eChapters

The Begonia family has a tropical and subtropical distribution in America, Asia and Africa. With approximately 100 species and 10,000 cultivated hybrids, they are very important as ornamental plants.A few reports describe Begonia as edible; the highest number of these species is found in America, some in Asia, and we have only one report of an edible Begonia in Africa.

The Begonia family has a tropical and subtropical distribution in America, Asia and Africa. There are approximately 600 species in America, and the same number in Asia.

Africa, including Madagascar and the Mascarenes, has 158 reported species, one third of which are endemic to Madagascar and associated Isles (Mascarenes, Seychelles and Comoros). Only ones species, B. grandis Dryander, is widely distributed in temperate regions, extending northwards near Beijing (Forrest & Hollingsworth, 2003; Plana, 2003).

This chapter demonstrates that modern advances in horticultural crop development may benefit from not only knowledge derived from extant ethnographic groups but extinct peoples as well. More than 18,000 archaeological sites were identified, and a dozen rock shelter sites investigated in the Zeekoe Valley, Upper Karoo, South Africa. A baseline for understanding potential contribution of plants to the Zeekoe Valley diet is crucial for developing models of land use and mobility patterns for Late Stone Age (LSA) inhabitants, particularly since  ethnographically known foragers in Botswana, some 800 km to the North, are as much as 80 % depend on plant foods for their survival.  Since native foraging groups are long extinct in this semi-arid region with abundant natural springs, a rigorous investigation of botanical and ethnohistoric literature forms the groundwork for field investigations where direct ethnographic observation is no longer an option. First, edible species in the study area are identified in the literature. They are then sought on the ground with the aid of local informants whose families reside in the valley for generations. It appears as though some knowledge of local plants gained from native foragers 150 years ago or more have remained in Afrikaans families passed down from landowning parent to child. On the ground, collection and middle range experimentation were followed by basic nutritional analysis.  These measures were then used to compare foraging efficiency to measures from extant foraging groups.

While reviewing the status of education and research on medicinal plants in Bangladesh, it was found that there are 27 government and private educational institutions currently engaged in offering Bachelor or Diploma degree on Unani and Ayurvedic systems and training of traditional medicine practitioners in Bangladesh. Several other public and private universities have included different aspects of medicinal plants in their syllabus with other degrees at undergraduate and post graduate level. At present, there are 277 Unani, 201 Ayurvedic and 32 herbal drug manufacturers in Bangladesh with 6498 Unani, 4058 Ayurvedic and 537 herbal products registered by the Directorate General of Drug Administration. About 500 species of plants are identified which possess medicinal properties and are distributed throughout the country. There is no distinctive research organizations at present for conducting planned research solely on medicinal plants; though, the Bangladesh Forest Research Institute have some research programme on medicinal plants. Hamdard University- a private university is offering degree on Unani and Ayurvedic systems and conducting some research including drug manufacturing. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute with other public and private universities are conducting some hectic research on medicinal plants including some high yielding variety development. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) have taken some initiatives for development of Unani and Ayurvedic medicine sector like making ‘Bangladesh Unani and Ayurvedic Practitioners Ordinance, 1983’, ‘National Drug Policy 2016’, establishment of ‘Board of Unani and Ayurvedic Systems of Medicines (BUASM)’, etc. But proper implementation of the ordnance, strengthening the activities of BUASM and taking organized research programme on medicinal plants are very much essential for having skilled professionals, quality drugs and research.

Air pollution is the major environmental problem due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. It has led to continuous deterioration of air quality in both developed and developing countries.

Air pollution is characterized by high concentrations of suspended particulate matter, oxides of sulphur and nitrogen. Air pollution has long term effects on fruit trees; when exposed to higher orabnormal levels of various air pollutants. The injury symptoms range from visible marks on foliage, reduced growth and yield to premature death of the plant. The development and severity of injury depends not only on the concentration of the particular pollutant, but also on a number of other supporting factors. These include the duration of exposure to the pollutant, the plant species and development stage as well as conducive environmental factors.

Air pollution problems: Air pollutants are injurious to vegetation can generally be classified as either local or widespread.

ABSTRACT

Senna (Cassia angustifolia), a traditional medicinal crop in Tamil Nadu warrants the modern quality guidelines viz. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for marketing overseas. Buyers of developed countries insist on GAP and organic certification for medicinal plants. With this in view, an experiment was conducted at Medicinal Plants Unit, Botanic Garden, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore to study the effect of various biostimulants on yield and yield attributing characters to standardize the biostimulant(s) for higher yield. The treatments included different concentrations of panchakavya (2% & 4%), moringa leaf extract (2 & 4%) and humic acid (0.2 & 0.4%). The field was laid out in randomized block design. Vermicompost @ 4 t ha^-1 was applied commonly to all the plots. Spraying with the above said chemicals was done at 15 days interval from 30 days after transplanting for four times. The observations were recorded for growth a yield characters and were statistically analyzed. The treatment 2% panchakavya + 2% moringa leaf extract + 0.2% humic acid recorded the highest value of growth and yield characters like plant height (44.58 cm), number of branches (6.1), number of pods (53.0), dry leaf yield (560.8 kg / acre) and dry pod yield (6. 72 g / plant).

India has an opportunity to grow a variety of horticultural crops due to varied agro climatic conditions and thus, it forms a significant role in total agricultural produce. Though, horticultural crops occupy 8% of the cropped area, approximately 30% contribution in agricultural GDP. Horticultural crops play a unique role in India’s economy by improving the income of the rural people.

However, during the last decades onwards, the productivity of horticultural crops has been affected by many factors. One of the major reasons is climate change. Climate change is one of the most leading environmental problems which is facing the modern world and directly or ultimately to human action that changes the arrangement of the global atmosphere.

The earth climate has always changed in response to changes in the cryosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and other atmospheric and interacting factors. It is widely accepted that human activities are now increasingly influencing changes in the global cliamte. Emission of increasing amounts of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons and nitrous oxide are responsible for generating changes to global climate. These changes are responsible for rise in sea level, rainfall sequences and movement of climatic regions due to increased temperatures.

