This book contains 33 papers, presented at the meeting "Integrated Crop protection in Cereals", on recent developments in research into integral control of invertebrate pests, diseases and weeds, together with economic appraisals of applying such research to model farming systems.

Reach into the grain bin for a handful of wheat...and as it runs out through your fingers, so do more than 6000 years since wheat was grown in Persian Gulf lands. The story of this age-old, most extensive grain crop the world has ever seen, parallels that of mankind and author Kirby Brumfield makes the point clear. Wheat in the Northwest? Yes, it's all here, acres of it in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The lore of the harvest is the keynote of Brumfield's presentation...the romance of growing and harvesting the crop, and the growing civilization of humanity, adept at improving its lot and more skilled at the mechanics of living...until in 1831 Cyrus McCormick demonstrated a reaper that revolutionized wheat harvesting. Brumfield approaches this vast subject with considerable facility and sows grains of interest in every paragraph. He lifts farming right out of the soil into fascinating history, with accent on the Northwest.

Quinoa is an ancient grain that has grown in popularity in recent years. It has been known as a good source of both protein and fiber. As the demand for quinoa increases a comprehensive and up-to-date reference on the biology and production of the crop is essential. Quinoa: Improvement and Sustainable Production brings together authors from around the world to provide a complete assessment of the current state of global quinoa research and production. Topics covered include quinoa history and culture, genomics and breeding, agronomy, nutrition, marketing, and end-uses. The book focuses in particular on the emerging role of quinoa in providing increased food security to smallholder farmers and communities throughout the world. Quinoa will interest quinoa researchers, producers, crop scientists, agronomists, and plant geneticists, as well as advanced students working with this important grain.

The third most important cereal crop after wheat and corn, rice is a staple food for more than half of the world's population. This includes regions of high population density and rapid growth, indicating that rice will continue to be a major food crop in the next century. Mineral Nutrition of Rice brings together a wealth of information on the ecophysiology and nutrient requirements of rice. Compiling the latest scientific research, the book explains how to manage essential nutrients to maximize rice yield. The book examines 15 essential or beneficial nutrients used in irrigated, upland, and floating rice across a range of geographic regions. For each mineral, the text details the cycle in the soil-plant system as well as the mineral's functions, deficiency symptoms, uptake in plants, harvest index, and use efficiency. It then outlines management practices, covering application methods and timing, adequate rates, the use of efficient genotypes, and more. The author, an internationally recognized expert in mineral nutrition for crop plants, also proposes recommendations for the judicious use of fertilizers to reduce the cost of crop production and the risk of environmental pollution. Color photographs help readers identify nutrient deficiency symptoms and take the necessary corrective measures. Packed with useful tables and illustrations, this comprehensive reference guides readers who want to know how to increase rice yield, reduce production costs, and avoid environmental pollution from fertilizers. It offers practical information for those working in agricultural research fields, in laboratories, and in classrooms around the world.

This collection features five peer-reviewed literature reviews on integrated weed management in cereal cultivation. The first chapter examines the problem of weeds in barley and explains the application of integrated weed management (IWM) to barley cultivation. The chapter also outlines weed control tactics and the practical implementation of IWM in barley. The second chapter reviews the availability of cultural strategies which can be used in wheat cultivation as part of an IWM strategy. The chapter considers the implementation of practices that can improve crop health, including diverse crop rotations. The third chapter considers the impact of weeds on maize cultivation and productivity, as well as the emergence of IWM as a sustainable method of controlling weeds. The chapter assesses the efficacy of key IWM techniques, such as crop rotations. The fourth chapter provides a detailed assessment of the biological constraints currently impacting the productivity of rice cultivation, focusing on the issue of weeds. The chapter includes an overview of the IWM approach and its benefits. The final chapter focuses on competitive cereal crops and cultural strategies for weed management, including the use of weed-suppressive cultivars, post-harvest crop residues, and cover crops for management of the weed seedbank and eventual weed suppression.

