11 Enhancement of Food Production

Can you recall? Do you know ?

1. What are hybrid plants? Primary aim of plant breeding is

2. Different examples of microbes used in to obtain a new crop veriety superior to
household production. the existing type, in all characters. This
3. The types or groups of micro-organism purposeful manipulation incorporates various
that produce antibiotics. objectives. which differ form plant to plant
4. What are biofertilizers? depending upon its type and the use. Some
5. What is the source of silk thread? objectives are common- like yield, quality,
11.1 Improvement In Food Production : resistance, life cycle span, etc., while some
Food is one of the basic needs as it gives us objectives will differ on the basis of the type
energy for everything. It keeps us alive, strong and use of plant.
and healthy. It can be defined as any thing solid
or liquid, which when swallowed, digested and Plant breeding is a method of altering
assimilated in the body, keeping us well. It is the genetic pattern of plants to increase their
organic, energy rich, non-poisonous, edible and value and utility for human welfare. The plant
nourishing substance. breeding is done to increase crop yield, improve
Green plants synthesize their own food quality, increase tolerance to environmental
through photosynthesis. But animals including stresses, make the plants resistant to pathogens
humans can not synthesize their food on their and increase tolerance to insect pest. Green
own, hence are dependent on plants directly. Revolution was the result of a sequence of
The famine is responsible for dearth of scientific breakthroughs and developmental
food, besides the rapid and dramatic increase activities that successfully fought hunger
in world population over the time. To meet by increasing food production. Seeds with
the increasing demand for food, there is need superior quality, use of chemicals - pesticides
for improvement of food production, both and fertilizers, and multiple cropping system
quantity wise and quality wise (nutritive). supported by the use of modern farm machinery
Plant breeding and animal breeding help us and proper irrigation system, helped for the
to increase the food production. development of high-yielding and disease
11.2 Plant breeding : resistant varieties in wheat, rice, maize, etc.
The improvement or purposeful In fact, plant breeding dates back to about
manipulation in the heredity of crops and the 10,000 years ago. The present day crops are the
production of new superior varieties of existing result of domestication and acclimatization.
crop plants, constitute what is called plant
breeding. It is, therefore, an applied branch Do you know ?
of botany. It is infact an art and the science
Different methods of plant breeding
of changing and improving the heredity of
include Introduction, Selection, Hybridization,
plants. Plant breeding can be carried out by
Mutation breeding, Polyploidy breeding,
using the applications of principles of genetics,
Molecular plant breeding, Tissue culture,
taxonomy, physiology, pathology, agriculture,
rDNA technology, SCP, etc.
rDNA technology, etc.
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 called wide/ distant crosses. Interspecific and
Know the Scientist : intergeneric hybrids are seldom to occur in the
Dr. Norman E. Borlaug: nature.
An American biologist, who has been The main steps of the plant breeding
called “Father of the Green Revolution”, program (Hybridization) are as follows :
“Agriculture’s greatest spokesperson” and 1. Collection of Variability :
“The Man Who Saved a Billion Lives. Wild species and relatives of the cultivated
Dr. Borlaug, a 1970 Nobel Laureate, species having desired traits, should be collected
was honoured for his work in the ‘Green and preserved. The entire collection having
Revolution,’ saving millions of lives from
all the diverse alleles (i.e. variations) for all
famine in India, Mexico, and the Middle
genes in a given crop, is called germplasm
East.
collection. Variations are useful in the selection.
Dr. M. S. Swaminathan:
Germplasm conservation can be done in
He has been called the “Father of Green
following ways-
Revolution in India” for his role in introducing
• In situ conservation : It can be done with
and further developing high-yielding
varieties of wheat in India. He advocated the help of forests and Natural Reserves.
moving India to sustainable development, • Ex situ conservation : It is done through
especially using environmentally sustainable botanical gardens, seed banks, etc.
agriculture, sustainable food security and the 2. Evaluation and Selection of Parents :
preservation of biodiversity. He is pioneer in It is an important and essential step. The
mutation breeding in India. He developed collected germplasm is evaluated (screened)
new varieties of wheat like sonora, NP 165 to identify plants with desirable characters.
and sarbati. The selected parents must be healthy, vigorous
A. Hybridization and its technique : and should show desirable but complementary
It is the cheif method that offers greater features. The selected parents are selfed for
possibilities in the crop improvement than three to four generations to make them pure
other methods. The use of this method is the or homozygous. It is made sure that only pure
only effective means of combining together the lines are selected, multiplied and used in the
desirable characters of two or more varieties. hybridization.
By this method, one can create new genetic 3. Hybridization :
combinations of already existing characters The variety showing maximum desirable
and new genetic variations. It also exploits and features is selected as female (recurrent) parent
utilizes hybrid-vigour. and the other one as male parent (donor) which
lacks good characters found in recurrent parent.
Internet my friend The pollen grains from anthers of male
parent are collected and then artificially dusted
Try to know more about the hybrid-vigour. over stigmas of emasculated flowers of female
Hybridization can be intravarietal, parent. Pollination is followed by seed and fruit
intervarietal (between two varieties of the same formation in due course. The seed, thus obtained
species), interspecific (between two species represents the hybrid generation.
of the same genus) and intergeneric (between The hybrid F1 progeny is selected and
two genera of the same family). As parental evaluated forthe desired combinations of
plants are distantly related, such crosses are also characters.
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Chart 11.1 : Steps of Hybridization technique performance is recorded. The selected lines
Collection of variability from germ plasm/ gene are then grown for three generations at least in
bank natural field, in different agroclimatic zones.
Finally variety is released as new variety for use
Evaluation and selection of parents
by the farmers.
Selection of parent plants with different qualities Many high yielding, hybrid varieties of rice,
wheat, sugarcane, millets, developed through
Selected parents selfed for three to four generations to
make them homozygous or true breeding
hybridization, have helped farmer community
to attain record agricultural production in India
Identification of parents as male parent (donor) and since 1961. This is called green revolution.
female parent (recurrent)
Indian Hybrid Crops :
Collection of pollen grains from the flowers of male
1. Wheat and Rice :
parent
In 1960s, wheat and rice production
Removal of stamens from the flowers of the female increased tremendously. Norman E.
parent (emasculation)
Borlaug developed semi-dwarf varieties of
Artificial cross pollination by using pollen grains wheat. Sonalika and Kalyan Sona are two of
collected from male parent the hybrid wheat varieties, grown in India.
Semi-dwarf rice varieties were taken from
Bagging, tagging of the emasculated flower of female
parent IR−8 (International Rice Research Institute)
and Taichung native−I (from Taiwan) and
Development of fruit and seed representing F1
introduced in India. Jaya, Padma and Ratna are
(hybrid)generation
the better-yielding, semi-dwarf rice varieties that
Selection and testing of F1 hybrid for combination of were developed later.
desirable characters
2. Sugarcane :
Field trials for yield (productivity) • Saccharum barberi is a native of North
India and S. officinarum belongs to South
Testing and the release of variety
India.
4. Selection and Testing of Superior • S. officinarum has thicker stem and high
Recombinants : sugar contents, but it does not grow well in
The F1 hybrid plants showing superiority North India.
over both the parents and having high hybrid- • These two varieties were crossed to get
vigour, are selected. Such hybrids are then selfed the desirable qualities of both (high sugar
for few generations to make them homozygous content, thicker stem and the ability to grow
for the said desirable characters till there is a in North India). CO -419, 421, 453 are high
state of uniformity, so that the characters will not yielding and having high sugar contents
segeregate further. are developed in India at Coimbatore
5. Testing, Release and Commercialization of (Tamilnadu).
New Cultivars : 3. Millets :
The newly selected lines are evaluated • Hybrid maize (Ganga-3), Jowar (CO-12),
for the productivity and other features like and Bajra (Niphad) have been successfully
disease resistance, pest resistance, quality, etc. developed in India.
Initially, these plants are grown under controlled • These varieties are high yielding and
conditions of water, fertilizers, etc. and their resistant to water stress.

