Chapter 11 Enhancement of Food Production
1. Multiple choice questions
Question 1.
Antibiotic Chloromycetin is obtained from ………………….
(a) Streptomyces erythreus
(b) Penicillium chrysogenum
(c) Streptomyces venezuelae
(d) Streptomyces griseus
Answer:
(c) Streptomyces venezuelae
Question 2.
Removal of large pieces of floating debris, oily substances, etc. during sewage
treatment is called ………………….
(a) primary treatment
(b) secondary treatment
(c) final treatment
(d) amplification
Answer:
(a) primary treatment
Question 3.
Which one of the following is free living bacterial biofertilizer?
(a) Azotobacter
(b) Rhizobium
(c) Nostoc
(d) Bacillus thuringiensis
Answer:
(a) Azotobacter
Question 4.
Most commonly used substrate for industrial production of beer is ………………….
(a) barley
(b) wheat
(c) corn
(d) sugar cane molasses
Answer:
(a) barley
Question 5.
Ethanol is commercially produced through a particular species of ………………….
(a) Aspergillus
(b) Saccharomyces
(c) Clostridium
(d) Trichoderma
Answer:
(b) Saccharomyces
Question 6.
One of the free-living anaerobic nitrogen- fixers is ………………….
(a) Azotobacter
(b) Beijerinckia
(c) Rhodospirillum
(d) Rhizobium
Answer:
(c) Rhodospirillum
Question 7.
Microorganisms also help in production of food like ………………….
(a) bread
(b) alcoholic beverages
(c) vegetables
(d) pulses
Answer:
(a) bread
Question 8.
MOET technique is used for ………………….
(a) production of hybrids
(b) inbreeding
(c) outbreeding
(d) outcrossing
Answer:
(a) production of hybrids
Question 9.
Mule is the outcome of ………………….
(a) inbreeding
(b) artificial insemination
(c) interspecific hybridization
(d) outbreeding
Answer:
(c) interspecific hybridization
2. Very Short Answer Questions
Question 1.
What makes idlis puffy?
Answer:
During preparation of idlis, rice and black gram flour is fermented by air
borne Leuconostoc and Streptococcus bacteria. CO2 produced
during fermentation makes them puffy.
Question 2.
Bacterial biofertilizers.
Answer:
Rhizobium, Frankia, Pseudomonas striata, Bacillus polymyxa, Agrobacterium,
Microccocus, Azotobacter, Costridium, Beijerinkia, Klebsiella.
Question 3.
What is the microbial source of vitamin B12?
Answer:
The microbial source of vitamin B12 is Pseudomonas
denitrificans.
Question 4.
What is the microbial source of enzyme invertase?
Answer:
The microbial source of enzyme invertase is Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Question 5.
Milk starts to coagulate when Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) are added to warm milk
as a starter. Mention any two other benefits of LAB.
Answer:
Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) check the growth of disease causing microbes and
produce vitamin B.
Question 6.
Name the enzyme produced by Streptococcus bacterium. Explain its importance in
medical sciences.
Answer:
The enzyme produced by Streptococcus spp. is streptokinase. It is used as a
‘clot buster’ for clearing blood clots in the blood vessels in heart patients.
Question 7.
What is breed?
Answer:
Breed is a group of animals related by descent and similar in most characters
like general appearance, features, size, configuration, etc.
Question 8.
Estuary
Answer:
Estuary is a place where river meets the sea.
Question 9.
What is shellac?
Answer:
Shellac is the pure form of lac obtained by washing and filtering.
3. Short Answer Questions.
Question 1.
Many microbes are used at home during preparation of food items. Comment on
such useful ones with examples.
Answer:
- Many
food preparations made at home involves the use of microorganisms.
- The
microbes Lactobacilli are used in the preparation of dhokla from gram
flour and buttermilk by the process of fermentation.
- Dosa
and idlis are prepared by using batter of rice and black gram which is
fermented by air borne Leuconostoc and Streptococcus bacteria.
- Large,
fleshy fruiting bodies of some mushrooms and truffles are directly used as
food. It is sugar free, fat free food rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals
and amino acids. It is food with low calories.
- Curd
is prepared by inoculating milk with Lactobacillus acidophilus. Lactic
acid produced during fermentation causes coagulation and partial digestion
of milk protein casein and milk turns into curd.
- Buttermilk
is the acidulated liquid left after churning of butter from curd, is
called buttermilk.