This topic is central to contemporary concerns for more sustainable agricultural development. This is a well-written and clear book, with excellent data, tables and illustrations, addressing issues of water use, climate change, poverty and small farmers. The authors are highly respected and complement each other's acknowledged international expertise.' Professor Jules Pretty, University of Essex, UK 'This useful guide shows that there is great potential for increasing the productive capacity of smallholder farms in the drylands via a range of water management techniques, from the simple to the more complex. Providing a theoretical grounding and a practical guide, Water and cereals in the drylands will appeal to workers on-location as well as students, researchers and policymakers.' New Agriculturalist Cereals are by far the most important source of food throughout the world, either directly for human consumption or indirectly in the form of animal feed for livestock products consumed as food. With world population set to rise to nine billion by 2050, there is an urgent need to examine ways to increase cereal production. Indeed recently the future of cereal production and consumption has been complicated by rising energy prices and the economics of biofuels, which are competing for the use of cereals. One way to increase cereal production is by the more effective use of marginal dryland areas. This book reviews the potential for increased cereal production in drylands across the world, from the USA, Australia and Southern Europe to Asia and Africa. It describes how improved water conservation, water harvesting and investment options can contribute to this, and suggests policies for the more efficient use of existing natural resources in order to lessen the dependence of agriculture on further irrigation development.

The small grain cereals wheat, barley, oats and rye are cultivated worldwide. They form the foundation of most agricultural systems and are essential in the manufacture of staple products such as bread, pasta and fermented beverages. Reflecting the global and economic importance of cereal crops, this book aims to make identification of diseases afflicting them easier. Covering 40-50 of the most important pathogens in Europe, North America, Japan and Australia, the handbook contains superb color photographs accompanied by clear, concise descriptions of diseases with advice on their control and is of use to plant health professionals, growers, farmers, and students of agriculture. Diseases are illustrated at varying stages of development and entries follow an easy-to-use format. First the pathogens involved and their symptoms are described; next information on the disease cycle is given, covering epidemiological features and the form taken by the pathogen in different climates. The section on economic significance deals with effects on yield and the ecosystem, while that on control advises growers on measures and techniques to combat the outbreak of disease, including the latest chemical treatments. For each disease, detailed references provide a key to further reading.

Cereal-Based Foodstuffs: The Backbone of the Mediterranean provides an overview of cereal-based products in the Mediterranean region, illustrating the spectrum of products from past to present and their various processing methods. The text explores new and understudied market trends in cereal-based products, such as cereal-pulse blends, pulse pastas, and flat breads. Chapters cover products originating in North Africa, such as bulgur and couscous, which are consumed worldwide but underrepresented in the scientific literature. Contributing authors also offer a legislative perspective on issues of food safety, the European Food Safety Association's definition of "novel foods," and the position of traditional foods in the Mediterranean food industry. This wide-ranging text thus serves members of both the scientific and industrial community seeking better coverage of global cereal product trends.

Learn how to best improve yield in cereal plantseven in dry conditions The impact of drought on crop production can be economically devastating. Drought Adaptation in Cereals provides a comprehensive review of the latest research on the tolerance of cereal crops to water-limited conditions. Renowned experts extensively describe basic concepts and cutting-edge research results to clearly reveal all facets of drought adaptation in cereals. More than simply a fine reference for plant biology and plant improvement under water-limited conditions, this book spotlights the most relevant biological approaches from plant phenotyping to functional genomics. The need to understand plant response to the lack of water is integral to forming strategies to best manage crops. Drought Adaptation in Cereals starts by offering an overview of the biological basis and defines the adaptive mechanisms found in plants under water-limited conditions. Different approaches are presented to provide understanding of plant genetics basics and plant breeding, including phenotyping, physiology, and biotechnology. The book details drought adaptation mechanisms at the cellular, organ, and entire plant levels, focusing on plant metabolism and gene functions. This resource is extensively referenced and contains tables, charts, and figures to clearly present data and enhance understanding. After a foreword by J. O'Toole and a prologue by A. Blum, Drought Adaptation in Cereals presents a full spectrum of informative topics from other internationally respected scientists. These include: drought's economic impact (P. Heisey) genotype-by-environment interactions (M. Cooper) secondary traits for drought adaptation (P. Monneveux) leaf growth (F. Tardieu) carbon isotope discrimination (T. Condon) drought adaptation in barley (M. Sorrells), maize (M. Sawkins), rice (R. Lafitte), sorghum (A. Borrell) and wheat (M. Reynolds) carbohydrate metabolism (A. Tiessen) the role of abscisic acid (T. Setter) protection mechanisms and stress proteins (L. Mtwisha) genetic basis of ion homeostasis and water deficit (H. Bohnert) transcriptional factors (K. Yamaguchi-Shinozaki) resurrection plants (D. Bartels) Drought Adaptation in Cereals is a unique, vital reference for scientists, educators, and students in plant biology, agronomy, and natural resources management.

