Plant Hormones in Crop Improvement examines the signaling pathways and mechanisms associated with phytohormones, with particular focus on stress resilience. The growing population of world and unpredictable climate puts pressure on the agriculture production. Current constraints such as increasing temperatures, drought, salinity, cold, nutrient deficiency, along with biotic interactions trigger exquisitely tuned responsive mechanisms in plants. The main coordinators of all stress-related mechanisms are phytohormones, which can be transported over long distances and play a significant role in controlling physiological, agronomic and growth traits, metabolites and sustained crop productivity. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms influencing the stress responses mediated by phytohormones is crucial to ensure the continuity of agricultural production and food security. This book aims to address sustainable agricultural approaches to improve biotic and abiotic stress resilience in crop plants, covering different topics from perception and signaling plant hormones to physiological and molecular changes under different cues. Plant Hormones in Crop Improvement is an essential read for students, researchers and agriculturalists interested in plant physiology, plant genetics and crop yield improvement.

Metals and Metalloids in Soil-Plant-Water Systems: Phytophysiology and Remediation Techniques examines the impact of metal/metalloid contamination on the plant lifecycle, along with microbes present in soil. Highlighting uptake and translocation, the book also examines antioxidant, photosynthesis and growth characteristics of plants grown in metal contaminated soil. Beginning with an introduction to different sources of soil and water pollution, chapters assess the environmental cytotoxicity pollution impact on plants, as well as how the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in plant tissues is affected. The book also discusses various soil remediation methodologies, including the potential applications of metal oxidizing microbes and nanomaterials. This is an essential resource for researchers and students interested in plant physiology, soil science, environmental science and agriculture.

Plant Receptor-like Kinases: Role in Development and Stress presents the latest research in receptor-like kinases (RLKs), a class of development and defense-response proteins in plants. As one of the largest protein families, with roles ranging from growth and development to stress response, RLKs are involved in every aspect of the plant life cycle, including growth and development, reproduction, and immunity. Development of high throughput sequencing technology has improved the identification and characterization of numerous gene families in plants in the recent years, allowing researchers to identify and characterize numerous RLK sub-families in model plant species and agro-economically important crop plants like rice, wheat, sorghum, tomatoes, and more. This book provides foundational knowledge on the classification of RLKs, their mechanism of action and their roles in the plant life cycle, as well as the most up-to-date advances in the applications of RLKs. It is an essential read for researchers interested in plant signaling and plant genomics.

Microbial Endophytes and Plant Growth: Beneficial Interactions and Applications explains how modern molecular tools can unlock the plant's microbial network, building the bridge between plant and environment. Chapters describe the usefulness of the endophytic microbiome of different crops, including cereals, vegetables and horticulture, and delve into the latest research surrounding the applications of plant-microbe interactions in improving plant growth. Other topics discussed include root endophytes and their role in plant fitness, seed associated endophytes and their functions, and microbial endophytes and nanotechnology. This is a one-stop resource for scientists wanting access to the latest research in plant microbiology. The book also provides advanced techniques for using multi-omics approaches to study plant-microbe interactions, providing readers with a practical approach.

Boron in Plants and Agriculture: Exploring the Physiology of Boron and Its Impact on Plant Growth highlights the various emerging techniques and applications that are currently being used in plant-boron interaction studies, and provides a direction towards implementation of programs and practices that will enable sustainable production of crops, resilient to boron stress. Boron is an important micronutrient that plays a crucial role in the growth and development of plants, however despite a significant amount of recent research, there has remained a gap in the understanding of boron update and transportation. Boron deficiency is one of the most widespread deficiencies among plant micronutrients in agriculture and it causes a wide range of symptoms including the cessation of root elongation, reduced leaf expansion and the loss of fertility, depending on the plant species and developmental stage. This book reviews and integrates the currently available information on the impact of boron on functional and adaptive features of plants from molecular, biochemical, physiological to whole plant level. It is a key resource for those working in stress physiology, stress proteins, genomics, proteomics, genetic engineering and other fields of plant physiology related to boron nutrition, including agriculture.

Plant Transcription Factors: Contribution in Development, Metabolism, and Environmental Stress provides comprehensive coverage of plant TFs and their various functions, evaluating their crucial role in growth and development, signaling, stress management and other key plant processes. Sections cover the significance of plant TFs in functional genomics, the influence of phyto-hormones on the modulation of plant TFs, plant development and metabolism, including shoot development, flowering development and alkaloid biosynthesis. The book's final section reviews the role of TFs in various plant stresses, including temperature, water and heavy metal stress. Written by leading experts around the globe, this book is an essential read to researchers interested in plant signaling and plant genomics.

This book describes and illustrates 80 of the larger, more conspicuous and charismatic tree species likely to be seen while travelling in the Kruger National Park.

With the aim of assisting readers to make accurate identifications of these majestic plants, each spread contains photographs and succinct text with minimal botanical jargon. To aid identification, a series of maps demarcating 35 different vegetation zones or ‘landscapes’ within the Kruger Park helps readers to determine which tree species are likely to be seen in which area.

Part of the NATURE NOW series, this compact ID guide is jampacked with images of trees – an informative safari companion for all who want to make the most of their visit to Kruger.