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Plant Breeding for Disease Resistance : variety of rice, NP 836 variety of wheat (rust
Some of the diseases caused in plants are- resistant), Indore-2 variety of cotton (resistant
Pathogen Plant disease to bollworm), Regina-II variety of cabbage
Fungi Brown rust of wheat (resistant to bacterial rot), etc.
Red rot of sugarcane
Plant Breeding for Developing a Resistance
Late blight of potato
to Insect Pest:
Bacteria Black rot of crucifers
Insects being herbivores, incur heavy loss in
Viruses Tobacco mosaic virus
the quantity and quality of crops. Resistance in
The basic objective of breeding for disease crops can be developed by following ways :
resistance is to develop inherent quality in the • Development of morphological characters
plant to prevent the pathogen from causing like hairy leaves in cotton and wheat
the disease. Such varieties of plants are called develop vector resistance from jassids and
disease resistant plants. The basic technique used cereal leaf beetle, respectively.
is the same as for normal hybridization process. • Solid stem in wheat leads to resistance to
Some disease resistant plants developed are : stem borers.
Crop Variety Resistant to • Biochemical characters provide resistance
Disease to insects and pests. For example, the high
Wheat Himgiri Leaf and stripe aspartic acid, and low nitrogen and sugar
rust, hill bunt content in maize, lead to resistance against
Brassica Pusa Swarnim White rust stem borers.
Cauliflower Pusa Shubra Black rot and • The nectar-less cotton having smooth leaves
Curl blight black develop resistance against bollworms.
rot
Chilli Pusa Chilli mosaic Some pest-resistant varieties are-
Sadabahar virus, Tobacco Crop Variety Insect pest
mosaic virus and Brassica Pusa Gaurav Aphids
leaf curl Flat bean Pusa sem 2 Jassids, aphids and
B. Mutation Breeding : Pusa sem 3 fruit borer
Mutation is sudden heritable change in Okra Pusa Sawani, Shoot and fruit borer
the genotype, caused naturally. It can also be Pusa A-4
induced by application of chemical mutagens. 11.3 Tissue culture :
Natural (physical) mutagens are : High tem- It is actually a collection of different
perature, high concentration of CO2, X rays, techniques. It is infact, emerged as a technique
UV rays. of plant biotechnology. Here, isolated cells,
tissues, organs are grown ‘in vitro’ on a solid/
Chemical mutagens are : Nitrous acid, EMS
liquid nutrient medium, under aseptic and
(Ethyl- Methyl- Sulphonate), Mustard gas,
controlled conditions of light, humidity and
Colchicine, etc.
tempreature, for achieving different objectives.
Seedlings or seeds are irradiated by CO- The part of plant used in tissue culture is called
60, exposed to UV bulbs, X ray machines, etc. explant.
Mutagens cause gene mutations and Plant tissue culture is based on principle
chromosomal aberrations. The treated of Totipotency which is an inherent ability of
seedlings are then screened for resistance to living plant cell to grow, divide, redivide and
diseases/ pests, high yield, etc. e.g. Jagannath give rise to a whole plant. Haberlandt (1902)

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for the first time conceived this idea and Other conditions maintained are :
developed the concept of in vitro cell culture Temperature - 180C to 200C, pH of nutrient
(plant morphogenesis). medium 5 to 5.8 and aeration particularly for
The plant tissue culture medium contains all suspension culture.
essential minerals, sources for carbohydrates, In callus culture the solid medium is used.
proteins and fats, water, growth hormones, The development and organisation of tissue
vitamins and agar (for callus culture). The is lost. Hence, the cells of explant, divide and
most commonly preferred medium for tissue
redivide to form a mass of undifferentiated cells,
culture is MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium.
called callus. It is maintained on solid medium.
Based on the nature of explant : There are Callus can be induced to form organs like root
three types viz, cell culture, organ culture and (rhizogenesis) and shoot (caulogenesis) and
embryo culture. thus the plantlet. No shaker (agitator) is needed.
Based on the type of in vitro growth : There In suspension culture small groups of
are two tyes viz. Callus culture (solid medium) cells or a single cell are used as explant in the
and Suspension culture (liquid medium). liquid medium. The liquid medium is constantly
agitated by using shakers (agitators) so that
Maintenance of aseptic conditions :
there is constant mixing of medium and the
Aseptic condition is essential so as to avoid
explant.
contamination by other harmful micro-
organisms. It is accomplished by sterilization Both the callus and suspension cultures die
of : glass ware (use of detergents, hot air in due course of time. Therefore, subculturing
oven), nutrient medium (by autoclave under is neccessary for continuation of the technique.
constant pressure of 15 lb/sq inch for continous Micropropagation (Clonal Propagation) :
20 minutes), Explant (by treatment of 20% Organogenesis via shoots is considered
ethyl alcohol and 0.1% HgCl2), Inoculation as one of the most widely used commercial
chamber (Laminar air flow) - by using UV method of regeneration of plant.
ray tube for 1 hour before performing actual Micropropagation is also known as
inoculation of explant on the sterilized nutrient clonal propagation. It is the only process
medium. adopted by Indian plant biotechnologists in

Callus

Shoot

Explant

Root
Multiple
Mother plant plants
Organogenesis
Hardening

Fig. 11.2 : Steps in plant tissue culture (callus culture)

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 Advantages of microporpagation:
Do you know ? 1. It helps in rapid multiplication of plants.
Applications of tissue culture : 2. A large number of plantlets are obtained
There are various application of tissue culture within a short period and from a small
in forestry, agriculture, horticulture, genetic space.
enginearing, physiology, etc. The different 3. Plants are obtained throughout the year
applications of tissue culture include - under controlled conditions, independent
Production of disease free plants and haploid of seasons.
plantlets, micropropagation, production of 4. Genetically similar plants (clones) are
secondary metabolites, protoplast culture, produced (formed) by this method.
culture of rare plants, somaclonal variations Therefore desirable characters (genotype)
production of stress resistant plants, etc. and desired sex of superior variety are
kept constant for many generations.
different industries, mainly for the commercial
5. The rare plant and endangered species
production of ornamental plants like orchids,
Chrysanthemum, Eucalyptus, etc. and fruit are multiplied by this method and such
plants like banana, grapes, Citrus, etc. plants are saved.

Chart 11.3 : Flow chart for tissue culture technique.

Cleaning of glass ware, sterilization of glass ware and instruments in an oven/ autoclave

Selection and preparation of nutrient medium- MS medium with known concentrations and
proportions of different components.
Sterilization of medium in an autoclave for continuous 20 minutes under constant pressure
of 15/ lb/ inch2.

Preparation of plant material (explant) includes isolation of explant followed by surface

sterilization and rinsing with water. Explant is obtained from the growing stock plant.

Inoculation of the explant in the culture flask containing sterilized nutrient medium.
Inoculation is done in the laminar air flow cabinet unit.

Incubation of the inoculated explant. Here cells of explant grow, proliferate to form callus,
within 2-3 weeks.

Sub culturing of the callus (if callus is to be maintained for longer period, callus is divided
into 3-4 segments and then transferred to fresh culture medium).

Organogenesis - Initiation of rooting and shooting, that eventually leads to plantlet

formation.

Hardening - Plantlets are transferred to polythene bags containing sterilized soil and kept at
low light and high humid conditions for suitable period of time.