ABSTRACT

Tamarind, an economically important multipurpose tropical tree, is a species of choice for sustainable development of wasteland due to its hardy nature and adaptability to various agroclimatic conditions. However, there are very few reports on in vitro regeneration of tamarind. In an attempt to induce caulogenic response, effect of different cytokinins on nodal explants from mature trees was tested. The study extended to seedling explants, revealed that 6-Benzylaminopurine (0.08 - 44.39μM) and Zeatin (0.09 - 9.12μM) induced multiple shoots with callusing at the base of explant. Kinetin (0.09 - 9.29μM) and 6-γ,γ- dimethylallylaminopurine (2iP) (0.09-9.84μM) remained ineffective for multiplication of shoots and callusing was noted at the cut end of explant in contact of medium. Thidiazuron (TDZ) (0.09- 9.08μM) failed to induce morphogenic response and triggered dedifferentiation in the basal cut end. This led to profuse callusing in the explant and restricted morphogenesis. To avoid wound in the explant, tamarind seeds were cultured in medium containing TDZ.

Seedlings were germinated in medium with or without Thidiazuron (4.54, 9.08, 13.12, 18.16μM). Differentiation of the apical meristem to shoot was restricted and proliferation of the cotyledonary node meristem was triggered. Large number of meristematic buds appeared in a radial pattern around the node. The meristematic activity subsequently spread towards the cotyledonary bridge and also in the proximal part of the hypocotyl. These buds differentiated to form shoot primordia and subsequently to shoots in medium devoid of growth regulator. Plants developed by micrografting of these shoots on seedling derived rootstocks, survived in soil.

ABSTRACT

Attempts were made to induce variability by irradiation of axillary buds of rose cv. Folklore followed by in vitro culture. Axillary bud explants collected at different growth stages were subjected to gamma irradiation at different doses (20, 30 and 40 Gray). The in vitro induced micro shoots were sub cultured on a rooting medium (M.S. basal medium supplemented with IAA 1.00 mg/l + NAA 1.00 mg/l + activated charcoal 500 mg/l). The rooting percentage was the lowest in explants irradiated with 40 Gy. Rooting efficiency was severely affected when buds were collected at vegetative phase. Significant interaction between bud stages and gamma rays was noticed for days to root initiation and number of roots per culture. Gamma irradiation at 30 and 40 Gy significantly delayed root initiation at all stages of buds exposed. Significant reduction in number of roots/ culture, and root length was observed at higher doses of gamma exposure. The reduced rooting efficiency may be due to inhibition of cell division on account of chromosome damage.

Nature has bestowed our country with diverse agro climatic and topographic conditions ranging from temperate to humid and from sea bed to snow line. The existing climatic conditions with a plenty of sunshine, nutrient rich soil, abundant water resources and reservoir of trained manpower, enable our country to grow various types of vegetables in tropical, subtropical, temperate, alpine and desert vegetation zones in one or the other seasons during the year.

Vegetables, the cheapest and nutrient-rich food source within the economic reach of poor man, play a vital role in human diet since they provide carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins, fibers and phytochemicals (non-nutrient bioactive compounds), which are essential for making the body immune system strong, detoxifying carcinogens, reducing muscular degeneration and protecting the body from infectious ailments. Vegetables besides having medicinal values also play an important role in nutritional security and national economy of the country since they are quick growing and short duration, and their yield per unit area per unit time is 5-10 times higher than the cereal crops.

ABSTRACT

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is the major constraint for cultivation of tomato in Kerala. Biocontrol of plant pathogens is becoming an important component of integrated disease management. Among the various antagonists tested against R. solanacearum of tomato, fungi were more effective than bacterial and actinomycetes organisms. Among them, Trichoderma virens, T. viride (Ozhalapathy and Vellanikkara) and T. pseudokoningii were the effective ones, recording the maximum antagonism index (AI) value of 6000 under in vitro condition. They inhibited the pathogen completely by the mechanism of both lysis and overgrowth. In pot culture study, T. viride and T. pseudokoningii and commercial Pseudomonas fluorescens gave maximum protection against wilt incidence. Under field condition, T. viride (Ozh), T. pseudokoningii and P. aeruginosa showed the lowest wilt incidence of 50.0, 58.3 and 58.3 respectively against cent per cent incidence in the control plot.

The availability of wide range of pesticides though has been responsible for increasing crop production through regulating arthropod (insect and mite) pest populations in agricultural and horticultural crop production systems but unfortunately, improper and excessive use of pesticides has resulted into a number of potential ecological problems including pest resistance, resurgence, residues in food, feed and fodder, environmental contamination, direct hazards to the users and mainly destruction of beneficial organisms including natural enemies. The most important group of natural enemies is entomophagous insects i.e. insect predators and parasites. Predatory insects are usually much larger than their prey and are generally voracious feeders that kill and eat a wide variety of insects as they grow and reproduce. Many predators are active in both their immature as well as adult stage. Insect parasites/ parasitoids are often tiny, non-stinging wasps. Parasitic wasps are free-living in the adult stage, but in the larval stage are parasitic on specific insects. The parasitic larvae eat their hosts from within, ultimately resulting in the death of the host insect. The compatibility of natural enemies with pesticides is essential as both these management strategies are important part of Integrated Pest Management programs designed to regulate arthropod pest populations and minimize plant damage.

The modern improved crop varieties are responsive to fertilizers and demand higher fertilizer application rates to sustain high grain yields. With higher fertilizer inputs, the pest problems have become prominent and endangered the yields necessitating the large scale use of agrochemicals. Some of these chemicals are purposefully released or they may be accidentally released into the environment as waste water or residues from industrial manufacturing and processing of fields.

