Wheat and Rice – Ancient and Modern Cereals
Raymond Cooper, Jeffrey John Deakin in Natural Products of Silk Road Plants, 2020
Rice feeds a greater proportion of the world’s population than any other cereal crop. Cereal grain is rich in carbohydrates, which are plentiful in nature. Carbohydrates occur widely in both the plant and animal kingdoms, where they are present in supportive tissues and are a source of energy. Rice was first domesticated in the extensive basin of the Yangtze River in China (Huang et al., 2012). Evidence from genetic studies has shown that all forms of Asian rice, including Oryza indica and Oryza japonica, were bred from wild rice, Oryza rufipogen, some 13500 to 8200 years ago in China (Huang et al., 2012). Rice was then gradually introduced in the north by early Sino-Tibetan peoples in around 4000–3800 BC. A regular secondary crop could be obtained by the southernmost Sino-Tibetan communities. By the late Neolithic period (3500–2500 BC), a rapid population increase occurred in centers of rice cultivation with evidence of the use of paddy fields.
Diseases, Peasants, and Nation-Building in Rural China
Liping Bu, Ka-che Yip in Public Health and National Reconstruction in Post-War Asia, 2014
Agriculture provided grain and resources for industry, and villages provided work forces for economic production. From 1953 through 1957, the government started implementing the first Five-Year Plan to lay the foundation for socialist industrialization and to invest resources in industrial development. Efforts included 156 construction projects assisted by the Soviet Union and other 694 large and medium-sized projects. These projects mainly recruited workers from rural areas. In August 1958, with the beginning of the Great Leap Forward campaign, the Central Committee of the CCP issued the directive, “The Whole Party and People Strive to Produce 1,070,000 Tons of Iron and Steel,” launching a steel production campaign that needed large numbers of workers. In Xindeng County of Zhejiang Province, there were four large iron and steel factories, each of which employed 2,000 to 3,000 workers. In the whole county, about 12,000 workers participated in iron and steel production, most of them came from rural areas.20 As with agricultural production, the output of iron and steel depended on the health and strength of the peasants in these areas.
Introduction
Nirmala Chongtham, Madho Singh Bisht in Bamboo Shoot, 2020
Seeds of Bambusa arundinacea is utilized as a food grain by the Kani tribe of Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India (Kiruba et al. 2007). The seeds are locally known as Mungil-arisee in the Tamil language that means bamboo rice. For consumption, the seeds are boiled in water just like rice and consumed with fish curry and vegetables by indigenous people as a substitute for rice. The seeds are also used to prepare Mungil-arsee-dosa and Mungil-arsee-pongal which is a sweet dish made with the seeds and some additives like milk, jaggery and so on. The seed grain can also be used to make cakes. Mulayari-payasam, a dessert made of bamboo rice is very popular in Kerela, one of the southern states of India. With a wheat-like texture, this creamy and rich sweet delicacy is good for health too. The seeds not only provide food but also help to empower and improve the economy of the tribal women as the excess seeds are sold to the adjoining areas. It is believed that the seeds of B. arundinacea enhance fertility and so there is a demand for the seeds in the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture drugs to improve fertility. In China, aromatic short-grain white rice has been infused with chlorophyll from young bamboo leaves. As the rice is milled, the chlorophyll is added, giving the rice grains a green colour.
