eChapters

Sclerotinia Stem Rot
Diagnostic Symptoms
• Early symptoms of the disease are noticed forty days after sowing.
• Stem is usually infected at or near the soil line.
• Brownish lesion develops at the base of the stem and eventually girdles the plant. A white fan-like inoculum growth forms over the infected tissues and often radiates over the soil surface.
• Silky appearance of plants can be spotted from a distance and a row effect can be observed in heavily infected soil. Later the entire plant withers and dies.
• The lesion grows up the stem, destroying the cortical tissue and leaving the fibrous vascular strands as the tissues dry out.
• White cottony mycelium and mustard seed type sclerotial bodies are conspicuous on the affected stem near soil level. This also causes collar rot in the seedling stage (Fig.2).

The plants wilt at the time of grain fi lling stage. A light brown water soaked area is seen at the stem base. Sclerotia can be seen on the outer region of stalk when the plants get older. White mycelial growth with large sclerotial bodies is seen over the stem pith. The stem often breaks down at the point of infection.

Sunstroke results from direct heat rays of the sun. The victim may be mentally confused and complain of a bad headache. He may become delirious. His blood pressure may fall to a low level and the pulse become rapid and weak. An abnormal condition due to exposure to excessive heat.

The predisposing cause is anything, which lowers normal resistance; the chief of which are worry, excitement, mental or physical fatigue, alcoholic excesses, and lack of nourishment etc.

The exciting causes are prolonged exposure under the direct rays of the sun, unusual exertion in a hot, moist, sultry, breezeless atmosphere. The occupations, which furnish most of the cases, are breakers, boiler tenders, soldiers on the march, masons etc.

Different stages, or forms or different degrees of severity of the same condition have produced different results and been given different names, viz., heatstroke, sunstroke, heat exhaustion, insulation, thermic fever, heat prostration.

Introduction

A new method of producing food is emerging via sustainable agricultural techniques, which prioritise ecological harmony, resource preservation, and sustainability above short-term gains. In light of the pressing issues of a warming planet, dwindling natural resources, and an ever-increasing human population, these methods are crucial. Soil fertility and health are enhanced by the use of sustainable agricultural practices such as crop rotation, decreased tillage, and organic farming, which minimise chemical inputs. It promotes efficient water management practices, such as collecting rainwater and using drip irrigation, to cut down on waste.

Scientific name: Acorus calamus L.
Family: Acoraceae
Acorus calamus, commonly known as Sweet Flag, is a medicinal plant with a long history of therapeutic use. Various names in Hindi, Sanskrit, and other languages know it. The plant has a distinctive lemon-like scent in its leaves and a pleasant aroma in its roots. Sweet Flag is highly valued for its essential oil used in the perfume industry. Unfortunately, the plant is now classified as an endangered species due to over-exploitation.
Origin and distribution Acorus calamus, commonly known as Sweet Flag, is native to northern latitude countries worldwide. It is widely dispersed across the USA and can be found growing wild or cultivated in India and Sri Lanka up to 1800 meters.
Botany
Sweet Flag is a perennial, semi-aquatic herb that exhibits a distinctive morphology. The rhizome, which serves as the plant's stem, is cylindrical in shape, measuring 19-25 mm in diameter and 10 cm in length. The exterior of the rhizome is light brown in color, while the interior is white and spongy. The rhizome is also highly aromatic, emitting a sweet, pungent scent when bruised. It is a creeping, highly branched structure that allows the plant to spread rapidly.

Sweet gourd, (Momordica cochinchinensis) (Cucurbitaceae),  called as ‘spiny gourd’,  ‘crow cucumber’, ‘spike fruited crow cucumber’ or ‘elephant bitter gourd’ and ‘gac fruit’ is a wild vegetable, native to East and South East Asia comprising India, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, China, Indonesia and New Guinea (de Wilde and Duyfjes, 2002). It is by far the most extensively distributed and more variable species among the genus Momordica L. Even though, it is restricted to Andaman Islands and Assam in India, it occurs as a natural component of coastal scrub jungles and partially opened forests especially stream banks in South, Middle and North Andaman Islands (Joseph 2005). It is cultivated in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Assam by tribal people in their homegardens. It is grown as a vegetable in China and Japan (Jeffrey 2001). It is known by various vernacular names as ‘Adavi kakrol’ (Telugu), ‘Hathiya kankad’, ‘Gol kakra’ (Bengali) and ‘Jangli Kakrol’ (Andaman Islands).

Sweet potato weevil: Cylas formicarius: Apionidae

It is a specific pest of sweet potato and the most important one. Adult weevils are ant-like, slender bodied having elongated snout-like bluish-brown head with geniculate antenna, bright red thorax and leg tips and bluish-brown elytra. Females make small cavities on the tubers or stems and lay eggs singly. Each female lays 180-200 eggs. Grubs are elongate, legless, pale-yellowish white in colour with smaller brown head. Pupation takes place in larval tunnels in the tuber. Incubation, grub and pupal stages last for 5 to 8, 14 to 17 and 4 to 5 days respectively. Life cycle is completed in 4-5 weeks and adults live for 95-110 days. The grubs bore into stems, tunnel inside and feed on soft tissues. Grubs and adults bore into tubers both in field and storage godowns. Affected tubers develop dark patches, which later start rotting. Feeding holes and adult emergence holes can be seen on vines and tubers.  In severe infestation the collar region of the plants shows unusual thickening due to proliferation and hypertrophy of tissues causing a characteristic terpenoid odour.  Even the slightly damaged tubers are unsuitable for cooking and consumption.  Hence yield loss in practice may come to 100% in many cases.

