It has been reported that up to 95% of all flowering plants require the services of other organisms to move pollen from male to female flower parts during the pollination process. These organisms, including bees, are collectively known as pollinators. However, in light of the growing evidence of global declines in pollinator species, the management, ecology and conservation of wild and managed pollinators is a subject of growing importance and research activity. Promoting pollination and pollinators in farming reviews the wealth of research on our current understanding of existing pollination processes and their importance to our global ecosystems. The book considers how pollinators interact with plants, as well as the major threats to pollinator species, including climate change, diseases and pesticide exposure. Through its comprehensive exploration of the current status of pollinators in farming, the book provides its readers with the knowledge required to promote pollination by protecting the world's pollinators species and the ecosystem services they deliver using techniques such as habitat conservation.

This book presents the proceedings of the 10th Central European Congress on Food (CEFood), held on June 11-13, 2020, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It reports on recent advances in the area of food science and food technology, and is divided into 5 major topical sections: food analysis, food energy systems, food trends and competitiveness, food and feed chain management, and modern challenges. Offering a timely snapshot of cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research and developments in modern food science and technology, these proceedings facilitate the transfer of these findings to industry. As such, the book will appeal to researchers and professionals in the food and agricultural industries, as well as those at regulatory and food safety agencies.

During the 45 years of communist regimes in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, agriculture was centrally directed without regard of quality factors and market needs, and was heavily subsidized. Democratization of the countries and adoption of market driven economies, including agriculture, created conditions that require new thinking and approaches to find market areas that will fill the needs of each country, and provide produce that is not redundant for the Common Market. The aim of this book is to facilitate solving common agricultural problems using the tools of biotechnology. The book addresses five themes: Plant Transformations, Plant Genomics, Breeding Plants for Resistance and Legal Aspects of Biotechnology, including risk assessment. Some specific topics dealt with are: The way from fundamental research to start-up company, Crop improvement by transgenic technology; Strategies for improving resistance; Current procedures for applying risk assessment in genetically modified crops; Questions arising from the implementation of the Hungarian gene technology law; Public perception and legislation of Biotechnology in Poland.

Early anthropological evidence for plant use as medicine is 60,000 years old as reported from the Neanderthal grave in Iraq. The importance of plants as medicine is further supported by archeological evidence from Asia and the Middle East. Today, around 1.4 billion people in South Asia alone have no access to modern health care, and rely instead on traditional medicine to alleviate various symptoms. On a global basis, approximately 50 to 80 thousand plant species are used either natively or as pharmaceutical derivatives for life-threatening conditions that include diabetes, hypertension and cancers. As the demand for plant-based medicine rises, there is an unmet need to investigate the quality, safety and efficacy of these herbals by the "scientific methods". Current research on drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, analytical, and molecular techniques. For instance, high throughput robotic screens have been developed by industry; it is now possible to carry out 50,000 tests per day in the search for compounds which act on a key enzyme or a subset of receptors. This and other bioassays thus offer hope that one may eventually identify compounds for treating a variety of diseases or conditions. However, drug development from natural products is not without its problems. Frequent challenges encountered include the procurement of raw materials, the selection and implementation of appropriate high-throughput bioassays, and the scaling-up of preparative procedures. Research scientists should therefore arm themselves with the right tools and knowledge in order to harness the vast potentials of plant-based therapeutics. The main objective of Plant and Human Health is to serve as a comprehensive guide for this endeavor. Volume 1 highlights how humans from specific areas or cultures use indigenous plants. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the third world and have slowly taken roots as alternative medicine in the West. The integration of modern science with traditional uses of herbal drugs is important for our understanding of this ethnobotanical relationship. Volume 2 deals with the phytochemical and molecular characterization of herbal medicine. Specifically, it will focus on the secondary metabolic compounds which afford protection against diseases. Lastly, Volume 3 focuses on the physiological mechanisms by which the active ingredients of medicinal plants serve to improve human health. Together this three-volume collection intends to bridge the gap for herbalists, traditional and modern medical practitioners, and students and researchers in botany and horticulture.

This book systematically covers the fundamentals and applications of modified biochar. The 19 chapters are divided into 3 sections that provide a holistic overview for researchers from all related fields. Section 1 and 2 present the pyrolysis process, including the advantages and limitations of the physical, chemical, and biological modification methods and characterization of modified biochar. Section 3 highlights the wide spectrum of applications of modified biochar in fuel cells and batteries, remediation of organic and inorganic contaminants from soil and water and soil fertilization. Given its scope, the book appeals to a broad readership in various fields of chemical engineering, materials science, and environmental science.

