Despite the recent advances made in the improvement of crucifer crops using conventional breeding techniques, the yield levels and the oil and meal quality could not be improved as expected. The understanding of genetic material (DNA/RNA) and its manipulation by scientists has provided the opportunity to improve crucifers by increasing its diversity beyond conventional genetic limitations. The application of the biotechnological techniques will have major impacts in two ways: first, it provides a number of techniques/methods for efficient selection for favorable variants and second, it gives an opportunity to utilize alien variation available in the crucifers by using the novel techniques of biotechnology to develop high yielding varieties with good nutritional quality, having resistance to insect, pest, and disease resistance.

Developing countries as the nations of Indian subcontinent are experiencing big-bangs regarding their economic, agricultural and industrial development. The sole aim of present mechanized and advanced agricultural practices is to produce enhanced grain yield to satiate the hunger of burgeoning population. Thus the present scenario demands the use of chemical fertilizers and other agrochemicals. However the production cost of these chemical products is to high as it increases pressure on the fossils fuel reserves of the country. Bioinoculants are the culture concoctions/live microbial isolates that are presently the most ecologically feasible and economically sound example of practical reproduction of lab experimentation for the help of modern day farmeBroadly, bioinoculants include biofertilzers, biopesticides and organic decomposers. Biofertilizers are live cells of beneficial microbial isolates that provide necessary nutrients nitrogen, phosphorous etc, excrete growth promoting compounds and provide resistance to a variety of diseases that culminates to enhanced yield and production. While biopesticides are live microbial isolates or their metabolic products that eradicate/kill known insects/pests of crops. Among commercialized biopesticides Bt cotton emerged as the first brand ambassador of modern day pesticides. The third component of bioinoculants are the organic decomposers that include certain fungal species, bacterial genera and actinomycetes that hasten decomposition of organic compounds and make available nutrients held as organic matter.

Earth functions as a complex system and existing infrastructure and methodologies are inadequate for the community to address many problems of this system. It requires an integrated and innovative approach to analyse, model and develop extensive and diverse data sets for the solution of these problems. Geoinformatics, which is the synergy of multiple disciplines, namely, earth sciences, GIS, remote sensing, GPS, photogrammetry and cartography, is developing fast in the areas where the data are identified by their locations. Currently, there is a chaotic distribution of available data sets, lack of documentation about them and the methodologies, lack of easy-to-access, tolls, computer modeling etc. which pose the major obstacles for the earth scientist in trying to work out solutions. The authors have tried to remove these hurdles by bringing together relevant informations and techniques as well as the recent advances in these fields. This book presents a comprehensive account of various topics related to the applications of geoinformatics which are highly diversified and include space and environmental monitoring, watershed management, water resources and management, productivity enhancement in agro-ecosystems, resource information systems, precision farming, monitoring of glaciers and lakes, geospatial techniques and livelihood improvement using GIS.

Medicinal plant cultivation has received an impetus in the recent years due to revival of interest in herbal medicines necessitating authoritative information on cultivation and utilization of this valuable flora. The book on Medicinal Plants includes information on current status of medicinal plants, their phytochemistry, quality control, good agricultural practices and good manufacturing practices in medicinal plants and information on commercially grown medicinal plants and those important in trade. Details on botany, crop improvement, crop protection, crop production, post harvest handling, chemical composition, chemical analyses and uses of commercially grown crops are also included. The book which is a systematic compilation of available information on promising 65 medicinal species helps in providing specific information on the cultivation and utilization of these crops to farmers, academicians, students and related user industries. This documented information also serves to give an insight to the major research lacunae and formulate appropriate research strategies in these crops.

This book on 'Aromatic Plants' contains seven s. Introductory on 'History, importance and scope of aromatic plants' deals with the importance of aromatic crops and their close association with human health and beauty care from time immemorial. History of development of cultivation and aroma based industries in different regions of the world is described to emphasize their significance, scope and role in increasing the quality of human life. Classification of aromatic plants based on their climatic requirement, growth habit and floral morphology elaborated in succeeding will be of great interest to students, researchers and farmers. on 'Extraction of aroma principles' describes traditional as well as modern techniques employed for efficient extraction of volatile oils and oleo-resins from different plants materials and equipments employed for the purpose. Quality of oil is found to vary significantly with ecotypes, season, time of collection, crop maturity and weather conditions prevailing during the growth period, extraction method and duration of extraction process. Conditions and duration of storage also have a bearing on quality of essential oil. This necessitates development and imposition of appropriate quality standards in trade. These aspects are covered in fourth on 'Quality assurance of essential oils'. Aromatic oils & their derivatives and combinations occupy a covetable position in holistic medicines such as aromatherapy. on 'Aromatherapy' details the use of essential oils in human health care, techniques employed, aromatherapy message, aromatic bath, facial care, hair care etc. Information on aromatic oil's vide spread application to relieve stress and rejuvenate body are also included. Sixth and seventh s deal with major and other sources of aromatic oils. Under major sources, 17 aromatic crops and under other sources, 25 crops and discussed in detail. These s include the common name, botanical name and synonyms if any and family, vernacular names, importance and uses, habitat and distribution, agro technology, soil, climate, season, land preparation, planting, seed rate and spacing manurial and fertilizer recommendation, irrigation, weed control, pest control, harvest, propagation techniques, herbal yield, extraction and utilization, oil recovery, oil composition, properties of oil, storage requirements etc.

