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Guava (Psidium guajava. L), a highly nutritious fruit very popular as poor man’s apple. Guava belongs to the family Myrtaceae. Guava is native to tropical America and is found growing wild from Mexico to Peru. Spaniards introduced guava in Phillippinnes and the Portuguese in India. Besides India, it also grown in Sri Lanka, Hawaiian Islandsm and Cuba. Guava had been introduced in India by Portuguese in 17^th century, and ever since it is an important fruit crop of India. In many countries it has been spread by birds, where it has been naturalized long back. In India it is cultivated in the plains in almost all the states but the major guava growing states are Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, Karnatak, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhatisgarh.

Cultivars: Allahabad Safeda, Lucknow-49, Chittidar, Nagapur Seedless, Bangalore, Dharwar, Akra Mridula, Arka Amulya, Harijha, Hafshi, Allahabad Surkha CISHG1, CISH-G2, CISH-G-3, Harija, Baruipur, etc.

Uses

Guava fruit is relished when mature or ripe and freshly plucked from the tree. Excellent salad and pudding are prepared from the shell of the ripe fruit. Ripe and unripe juicy fruits are eaten fresh. The fruits after removal of seeds, are used for preparing jam, jelly, paste, juice and nectar. It is also canned in sugars syrup and made into fruit butter. In some countries, the leaves are used for treating diarrhea and also for dyeing and tanning.

Material balance data

Guava pulp : 5.00 kg

Amount of sugar added : 4.50 kg

Amount of glucose added : 500 gm

Amount of SMP added : 700 gm

Guava, Psidium guajava is one of the important fruits of tropical- sub-tropical regions of the world. It is a native of American tropics and probably originated from Peru north to Mexico and the Caribbean. The major producing countries include India, Brazil and Mexico, of which, Brazil is the largest producer of guava in the world. In India, it is grown over an area of over 2, 05,000 hectares with a production of 2.46 million metric tonnes. The fruit is rich in vitamin C and A. It is used both for processing and for table purpose world over. More than 80 insect pests have been reported to inflict varying degree of damage at different stages of crop growth. The important ones of these are discussed hereunder;

Spiralling whitefly : Aleurodicus dispersus : Aleyrodidae

A. dispersus originated from the tropical countries in Central and South America. More recently, it has been reported from Asia and Africa. In India, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu faces its problem. A. dispersus is a highly polyphagous species. Its wide host range includes many vegetable, ornamental and fruit crops, as well as numerous trees and shrubs, including Capsicum, Citrus, Cocos nucifera (coconut), Euphorbia pulcherrima (poinsettia), Glycine max (soybean), Hibiscus, Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato), Mangifera indica (mango), Musa (banana), Persea americana (avocado), Prunus spp., Psidium guajava (guava)and  Solanum melongena (brinjal) etc.

The plant gums are the neutral salts and complex polysaccharide acids which contain methyl pentose, pentose, hexose and uronic acid residues joined glycosidically by linkages involving various carbon atoms within one molecule to form branched chain structure. Uronic acid is generally present in all cases. The sugars include L-fructose, D-xylose, L-arabinose, D-rhamnose, and D-galactose.

General Properties of Gums

They have high molecular weight. Some are linear while some are branched. They are generally viscous in nature. Some forms a gel also. They have tremendous commercial application in food industry. Gums may be an exudates gum produced by the plant or may be a seed gum, which is accumulated during the seed maturity. Gums of polysaccharide origin are obtained from Acacia spp. (gum Arabic), Cymopsis tetragonolobus (guar gum), Guggle gum, Ficus indica, chia gum etc (Table 7.1).

Diabetes mellitus is a severe endocrine illness that affects almost 10% of the world’s population and is a serious public health concern. In its most severe form, the disease affects major body systems, resulting in multiorgan problems. Oral hypoglycemic medicines such as sulphonylureas and biguanides are the most commonly used treatments, although their negative side effects are a significant drawback. Herbal medications are gaining popularity as a result of their superior outcomes and safety when compared to commercially available drugs, as well as their ability to address health problems more effectively.

Plants with anti-diabetic qualities are of particular interest to the ethnobotanical community since they are known to contain useful medicinal properties in various parts of the world, and a number of them have demonstrated variable degrees of hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic action. Several plant species that are high in terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolics, coumarins, and other bioactive compounds have been found to lower blood sugar levels.

