eChapters

Introduction

Evolution of agriculture in India has an ancient tradition of farming since beginning of human civilization. It has been referred in several ancient scripts including Vedic literature and many other ancient scriptures. Therefore, the study consists methods of cultivation, cropping pattern and status of agriculture sector in economy and in human life is essential for strengthen the agriculture sector during recent period. The agricultural sector in pre-independence India was very prone to breakdown and highly unstable. In other words, there was not stable production rate for various crops. The main reason for this was improper infrastructure for perennial irrigation, non-judicious water use, imbalance use fertilizers and manures, uncertainty and uneven distribution of rainfall throughout the year.

Importance of the farmers

Farmers, who put their labour in crop cultivation, grow crops in the land, supply food to the people generation to generation, most unprivileged and unorganized sector of their communities who used to sale labour. In ancient period, workforces were the actual owner of the land and their produce. Gradually, the farmers became paid workforce in the production system.

In the Sanskrit literature described “agriculture is a divine skill taught by sages to farmers for sustenance of life” and shows the high regard for farmers in society. The farmer was the Annadata that stands for the food provider. Farmers raised fodder for animals. Farmer planted and maintained the orchard of blessed trees after that to the village, maintained pasture land, grew herbs and medicinal plants for supply to the village physician, and fragrant flowers for worship at the temple. Farmers nurtured cattle, which gave milk and carried burdens for the community. Farmers, no doubt were the source of raw materials for all artisans and ever increasing population of the country. But farmers are often neglected, exploited, cheated and deprived from their own legitimate cash out. Farmers’ rights were slowly whittled down at first by foreign invasions, later by changes in the land ownership.

Synopsis

Food safety has become increasingly important with globalization due to various factors such as increased volume and diversity of trade in foods, greater public demand for health protection, changing hazards e.g., resistant microbes, more sophisticated methods for detection of hazards, changes in production and consumption pattern, etc. Food safety contributes significantly to food security as unsafe and poor quality food leads to illnesses as well as food wastage. This leads to a strong need to emphasize not only on availability of food but also ensure that the same is safe.

Livestock production is an integral part of agriculture and plays a significant economic role in most developing countries. It contributes to poverty alleviation, food security and provides elements that are essential to the national economy. Livestock production accounts for 40% of the gross value of the agricultural production globally and this figure is likely to go up, as the demand of livestock products is increasing rapidly with the increase in income and urbanization (FAO, 2012). For poor farmers, animal ownership ensures varying degrees of sustainable development and economic stability. Livestock provide a stable cash reserve independent of inflation and are an important source of traction. Livestock are closely linked to the social and cultural lives of several million people. Quality and quantity of feed is essential for optimum animal productivity. Inadequacy of quality animal feed resources is most often the crucial factor for livestock production. The success of livestock is greatly dependent on continuous supply of good quality nutritious feed at competitive price. Poor nutrition of animals has been identified as the major constraints to animal production across the developing world (FAO, 2000). Feed is the major input cost in animal production system, accounting for 65-70% of the total rearing cost.

The food we eat contains nourishing substances called nutrients which are required by human body for proper functioning and maintenance of body health. They are classified into five groups such as:

Carbohydrates,

Protein,

Fats,

Minerals

Vitamins

Chapter Overview

This chapter discusses the crucial concept of gender sensitization in the context of livestock production. Gender sensitization involves raising awareness about gender equality concerns, challenging stereotypes, and promoting equitable practices in the livestock sector. The chapter covers the stages of gender sensitization, offers guidelines for veterinarians and veterinary students, provides real-world examples, outlines a sensitization strategy, and underscores the pressing need for gender sensitization in livestock production.

INTRODUCTION

Intellectual Property Right (IPR) is described as a generic legal term for patents, copyrights, and trademarks, making the feasibility for legal rights to protect ideas, the expression of ideas, and the inventors and creators of such ideas (Brown, 2003). Two types of rights, first, associated with patents and second, associated with copyrights are included into the current IPR regimes. The social purpose behind the IPR is to reward the originator of an invention. Intellectual property serves as a strong foundation of the modern information economy since it promotes software, life sciences, and computer industries, and has becomes a part of most of the products we consume today (Gallini and Scotchmer, 2002).