ABSTRACT

Nature provides a wealth of information on natural products with novel architectur and very high medical potential. Given the enormous medical and economic impac of natural product pharmaceuticals we have obvious reasons to improve the activitie of the existing compounds and to discover new metabolites. Although natural product are a proven source of drug candidates they exert powerful physiological effects in one form or other. Only a small proportion of these compounds satisfy the rigorou criteria set by the pharmaceutical company. Also the amount of active compound isolated from the natural products is so small that it is difficult to exploit it in an industrial level. So there arises a need to synthesise synthetic compounds which ma be tested for bioactivity from the easily available starting materials by a simpl methodology. The quest for finding new drugs against various diseases such as AIDS cancer etc. act as a motivating factor in designing synthesis of new materials. In thi way most of the compounds synthesized can be tested for bioactivity to be effectivel used to fi ht a ainst certain dreadful diseases.

We have synthesised some polycyclic heterocycles through cycloaddition methodology and explored the bioactivity of the products. These molecules have basic skeleton of the natural products and possess the biological properties of the natural products. Thus they may be termed as pseudo natural products. These compounds are screened for antifungal and antibacterial activities and are found to possess bioactivity.

Keywords : Heterocyclic compounds, antifungal activity, DMSO, pathogens, inhibition zone.

1. Introduction

Seeds have complex and remarkable diversity in shape, size, colour and morphological and anatomical sculpturing details of seed coat, which are valuable for taxonomic significance and can be used as an additional parameter combined with other parameters during taxa identification and classification. Distinctive seed coat morphology usually allowing identification of species even solely on the basis of seed characters. All members of a particular taxon possess variation within acceptable limits of their description and can be used for identification purposes. High structural diversity provides most valuable criteria for classification between species and family level. Takhtajan (1959) pointed out that even for the phylogenetic correlation between families and genera, the structure of the seed coat might be important. Most taxonomists agree that data concerning the structure and microstructure are of great significance mainly for the classification of angiosperm taxa. Consequently, in addition to vegetative and reproductive characters, seed characters are being used in most of the studies for the analysis of taxonomic relationship in wide variety of plant families. It was observed that seed morphology and anatomical features are rather conservatives, which makes them taxonomically important (Esau 1977; Barthlott 1984).

Gaertner (1788-1805) was the first botanist to use seeds and fruit morphology for comparison and identification of different taxa. Later on, Harz (1885) presented a comprehensive account of seed structures and their individual characters of different taxa. In the 20^th century interest in legume seed morphology was renewed. Capitaine (1912) studied the seed morphology of entire family and concluded that seed morphological characters are helpful in legume classification and identification at the tribal, generic and specific levels. After 40 years of Capitaine, Jensen (1998) documented 27 publications on seed morphology. Gunn (1981) summerized the seed characteristics for 510 legume genera. Seed characters of seventeen families were compared by Isley (1947). Duke (1961) indicated that seed shape, sculpturing and colour provide a critical indication of the systematic position of species of Drymaria (Caryophyllaceae). Obermeyer (1962) pointed out that the only reliable distinction between the two genera Chlorophytum and Anthericum of Liliaceae appears the number and shape of seeds. Hairy outgrowth on the testa, their length and colour provide useful characters in the distinction of genera/species in Malvaceae, Convolvulaceae, Asclepiadaceae and Acanthaceae. Gunn (1970, 1971) divided one hundred species of Vicia into major and minor groups on the basis of seed size, shape and length of the hilum, lens position and seed coat pattern and sculpturing. He successfully employed these characters up to specific level. Gunn and Gaffney (1974) studied the seeds of 42 economically important taxa of Solanaceae, including hilum and surface pattern as key character. Later on Gunn and Barnes (1977) had also used seed characters in the delimitation of Erythrina species. Seavey et al. (1977) studied the seeds of 210 species of Onagraceae, where seven seed groups were recognized and their evolutionary implications were also discussed. Matthews and Levinus (1986) demonstrated fairly constant seed characters in those species of Portulacaceae which have restricted geographical distribution, whereas the seeds of species with wider geographical distribution show varied morphological structures.

ABSTRACT

The people meet their need by taking pulses as their daily meal and therefore, the pulse play a significant role as food supplements. Pulses are called ‘Nutrient Powerhouse’ and are edible food of plants in the legume family. It contains high protein, fibers, various vitamins and amino acids. Starch is the main form in which plants store carbon. It occurs as semi crystalline granules composed of two polymers of glucose called amylose and amylopectin, depending on the plant organ. Starch granules are characterized by internal growth rings. Starch grain is a very useful taxonomic tool in plant systematic. In this investigation we atudied the morphological variations of starch grains in seeds. These starch grain contain the composition of carbon to form different structural diversity of seeds like simple i.e. two types: concentric and eccentric, semi-compound and compound. Polarized microscopy (PM) was used for better micro-morphological (Maltase cross) study. These micro-characters are carried out by UPGMA and construction dendrogram for visual appreciations of taxonomic relationship.

The traditional medicines are actually used in human for number of years and therefore its clinical existence comes as a presumption. However, for bringing more objectivity and also to confirm traditional claims, systematic clinical trials are necessary. In Ayurvedic medicine research, clinical experiences, observations or available data becomes a starting point. In conventional drug research it comes at the last. Thus, the drug discovery based on Ayurveda follows a ‘Reverse Pharmacology’ path546.

