About the Book

Book 1: Spices

Book 2: Tea

Book 3: Rubber

Book 4: Coffee

Book 5: Coconut And Cashew

Book 1: Spices

Indian spices and spice products are being used by consumers in over 150 countries around the world by virtue of their special intrinsic qualities which impart taste, flavour and colour to the main food. But of late, these are not as favourite as they were before. This is because in the global market, they could not meet the required quality standards which included excessive pesticide residue content, microbial load leading to health hazards. Yet another feature is the low availability of value added and innovative spice products compared to that provided by other competing countries. As a matter of fact, India's contribution in the area of value addition and participation with high quality products in the global market is not significant. Health consciousness among consumers thus calls for scientific methods of harvesting, processing and storage and a stage has come when both producers and consumers go for 'clean spices and not cleaned spices'.

You have already learnt crop production and management technologies of the major spice crops in Block 1 of Course 2. This block with 4 units, will familiarize you with the various aspects relating to harvesting and post harvest handling procedures including storage, secondary processing, value addition, uses of spices and their products and the essentials of quality maintenance for production of 'clean spice'. Unit 1 on 'Harvesting', takes you close to the crop to feel its growth rhythm from flowering to fruit maturity and the pleasure of harvesting, a process of reaping one's fruits of labour. The significance of Good Agricultural Practices on quality of spices, harvesting techniques, information of crop yields etc., have also been discussed.

In addition to projecting the domestic and global scenario of the Primary Processing of spices with emphasis on Good Manufacturing Practices, Unit 2 gives you the details of quality regulations in primary processed produces. An exhaustive presentation of the process of grading and packaging and a good picture of the use of the different primary processed products are also provided.

The importance as well as the need for value addition vis-a-vis the current scenario of a shift for high quality value added products and the demands from the health conscious global market are highlighted in Unit 3 'Secondary Processing and Value addition' . The techniques of secondary processing employed for different spices especially pepper and cardamom, end uses of different value added products as well as the significant contribution of the spices as neutraceuticals, also are explained in this unit.

In Unit 4 'Quality Maintenance and Storage', various quality requirements of spices and the techniques/procedures required for meeting the same are discussed. Information on quality maintenance, types of contamination in spices, quality control, principles of scientific storage of the spices etc., have also been dealt with in this unit.

The material provided in this block is supplemented with various examples and activities to make the learning process simple and interesting. We have also provided check your progress questions for self test at a few places of these units which invariably lead possible answers to the questions set in those exercises. What perhaps you ought to do, is to go through units and jot down important points as you read, in the space provided in the margin. This will help you in assimilating the content. A list of reference books has been provided at the end of each unit for further detailed reading.

Book 2: Tea

Tea is second only to water being the most consumed beverage with black tea representing approximately 80 per cent of the total tea consumed worldwide. Apart from being a beverage, green and black teas are considered health drinks for their protective roles against many infectious as well as debilitating diseases including cancer, cardiovascular ailments, blood pressure, cataract, dental problems etc. The major chemical constituents of tea leaves the poly phenols are the star players to regulate the immune system which is the body's natural defense mechanism. Thus, the ancient Chinese proverb "better be deprived of food for three days than tea for one day" warrants good health for regular users of tea.

Tea crop consisting mainly of three leaves and a bud is to be processed into the final product, commercially sold as "Tea". The three important and popular forms are green, semi-fermented or oolong and black teas. Each form has characteristic quality and the processing technology is also different with different machinery to maximize the tea characters. The importance of post harvest technology along with the different techniques and machinery employed are detailed in this block on Tea. The block has '3 units and the details are as follows:

Unit 5 CTC Tea Manufacture: In this unit, the chemical composition of the shoots to be processed, methods of withering, machines used for achieving maximum cell rupture like conventional rollers, Rotorvane and CTC rollers, different fermenting procedures and finally drying to get black CTC tea are described. Grading and biochemical basis of good quality tea are described. Some of the important grades and the international standards of tea are also mentioned.