Objectives
• To understand the critical role of language and communication skills in engineering.
• To explore how communication impacts the effectiveness and efficiency of engineering work.
• To examine the types of communication skills necessary for engineers
• To highlight the significance of these skills in teamwork, leadership, and project management.
• To discuss the challenges engineers face in communication and how to overcome them.
• To encourage students to develop and enhance their communication skills for better academic and professional outcomes.
Introduction
Language and communication skills are integral to the engineering profession, often determining the success or failure of projects. Engineers are required not only to excel in their technical expertise but also to effectively convey their ideas, collaborate with diverse teams, and manage complex projects. This necessitates a high level of proficiency in both language and communication skills.

The quest for drugs from the sea has yielded a remarkable di versity of natural products mostly from invertebrates such as sponges, tunicates, bryozoans etc. These molecules are either in late stages of clinical trials or have already entered the market. There has been an increased emphasis on marine microorganisms as sources of bioactive compounds over the past decade. Marine bacteria alone constitute 10% of the total living biomass carbon of the Earth’s biosphere and they have unique metabolic and physiological capabilities to ensure their survival in diverse habitats. In the marine environment, some microorganisms associate with living and non-living surfaces and the competition amongst these microbes for space and nutrients leads to the production of bioactive secondary metabolites.

Introduction

Medicinal Aromatic Plants (MAPs) play a valuable and important role in economic, social, cultural and ecological aspects of local communities the world over.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) “a medicinal plant is plant which, in one or more of its organs, contains substance that can be used for therapeutic purpose, or which are precursors for chemo- pharmaceutical semi-synthesis”.

However, a simplest definition of the medicinal plant would be “Medicinal plants are those plants which are used in official and various traditional systems of medicines throughout the world”.

Other definition could be “Medicinal plants are plants that provide people with medicines - to prevent disease, maintain health or cure ailments”.

In Indian traditions, all the plants in this earth are considered as medicinal [Jivak in Astanga Hriday (Sutra: 9-10)].

Aromatic plants are a special class of plants used for their aroma and flavour. Many of them are exclusively used also for medicinal purposes in aromatherapy as well as in various systems of medicine.

It is an established fact that there is no further scope for horizontal expansion of area under plough, as the per capita land is decreasing every year due to unabated increase in human population. Hence, the future need of food has to be met through vertical expansion i.e. more intensification of agriculture. Nearly 40 million tonnes of nutrients in the form of chemical fertilizers will have to be utilized to feed upon an estimated population of 1.5 billion by 2050 AD (Sakai, 2001). However, presently the crop productivity especially rice and wheat has stagnated not only in India but in other South Asian countries also (Mahajan and Gupta, 2009). 

Introduction

An important concept to remember is that one has to feed plants before the plants can provide us with food. Ornamental plants require the nutrition in proper amount for better growth and yield in open as well as in protected condition. For the cut flower production quality is one of the most important trait and is maintained by the applying the nutrients. Quality is an essential criteria in domestic and export markets. Adequate amount of nutrients in suitable proportions and at right time is the most important factor to improve the plant growth in flower crops. In the present scenario, floriculture is a vast emerging and highly competitive industry. The importance of micronutrient In Indian agriculture the role of micronutrient is well known to all and their use had significantly increased the production and productivity of many crops.

In terms of their contribution to human nutrition, the dairy industry is very important. Since dairy farming has the ability to offer meaningful selfemployment and stable income, it is a dependable source of subsistence for the rural poor. Additionally, it requires less labour and cash to maintain. Dairy cattle feeding directly affect the animals’ ability to reproduce and produce. Therefore, the addition of a mineral mixture is necessary to maximize the animal’s productivity and milk output.

