eChapters

Loose Smut
Sphacelotheca cruenta
Diagnostic Symptoms
• Affected plants can be detected before the ears come out.
• Shorter than the healthy plants with thinner stalks and marked tillering.
• Ears come out much earlier than the healthy.
• Glumes are hypertrophied and the ear head gives a loose appearance than healthy.
• Sorus is covered by a thin membrane which ruptures very early, exposing the spores even as the head emerges from the sheath(Fig-1).
Etiology
Scientific Classification
Kingdom : Fungi
Division : Eumycota

Introduction

Organic seeds are produced by purchasing conventional non-treated seeds and growing them on organic plot / farm for one season without the use of any synthetic chemical. The seeds harvested are then sold on to organic farmers as organic seeds.

Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of herbicides reach a destination other than their target species, because they are sprayed or spread across entire agricultural fields. Runoff can carry pesticides into aquatic environments while wind can carry them to other fields, grazing areas, human settlements and undeveloped areas, potentially affecting other species. Other problems emerge from poor production, transport and storage practices.

Production of organic seeds without the use of pesticides like herbicides (weeds), insecticides (insects), fungicides (fungi), nematocides (nematodes), and rodenticides (vertebrate poisons) is a matter of skill and expertise. For this purpose, the seeds used for planting, the soil where they are planted, the water used for irrigation and even the air, need to be kept free of pesticides in order to prevent their contamination.

Seed

After attaining green revolution, nutritional security is of utmost importance in the current agricultural scenario. Vegetables play a key role in providing nutritional security in the country. They are important and readily available source of mineral nutrients and vitamins and play a vital role in the financial economy of the majority of small and marginal farmers. Further, these roles are becoming more transparent in the light of agriculture diversification as the vegetables have many agro-economic advantages and can fit into varying cropping systems under diversified conditions. After China, India is a leading vegetable producer but the productivity of vegetables per unit area is very low compared to other developed countries. Poor crop stand establishment is one of the factors responsible for low productivity. Yield and productivity can be improved by using advanced technology on the field preparation, optimum sowing conditions, correct nursery practices and planting methods.

Almost all the vegetable crops are propagated by seed, except a few. Crops are raised either by direct seeding in the field or by transplanting seedlings raised in nurseries. Direct seeding is the placement of seeds at desired depth into the final location where soil environment is ideal for optimum germination and crop stand establishment. On the other side, transplanting refers to removal of actively growing seedlings from one place to another with the purpose of having them continue their growth in the new location until harvest.

The vegetable crops like peas, beans, cowpea, okra, beet leaf, spinach, fenugreek, coriander, carrot, radish, turnip, beetroot, etc. are sown directly in the field, while tomato, eggplant, hot pepper, sweet pepper, onion, leek, sweet potato, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprout, kohlrabi, kale, lettuce, celery, parsley, rhubarb, squashes, etc. are first sown in the nursery beds where seedlings are raised and then transplanted in the main field. Both direct seeding and transplanting are practiced in most of the cucurbits like gourds, cucumber, melons and pumpkin.

The directly sown vegetable crops do not respond to transplanting because their embryonic roots do not produce lateral fibrous roots after uprooting unlike transplanted crops where numerous fibrous roots are generated, thus, making the plant to absorb more nutrients.

Soybean, a source of 40 per cent good quality protein, 20 per cent oil and other nutrients has great potential in meeting nutritional requirements and extending health benefits through soy based food products to Indian population. Soy foods are nutritious, economical and good for health. Regular food use of about 10 per cent processed soybean flour with cereal flours or 25-30 g properly processed soybean per day in a diet entitles the consumer to derive maximum nutritional and health benefits at a relatively low-price. Soy food products like fullfatsoyflour, soy-based bakery products and dairy analogs (soy milk, soy paneer (tofu), curd (dahi), soyshrikhand, soy amrakhand), being the products of acceptable type to Indian population, have good scope. Different organizations have given input in R&D work on soybean processing. SPU Centre at ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal has been involved in development of number of soybased food products, technology and equipment for preparation of those. To make available the properly processed soy food products to our population, the centre is actively engaged in capacity building of upcoming entrepreneurs and entreprise development for soybean processing for food uses. Around 500 cottage scale soy food enterprises have been established in different states of the country.

1. Rhizoctonia aerial blight / Web blight
Symptoms
• The soybean Rhizoctonia aerial blight is a damaging foliar disease that quickly defoliates plants in warm, humid climates.
• Rhizoctonia solani causes soybean aerial blight, which manifests as leaf and pod spots, leaf blight, defoliation, lesions on the stem and petiole, a mycelium that resembles a cobweb, and sclerotia that form on diseased leaves.
• The plant’s lower or central sections are where infection starts, and it progressively spreads upward.
• The leaves first have wet patches that eventually become green to reddish brown in color before turning tan, brown, or black.
• Small spots at first eventually combine to cover a significant portion of the leaf.
• Affected leaves droop and stick to the pods and stem underneath them during the aerial blight phase, infecting the pods and seeds in the process.