Soil is one of the most dynamic sites of biological interactions in nature, serving as a growth medium for vegetation and as a habitat for microorganisms and thus has a major role in determining the overall quality of our environment. The physicochemical properties of soil strongly influence the growth, activities and population dynamics of microorganisms in soil and also modify the effects of chemicals on the microbial community. Microorganisms are scavengers in soil. Due to physiological variability, they degrade a variety of chemical substances including insecticides, fungicides and herbicides in soil to derive energy and other nutrients for their growth and metabolism (El- Shahaat et al., 1987; Bhuyan et al., 1993). As a result, the population density of the active microorganisms increases which favorably influences the biological transformation of nutrient elements in the soil (Rangaswamy and Venkateswarlu, 1993; Jana et al., 1998). On the other hand, there are many pesticides which exert adverse effect on growth of soil microorganisms (Martinez-Toledo et al., 1992). However, no definite conclusions can be made on the effects of different pesticides on the growth and activities of microorganisms in soil since different groups of insecticides exhibit manifold variations in toxicity. The degree to which a pesticide affects microbial population and their activities is largely dependent upon the chemical, its dosage and the particular physicochemical parameters of the environment such as soil type, temperature, water content, pH, method of application and other factors. Soil physicochemical factors are particularly important and probably account for the variations in toxic effects often seen with the same compound. Some of the soil microorganisms and soil microbial processes appear to be more sensitive to pesticides than the others. For example nitrification appears to be highly sensitive whereas N-mineralization is relatively resistant. These results reflect the diversity of microorganisms mediating these processes. The present effort has been made to review briefly the effects of pesticides on microorganisms and their activities.

ABSTRACT

Anursery experiment was conducted to study the effect of solarization, selected native antagonists viz., T. viride and T. longibrachiatum and the standard culture of T. harzianum for assesseing the growth enhancement and management of Phytophthora rot in black pepper nursery. The experiment was laid out at College of Horticulture with 20 different treatments and replicated thrice. The sprouting percentage of cuttings in different treatments was worked out at different intervals, which showed significant difference. In general, it was observed that the maximum sprouting percentage was noticed in treatments where solarized potting mixture and biocontrol agents were used. The population of soil microflora viz., fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes in different treatments were also estimated. The study indicated a fluctuation in the population of soil microbes in various treatments at different periods of observation. The observations on height and number of leaves of pepper cuttings in different treatments were recorded. It was noticed that cuttings raised in solarized potting mixture incorporated with native antagonists, especially T. viride, exerted a significant effect in increasing the height of cuttings. With regard to total number of leaves, it was also observed that addition of native antagonists in solarized potting mixture had a positive effect in increasing the leaf production. Thus, the effect of solarization enhanced the growth parameters in crop plants by making available the required nutrients. The increased growth response of plants by soil application of Trichoderma spp. may be due to the production of growth promoting substances by the antagonists. Thus, the nursery experiment revealed that, in general, soil solarization and incorporation of antagonists had a favourable effect in promoting the growth of pepper plants besides checking the Phytophthora rot in black pepper nursery.

ABSTRACT

In vitro multiplication studies on two peach cvs namely Prabhat and Flordasun grown widely under agroclimatic conditions of Haryana were carried out using nodal and shoot tip explants. Amongst various media modification, M medium containing 1.5 mg^-1 BAP was found the best for shoot induction from both the explants. However, shoot tip showed better response in comparison to nodal explants. Shoot multiplication was highest on M⁷medium (MS+ 6 mg l^-1 BAP). Cultivar response did not differ significantly. Rooting was obtained on M medium containing 0.5 mg l^-1 NAA.

Introduction

Plant needs nutrients for their growth and development. In a systemic agriculture, nutrients are supplied to the plant in different amount, form and time for the economic and optimum crop production. Green revolution realized in the late sixties of the last century is an outcome of efficient use of improved varieties and nutrient management. Success of the green revolution has increased use of chemical fertilizers in the post green revolution era. Soon the chemical fertilizers become indispensible from all the crops including vegetable and plantation crops. Non judicious use of chemicals in the agriculture has lead to the serious health, soil and environmental hazards. Biofertilizers are considered to be the most safe, promising and economic component of sustainable agriculture. Biofertilizer is a substance which contains living or latent microorganisms which, when applied to seed, plant root or soil, colonizes the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant and promotes growth by providing and essential nutrients or increasing the supply or availability of primary nutrients to the host plant. They can applied in all the agronomic, horticultural and plantation crops.

ABSTRACT

An in vitro evaluation was carried out to find out the efficiency of bacterial and fungal antagonists in checking the growth of pathogens of Kacholam. Out of the two methods tried to find out the effectiveness of Pseudomonas fluorescens against the two isolates of Ralstonia solanacearum, cross streaking produced lysis at the juncture and point inoculation produced clear inhibition zones. Among the two fungal antagonists tested Trichoderma viride was more efficient than Aspergillus niger because of its faster growth over the pathogen. However, both the antagonists showed complete overgrowth and dense sporulation on the area where the pathogen was streaked. To find out the efficacy of Pseudomonas fluorescens against leaf spot pathogens like Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and C. capsici, streaking on both sides yielded more than 50 per cent reduction in growth of both the fungal pathogens. The fungal antagonist T. viride showed a faster growth over pathogens than A. niger eventhough both recorded an antagonism index of 1500. Dense sporulation was seen over the pathogens in case of T. viride. The ability of fungal antagonists to produce volatiles and their effect on fungal pathogens were also assessed. It was noticed that the volatiles produced by T. viride was more effective than that of A. niger. Even though the extent of inhibition was less compared to direct action, this could also be one of the mechanisms of action of both the antagonists. The study revealed that all the three antagonists were effective against both bacterial and fungal pathogens and they could be utilized under field conditions.