The use of seed processing equipments helps in improving the seed quality by inducing uniformity of physical properties of seeds. This help in achieving optimum plant population and desired economic yield. In certain crops like soya bean, standard seed processing may not give desired seed quality because of sensitivity towards moisture. As general practice seed need to be dried to its safe moisture content of 9 before processing. But in case of soya bean lower seed moisture may result higher mechanical damage after standard seed processing. Drier seed are more vulnerable for mechanical damage. In this practical w try to explore the importance of moisture in seed processing and also need of alternative processing equipments like spiral graders to minimize mechanical damage.

There are 6 nutrients which are very important to animal body – carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins and water.
Carbohydrates: These are polyhydroxy aldehyde or ketone as in monosaccharide or polymers in oligo or polysaccharides. The question arises whether carbohydrate is a dietary essential !!! Carbohydrate may not be dietary essential, but it is definitely metabolically essentially. The organic compounds – fats, proteins are oxidized only in the presence of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the structural components of DNA, RNA, and some other vital organic molecules. Although less than 1% is present in the human body [because, constantly being formed and broken down in metabolism], yet without the presence of this carbohydrate, the existence of living creature is at stake. Carbohydrate in the form of glucose primarily provides energy in the body and excess amount of carbohydrate is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle. More than 50 % of the energy value of the diet is provided by carbohydrate.
Glucose + 6 O2 6 CO2 + 6 H20 Δ E (675 k. cal).
Lipids: These are important constituents of plant and animal tissue and these can be extractable from biological materials with the usual fat solubles, for example – Ether, Chloroform, Benzene, Carbon tetrachloride, Acetone etcetra. The lipid metabolism is in dynamic state. There is constant mobilization and transportation of fatty acids from the depots. Some portion of absorbed fatty acids are degraded in the same way, while others are combined with glycerol transported back to depots. All these reactions are so balanced, that mixtures of fatty acids in the depots, blood and organs tend to remain at equilibrium
condition.

There are six nutrients which are very important to animal body and they are – Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Minerals, Vitamins and water.

Carbohydrates: These are polyhydroxy aldehyde or ketone as in monosaccharide or polymers in oligo or polysaccharides. The question arises whether carbohydrate is a dietaryessential !!! Carbohydratemay not be dietary essential but it is definitely metabolically essential. The organic compounds – fats, proteins are oxidized only in the presence of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the structural components of DNA, RNA, and some other vital organic molecules. Although less than 1% is present in the human body (because constantly being formed and broken down in metabolism), yet without the presence of this carbohydrate, the existence of living creature is at stake.

Carbohydrate in the form of glucose primarily provides energy in the body and excess amount of carbohydrate is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle. More than fifty per cent of the energy value of the diet is provided by carbohydrate.

Glucose + 6O₂ → 6 CO₂ + 6H₂O + Δ E (675 k.cal)

They also exhibit protein sparing action because proteins are mainly required for tissue-building i.e. general wear and tear in the body. If there is any emergency, say animal is deficient in calories of the diet, then it will use adipose and protein tissues. It is said that proteins and fats are burnt or oxidized in the flame of carbohydrate.It means thatcertain intermediarycompounds of glucose oxidation through krebscycle are absolutely necessary for oxidation of proteins and fats. Again, in any emergency, if glucose level of the body goes down, fats and proteins take over and they get metabolized faster than the animal body

Floriculture has flourished with a considerable growth and a useful crop diversification option, particularly for small farmers over the past three decades. The commercial production of the cut greens has started in India in recent years and has huge demand in the market. They are suited for year round production with low investment and less care and maintenance. Cut greens or fillers are an important component of the floricultural industry and their commercial value depends on vegetative characters, such as stem length, leaf colour, density and side branching. Cut foliages (leaves and stems), which are attractive in form, colour and freshness, are lasting and in great demand. They have various other uses in making attractive fresh floral designs and floral arrangements, such as bouquets, wreaths, decoration of house interiors, etc. Evergreen plants with green, silver or variegated leaves are usually used and species with berries are now also becoming popular. Fillers are critical components in most arrangements as the flowers themselves,used to increase the volume and size of the bunch and provide colour contrast. These floral produce have various other uses in making attractive fresh floral designs and floral arrangements, such as bouquets, wreaths, decoration of house interiors, etc. Colour, freshness, stem length, freedom from pests, fragrance and vase life are important quality aspects of fillers. In the International market, fillers accounts for about 16 percent of the total trade by volume with an annual turnover of more than Rs 800 crores including selling of ornamental leaves, filler flowers, dry and dyed flowers along with berries and capsules. On the contrary, fillers representvery less quantum with poor quality in the domestic market and are unsuitable for cut flower bouquets. Their share in the market is very low and fetches nominal rates.