Millets are small-grained, annual, warm weather cereal. The millets offer both nutritional and livelihood security of human population and fodder security of diverse livestock population in dryland region of India. Millets are highly nutritious, they are known as health foods especially for control of diabetes and mineral deficiencies. One of the major factors for declining consumption of millets is the lack of awareness of their nutritive value and inconvenience of their preparation. This book covers both, chemistry and novel technology for millet processing and development. It summarizes the latest information on millets, their nutritional and health benefits, historical perspective, utilization, R&D efforts, present status and the importance being given by policy makers for promoting millets for sustainable agriculture and healthy society. The book is compiled by various experts keeping in view syllabi of different research institutions, researchers, students as well requirement of the industry. It will serve as instructional material for researchers in food science, microbiology, process engineering, biochemistry, biotechnology and reference material for those working in industry and R & D labs.

The book deals with value addition and processing of agro-food crops. Each agro-food crop is discussed from the point of its production, processing, value addition, packaging and storage. Main food crops of special importance in the food processing sector like cereals, millets and pulses, minor forest products, fruits and vegetables and milk and milk based products are considered at length. The book gives a comprehensive account of food processing and value addition with regards to encourage for setting up small food processing industries in their local area using local agro food crops base. Indigenous food preparations based on fermented cereals and pulse, milk and other crops based products have been discussed. Various food laws and regulation by the Government to control food quality and standards are highlighted. Agro food based, food processing industry, in small or cottage scale level in their local region with available resource projects are alsodiscussed in details. An outstanding text for students, researchers and entrepreneurs in food processing with little or no previous instruction in food science and technology, food science is also a valuable reference for professionals in food processing, as well as for those working in fields that serves, regulates or otherwise interfaces with the food processing industry.

Molecular Breeding and Nutritional Aspects of Buckwheat describes the general characterization and genetic diversity of buckwheat (family Polygonaceae, genus Fagopyrum) around the globe (especially in Russia, China, India, and Eastern Europe), the arid and cool regions where it is most frequently consumed, and nutritional information on a variety of buckwheat uses, including tea, groats, flour, and noodles. With detailed information on buckwheat regeneration, genetic transformation, gene function analysis, and the metabolic engineering of bioactive compounds, the book guides readers through a variety of buckwheat varietal adaptations, providing foundation information on which additional research should be conducted. It is divided into four parts, including genetic resource and phylogenetic relationship, food nutrition, growth and cultivation, and molecular breeding, with each section providing insights into the most current developments.

Millets are small-grained, annual, warm weather cereal. The millets offer both nutritional and livelihood security of human population and fodder security of diverse livestock population in dryland region of India. Millets are highly nutritious, they are known as health foods especially for control of diabetes and mineral deficiencies. One of the major factors for declining consumption of millets is the lack of awareness of their nutritive value and inconvenience of their preparation. This book covers both, chemistry and novel technology for millet processing and development. It summarizes the latest information on millets, their nutritional and health benefits, historical perspective, utilization, R&D efforts, present status and the importance being given by policy makers for promoting millets for sustainable agriculture and healthy society. The book is compiled by various experts keeping in view syllabi of different research institutions, researchers, students as well requirement of the industry. It will serve as instructional material for researchers in food science, microbiology, process engineering, biochemistry, biotechnology and reference material for those working in industry and R & D labs.

