Alsike Clover - A species of clover, Trifolium hybridum, named after Alsike near Uppsala in Sweden, characterised by pale pink or white flowers, a smooth fairly upright stem, toothed leaflets with long pointed stipules, and a pod containing 1-3 small seeds. It tolerates adverse soil conditions better than Red Clover or White Clover, and is less susceptible to stem rot.

Alternate Bearing - The term used for the habit of bearing heavy and sparse crops in alternate years, inherent in mango and some other species of fruit trees, where terminals bearing fruit in an year put forth only leafy shoots next year.

Alpine - A breed of goat native to the Swiss Alps, from which the British Alpine breed developed.

Alsike Clover - A species of clover, Trifolium hybridum, named after Alsike near Uppsala in Sweden, characterised by pale pink or white flowers, a smooth fairly upright stem, toothed leaflets with long pointed stipules, and a pod containing 1-3 small seeds. It tolerates adverse soil conditions better than Red Clover or White Clover, and is less susceptible to stem rot.

Alternate Bearing - The term used for the habit of bearing heavy and sparse crops in alternate years, inherent in mango and some other species of fruit trees, where terminals bearing fruit in an year put forth only leafy shoots next year.

Aluminium Phosphide - A chemical which acts as a funmigant for grain. Available commercially as tablets 4-5 days exposure allowed.

Amel Corn - An inferior variety of wheat(Triticum vulgare dicoccum),the larger spelt. Also called French Rice
Amelioration - The process of enhancing the agricultural value of land by drainage, tillage, liming, manuring, etc.

Amendment - Any material like lime, gypsum, saw dust, sulphur or soil conditioner which is added to the soil to influence plant growth by improving the physical and biological properties of the soil.

Ammonia (NH3) - A pungent colourless gas used in the manufacture of fertilizers (e.g., Ammonium Nitrate, Sulphate of Ammonia). Anhydrous ammonia is a very Concentrated nitrogenous fertilieizer (82% nitrogen) consisting of pure ammonia in liquid from under pressure and applied by injection into the soil, usually when moist, where it vaporises and combines with soil eolloids. Aqueous ammonia, a by product from gas works called gas liquor, comprising ammonia in solution, used to be commonly used as a fertilizer, applied to the soil surface.

Ammonium Fixation - The adsorption or absorption of ammonium ions by the mineral or organic fractions of the soil so that the ions become relatively insoluble in water and unexchangeable by cation exchange.

Ammoniated Mercury - A white poisonous powder which is soluble in acids. It finds use as antiseptic and parasiticide, especially in the form of ointment having about five percent ammoniated mercury.

Ammoniated Superphosphate - A fertilizer having 5 parts of ammonia to 100 parts of Superphosphate.

Ammonification - Means the decomposition of nitrogenous organic matter by micro organisms, with the release of ammonia.

Ammonium Nitrate - (NH4NO3) - The commonest nitrogen fertilizer currently in use either as a straight fertilizer or in compound fertilizers. Now available as a pure salt, safe for agricultural use, but prior to 1965 it was only available as an unstable synthetic salt, liable to caking, and was usually blended with chalk or ground limestone. (see nitro chalk)

Ammonium Phosphates - Mono and di ammonium phosphates are occasionally used in the pure state as fertilizers but, more commonly, they are constituents of concentrated compound fertilizers. Both the phosphate and nitrogen are soluble in water (see fertilizers, artificial fertilizers).

Ammonium Phosphate Sulphate - A product obtained by treating a mixture of phosphoric acid and sulphuric acid with ammonia. Consists principally of a mixture of ammonium phosphate and ammonium sulphate. Used as fertilizer.

Ammonium Sulphate - A white crystalline salt having about 20 to 21 per cent nitrogen, widely used as fertilizer. The nitrogen is not easily lost in drainage, because the ammonium ions replace calcium in the exchange complex and thus retained by soil particles. It is suitable for wetland crops like paddy and jute, also for other crops grown on variety of soils. It has acidic effect on the soil.

Amnion - A protective membranous sac containing amniotic fluid cushioning the developing embryo of an animal.

Amniota - Any reptile, bird or mammal, their embryos possess an amnion and an allantois.

Amphidiploid - An allopolyploid which is obtained by hybridization between two plant species or genera where the chromosome set contributed by each parent undergoes doubling and produces in the hybrid a chromosome number which is the sum of diploid numbers of the two parent forms.

Amylase - Enzyme acting on starch.

Amylopectin - A polysaccharide which is made up of branched chains having a large number of glucose units linked in the 1-4, 1-6 position. A constituent of most starches.