Nevertheless, all the critical Pharmacopoeial tests such as dissolution time, microbial, pesticide and heavy metals contamination etc. must be in accordance with global standards. It is important to ensure that all the Ayurvedic medicine manufacture is in accordance with Current Good Manufacturing Procedures for herbal products547,548. There have been concerns about quality standards and safety issues of herbal medicines549. The need for new regulations for botanical medicines has also been frequently stressed and some such regulations are coming in force in different parts of the world550,551.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indicus L.) belongs to the family Fabaceae. Genus Tamarindus is a monotypic taxon having only one species. Tamarind is native to tropical Africa, probably Sudan, where it grows wild and is cultivated throughout South-East Asia and America. It is also found growing in Camaroon, Nigeria and Tanzania. Tamarind has a long gestation period of 10-20 years and long-life span of even 100 years.

Cultivars/Varieties: In some regions the type with reddish flesh is distinguished from the ordinary brown-fleshed type and regarded as superior in quality. There are types of tamarinds that are sweeter. One in Thailand is known as ‘Makham waan’. Another one is known as ‘Manila Sweet’. No other improved or named varieties are available.

Uses

Tamarind pulp is an important condiment as a sour ingredient in the Indian cuisine. Pulp has an excellent keeping quality. Timber is used for making agricultural implements. The wood yields excellent charcoal and is used for making gunpowder. Starch is obtained from seeds and is used in the textile industry. Seeds can be fed to animal after roasting and removing the outer skin. Seed is also a good source of tanning. Oil is obtained from seeds and is used in paints and varnishes. Leaves and flowers are also edible. It is rich in medicinal properties. Fruits is considered as digestive, carminative and laxative. With the addition of water and sugar, tamarind yields a cool drink which is quite popular in Latin America.Today India is the largest producer of tamarind in the world.

10.1. Origin and distribution

• Native of Tropical Africa and cultivated throughout South East Asia, Australia, America and India.

• Cultivated in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

10.2. Economic importance

• The fruits are used as condiment or as acidulant.

• Fruits that contain a sweet, tangy pulp, which is used in cuisines around the world.

• Used as an acidic/flavouring agent in the Indian cookery.

• High in tartaric acid, sugar, B vitamins, and calcium.

• Used in traditional medicine and as a metal polish.

• Used for woodworking and oil can be extracted from the seeds.

• Seeds are astringent, aphrodisiac useful in giddiness, vertigo.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) or Imli is also called  Indian Date. It is a large broad leaved, tropical tree found in India and many parts of Asia.  Tamarind is native to tropical Africa and grows wild throughout  Sudan. It was introduced to India so long ago that it is now reported as indigenous. Sometimes during  sixteenth century, it was introduced into America and today it is widely grown in Mexico.
 
There are large areas of marginal and waste lands, which are not suitable for cultivation of fruits like banana, citrus, sapota, litchi, mango, pomegranate etc., either due to poor quality of soil or lack of water resources. Such lands are suitable for  cultivation of underutilized fruit crops like tamarind which is not so popular among  farmers due to following reasons:

1. Introduction

Tuber crops are important group of crop species which produce tubers that are used for human food and animal feed. The popular tuber crops include cassava, sweet potato, greater yam, white yam, lesser yam, taro, tannia, elephant foot yam, yam bean, coleus etc. They contribute substantial amount of cheap energy coupled with high quality nutrition for more than two million people living in developing countries. Taro is one of the oldest cultivated tuber crop grown for its edible corms and leaves. It is an important tropical tuber crop, used as a staple food or subsistence food by millions of people in the developing countries in Asia, Africa and Central America. 

Description and Distribution
The dried leaves and flowering tops of Artemisia dracunculus Linn. constitute what is known as “Tarragon”, or, “Estragon”, so well - known to connoissuers, the world over, for its extraordinary flavor. Sometimes, it is also called French Tarragon. Its aroma is warm, aromatic, and reminiscent of Anise. It is a perennial herb found in Western Tibet (4265-4880 meter above mean sea level) and in Lahaul. It is distributed in Afghanistan, Western Asia and South and Middle Russia. It is cultivated in Southern Europe, (France, Spain), temperate zones in the USA, as well as, throughout the colder New England area. It grows to a height of about 2 feet (Pruthi, 1997).
Area, Production, Exports:
No information is currently available.
Crop Management:
Soil and Climate
Deel and Deel (1929) found that optimum yield of the herb material and essential oil are obtained in soil with a pH of 6.2 (in such a soil, the oil may contain as much as 66.3% of methyl chavicol, its chief chemical constituent).
Propagation
Through root subdivision/segments
Planting Season
For planting, a cluster of Estragon roots is divided into several segments, these segments are planted in the field in the months of February/March.

1. Introduction

Plant taxonomy and the cultivated plants have a close relationship of great antiquity. This ancient relationship can be traced back to the invention of incipient agriculture (neolithic revolution), about 10-13000 years BCE (Stearn 1965; Balter 2007). The early foundation of plant taxonomy was thus laid largely on humans’ knowledge on cultivated plants. This body of rudimentary knowledge on identifying the properties of different types of plants for food, medicine, clothing, shelter, and other uses led to the development of plant taxonomy- the first aspect of plant science to emerge as botany (Constance 1957). The fundamental principles of modern plant taxonomy with regard to the natural vegetation and flora were originally derived from cultivated plants (Li 1974).