The global population is projected to reach almost 10 billion by 2050, and food and feed production will need to increase by 70%. Wheat, maize and sorghum are three key cereals which provide nutrition for the majority of the world's population. Their production is affected by various abiotic stresses which cause significant yield losses. The effects of climate change also increase the frequency and severity of such abiotic stresses. Molecular breeding technologies offer real hope for improving crop yields. Although significant progress has been made over the last few years, there is still a need to bridge the large gap between yields in the most favorable and most stressful conditions. This book: - Provides a valuable resource for wheat, maize and sorghum scientists working on breeding and molecular biology, physiology and biotechnology. - Presents the latest in-depth research in the area of abiotic stress tolerance and yield improvements. - Contains the necessary information to allow plant breeders to apply this research to effectively breed new varieties of these crops. It provides a consolidated reference for plant breeders and crop scientists working on the challenges of enhanced crop productivity and climate change adaptability.

Rice represents a unique opportunity for improvement through genetic engineering. This new book provides a detailed review of past and present developments in the genetic engineering of rice, as well as an informed examination of current genetic engineering material and methods.

During the past decade, there has been tremendous progress in maize biotechnology. This volume provides an overview of our current knowledge of maize molecular genetics, how it is being used to improve the crop, and future possibilities for crop enhancement. Several chapters deal with genetically engineered traits that are currently, or soon will be, in commercial production. Technical approaches for introducing novel genes into the maize genome, the regeneration of plants from transformed cells, and the creation of transgenic lines for field production are covered. Further, the authors describe how molecular genetic techniques are being used to identify genes and characterize their function, and how these procedures are utilized to develop elite maize germplasm. Moreover, molecular biology and physiological studies of corn as a basis for the improvement of its nutritional and food-making properties are included. Finally, the growing use of corn as biomass for energy production is discussed.

The green revolution in India about 50 years ago transformed India's image then as begging bowl to bread basket. This transformation during the 1960s took just about 4 years. The yield increases achieved in wheat and then in rice which occurred in just about half decade is far in excess of the yield increases during the preceding 4000 years. This remarkable feat was achieved with the leadership of the author using the dwarf wheat types which had been produced by Norman Borlaug in Mexico.The research and development of green revolution of wheat and rice at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi was led by the author along with his team of students and co-workers. He has published over 100 papers on green revolution and the ever-green revolution which is a refinement of the former. This book is a compilation of just about 40 of his numerous research papers, monographs and books published by him on this subject.The papers in this book bring out the scientific basis of the modification of the plant type so as to be responsive to exogenous addition of chemical fertilizers and irrigation. The ideal plant type enables capture of adequate sunlight and using the chemical fertilizers added to the soil, produce substantial photosynthetic starch. And because the plants have short and thick culm, they are able to withstand enormous amounts of grains in their ears. This indeed was the basis of breaking the yield barriers associated with native varieties. The book also brings out that green revolution had established the food security at the national level but not at the individual household levels of millions of resource-poor rural small and marginal farming, fishing and landless families. Further green revolution was commodity-centric and the manner of its practice led to environmental degradation and social inequities. This author realized as early as 1972 that system of agriculture in India should be designed to fight both the famines of food and rural livelihoods. In pursuit of it, this author further designed an evergreen revolution with systems approach. What this means is providing concurrent attention to ecological foundations of agriculture and the livelihoods of the rural people.The book also brings out that green revolution was a team effort involving scientists, policy makers, administrators, farmers and students.This book is an outstanding example of green revolution providing a breathing space by putting the cereal grain production rate ahead of the population growth rate and then when food security has been adequately established, the system is changed to achieve productivity in perpetuity without causing environmental and social harm.