Amyloplast - Plastid capable of storing starch, usually as grains. It occurs in the endosperm of storage organs, tubers, roots and seeds

Amylopsin - An enzyme found in pancreatic juice which breaks down starch into sugars.

Anaerobes - Organisms capable of living in absence of free oxygen (gaseous or dissolved).

Anaerobic Conditions - Environmental conditions in which free oxygen (gaseous or dissolved) is absent.

Anaplasmosis - An infectious disease of cattle, characterised by anaemia.

Analgesia - The term used for the absence of sensitivity to pain. This can be produced by medication given for the relief to pain and can also happen in some physical and emotional disorders.

Analgestic - Drug which lessens or prevents pain. For example morphia.

Analytic Seed Sample - Seed sample which is obtained by dividing the mechanical seed sample in which the analysis for different tests is done conveniently.

Anaphylaxis - Refers to a state of increased sensitivity or hypersensitivity in an animal which follows the injection of an antigen as a protein.
Anaplasma Marginal - Minute parasite which is responsize for anaplasmosis in the animals.

Anaplasmosis - Refers to a serious, infectious blood disease of cattle which is not transmissible to man, but goat, sheep, buffalo, camel etc, are susceptible. It is caused by a minute parasite Anaplasma marginale which invades and destroys large number of red blood cells.

The infection occurs through ticks, mosquitoes and other biting insects. Symptoms include rise in temperature from 103°F to 107°F and pulse rate become to 70 to 140 a minute. The red blood cell count decreases from a normal of about 5 to 7 millions per cent of blood to 2 millions or less in severe cases.

The sick cattle are generally constipated and abortion often takes peace in advanced pregnancy. For treatment, sick animals should be kept in the shade and given plenty of water and should be protected against flies and the biting insects. In early cases potassium arsenate solution have been found to be useful.

Anatomy - Science of morphology (structure of organism) and usually but not always, refers to the parts seen without a microscope.

Anemia - A condition in which the blood becomes deficient either in quantity or in quality. The deficiency in quality may involve diminution of the amount of haemoglobin or in dimnution of the number of red blood corpuscles.

Anemophilous Plants - Plants which are pollinated by the wind.

Aneurism - Means a spindle shaped, globular or cylindrical dilation of a blood vessel. It often has a heavy deposit of fibrin causing an interference with the circulation of the blood. Immature forms of one of the palisade worms is known to cause aneurism in horses.

Angiosperms - The higher flowering plants in which the flowers are more complicated and the seeds get enclosed in the fruits. They are of two types, (a)Dicotyledous-embryo of seed bearing two cotyledens (b) monocotyledous embryo of seed bears only one cotyledon.

Angiospermy - Refers to the condition in which seeds are enclosed within an ovarya characteristic of flowering plants (angiosperms) that distinguishes them from all other plants.

Anhydrase - An enzyme which is capable of accelerating the removal of water from a substance e.g., carbonic anhydrase removes water from carbonic acid.

Animal Fats - Fats derived from animals and characterised by a high proportion of saturated fatty acids, as distinct from plant fats or oils which are characterised by a high proportion of unsaturated acids.

Animal Husbandry - Deals with the practice of scientific methods of animal breeding, feeding management and disease control for getting the best economic returns from them.

Animalize - The chemical treatment of vegetable fibres, such as cotton or flax, so that the fibres will resemble animal fibres, like wool, in their behaviour toward wool dyes.

Annual - A plant which completes its life cycle in one year, i.e., grows from seed, flowers, fruits, and dies.

Annual Ring - The annual growth of secondary wood (xylem) in stems and roots oftemperate woody plants, seen as a series of concentric rings in a stem crosssection due to the distinction in size. between xylem elements formed in spring and autumn. Annual rings are used to estimate the approximate age of a tree. Growth is constant throughout the year in the tropics and no rings are seen. Annual rings may also be seen in cow horns.

Antacid or Antiacid - Medicine which is able to counteract acidity e.g., sodium bicarbonate. Antiacids are used to relieve indigestion and other conditions due to hypersensitivity. Some antiacids possess laxative effect, when used too often.

Antagonistic Medicine - Medicine which is able to counteract the action of another medicine.

Antecedent Moisture - Refers to the degree of wetness of the soil at the beginning of a run off period frequently expressed as an index determined by summation of weighed daily rain falls for a 10 to 20 day period preceding the runoff in question.

Antecedent Soil Water - Refers to the degree of wetness of the soil prior to irrigation or at the beginning of a runoff period. It is usually expressed as an index or as total inches of soil water.

Anthocyans - Water soluble pigments of higher plant vacuoles, having the anthocyanidin flavonoid pigments and their glycosides, the anthocyanins. They are mainly responsible for the red, blue and purple colours of flowers, fruits, leaves, and buds.