Herbalism

Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts. Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources.

Traditional use of medicines is recognized as a way to learn about potential future medicines. In 2001, researchers identified 122 compounds used in mainstream medicine which were derived from "ethnomedical" plant sources; 80% of these compounds were used in the same or related manner as the traditional ethnomedical use.

Many plants synthesize substances that are useful to the maintenance of health in humans and other animals. These include aromatic substances, most of which are phenols or their oxygen-substituted derivatives such astannins. Many are secondary metabolites, of which at least 12,000 have been isolated — a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. In many cases, substances such as alkaloids serve as plant defense mechanisms against predation by microorganisms, insects, and herbivores. Many of the herbs and spicesused by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds.

Similarly to prescription drugs, a number of herbs are thought to be likely to cause adverse effects. Furthermore, "adulteration, inappropriate formulation, or lack of understanding of plant and drug interactions have led to adverse reactions that are sometimes life threatening or lethal.

Plant Breeding

Modern Plant breeding

Plant breeding is the art and science of changing the genetics of plants for the benefit of mankind. Plant breeding can be accomplished through many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to more complex molecular techniques (see cultigen and cultivar).

Plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years, since near the beginning of human civilization. It is now practiced worldwide by individuals such as gardeners and farmers, or by professional plant breeders employed by organizations such as government institutions, universities, crop-specific industry associations or research centers.

International development agencies believe that breeding of new crops is important for ensuring food security by developing new varieties that are higher-yielding, resistant to pests and diseases, drought-resistant or regionally adapted to different environments and growing conditions.

Steps of Plant Breeding

The following are the major steps of plant breeding;

1. Creation of variation
2. Selection
3. Evaluation
4. Release
5. Multiplication
6. Distribution of the new variety

Modern Plant Breeding

There are generally three types on plant breeding in this modern age. They are given below:

Marker assisted selection

Sometimes many different genes can influence a desirable trait in plant breeding. The use of tools such as molecular markers or DNA finger printing can map thousands of genes. This allows plant breeders to screen large populations of plants for those that possess the trait of interest. The screening is based on the presence or absence of a certain gene as determined by laboratory procedures, rather than on the visual identification of the expressed trait in the plant.

Reverse Breeding and Doubled Haploids (DH)

A method for efficiently producing homozygous plants from a heterozygous starting plant, which has all desirable traits. This starting plant is induced to produce doubled haploid from haploid cells, and later on creating homozygous/doubled haploid plants from those cells. While in natural offspring genetic recombination occurs and traits can be unlinked from each other, in doubled haploid cells and in the resulting DH plants recombination is no longer an issue. There, a recombination between two corresponding chromosomes does not lead to un-linkage of alleles or traits, since it just leads to recombination with its identical copy. Thus, traits on one chromosome stay linked. Selecting those offspring having the desired set of chromosomes and crossing them will result in a final F1 hybrid plant, having exactly the same set of chromosomes, genes and traits as the starting hybrid plant. The homozygous parental lines can reconstitute the original heterozygous plant by crossing, if desired even in a large quantity. An individual heterozygous plant can be converted into a heterozygous variety (F1 hybrid) without the necessity of vegetative propagation but as the result of the cross of two homozygous/doubled haploid lines derived from the originally selected plant. 

Genetic modification

Genetic modification of plants is achieved by adding a specific gene or genes to a plant, or by knocking down a gene with RNAi, to produce a desirable phenotype. The plants resulting from adding a gene are often referred to as transgenic plants. If for genetic modification genes of the species or of a crossable plant are used under control of their native promoter, then they are called cisgenic plants. Genetic modification can produce a plant with the desired trait or traits faster than classical breeding because the majority of the plant's genome is not altered.

To genetically modify a plant, a genetic construct must be designed so that the gene to be added or removed will be expressed by the plant. To do this, a promoter to drive transcription and a termination sequence to stop transcription of the new gene, and the gene or genes of interest must be introduced to the plant. A marker for the selection of transformed plants is also included. In the laboratory, antibiotic resistance is a commonly used marker: Plants that have been successfully transformed will grow on media containing antibiotics; plants that have not been transformed will die. In some instances markers for selection are removed by back crossing with the parent plant prior to commercial release.