Transferred to field

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 6. With the help of somatic hybrids (cybrids), The microorganisms utilize the carbon
we are able to obtain new variety in short and nitrogen present in these materials and
time span. convert them into high-quality proteins that
can be used as a supplement, in both human
Do you know ? and animal feed. Besides proteins, SCP is also
rich in vitamins, vitamin B complex, minerals
High yielding varities of Banana viz. and fats. The single-cell proteins can be readily
‘Shrimati’, ‘Basarai’ and G- 9 are mostly used as fodder for achieving fattening of calves,
used in Maharashtra. pigs, in breeding fish and even in poultry and
11.4 Single cell protein (SCP) : cattle farmimg. The microorganisms used for
By 2050, the world would need to produce the production of SCP are as follows :
1,250 million tonnes of meat and dairy products Fungi : Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride
per year, to meet global demand for animal- Yeast : Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida
derived protein at current consumption levels. utilis
However, growing demand for protein will Algae : Spirulina spp, Chlorella pyrenoidosa
not be met sustainably by increasing meat and Bacteria : Methylophilus methylotrophus,
dairy production because of the low efficiency Bacillus megasterium.
of converting feed to meat and dairy products. Advantages of Single-Cell Protein :
More over, human population in • Microorganisms have a high rate of
underdeveloped and even in the developing multiplication that means a large
countries is suffereing from protein malnutrition, quantity of biomass can be produced in a
resulting into variety of nutritional diseases. comparatively short duration.
To fight with this, efforts are undertaken by • The microbes can be easily genetically
conventional methods to increase the food yield modified to vary the amino acid
by different methods of crop improvement, composition. They have high protein
use of biofertilizers, biopesticides, chemical contents- 43% to 85% (W/W basis).
fertilizers and high yielding varieties (green • A broad variety of raw materials, including
revolution). The efforts in other direction are waste materials, can be used as a substrate
also undertaken in nonconventional way. for SCP. This also helps in decreasing the
One such way is production of SCP- single number of pollutants.
cell proteins. Improtance of SCP was realised • SCP serves as a good source of vitamins,
during World War I. amino acids, minerals, crude fibres, etc.
Single-cell protein refers to the crude, or 11.5 Biofortification
a refined edible protein, extracted from pure It is a method in which crops are breed
microbial cultures or from dead or dried cell (produced) for having higher levels of vitamins,
biomass. minerals and fats (i.e. better nutritive value).
Microorganisms like algae, fungi, yeast, Due to this, problem of malnutrition can be
and bacteria have very high protein content in overcome. Following objectives were considered
their biomass. These microbes can be grown for the breeding program :
using inexpensive substrates like agricultural • Protein content and quality
waste viz. wood shavings, sawdust, corn cobs, • Oil content and quality
paraffin, N-alkanes, sugarcane molasses, even • Vitamin content
human and animal wastes. • Micronutrient content and quality
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 Biofortification can be achieved through Management of farms and farm animals :
conventional selective- breeding practices and Farm management starts from selection of
also through r-DNA technology. It focusses on high yielding breeds, their food requirements,
making plant food more nutritive as plants grow supply of adequate nutritional sources,
or develop. cleanliness of the environment and maintenance
Some examples of biofortification : of health. Management of farm animals includes
veterinary supervision, vaccination, high
• Fortified Maize having twice the amount
yielding cross breed development, production
of amino acids- lysine and tryptophan.
and preservation of products, distribution and
• Wheat -Atlas 66 has a high protein content
marketing.
and Iron-fortified rice has 5 times more
iron, are developed. A. Animal breeding :
• Vegetable crops like carrot and spinach
Breeding of animals is an important aspect
of animal husbandry. Animal breeding aims at
have more vitamin A and minerals.
increasing the yield of animals and improving
• Vitamin C enriched bitter gourd, tomato
the desirable qualities of the products.
have been developed by IARI.
Breed:
11.6 Animal husbandry : A group of animals related by descent
Animal husbandry is an agricultural and similar in most characters like general
practice of breeding and raising livestock. It is appearance, features, size, configuration, etc.,
not only a skill of farmers but also is as much are said to belong to a breed.
a science, as it is an art. Animal breeding is done for getting
Animal husbandry deals with care and improved breeds with desirable qualities of
breeding of livestock like buffaloes, cows, product and to increase yield of animals,
pigs, horses, cattles, sheeps, camels, goats, etc. Desirable characters such as increased
which are useful to humans. It also includes production of milk, quality of product, quality
poultry farming, fish farming, bee keeping, of meat or maximum yield of eggs per year
sericulture, lac culture, etc. Animals like honey etc., are necessarily achieved through animal
bees, silk worms, prawns, crabs, birds, fishes, breeding.
pigs, cattles, sheeps and camels have been used
by humans for the products like milk, eggs, Can you tell?
meat, wool, honey, silk, etc. Find out the name of common breeds
During the conventional practices of of cattle and poultry in the farms, found in
animal breeding, just taking care is not enough your area.
to give maximum yield. Although India and Breeding can be of two main types -
china have 70% of world livestock population, inbreeding and outbreeding :
surprisingly the productivity serves only 25% a. Inbreeding : It involves breeding of closely
of the world farm produce. related individuals for 4 to 6 generations.
So professional approach is needed to Inbreeding increases homozygosity. By
boost the production. It requires management inbreeding, pure lines of animals can
procedures, new technologies to be employed be obtained. Inbreeding is helpful in the
in various farm system to achieve improvement elimination of harmful recessive genes and for
in quality and productivity. Industrial principles the accumulation of superior genes. Inbreeding
of production, processing and marketing are to has the demerit that it usually reduces the
be employed. fertility and productivity.
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b. Outbreeding: It involves breeding of quality meat yielding bulls have been found to
unrelated animals. The animals may be of the be successful, to increase herd size in a short
same breed but having no common ancestors period.
for 4 to 6 generations. B. Dairy farm management :
Outcrossing involves breeding between the Dairy industry involves production,
animals of different species. It is also known as processing and distribution of milk and
interspecific hybridization. Outcrossing helps milk products. Milk is a valuable food stuff
to remove the inbreeding depression. universally consumed by human beings. Milk
Crossbreeding involves the breeding yield mainly depends on the quality of breeds in
of superior male of one breed with superior the farm. Selection of good breeds having high
female of another breed. By cross-breeding, yielding potential under the climatic conditions
new animal breeds of desirable characters are of inhabiting area, and disease resistance is the
developed. e.g. Hisardale is a new breed of basic requirement. In India, cows and buffaloes
sheep developed from crossing of Bikaneri ewe are mainly used for dairy farms. Sahiwal,
and Marino rams in Punjab. Sindhi, Gir are Indian breeds and Jersy, Brown
Interspecific hybridization involves Swiss, Holstein are exotic breeds, which are
breeding of animals of two different but related used in dairy farming. Buffaloes are restricted
species. It result in the formation (production) to some part of Asia only.
of animals with desirable characters from both In India, six breeds occur viz, Jaffarabadi,
the parents. But such breeding is not always Mehsana, Murrah, Nagpuri, Nili, Surati,
successful e.g. Mule is a breed obtained from which are all good milk producers. Cattles
horse and donkey. have to be well looked after. Quality and
quantity of fodder in proper ratio, should be
Artificial insemination technique
given. Silage made from legumes and grasses,
involves controlled breeding experiments.
maize and jowar, makes good feed. Silage
Semen from selected superior males is collected
is supplemented with oil cakes, minerals,
and preserved in frozen state or injected into
the genital tract immediately. It is useful to vitamins and salts. Cleanliness and hygiene of
overcome problem of normal mating and the cattles and handlers is of more importance
convenience of transportation. while milking, storage and transport of milk
and milk products. In recent years, much of
Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer
these processes are mechanised, which reduce
(MOET) involves the technology which
the chance of direct contact with the product.
provides the chances of successful production
The shed must be cleaned daily. It should be
of hybrids. In this method, cow is administered
spacious with adequate facilities for feeding,
with FSH like hormone, to induce follicular
watering and lighting.
maturation and then the super ovulation is
brought about. In each cycle, 6 to 8 eggs mature Do you know ?
simultaneously. The cow is either mated with
an elite bull or artificially inseminated. The Regular visit of veterinary doctor to
blastocysts at 8 to 32 cell stage are recovered dairy farm is mandatory, why ?
non-surgically and transferred to surrogate Milk processing, marketing and
mothers. This technology is successfully used distribution, play an important role in dairy
in cattles, sheeps, rabbits, buffaloes, etc. industry. Variety of milk product like curd,
High milk yielding breeds of female and high cream, butter, ghee, condensed milk, khoa,
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cheese must be prepared from extra milk and on i. Viral diseases like Ranikhet, Bronchitis,
demand. An additional income can be obtained Avian influenza (bird flu), etc. Few years
in the cattle farms from cow dung, manure, fuel back, bird flu have seriously influenced poultry
cakes and gobar gas for cooking and lighting. farming and human infection too.
ii. Bacterial diseases mainly includes
C. Poultry farm management :
Pullorum, Cholera, Typhoid, TB, CRD (chronic
Poultry includes number of bird species
respiratory disease), Enteritis, etc.
such as chicken, ducks, turkey, and fowls which
iii. Fungal diseases are Aspergillosis, Favus
are domesticated for their eggs and meat.
and Thrush.
iv. Parasitic diseases include lice infection,
Can you tell? round worm, caecal worm infections, etc.
1. What is layer ? v. Protozoan diseases e.g. Coccidiosis is a
2. What is broiler ? protozoan disease.
D. Apiculture or bee keeping :
Allied professions to poultry include Apiculture or bee keeping deals with an
processing of eggs and meat, marketing artificial rearing of honey bees to obtain bee
of poultry products, compounding and products like honey, wax, pollens, bee venom,
sale of poultry feed, poultry equipment, propolis (bee glue) and royal jelly as well as
pharmaceuticals, feed additives, etc. pollinating agents for crop plants.
Selection of proper and disease free breed,
suitable and safe farm condition, proper
feed and water, hygiene and health care,
are important requirements for poultry farm
Management. On the basis of their origin,
different types of poultry breeds are : American
breeds Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island Red; Asiatic breeds are Brahma,
Cochin and Langshan; Mediterranean breeds
are Leg horn, Minorca; English breeds include Fig. 11.4 : Bee hive
Australorp; Indian breeds are Chittagong,
Bee keeping is an ancient cottage industry.
Aseel, Brahma, and Kadaknath.
Honey is a food of high nutritive value and
Leghorn is best layer (for eggs) while also finds uses in the indigenous system of
Playmouth rock, Rhode Island Red, Aseel, medicines.
Brahma and Kadaknath, are preferred as
broilers (for meat). Can you tell?
Management of layers, requires purchase
Why are honey bees called as best
of high yielding chicken, well ventilated
pollinators?
farms, proper feed, debeaking, lighting,
waterer, sanitation, culling and vaccination. The four species of honey bees commonly
Management of broilers requires selection found in India are Apis dorsata (rock bee or
of breed, housing, temperature, ventilation, wild bee), Apis florea (little bee), Apis mellifera
lighting, floor space and broiler feed. Different (European bee) and Apis indica (Indian bee).
types of poultry diseases are:

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 Knowledge enhancer : seasons, handling and collection of honey, bee
For bee keeping, Apis mellifera and Apis wax and other products. Periodic inspection for
indica are the suitable species, hence they cleanliness of hive boxes, activity of bees and
are known as domesticated species. queen, condition of brood, provision of water,
is very much necessary.
Many Indian crop fields need the services
of honey bees as the pollinators. Bee keeping in
the crop field of sunflower, mustard, safflower,
chilly, cabbage, cucumber, legumes, fruits like
apple, mango, citrus, etc. help in increasing
the productivity of honey as well as crops
tremendously.
Worker Queen Drone E. Fishery :
Fig. 11.5 : Honey bee (Apis mellifera) Fishery is a branch of applied biology
which deals with the catching, processing, fish
Polymorphism in honey bee :
farming and marketing of fish, and other useful
Bee keeping is practiced in the areas
aquatic animals such as, prawns, lobsters,
where sufficient wild shrubs, fruit orchards
oysters, mussels and crabs. Three division of
and cultivated crops are present. Bee keeping
fishery are- inland fishery, marine fishery and
requires the equipments like bee hive boxes,
estuarine fishery.
with comb foundation sheets, bee veil, smoker,
Inland fishery includes culturing and
bee brush, gloves, gumshoes, uncapping knife,
capturing of fish from fresh water bodies like
swarm net, queen excluder, overall hive tool,
ponds, lakes, dams and river. Inland aquatic
etc.
area of our country covers about 40 to 50 lakh
Outer cover with acres. The common fresh water fish are Labeo
crown board rohita (rohu), Catla (catla), Cirrhina mrigala
Inner cover (mrigala) and other carps.
Honey super
Frames with
wax foundation Catla fish
Rohu fish
Queen excludor

Hive bodies

Entrance reducer Mrigal fish Common carp

Floor board
Bottom stand
Grass carp Silver carp
Fig. 11.6 : Artificial bee hive
Fig. 11.7 : Fresh water fish forms
Artificial bee hive :
For successful bee keeping one must be
familiar with the habits of bees, selection
of suitable location, catching and hiving of
swarms, management of hives during different
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 F. Sericulture :
Knowledge enhancer :
Sericulture is the branch of applied
Fish farming or culturing of edible and
zoology which deals with rearing of silkworm
commercially important fish is only possible
and production of silk. Like other farming,
in fresh water bodies.
sericulture also involves skill and scientific
Marine fishery includes capture of fish knowledge for rearing and development. It
from sea water. Indian coastal line is about require less investment and can be started in
7500 km long. The common marine fish small space. It is the oldest business and large
are Harpadon (Bombay duck), Sardinella number of families are associated with the
(sardine), Rastrelliger (mackerel) and production of silk in India. Disabled, older
Stromateus (pomphret). persons, handicapped people can successfully
do this job.
Can you tell? Adult female
Eggs on mulberry leaf
1. Give the names of estuaries found in
Maharashtra and where these estuaries
are located.
2. Enlist the names of different fish found at Cocoon
Eggs
an estuary.
Mature
Estuarine fishery includes capture of fish caterpillar Dorsal horn
from estuary. Estuary is a place where river Head
meets the sea. e.g. Sunderban area in west
bengal. Thoracic true Adominal pseudo
legs Spiracles legs
The common factors for the maintenance
Fig. 11.8 : Life cycle of silk moth (Mulberry
of fish farm, includes selection of suitable
silk worm)
site, excavation of ponds, requirements of
hatchery tank, nursery tank, rearing tank, Internet my friend
stocking tank or ponds, water source, manures,
Collect information about life cycle of
supplementary feed, etc. The culture fishery
silk moth.
may be monoculture (only one species) or
polyculture (many species) type. The best quality silk called mulberry silk,
is produced by silkworm Bombyx mori, while
After catching the fishes, fish spoilage is
Tussar silk and Eri silk are of inferior quality.
prevented by different preservation methods
The quality and quantity of silk depends on the
like chilling, freezing, freeze drying, sun quality of mulberry leaves on which the larvae
drying, smoke drying, salting and canning. In feed.
addition to the source as nutritious food, fish Rearing, development and looking after
yield a number of by-products which are of the silkworms, involve skill and labour for
commercial value. They are fish oil, fish meal, constant watch. A little negligence can spoil
fertilizers, fish guano, fish glue and isinglass. the complete industry. Silkworm larvae may
These by-products are widely used in paints, be infected by protozoans, viruses and fungi.
soaps, oils, and medicine. Prawns and Lobsters Besides these, ants, crows, birds, and other
have market value all over the world. Fishery predators are ready to attack these insects,
provides good job opportunities and self hence the cages of these larvae must be
employment to many people. managed to prevent predators attack.
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 Fertilization
Egg laying

Adult male
End of egg laying
Complete
(Yellow spots indicate
metamorphosis
Life Cycle of Lac Insect shrinking of female)
Adult female
Incomplete
Male comes Hatching
metamorphosis
out from anal
operculum (Orange spots indicate
eggs are about to hatch)

Larvae
(also called as crawlers)
Pupa
Larvae settling on host
Fig. 11.9 : Life Cycle of Lac Insect