Commercial crops comprises of crops grown on a plantation scale and are of pivotal importance to the economy and export trade of many developing and developed countries. Commercial crops with long history of cultivation and active support of research and developmental efforts have made great strides in technological advancements. At regular intervals it is necessary to take stock of newly acquired knowledge in crop production and to reason out age-old experience. The book 'Commercial Crops Technology' comprehends the scattered information and provides latest technological advances in nine crops grown on a plantation scale. The book is organized into 10 s with an introductory and one each allotted to nine commercial crops Areca Nut, Cashew, Cocoa, Coconut, Coffee, Oil palm, Palmyra, Rubber and Tea. s have been designed keeping view of the rapid progress and challenges in the field of sustainable crop production. Product diversification has also been given due importance in the light of globalization and free trade. The introductory gives an insight into the present scenario of plantation crop production, its importance, geographical distribution, soils growing, integrated nutrient management, crop protection strategies, cropping and farming systems, management of drought, organic farming, clean development mechanism, implications of IPR and strategies and recommendations. Individual s on crops covers updated information on crop improvement, biotechnology, crop production and management, crop protection and post harvest handling with emphasis on integrated nutrient and pest management, organic crop production and value addition, besides providing basic information on origin and distribution, production trends, botany and R and D institutions. Future outlook on these crops would enable to chalk out achievable programmes and projects. The bibliography facilitates further reading. This publication will be useful to everyone who are associated with commercial crops - farmers, estate managers, extension workers, technologists, policy makers, researchers and students.

The book deals essentially with the aspects that are of immediate concern to new researchers in the field of botanicals and natural products. It presents the first comprehensive overview of the plant products since they were introduced in the pest management covering both theoretical and practical applications. This book covers the key aspects of the plant products including: Natural pest management agents from plants, extraction of plants products, characterization and formulation and bioassay of extracts against different pests. The book reports for the first time in the field of botanicals, a study on the stability of the prepared extracts towards their various biological activity against different microbial and stored grain pests through a large number of the prepared extracts and formulations in both water and organic media. The book is an indispensable and interdisciplinary text for researchers and scientists from Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Agricultural Sciences and related disciplines, working in this important and fascinating area of botanicals and natural products in Integrated Pest Management IPM concept.

This book incorporates the extensive and updated basic information on the subject authored by the scientists of international repute to understand the various concepts. This book presents latest comprehensive and authoritative explanation through different angles of basic technologies in Farm Machinery, Farm Power and Thermodynamics.

Agroforestry is an age old practice throughout the world, but its recognition as a science is nearly three decades old. The scientific and systematic research on tree-crop interactions, in India, started in late 1970's and got major support and impetus with the establishment of All India Coordinated Research Project AICRP on Agroforestry in 1983 by ICAR. Today AICRP on Agroforestry has its network through out the country. Under AICRP and through the individual efforts of State Agricultural Universities, location specific agroforestry systems has been recommended to suit agro-climatic zones, landholdings and economic status of the region. Though extensive research had been done till date, but it is not available to scientific world, farming communities who are the backbone of Indian rural development, students and inquisitive readers in one manuscript. This prompted the authors to club the information on agroforestry systems and practices prevailing in India in form of book. For the sake of convenience, agroforestry systems prevailing in India have been divided into four broad sections i Agroforestry in India ii Agroforestry system and practices in North, West and Central India iii Agroforestry systems and practices in East, North-East and Southern India iv Allied topics related to Agroforestry. Section one cover topics covering agroforestry experiences, research and extension efforts done in the last 25 years in India. Section two includes 13 s and section three covers 14 s wherein agroforestry research vis-O-vis agroclimatic zones of different states of India have been discussed. The last section comprising of 8 s includes topics related to role of agroforestry in soil conservation, women development; management of agroforestry; modeling; rehabilitation of mine spoils and breeding of agroforestry tree species.