Unit 6 Orthodox Tea Manufacture: As the quality-assessment is different from CTC tea, the extra care to be taken at different stages of processing namely withering, rolling, ball breaking and sifting, fermentation and drying are described along with the principle involved in sorting to different grades of commercial importance and quality terms to describe the different grades by commercial houses are highlighted.

Unit 7 Green Tea Manufacture: Basic difference between Chinese 'Pan type' and Japanese 'Steamed Sencha' along with different manufacture procedure and necessary machines used are described. Different grades of commercially important green tea are listed. Extra' precautions one has to follow in the manufacture of' 'Silver tip/white tea in South India also are discussed in addition to relevant information on various value added products. Different natural products based on tea like tea extracts, poly phenols used as health improvers, dyes used for colouring fabrics and tea seeds for extraction of saponins are described in this unit.

The material provided in this block is supplemented with various examples and activities to make the learning process simple and interesting. We have also provided check your progress questions for self test at a few places of these units which invariably lead Possible answers to the questions set in those exercises. What perhaps you ought to do, is to go through units and jot down important points as you read, in the space provided in the margin. This will help you in assimilating the content. A list of reference books has been provided at the end of each unit for further detailed reading.

Book 3: Rubber

Processed rubber, a product earlier meant for export from India, is now gaining demand for internal consumption also as many large manufacturing units have come up in the last few decades. In fact, India's total production of NR (Natural Rubber) is inadequate to meet its requirements despite the increase in area under cultivation as well as production. Synthetic rubber still remains a substitute for NR to make good of its deficit. Price of rubber has been keeping a steady and attractive trend for quite sometime and thus, rubber has become the most remunerative crop compared to all others in the plantation sector. The rubber scenario by and large, is healthy and the future prospects are encouraging. Dear learner, let's now examine the very process of manufacture of different products from rubber latex which represents the base material, its conversion into marketable forms as well as their storage and marketing in the three units of this Block on Rubber as stated hereunder:

Unit 8 gives you a detailed account of crop harvesting in rubber through tapping of. virgin as well as regenerated bark. Various aspects relating to collection oflatex, factors influencing latex production, methods to enhance extraction oflatex through yield stimulants without seriously affecting crop health and production, are also discussed The significance of rainguards and their use for rainy season tapping has also been explained in this unit.

Unit 9 contains details of latex collection and related processes leading to the manufacture of different marketable forms of rubber. Protocols for grading and sorting of the different forms of rubber produced in the rubber factory are provided besides details of aflluent treatments available in the processing factory. Information on other types of rubber such as reclaimed rubber, synthetic rubber etc., potentialities of rubber wood and other produces from rubber, is also provided in this unit.

Rubber products even after processing, require special care under storage as they are vulnerable to damage by fungal infection unlike processed products of other plantation crops. The importance of proper storage of all rubber products under satisfactory ambient conditions has been projected in Unit 10. Besides, information on marketing of products by small and large producers, Government policies for licensing, price regulation and export- import are also explained in this unit.

The material provided in this block is supplemented with various examples and activities to make the learning process simple and interesting. We have also provided check your progress questions for selftest at a few places of these units which invariably lead to possible answers to the questions set in those exercises. What perhaps you ought to do, is to go through units and jot down important points as you read in the space provided in the margin. This will help you in assimilating the content. A list of reference books has been provided at the end of each unit for further detailed reading.

Book 4: Coffee

Taking cues from the blossom showers, all flower buds in coffee bushes burst into flowering (milky white flowers) and the entire coffee belt in the High Ranges will be filled with a fresh fragrance. Similarly, the uniformly maturing coffee berries become ripe in December-January and the crimson red berry clusters present a picturesque scene throughout. These berries are made into green (clean) coffee through appropriate processing in the coffee mills. The processed coffee beans when roasted and powdered emanate a divine flavour which is unique and refreshing. Thus Dear Learner, coffee bushes though robust and bushy but less appealing outwardly, are unique in their performance from flowering to the final drink, more so the Specialty Coffees which have a distintive taste, personality and excellant blending qualities compared to commercial brands. You will be exposed to the aforesaid interesting aspects mainly various steps involved in clean coffee production as well as the processing procedures in the four units of this Block on Post Harvest Management and Value Addition in Coffee.