Gudmar (Gymnema sylvestre Retz) is a valuable medicinal woody climber from the Asclepiadaceae family. The medicinal climber is well-known for its antidiabetic qualities. Its formulations have potent taste modifying properties, reducing sweet taste sensations in particular. Gymnema sylvestre is known in Hindi as gurmar, which means “sugar destroyer.” The plant has become vulnerable as a result of increased demand and destructive harvesting. The genus is classified into 40 species, some of which like G. sylvestre, G. montanum, G. yunnanense, and G. inodorum have medicinal properties. The leaf extracts contain gymnemic acids, the major bioactive constituents that interact with taste receptors on the tongue to temporarily suppress the taste of sweetness.

21.1. Origin and distribution

• Native to tropical Asia and China

• Widely growing in tropics of Africa, Asia and Malaysia.

• In India, it is grown in forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.

• Due to raising demand in South East Asia, plant is endangered particularly in Tamil Nadu.

21.2. Economic importance

• Madhunashini - Important medicinal climber acclaimed for its anti-diabetic properties.

• Preparations - Profound actions on the modulating taste suppressing sweet taste sensations.

This individualizing examination of a case of disease, for which Dr. Hahnemann give general directions, of which the practitioner will bear in mind only what is applicable for each individual case, demands of the physician nothing but freedom from prejudice and sound senses, attention in observing and fidelity in tracing the picture of the disease.

The patient details the history of his sufferings; those about him tell what they heard him complain of, how he has behaved and what they have noticed in him; the physician sees, hears, and remarks by his other senses what there is of an altered or unusual character about him. He writes down accurately all that the patient and his friends have told him in the very expressions used by them. Keeping silence himself, he allows them to say all they have to say, and refrains from interrupting them (every interruption breaks the train of thought of the narrators, and all they would have said at first does not again occur to them in precisely the same manner after that.) unless they wander off to other matters. The physician advises them at the beginning of the examination to speak slowly, in order that he may take down in writing the important parts of what the speaker says.

He begins a fresh line with every new circumstance mentioned by the patient or his friends, so that the symptoms shall be all ranged separately one below the other. He can thus add to any one that may at first have been related in too vague a manner but subsequently more explicitly explained.

Introduction
Genus Curcuma belongs to the Zingiberaceae family, and containing of about 122 species. These are grown profusely in Asian countries including, India, China, and Southeast Asia, Northern Australia and New Guinea. Like ginger, it is also the popular herb of this family for the utilization of its underground rhizomatous stem by human beings. Botanically it is named as Curcuma longa L. Its bright yellow spicy powder is got from the dried rhizome is termed turmeric powder, which is the final product of this herb. In addition to this curcumin bio-active compound is also extracted by cursing rhizomes of turmeric. The plants turmeric are considered to be a hybrid and sterile leaving vegetative propagation from rhizome as the single mode of propagation. India is recognized as the power house of turmeric production. Along with us, our neighbours in South East and Eastern region, including Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia and even China are considered major producers.
Floral Biology
All species of Curcuma genus have almost alike flowering spikes that mainly originate from the topmost region of the rhizome (pseudo-stem) or sometimes on a separate stem directly from the rhizome. These two stems differ onlyin the inner portion of rhizome, which differ in colour, i.e., creamy, white, orange, yellow, bluish-green, blue, and sometime black also. The rhizomes exhibit commercial value as a medicine as well as food spice. Curcuma longa L. (Syn. Curcuma domestica Val.), is the common turmeric. It is the top ranking herb based on its economic potential among all the members of this genus and cultivated in India about 150,000 hectares.

India is predominantly an agriculture based country and 65% of the Indians depend on agriculture. To meet the ever increasing nutritional demands of Indian population, production and productivity of vegetables have to be increased manifold within the limited available land and other resources. Seed is the basic and critical input in which the expected dividends from all other inputs depend and it plays a crucial role for enhancing the stability of productivity. With the ever increasing demands for a mechanized, energy efficient type of agriculture, each seed is expected to produce a vigorous plant, which would develop. uniformly under a wide range of environmental conditions.

Seed enhancement technologies have historical basis dating back hundreds to thousands of years. Seed coating was being practiced by ancient Chinese farmers who coated seeds of rice with mud balls to anchor the seeds in water saturated soil . The Greeks presoaked the cucumber seeds in milk or water to make them germinate quicker. Keeping the seeds in moist cloth or soaking in water prior to sowing was a common practice among the farmers of India from time immemorial.

Introduction

Use of acid/base is common in laboratories for experiments like titration and proper safety in their handling laboratory is necessary. In this chapter we will briefly discuss about the safety measures necessary to be adopted while using acids/bases in laboratory for any experiment.

Handling of Strong Acid/Base

There are four major points that need to be taken care of while working with strong acids or bases that might be quite harmful if any accident happens.