Plant protoplasts have proved to be an excellent tool for in vitro manipu- lations, somatic hybridization, DNA uptake and genetic transformation, and for the induction of somaclonal variation. These studies reflect the far- reaching impact of protoplast alterations for agriculture and forest bio- technology. Taking these aspects into consideration, the series of books on Plant Protoplasts and Genetic Engineering provides a survey of the litera- ture, focusing on recent information and the state of the art in protoplast Plant Protoplasts manipulation and genetic transformation. This book, and Genetic Engineering VI, like the previous five volumes published in 1989,1993, and 1994, is unique in its approach. It comprises 27 chapters dealing with the regeneration of plants from protoplasts, and genetic transformation in various species of Arachis, Bupleurum, Capsella, Dendrobium, Dianthus, Diospyros, Fagopyrum, Festuca, Gentiana, Glycyrrhiza, Gossypium, Hemerocallis, Levisticum, Lonicera, Musa, Physallis, Platanus, Prunus, Saposhnikovia, Solanum, Spinacia, Trititrigia, Tulipa, and Vaccinium; including fruits such as apricot, banana, cranberry, pepino, peach, and plum. This book may be of special interest to advanced students, teachers, and research scientists in the field of plant tissue culture, molecular biology, genetic engineering, plant breeding, and general bio- technology. New Delhi, August 1995 Professor Y. P. S. BAJA] Series Editor Contents Section I Regeneration of Plants from Protoplasts 1. 1 Regeneration of Plants from Protop1asts of Arachis Species (Peanut) Z. LI, R. L. JARRET, and J. W. DEMSKI (With 2 Figures) 1 Introduction ...3 2 Isolation of Pro top lasts ...4 3 Culture of Protoplasts ...

Molecular farming in plants is a relatively young subject of sciences. As plants can offer an inexpensive and convenient platform for the large-scale production of recombinant proteins with various functions, the driven force from the giant market for recombinant protein pharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes makes this subject grow and advance very quickly. To summarize recent advances, current challenges and future directions in molecular farming, international authorities were invited to write this book for researchers, teachers and students who are interested in this subject. This book, with the focus on the most advanced cutting-edge breakthroughs, covers all the essential aspects of the field of molecular farming in plants: from expression technologies to downstream processing, from products to safety issues, and from current advances and holdups to future developments.

"Furnishes exhaustive, single-source coverage of the production and postharvest technology of more than 70 major and minor vegetables grown in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions throughout the world. Provides comparative data for each vegetable presented. "

This book provides a systematic account of the development of agriculture and agricultural civilization in ancient China. It mainly discusses the birth of traditional agriculture, the characteristics and advantages of traditional agricultural economy, traditional agricultural knowledge and technology system, flexible land relations and ownership structure, extensive irrigation system and water conservancy projects, complete policies and measures to emphasize agriculture, the three agricultural expansion processes, the value pursuit of revering agriculture, and the plight and decline of traditional agriculture.

Abiotic stresses such as high temperature, low-temperature, drought, and salinity limit crop productivity worldwide. Understanding plant responses to these stresses is essential for rational engineering of crop plants. In Arabidopsis, the signal transduction pathways for abiotic stresses, light, several phytohormones and pathogenesis have been elucidated. A significant portion of plant genomes (most studies are Arabidopsis and rice genome) encodes for proteins involves in signaling such as receptor, sensors, kinases, phosphatases, transcription factors and transporters/channels. Despite decades of physiological and molecular effort, knowledge pertaining to how plants sense and transduce low and high temperature, low-water availability (drought), water-submergence and salinity signals is still a major question before plant biologists. One major constraint hampering our understanding of these signal transduction processes in plants has been the lack or slow pace of application of molecular genomic and genetics knowledge in the form of gene function. In the post-genomic era, one of the major challenges is investigation and understanding of multiple genes and gene families regulating a particular physiological and developmental aspect of plant life cycle. One of the important physiological processes is regulation of stress response, which leads to adaptation or adjustment in response to adverse stimuli. With the holistic understanding of the signaling pathways involving not only one gene family but multiple genes or gene families, plant biologists can lay a foundation for designing and generating future crops that can withstand the higher degree of environmental stresses (especially abiotic stresses, which are the major cause of crop loss throughout the world) without losing crop yield and productivity.