ABSTRACT

Phytophthora rot is the most destructive disease of black pepper nursery inflicting heavy crop losses. Considering the seriousness of the disease, the present study was undertaken to isolate and select the efficient antagonists from pepper nurseries raised in Government farms at Chelakkara, Pazhayannur, Mannuthy and Pananchery of Thrissur district. A quantitative estimation of the rhizosphere microflora from different nurseries revealed more abundance of soil bacteria followed by fungi and actinomycetes. Based on cultural characters of the rhizosphere microflora, 22 fungi, 20 bacteria and five actinomycetes were selected for further studies. Antagonistic action of soil microflora against Phytophthora capsici was studied by dual culture method in comparison with that of standard culture of T. harzianum. The study revealed that all fungal isolates and five bacterial isolates were antagonistic towards the pathogen with varying degrees. Among the fungal isolates, 13 isolates including T.harzianum recorded cent per cent inhibition of P.capsici. From among the fungal isolates that showed antagonistic reaction in dual culture, further selection of efficient ones was carried out based on the antagonistic index (AI). The isolate 22 F₂ (Trichoderma sp.) showed the maximum AI of 3000 followed by isolate 34 F₂ (Trichoderma sp.) and T. harzianum with an AI of 1500 each. The cultural and morphological characters of the efficient native isolates (22 F₂ and 34 F) were studied and were identified as Trichoderma longibrachiatum Rifai aggr. and Trichoderma viride Pers. ex S.F. Gray aggr. The three antagonists were found parasitic on P.capsici as evidenced by excessive coiling, penetration and disintegration of the hyphae and thereby these Trichoderma spp. used in the study is found to have effective parasitic effect on the pathogen in addition to some degree of antibiosis and these fungi could be utilised for the management of Phytophthora rot in black pepper nursery.

ABSTRACT

Phytophthora pod rot (PPR) incited by Phytophthora palmivora is the most serious disease of cocoa, inflicting heavy crop losses. Since, antagonistic microbes are useful in ecofriendly management of plant diseases, the present study was undertaken to harness the potential of antagonistic epiphytic microflora isolated from cocoa pods for the management of PPR of cocoa. A quantitative estimation of the epiphytic microflora from pods collected from different locations of cocoa gardens of Thrissur district revealed more abundance of bacteria followed by fungi, actinomycetes and fluorescent pseudomonads. The in vitro antagonistic effect of 16 isolates of fungi, 22 isolates of bacteria, five isolates of actinomycetes and two isolates of fluorescent pseudomonads from pod surface against P. palmivora was carried out in comparison with standard cultures of Trichoderma harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens. The study revealed that all the epiphytic fungal and bacterial isolates including standard cultures of T. harzianum and P. fluorescens were antagonistic to P. palmivora in varying degrees. Based on the in vitro screening seven promising epiphytic fungal isolates and five bacterial isolates along with standard cultures of T. harzianum and P. fluorescens were evaluated for their efficiency in reducing the infection by P. palmivora on detached pods. The pathogen was inoculated on the pods one hour after application of antagonists. Observations taken 10 days after inoculation of the pathogen revealed that one isolate of T. viride and two isolates of P. fluorescens obtained from pod surface exerted more than 40 per cent efficiency over control in reducing the infection. The standard cultures of fungal and bacterial antagonists recorded 33-35 per cent efficiency. Hence, these efficient epiphytic and standard cultures could be utilized for the management of PPR of cocoa.

Introduction

Proper electrical wiring and earthing are crucial for laboratory safety and functionality. A laboratory houses several installations/equipment that demand stable/continuous power supply. Inappropriate or faulty wiring and earthing may lead to significant risks, including electrical shocks, damage to equipment, and even incidence of fire. Therefore, understanding the requirements of electrical wiring and earthing is essential for designing, construction, and maintenance of laboratory. This chapter aims to provide a basic knowledge of electrical wiring and earthing necessary for a laboratory. Importance of earthing in mitigating electrical hazards and ensuring integrity of electrical installations are also described.

Basics of Electrical Wiring

Basic understanding of electrical wiring is necessary for laboratory safety and efficient electrical functioning. The potential difference between two electrical points (negative and positive) is known as Voltage, which drives the flow of electric current. This is measured as volt (V). The rate of flow of electricity in a circuit is known as Current (I), which is measured as ampere (A). Current can be either direct (DC) or alternating (AC). Opposition/resistance experienced in the flow of current in circuit is known as Resistance (R) and it is measured in ohms (Ω). Higher the resistance means lesser the current flows at a given voltage. The rate at which electrical energy is transferred/utilized in an electric circuit is known as Power (P), which is measured in watt (W). The Power can be calculated as the product of voltage and current (P = V × I).

Introduction

Foods deteriorate in quality due to a wide range of reactions that may be physical, chemical or biological. The various forms of spoilage and food poisoning caused by micro-organisms are preventable to a large degree by a number of preservation techniques, most of which act by preventing or slowing microbial growth. These include freezing, chilling, drying, curing, conserving, vacuum packing, modified atmosphere packing, acidifying, fermenting, and adding preservatives. Thermal processes such as blanching, pasteurization or heat sterilization have long been employed in practice as economic, efficient, reliable and safe food preservation methods.

Biology, the science of living organisms, is linked with microscopes, test tubes and Petri dishes, but these conventional methods are changing with the advent of Bioinformatics. Due to the advancement in molecular biology and genome sequencing techniques, there is an overflow of biological information. This flood of information has led to a requirement for computerized databases to store and organize the data and to design specialized computational tools to view and analyze the data. Accordingly Bioinformatics can be defined as conceptualizing biology in terms of macromolecules (in the sense of physical-chemistry) and then applying “informatics” techniques (derived from disciplines such as applied maths, computer science and statistics) to understand and organize the information associated with these molecules on a large-scale (Tramontano, 2007).

This chapter analytically represents the results of the empirical research study with the appropriate discussion on the basis of analysis.

6.1. Results of data collected from moringa growers of Tamil Nadu

6.1.1. Visualisation of descriptive statistics

This Table-6.1 presents 18 independent variables (x1-x18 ) and 5 dependent variables (y1-y5 ) in terms of their descriptive statistics viz. Minimum, Maximum, Range, Mean, Standard Deviation (S.D.), Variance and Co-efficient of Variation (C.V.).

of moringa growers, the maximum years of experience is 44 years and the minimum years of experience is 3 years. The Range of this variable x1 was found to be 41. The mean value of experience was found to be 16.033 years, with the Standard Deviation of 8.324 and Variance of 69.289 for the total distribution taken for the study.

Introduction

Microencapsulation is a process of entrapping solid particles, liquid droplets or gases in thin polymeric coatings. The outer film (wall) protects the encapsulated material (core) and allows for its controlled release. Application of this technique is wide spread in several industrial fields, including the manufacture of foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and pesticides. Common food ingredients subjected to microencapsulation include probiotic bacteria, acidulates, flavours, colours, sweeteners, minerals and vitamins. A number of coating materials are employed in production of microcapsules, such as gums, starch, and starch derivatives, cellulosic materials, lipids, proteins and inorganic materials.