Morphological characterization of gamma rays induced multipodding mutant (mp) in lentil cultivar Pant L 406
Published in International Journal of Radiation Biology, 2018
Rafiul Amin Laskar, Mohd. Rafiq Wani, Aamir Raina, Ruhul Amin, Samiullah Khan
Induced mutagenesis unleashes the potentials of plant genetic resources and augments the genetic variation without compromising basic genomic structure, therefore, considered as a powerful breeding tool for broadening of crop genetic base. Mutation breeding, therefore, is a quick, cost-effective, robust, and proven method to accelerate the process of developing and selecting novel agronomic traits. Grain legumes are the major component of agricultural system, successfully boosting nutrition, income, and environment around the world. Lentil is an extremely nutritious affordable grain legume with rich protein contents and high mineral density and thus playing a pivotal role in combating food insecurity and malnutrition in developing countries including India. It contains 25% protein, 0.7% fat, 2.1% mineral, 0.7% fiber and 59% carbohydrate. It is also rich in phosphorus and carotene (http://www.aicrpmullarp.res.in/crop_profile.html). Globally, with the development of different culinary customs, lentils are now being used as a starter, as a main dish, as a side dish, or in salads (Fratini et al. 2014). The genus lens from the tribe vicieae is comparatively small and comprises five annual species of which only Lens culinaris Medik. is cultivated. In 1787, the German botanist and physician Medikus assigned lentil the scientific name Lens culinaris (Fratini et al. 2014). Cubero (1981) subdivided Lens culinaris Medik. on the basis of seed size into two races, namely macrosperma and microsperma.
Induced variability and assessment of mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency in sorghum genotypes [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]
Published in International Journal of Radiation Biology, 2022
H. V. Kalpande, S. M. Surashe, Ashok Badigannavar, Ambika More, T. R. Ganapathi
The grain yield, a major trait contributing to economic value of the crop is contributed by various traits, such as panicle area, seed weight and number of seeds per panicle. In the present study, mutagen induced genetic variability for grain yield was ranging between 14 and 56 g/plant (296B) and 20 and 85 g/plant (Parbhani moti) against 31–40 and 45–57 g/plant in their respective parents (Tables 4 and 5; Figures 1 and 2). The mean values for grain yield were higher in Parbhani moti (53.0 g/pl) than 296B (42.0 g/pl) and it was 40–80% increase over their respective parent. Significantly wide variation was observed for grain yield with CV values ranging between 24 and 35% and 12 and 39% for 296B and Parbhani moti mutants, respectively. Similarly, in M3 generation, mutation induced wide variability for grain yield, ranging 16–54 g/plant in 296B and 18–90 g/plant in Parbhani moti, respectively (Tables 6 and 7). An improvement in the grain yield to the extent of 24.4 and 48.9% in comparison with their parents was noticed in 296B and Parbhani moti derived mutants, respectively. Wide CV values were observed among 296B (16–24%) and Parbhani moti (16–39%) mutants. Combined mutagenic treatment, 200 Gy + 0.2% EMS induced high yielding mutants in both the mutant populations. The broadsense heritability ranged between 36.3–80.1% and 44.1–80.0% for 296B and Parbhani moti mutants respectively with genetic gain ranging from 2.25 to 22.6%.
Secondary impact of a behavioral intervention on dietary quality in preschoolers with obesity
Published in Children's Health Care, 2019
Elizabeth K. Towner, Shannon M. Robson, Lori J. Stark
In contrast to our hypotheses, little change was observed for the total fruit and refined grain subscale scores. One-hundred percent fruit juice is the primary food differentiating the total fruit and whole fruit subscale scores. LAUNCH families were provided with the recommendation to serve no more than 6 fluid ounces of fruit juice daily, and educated that whole fruit was a better choice due to more nutrients and fewer calories (Nutrition, 2001). Given the 1-point increase observed for the whole fruit subscale at 12 months, the slight reduction in the total fruit subscale suggests additional strategies may be necessary to help LAUNCH families reduce preschooler fruit juice intake and increase overall whole fruit intake. The lack of change on the refined grains scale score was surprising given this food group was heavily targeted for reduction in tailored feedback on dietary monitoring efforts and in-home stimulus control exercises (e.g., cabinet clean-outs). Improvements in whole grain intake were also minimal given the score for this subscale at 12 months was less than half of the total points possible. Grains are a component of many of the top foods and snacks consumed by preschoolers (e.g., pizza, grain-based desserts, pasta), and whole grain choices for these preferred foods are available. In order to best help families with substituting nutrient-dense for energy-dense grains, more research is needed to determine whether preschoolers refused whole grain foods or whether whole grains were not offered, or both.
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