Unit 11 deals with harvesting of ripe coffee berries and methods of primary processing for preparing parchment and cheny coffees. The infrastructural facilities for processing at farm estate level and those for packing and storage of the processed berries are discussed. Good Agricultural Manufacturing Practices for production of quality coffee have also been included in this unit.

In Unit 12, you will come across details of secondary processing and associated activities to produce quality coffee beans and its packing and storage in the most congenial conditions. Information on the requirements for establishing coffee mills, necessity to maintain general hygiene and internal quality checks of the processed goods etc., is also outlined in this unit.

Specialty Coffees- what is special with these coffees which are in good demand world 'over- is well presented in Unit 13. The role of variety, soil and agro- climatic factors that help to develop the intrinsic qualities in these special types and the significant contributions made by the Indian coffee sector in the development of a number of Specialty Coffees are explained in this unit along with details of world's best known specialty coffees and world markets.

Unit 14 Grading and Packaging discusses in detail, how the processed coffee beans (green/clean coffee) are graded and packed. Details of the procedures of grading and garbling (sorting) and the facilities including machinery required for these operations are given along with information on clean packing, storage and transport. In addition, grade designations and quality specifications fixed for Indian green coffees including Specialty coffees of both Arabica and Robusta types are also presented in this Unit.

The material provided in this block is supplemented with various examples and activities to make the learning process simple and interesting. We have also provided check your progress questions for self test at a few places of these units which invariably lead possible answers to the questions set in those exercises. What perhaps you ought to do, is to go through units and jot down important points as you read, in the space provided in the margin. This will help you in assimilating the content. A list of reference books has been provided at the end of each unit for further detailed reading.

Book 5: Coconut And Cashew

This Block is meant to offer you all relevant features and information on the processing and value addition of two essentially farmer friendly crops, coconut and cashew. Harvesting is a regular operation in coconut as flowering and nut production go non-stop once initiated. The trees being tall, need skilled personnel and adequate tools for harvest of the nuts. In cashew since flowering is seasonal, harvest of nuts is one time spread out for 2-3 months and is less tedious. The nuts of both however, demand appropriate handling immediately after collection as well as elaborate processing formalities to develop into consumable and commercially acceptable products. The immense scope for value added products that could be developed especially those of coconut, increased demand for their by-products for industrial uses etc., should be properly taken care of. These and related aspects are elaborated in the four units of this block.

Unit 15 'Harvesting and processing of coconut' deals with the nature of flowering and development of nuts, maturity pattern and the procedure for regular harvesting and post harvest handling of coconuts. Harvesting methods, storage of nuts and processing into copra, coconut oil and other traditional products, are also elaborated in this unit.

An exhaustive coverage with relevant information on a good number of value added products, byproducts from tender coconut and coconut water, utilization of toddy, jaggery etc., has been attempted in Unit 16, 'Product diversification and value addition in coconut'. Further, details of a number of useful products from almost all parts of the coconut palm and their diverse uses are discussed in this unit.

Unit 17 'Harvesting and processing of cashew' gives you detailed description on all aspects relating to harvesting of cashew nut and its processing. Under these, maturity of cashew fruits in relation to multiple flowering phases, post collection practices and quality maintenance, qualitative aspects of raw nuts meant for processing and details of methods of processing, infrastructure required for processing and related activities are highlighted.

Physical properties of cashew nut and its nutritive value are elaborated Unit 18, 'Byproduct utilization and quality of cashew' along with details on utilization of byproducts like cashew shell oil, cashew apple etc. This unit also provides pertinent information on different types reasons of quality deterioration and measures taken against and a detailed account of grading of cashew kernels.

The material provided in this block is supplemented with various examples and activities to make the learning process simple and interesting. We have also provided check your progress questions for self test at a few places of these units which invariably lead possible answers to the questions set in those exercises. What perhaps you ought to do, is to go through units and jot down important points as you read, in the space provided in the margin. This will help you in assimilating the content. A list of reference books has been provided at the end of each unit for further detailed reading.

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