1. Protect Yourself

Wear a lab-coat and acid-resistant gloves: Always use lab-coat/apron and make it sure that the sleeves properly cover your arms. More importantly, use gloves made of acid-resistant materials and also wear shoes to protect your feet while wearing long-pants/jeans. Female with long hair, must tie her hair properly (with rubber band) to avoid any disturbance caused by appearance in between.

Wear safety goggles: It is important to wear safety goggles to protect your eyes using larger and fitting goggles that cover front as well as sides of your eyes. Always use properly fitting and adjustable goggles because smaller/ loose goggles may not protect the areas around your eyes against accidental acid spills and it may fall down from your face, if it is too loose.

Locate emergency wash area: There must be an emergency washing area nearby the work place or laboratory containing lab spill management kits. All the workers in the laboratory must be aware of using the kits and emergency plans.

Neutralize acid: Don’t panic even if an acid or chemical spill happens. Stay calm and act as quickly as possible. In case an acid spills, neutralize it by using sodium bicarbonate so that they can be cleaned and disposed safely. If acid comes in contact of skin, wash it off under running tap water but do not use/ apply sodium bicarbonate on skin.

Introduction

For proper and efficient experiment to be conducted, experimenters need so many chemicals to deal with. This includes different acids, base, salt, different kind of indicators and so on. Some of these chemicals are safe for health, but some of them are dangerous to health when come in close proximity to our body while some of the chemicals cause health issues on inhaling. These may cause improper functioning of some of our physiological activities. Acids and bases are very dangerous for our tissues when come in our contact. These may cause serious respiratory problem in addition to injuries on coming to our contact. Some chemicals are exploratory yet they may cause even death of the person working with them in laboratory. Therefore, mere use of the chemicals in laboratory is not only the objective of the experimenter. The person working in laboratory should also be concerned about the proper use and handing of the chemical while working with it. Thus, every researcher of an institution who has to work with chemicals in a laboratory should be made aware about the chemicals to be used in the laboratory and the consequences if any mishandling of a laboratory chemical occurs. Not only these, suitable precautionary measures should also be known to the researcher along with ensuring the availability of the required safety equipment/installations. Hence, a proper understanding of the ways of handling of chemicals in a laboratory is of prime importance for the personals like you who are working or have to work in laboratory.

Safe Handling of Chemicals in Laboratory

Safe use/handling of chemicals in laboratory include minimized exposure to chemicals, maintaining safety data sheets, proper labelling, storage, segregation, and transport of chemicals for personal hygiene.

Introduction

We come across a variety of chemicals every day in a laboratory. While some of them are relatively safer, others are extremely hazardous. Thus, it is very important to know the potential hazards that can be caused by the chemicals present in the laboratory and the safety measures needed to be followed to avoid the hazards. Additionally, we should also be aware of the steps necessary to be taken on such hazardous situations. According to IUPAC, a hazardous chemical mean the chemical which has the potential to cause damage in various ways. In a laboratory, there are chemicals that might be irritant, carcinogen, respiratory fibrogen, systemic poison, asphyxiant, flammable, etc. which have the potential to cause hazard to the workers or environment. Therefore, it is important to use appropriate procedure to reduce the risk and protect the health/safety of laboratory personnel, the public and the environment.

Types of Hazards Associated with Chemicals

Chemical hazards: The hazards caused by chemicals can be broadly classified into three categories.

1. Health hazard: This is also known as toxic effects of chemical. The risk associated with a chemical in laboratory depends on the extent of exposure and the inherent toxicity of the chemical. Many chemical reactions form the product that might be much more toxic than the reacting chemicals. For example, inadvertent mixing of formaldehyde (a common tissue fixative) and hydrogen chloride results in the generation of bis(chloromethyl) ether, a potent human carcinogen. For most of the chemicals, the route of exposure (through skin, eyes, gastrointestinal tract, or respiratory tract) is more important (Figure 17.1) that must be considered during risk assessment.

Energy and food are the two main requirements for human civilization; however the demands for these two resources are increasing in a fast rate. Development of any region is reflected in its quantum of energy consumption. In this context, the situation in arid region is difficult. People burn firewood, agricultural waste and cow dung cake for cooking food causing damages to the fragile eco-system of arid zone. There is inadequate electrical power supply and hence villagers of remote arid areas are unable to derive general benefits. The kerosene is used for lighting and fast depleting diesel oil is used for running agricultural machinery including pumps. In this context solar energy is considered to be one of the promising sources in India.

