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In countries like India, where majority of the population are vegetarians, leguminous vegetables serve as the major source of protein in the diet. In the developing third world countries, especially for the poor, the major protein source in the diet are vegetable legumes. Most leguminous vegetables are rich in phosphorus, calcium, iron and a number of essential vitamins. Crops like soybean, groundnut and Bamabara groundnut are also rich in fats which are needed by the body to absorb vitamin A.

The green pepper or chilli is reported to be the native of tropical America (Thompson and Kelly, 1957). This was widely cultivated in Central and South America in early times and was unknown in Europe prior to the discovery of America. The chilli belongs to the family Solanaceae and genus Capsicum. Only four species are under cultivation, out of which the cultivation of the two, Capsicum pendulum and Capsicum pubescens, are restricted to South and Central America.

Members of the family Cruciferae commonly used as vegetable include Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and mustard etc. The genus Brassica is known for its important agricultural and horticultural crops. A dislike for cabbage or broccoli can result from the fact that these plants contain a compound similar to
Phenyl thiocarbamide (PTC), which is bitter or tasteless to some people depending on their ‘taste buds’ (Theresa, 1995).

Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. is an important vegetable cultivated throughout the world; both outdoors and under protected structures for fresh market consumption and processing. In India this nutritive rich vegetable is grown over an area of 0.60 m ha with an estimated production of 11.9 mt. Productivity of tomato in India is lower (18.6 t/ha) than the world productivity (27 t/ha) (Anonymous 2009). Tomato is grown in a wide range of climatic conditions across states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus Moench), otherwise known as Lady’s finger or Bhindi is an annual malvaceous plant and the sixth important vegetable crop cultivated throughout the country mostly in kharif and summer seasons. Though it is reported to be originated from tropical and sub-tropical Africa, but it has gained much importance in India as the secondary centre of origin. India ranked first in okra production in the World and major okra producing Indian states are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam (Anonymous, 2011).

Potato is one of the major non cereal food crops in the world and ranks fourth after rice, wheat and maize. Due to its high production potential per unit area and time, the crop has been recorded for sustaining millions of lives during the times of war and hunger. Native of South America, this crop was introduced into India in
early seventieth century. Currently India ranks 3rd for area and 2nd for production in the world [AICRP (Potato) Bulletin No. 2].

‘Cucurbits’ is a term coined by Liberty Hyde Bailey for cultivated species of the family Cucurbitacae (Robinson and Decker-Walters, 2004). Presently, the term has been used not only for cultivated forms, but also for any species of the family Cucurbitacae. Among vegetables, the cucurbits form one of the largest groups with their wide adaptation from arid climates to the humid tropics.

Brinjal (Solanum melongena Linn.) is one of the widely used vegetable crops and is popular in many countries viz. Central, South and South-East Asia, some part of Africa and Central America (Gurubban, 1977). It is also known as the aubergine, eggplant, melongene, guinea squash etc. Various data indicate that from the several species that evolved in Africa, one (Solanum incanum), gave rise to a distinct species which spread to South-East Asia as the wild ancestor of Solanum melongena (Lester, 1998).

Taxonomy is the science of identifying (discovering), describing, naming and classifying organisms. It is a complex summing up of knowledge starting with thorough analysis to base the synthesis that will end up in the name of a taxon. Correct identification of biological taxa is a necessary pre-requisite to all other enquiries about the biological world.

• Pathogen attacks the crop at all stages of crop growth.
• Symptoms appear on leaves, nodes, rachis, and glumes. On the leaves, the lesions appear as small bluish green flecks, which enlarge under moist weather to       form the characteristic spindle shaped spots with grey centre and dark brown margin (Leaf blast).

India has successfully reduced pesticide consumption without adversely affecting the agricultural productivity. This was facilitated by appropriate policies that discouraged pesticide use and favored IDM application. Despite it, adoption of IDM is low owing to a number of socio –economic, institutional and policy issues. 

The eventual objective of promoting IDM is to empower its users to engage sustainable agricultural production with long term positive impacts on human being, poverty and environmental health.The impact of successful implementation of IDM approaches cannot be achieved if IDM is not strategically placed within national policies for agricultural production and protection. There are number of the national policies and related regulations that have direct impact on IDM adoption and scaling up in India.

Validation of IDM technologies is ultimate test for IDM knitted with available technologies under ground realities of the field. Since IDM is multidisciplinary, multiorganizational and multi-locational participatory approach, involvement of all the stakeholders, including farmers and field technicians is to be ensured. The following guidelines have been used as spirit behind the methodology of IDM validation.

A broad range of products and services are required by farmers in order to adopt Integrated Disease Management , calling for close interaction between them, the
scientists and the experts developing IDM technologies. IDM must be based on farmers’ concerns and circumstances.

Sampling: Disease assessment activity within plots and fields.
Survey: To move over a specific place for some observation.
Surveillance: Repeated or sequential survey of some place/ locality for some observation to ascertain the changes /fluctuations in the objects of study.

First aid is the initial treatment of a person suffering from a pesticide exposure, before seeking proper medical attention. The first action is to remove the person from the source of the exposure by removing pesticide from the skin, removing contaminated clothing, or getting the person to fresh air. While doing this, be careful to avoid contaminating yourself.

Of late, there has been a growing trend for individuals and companies to “Go Green” or be more environmentally friendly. There has also been a opinion that natural and organic products are healthier or safer. The pest control industry has responded to these changes in our culture and business markets with innovations in products, materials, and methods. Requests for “organic” based services have grown to a point where most pest control providers offer services that use only natural pesticides.

In order for a plant to become diseased, three conditions must be present: (1) a pathogen, (2) a favorable environment and (3) a susceptible host. All the strategies we use to manage plant diseases work to remove or limit one of these factors, thus breaking the plant disease triangle. The key to sustainable plant disease management is to establish an agro- ecological system that is favorable to plant growth and development at the population level and adverse to pathogen evolution and epidemic development based on interactions among plants, pathogens, vectors and environment.

Pesticides have a direct impact on agricultural economy and food security. The presence of spurious, fake, illegal or duplicate pesticides in the market result in losses of yield and farmers’ income. Over 30% of plant protection chemicals sold in India are not registered, fake, sub-standard, misbranded, counterfeit, unapproved and illegitimate pesticides, bio pesticides and bio-stimulants. They are developed by passing regulations and field trials.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that up to 40% of food crops are lost due to plant pests and diseases annually. Such losses not only threaten global food security but also have the potential to limit food access due to unavailability of food, or sharp increases in food prices. But this challenge is also an opportunity to find new ways to help crops better withstand adverse conditions in a farmer’s field.