Question 2.
What is biogas? Write in brief about the production process.
Answer:
Biogas is a mixture of methane CH4 (50-60%), CO2 (30-40%),
H2S (0-3%) and other gases (CO, N2, H2) in
traces.
Biogas production process:
a. A typical biogas plant consists of digester (made up of concrete bricks and
cement or steel and is partly buried in the soil) and gas holder (a cylindrical
gas tank to collect gases).
b. Raw materials like cow dung is mixed with water in equal proportion to make
slurry which is fed into the digester’ through a side opening (charge pit).
Anaerobic digestion involves following processes:
i. Hydrolysis or solubilization:
Anaerobic hydrolyzing bacteria like Clostridium and Pseudomonas hydrolyse
carbohydrates into simple sugars, proteins into amino acids and lipids into
fatty acids.
ii. Acidogenesis:
Facultative and obligate anaerobic, acidogenic bacteria convert simple organic
substances into acids like formic acid, acetic acid, H2 and CO2
iii. Methanogenesis:
Anaerobic methanogenic bacteria like Methanobacterium, Methanococcus convert
acetate, H2 and CO2 into Methane, CO2 and
H2O and other products.
12 mol CH3COOH → 12CH4 + 12CO2 4mol
H.COOH → CH4 + 3CO2 + 2H2O CO2 +
4H2 → CH4 + 2H2O
Question 3.
Biocontrol agents.
Answer:
(1) Biocontrol agents are the organisms like (bacteria, fungi, viruses and
protozoans) act which are employed for controlling pathogens, pests and weeds.
(2) They cause the disease to the pest or compete or kill
them.
(3) The use of biocontrol measures greatly reduces use of
toxic chemicals and pesticides that are harmful to human beings and also
pollute our environment.
(4) Biocontrol agents and their hosts.
- Bacteria
(Bacillus thuringiensis, B. papilliae and B. lentimorbus Hosts :
Caterpillars, cabbage worms, adult beetles
- Fungi
(Beauveria bassiana, Entomophothora, pallidaroseum, Zoophthora radicans)
Host : Aphid crocci, A. unguicilata, mealy bugs, mites, white flies, etc.
- Protozoans
(Nosema locustae) Host: Grasshoppers, caterpillars, crickets
- Viruses
(Nucleopolyhedro virus-NPV, Granulovirus-GV) Host : Caterpillars, Gypsy
moth, ants and beetles.
(5) Some examples:
- Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt) is a microbiai pesticide used to get rid of butterfly,
caterpillars.
- Trichoderma
fungus is an effective biocontrol agent against soil borne fungal plant
pathogens which infect roots and rhizomes.
- Phytophthora
palmiuora is a mycoherbicide that controls milk weed in orchards.
- Pseudomonas
spp. is a bacterial herbicide that attacks several weeds.
- Tyrea
moth controls the weed Senecio jacobeac.
Question 4.
Name any two enzymes and antibiotics with their microbial source.
Answer:
- Microbial
source of Chloromycetin. – Streptomyces venezuelae
- Microbial
source of Erythromycin. – Streptomyces erythreus
- Microbial
source of Penicillin. – Penicillium chrysogenum
- Microbial
source of Streptomycin. – Streptomyces griseus
- Microbial
source of Griseofulvin. – Penicillium griseojulvum
- Microbial
source of Bacitracin. – Bacillus licheniformis
- Microbial
source of Oxytetracyclin / Terramycin. – Streptomyces aurifaciens
- The
enzyme produced by Streptococcus bacterium. – Streptokinase
- Microbial
source of Invertase. – Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- Microbial
source of Pectinase. – Sclerotinia libertine, Aspergillus niger
- Microbial
source of Lipase. – Candida lipolytica
- Microbial
source of Cellulase. – Trichoderma konigii
Question 5.
Write the principles of farm management.
Answer:
The principles of farm management are as follows:
- Selection
of high-yielding breeds.
- Understanding
the feed requirements of farm animals.
- Supply
of adequate nutritional sources for the animals.
- Maintaining
the cleanliness of environment.
- Maintenance
of health with the help of veterinary supervision.
- Undertaking
vaccination programmes.
- Development
of high-yielding cross-bred varieties.
- Making
various products and their preservation.
- Distribution
and marketing of the farm produce.
Question 6.
Give the economic importance of fisheries.