Wheat (Triticum L.), an annual herbaceous plant in Poacae (Gramineae) family, settles in the Triticeae (Hordeae) subfamily. The grasses (Poaceae Barnhart) are the fifth largest (monocotyledonous flowering) plant family and of great importance for human civilization and life. Cereal crops such as maize, wheat, rice, barley, and millet are the domesticated ones in the family. It is still the most vital economical plant family in modern times, providing food, forage, building materials (bamboo, thatch), and fuel (ethanol). Wheat has many accessions in national and international gene banks. The estimated number of wheats by FAO in 2010 is 856,000, and, followed by rice (774,000), and barley (467,000). However, the recent consumer's (misdirected) focus on gluten content and nutritional value urges scientists to reexamine their knowledge about wheat (i.e., origin, evolution, and general and special quality characteristics), as well as their wild relatives and landraces for newer possible genetic resources. Cultured or non-cultured ancestral wheats: einkorn, emmer, wild emmer, spelt, macha, and vavilovii are still limitedly grown on the higher areas in Turkey, Italy, Germany, Morocco, Israel, and Balkan countries. They are exploited mostly for their desired agronomic, and specific quality. In some cultures, wheat species are believed to be therapeutic, with bioactive compounds that reduce and inhibit stubborn illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer, and cardiovascular diseases. In this book, we summarize the importance of ancestral wheat species, and provide a prospect for their future with special considerations in terms of species conservation and improvement.

This book is about the invisible or subtle nature of food and farming, and also about the nature of existence. Everything that we know (and do not know) about the physical world has a subtle counterpart which has been scarcely considered in modernist farming practice and research. If you think this book isn't for you, if it appears more important to attend to the pressing physical challenges the world is facing before having the luxury of turning to such subtleties, then think again. For it could be precisely this worldview - the one prioritises the physical-material dimension of reality - that helped get us into this situation in the first place. Perhaps we need a different worldview to get us out? This book makes a foundational contribution to the discipline of Subtle Agroecologies, a nexus of indigenous epistemologies, multidisciplinary advances in wave-based and ethereal studies, and the science of sustainable agriculture. Not a farming system in itself, Subtle Agroecologies superimposes a non-material dimension upon existing, materially-based agroecological farming systems. Bringing together 43 authors from 12 countries and five continents, from the natural and social sciences as well as the arts and humanities, this multi-contributed book introduces the discipline, explaining its relevance and potential contribution to the field of Agroecology. Research into Subtle Agroecologies may be described as the systematic study of the nature of the invisible world as it relates to the practice of agriculture, and to do this through adapting and innovating with research methods, in particular with those of a more embodied nature, with the overall purpose of bringing and maintaining balance and harmony. Such research is an open-minded inquiry, its grounding being the lived experiences of humans working on, and with, the land over several thousand years to the present. By reclaiming and reinterpreting the perennial relationship between humans and nature, the implications would revolutionise agriculture, heralding a new wave of more sustainable farming techniques, changing our whole relationship with nature to one of real collaboration rather than control, and ultimately transforming ourselves.

Cotton, the most important natural fiber crop, has been improved by conventional breeding-largely through planned hybridization of different cotton genotypes, since the discovery of Mendelian genetics. All these efforts resulted in the development of resilient high yielding cotton varieties. However, the progress through conventional breeding procedures is slow because of long lag periods for developing a variety, little control over the new genetic combinations, unwanted traits and lack of foolproof performance testing system. Genomic assays discovered over the last two decades have made it possible to understand the "language" of the genome by associating the genes with specific traits. Together with the more recently established gene-editing tools like CRISPR-Cas9, the cotton genome can be tailored much more precisely than ever before. In this regard, genetic information has been harnessed, through (i) sequencing of the progenitor and cultivated cotton species, (ii) ongoing mega pan-genome sequencing projects, (iii) genetic and physical mapping, and (iv) introgression of genes from alien sources, that resulted in the development of resilient cotton cultivars. These technologies have been deployed or are attempting to overcome the challenges of water shortage, excessive heat in most cotton growing regions, infectious diseases and infestation of insect pests, as well as rising production cost, for sustainable cotton production beyond 2030. In this book, new knowledge generated by the cotton research community and its application for developing resilient cotton are comprehensively summarized. This book contributed by well-known cotton researchers is a timely collection of the challenges and successes of precision cotton breeding in a changing environment.

This edited book discusses how effective soil carbon management plans and policies will ultimately make agriculture more secure against climate change and soil degradation. It is focused on initiatives to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) and sequestration by launching different schemes and programs. An approach based on practical aspects of managing SOC in agriculture is provided with clear and concise descriptions. It has more attention to successfully implement plans and policies to meet the required level of SOC restoration. The book is covering the urgent needs of plans and policies for soil management and C restoration in agricultural ecosystems which can be beneficial to food, nutrition, environment, and economy security. There is also providing a roadmap on SOC policies to encourage the use of best management practices (BMPs) for soil health and C stock restoration, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. The book is suitable for teachers, researchers, government planners and policymakers, undergraduate and graduate students of soil science, soil microbiology, agronomy, ecology, and environmental sciences.