Rice has supported a greater number of people for a longer period of time than any other crop. Nearly half of the global population is dependent on rice as its major staple food. While Asia remains the main centre of production and consumption of rice, the importance of rice is increasing rapidly in Africa and Latin America, and exports of rice from the United States and Australia are of major importance to the world rice trade. This book explores the factors which have contributed to the sustainability of rice production over the eight or nine thousand years for which rice has been produced. Sustainability is defined as the maintenance or improvement of production levels and protection of natural resources, within the context of economic viability and social acceptability. The author covers a wide range of issues, including soil fertility, plant breeding, pest management, irrigation, land degradation and social and economic factors. Greatest emphasis is placed on the special features of wetland rice production, and the importance of the nutrient balance. It is also shown that without the Green Revolution there would have been a period of mass starvation in Asia, a problem which continues to threaten and which will be unavoidable unless the successes of the Green Revolution can be sustained. The book provides a unique review of the sustainability of the production of the world's most important crop, and should be of interest to students, research workers and policy makers in agriculture, soil science, and agricultural economics and food policies, as well as all interested in development in the third world.

"This book is number 106 in the Burleigh Dodds Series in Agriculture Science and continues this excellent series of informative reviews in plant and animal agricultural production systems. This volume is a collection of chapters by experts in cereal diseases and disease management from around the world and contains some excellent detailed overviews on recent advances in our understanding of key cereal pathogens and advances in their management. It will be a valuable resource for wheat and barley focussed researchers, breeders and growers." (Professor Matt Dickinson, University of Nottingham, UK - Plant Pathology) It's been estimated that up to 40% of crop yields are lost to pests and diseases worldwide, a problem exacerbated by increasing fungicide resistance. Given the continuous struggle between crops and the diseases which exploit them, achieving durable disease resistance remains a key challenge in ensuring global food security. A range of issues need to be addressed to meet this challenge for major diseases affecting cereal crops such as Fusarium, barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and Septoria. Achieving durable disease resistance in cereals provides an authoritative review of key advances, from better understanding of pathogen biology/epidemiology and plant-pathogen interactions, to identifying sources of resistance and advances in techniques for breeding new varieties. This collection offers a comprehensive review of research on achieving durable resistance to diseases such as Fusarium head blight, Septoria tritici blotch, Septoria nodorum blotch, tan spot, blast, BYDV and Ramularia. Edited by Professor Richard Oliver, Curtin University, Australia, Achieving durable disease resistance in cereals will be an excellent reference for researchers in cereal science, arable farmers, government and private sector agencies supporting cereal production and companies supplying the cereals sector (e.g. seed companies). It complements Integrated disease management of wheat and barley, also edited by Professor Oliver, published by Burleigh Dodds Science in 2018.

Both wheat and barley are two of the most important food and industrial crops in the world. Wheat and barley cultivation has experienced changes in practices due to factors such as methods of conservation agriculture, cropping systems, wheat varieties, changes in weather patterns, and international trade, necessitating new and different approaches for the successful management of emerging diseases and new pathotypes of pathogens. This valuable volume explores a multitude of new approaches and techniques for the effective management of emerging wheat diseases. This new volume presents the latest literature on management technology of diseases that affect the production of wheat and are capable of reducing grain yields as well as grain quality. These diseases include rusts, smuts, other foliar diseases such as blight, spots, blotch, powdery mildew, bunts, etc., as well as diseases such as Karnal bunt of wheat, which is of importance to international trade. This book will be highly valuable to researchers, students, teachers, farmers, seed growers, traders, and other stakeholders dealing with wheat and barley. It also advances our knowledge in the field of plant pathology, plant breeding, and plant biotechnology, agronomy, and grain quality and pesticide industries. The book will serve as a reference on disease management technologies for the containment of losses in wheat and barley yields and will assist in maintaining wheat quality, reducing the cost of cultivation, increasing yield, and thus in helping to ensuring food security on a global level.

