The Inductive Brain in Development and Evolution provides readers with a substantial biological education on animal nervous systems and their role in the development, adaptation, homeostasis, and evolution of species. The book begins by delving into the embryonic development of the brain and then discusses epigenetic information and neural activity post-birth. It then analyzes the inductive brain's neural and brain control of such factors like myogenesis, bone development, sensory organs, metamorphosis in vertebrates and invertebrates, and wing development in insects. The book closes with an examination of phenotypic evolution in neural control, mechanisms, and drivers of animal brains. The Inductive Brain in Development and Evolution will offer evolutionary biologists, specifically those researching development, adaptation, and evolution of animals, a comprehensive text that covers a variety of valuable topics.

Dokuchaev carried out most of his research in Ukraine. His student and friend, Volodymyr Vernadsky, went on to create trans-disciplinary environmental sciences and the concept of Earth as a living organism, famously taken up by James Lovelock. That spring of ideas still flows and the researches captured in this volume are relevant to present-day problems, and not only in Ukraine. Soils have always been under stress but, in the Anthropocene, mankind is in the driving seat. As a sequel to Soil Science Working for a Living: Applications of soil science to present-day problems, we consider issues of policy as well as soil genesis, attributes and functions in various environments, natural and man-made. We consider human impacts on the soil cover through its use and misuse, highlight methods of research and assessment of soil quality, and the threats of soil degradation. The distinguished contributors also describe and propose various options for evaluation and remediation of degraded soils, drawing on the latest methods of modelling and cartography as well as long-term field experiments and long experience. The book will be invaluable to researchers and practitioners in soil science including graduate and post-graduate education, academics and professionals.

A considerable change in climate at a global level will impact the vegetable cultivation and agriculture as a whole; subsequently affecting the world's food supply. Climate change per se is not necessarily harmful; the problems arise from extreme events that are difficult to predict (erratic rainfall patterns and unpredictable high and low temperatures), and consequently reduce crop productivity. Vegetables are in general more succulent (have 90% water) and are more sensitive to climatic vagaries. Sudden changes in temperature coupled with irregular precipitation at any phase of crop growth can affect the normal growth, flowering, pollination, fruit setting, fruit development and fruit ripening can decrease the yield. The irregular precipitation can also affect the soil salinity and is a major challenge in many vegetable growing areas. To mitigate the harmful impact of climatic change there is a urgent need to develop adequate adaptation strategies for adverse effect of climate change and the preference should be given on development of heat, cold, drought, flood and salinity stress tolerant genotypes along with climate proofing through conventional and non-conventional breeding techniques. Available evidence shows that there is a high probability of increase in the frequency and intensity of climate related natural hazards due to climate change and hence increases the potential threat due to climate change related natural disasters in the world. This book (Volume- I) will be basically useful for the researchers and postgraduate students with current challenges and mitigation strategies for increasing vegetable production under a changing climate.

This book describes the alarming condition of agriculture in the Anthropocene, when the ethical conception of agriculture as a service of common utility for both society and environment has progressively been marginalized. The ethical utility of agriculture has been sidetracked with the increasing industrialisation of society, the involvement of agriculture in the business-as-usual economy, and the consequential environmental and societal impacts it has had. Thus, re-establishing a meaningful bridge between ethics and agriculture is necessary. A relatively new science (ecology) with both a new epistemological tool (that of the ecosystem concept), and a unique narrative of sustainable development, can help bridge this gap. This book focuses on ethics as a lever for raising scientific, technical, social, economic and political solutions to adopt in agriculture as a model of symbiotic relationships between man and nature. It provides a detailed discussion of the ecological intensification practices in order to maximize ecological and ethical services, wherein agroecosystems will follow.

"This beautifully produced book will be inspiring to botanical artists and all those who are captivated by the orchid." -Leisure Painter Orchids have long held a place of esteem and fascination in the horticultural world. In the 19th century, orchid collecting reached new fanatical heights, with explorers dispatched to every corner of the globe in search of new varieties that could be auctioned at extravagant prices, and orchids are still one of the most popular flowers to breed and buy to this day. These beautiful, diverse flowers are one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with over 30,000 species and over 181,500 hybrids and cultivars. The RHS Orchid Committee have commissioned watercolours of over 7,000 award-winning hybrids that demonstrate particular value in their fabulous array of colours, patterns, sizes and shapes. Through these paintings, stories of high stakes orchid breeding and exhibiting are explored, with a cast of characters who helped shape the horticultural world we know today, alongside the dedicated artists who still support their endeavours.

Exam Board: Pearson BTEC Academic Level: BTEC National Subject: Animal Management First teaching: September 2016 First Exams: Summer 2017 For all four of the externally assessed units 1, 2 and 3. Builds confidence with scaffolded practice questions. Unguided questions that allow students to test their own knowledge and skills in advance of assessment. Clear unit-by-unit correspondence between this Workbook and the Revision Guide and ActiveBook.

Perfect for readers of James Rebanks, Wendell Berry and Thomas Piketty, A Small Farm Future is a refreshingly new outlook on the way forward for society. A vital resource for activists, students, policy makers and anyone looking to enact change.  In a time of UNCERTAINTY, what would a truly RESILIENT SOCIETY look like? The recent pandemic has brought to light the fragility of a globalised food system. We have seen firsthand how important farmers are and how scary it can be when supply chains break down. This is precisely the type of crisis farmer and former social scientist Chris Smaje delves into in his ground-breaking debut A Small Farm Future.  Destined to become a modern classic, A Small Farm Future plants a flag at the intersection between economics, agriculture and society during a time of immense crisis. Smaje makes the case for organising human societies around small-scale, local and ecological farming in order to meet the environmental and political challenges of our times.

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.

Fresh from receiving a doctorate from Cornell University in 1933, but unable to find work, Charles M. Wiltse joined his parents on the small farm they had recently purchased in southern Ohio. There, the Wiltses scratched out a living selling eggs, corn, and other farm goods at prices that were barely enough to keep the farm intact.
In wry and often affecting prose, Wiltse recorded a year in the life of this quintessentially American place during the Great Depression. He describes the family's daily routine, occasional light moments, and their ongoing frustrations, small and large--from a neighbor's hog that continually broke into the cornfields to the ongoing struggle with their finances. Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal had little to offer small farmers, and despite repeated requests, the family could not secure loans from local banks to help them through the hard economic times. Wiltse spoke the bitter truth when he told his diary, "We are not a lucky family." In this he represented millions of others caught in the maw of a national disaster.
The diary is introduced and edited by Michael J. Birkner, Wiltse's former colleague at the Papers of Daniel Webster Project at Dartmouth College, and coeditor, with Wiltse, of the final volume of Webster's correspondence.