Actually the development of the formation of micro-encapsulates was partially inspired by the nature. Eggs, seeds, grains, nuts, fruits etc. are typical examples of the food encapsulation and natures own way of conserving and protecting natural products against its own deteriorating elements. Taking clue from this, man adopted this technology of protection of some of the foodstuffs as sauces, puddings etc. Microencapsulation can improve the convenience of food. The shell provides a barrier between reactive components (for instance, delaying the release of leavening agents for fluffier bread products or protecting oxygen-sensitive materials during processing and storage). Microcapsules can help fragile and sensitive materials survive processing and packaging conditions and stabilize the shelf-life of the active ingredient.Karel (1994) described various methods of encapsulation of food ingredients.Inaddition, microencapsulation can simplify the food manufacturing process by converting liquids to solid powder, decreasing production costs by allowing batch processing using low-cost, powder-handling equipment. To improve food safety, the technology can be used to indicate product tampering, thermal spoilage, and freeze-thaw cycles.

ABSTRACT

In Ayurvedic system of medicine, the word Astavarga represents eight endangered Himalayan herbs, which includes four orchids Habenaria intermedia D.Don, Platanthera edgeworthii Hook.f., Crepidium acuminatum D.Don, Malaxis muscifera Lindl., three liliaceae members (Lilium polyphyllum D.Don, Polygonatum verticillatum L.,Polygonatum cirrhifolium Wall.) and one zingiber (Roscoea purpurea Sm.). These herbs are popular in various ayurvedic formulations, as for instance, Chyawanprash which is well recognized for strengthening vital force to the body, help in cell regeneration, and build immune system. These plants are repository of various bioactive ingredients such as diosgenin, β-sitosterol, catechin, p-coumaric acid and many more which shows positive biological functions such as anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, antiinflammatory and other associated health promoting activities. In traditional system, different parts of these plants are used for different purpose, and mainly rhizomes are used as herbal formulations. In terms of ecology, these plants are growing wild in Himalaya belts between the elevation ranges of 1200-4000m above mean sea level. Subtropical, temperate and alpine environment provide condusive adaptation and habitat for these species to grow and florish. Due to lack of proper documentation and certification, the identification of most of the species became difficult and illusory. Considering the medicinal importance and endangerment status, attempts have been made in the present communication to provide a comprehensive account on phytochemistry and pharmacological activities associated with astavarga species. The data presented in this communication will put door open for various research activities related to discovery of new drugs and nutraceutical products for human welfare in days to come.

ABSTRACT

The totipotency of triploid endosperm tissue is exploited in many vegetatively propagated crops. Hevea brasiliensis, the most important commercial source of natural rubber, is a highly heterozygous perennial tree with a long breeding cycle. Conventional method of triploid production by crossing a diploid with an artificially induced tetraploid is a lengthy and laborious process. Hence in vitro regeneration of plants from endosperm tissue provides an easy and direct approach for the production of large number of triploids. Hevea fruits at different developmental stages were collected and sterilized using 0.1% HgCl₂ for 15 minutes. Seeds were dissected out and the embryos and inner integuments were removed. Endosperm is cut into small pieces and cultured over MS medium supplemented with various levels of sucrose, phytagel and growth regulators viz BA, Kin thidiazuron, 2,4-D, IBA, NAA, zeatin & GA. Organic supplements viz. yeast extract, casein hydrolysate, coconut milk and banana powder were used for callus and embryo induction. Optimum callus induction was obtained in media supplemented with 2,4-D (2.0 mg ^-1) and Kinetin (3.0 mg^-1). On further subculture of the primary calli to medium containing zeatin (1.0 mg ^-1), embryogenic calli could be obtained. Embryos were induced in MS medium supplemented with ABA (0.3 mg ^-1) , Kin (0.3 mg ^-1) and GA (0.5 mg ^-1). Maturation, germination and bipolar differentiation of the embryos were achieved in MS medium devoid of growth regulators. Root tips from the germinating embryos were subjected to cytological analysis and found to be triploids (3n=54). Regeneration from Hevea endosperm is being reported for the first time. The results indicates that like many other crops, Hevea endosperm responds well under in vitro conditions and endosperm culture could be utilized as a viable technique for triploid plant production.

1. Introduction

Energy balance means keeping an account of how the flow of energy is taking place in and out of any system or process. It helps the engineers to estimate the total energy requirement and identify the area for conservation of energy in any process. In food processing the concept of energy balance is applicable in unit operation such as blanching, drying, evaporation, freezing, refrigeration, distillation, crystallization. The scopes of energy balance in food industry are:

i) Streamlining and reduction of energy consumption in the existing process.

ii) Selection and sizing of any equipment and process.

iii) Economic analysis of alternate process/technology.

iv) Designing new economically viable process/technology

Dicotyledons
Ranunculaceae
Juss., Gen. 231. 1789. Type: Ranunculus L.
Ranunculus L., Sp. Pl. 548. 1753. Lectotype: R. auricomus L.
R. sceleratus ssp. sceleratus; Tutin in Fl. Eur. 1: 233. 1964. Ranunculus sceleratus L., Sp. Pl. 551. 1753; Fl. Alld. 1: 2.
Vernacular Name: Jaidhania., Kandira
Description: Annual herbs, erect up to 60-70cm tall. Stem, fistuler simple, glabrescent below, branched and pubescent Leaves 3-5-palmately lobed o partite, lower long-petioled, higher ones panicled. Flowers yellow, Sepals reflexed. Petals oblong. Stamens and carpels numerous. panicled. Achenes with an intramarginal rib. Receptacle pilose.
Distribution: North temperate.
Habitat: A Common-herb during winter near river and pond banks: in wet places in gardens.
 