The active process of cultivation of a plant, primarily through the intentional activity of humans has been considered the main criterion for categorising cultivated plants (Mansfeld 1959). According to Mansfeld’s approach, the number of cultivated plant species of the world was estimated to be about 7000 species, excluding partly the forestry plants, ornamentals, and plants used in amenity horticulture (Henelt and IPK 2001). Khoshbakht and Hammer (2008) expanded this list to include a total of 35000 species of cultivated plants, including 28000 ornamental plant species connected to gardening and landscaping. About 2500 plant species have undergone domestication worldwide, with over 160 families contributing one or more crop species (Zeven and de Wet 1982; Dirzo and Raven 2003).The growing numbers of cultivated plant species and the enormous diversity found in each of these species offer plenty of challenges as well as opportunities to the taxonomists to take up cultivated plant taxonomy as an active scientific pursuit. Despite this, there has been a lack of interest among taxonomists towards cultivated plant taxonomy.

The Mother Nature bestowed humanity with about 250,000 known plant species and perhaps the same or may be higher number of unknown plant species. Out of this treasure, 80,000 plant species are edible but human beings have probably exploited about 3,000 of these species for food and was cultivating about 150 on a commercial scale. However, largely human beings consumed only 20 different kinds of crops the world over and four of which viz. rice, wheat, maize and potato are supplying about 60 % of total calories. Under the circumstances, the food crops base even for well-known crops are shrinking at an alarming rate and in this process, many species have extincted from man’s food bowl. While doing so, we have considerably reduced the range of organic compounds that we now consume, thus making ourselves vulnerable to various stresses. Realising  importance of diverse food base in our life, thinking is going on among people of all lifestyles that more and more crops particularly those, which are known to be edible but have remained as “under-utilised crops”, should be brought into cultivation. This will ensure both food and nutritional security of people. Among these, tuber crops constitute an important crops group, which was sustaining food security much before agriculture came into existence.

ABSTRACT

Eulaliopsis binata (Retz.) C.E. Hubb. is a valuable grass growing in Midnapore district of West Bengal known for their commercial purposes. Livelihood of and many of peoples are depends on the production of this grass. Besides this we try to present their phytochemical constituents mainly alkaloids, flavonoids and phenolic compounds for medicinal study. In this investigation, we studied the morpho-taxonomy and anatomical characterization as well as phytochemical screening of different chemicals. Besides this we make an idea about presence of sugar molecules by HPLC study and chemical bonding properties with the help of FTIR. The detailed study gives an idea about E. binata and its medicinal properties.

ABSTRACT

Panax L. is an important medicinal plant species complex, which is commonly known as ginseng. Ginseng has high commercial value for itsginsenoside contents and is collected from the wildin the subtropical-temperate forests of north-eastern India. Taxonomy, ecology and phenology of five species of Panax found in north-eastern India viz., P. assamicus R. N. Banerjee, P. bipinnatifidus Seem., P. pseudoginseng Wall., P. variabilis J. Wenand P. sokpayensis Sharma& Pandit, have beendiscussed in this paper. The distribution of these species is restricted to the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim and Darjeeling HillsofWest Bengal.P. pseudoginseng hasextended distribution range in Nepal. P. variabilis was reported from Nagaland, which is a new record for India. All the species of Panax prefer shady and moist habitat. The species grow in the soil texture that ranges from loamy sand to sandy. The pH ranges from 4.3-7.1. The species is perennial and pereniates through its underground rhizome. The phenophase starts with emergence of seedlings in the late March and senescence takes place in the middle of October after seed setting. Monitoring of the populations of all Panax species revealed that the population size have decreased by 40-50% over a period of 10 years due to over-harvesting from the wild by the local people for its medicinal value. Sustainable use of rhizome and its cultivation practice need to be standardized to address the conservation issues related to the plant.

1) Blister Blight
Diagnostic Symptoms
• Initially oily, yellowish, translucent spots appear on the tender leaf and turn to deep red shiny blisters.
• The circular spot gradually enlarges to 3 to 13mm diameter, bulged on the under surface of the leaf with a concave trough like depression on the upper surface.
• Leaves become curled and distorted.
• First flush of 2-3 young leaves are attacked and the young shoots and buds are killed.
• Mature leaf is not affected.
• In nursery infection, seedlings are stunted with many thin stems instead of a single stalk.
• Repeated attacks cause death of seedlings.
• Badly affected nurseries will have to be abandoned.
• Succulent leaves and green shoots of newly pruned tea are most susceptible (Fig.1).
• Basidiospores cause secondary infection.

Abstract
 
Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is a plantation crop having a wide distribution extending from low elevation to high exceeding 2000 m. The demands and consumption of organically grown residue free Darjeeling tea is increasing day by day due to health consciousness and environmental awareness. The average productivity of Darjeeling tea is far below than the average national tea productivity. Reasons for low productivity of Darjeeling tea may be due to high altitude/elevation; temperature/climate and geographical location in addition to the old age of tea bushes and low plant density. In the past indiscriminate use of synthetic fertilizers has led to the pollution and contamination of the soil, water basins, destroyed micro-organisms and friendly insects, making the crop more prone to diseases and reduced soil fertility. Following Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), sustainable and quality production of Darjeeling tea may be increased through eco-forming without any deterioration of surroundings of plants.