This work is the first compilation of comprehensive deliberations on botany, cytogenetics and sex determination, genetic resources and diversity, classical breeding, molecular markers and genome sequence resources, and application of omics technology including transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics resources in the multipurpose medicinal plant seabuckthorn. The book also presents a detailed narrative on antioxidative, radioprotective nutraceutical, and medicinal applications of seabuckthorn products. A detailed treatment has been included on analytical techniques and processing technologies. Altogether, the book contains about 300 pages over 17 chapters contributed by globally reputed experts on the relevant field in this important plant species. This book will be useful to the research students, teachers, and scientists in the academia and private sector engaged in horticulture, genetics, breeding, molecular biology, biotechnology, and breeding. The book will also be a useful source for workers involved in the development of plant-based medicines, nutraceuticals, therapeutics, and cosmeceuticals and extension workers involved in the development of rural farmers and small-scale industries.

This contributed volume, based on papers presented at a conference held in Zimbabwe in mid-2021, interrogates solutions to COVID-19-related problems and issues across agricultural, environmental and water sectors in Zimbabwe and assesses their scientific, economic and practical validity. Across 19 chapters, this volume unpacks the science, economics and politics of the pandemic with a focus on understanding its secondary and tertiary impact on Zimbabwe's population. The volume is also dedicated to understanding the practical and policy-oriented approaches in tackling the pandemic and confronting the "new normal" of COVID-19. It brings together researchers, development practitioners and policy makers from various disciplines in an endeavour to understand COVID-19 trends and analyse the scientific options for mitigation, containment, innovation and ultimately pre-empt the possible emergence and impacts of other pandemics in the future

Agriculture increasingly faces the challenge of balancing its multiple functions in a sustainable way. Integrated assessment and modelling (IAM) can provide insight into the potential impacts of policy changes. However, concepts to address the wide range of issues and functions typical for agriculture are still scarce. Environmental and Agricultural Modelling reviews and presents our current understanding of integrated and working tools to assess and compute, ex-ante, alternative agricultural and environmental policy options, allowing:

1. Analysis at the full range of scales (farm to European Union and global) whilst focusing on the most important issues emerging at each scale;

2. Analysis of the environmental, economic and social contributions of agricultural systems towards sustainable rural development and rural viability;

3. Analysis of a broad range of issues and agents of change, such as climate change, environmental policies, rural development options, effects of an enlarging EU, international competition, and effects on developing countries.

Fresh? Juice? Paste? Canned? Stewed? Diced? Pureed? Sun Dried? Salsa? Sauce? Ketchup? Rare is the cuisine that does not make use of the tomato in some way, shape, or form, and the resulting culinary popularity of the tomato has led to its proliferation in fields and farms around the world. While some may still argue whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, few would argue that tomato crops are highly lucrative, attractive to farmers in both developing and developed countries and on large and small farms alike. In fact, for those crops with significant global volume and market share, tomatoes are the highest valued among those crops that lack an affiliation to mind-altering drugs. But, the tomato can be a persnickety critter. The tomato doesn't like it too hot, too chilly, too wet, too dry, or too fertile. Many don't ripen at the same time. Most are easily bruised. And, the selective breeding that has yielded a larger, more attractive, and deep red tomato has also mercilessly drained much of the taste and flavor from a once sweet and delectable fruit. Enter the world of sensors and modern sensing technology. The Internet of Things (IOT), when using well chosen, well networked, and well aggregated sensors, has shown tremendous potential to support precision agriculture, providing a more detailed picture of crops than was previously possible using conventional crop monitoring techniques. But, the stringent resources and tight profit margins that are a fact of life among many tomato growing operations, large and small, mean that sensor technologies must be chosen and used carefully. There is no doubt that each sensor must earn its keep in producing the perfect tomato. With that in mind, this book explores key opportunities to marry the potential of sensors that are networked within the IOT to the needs of tomato production in ways that are economically fruitful, technologically robust, and sustainable overall.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of India's pulses sector in terms of production, prices, markets, and trade. Pulses play a pivotal role in a developing country like India for all categories of people due to its rich protein content (double that of wheat and three times more than that of rice). Despite being an important crop from the point of view of food, nutrition, and environmental security, the focus of food security policies in developing countries has been more on wheat and rice production. This book analyses factors influencing the supply of pulses with a greater emphasis on government interventions such as minimum support price (MSP) and National Food Security Mission (NFSM), the effectiveness of MSP and factors influencing farmers' access to MSP, the import dependency implications through a detailed import pricing behavior of major importers of major pulses. It investigates production, market dynamics, and trade implications related to two major pulses, chickpea and pigeonpea, produced by all pulse-producing States in India. Analysis of farmer's awareness of MSP and factors influencing access to MSP are undertaken through a comprehensive household survey from the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. Finally, the book analyses import implications and import pricing behaviour for all major pulses imported by India. The book would be very useful for researchers working on the issues of agricultural production and food security, for agriculture and agri-business students, as well as for policy makers to understand the inherent dynamics in the pulses sector.

