Revision: Class 12 >> Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production NEET (UG) Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

Pisciculture or Fish culture is the process of breeding and rearing fishes in ponds, reservoirs (dams), lakes, rivers, and paddy fields.

Pisciculture (fishery) is the practice of breeding, rearing and harvesting fish in natural or artificial water bodies for food and other economic uses.

Single Cell Protein is the microbial biomass obtained from bacteria, yeasts, fungi or algae and used as a source of protein for human food or animal feed.

A group of cells having the same origin, same structure and same function is called ‘tissue’.

'Ex vivo growth of cells or tissues in an aseptic and nutrient-rich medium’ is called tissue culture.

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Tissue culture is the technique of growing plant cells, tissues or organs under controlled laboratory conditions for crop improvement.

• Meaning — Branch of applied biology dealing with catching, processing, farming & marketing of fish, prawns, lobsters, oysters, mussels, crabs.
• Three Divisions — Inland (fresh water), Marine (sea water, 7500 km coastline), Estuarine (river meets sea, e.g., Sundarbans).
• Common Fish — Inland: Rohu, Catla, Mrigala | Marine: Bombay duck, Sardine, Mackerel, Pomfret.
• Fish Culture — Monoculture (1 species) or Polyculture (many species). Preservation: chilling, freezing, salting, canning, drying.
• By-products — Fish oil, fish meal, fertilisers, fish glue, isinglass → used in paints, soaps, medicines. Provides jobs & self-employment.

• Meaning — Breeding & raising livestock to increase yield and improve desirable qualities (milk, meat, eggs).
• Inbreeding — Closely related individuals bred for 4–6 generations → increases homozygosity, eliminates harmful genes. Demerit: reduces fertility.
• Outbreeding — Unrelated animals, no common ancestor for 4–6 generations → removes inbreeding depression.
• Types of Outbreeding — Outcrossing (same breed), Crossbreeding (different breeds), Interspecific hybridisation (different species).
• Examples — Hisardale sheep = Bikaneri ewe × Marino ram | Mule = Horse × Donkey.
• Artificial Insemination (AI) — Semen from a superior male → frozen/preserved → injected into the female's genital tract.
• MOET — FSH given to cow → superovulation (6–8 eggs) → blastocysts (8–32 cell stage) transferred to surrogate mothers.

• Meaning — SCP is a crude or refined edible protein extracted from pure microbial cultures or dead/dried cell biomass. Its importance was first realised during World War I.
• Microorganisms Used — Fungi: Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride. Yeast: S. cerevisiae, Candida utilis. Algae: Spirulina, Chlorella. Bacteria: Methylophilus methylotrophus, Bacillus megasterium.
• Substrates Used — Microbes are grown on cheap/waste materials like sawdust, corn cobs, sugarcane molasses, agricultural waste, and even human & animal wastes.
• Nutritional Value — SCP contains 43–85% protein, vitamins (esp. Vitamin B complex), minerals, amino acids & fats. Used as a supplement in human and animal feed.
• Advantages — Fast multiplication of microbes → large biomass quickly. Can be genetically modified | Reduces pollution by using waste as substrate. Solves protein malnutrition.

• Principle — Based on Totipotency — the ability of a single plant cell to grow, divide, and develop into a whole new plant.
• Explant — The part of the plant used in tissue culture (e.g., leaf, stem, root piece).
• Medium — Contains minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, water, growth hormones, vitamins, and agar. MS medium is commonly used.
• Conditions — Aseptic, Temp: 18–20°C, pH: 5–5.8, with aeration for suspension culture.
• Steps in Order — Clean glassware → Prepare nutrient medium → Prepare explant → Inoculate in culture flask → Incubate (callus forms) → Subculture → Organogenesis → Hardening → Transfer to field.
• Types Based on Explant — Cell culture, Organ culture, Embryo culture.
• Types Based on In Vitro Growth — Callus culture uses a solid medium to form undifferentiated cells (callus) that can become organs/plantlets. Suspension culture uses a liquid medium constantly agitated by a shaker.