- Pisciculture (fishery) is the rearing and production of fish for food, while aquaculture includes other aquatic animals also.
- Fish are a rich source of protein and vitamins, and fish oils are widely used for nutritional and industrial purposes.
- Fish culture is of two types—freshwater fisheries (ponds, rivers, lakes) and marine fisheries (sea), with preservation by freezing, drying or canning.
Definitions [15]
Define Osmotic pressure.
The hydrostatic pressure which balances and prevents the osmotic inflow of water into concentrated solution is called osmotic pressure.
Osmotic pressure may be defined as the external pressure which should be applied to the solution in order to stop the phenomenon of osmosis, i.e., to stop the flow of solvent into the solution when the two are separated by a semipermeable membrane.
Define the term tissue.
A group of cells having the same origin, same structure and same function is called ‘tissue’.
Definition: Tissue Culture
'Ex vivo growth of cells or tissues in an aseptic and nutrient-rich medium’ is called tissue culture.
or
Tissue culture is the technique of growing plant cells, tissues or organs under controlled laboratory conditions for crop improvement.
Definition: Single Cell Protein
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.
Definition: Biofortification
Biofortification is the breeding of crop plants to increase their content of vitamins, minerals, proteins or healthy fats in order to improve human nutrition and public health.
Define Animal Husbandry.
It is a livestock breeding and growing practice in agriculture.
Define the following.
Apiculture
Apiculture is the rearing of honey bees for honey. It is called Beekeeping.
Define cross-breeding.
Breeding between a superior male of one breed with a superior female of another breed is known as cross-breeding.
Definition: Apiculture
The rearing of honey bee to obtain honey and other commercially important products is known as apiculture or bee‑keeping.
Definition: Pisciculture
Pisciculture (fishery) is the practice of breeding, rearing and harvesting fish in natural or artificial water bodies for food and other economic uses.
Define the following.
Pisciculture
Pisciculture or Fish culture is the process of breeding and rearing fishes in ponds, reservoirs (dams), lakes, rivers, and paddy fields.
Define the following terms
Superbug
"Superbug" is a term used to describe strains of bacteria that are resistant to the majority of antibiotics commonly used today.
Define the following term
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are chemical substances produced by microorganisms which can kill or retard the growth of other disease causing microbes even in low concentration. Antibiotic means “against life”.
Define the following term
Zymology
Zymology is an applied science which deals with the biochemical process of fermentation and its practical uses.
Define bioherbicides.
Bioherbicides are living creatures such as microbes, fungi, insects, or other pathogens that are employed to restrict the population of undesired plants in agricultural fields, ponds, lakes, and so on.
Key Points
Key Points: Pisciculture
Key Points: Microbes in Industries
- Micro-organisms are ideal for industries due to their fast growth, high metabolic activity, and enzyme diversity.
- They are grown in large vessels called fermenters for large-scale production.
- Microbes are used to produce medicines like steroids, vaccines, human insulin, and immunosuppressive drugs.
- Many important antibiotics such as penicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, and erythromycin are obtained from microbes.
- Microbial fermentation is used to produce vitamins (B₁₂, riboflavin) and human proteins using recombinant DNA technology.
- Several organic acids (citric, lactic, acetic) and amino acids (lysine, glutamic acid) are industrially produced by microbes.
- Microbes produce enzymes used in detergents, food processing, textiles, medicines, and plastic industries.
- Yeasts are widely used for producing ethanol and fermented beverages like beer, wine, whisky, and rum.
Key Points: Microbes in Energy Generation
- Microbes help in energy production by synthesizing fuels such as ethanol, methane, hydrogen, and hydrocarbons.
- Gasohol, a mixture of gasoline and alcohol, is produced using microbes like Zymomonas mobilis and Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus.
- Biogas is mainly methane produced by methanogenic bacteria such as Methanobacterium during anaerobic fermentation of cattle dung.
- Biogas plants use dung slurry to generate gas for cooking and lighting, while the leftover slurry serves as a good fertilizer.
- Some algae produce hydrogen gas from water in sunlight through a process called biophotolysis, using the enzyme hydrogenase.
- Microbes also play a role in petroleum formation, oil-spill cleanup, and enhanced recovery of petroleum, helping in sustainable energy management.
Key Points: Types of Biocontrol Agents
| Category | Biocontrol Agent | Target / Use |
|---|---|---|
| Insects | Ladybird beetle | Controls aphids |
| Insects | Dragonfly | Controls mosquitoes |
| Viruses | Baculoviruses (NPV) | Control insect pests like bollworm |
| Bacteria | Bacillus thuringiensis | Controls insect pests and mosquito larvae |
| Bacteria | Agrobacterium radiobacter (K-84) | Controls crown gall disease |
| Bacteria | Pseudomonas sp. | Controls fungal disease (damping off) |
| Fungi | Trichoderma sp. | Controls many plant diseases |
| Fungi | Beauveria, Metarhizium, Verticillium | Control insect pests |
| Fungi | Aschersonia aleyrodis | Controls whiteflies |
Key Points: Microbes as Biofertilizers
- Biofertilizers are living micro-organisms that improve soil fertility by increasing the availability of nutrients to plants.
- They are eco-friendly alternatives to chemical fertilizers, which degrade soil quality and reduce microbial life.
- Nitrogen-fixing microbes such as Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, and Frankia convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms.
- Legume–Rhizobium symbiosis forms root nodules that fix large amounts of nitrogen and enrich the soil for subsequent crops.
- Azolla–Anabaena symbiosis and cyanobacteria are widely used in paddy fields and significantly increase rice yield.
- Mycorrhiza (fungus–root association) enhances absorption of phosphorus and other minerals and protects plants from pathogens.
- Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria and fungi convert insoluble phosphates into forms available to plants.
- Biofertilizers improve crop yield, reduce fertilizer requirement, and help in sustainable agriculture and soil conservation.
Concepts [25]
- Improvement in Food Production
- Plant Breeding
- Hybridization and its Technique
- Indian Hybrid Crops
- Mutation Breeding
- Tissue Culture
- Micropropagation (Clonal Propagation)
- Single Cell Protein (SCP)
- Biofortification
- Animal Husbandry (Livestock)
- Animal Husbandry (Livestock) > Animal Breeding
- Animal Husbandry (Livestock) > Dairy (Livestock) Farm Management
- Animal Husbandry (Livestock) > Poultry Farm Management
- Animal Husbandry (Livestock) > Apiculture (Bee Farming)
- Animal Husbandry (Livestock) > Pisciculture (Fish Farming)
- Animal Husbandry (Livestock) > Sericulture
- Animal Husbandry (Livestock) > Lac Culture
- Microbes in Human Welfare
- Microbes in Industrial Products
- Microbes in Sewage Treatment
- Microbes in Energy Generation
- Microbes as Biocontrol Agents
- Bioherbicide
- Microbes as Biofertilizers
- Types of Biofertilisers