ABSTRACT

An efficient and reliable micropropagation and mycorrhization techniques were established for a medicinal plant Solanum trilobatum L., using internodal explant. Callus formation occurred from both the cut ends of explants cultured on MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D (3.0 mg/l). Direct shoot and multiple shoot formation were noticed from the proximal cut end of explants on BA (2.0 mg/l) alone and BA (2.0 mg/ l) + NAA (0.5 mg/l). Root formation was directly induced from the basal cut end of explants cultured on IBA (1.0 mg/l). In vitro plantlet regeneration has been achieved on BA (2.0 mg/l) + IBA (1.0 mg/l). After 4 weeks, well-developed in vitro plantlets were hardened in plastic cups filled with sterile soil and vermiculite (3:1). During acclimatization, sterile Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungal spores were added for enhance the survivability of in vitro plants in the field condition. The level of biochemical changes and increased survivability were studied in 10 weeks old plants inoculated with spores of Glomus mosseae and Gigaspora margarita.

ABSTRACT

The tomato TYLCV tolerant line MP-1 which has high efficiency of crossability & dwarf mutant dg/dg (Manapal) were choosen for the study of enhanced production of plantlets through tissue culture. The cotyledonary explants, hypocotyl sections & decapitated seedlings were taken to assess the regeneration efficiency of the explants as a base for efficient genetic transformation. The decapitated seedlings regenerated much faster (9.3 days) putting forth new sprouts of shootlets which were then transferred to rooting medium. Whereas cotyledonary leaves showed regeneration of plantlets (18.3 days) which is almost double the duration of decapped seedlings. The hypocotyl sections proliferated into callus & regenerated in a much slower rate (27 days). Hence, the faster rate of regeneration from decapitated seedlings served as a efficient base for enhanced production of plantlets during transformation studies. Also the number of harvest of new sprouts (2.3 regenerations) from decapitated seedlings is an added advantage for deriving more plantlets from single seedlings.

Introduction

From centuries, mankind is totally dependent on plants as a source of carbohydrates, proteins and fats for their food & shelter. In addition, plants are valuable source of a wide range of metabolites, which are used as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, fragrances, colors, biopesticides and food additives. In 1985, 3500 new chemical structures have been identified and 2600 derived from the higher plants. Worldwide, 121 clinically useful prescription drugs are derived from plants. Even today, 75% of the world’s population relies on plants for traditional medicine. In the US, where chemical synthesis dominates the pharmaceutical industry, 25% of the pharmaceuticals are based on plant-derived chemicals.

Biotechnology offers an opportunity to exploit the cell, tissue, organ or entire organism by growing them in-vitro and to genetically manipulate them to get desired compounds. Since the world population is increasing rapidly, there is extreme pressure on the available cultivable land to produce food and fulfill the needs. Therefore, for other uses such as production of pharmaceuticals and chemicals from plants, the available land should be used effectively. Chemical engineers are currently developing improved and appropriate bioreactors for the improvement of production systems by adopting techniques of growth and metabolite production coupled with downstream processing of the products. The improvements in molecular biological research have given a new dimension to in-vitro culture as well as for plant improvement, enhancing the yields of the product and resulting in multiple products or producing novel products from genetically engineered plants. Moreover, the need for safer drugs without side effects has led to the use of natural ingredients with proven safety. These factors have laid emphasis on the use of biotechnological methods to enhance the production of pharmaceuticals and food additives in quality and quantity.

Plant in vitro cultures are able to produce and accumulate many medicinally valuable secondary metabolites. Antioxidants are an important group of medicinal preventive compounds as well as being food additives inhibiting detrimental changes of easily oxidizable nutrients. Many different in vitro approaches have been used for increased biosynthesis and the accumulation of antioxidant compounds in plant cells. Antioxidants are capable of stabilizing, or deactivating, free radicals before they attack cells. Antioxidants are absolutely critical for maintaining optimal cellular and systemic health and well-being. Antioxidants are gaining a lot of importance as a panacea for a large number of life-style diseases like aging, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and other degenerative diseases etc. The present lecture summarizes the achievements of in vitro technology for the production of antioxidants compounds. The focus will be on the major chemical classes of antioxidants and on the approaches used to improve the in vitro methods for producing these compounds.

ABSTRACT

Ophiorrhiza mungos is a rich source of the potent antineoplastic therapeutic agent Camptothecin, which is effective in the complete remission of lung, breast, uterine and cervical cancer. With increasing demand, most of the plants have been indiscriminately exploited from their natural habitat for the isolation of this valuable therapeutic agent. The biotechnological application such as plant tissue culture seems to be a viable option for the production of this high value therapeutic compound without destroying the natural flora. For this purpose various tissue culture techniques have been established to enhance the production of this compound from different parts of O. mungos. The present study revealed that the Physical elicitation with varying doses of irradiation is significantly higher (0.87mg/ g dry weight) than that obtained by chemical elicitation using methyle jasmonate (0.41mg/ g dry weight) compared to control. Biotic elicitors like chitin, chitosan, fungal and bacterial extracts were also used and considerable increase in the production of Camptothecin was obtained in all these cases. Permeabilization with Tween 20 found to be enhancing the exudation of camptothecin (0.021 mg/ml) compared to control (0.0003mg/ml). Hence, the present study gives an alternative for large scale production of camptothecin without affecting the natural flora in a cost effective method.

Entomology, a Greek word entomoV, entomos, “ that is cut in pieces or engraved/segmented”, hence “insect”; and -logia, logia -study, is the scientific study of insects , a branch of arthropodology. The arthropods made their appearance during the earliest Devonian period while humans appeared only in Quarternary. Insects possess an immense degree of evolutionary maturity as against man, account for more than two-thirds of all known organisms, date back some 400 million years, and have many kinds of interactions with humans and other forms of life on earth. Entomology is a speciality within the field of biology and it is rooted in all human cultures from prehistoric times.

In India, insects were known from Vedic era and records of insects in India were evident from India’s mythological epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharatha. 

The scientific community working in the field of crop protection is experiencing an increasing academic and industrial interest in the discovery and development of new bio-insecticides as environmentally friendly pest control tools to be integrated, in combination or rotation, with chemicals in pest management programmes. In this context, Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) as a bio-control agent have proven successful and are now commercially mass produced in six of the seven continents to treat pest problem in agriculture, horticulture and forest crops. They actively search for the host, including those in cryptic habitat stages of insect pests in soil environment. They can be considered as good candidates for integrated pest management in ustainable agriculture due to plants and mammals which are not adversely affected and have ease of mass production. We present a general overview on the current state of knowledge of EPN and their mutualistically associated bacteria and their utilization as biological control agent against insect pests in world and India are briefly presented in this chapter.