Tea is the most important non-alcoholic beverage worldwide gaining further popularity as an important ‘health drink’. It is consumed as a morning drink by 2/3^rd of world population. Tea was used initially as a medicine and subsequently as beverage and now has proven to be a potential raw material for pharmaceutical industry. Tea is mainly consumed in the form of ‘fermented tea’ or ‘black tea’, ‘non-fermented’ or ‘green tea’ and semi-fermented or ‘oolong tea’ are also popular in Japan and China. Green leaves are also used as vegetables such as ‘leppet tea’ in Burma and ‘meing tea’ in Thailand.

Chinese big leaf tea (Camellia sinensis var. macrophylla).
Chinese small leaf tea (Camellia sinensis var. bohea)
Shan tea (Camellia sinensis var. Shan)
Indo-China or Cambod tea (Camellia assamica subspecies lasiocalyx)
Indian tea (Camellia sinensis var. assamica)
Family:  Theaceae
Chromosome No.: 2n = 2x = 30
Origin: China (East and South Asia)
Useful Part: Bud and Leaves 

Tea tortrix/flushworm: Homona coffearia:Tortricidae

The tortrix is  an important pest of tea leaves. The larvae make leaf nests by webbing the leaves using silken threads and feed from inside. A single caterpillar makes several cases. Young larvae prefer tender leaves, while the older larvae are seen in mature leaves. The economic produce being the leaves, and since chemical control is not advised, especially during the picking phase, the pest becomes a management problem.

Tea, Camellia sinensis is one of the most important beverage crops. India is the second largest producer of tea globally. North eastern parts contribute to 80 per cent of the total tea production in the country with majority coming from Assam and West Bengal. Southern parts contribute around 20 per cent with Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka being the major tea producing states. About 150 insect pests are reported on tea out of which foliage feeders like Tea mosquito bug, bunch caterpillar and mites act as direct pests. The details of major insect pests are being given hereunder:

Tea mosquito bug, Helopeltis antonii Signoret and H. theivora Waterhouse (Miridae: Hemiptera)

This is one of the major pests of tea in India and besides tea it also infests cashew, neem, drumstick and guava. The eggs are sausage shaped and bear two minute hairs on operculum, which project out of the egg. Nymphs of H. antonii are reddish and ant-like, while those of H. theivora are dirty yellow or greenish yellow. The adult of H. antonii is a reddish-brown bug with black head, red thorax and black and white abdomen, whereas, the adult of H. theivora is a small, active elongated bug with black or olive green head

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most important beverage crops in the World and the second most commonly drank liquid on earth after water. It has numerous medicinal benefits mainly due to its antibacterial and
antioxidant properties. The major tea growing regions of the world are South-East Asia (India and Sri Lanka), Eastern and South Africa consisting of Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique. All these countries are producers of black tea. China and Japan are the major producers of green tea. These countries experience cool, tropical humid climate where this crop is being cultivated. However, at present, the crop is also being cultivated in wide range of climates from Mediterranean to warm, humid tropics to include countries such as Russia and Georgia in the northern latitudes and Argentina and Australia in the southern latitudes (Plate 8. 1). The region to which the crop is grown is closely linked with the climate. The crop is grown across wide altitudes up to 2200 m a.m.s.l. Sri Lanka, Kenya, China and Vietnam are the major competitors to India in tea exporting field. China is the major producer of green tea while Sri Lanka and Indonesia are producing mainly orthodox varieties of tea. Tea industry in India occupies an important place in the national economy since last 172 years. It is an essential item of domestic consumption. Tea is also considered as the cheapest beverage amongst the beverages available in India.

Teasle gourd, Momordica subangulata Blume ssp. renigera (G. Don) de Wilde (Cucurbitaceae), is a semidomesticate or a wild vegetable native to Assam-Myanmar region. As in  other dioecious Momordica species, it’s taxonomy and nomenclature were confused with M. dioica Roxb. (spine gourd=kartoli) and M. cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng. (sweet gourd=kakrol) (Joseph et al.2006). It is known by many vernacular names like kaksa (Bihar), lamkarote (Manipur), meeta chotela (Sikkim), kakrol (Bengal, Tripura), kakrul (Mizoram), bhat karela (Assam) and gantola (Bangalore). Allied to M. dioica, M. cochinchinensis and M. sahyadrica Joseph and Antony, in general morphology it is distinct from these species in its branched tuberous roots, cordate dentate unlobed leaves, prominently networked leaf veins, large creamy flowers with bull’s eye mark in three inner petals (also in M. cochinchinensis), reniform male bracts, very long female flower stalks and medium sized softly echinate dome shaped fruits with remnant ridges (Fig.1). A few workers reported it as tetraploid form of M. dioica (Misra and Sahoo 1983). It is referred to as M. cochinchinensis by Patnaik and Patnaik (1976), Shadeque and Baruah (1984) and Ram et al. (2002) and M. dioica by Maurya (1976) and Ali et al. (1991), whereas a recent revision of the genus in Malaysia and SE Asia by De Wilde and Duyfjes (2002) proved its botanical identity as Momordica subangulata ssp. renigera  (G. Don) de Wilde.