Abstract

Limits to crop production are shrinking land area under cropping, shortage and higher cost of irrigation water, fertilizers, pesticides, electricity, labour wages and harvest and post harvest losses due to non-availability of cold chains and storage spaces. Diversification of crops to high value products is yet to gain momentum. Restrictions in marketing due to APMC acts are to be reviewed and drafted farmer-producer friendly. Forcing of horticultural crops-vegetables, fruits, flowers, spices, aromatic crops-to market fresh produces during off season is getting attention and many such units are established as a part of urban and peri-urban horticulture. Ready to assemble forcing structures are now available. Hi-tech nurseries, integrated soil and water management through fertigation, pests and disease management by bio-pesticides, predators and parasitoids, pheromones and light traps are successfully demonstrated. Space saving horticulture focuses on maximization of productivity and minimization of inputs costs in an eco-friendly and sustainable way.

Among many factors influencing fruit bud formation, the relative proportion of carbohydrate and nitrogen in a tree appears to be the only factor that could be controlled by an orchardist. When under normal course tree does not flower; special practices such as ringing, girdling, stripping, notching, bending, water stress (with holding irrigation), root pruning and root exposure etc. are performed with the aim to control the translocation of food like carbohydrates, starch and sugars. Accumulation of food in the branches leads to fruit bud formation resulting into fruitfulness. Before performing the special horticultural practices, the orchardist should know natural growth habit of the plant, time of new vegetative growth and flowering, when it ceases to grow vegetative and mature its woods and when it takes rest

Black pepper is popularly known as ‘King of spices’, it is the dried berry of the pepper vine, so important in the International Trade Market. The crop has its origin in the tropical rain forests of Western Ghats of India.  Kerala is the leading State in the production of black pepper with the ubiquitous presence of this crop in coconut, arecanut and coffee plantations. Chief pepper producing countries are Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Spices are those plants, the products of which imparts strong flavour and aroma to the food. This is attributed to the presence of compounds such as volatile oils present in the plant parts. India is renowned for wide variety of spices and is designated as land of spices. Spices are indispensable ingredient in almost all Indian dishes and cuisines foreign invaders invaded India for spices in ancient times. India is figured as the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products in the world. Turmeric and Ginger are the major rhizomatous spices of vegetable origin widely cultivating and using in India. They are known for its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, hence using in medicines for the treatment of various ailments. Apart from these rhizomatous spices, India is also contributing a major share in the production of seed spices. Around twenty spices among sixty-three spices growing in our country are classified as seed spices. Major seed spices of India are coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, dill, ajowain, celery, anise, nigella, caraway etc. These seed spices are extensively cultivated in the arid to semi-arid region of India as Rabi crop.

It is estimated that, spice production in our country increased from 67.64 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 to 106.79 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 with an annual growth rate 7.9%. There is a corresponding increase in the area of cultivation also. An increase in area from 32.24 lakh hectare to 45.28 lakh hectare was observed. Among the major spices, cumin (14.8%), garlic (14.7%), ginger (7.5%), fennel (6.8%), coriander (6.2%), fenugreek (5.8%), red chilli (4.21%) and turmeric (1.3 %), showed significant growth rate in production. The export of spices contributes around 41% of the total export earnings from all horticulture crops in the country and it ranks fourth among agricultural commodities, after marine products, non-basmati rice and basmati rice.

Spices: It is defined as vegetable products (non-leafy parts) or mixture thereof, used for flavouring, seasoning and imparting aroma in food. It may be whole form or in ground form e.g. Pepper, Cardamom, Clove, Cinnamon, etc.

1 What is the scientific name of Dill

 a) Acorus calamus b) Pimenta dioca

 c) Pimpinella anisum d) Anethum graveolens

 2 Important chemical content present in Asafoetida is

 a) Phenol b) Terbein

 c) Ferumine d) Limone

 3 Karimunda is a variety of

 a) Ginger b) Black Pepper

 c) Cardemom d) Cumin

Description of important spices and condiments

Introduction

Spices hold a special place in world trade and were a catalyst in many historical events, discoveries, wars and inventions. It has even been cited as an important element in the spread of knowledge and culture. Spices are non-leafy parts of plants used as a flavoring or seasoning. Asia is known as ‘Land of Spices’ as it is the place of origin, production, consumption and export of most spices. Out of the world’s 70 plant species grown as spices, 13 are considered major spices produced in Asia. Spices had many uses, from adding flavour to food to medicinal properties, but only grew in a few places. In the last decade, the annual average growth in spice production was 4.3% and trade in spices grew at an average of 5.8% /year. More sophisticated consumers, health-conscious eating habits (but also the rise in the amount of processed foods that use herbs and spices as inputs), rising incomes, increased world trade and globalisation are driving this new era of profitability. Spices are ideal commodities for international trade. They are normally exported in raw or dried form and are usually easy to store and transport. Consequently they do not need expensive infrastructure such as cold chain management or advanced storage facilities and they are not particularly time sensitive. In addition, they are recognised as high value products that can be produced relatively easily on small farms and do not require investments in advanced technology and machinery.