The construct can be inserted in the plant genome by genetic recombination using the bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens or A. rhizogenes, or by direct methods like the gene gun or micro injection. Using plant viruses to insert genetic constructs into plants is also a possibility, but the technique is limited by the host range of the virus. For example, Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) only infects cauliflower and related species. Another limitation of viral vectors is that the virus is not usually passed on the progeny, so every plant has to be inoculated.

The majority of commercially released transgenic plants are currently limited to plants that have introduced resistance to insect pests and herbicides. Insect resistance is achieved through incorporation of a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that encodes a protein that is toxic to some insects. For example, the cotton bollworm, a common cotton pest, feeds on Bt cotton it will ingest the toxin and die. Herbicides usually work by binding to certain plant enzymes and inhibiting their action. The enzymes that the herbicide inhibits are known as the herbicides target site. Herbicide resistance can be engineered into crops by expressing a version of target site protein that is not inhibited by the herbicide. This is the method used to produce glyphosate resistant crop plants (See Glyphosate)

Genetic modification of plants that can produce pharmaceuticals (and industrial chemicals), sometimes called pharmacrops, is a rather radical new area of plant breeding.

Urban Agriculture

Urban Agriculture or Peri Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in, or around (peri-urban), a village, town or city. Urban agriculture in addition can also involveanimal husbandry, aquaculture, agro-forestry and horticulture. These activities also occur in peri-urban areas as well.

Urban farming is generally practiced for income-earning or food-producing activities though in some communities the main impetus is recreation and relaxation. Urban agriculture contributes to food security and food safety in two ways: 

First, it increases the amount of food available to people living in cities, and, second, it allows fresh vegetables and fruits and meat products to be made available to urban consumers. A common and efficient form of urban agriculture is the bio intensive method. Because urban agriculture promotes energy-saving local food production, urban and peri-urban agriculture are generally seen as sustainable practices.

The recognition of environmental degradation within cities through the relocation of resources to serve urban populations has inspired the implementation of different schemes of urban agriculture across the developed and developing world. From historic models such as Machu Picchu to designs for new productive urban farms, the idea of locating agriculture in the city takes on many characteristics

Organic Agriculture in Nepal

Organic Agriculture in Nepal

Nepal is an agricultural country so Nowadays to increase the agriculture production and its supply various kind of new technologies are being used in our country as well as other countries like generic modification, chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. The use of such kind of chemical fertilizers can provide benefit for a certain period but in case of long use these chemical destroy the fertility or production capacity of the soil. In human health and life also it provides a negative impacts as well as also effects to the environment and leads to environment problems. In a same way use of genetic modification of food, crops, plants etc. is also decimating the natural variety of the plants.

Organic 

An agricultural system that promotes the agriculture environmentally, socially and economically balance/sound production of crops is known as Organic agriculture. It tries to optimize the quality production in all aspects of agriculture and environment by keeping respect to the natural capacity of plants, animals, human, local conditions and environment. Nepal and other countries is losing their fertile and agricultural land as well as production because of urbanization, industrialization and development of various kind of infrastructures. The increasing population of the world is suffering from this loss. There are some persons who use agriculture as commercial production which has long run effects on human life and environment. Because, in commercial agriculture various kind of chemical fertilizers to grow or get the large amount of crops but indirectly it will be effecting on human life, fertility of soil and environment for a long time.

Natural resources are the gift of nature and by proper utilization of these natural resources we should be able to produce high quality and high quantity agricultural products without leaving effect on human life and environment. If we are not aware of this situation, then we can’t control this problem and it will be great loss for human and their existence in this world. So, to control these problem necessary steps must be taken immediately by conducting organic farming all over the world. Through sustainable organic agriculture only we can save our planet or earth. This steps can be recognition for our future generations. To achieve our goals whole world have to work hand in hand with the same view.