5.1 Technology readiness levels- Introduction
Technology readiness levels (TRLs) is measurement of the maturity level of a particular technology. These are based on a scale from 1 to 9, with 9 being the most mature technology. It is a map that shows whether a given technology is in a conceptual state or can be used in real-world applications and ensures innovations are thoroughly tested before being applied on a large scale. The TRL scale uses a set of questions designed to measure progress of a technology toward maturity. They help in reducing risks and improving efficiency. TRLs were initially designed in the 1970s for use by NASA to assess how prepared a technology was for space missions. Technology for space travel is always extremely sophisticated and with a high degree of risk. NASA required a system to assess systematically whether or not a new technology was ready to implement. By breaking down development into different levels, NASA was able to provide informed decisions on which innovations were ready to incorporate (figure 12). In due course, TRL proved to be so effective that other industries began to use it. Other entities like the European Space Agency (ESA), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), BIRAC, DRDO and many other agencies have taken , to using TRL to guide R&D strategies. TRL helps in simplifying development, decreasing risks, and maximizing resource utilization.

Purpose: This test is conducted to determine the boldness and soundness of the seeds. The weight of a given number of seeds of different varieties or kinds will vary. This variation is due to boldness and soundness of the seeds. The seeds will vary according to the soil fertility, variety and other environmental conditions. Higher the weight of a variety per thousand seeds, better is the variety for cultivation.

Materials and equipments: Scale, balance and seeds.

Introduction

Test of pollen viability (extent of pollen viability) is important in pollination experiments to ensure fertility/seed setting. It is also important in monitoring state of pollens during storage in ecological/ taxonomic studies as well as during research on pollen biochemistry, genetics, stigma interactions, and incompatibility studies. Pollen viability refers to the ability of pollen to accomplish post-pollination events to achieve fertilization. Pollen viability test has gained importance particularly in plant breeding and hybrid seed production experiments/ practices. In this chapter, you will be acquainted with the basics of pollen viability test. However, for more professional knowledge on the topic readers are suggested to refer specialized books.

Pollen Viability Test

It is important to know the extent of viability of pollens used in pollination experiment, in finding fertility of a plant of interest, to monitor state of pollen on storage, in ecological/taxonomic studies, as well as in research on biochemistry, genetics, stigma interaction, incompatibility assay, etc. of pollen. Several pollen viability tests have been developed time-to-time. It is recommended to initially use different tests for a given pollen type to find out the most appropriate method that provides reliable result on pollen viability. It is important to note that every procedure requires standardization of protocol according to the sample used. Following different tests are used for assessing pollen viability.

1. In-vitro Pollen Germination Test

It is a simple, speedy, and quantitative test for assessing pollen viability. In this method, a collection/sample of pollen is germinated in vitro and observed under microscope. The percentage of germinating pollens (producing pollen tube) after appropriate treatment and a given period of time is determined. The percentage provides an index of viability of the pollen sample.

Introduction

Seed is a living entity (mature ovule) consisting of a tiny plant in embryonic stage along with the stored food protected by an outer layer known as seed coat. Seed is an important biological input in agriculture, which is economically important for successful crop husbandry. Cotyledons serve as the source of nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and oils) that not only nurture the plant at the early developmental (seedling) stages of plant but also the vegetarian (heterotroph) organisms. Being one of the important inputs in agriculture, viability of seed needs to be assessed to know the germination percentage of seeds used to raise a crop. Since viability of seeds may deteriorate on storage depending on the storage conditions. Therefore, often it becomes important to test viability/germinability and vigour of seeds before being used for raising a crop or conducting an experiment. In this chapter, we briefly discuss about the different methods which can be used for testing the viability of seeds.

Seed Viability

Seed viability can be defined as the capability of the seed to germinate and produce a normal seedling within a specified period. In other words, seed viability indicates how many seeds in a lot are alive and could develop into plants under appropriate field conditions. It is very important that most of the stored seeds are capable of germinating when sown in a field. They must possess higher viability at the beginning of storage and maintain it over the storage. A seed with high initial viability survives longer in storage; however, the viability deteriorates slowly at first and then rapidly as the storage prolongs. It is important to know the duration of storage after which a considerable decline in viability occurs under given storage conditions so that to take necessary action to revive the seeds. Excessive deterioration in vianility of seeds may lead to loss of the seed/material/ germplasm.

Tetanus is a specific infectious disease caused by the exotoxin of tetanus bacilli, usually growing in necrosed tissues, absorbed by the motor end plates of the peripheral nerves, carried to the central nervous system and manifested as lockjaw and paroxysmal spasmodic contraction of other muscles.

Tetanus bacilli present in the soil especially one contaminated by faeces of a horse or of a similar animal, enters through some skin abrasions and remain localized at the site. These are thereafter removed by phagocytes but if any lacerated tissue is present, more so if contaminated by pyogenic bacteria, these multiply and manufacture a highly potent exotoxin which is absorbed through the motor nerve end-plates in the muscles carried to the motor cells of the central nervous system, the sensory ones not being affected.

The posterior root ganglia act as filter preventing the toxin from entering into the spinal cord, the anterior root is thus only affected.

The circumstances concerning the diffusion of  main cultivated citrus from their places of origin in Asia are studied here, showing that the citron (Citrus medica L.) was the only one known in Ancient times in Europe, while the lemon (C. limon [L.] Osbeck), lime (C. aurantiifolia [Christm.] Swingle), pomelo (C. maxima [Burm.] Merr.) and sour orange (C. × aurantium L.) were introduced to Europe by the Muslims via the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily, and that the grapefruit (C. × aurantium L. [C. paradisi Macfad.]), mandarin (C. reticulata Blanco) and sweet orange (C. × aurantium L.) arrived to the West between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries as a result of the trade with the British and Portuguese colonies.