About 12% of electricity production capacity in India is met through renewable energy sources. In India, national solar mission was launched in November 2009 with a target of 4000 MW grid and 1000 MW off-grid electricity generation from solar energy by the end of phase II (2013-2017), whereas these targets are 20,000 MW and 2000 MW, respectively by 2022. The target has been revised in 2015 to a total grid connected solar power generation of 1,00,000 MW comprising of 40,000 MW roof top generation and 60,000 MW grid connected solar power plants (Resolution of MNRE, Govt of India, No. 30/80/ 2014-15/NSM dated 1^st July 2015).

Standard Operating Protocol for Export of Banana
Banana is one of the important fruit grown in India, as far as its export is concerned it is very limited which is below 1%. For export market it should be harvested at 85% maturity or the bunch is ready to harvest in 80-82 days after shooting initiation. Bunches are to be harvested carefully with two people. One person cut the hand and another person put the bunch onto the padding shoulder. Bunches should be slant cut with sickle shaped sharp knife free from any contamination. For export purpose banana fingers should be square, lie close together, hard, clean and free from any infestation and mucilaginous thread of pulp should be 4-5 cm in length. Skin should not be separated from pulp and no brown spot under the skin. De-handing must be done with sharp chisel type de-handing tool, by leaving maximum crown attached to the hand. The crown should be cut evenly; otherwise its outer finger may be detached. Other way to De-handing by using the nylon thread. It is easy method and it allows maximum crown attach with the land with minimum latex flow. The hands should be carefully paced in clean water which has alum 1 gm litre-1 or sodium hypochlorite (200 ppm) as surfactant for removing the latex and killing the micro-organism after that fruit must be packed in 20-25 kg capacity crates having foam in bottom and in between hands also. The most effective control of post harvest diseases and control of ripening of banana is treating the hands with 1.0% CISH METWASH an organic formulation for 30-60 seconds after that it should be carefully removed from this organic formulation and keep it in front of high speed fan for drying.

Kewda plant occurs wild in the entire coastal belt of Odisha , but abundant in Chhatrapur and Keluapalli areas of Ganjam district. There were about 3-4 lakhs trees of kewda in Ganjam district (Deshaprabhu, 1966). Main season of flowering starts from July-August and lasts for 2-3 months and a few flowers also come during November-December and March-May (Haines, 1961). Averagely, a plant produces 15-20 flowers per season depending on branching of the tree (Plate 32). A fully matured tree bears 30-40 spadices in a year (Deshaprabhu, 1966). Flowering is also dependant on rainfall, being better in years of high rainfall. Size of flower is bigger during rainy season. The spadices take a fortnight to mature, depending upon the weather condition. Ripe spadices, creamy in colour, give higher yield of perfume and of better quality than immature ones (Plate 33). The kewda flower of Ganjam district is also registered under the geographical indications (GI) of goods (Registration and Protection) act (Panigrahy, 2019).

It is not just enough to produce fruit and ornamental plants in a nursery, but it is also very much important to consider the post production management practices like harvesting, packing, storage and marketing of nursery plants for successful industry.

Harvesting: Harvesting is one of the important factors considered, when nurserymen are producing seeds, bulbs, etc. The seeds or bulbs should be harvested at proper maturity stages depending on the plant species.

Seeds are generally harvested when they are fully ripe. In some of the annuals and perennials, seeds are likely to fall from the plant at ripening either due to bursting of the fruit/ capsule or due to wind. (calendula, balsam). In such cases, it is better to cover with muslin cloth or butter paper bags. Bulbs, corms and tubers are carefully dug out without injury, along with cormels or bulblets.

Packaging: The package should provide a convenient mode used for marketing and distribution. It protects the contents from undue damage during distribution. It is important that appropriate packaging should be used to preserve quality of material along with maximum survival during transit. Proper packaging of plant material (fruit plants/ ornamental plants/seeds) ensures quality during storage, distribution and transport.

Headache is the most common of all nervous complaints. The causes are varied and so also its mode of onset, duration, intensity and other conditions associated with it.

Structures of the head, which are sensitive to pain, are:

Abstract

Tea is the most consumed, rejuvenating and thirst-quenching beverage. It is bestowed with ‘miraculous’ health benefits which includes promotion of cardio-vascular health, skin protection, antioxidant activity, defence against microbial infection, prevention from cancer, obesity, and many more. Among the four types of tea, green tea has attained much attention of tea consumers due to its magical health potentials.Owing to increased knowledge and marketing of its health benefits, there has been astonishing changes in its consumption pattern and increase in its production. The tea industry drives economies of the tea growing regions and contributes greatly to the country’s GDP growth as well as foreign exchange earnings. However, in recent years, tea farming has become subject to environmental deterioration because of exploitation in cultivation practices.