eChapters

12.1 Introduction

A magneto hydrodynamic energy conversion system or MHD system converts heat energy directly into electricity. An MHD generator produces electricity via the interaction of a moving fluid with a magnetic field and ionized gas. MHD conversion does not involve any mechanical conversion intermediary. As a result, this process offers substantial fuel savings because the process of producing mechanical energy and then converting it to electrical energy is eliminated. It is possible to generate electricity in large quantities using MHD power plants while reducing the impact on the environment. During his Bakerian lecture in 1832 to the Royal Society, Michael Faraday presented the concept of MHD power generation for the very first time. 

Magnolia champaca, formerly known as Michelia champaca, is a highly fragrant flowering tree valued for loose flowers, religious offerings, garlands, landscaping and perfumery. Its strongly scented cream to yellow-orange flowers are an important source of fragrance and essential oil. This chapter discusses the origin, distribution, genetics and botanical characteristics of the crop, including important varieties. It explains climatic and soil requirements, propagation, land preparation, planting, nutrient management and irrigation. Cultural practices for maintaining growth and flowering are also described. The chapter further covers major insect pests and diseases, harvesting, postharvest handling and yield, highlighting the importance of Champak as both a traditional flower crop and a valuable raw material for perfumery.

Named after a French botanist Pierre Magnol, Magnoliaceae is a family of about 7 genera and 300 species, mainly distributed in the warm temperature regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The species are common in eastern Asia and eastern North America, and found also in Brazil, West Indies, and Malaysia.
Description of family
1) General habit: Deciduous or evergreen, often aromatic shrubs or trees; Liriodendron tulipifera reaches 20 to 65 m in height; Michelia and Magnolia are medium sized trees or shrubs; Schizandra is a climber.
2) Leaves: Alternate, large, simple, entire, petiolate, pinnately-veined; stipulate, stipules large, protect young buds and leave a circular scar on falling; stipules absent in Wintereae; oil glands present.
3) Inflorescence: Flowers usually solitary, either axillary or terminal; flowers crowded near the tips of the branches in Illicium.
4) Flowers: Large, showy, bracteate (Magnolia, Michelia) or ebracteate, pedicellate, bisexual but rarely unisexual flowers while other have bisexual flowers.

Genetic architecture of a population is the result of prolonged natural selection. The populations which exist in diverse environments might have been strongly diversified genetically. So, it is necessary to understand the extent and rates of genetic divergence existing between the diversified forms or types. Genetic diversity must be sufficient enough to justify breeding effort. Genetic diversity may be available in improved germplasm or it may exist only in genetically inferior stocks. The availability of statistical tools to quantitatively measure the genetic divergence between two or more populations and the relative contribution of individual characters to the total divergence have permitted to trace the evolutionary patterns in some crops such as rice and tobacco and in choosing the parents for hybridization in crop plants (Rao, 1958; Blackith, 1960; Morishima and Oka, 1960; Murthy et al.,1962). Among the several statistical methods developed for measuring the divergence between population, multivariate analysis (D² statistic) developed by Mahalanobis in 1936, has been found to be potent tool.

Mahalanobis D² analysis is an effective tool in quantifying the degree of divergence at genetic level and provides a quantitative measures of the association between geographic and genetic diversity based on generalized distance.

Maharashtra state is located in the north centre of Peninsular India. The topography of the state is the outcome of its geological structure. The state area, barring the extreme eastern Vidarbha region, parts of Kolhapur and Sindhudurg, is practically co-terminous with the Deccan Trap. The state enjoys a tropical monsoon climate; the hot scorching summer from March onwards yields to the rainy monsoon in early June. The rich green cover of the monsoon season persists during the mild winter that follows through an unpleasant October transition, but turns into a dusty, barren brown as the summer sets in again. The seasonal rains from the western sea-clouds are very heavy and the rainfall is over 400 cm on the Sahyadrian crests. The Konkan on the windward side is also endowed with heavy rainfall, declining northwards. East of the Sahyadri, the rainfall diminishes to a meagre 70 cm in the western plateau districts, with Solapur-Ahmednagar lying in the heart of the dry zone. The rains increase slightly, later in the season, eastwards in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

Rationale of the Programme

A vast majority of the poor people in rural areas of the country depend mainly on the wages they earn through unskilled labour. They are often on threshold levels of subsistence and are vulnerable to the possibility of sinking from transient to chronic poverty, in the event of inadequate labour demand or in the face of unpredictable crises that may be general in nature like natural disaster or personal like ill-health, all of which adversely impact their employment opportunities. In a context of poverty & unemployment, wage employment programmes provide unskilled manual workers with short-term employment. The wage employment programmes provide income transfers to poor households during critical times and so also enable consumption smoothing specially during slack agricultural seasons or years. Durable assets created under these programmes have the potential to generate sustainable livelihood.