INTRODUCTION

In India, medicinal plants have traditionally occupied an important place in the socio-cultural, spiritual and health related aspects of peoples’ life. As much as 34% (ca. 6000) of total plant wealth have some known medicinal value (Ved, 2008). The genus Ephedra is one such important group of medicinal plants, from which the drug Ephedrine and a range of medicinally active compounds such as ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, methyl ephedrine, methyl pseudoephedrine, alkaloids, phenols, terpenoids are obtained. Owing to its medicinal properties, genus Ephedra is in high demand by pharmaceutical industries. It is currently facing heavy extraction pressure from its restricted habitat in the wild, and utterly lacks effective proper conservation and management efforts. For long-term conservation management of this genus, a better and comprehensive understanding of the species remains a top priority, for which detailed studies on its biology, habitat ecology, and agro-technology are required.

The functional diversity of chemicals within plants is best demonstrated by terpenoids. More than 30,000 terpenoids have been identified, each one composed of 5-carbon (prenyl diphosphate) building blocks added together to make 10-carbon, 15-carbon, and even 2000–500,000-carbon chains, as is the case for rubber. Terpenes are functionally diverse, and many are integral to primary metabolism, e.g., hormones such as gibberellins and abscisic acid, electron carriers such as plastoquinone and ubiquinone, terpene-derived compounds that form structural parts of membranes such as phytosterols, and photosynthetic pigments such as carotenoids.

Plant terpenes are also available as essential oil or ethereal oil. Essential oil is defined as the volatile oil obtained by the steam distillation of plants. There is a distinction between fixed or fatty oils and volatile oils. Their volatility (boiling point) and plant origin are characteristic properties of these oils.

The establishment of a technology transfer office is an important and complex process for an organization. It needs careful planning to ensure its long-term sustainability. Before establishing a TTO, it is essential to evaluate whether institution’s core mission includes research commercialization, and if the volume and quality of its research output justify the need for an inhouse TTO. For institutions that may not meet all criteria, those institutions can collaborate or outsource for TTO services. It is also important to decide about its operational scope, funding, management, and for what kind of issues the office should develop a policy. There is no “right” way to set up a TTO, but successful TTO does require considering some key issues. This chapter outlines key steps and considerations for establishing a TTO. It also explains what physical infrastructures are needed, manpower, outlines the responsibilities and powers of TTOs.
2.1 Evaluating the need for a TTO
Establishing a TTO is an important step for any research focused organization. But before initiating a planning process for a new TTO, the organization must review its relevance by considering a few fundamental points:
Key considerations for institutions
1. Is institution’s mission focused on “research commercialization” If an institute’s primary mission is education, or it does not support research it might not be justified to create a TTO. For such institutions, it usually makes better sense to seek alternative solutions to the occasional technology transfer without the expense of a formal office. But institutions with strong research commercialization focus, a TTO has the ability to contribute meaningfully to the mission. The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), USA has identified following key motivations for initiating academic technology transfer:

An orchard is the place where different kinds of fruit crops are grown in large scale. An orchard is a long-term investment and needs lot of planning and expertise. The orchard crops are generally trees, which ultimately have a large spread, so when they are planted, the distance between plants and rows is kept keeping in mind the final spread of the tree. So, before the trees attain their full growth, some suitable crops which are of short duration, like vegetables, flowers, spices and herbs are grown as intercrops.

Fruit trees are perennial, may be tropical, sub tropical and temperate types and thus require proper environmental conditions and suitable management practices for their successful growth.

Layout of an orchard

Layout means the way by which something is arranged or laid out. The purpose of designing a layout for an rchard is to assign the actual position for trees/ plantations, roads, water channels, buildings etc. The layout should be planned very carefully and implemented properly to facilitate proper care and maintenance of an orchard. The plan should provide optimum number of trees per unit area as well as sufficient space to each of the tree for proper development and ease in various cultural operations of the orchard.

Materials required for layout

Measuring tape, rope, pegs, poles and planting board.

Based on agro-climatic conditions, the following system of planting are generally followed for planting of fruit trees:

1. Square
2. Rectangular

ABSTRACT

Haploids are of great importance in breeding programmes for the production of homozygous diploid lines. This technique reduces the time span in developing new varieties and fixes the traits including recessive ones in the homozygous condition. The haploid embryos or doubled haploid plants could be used in mutation breeding, genetic engineering, biochemical and physiological studies. Isolated microspore culture for the production of haploids has not yet been reported in Hevea brasiliensis. Hence the present work was initiated with the view of producing haploid plants by the culture of isolated pollen grains. The flower bud of the clone RRII 105 at the late uninucleate to early binucleate stage was used for culture initiation. Different pretreatment solutions were tried at different temperatures (4°C, 27°C and 33°C) with the macronutrients of N6 media. Three kinds of callus induction media were used viz. N6, WPM and Hunters medium supplemented with myoinositol (200 mg^-1), glutamate (150 mg^-1), phenyl acetic acid (7.0 mg^-1), sucrose (70 g^-1) and growth regulators. Induction medium include moving liquid, static liquid and semi- solid medium. The ovary co-culture was also tried in the induction medium to increase the frequency of callus formation. Pretreatment of the anther with 0.3 M mannitol at 33°C promoted the division of microspores. Static liquid cultures improved the formation of multicellular microspores compared to semi-solid or moving liquid cultures. N₆ basal medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l 2.4-D and 1.0 mg/l KIN induced microcalli formation. When the ovary co-culture was included in the callus induction medium, the rate of cell proliferation was increased considerably and the duration of callus formation was reduced from 3 months to 14 days. The results of the present study throws light towards the possibility of regenerating doubled haploids in future.