Spinach is estimated to have originated in ancient Persia some 2,000 years ago, and was transported to India and ancient China as the “Persian vegetable” via Nepal in 647 AD. The Saracens introduced spinach to Sicily around 827. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), also known as vilayati palak in Hindi, is a leafy vegetable that grows well in cool or temperate climates. Vilayati spinach is dioecious, unlike beet leaf spinach, which is hermaphrodite. Its production is restricted to household gardens in mountainous regions of India, and it is consumed as a cooked vegetable.

“Every year, 26,688,150 tonnes of spinach are produced over the world.” With a production output of24,484,507 tonnes per year, China is the world’s greatest spinach grower. The United States of America is in second place, producing 323,620 tonnes each year. “Spinach isn’t grown in India.”

Momordica dioica, also known as bristly balsam pear, prickly carolaho, teasle gourd, and kantola, is a flowering plant of the Cucurbitaceae/gourd family that is commonly known as spiny gourd or spine gourd. It is consumed as a vegetable throughout India and parts of South Asia. It is valuable commercially and is exported and utilised locally. The fruits are sometimes served with meat or fish and are prepared with spices or fried. Underground tubers are used to proliferate it. Small leaves, small yellow flowers, and small, dark green, spherical or oval fruits characterise this plant. It is dioecious, which means there are separate male and female organisms.

Spine gourd or teasle gourd (Momordica dioica : Roxb Syn.Momordica roxburghii G. Don, M. wallichi, M J Roem) is a rhizomatous, perennial and distinctly dioecious species of family Cucurbitaceae and  grows widely in many parts of India, mostly confined to  Eastern and South Eastern states. Vernacular names are kartoli,kakrol,meethakarela, padora, bhatt karela, palupagal, tumba, tumpai, golkandra, kankad, kankera, bara-karela, kankoda, kankodan, kantola and phalguni. In India it is mainly grown in Orissa, Bihar, and West Bengal .It is  found in nature in the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra especially in areas with the least human interference. This is  a delicacy for its typical taste, attributed to high seed protein content. It also contains high amount of carotene (162 µg/100 g of edible portion) (Gopalan et al., 1982) and its tuberous roots have medicinal value too. It is a cheap source of vitamins and minerals (Bhuiya et al., 1977). This vegetable is gaining popularity  because of its high demand in  market. Certain limitations like lack of awareness among  farmers, non-availability of quality planting materials of standard varieties, unpredictable sex ratio in seedling progenies are arresting the expected spread of this nutritious vegetable (Ali et al., 1991).

Spoilage may be defined as the deteriorative process which renders the food inedible or results into reduction of quality.

Spoilage is Mainly of Two Types

Abiotic Spoilage: Less potential for causing health hazards to consumers. Occurs due to

18.1. Introduction

Spoiled food is defined as the food that has been damaged or has undergone changes so as to render it undesirable/unacceptable/unfit for human consumption. Spoilage of processed products is mainly caused by the action of micro-organisms and due to the physical or chemical changes. The reasons for microbial spoilage include under- processing, inadequate cooling, contamination from leakage through can seams and pre-process spoilage. In under-processed cans (receiving low heat treatment) large number of micro-organisms is expected to be involved in spoilage.

18.2. Causes of food spoilage

Food spoilage or deterioration may be described as loss of weight, softening, souring, rotting, wilting, moulding or a combination of one or more forms. The major causes of food deterioration are: biotic and abiotic factors.

Introduction
The food that has been damaged or has undergone changes so as to render it undesirable/unacceptable/unfit for human consumption is termed as spoiled. Spoilage of processed products is mainly caused by the action of micro-organisms and due to the physical or chemical changes. The reasons for microbial spoilage include under processing, inadequate cooling, contamination from leakage through can seams and pre-process spoilage. In under-processed cans (receiving low heat treatment), large number of different types of micro-organisms are expected to be involved in spoilage.
Causes of Food Spoilage
Food spoilage or deterioration may be described as loss of weight, softening, souring, rotting, wilting, moulding or a combination of one or more forms. The major causes of food deterioration are: biotic and abiotic factors.
A. Biotic Factors
1) Microbial spoilage (yeast, mould, bacteria)
2) Enzyme action (activities of enzymes present in foods)
3) Insect and rodent damage (attack of insects, rodents and parasites)

Smooth gourd or sponge gourd (2n =2x = 26, Luffa cylindrica Roem syn. aegyptiaca, family Cucurbitaceae, monoecious, cross-pollinated but genetically behaving like self-pollinated crop) is not a global crop and is a vegetable crop very much indigenous to India and the adjoining countries. As per estimates, the acreage of this crop in India is about 50,000 ha spread over almost all the states but on a limited scale. However, UP, Bihar and West Bengal are the main states growing sponge gourd.

Origin and Domestication

It is agreed that sponge gourd may have originated from Asian sub-tropical areas, particularly India and India itself should be the centre of domestication as well because global presence of this crop is negligible (Kalloo, 1993). NBPGR, New Delhi publications unanimously mention Indo-Chinese and Hindustani gene centres as primary centres/domestication/secondary centres for Luffa species and in their publications, Luffa aegyptiaca is more commonly used than Luffa cylindrica for sponge gourd (Pandey et al., 2019).