Extrusion cooking combines the heating of raw materials with the act of extrusion to create a cooked and shaped food product. It is reduces the microbial count and inactivates the enzymes. It is a multi-step, multi-function thermal or mechanical process, it has permitted a large number of food applications. Beneficial changes in the bioavailability as well as in the content of nutrients may take place during extrusion. Special importance is placed on the physico-chemical and chemical modifications of iron, starch and dietary fiber. Extruded product can be categorized for a particular application depending on their functional properties such as water absorption and water solubility index, expansion ratio, bulk density and viscosity of the dough.

The present study focused on the use of rice based iron enriched functional food from ashwagandha powder ready-to-eat snack products using extrusion cooking. Iron enrich extruded products were prepared from different blends of rice flour, spinach powder and ashwagandha powder blends using a single screw extruder and the physical properties of the extruded product were evaluated and related to process variables. A central composite rotatable design (CCRD) and response surface methodology was used to evaluate the significance of independent and interaction effects of extrusion process variables on the product’s various physical properties (moisture content, specific length, water absorption index) CCRD based prediction models were developed by CCRD base optimization to relate to the product responses to the process variables as well as to obtain response surface plots.

The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the world’s fourth largest food crop after wheat, rice and maize which contributing to food and nutrition security in the globe. Different tuberisation methods for induction of microtuber were evaluated in the different cultivars viz. KufriBadshah, Kufri Chipsona-1 and Kufri Pukhraj. The aim of this to investigate whether different culture conditions would effective or not for in vitro tuberisation .the result reflect in weight and size of microtuber were reported as 0.168gm and 0.613cm respectively. The result revealed that among different tuberisation method for induction of microtuber formation, the static shallow liquid propagation liquid tuberisation method was best over other methods for early as well as better microtuberisation, further it was found microtuberisation within 21 days.

Field experiment was conducted during kharif 2011 at Instructional farm, College of Agriculture, Swami Keshwan and Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, Rajasthan to evaluate the bio-efficacy of insecticides and botanicals against sucking pests of chilli. Nine pesticides tested against sucking insect-pests of chilli viz., Imidacloprid 17.8 SL, Thiocloprid 21.7 SC , Thiamethoxam 25 WG, Acetamiprid 20 SP, Ethion 50 EC, Dimethoate 30 EC, Azadirachtin 0.03 EC, NSKE and neem oil. Among these pesticides acetamiprid 0.005% caused maximum per cent reduction in thrips and whitefly population of the both sprays. While, in case of jassid imidacloprid 17.8 SL was registered with maximum per cent reduction in the both sprays.

Stone fruits belonging to the genus Prunus of the family Rosaceae face severe post harvest losses due to their short shelf life. Though the shelf life of the stone fruits is influenced by cultural practices, harvesting methods, precautions and storage conditions but it can also be extended by different pre and post harvest treatments. Research work on pre and post harvest treatments for extending shelf life of stone fruits is being done through various approaches that need to be assembled at one place. Therefore, in this article recent approaches and their efficacy is being presented