Can you tell? of lac requires an artificial inoculation of plants

which give better and regular supply of good
1. What are the different stages found in life quality and quantity of lac.
cycle of silkworm?
2. Process of cocoon formation. 11.7 Microbes in human welfare :
3. Which process is involved in silk Biotechnology is the applications of
production from cocoon ? ‘Scientific and Engineering principles for the
G. Lac culture : processing of materials by biological agents
Lac is produced by an insect Trachardia to provide goods and service to humans or for
lacca, which is quite small in size and colonial human welfare’.
in habit. Resin like substance is produced by There are variety of microorganisms like
Dermal glands of female lac insect. Insect feeds algae, fungi, bacteria, viruses, protozoans,
on succulent twigs of certain plants like ber, nematodes, etc. and their products that exhibit
peeple, palas, kusum, babool, etc and secretes benificial activities which are used for welfare
pink coloured resin, that hardens on coming in of humans in regard to food, health, industry,
contact with air forming lac. It is produced on agriculture, medicine, biocontrol, etc. These
a large scale all over India. organisms are used variously in food and feed
Lac is a complex substance having large technology, industry, waste utilization, energy,
amount of resin together with sugar, water, etc.
minerals and alkaline substances. Microbes in food preparation :
Natural lac is always contaminated.
The development of biotechnology
Shellac is pure form of lac obtained by washing
occurred in two phases viz, traditional (till
and filtering. Lac insect is a native of India and
1971) and modern (after 1970). Traditional
our share is 85 % of total lac produced in the
biotechnology is based on the fermentation
world. Products of lac play a vital role in the
principle by using fermenting bacteria. These
economy of the farmers. Lac is used in bangles,
were used in the preparation of variety of
toys, woodwork, inks, mirrors, etc. Production
indigenous fermented food products.
258
1. Dosa, Dhokla and Idli: ii. Yoghurt (= yogurt):
The dosa, idli and dhokla are fermented It is produced by curdling milk with
products produced due to activity of bacteria. the help of Streptococcus thermophilus and
They are fermented preparation of rice and Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
black Gram with air borne Leuconostoc and iii. Butter Milk:
Streptococcus species of bacteria. CO2 produced The acidulated liquid left after churning of
during fermentation causes puffing up of the butter from curd, is called butter milk.
dough.
iv. Cheese:
The milk is coagulated with lactic acid
Can you tell?
bacteria and the curd formed is filtered to
Name the microbes used in fermentation separate whey. The solid mass is then ripened
of dhokla. with growth of mould that develops flavour in it.
Different varieties of cheese are known by their
Find out characteristic texture, flavor and taste which
Names of some edible mushrooms are developed by different specific microbes.
and poisonous mushrooms. The ‘Roquefort and Camembert cheese’ are
2. Microbes as the Source of Food : ripened by blue-green molds Penicillium
Some microbes or their fruiting bodies are roquefortii and P. camembertii respectively.
directly used as a source of food, as they are The large holes in Swiss cheese are developed
rich in vitamins and proteins. The term “SCP” due to production of a large amount of CO2
or “single cell protein” denotes, dead and dried by a bacterium known as Propionibacterium
cells of microbes like bacteria, algae, molds shermanii.
and yeasts. 11.8 Role of Microbes in Industrial
Some mushrooms and truffles are directly used Production:
as food. They belong to higher fungi. They During fermentation, variety of products
produce large, fleshy fruting bodies which are like alcoholic beverages, organic acids,
edible. Fruting bodies are sugar free, fat free vitamins, growth hormones, enzymes,
but rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and antibiotics, etc. are produced.
amino acids. The food in the fruting body is
low caloried. Do you know ?
3. Dairy Products:
These are actually the secondary
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) like
metabolites produced during idio phase and
Lactobacillus are added to milk. It ferments
are not required by micro-organisms for their
lactose sugar of milk into lactic acid. Lactic
growth. The type of substrate and the type of
acid causes coagulation and partial digestion of micro-organism result into the production of
milk protein casein. Milk is changed into curd, particular secondary metabolites.
yoghurt and cheese. The starter or inoculum
used in preparation of milk products actually Production on an industrial scale requires
contains millions of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). growing microbes in very large vessels, called
i. Curd: fermenters. The main function of a fermenter is
Indian curd is prepared by inoculating milk to provide a controlled environment for growth
with Lactobacillus acidophilus. It also checks of a microorganism, or a defined mixture of
growth of disease causing microbes. microorganisms, to obtain the desired product.

259
a. Production of Alcoholic Beverages : directly from glucose (e.g. gluconic acid) or
Beverage is a liquid used or prepared for formed as end products from pyruvate or
drinking e.g. tea, coffee, beer, wine, which ethanol.
acts as stimulant. Alcoholic beverages are Organic acid Microbes used
the products of alcoholic fermentation of i. Citric acid Aspergillus niger
specific substrates. Use of microbes in malking ii. Gluconic acid Aspergillus niger
alcoholic beverages, is known since vedic iii. Fumaric acid Rhizopus arrhizus
period- 5000 to 7000Bc. iv. Acetic acid (vinegar) Acetobacter aceti
Microbes especially yeast have The organic acids are further used variously
been used from time immemorial for the e.g. citric acid is used in confectionary, fumaric
production of beverages like wine, beer, acid in resins as wetting agents and gluconic
whiskey, brandy or rum. For this purpose, acid in medicine for solubility of Ca++.
the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae var.
c. Production of vitamins:
ellipsoidis (commonly called Brewer’s Yeast)
Vitamins are some organic nitrogenous
is used for fermenting malted cereals and fruit
compounds which are capable of performing
juices to produce ethanol. Among the
many life-sustaining functions inside our body.
beverages, Wine and Beer are produced without
These compounds cannot be synthesized by
distillation whereas whiskey, brandy and
humans (except vitamin D), and therefore they
rum are distilled beverages. Tubular tower
have to be supplied in small amounts in the diet.
fermenter is used for large scale production of
Microbes are capable of synthesizing the
alcohols.
vitamins and hence they can be successfully used
Several traditional drinks and foods are
for the commercial production of many
also made through fermentation by yeast.
of the vitamins e.g. thiamine, riboflavin,
Today, a traditional drink of the coastal region,
pyridoxine, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin,
in South India, is made by fermenting the sugar
vitamin B12, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene (pro-
sap extracted from palm plants and coconut
vitamin A) and ergosterol (provitamin D).
palm. The famous wine of Goa, traditionally
Vitamins are manufactured by fermentation
known as ‘fenny’ is made by fermenting fleshy
using different microbial sources as mentioned
pedicels of cashew fruits.
below:
Name of the vitamin Microbial source
Yeast movement

Alcohol i. Vitamin B2 i. Neurospora gossypii

ii. Eremothecium ashbyi
ii. Vitamin B12 Pseudomonas denitrificans
Fermenter
iii. Vitamin C Aspergillus niger

Can you recall?

Heat exchanger pump
Fig. 11.10 : Tubular tower fermenter 1. What are antibiotics?
2. Who invented first antibiotic?
b. Production of organic acids:
Microbes are also used for the commercial d. Production of Antibiotics:
and industrial production of certain organic Antibiotics are probably the most important
acids. These compounds can be produced group of compounds synthesized by industrial