Answer:
Economic importance of fisheries is as follows:
- Fish
is a nutritious food and thus is a source of many vitamins, minerals and
nutrients.
- Commercial
products such as fish oil, fish meal and fertilizers, fish guano, fish
glue, isinglass are prepared from fish.
- These
by-products are used in paints, soaps, oils and medicines.
- Some
organisms like prawns and lobsters have high export value and market
price.
- Fish
farming and other fishery trades provide job opportunity and
self-employment
- Productivity
and national economy is improved through fishery practices.
Question 7.
Enlist the species of honey bee mentioning their specific uses.
Answer:
(1) The four species of honey bees commonly found in India : Apis dorsata (rock
bee, or wild bee), Apis jlorea (little bee), Apis mellifera (European bee) and
Apis indica (Indian bee).
(2) Uses:
- Rock
bee : They produce 36 kg of honey per comb per year. They produce bee wax.
- Little
bee : They produce half kg of honey per hive per year.
- European
bee : The average production per colony per year is 25 to 40 kg.
- Indian
bee : The average production per colony per year is 6 to 8 kg.
Question 8.
What are A, B, C, D in the table given below.
Answer:
A : Penicillium chrysogenum
B : Vinegar (Acetic acid)
C : Fungus
D : Sachharomyces cerevisiae var. ellipsoidis
4. Long Answer Questions.
Question 1.
Explain the process of sewage water treatment before it can be discharged into
natural bodies. Why is this treatment essential?
Answer:
Sewage treatment includes following steps:
(1) Preliminary Treatment:
- Screening:
The larger suspended or floating objects are filtered and removed in
screening chambers by passing the sewage through screens or net in the
chambers.
- Grit
Chamber : Filtered sewage is passed into series of grit chambers which
contain large stones (pebbles) and brick-ballast. Coarse particles which
settle down by gravity are removed.
(2) Primary treatment (physical treatment):
- The
sewage water is pumped into the primary sedimentation tank where 50-70% of
the suspended solid or organic matter get sedimented and about 30-40% (in
number) of coliform organisms are removed.
- The
organic matter which is settled down is called primary sludge.
- Primary
sludge is removed by mechanically operated devices.
- Dissolved
organic matter and micro-organisms in the supernatant (effluent) are then
removed by the secondary treatment.
(3) Secondary treatment (biological treatment):
- The
primary effluent is passed into large aeration tanks where it is
constantly agitated mechanically and air is pumped into it.
- The
mesh like masses of aerobic bacteria, slime and fungal hyphae, known as
floes are formed.
- Aerobic
microbes consume most of the organic matter and this reduces BOD
(Biochemical Oxygen Demand) of the effluent.
(4) Tertiary treatment:
- Once
the BOD is sufficiently reduced, waste water is passed into a settling
tank where the floes are allowed to sediment.
- The
sediment is called activated sludge.
- Small
part of activated sludge is transferred to aeration tank and the major
part is pumped in to large anaerobic sludge digesters.
- In
these tanks, anaerobic bacteria grow and digest the bacteria and fungi in
the sludge and gases like methane, hydrogen sulphide, CO2, etc.
are released.
- Effluents
from these digesters are released in natural water bodies like rivers and
streams after chlorination which kills pathogenic bacteria.
- Digested
sludge is then disposed.
Question 2.
Lac culture.
Answer:
- Lac
is a pink coloured resin secreted by dermal glands of female lac insect
(Trachardia lacca) that hardens on coming in contact with air forming lac.
- Lac
is a complex substance having resin, sugar, water, minerals and alkaline
substances.
- Lac
insect is colonial in habit and it feeds on succulent twigs like ber,
peepal, palas, kusum, babool,
- These
plants are artificially inoculated in order to get better and regular
supply of good quality and quantity of lac.
- Natural
lac is always contaminated and pure form of lac obtained by washing and
filtering is called as shellac.
- Lac
is used to make bangles, toys, woodwork, inks, mirrors, etc.
- India’s
share is 85% of total lac produced in the world.
Question 3.
Describe various methods of fish preservation.
Answer:
- Fish
is a highly perishable commodity.
- After
catching the fish it immediately starts spoilage process.
- In
order to prevent this process, the fish preservation is done.
The different methods of fish preservation are as
follows:
- Chilling
: This involves covering the fish with layers of ice. Ice is effective for
short term preservation. It inhibits the activity of autolytic enzymes.