Abstract 

In this chapter the origin of flavour in tea have been explained under the light of chemistry of green leaves and made tea. The dependency of flavor in the final product on several factors involved in every step of its manufacturing process has been explained briefly to draw a back ground picture of the subject. On the other hand in-depth explanations on the chemical basis of diversity and complex nature of tea flavour have been given following a simple manner.

Moreover, traditional and recently developed analytical methods have also been reviewed critically. Analytical strategies and details of instrumentation involved to study or quantify the flavour in tea have been depicted in details with their prose and cones under the light of complicacy of the subject. Potential and loop holes of the new technology viz. E-Nose have been explained critically. Finally a hypothesis with little experimental proofs has been explained to meet a probable solution to the present problems in flavour analysis of tea.

Fungi are one of the major causes of crop damage which affect crop yield, quality and revenue. Therefore to control these fungal diseases, fungicidal crop protection products are used at different stages of crop growth. Many of our current fungicides produce excellent results with respect to efficacy, crop quality, food safety, and improved cost/profit ratios of agricultural production.

Abstract

Pruning is the most important cultural operations in tea cultivation. Time of pruning affects health of bush, incidence of pests and disease, yield and distribution of crop. Root starch reserve at the time of pruning affects the recovery of bush and hence considered as the most crucial factor for deciding time of pruning. Downward movement of photosynthates was found maximum in December and January, thereby maximizing the starch reserve in roots. Maximum recovery of tea bush and minimum loss in annual crop was found when pruned during December – January. Pruning in remaining months (February – November ) may result in crop loss to the tune of 5 per cent – 37 per cent in plain areas. Clonal varieties differ in root starch accumulation during winter months hence pruning time of individual clone needs to be decided accordingly to enhance recovery of plants.

1. Introduction

India is an exquisite example of biodiversity. From time immemorial scholars like Charaka, Barathwaj, Athreyan, Agnivesha, Dhanyandhari, Shushruthan, Wakbadan and Bharathduja etc. have studied and explored the possibility of such a diversity for human welfare and the most conspicuous exploration in this field has lead to the discovery of so many indigenous medicinal plants that were scripted mainly in Vedas (1500 BC) that contain rich materials on herbal lore of that time. Charaka in his medical treatise – Charaka samhita delt with innumerable medicinal plants, their usage and descriptions. Besides the two above said texts, treatise like Sushruth samhita and Ashtangha hridaya samhita are a few among other precious ancient texts. Thus the gradual accumulation of practical and systematic medical knowledge lead to the formation of Ayurveda.

Ayurveda - the science of life, prevention and longevity, is the oldest and most holistic or comprehensive medical system available. It was placed in written form over 2000 years ago. Ayurveda is said to have been first complied as a text by Agnivesha (Agniveshtantra). This text was later revised by Charaka and renamed as Charaka samhita (completed by Dhridhabala). The concept of medicines envisaged in the Ayurveda comes from the monumental scripture called Ashtanga hridaya and Sahasrayoga.

3.1. Entrepreneurship and its allied concepts

3.1.1. Concept of entrepreneur

The word “entrepreneur” has its roots in the french verb “entreprendre,” which means “to undertake.” It means “to start a business” in a business environment. Entrepreneurs are self-employed individuals who not only create jobs for themselves but also generate jobs for many others. An entrepreneur is someone who can identify and seize opportunities to transform inventions or technologies into new products. They can also see an invention’s commercial potential and put together the funds, talent, and other resources needed to transform an idea into a product that can be distributed.

1. Introduction

Thermodynamics is science of energy and may be defined as “The branch of science which deals with the Interoction between the heat and work is referred as Thermodynamics

’Thermo’ means heat and ’dynamics’ means motion. It deals with energy interaction when work is converted into heat energy or vice versa. Precisely, thermodynamics may be defined as a science which deals with energy transformation from one form to another and dealing with relationship among the properties ofthe system. In power plants, internal combustion engines, boilers, nozzles, diffusers etc. are the example where heat is converted into work. In compressor, turbine, cooling of engines by water, application of brakes in a vehicle etc. are the examples where work is converted into heat.

ABSTRACT

The deeply rooted coastal grass Spinifex littoreus (Burm.f.) Merr. is a potent soil binder having capability to form a strong and stable dunes. However detailed features of this species has not been thoroughly studied till date. In this communication, salient morphological features along with different crucial micro-morphological peculiarities have been discussed. The comparative analysis of gradual degradation of population of Spinifex littoreus and native dune vegetation of the coastal belt in East Medinipur of West Bengal and adjacent Balasore district of Odisha are provided, along with different biodiversity indices. Plants were characterized as stout, dioecious, stoloniferous grass upto 90 cm tall, with rigid and sharp spiny leaves. Spikelets in racemes subtended by large bract-like spatheoles which are fascicled into large capitate spiny structures 30-37 cm in diameter. S. littoreus is fairly common along sandy shores and dunes. Plants are useful as a sand binder in unstable coastal dunes ecosystem.

9.1. Origin and distribution

• Originated in Southern Mediterranean.

• Distributed in India, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain, USA

9.2. Economic importance

• Commonly called as common thyme or garden thyme.

• The active principle alkaloid is thymol.

• Constituents - triterpinoid saponins, flavones, ursolic acid (1.5% in tops), coffeic acid, tannins and resins.

