea-seen on the skin of the fowl (usually comb and wattles). Absence of genal and pronotal comb. Fleas established in a poultry house - Remove and burn all litter them spray the poultry house with an insectide.

Mites of Birds

Eczema is a troublesome skin condition characterized by redness, cracking, oozing and scaling of the skin. Extremes of heat and cold and even emotional stress seem to play a part in this condition. The patient usually complains of itching and burning in the skin, especially at the night. Sores appear on various parts of the body, but most often on the hands, feet, ears and legs. Eczema may come on at any time of life and in either sex. The commoner manifestations are erythema changing to papule, vesicle, crust, scale and fissure, with serous exudation. In chronic cases, thick scales accumulate.

This is the effect of local irritation by chemical, thermal, actinic or mechanical agents in a hypersensitive individual, subject of an allergy or constitutional disabilities such as gout, chronic nephritis, rheumatism, local sepsis, dyspepsia, alcoholism, uterine disturbances also teething. In some cases heredity may be found.

Papules, vesicles and pustules with some degree of local oedema are found; exudation, crusting and scaling with inflammation of varying severity may be present. These tend to spread to the contiguous areas.

One or both cheeks of an infant or the ear, limbs or trunk are occasionally involved. In adults also similar papulo- vesicular eruptions appear. Sensations of burning, smarting, throbbing or itching are present, according to the acuteness of the process and severity of the inflammation.

Successful cultivation of a crop is governed by various factors including the edaphic and climatic conditions of the region, owing to which the crop responds in terms of quality and productivity. Pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr.) is one of the major crops cultivated across the tropical and sub tropical countries worldwide. Adaptability of the crop under different climatic conditions, topography, temperature, photo-periodicity, rainfall and edaphic conditions will be discussed in this chapter.

Climatic zone: Pineapple is a tropical fruit crop though it can thrive well in the sub-tropical condition as well.Pineapple grows well inwarm and humid climate ranging from mild coastal climate up to an altitude of about 1000 meters, provided the area is free from frost (Singh, 2014).Pineapple is commercially grown over a wide range of latitudes from 30° N (Assam, India) in the northern hemisphere to 33°S in the Southern hemisphere (South Africa) (Malezieux et al., 2003; Purseglove, 1972).

Topography: Pineapples are easy to cultivatesince they thrive naturally in a variety of places with different elevation, especially in tropical countries (Kaudo, 2014). Though the plant survives at different altitude, the fruit quality and size may alter at different elevation. When pineapple is grown at altitudes greater than 1000 m, smaller fruits with elevated tartness with less attractive pulp colour (Purseglove, 1968).Moreover, fruit flavour can also vary, wherein the fruit tends to bemore acidic and sour when cultivated above 1800 meters, but will be sweet and tasty under 1350 meters (Kaudo, 2014).

Temperature: On an average, the temperatures required for growing pineapples range within 18-30°C (Kaudo, 2014) andmore specifically at 23 - 24 ° C (Neild and Boshell, 1976; Py et al., 1987). The optimum day and night temperatures for pineapple were reported to be about 30°C and 20 °C, respectively (Neild and Boshell, 1976). Bartholomew and Kadzimin (1977), however have reported that leaves and roots grow best at 32°C and 29°C respectively and the growth practically ceases below 20°C and above 36°C. Py and Tisuucau (1965) have observed 25°C to be optimal for fruit ripening.

Edge plant

Very low growing plants grown only for the purpose of decoration and demarcation and not for screening are known as edging. Live and inert materials used for living of borders flower beds, paths, lawn, shrubbery and herbaceous border are known as edging. Formal edgings are: Bricks, stones, tiles, concrete etc. Informal edging are: Grass verges and crazy paths made up of tiles stones etc.

10.1. Introduction

When it comes to packaging, plastics are still popular because of durability, versatility, economic production, and enhanced mechanical properties. However, with growing concerns about the impact of plastics-based packaging on the environment, edible and biodegradable packaging were introduced. The application of edible and biodegradable packaging promotes renewable resources, which greatly reduces environmental concerns and fulfil the packaging requirements. The sources employed to develop edible and biodegradable packaging are mainly plant-based biopolymers like cellulose, proteins, starch, and lipid. Moreover, the properties of the packaging material are decided by the proportions of these biopolymers. Hence, selecting a food commodity to be package is equally important as selecting suitable resources for the development of edible and biodegradable packaging.