- Freezing
: It is a long duration preservation method. Fish are freezed at 0°C to
-20°C. This also inhibit autolytic enzyme activities and slows down
bacterial growth.
- Freeze
drying : The deep frozen -fish at -20°C are dried by direct sublimation of
ice to water vapour with any melting into liquid water. This is achieved
by exposing the frozen fish to 140°C in a vacuum chamber. The fish is then
packed or canned in dried condition.
- Sun
drying : This inhibits the growth of microorganisms that spoil the fish.
- Smoke
drying : Smoke is prepared by burning woods with less resinous matter.
Bacteria are destroyed by the acid content of the smoke. Smoking also give
the characteristic colour, taste and odour to fish.
- Salting
: Salt removes the moisture from the fish tissues by osmosis. High salt
concentration destroys autolytic enzymes and halts bacterial activity.
- Canning
: Canning involves sealing the food in a container, heat ‘sterilising’ the
sealed unit and cooling it to ambient temperature for subsequent storage.
Question 4.
Give an account of poultry diseases.
Answer:
Various poultry diseases are as follows:
- Viral
diseases : Ranikhet, Bronchitis, Avian influenza (bird flu), etc. Bird flu
had serious impact on poultry farming and also caused human infection.
- Bacterial
diseases : Pullorum, Cholera, Typhoid, TB, CRD (chronic respiratory
disease), Enteritis, etc.
- Fungal
diseases : Aspergillosis, Favus and Thrush.
- Parasitic
diseases : Lice infection, round worm, caecal worm infections, etc.
- Protozoan
diseases : Coccidiosis.
Question 5.
Give an account of mutation breeding with examples.
Answer:
- Mutations
are sudden heritable changes in the genotype.
- Natural
mutations occur at a very slow rate.
- Natural
physical mutagens include exposure to high temperature, high concentration
of C02, X-rays, UV rays.
- Mutations
can be induced by using various mutagens.
- Mutagens
cause gene mutations and chromosomal aberrations.
- Chemical
mutagens include nitrous acid, EMS (Ethyl – Methyl – Sulphonate), mustard
gas, colchicine, etc.
- Seedlings
or seeds are irradiated by using CO60 or UV bulbs or X-ray machines.
- The
mutated seedlings are then screened for resistance to diseases/pests, high
yield, etc.
- Examples
of mutant varieties in different crops are Jagannath (rice), NP 836 (rust
resistant wheat variety), Indore-2 (cotton variety resistant to bollworm),
Regina-II (cabbage variety resistant to bacterial rot).
Question 6.
Describe briefly various steps of plant breeding methods.
Answer:
The main steps of the plant breeding program (Hybridization) are as follows:
(1) Collection of variability:
- Germplasm
collection is the entire collection of all the diverse alleles for all
genes in a given crop.
- Wild
species and relatives of the cultivated species having desired traits are
collected and preserved.
- Forests
and natural reserves are the means of in situ conservation of germplasm.
- Botanical
gardens, seed banks, etc. are means of ex situ conservation of germplasm.
(2) Evaluation and selection of parents:
- The
collected germplasm is evaluated to identify healthy and vigorous plants
with desirable and complementary characters.
- Selected
parents are selfed for three to four generations to increase homozygosity.
- Only
pure lines are selected, multiplied and used in the hybridization.
(3) Hybridization:
- The
variety showing maximum desirable features is selected as female
(recurrent) parent and the other variety which lacks good characters found
in recurrent parent is selected as male parent (donor).
- The
pollen grains from anthers of male parent are artificially dusted over
stigmas of emasculated flowers of female parent.
- Hybrid
seeds are collected and sown to grow F1 geneartion.
(4) Selection and Testing of Superior Recombinants:
- The
F1 hybrid plants which are superior to both the parents
and having high hybrid vigour, are selected and selfed for few generations
to make them homozygous for the said desirable characters.
- This
ensures that there is no further segregation of the characters.
(5) Testing, release and commercialization of new
cultivars:
- The
newly selected lines are evaluated for the productivity and desirable
features like disease resistance, pest resistance, quality, etc.
- They
are initially grown under controlled conditions of water, fertilizers,
etc. and their performance is recorded.
- The
selected lines are then grown for at least three generations in natural
field, in different agroclimatic zones.
- Finally
variety is released as new variety for use by the farmers.