260
microorganisms. Most antibiotics are secondary Enzymes are proteins known as bio-
metabolites. They have therapeutic importance catalysts. Due to their ability to promote
and are used in medical treatment. These are reactions more quickly at body temperature and
produced in small amounts by certain microbes more efficiently. Many microbes synthesize
(like bacteria, fungi and few algae), which and excrete large quantities of enzymes
inhibit growth of other microbial pathogens. into the surrounding medium. Using this
Therefore, they are used in medicine. The feature of these tiny organisms, many enzymes
antibiotics are antibacterial, antifungal, etc. are produced commercially. These enzymes
Antibiotics have greatly improved our are Amylase, Cellulase, Protease, Lipase,
capacity to treat deadly diseases such as Pectinase, Streptokinase and many others.
plague, whooping cough, diphtheria, leprosy, Several industrial sectors, use enzymes
etc. from microorganisms for specific applications.
In the textile industry, enzymes are able to
Use your brain power improve the quality of the fabrics. In the
Can antibiotics kill viruses? pulp and paper industry, they are involved in
biomechanical pulping and bleaching, in the
Some common antibiotics and their food industry, they are used in the fermentation
microbial sources are listed below : processes for the production of bread and
Table 11.11 : Antibiotic producing microbes drinks such as wine and beer, also they
participate in the extraction of substances, such
Antibiotic produced Microbial sources
as carotenoids and olive oil; lipases are used in
Chloromycetin Streptomyces
detergent industry, because they have superior
venezuelae
cleaning properties, increasing the brightness
Erythromycin Streptomyces
and removing of oil stains; they are also used
erythreus
in cosmetics, animal feed and agricultural
Penicillin Penicillium
industries, among others. Following are the
chrysogenum
few examples of enzymes used in industrial
Streptomycin Streptomyces griseus
food processing:
Griseofulvin Penicillium
Name of the enzyme Microbial source
griseofulvum
Invertase Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Bacitracin Bacillus licheniformis
Pectinase Sclerotinia libertine,
Oxytetracycline / Streptomyces Aspergillus niger
Terramycin aurifaciens
Lipase Candida lipolytica
Cellulase Trichoderma konigii
Can you recall?
f. Gibberellin production:
What are Enzymes? How are they Gibberellin is a group of growth hormones
classified? mainly produced by higher plants and fungi
to promote growth by stem elongation. The
e. Production of Enzymes: first gibberellin was isolated by two Japanese
In living beings, enzymes play a key role scientists -Yabuta and Sumiki (1938) from rice
in metabolic reactions and therefore, these are seedlings infected with the fungus Gibberella
essential for the survival of such beings. fujikouri.

261
Extra information: Streptokinase enzyme
Do you know ?
(TPA) is produced by the bacterium
Streptococcus spp. It has fibrinolytic effect. The oil eating bacteria can clean up
Hence, it is used as a ‘clot buster’ for clearing crude spills. Collect more information about
blood clots in the blood vessels of patients, these bacteria.
which may cause heart attack.
Statins produced by the yeast Monascus Composition of Sewage:
purpureus have been produced on commercial Sewage consists of approximately 99.5%
scale. It is a blood-cholesterol lowering agent. to 99.9% water and 0.1 to 0.5% inorganic and
This agent acts as competitive inhibitor organic matter in suspended and soluble form.
of the enzyme responsible for synthesis of Composition of sewage varies depending upon
cholesterol. the type of waste discharged into water from
different industries. e.g. textile, chemicals,
About 15 different types of gibberellins
pharmaceuticals, dairy, canning, brewing,
have been isolated. Gibberellins have many
meat packing, tannery, oil refineries and meat
practical applications. They are used to induce
industries, etc.
parthenocarpy in apple, pear, etc. They are
used in breaking the dormancy of seed and Microorganisms in Sewage:
also in inducing flowering in Long Day Plants Various types of micro-organisms are
(LDP). They are also used to enlarge the size also present in sewage. Bacteria, viruses,
of grape fruits. fungi, protozoa, nematodes, algae, etc. are
11.9 Microbes in Sewage Treatment: found in sewage. However, their number and
Sewage is a matter carried off in type, fluctuate depending upon the sewage
drainage. It is a municipal waste containing composition and source of sewage. Raw
human excreta, house hold waste, dissolved sewage may contain millions of bacteria per
organic matter and even pathogenic microbes ml. These include coliforms, fecal Streptococci,
(bacteria, viruses, protozoans, nematodes and anaerobic spore forming bacilli and other types
microfungi). It also includes discharged water originating in the intestinal tract of humans.
from hospital waste, slaughter house waste, Before waste water is made available for
animal dung, etc. Discharge from industrial human use, it has to be treated properly, so as
waste (contains toxic dissolved organic and to remove organic matter, inorganic salts and
inorganic chemicals), tannery, pharmaceutical pathogens as well. Sewage treatment process
waste, etc. also add to sewage. includes four basic steps as follows:
Extra Information : Sewage is also a 1. Preliminary Treatment:
potential source of pathogenic bacteria, The preliminary treatment includes
viruses and protozoa. The causative agents Screening and Grit Chamber.
of dysentery, cholera, typhoid, polio and i. Screening : Sewage and waste water
infectious hepatitis may occur in sewage. contains plenty of suspended, floating
The bacteria from the soil are also present materials, coarse and solid particles along
in the sewage. During the course of sewage with dissolved substances. The suspended
decomposition, initially aerobic and objects are filtered and removed. This is
facultative anaerobic organisms predominate done in screening chambers. The sewage
which are then followed by strict anaerobic is passed through screens or net in the
especially methogenic bacteria that produce chambers. Larger suspended or floating
methane (CH4) and CO2. objects are held back in the screening
262
 chambers. These have to be removed before mechanically and air is pumped into it. Aerobic
the biological treatment. bacteria grow vigourously and form flocs.
ii. Grit Chamber : After screening, the filtered Flocs are the masses of bacteria held together
sewage is then passed into series of grit by slime and fungal hyphae to form mesh like
chambers. These chambers contain large masses. These aerobic microbes consume the
stones (pebbles) and brick-ballast. Coarse major part of the organic matter present in
particles settle down by gravity. Thus, the effluent, as they grow. Due to this BOD
passage of filtered sewage removes much of (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) of the effluent
the coarse particulate matter. is significantly reduced.
2. Primary treatment (physical treatment): 4. Tertiary treatment:
After the preliminary treatment, the
Once the BOD of waste water is reduced, it
sewage water is pumped into the primary
is passed into a settling tank. Here the bacterial
sedimentation tank. The sedimentation of
flocs are allowed to sediment. The sediment
suspended solid or organic matter occurs in
this tank. About 50-70% of the solids settle is now called activated sludge. Small part of
down. There is reduction of about 30-40% (in this is passed back in to aeration tank and the
number) of coliform organisms. The organic major part is pumped in to large tanks called
matter which is settled down, is called primary anaerobic sludge digesters. In these tanks,
sludge which is removed by mechanically anaerobic bacteria grow and digest the bacteria
operated devices. The supernatant (effluent) in and fungi in the sludge. During this anaerobic
the primary sedimentation tank still contains digestion, gases such as methane, hydrogen
large amount of dissolved organic matter and sulphide, CO2, etc. are produced. Effluents
micro-organisms which can then be removed from these plants (digester) after chlorination,
by the secondary treatment. are released in natural water bodies like rivers
3. Secondary treatment (biological and streams. Chlorination kills pathogenic
treatment): bacteria. Digested Sludge is then disposed.
The primary effluent is passed into large
aeration tanks. Here it is constantly agitated

Screening Grit setting Primary treatment

Waste
water
Preliminary treatment to Removal of suspended
remove heavy solids solid particles
Settled sewage
Tertiary treatment
Secondary Aeration Treated
Treatment tank Effluent
(Aerobic bacteria)
Activated sludge
Water to recycle
Anaerobic bioreactor Sludge cake
(digester) to dispose
(Anaerobic bacteria)

Fig. 11.12 : Diagrammatic representation of various stages in wastewater treatment

