Functional foods are foods that have a potentially positive effect on health beyond nutrition. It promotes optimal health and helps to reduce the risk of diseases. Functional food covers a variety of foods like; minimally processed, whole foods along with fortified, enriched or enhanced foods can all be functional foods. In the main, these foods have a potentially beneficial effect on health when consumed on a regular basis and at certain levels. This article elaborates on the importance of functional foods, health benefits, types and various sources of functional foods.
Biomass refers to the mass of all living matter in a given area that includes all flora and fauna. There are different methods to measure the biomass. Fossil fuel burning releases CO2 which enters the atmosphere and increase the atmospheric CO2 concentration. According to IPCC report, forest ecosystem would release about 100 billion tonnes of CO2 by the next 50 years. Using forest residues (thinnings and logging slash) for bioenergy is an opportunity to restore forest health, wildfire resiliency, and wildlife habitat. Silvicultural operations to improve forest conditions can help revitalize rural economies while providing renewable energy feedstocks. CO2 storage is an integral part of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) chain, and therefore it is important to quantify the storage potential of geological sites such as coal fields, oil and gas fields, and deep saline water-bearing reservoir rocks. India has joined a number of international initiatives to speed up the development and dissemination of CCS technologies, notably the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF), which provided a mandate for the involvement of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and effectively engaged with industry experts. Popularizing the CCS technology is the only option to reduce the emissions and save the planet.
Vegetable grafting is very old concept in some Asian countries like Japan and Korea but it is a relatively new technology in India which is being seen as an alternative technique to combat biotic and abiotic stresses in vegetable cultivation. New recombinant plants are another sphere of interest of growers. Pomato (Tomato on Potato) has been successfully grown and being popularized for indoor cultivation under protected structures. Similarly, Brimato (Brinjal on Potato) has been a successful recombination. Increasing population and industrialization of agricultural land has forced the growers to grow more from small or limited area. New technologies such as vertical farming, hydroponic, aeroponic,vegetable grafting are being promoted or encouraged. Brimato will provide an opportunity to growers to get two crops from a single plant.
Available arable land is limited and the nitrogenous fertilizers are polluting the environment. Currently the use of biofertilizers in crop production is gaining importance to reduce the pollution. It is important that cropping systems must be developed which do not rely on inorganic nitrogen based fertilizers. The Azolla is a well-known biofertilizer as an alternate source for the nitrogen based fertilizers. Since its rapid growing, N -fixing symbiosis, potential productivity phenomenon helps the farmers to reduce nitrogen based fertilizer application cost. Besides, due to its nutritional property, it can be used as feedstock for the animals such as poultry, pigs, dairy, fish, goat, and sheep.
As the century witnesses rapid urbanization and the year 2020 witnessing a hard pandemic it necessitates new ways of gardening. This article emphasizes that by designing and planning for a green space, it is possible to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic. By arranging, for appropriate gardening and related activities to the people staying inside at home, the impact of severe mental illness claimed by the Indian psychiatric Society could be minimized. Special types of gardening like Terrariums etc., lessen the threat of children’s addiction towards the gadgets. The article has provided important tips for the beginners who wish to start the gardening. In addition, the overall goal of this article was to make the urban and peri- urban people to have a safe and healthy life with greeneries.