Why plant a vegetable garden with the same old tomato and cucumber plants that everyone else has? Small Fruits in the Home Garden is your home gardener?s guide to growing and harvesting small fruit for personal enjoyment. The contributors to this book provide the necessary information and helpful hints for you to grow many new varieties of small fruits, that have wonderful flavor but may not be suitable for commercial production, right at home. Now you can harvest the tastiest varieties at their peak flavor! In Small Fruits in the Home Garden, you?ll see how small fruits can enhance not only your diet, but also your garden and landscape. You?ll learn how strawberry plants, for example, make wonderful perennial borders along paths and walkways and how currants, gooseberrries, and blueberries serve as "edible" hedges that are especially lovely in the summer when their branches are laden with colorful fruit. Each chapter of this unique handbook provides detailed background and growing information on a particular fruit, with special attention to: climate soil pests water table preplant operations planting management pruning fertilizing liming wateringSee how growing and harvesting small fruit can provide you with something nutritious and beautiful that doesn?t demand too much free time. With Small Fruits in the Home Garden, you, too, can easily manage and enjoy small fruit growing.

Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. It is a discipline that addresses current issues: climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control and biodiversity depletion. This series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then proposes alternative solutions.

This book covers the basics of animal manure, or animal dung, and highlights its applications in agriculture and biotechnology. The reader is given a comprehensive overview of the different types of animal manure. Although animal manure can cause environmental problems, e.g., when slurry pollutes rivers or burnt dung pollutes air, the book emphasizes the fact that animal dung is by no means a waste product. Animal manure is a valuable organic fertilizer that has a positive impact on soil conditions and helps save on chemical fertilizers. It is also a source of energy and can be either be used as fuel or converted into biogas through methanization. Old-age practices such as the use of dried dung as insulating material, or burnt dung as mosquito repellent are also taken up. With the increasing focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this book offers ideas and solutions related to SDG 2 Zero Hunger and SDG 15 Life on Land. The book will not only be an interesting read for students and researchers in the field of agriculture, but will also appeal to scientists working on waste management, organic manure production or in the paper industry.

This book presents latest work in the field of plant biotechnology regarding high-efficiency micropropagation for commercial exploitation at low labor and equipment costs. The book consists of 18 chapters on establishing advanced culture systems, techniques as well as latest modification protocols on a variety of crops. It also discusses new methods such as nylon film culture system, light-emitting diode and wireless light-emitting diode system, stem elongation, wounding manipulation and shoot tip removal, in vitro hydroponic and microponic culture system, thin cell layer culture system etc. Plant cell tissue has been developed more than fifty years ago. Since then applications of in vitro plant propagation expanded rapidly all around the world and played as an important role in agricultural and horticultural systems. This book will be of interest to teachers, researchers, scientists, capacity builders and policymakers. Also the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, forestry, ecology, soil science, and environmental sciences.

This book will expound the latest information on the current state of persimmon genomics and transcriptomics, with a particular focus on the latest findings and analysis in relation to the most important agronomic traits. The genus Diospyros contains about 400 species distributed all continents of the globe. Most of Diospyros species are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions, while cultivated persimmon or simply kaki (Diospyros kaki) originates in East Asia and has been grown in China, Japan and Korea for many years. World production of persimmon has been increasing continuously since 1990s, with China being the most producer. Outside Asia, kaki production has been rapidly increasing in Spain in recent years. Because kaki is mostly hexaploid (2n = 6x =90) and its genome size is quite large with the flow cytometric analysis estimation of about 900 Mb, genetic and molecular studies in persimmon are quite complicated. Diploid close relatives of kaki, D. lotus and D. oleifera have been recently used as model species of kaki. Utilizing these species, molecular basis of several economically molecular basis of important traits such as sexuality and astringency has been studied, giving important information for kaki breeding.