This book focuses on early germination, one of maize germplasm most important strategies for adapting to drought-induced stress. Some genotypes have the ability to adapt by either reducing water losses or by increasing water uptake. Drought tolerance is also an adaptive strategy that enables crop plants to maintain their normal physiological processes and deliver higher economical yield despite drought stress. Several processes are involved in conferring drought tolerance in maize: the accumulation of osmolytes or antioxidants, plant growth regulators, stress proteins and water channel proteins, transcription factors and signal transduction pathways. Drought is one of the most detrimental forms of abiotic stress around the world and seriously limits the productivity of agricultural crops. Maize, one of the leading cereal crops in the world, is sensitive to drought stress. Maize harvests are affected by drought stress at different growth stages in different regions. Numerous events in the life of maize crops can be affected by drought stress: germination potential, seedling growth, seedling stand establishment, overall growth and development, pollen and silk development, anthesis silking interval, pollination, and embryo, endosperm and kernel development. Though every maize genotype has the ability to avoid or withstand drought stress, there is a concrete need to improve the level of adaptability to drought stress to address the global issue of food security. The most common biological strategies for improving drought stress resistance include screening available maize germplasm for drought tolerance, conventional breeding strategies, and marker-assisted and genomic-assisted breeding and development of transgenic maize. As a comprehensive understanding of the effects of drought stress, adaptive strategies and potential breeding tools is the prerequisite for any sound breeding plan, this brief addresses these aspects.

Our perceptions and conceptions regarding the roles and importance of maize to ancient economies is largely a product of scientific research on the plant itself, developed for the most part out of botanical research, and its recent role as one of the most important economic staples in the world. Anthropological research in the early part of the last century based largely upon the historical particularistic approach of the Boasian tradition provided the first evidence that challenged the assumptions about the economic importance of maize to sociocultural developments for scholars of prehistory. Subsequent ethnobotanic and archaeological studies showed that the role of maize among Native American cultures was much more complex than just as a food staple. In Maize Cobs and Cultures, John Staller provides a survey of the ethnohistory and the scientific, botanical and biological research of maize, complemented by reviews on the ethnobotanic, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary methodologies.

This new edition of an established title examines the determination of grain crop yield from a unique perspective, by concentrating on the influence of the seed itself. As the food supply for an expanding world population is based on grain crops harvested for their seeds, understanding the process of seed growth and its regulation is crucial to our efforts to increase production and meet the needs of that population. Yield of grain crops is determined by their assimilatory processes such as photosynthesis and the biosynthetic processes in the seed, which are partly regulated within the seed itself. Providing a timely update in this field and highlighting the impact of the seed on grain crop yields, this book: * Describes all aspects of seed growth and development, including environmental and genetic effects on growth rate and length of the filling period. * Discusses the role of the seed in determining the two main yield components: individual seed weight and number of seeds per unit area. * Uses the concepts and models that have been developed to understand crop management and yield improvement. Substantially updated with new research and further developments of the practical applications of the concepts explored, this book is essential reading for those concerned with seed science and crop yield, including agronomists, crop physiologists, plant breeders, and extension workers. It is also a valuable source of information for lecturers and graduate students of agronomy and plant physiology.

This book presents a simple, straightforward discussion of the principles and processes involved in the production of grain yield by agronomic crops, and how these processes underlie and influence management decisions. The focus is on grain crops, principally maize and soybean, although the general principles apply equally well to cereals, grain legumes and oil crops. Management decisions define all cropping systems - what (crop species, variety), where (climate), when (planting date), and how (row spacing and population density) are the fundamental choices. Knowledge of the fundamental processes responsible for plant growth and the accumulation of yield simplifies the decision-making process and leads to improved management decisions, higher grain yields, and cropping systems that are efficient, resilient and sustainable. The contents include: * Basic plant growth processes e.g. photosynthesis, respiration, evapotranspiration * Growth and production of yield * Crop management - seed quality, variety selection, plant date, row spacing * Crop production in the future - climate change, GMOs, precision data and new crops Intended for researchers in crop science, agronomy and plant science, and crop production practitioners, this book will enable readers to make better, more informed management decisions; decisions that will help maintain a well-fed world in the future.