As I said Nepal is an agricultural country and 85% of its total population depends on agriculture and almost 80% of the population survives as farmers.  The farmers works very hard to improve the production and quality of living and using the chemical fertilizers and pesticides for last 35 years to get higher production.To develop the agriculture in Nepal, modern technologies are being implemented.

Nepal is an underdeveloping country due to which the transportation is not properly develops in all the places so that the chemical fertilizer could be reach. So we still have time to make them aware about the current situation and make them stop from using such chemicals. Due to this, Nepalese farmers are still far from these negative effects of inorganic methods on environment. Overuse of inorganic farming causes  the deterioration of soil condition daily and rising the problem of producing contamination.

Agriculture Equipment in Nepal

Mechanization of agriculture in Nepal is at very low level, which means that Nepal is still using the traditional Equipment and traditional ways of Agriculture. Af first, there were about 315.1 thousand holdings using the most common agricultural equipment like iron plough in 1991/92 whereas this number increased  upto 870.3 thousand holdings in 2001/02. 

Tractor

 Tractor is used to describe the distinctive farm vehicle which deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speedsThe use of tractors has been increasing slowly. From 1.2 percent of the total holdings using tractors in 1991/92 and it increased upto 8.2 percent in 2001/02. 

Thresher

Thresher/Threshing machine(a device that first separates the head of a stalk of grain from the straw, and then further separates the kernel from the rest of the head) occupies a very important place among equipment used in farming operation. The use of thresher in farming operation has also been increasing from 3.2 percent of the total holdings using it in 1991/92 and increased to 7.5 percent in 2001/02.

Pumping set

 Pumping set, which is also very important agricultural equipment for the purpose of irrigation, has increased from 3 percent holdings using it in 1991/92 to 6.3 percent holdings in 2001/02. Though farm mechanization in Nepal is still at incipient stage, there are indications of improvement. 

Use of equipment such as power tillers, sprayers, rower pumps is on the rise also.  However, the number of animal drawn carts has stagnated over the decade.  

Nepal's Agriculture History

In Nepal, prime economy of the citizens is Agriculture. Due to which Nepal is know as the Agricultural Countries in the World. . In the late 1980s, it was the livelihood for more than 90 percent of the population, although only approximately 20 percent of the total land area was cultivable, it accounted for, on average, about 60 percent of the GDP and approximately 75 percent of exports. Since the formulation of the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1975-80), agriculture has been the highest priority because economic growth was dependent on both increasing the productivity of existing crops and diversifying the agricultural base for use as industrial inputs.

According to the World Bank, agriculture is the main source of food, income, and employment for the majority.

In trying to increase agricultural production and diversify the agricultural base, the government focused on irrigation, the use of fertilizers and insecticides, the introduction of new implements and new seeds of high-yield varieties, and the provision of credit. The lack of distribution of these inputs, as well as problems in obtaining supplies, however, inhibited progress. Although land reclamation and settlement were occurring in the Tarai Region, environmental degradation and ecological imbalance resulting from deforestation also prevented progress.

Although new agricultural technologies helped increase food production, there still was room for further growth. Past experience indicated bottlenecks, however, in using modern technology to achieve a healthy growth. The conflicting goals of producing cash crops both for food and for industrial inputs also were problematic.

The production of crops fluctuated widely as a result of these factors as well as weather conditions. Although agricultural production grew at an average annual rate of 2.4 percent from 1974 to 1989, it did not keep pace with population growth, which increased at an average annual rate of 2.6 percent over the same period. Further, the annual average growth rate of food grain production was only 1.2 percent during the same period.

There were some successes. Fertile lands in the Tarai Region and hardworking peasants in the Hill Region provided greater supplies of food staples (mostly rice and corn), increasing the daily caloric intake of the population locally to over 2,000 calories per capita in 1988 from about 1,900 per capita in 1965. Moreover, areas with access to irrigation facilities increased from approximately 6,200 hectares in 1956 to nearly 583,000 hectares by 1990.