Mahua (Bassia latifolia Roxb.), is a deciduous, hard woody multipurpose tree species (Venkatesh,1998). It is very hardy and thrives well on rocky, gravelly red soils and also on saline and sodic soils. It can grow even in pockets of soil between crevices of barren rock. Trees are grown on degraded rocky area including salt-affected soils and forests area.  Mahua prefers tropical and sub-tropical climate. It can withstand drought admirably. A characteristic tree of the dry region is found in north and central India.  It commonly grows in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.  In Rajasthan, it is also found growing on the wastelands particularly in southern part of the state.  The tree is very well known to rural folk since ages in India.

Mahua botanically known as Bassia latifolia Roxb, (Hindi name: Mahua, Family: Sapotaceae) is an economical and multipurpose tree. Its flowers, fruits and oil obtained from seeds are eaten in various ways. Corolla commonly called mahua flowers is a rich source of sugar, containing appreciable amount of vitamins and minerals. Flowers are used for preparation of distilled liquors and potable spirits. Flowers and spent flowers (after fermentation) are also used as feed for livestock. Fruits are eaten as raw or cooked. Fruit pulp can be used as a source of sugar for alcoholic fermentation, whereas dry fruit husk can be used for preparation of absolute alcohol. Seed is a good source of oil. Amount of oil obtained from seeds is higher than many oil seed crops and oil seed-bearing trees. Oil obtained from kernel is used for edible purpose and used for preparation of vegetable oil. In Mahua oil, linoleic and unsaturated fatty acids are found which are useful for cardiac patients because it reduces cholesterol content in blood serum. Mahua oil is used in manufacture of soap, lubricating grease, fatty alcohols and candles. Mahua fat is a rich source of palmitic acid used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Mahua seeds can also be used for preparation of defatted flour, which has great potential in bakery products. Saponin obtained after extraction has industrial and commercial applications. Cake obtained after extraction of oil is used as manure and has insecticidal properties. The trees provide quality timber wood for various uses. Every part of Mahua yields an economic product of great potential value; hence it is a very useful tree.

Both women and men play critical roles in agriculture throughout the world, producing, processing and providing the food we eat. Rural women in particular are responsible for half of the world’s food production and produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food in most developing countries. Yet, despite their contribution to global food security, women farmers are frequently underestimated and overlooked in development strategies.

Rural women are the main producers of the world’s staple crops – rice, wheat, maize – which provide up to 120 percent of the rural poor’s food intake. Women sow, weed, apply fertilizer and pesticides, harvest and thresh the crops. In the livestock sector, women feed and milk animals, while raising poultry and small animals such as sheep, goat, etc. Also, once the harvest is in, rural women provide most of the labour for post-harvest activities, taking responsibility for storage, handling, processing and marketing.

I. FILL UPS

1. The initial handful of seeds obtained from selected individual plants of a particular variety is called as _____.
2. The panicles collected should be stored in a airtight drum under _____.
3. _____ is the original purified seed stock of a new variety in the hands of a plant breeder.
4. The seeds of a notified variety collected from the evolving institute with all the passport information is considered as _____.
5. Nucleus seed is produced by _____.

1. BASIC NUCLEUS SEED

The seed of the notified variety collected from the evolving institute with all the passport information is considered as basic nucleus seed. This seed is sown in prepared healthy field with more row to row and plant to plant distance than the normal recommendation at required isolation distance. Prescribed dose of fertilizer, irrigation and required plant protection measures are provided.

Off types and diseases plants are rogued out at seedling, before flowering, flowering and at physiological maturity stages. Plants are marked with contrast color thread and observed regularly. Marked plants are harvested separately and its produce is used as source seed for production of nucleus seed for next year. Produce of unmarked plants are used as nucleus seed for production of breeders seed. Harvesting threshing and drying are done without reducing physical and genetic purity. The discolored and diseased seeds are removed. The pure seed obtained is the nucleus seed for seed multiplication chain

Deterioration of Crop varieties in their genetic endowments/qualities has been explained by Kadam (1942). Publication on maintenance and management of breeder seed production (Laverack 1991), and maintennce of self pollinated crop varieies (De Hanns 1953; Parlevliet 2007) explain in detail various aspects in maintenance of the seed quality.