263
11.10 Microbes in Energy Genration :
Many developing countries are Biogas
encouraging for installation of biogas plants
to meet out the requirement of energy. Biogas Gas-holder
is used as a domestic as well as industrial Dung water Sludge
(CH4+CO2+.....)
fuel. It is a non-conventional and renewable
source of energy and is obtained by microbial
fermentation. Biogas is a mixture of methane
CH4 (50-60%), CO2 (30-40%), H2S (0-3%) and
other gases (CO, N2, H2) in traces. Biogas is Charge pit
highly inflamable and is used as a source of
Digester
energy.
Plant wastes, animal wastes, domestic
wastes, agriculture waste, municipal wastes, Fig. 11.13 : Biogas plant
forestry wastes, etc. are commonly used ii. Acidogenesis : In this stage, facultative
for biogas production. Cattle dung is most anaerobic, acidogenic bacteria and obligate
commonly employed substrate for biogas anaerobic organisms, convert simple
production. It is a rich source of cellulose from organic material into acids like formic
plants. acid, acetic acid, H2 and CO2.
Biogas Production: iii. Methanogenesis :
Most commonly used models of biogas This is last stage in which anaerobic
plants are KVIC and IARI. The digester used Methanogenic bacteria like Methanobacterium,
for biogas production is called Biogas Plant. A Methanococcus convert acetate, H2 and CO2
typical biogas plant using cattle dung as a raw into Methane, CO2 and H2O and other products.
material, consists of digester and gas holder. 1. 12mol CH3COOH 12CH4 + 12CO2
(acetic acid) methane
Digester is made up of concrete bricks and
cement, or steel. There is cylindrical gas holder 2. 4mol [Link] CH4 + 3CO2 + 2H2O
(formic acid)
or gas tank above it to collect gases. Digester
has a side opening (charge pit) into which raw 3. CO2 + 4H2 CH4 + 2H2O
material as cow dung is fed. The digester is Benefits:
partly burried in the soil. 1. It is a cheap, safe and renewable source of
Anaerobic digestion involves in three energy. It can be easily generated, stored
processes : and transported.
i. Hydrolysis or solublization : In initial 2. It can be used for domestic lighting,
stage raw material (cattle dung) is mixed cooking, street lighting as well as small
with water in equal proportion to make scale industries.
slurry which is then fed into the digester. 3. It burns with blue flame and without smoke.
Here anaerobic hydrolytic bacteria (e.g. 4. It helps to improve sanitation of the
surrounding.
Clostridium, Pseudomonas) hydrolyse
5. It is eco-friendly and does not cause pollution
carbohydrates into simple sugars, proteins
and imbalance of the environment. Sludge
into amino acids and lipids into fatty acids.
which is left over is used as a fertilizer.

264
11.11 Role of Microbes as Biocontrol Agents: Table 11.14 : Microbes and their host
The term biocontrol refers to the use of Pathogen Host
biological methods to control diseases and
Bacteria: Bacillus Caterpillars,
pests. The natural method of eliminating and
thuringiensis (Bt) cabbage worm,
controlling insects, pests and other disease-
B. papilliae and adult beetle,etc.
causing agents, is by using their natural,
[Link]
biological enemies. This is called biocontrol
Fungi: Aphid crocci,
or biological control.
Beavueria bassiana, A. unguiculata,
The agents which are employed for this
Entomophthora. mealy bugs, mites,
are called biocontrol agents. Microbes are one
pallidaroseum, and white flies etc
among them. These microbes include bacteria,
Zoopthora radicans
fungi, viruses and protozoans. Microbes as
Protozoans: Grasshopper,
biocontrol agents act in three ways, either they
Nosema lacustae caterpillars,
cause the disease to the pest or compete or kill
crickets
them. Chemicals, insecticides and pesticides
are extremely harmful to human beings and Viruses: Caterpillars and
also pollute our environment. Hence, the use Nucleopolyhedrovirus Gypsy moth, ants,
of biocontrol measures will greatly reduce our (NPV) and Granulovirus wasps and beetles.
dependence on toxic chemicals and pesticides. (GV)
Examples of Microbial bio-control : Bioherbicides :
i. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is used to get Weeds are the unwanted plants that grow
rid of butterfly, caterpillars where dried in agricultural fields, ponds, lakes, etc. Weeds
spores of Bacillus thuringiensis are mixed compete with the main crop in the farm- land for
with water and sprayed onto vulnerable water, space, minerals, light, air, etc. and also
plants such as Brassicas and fruit trees. act as collateral hosts for several pathogens.
These spores are then eaten by the insect Microbes are also used as herbicides. Many
larvae. In the gut of the larvae, the toxin dicot herbs that grow in the field of cereals as
(cry protein) is released and the larvae get weeds, can be killed by certain microbes. For
killed eventually. examples :
ii. Trichoderma species are free-living fungi II. Microbial Herbicides and Their Host :
found in the root ecosystem (rhizosphere). 1. Pathogenic fungi as mycoherbicides:
These are effective as biocontrol agents of
iii. Phytophthora palmivora - controls milk
several soil borne fungal plant pathogens.
weed in orchards.
The fungus produces substances like
viridin, gliotoxin, gliovirin, etc. that inhibit iv. Alternaria crassa - controls water
the other soil borne pathogens attacking hyacinth.
root, rhizomes, etc. causing rot disease. v. Fusarium spp.- control most of the weeds.
Four groups of biocontrol agents are 2. Bacterial pathogen as herbicides:
known. They are bacteria, fungi, viruses and i. Pseudomonas spp.- attacks several weeds
protozoans. ii. Xanthomonas spp.- attacks several weeds
I. Microbial Pesticides and their host : iii. Agrobacterium spp.- attacks several
The corelation is depicted as per the weeds
following table :
265
 3. Insects as herbicides : 1. N2 fixing Biofertilizers: The nitrogen
i. Tyrea moth - controls the weed Senecio fixing microorganisms which convert
jacobeac atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogenous
ii. Cactoblastis cactorum - controls cacti compounds like nitrites and nitrates via
weeds. ammonia. Nitrogen fixing microorganisms,
also called diazotrophs, are of two types:
11.12 Role of Microbes as Biofertilizers:
iii. Symbiotic N2 fixing microorganisms:
Fertilizers are nutrients which are
for eg. Rhizobium, Anabaena, Frankia.
necessary for the growth of plants and thus
These are always associated generally
for the productivity of cultivated plants. Use
with underground parts i.e. roots of
of fertilizers for increasing productivity is one
higher plants.
of the aspects of green revolution. Fertilizers
iv. Free-living or Non- Symbiotic N2 fixing
are classified as inorganic (chemical) and
microorganisms: e.g. Azotobacter,
organic (biological). Inorganic fertilizers
Nostoc, Clostridium, Beijerinkia,
are synthetic where mineral salts of NPK are
Klebsiella, etc.
mixed in definite proportion and then dusted
in the field. Non-judicious or excessive use of 2. Phosphate solubilizing biofertilizers:
such fertilizers lead to pollution of soil, air and These are the bacterial species which
ground water. Soil becomes acidic. solubilize the insoluble inorganic
phosphate compound, such as rock
Organic fertilizers are biological in origin
phosphate. For eg. Pseudomonas striata,
and include Farm Yard Manure (FYM),
Bacillus polymyxa, Agrobacterium,
compost and green manure. Use of these
Microccocus, Aspergillus spp., etc.
fertilizers increases the fertility of soil.
3. Compost making biofertilizers:
Now a days for better and sustainable
Composting is a natural process that
agricultural production farmers use
turns organic material into a dark rich
biofertilizers and practise organic farming.
substance called as compost or humus.
Biofertilizers are mostly N2 fixing, living
The composting process is dependent
microorganisms which enrich the nutrient
on microorganisms to break down
quality of soil. They include bacteria,
organic matter into compost. There are
cyanobacteria and fungi.
many types of microorganisms found in
Biofertilizers are commercial preparation active compost such as bacteria, fungi,
of ready-to-use live bacterial or fungal actinobacteria, protozoa and rotifers.
formulations. Their application to plant, soil or
4. Cyanobacteria as biofertilizers :
composting pits, helps to enrich the soil fertility
Many cyanobacteria are aquatic and
due to their biological activity.
terestrial, free-living or symbiotic, aerobic,
Use of Biofertilizers is cost effective photosynthetic, N2 fixing, heterocystous or
and eco-friendly. They play a vital role in non-heterocystous forms. e.g. Anabaena,
maintaining a long term soil fertility and Nostoc, Plectonema, Oscillatoria, etc.
sustainability. Anabaena, Nostoc and Tolypothrix are
Types of Biofertilizers: associated with lichens while Anabaena
On the basis of nature and function is associated with plants like Azolla and
biofertilizers are divided into following groups- Cycas.