• Oil of thyme - colourless, yellow or red liquid with a characteristic pleasant odour, and a pungent taste.

English name : Thyme
Botanical name : Thymus vulgaris L.
Family : Lamiaceae
Chromosome number : 2n = 30
Centre of origin : Mediterranean region
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris Linn.), also known as ‘Common Thyme’ or ‘Garden Thyme’, belongs to the Lamiaceae family and has been a vital herb spice for centuries. The name “thyme” originates from the Greek word meaning “to fumigate” or “thumus,” which symbolizes courage. The herb contains various nutrients, including moisture (7.1%), protein (6.8%), fat (4.6%), crude fibre (24.3%), carbohydrates (44.0%), mineral matter (13.2%), calcium (2.1%), phosphorus (0.20%), iron (0.14%), sodium (0.08%), potassium (0.9%), vitamin A (175 IU), vitamin B1 (51 mg), vitamin B2 (0.4 mg), vitamin C (12.0 mg), niacin (4.9 mg), and a calorific value of 340 calories. Upon distillation, thyme yields Red Thyme oil. Additionally, the herb contains triterpinoid saponins, flavones, ursolic acid (1.5% in tops), caffeic acid, bitter compounds, tannins, and resins. Other wild thyme species, such as T. serpyllum L., T. zygus L. (white thyme), and T. satureioides Coss and Bal, also produce volatile oils. The major compounds in T. zygus and T. serpyllum include thymol, linalool, and linalyl acetate, while T. satureioides contains thymol, borneol, and a-terpineol.

Thyme is one of the best known European culinary herbs. The dried leaves and flowering to ps of Thymus vulgaris Linn. are called Thyme and those of Thymus serpyllum wild Thyme, which is found in the Western temperate Himalayas, from Kashmir to Kumaon hills, India, at an altitude of 1,525 meter above mean sea level. Thyme is grown in Europe, Austria and North Asia. It is now cultivated in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other parts of Europe and, also, in England, North Africa, Canada and the USA. It is a common garden plant which survives for many years under good culture. The dried leaves are curled, are of brownish-green color, usually no longer than 6-7 mm and 2-3mm broad and marketed in whole or in ground form. The flavor is aromatic, warm and pungent. Wild Thyme is a low, hardy perennial, undershrub, 20-40cm high, successfully introduced into the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, in Southern India, or at higher elevations. It is used both for seasoning and for its volatile oil, ranging from 1.08-2.0% (average 1.0%), and in India, its cultivation on a commercial scale can be tried in the western temperate Himalaya from Kashmir to Kumaon hills between 1500 and 4000 meters above mean sea level. The plant can be grown for ornamental edging along the paths in gardens, and is also suitable for rockeries. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate, 10 mm x 3 mm, with orange-brown glandular dots; flowers are coriaceous, small, lavender, purplish to almost white in color, attractive to honeybees, in pubescent verticillaters (Plants that have their flowers intermixed with small leaves growing in a kind of whirl are called verticillate plants); nutlets are brown in color.

ABSTRACT

Biodiversity is a major resource for drug development. Since ancient times mankind has exploited nature for all kind of useful products and enjoyed the colors, flavors and fragrances of flowers and leaves etc. The current global resurgence in the use of plant based drugs offers an ideal opportunity for the country to emerge as a major player in the herbal products market. Herbal medicines are chemically diverse and may contain thousands of bioactive compounds, which can be of immense value to the pharmaceutical industries. Since ages, herbal medicine has been a major part of traditional knowledge play an important role for identification of biological resources worthy of commercial exploitation. Origanum vulgare L. is a wild plant of Labiatae family grows widely in Ladakh region (11500 to 13000 ft). The local people of this region use this plant for various ailment and culinary purposes due to the potential of active ingredients. The present objective of this study is to isolate the thymol content, a major ingredient of O. vulgare and quantifying the same. The volatile oils were extracted through hydro-distillation and active compound was analyzed by Gas Chromatography (GC-17A Shimadzu). Our results demonstrate that the thymol content of O. vulgare from this region is 80.28% as compared to plants grown at other low altitude regions. It is well known that plants under stress respond with biosynthesis of phytochemicals to enable them to adapt to the harsh environmental conditions. Ladakh being unique in many aspects due to its geo-climatic conditions like high elevation, extreme cold, dry weather and low humidity. Plants surviving in Ladakh therefore have unique chemical composition as compared to those grown elsewhere.

It is a small mass of tissue present on either side of the trachea or windpipe. It is a very important structure that helps in the metabolism of the body.

When the basal metabolism is below normal, a person tends to be slow in his movements. He feels cold more and may have marked dryness of the skin, along with constipation and a tendency to put on weight. His hair is dry, thin, and coarse and the skin appears dry, scaly and thickened. There may be puffiness in the face, especially around the eyes. The tongue is usually large, the pulse is slow and regular, and the patient often complains of vague pains in the back and stiffness in the joints.

Hypothyroidism: It is a condition that results from the insufficient amount of thyroid hormone in the body. The trouble may also develop from pituitary deficiency, but is more likely due to some inborn error of the thyroid gland. The change usually comes gradually and involves the patients personality and also his ability to think.

Hypothyroidism is seen in both sexes, but is more common in women. Most of these are overweight and may complain of heavy flow during menstruation. The heart is often enlarged, and there is high level of cholesterol in the blood stream.