Garden is like drawing room of the house. A well maintained drawing room always impresses visitors at first look and also gives idea about choice and taste of the house owner. Similarly, well maintained gardens at the house, office, institute etc. provide a good reflection of the owner’s inclination towards nature. Maintenance of gardens round the year and to keep them in presentable form needs proper planning. Knowledge on regular garden operations taken up in different seasons is also important.

Operations required to be undertaken for better maintenance is given below as quarterly calendar which will be helpful to formulate plan of action in advance.

Since time immemorial when man used primitive tools and machines to carry his loads, to draw his water, to till his land and to fabricate his building materials, he has been faced with the prospect of maintaining these assets until such time as he considered their useful life to be ended. Maintenance is very important to extend the useful life of an asset. Maintenance is usually viewed only as a repair function. It is, however, “a combination of any actions carried out to retain an item in, or restore it to, an acceptance condition”. In fact maintenance keeps or ensures that the entire production system is kept reliable, productive and efficient. All departments of a production system may have been designed beautifully without giving due consideration to maintenance management. The end result is obvious. Organizations like the National Productivity Council and others are playing a vital role in propagating the importance of Maintenance Management of all assets of the organization. In fact, all organizations must be having some assets, and hence the need for proper maintenance and ‘physical assets management’ which is synonymous with the word ‘Tero-technology’.

Cell growth and cell passage : Different types of cells have different growth requirements but in all cases the surrounding medium must supply all the essential nutrients. The temperature, pH, osmolarity and humidity must be kept within limits. Again, toxic or inhibitory substances must not be allowed to accumulate. Serum, a source of macromolecular growth factors, is essential to the growth of many cell types. Anchorage dependent cells require nontoxic or biologically inert glass or plastic surface for attachment.

Systematic recording is vital for smooth running of any artificial insemination enterprise. All the information in the center should be so arranged so that it can be readily be traced out and used for analysis of performance of the center. The records should be critically analyzed for selecting better animals / personnel and for improving reproductive management. The objective of record keeping is as follows.

This chapter deals with the maintenance, repair, safety and trouble shooting of agricultural implements, equipment and machinery.

Routine maintenance reduces repair bills and extends the life of equipment. Good maintenance practices are essential for efficient operation of all types of farm machineries. Effort spent in this area of farm management is more than repaid by the consistent, reliable operation of machinery, reduced fuel bills and extended life of equipment. Maintenance of farm machinery is complicated by the usage pattern of short spells of intense activity, followed by periods of non-use or storage.

During the “standing” or non-use periods chemical interactions between metals and fluids can cause more damage than normal wear and tear from active usage. This must be considered in planning machinery maintenance.

Maize is one of the world’s leading crops cultivated over an area of about 194 million hectares with a production of about 1147 million tonnes of grain (2020). Among the maize growing countries, USA has the largest area followed by China, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine and India. In respect of production also USA stands first followed by China. Regarding average yield per hectare USA ranks first followed by China. The average maize yield in India is only 3065 kg per hectare which is much lower than most of the maize growing countries of the world.

Basic principles of breeding hybrid maize
1. Inbreeding
•    Produce a plant which breeds true
•    Produce uniform plants
•    Increase the homozygosity at all or specific loci in the plant genome
•    We know what inbreeding does and I do not propose to spend people’s money to learn how to reduce corn yield-Hopkins

Banded Leaf and Sheath Blight
Diagnostic Symptoms
• From the crop’s seedling stage until crop maturity, this pathogen can infect the plant at any point in its growth.
• The disease initially appears on the first and second leaf sheaths above the ground, and it eventually spreads to the ears, where it results in ear rot.
• The hallmark symptoms of ear rot include the presence of light brown, cottony mycelium on the plant’s ear, small, rounded black sclerotia, early ear drying, and caking of the ear sheath.
• When there is humidity, the infection that first appears on the lower sheath extends to the upper sheaths, causing leaf sheath rot and complete leaf drying.
• When the condition worsens, the majority of the plant’s leaves become blighted, and easily detachable sclerotia form on the lesions.
• The disease manifests as a straw-colored, wet, irregular to roundish patch on both leaf surfaces on the basal sheath.