Real benefits are obtained when we use a participatory approach to curriculum development and reorientation. Primarily, the course contents we provide and the learning will become more effective. If students participate actively in the learning process, then they are more likely to learn and teaching is more likely to be effective. They will have more ownership in the teaching, because their needs will have been identified and hopefully they will also be involved in deciding how their needs can be met. This will increase their motivation, which will help them to learn more effectively.

Crop physiology is the study of the ways in which plant physiological processes are integrated to cause whole plant responses in communities. The subject matter of crop physiology includes the ways in which the knowledge of plant physiology is applied for better management of crops.

Genetic potential of a plant and its interaction with environmental factors decides its growth and development by influencing or modifying certain internal processes. Plant physiology studies about these internal processes and their functional aspects. It helps to understand various biological processes of the plants like photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, translocation, nutrient uptake, plant growth regulation through hormones and such other processes which have profound impact on crop yield. Many aspects of Agriculture can benefit from more intensive research in plant physiology to provide practical solutions in agriculture. Understanding the physiological aspects of seed germination, seedling growth, crop establishment, vegetative development, flowering, fruit and seed setting and crop maturity provides a reasonable scientific base for effective monitoring and beneficial manipulation of these phenomenon’s. Studying this phenomenon with a view to develop better crop management practices forms the subject matter of crop physiology. Later on several research works were carried out to understand the processes like translocation of food materials, their partitioning towards economic yield, storage mechanisms, physiology of flowering, effect of stressful environmental factors on crop growth and development, role of plant growth regulators in increasing the crop productivity etc. All these areas have enriched the knowledge of physiological processes and their role in deciding the crop yield. Crop physiology covers different topics such as seed germination and proper establishment of seedling depends upon various internal and external factors. Knowledge in seed physiology helps in understanding of different physiological and morphological changes that occur during germination. Any deviation in these processes causes seed dormancy. The dormant condition of the seed, bars immediate use of harvested seed for next crop which is important in intensive agriculture. By understanding the causes and effects of this problem, crop physiologists have come up with different methods of breaking the seed dormancy. Nutriophysiology is yet another important area to understand crop physiology. For the healthy growth of a crop, around 16 essential elements are required. Knowledge of nutriophysiology has helped in identification of essential nutrients, ion uptake mechanisms, their deficiency symptoms and corrective measures. It also helps to check the toxicity symptoms of various nutrients.

The term plantation crops refer to those crops which are cultivated on an extensive scale in contiguous area, owned and managed by an individual or a company.

There are two groups of plantation crops namely coconut, arecanut, oil palm, cocoa, cashewnut dealt by Ministry of Agriculture and tea, coffee, rubber dealt by the Ministry of Commerce.

These are high value commercial crops of greater economic importance and play a vital role in improving Indian economy, especially in view of their export potential, employment generation and poverty alleviation particularly in rural sector.

Proper handling, packaging, transportation and storage reduce the post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables. For every one percent reduction in loss will save 5 million tons of fruit and vegetable per year. Processing and preservation technology helps to save excess fruit and vegetable during the glut season (off season). The technology has become a necessity to improve the food safety and strengthen nation’s food security. The technology helps to boost export of agricultural commodities in the form of preserved and value added products e.g. mango, pineapple, citrus, grapes, tomatoes, peas, potato and cucumber being processed on a large scale.

Principles and Methods of Preservation of Fruits

Preservation: Preservation means just protect the foods against the spoilage, but scientifically it may be defined as a science which deals with the process for prevention of decay or spoilage of the food is called preservation. In other words, just controlling the physical, chemical or microbial changes in the foods is called preservation.