266
 less irrigated lands. The association of VAM
Do you know ? with crop plants helps in conversion of less
productive field into more productive field.
Classification of Biofertilizers :
On the basis of nature or group of Benefits of Mycorrhiza :
organisms, biofertilizers are classified as 1. Selective absorption of P, Zn, Cu, Ca, N,
bacterial fertilizers and fungal fertilizers. Mn, Br and Fe.
Bacterial fertilizers include eubacteria 2. Enhance water uptake.
and cyanobacteria. On the basis of function, 3. Induce growth by secreting hormones.
bacterial fertilizers are further grouped as 4. Offer protection to host plant from other
nitrogen fixing, phosphate solubalizing and microbes, by secreating antibiotics.
compost making biofertilizers. Cynobacterial
biofertilizers, on the basis of function, are Do you know ?
nitrogen fixing type.
Now a days, mycorrhiza are classified
Fungal biofertilizers include
into 8 different types viz, Ectomycorrhizae,
mycorrhizal fungi. On the basis of function,
Endomycorrhizae, Ectendomycorrhizae,
they are classified as ectomycorrhizae and
Orchidaceous mycorrhizae, Ericoid
endomycorrhizae.
mycorrhizae, Arbutoid mycorrhizae,
5. Fungal biofertilizers: Monotrapoid mycorrhizae and Ophioglossoid
Mycorrhiza is a fugus. It forms symbiotic mycorrhizae.
association with the underground parts like
rhizomes and root of higher plants occuring Use your brain power
in thick humid forests. These are discovered
Why are healthy root nodules pink in
by Frank (1885). Their are two types viz,
colour?
Ectomycorrhizae and Endomycorrhizae.
Biofertilizer microorganisms:
I. Ectomycorrhizae: They have well
1. Rhizobium: Rhizobia are rod shaped,
developed mycelium that forms mantle
motile, aerobic, gram negative, non
on the outside of the roots. This increases
spore forming, nitrogen-fixing bacteria
absorptive surface area of roots and
containing Nod genes and Nif genes. They
accelerates uptake of water and nutrients (N,
form symbiotic association with roots
P, Ca and K). Due to this the plant vigour,
of leguminous plants. They bring about
growth and yield increase. Some hyphae of
nodule formation on the roots and multiply
mycorrhizal fungus, penetrate into the root
inside the nodule. They fix atmospheric
and forms hartig-net in the intercellular
nitrogen into organic forms, which can
spaces of root cortex.
be used by plants as nutrients. For eg. R.
II. Endomycorrhizae: They grow in between leguminosarum is specific to pea. and R.
and within the cortical cells of roots. Fungal phaseoli to beans.
hyphae penetrate the cells and form finely
2. Azotobacter: It is the important and well
branched arbuscules intracellularly and
known free living, nitrogen fixing, aerobic,
form vesicles mostly in the intercellular
non-photosynthetic, non-nodule forming,
speces of cortical cells. Hence they are called
bacterium, intimately associated with roots
Vesiculo Arbuscular Mycorrhizae or VAM.
of grasses and certain plants. It is used as a
Now a days they are described as AM fungi.
Bio-fertilizer for all non-leguminous plants
The plants with VAM grow luxuriantly in
especially rice, cotton, vegetables, etc.
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 Root nodules

Root branch

Fig. 11.17 : Azolla

Fig. 11.15 : Root system of Leguminous
plant
Photosynthetic zone
Root nodule
Anabaena

Bacterial colonies Cavity

in cortical cells
Root Dorsal lobe
Xylem

Phloem
Fig. 11.18 : L. S. of Azolla leaf showing
Fig. 11.16 : T. S. of root nodule filamentous Anabaena
3. Azospirillum: It is free living, aerobic In the dorsal lobe, Anabaena filaments
nitrogen fixing bacterium associated with are present in the aerenchyma, which fixes
roots of corn, wheat and jowar. It fixes the nitrogen. Azolla can be used as biofertilizer
considerable quantity of nitrogen (20-40kg in the rice field.
N/ha) in non – leguminous plants such as
cereals, millets, cotton, oilseed, etc. Benefits of Biofertilizers :
4. Anabaena : It is a genus of multicellular, 1. Low cost and can be used by marginal
filamentous cyanobacteria that exits as farmers.
plankton. It has ability to fix nitrogen and 2. Free from pollution hazards.
also forms symbiotic relationships with 3. Increase soil fertility.
certain plants, such as the coralloid roots of 4. BGA as biofertilizers secret growth
Cycas and Anthoceros thallus. It has some promoting substances, organic acids,
specialized and colourless cells, called proteins and vitamins.
Heterocysts which are the sites for nitrogen 5. Azotobacter supply nitrogen and
fixation. antibiotics in the soil.
6. Biofertilizers increase physico-chemical
5. Azolla: Azolla is a free-floating water fern.
properties of soil- like texture, structure,
Azolla plant consist of a floating rhizome
pH, water holding capacity of soil by
(stem) with small overlapping bi-lobed
providing nutrients and organic matter.
leaves and roots. The leaf shows dorsal and
ventral lobe. Now in our country many biofertilizers
are available in market to reduce the use of
chemical fertilizers and thus, the pollution.

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 Activity :

1. Visit fish market and enlist different types of fresh water and marine water fish
mentioning their local names and scientific names.

Type Local Name Scientific Name Detail Information

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

2. Label the different parts of the fermenter and mention functions of each part.

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 Exercise
Q. 1 Multiple Choice Questions. 8. MOET technique is used for ............
1. Antibiotic Chloromycetin is obtained a. production of hybrids
from ..................... b. inbreeding
a. Streptomyces erythreus c. outbreeding
b. Penicillium chrysogenum d. outcrossing
c. Streptomyces venezuelae 9. Mule is the outcome of ..............
d. Streptomyces griseus a. inbreeding
b. artificial insemination
2. Removal of large pieces of floating
c. interspecific hybridization
debris, oily substances, etc. during
d. outbreeding
sewage treatment is called ................
a. primary treatment Q. 2 Very Short Answer Questions:
b. secondary treatment 1. What does make idlies puffy?
c. final treatment 2. Name any two bacterial biofertilizers.
d. amplification 3. What is the microbial source of vitamin
B12?
3. Which one of the following is free living
4. What is the microbial source of enzyme
bacterial biofertilizer?
Invertase?
a. Azotobacter
5. Milk start to coagulate when Lactic
b. Rhizobium
Acid Bacteria (LAB) is added to warm
c. Nostoc
milk as a starter. Mention any two other
d. Bacillus thuringiensis
benefits of LAB.
4. Most commonly used substrate for 6. Name the enzyme produced by
industrial production of beer is ............. Streptococcus bacterium. Explain
a. barley b. wheat importance in medical sciences.
c. corn d. sugarcane molasses 7. What is breed?
5. Ethanol is commercially produced 8. Define estuary.
through a particular species of .............. 9. What is shellac?
a. Aspergillus Q. 3 Short Answer Questions.
b. Saccharomyces 1. Many microbes are used at home during
c. Clostridium preparation of food items. Comment on
d. Trichoderma such useful ones with examples.
6. One of the free-living anaerobic 2. What is biogas? Write in brief about the
nitrogen-fixer is ..................... production process.
a. Azotobacter b. Beijerinckia 3. Write a note on biocontrol agents.
c. Rhodospirillum d. Rhizobium 4. Name any two enzymes and antibiotics
with their microbial source.
7. Microorganisms also help in production
5. Write priciples of farm management.
of food like .................
6. Give economic importance of fishery.
a. bread b. alcoholic beverages
7. Enlist the species of honey bee mentioning
c. vegetables d. pulses
their specific uses.

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 8. What are A, B, C and D in the table given Q. 4 Long Answer Questions.
below : 1. Explain the process of sewage water
treatment before it can be discharged
Types of Commercial
microbe
Name
product into natural bodies. Why this treatment is
essential?
Fungus A Penicillin
2. Write a note on lac culture.
Bacterium Acetobacter aceti B
3. Describe various methods of fish
C Aspergillus niger Citric acid preservation.
Yeast D Ethanol 4. Give an account of poultry diseases.
5. Give an account of mutation breeding
with examples.
6. Describe briefly various steps of plant
breeding methods.

Project :
Collect information about
A) Different types of worms/organisms used in sericulture
B) How is silk obtained and isolated
C) Types of silk
D) Job potential of sericulture

271