Selection of Site and Land Preparation

Cashew is a hardy plant; it thrives well on wide range of soil. While selecting the land for cashew, soils with water logging and excessive salinity of alkalinity should be avoided. Otherwise, soil depth, slope, stoniness, soil fertility and water availability seem to impose very little limitation. For establishing new plantations, land preparation should begin with the first pre-monsoon rains. The area should be cleared of bushes and other wild growth before digging pits for planting.

Planting Season

Planting of soft wood grafts is usually done at the beginning of monsoon season (June-July). Therefore, land preparation such as clearing of bushes and other wild growth, digging of pits for planting, should be done during pre monsoon season (April-May).

29.1. Aim

To estimate ascorbic acid in fresh and processed fruit and vegetable products.

29.2. Theory and Principle

Fruit, vegetables and their products are important sources of ascorbic acid. The ascorbic acid is present in sufficient quantity in aonla, guava, grapefruit, lemon, pineapple, strawberry fruits etc. Barbados cherry is the chief source of vitamin C. The products manufactured from these fruits are also considered as rich in ascorbic acid and the contents available in the commodities can be detected by using 2, 6 dichloro-phenol - indophenol visual titration method.

25.1. Aim

To estimate the ash content in fresh and processed products.

25.2. Theory and principle

Estimation of ash contents is important as it gives an idea about the presence of minerals in the food samples. Determination of ash is also required to evaluate fruit chutneys as the maximum limit for ash in this product shall not exceed 5% as per FPO specifications.

25.3. Apparatus/instruments/equipment

1. Crucibles

2. Muffle furnace

3. Sensitive balance

4. Heating plate

5. Desiccators

22.1. Aim

To estimate the fruit firmness.

22.2. Apparatus/machineries/equipments required

• Magness Taylor Pressure Tester

• Penetrometer

22.3. Theory and principle

Fruit firmness is an important feature of maturity. During ripening, fruits may soften and become too soft at the overripe stage. The changes are detected by touching or by using devices like texture analyzers and pressure testers to measure texture of fruits and vegetable.

24.1 Aim

To determine the moisture content in fresh and processed products

24.2 Theory

Estimation of moisture in fresh and processed fruit and vegetable products is important for evaluating their nutritive composition as well as to optimize method for their processing like drying, preparation of different products viz; jams, preserve, candies etc. Moisture is determined by drying the weighed sample to a constant weight in hot air oven and measuring the loss in weight to express the moisture content in percent. This method is used for estimation of moisture in all food products which do not decompose at 100ºC. Moisture content of some commodities (Table 4.1) is as under:

The cytological insult due to exposure of different environmental pollutant viz. pesticides, herbicides etc. impose great loss to the vitality and health of the individuals. The basic pathophysiological distrubances following the expo sure of these deterrents to the different visceral organs leads to dysfunction of these organs. Imbalance between body’s antioxidant defense and peroxidation of the lipid layer of cells’ causing free radical generation is defined as Oxidative stress. Free radicals are the molecules or entity that contains one or more than one unpaired electron. Pathophysiology of several diseases are associated with the generation of oxidative insult and many xenobiotics associated toxicity are also a result of oxidative damage and generation of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species. Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the fine example of oxidative damage associated neuronal degeneration.

Oxidative stress can be estimated using following parameters:

1. Lipid peroxidation (Paula et al., 2005)

2. Reduced glutathione (Sedlak and Lindsay, 1968)

3. Superoxide dismutase (Madesh and Balasubramanian, 1998)

4. Catalase (Aebi, 1983)

30.1. Aim

To estimate the salt contents in given samples by using Mohr method.

30.2. Theory and principle

Common salt is used during preparation of pickles, sauces, ketchup, fruit chutney and appetizers. Besides, imparting taste, the salt in appropriate concentration also acts as a preservative. In different products, it is estimated by using Mohr method. The sample is titrated with standard solution of silver nitrate for estimation of salt by using potassium chromate as an indicator. From the titre the concentration of salt is estimated by using a standard expression.

31.1. Aim

To estimate the sodium benzoate contents in fruit and vegetable products.

31.2. Theory and Principle

Sodium benzoate is used as a class II preservative in preservation of pickles, sauces, squashes etc. Its estimation is important as the quantity of class II preservative shall not exceed maximum limit prescribed under FSSAI. In a sample containing NaCl, the benzoic acid is converted into water soluble sodium benzoate by addition of NaOH. When the Sodium benzoate solution is acidified with excess of HCl, water insoluble benzoic acid is formed which is extracted with chloroform. The chloroform is removed by evaporation and the residue containing benzoic acid is dissolved in alcohol and then titrated with standard sodium hydroxide.

28.1. Aim

Estimation of reducing sugars in fresh fruits and processed products using Lane and Eynon method.

28.2. Theory

Sugars are inherently present in different fruits and vegetables or added during preparation of different products. They are added to the fruit products to improve the taste and also to act as a preservative. Glucose and fructose in the fruits represent reducing sugars while sucrose or cane sugar added represents the non-reducing sugar. They are estimated by using Lane and Eynon method which measures sugar as reducing sugar and total sugar as invert sugar.

32.1. Aim

To estimate the level of sulphur dioxide contents in fruit and vegetable products

32.2. Theory and principle

Sulphur dioxide in food product is added as class II preservative and may exists as undissociated sulphurous acid, as free bisulphate or sulphite ions or as combined SO2 in the form of hydroxy sulphonates. Sulphur dioxide is measured as free or total SO2. Estimation of SO2 in squashes, jam, RTS drinks is important as its presence beyond the prescribed FSSAI limits make the product not confirming to Indian Food Laws. Generally 2 parts of KMS (Potassium metabisulphite) releases one part of SO2 explained as under:

27.1. Aim

To estimate the titratable acidity of fresh and processed fruit and vegetable products.

27.2. Theory

Most of the fruit, vegetables and their products contain acid or mixture of acids. The acids may occur naturally in the fruit and vegetables or may be added during manufacture of different products or by lactic acid or acetic acid fermentation. Generally citric acid is added in most fruit products while in pickles, sauces and ketchup acetic acid is used. The acids are mainly responsible for the tartness or sour taste, thus estimation of acidity is used as the measure of tartness. They also help in preservation by lowering the pH of the finished products.