This book is a comprehensive, beautifully illustrated colour guide to the plants which farmers, growers and gardeners can use to improve soil structure and restore fertility without the use and expense of agrichemicals. Information based on the latest research is given on how to use soil conditioning plants to avoid soil degradation, restore soil quality and help clean polluted land. There are 11 chapters: 1 to 6 cover soil health, nitrogen fixation, green manures and herbal leys, bacteria and other microorganisms, phytoremediators and soil mycorrhiza (plant-fungal symbiosis). Chapter 7 has plant illustrations, with climate range and soil types, along with their soil conditioning properties and each plant is presented with a comprehensive description opposite a detailed illustration, in full colour. Chapters 8 to 10 examine soil stabilisers, weeds and invasive plants, and hedges and trees and the final chapter, contains 5 case studies with the most recent data, followed by an appendix and glossary. The book allows the reader to identify the plants they need quickly and find the information necessary to begin implementation of soil regeneration.

Greenhouse control system manufacturers produce equipment and software with hundreds of settings and, while they hold training courses on how to adjust these settings, there is as yet no integrated instruction on when or why. Despite rapid growth in the greenhouse industry, growers are still faced with a multitude of variables and no unifying framework from which to choose the best option. Consolidating 30 years of research in greenhouse climate control, Optimal Control of Greenhouse Cultivation utilizes mathmatical models to incorporate the wealth of scientific knowledge into a feasible optimal control methodology for greenhouse crop cultivation. Discussing several different paradigms on greenhouse climate control, it integrates the current research into physical modeling of the greenhouse climate in response to heating, ventilation, and other control variables with the biological modeling of variables such as plant evapo-transpiration and growth. Key topics include state-space greenhouse and crop modeling needed for the design of integrated optimal controllers that exploit rather than mitigate outside weather conditions, especially sunlight, given widely different time scales. The book reviews classical rule-based and multivariable feedback controllers in comparison with the optimal hierarchical control paradigm. It considers real and hypothetical examples including lettuce, tomato, and solar greenhouses and examines experimental results of greenhouse climate control using optimal control software. The book concludes with a discussion of open issues as well as future perspectives and challenges. Providing a tool to automatically determine the most economical controls and settings for their operation, this much-needed book relieves growers of unnecessary control tasks, and allows them to achieve the best possible trade-off between short term savings and optimal harvest yield.

Plants, being sessile and autotrophic in nature, must cope with challenging environmental aberrations and therefore have evolved various responsive or defensive mechanisms including stress sensing mechanisms, antioxidant system, signaling pathways, secondary metabolites biosynthesis, and other defensive pathways among which accumulation of osmolytes or osmo-protectants is an important phenomenon. Osmolytes with organic chemical nature termed as compatible solutes are highly soluble compounds with no net charge at physiological pH and nontoxic at higher concentrations to plant cells. Compatible solutes in plants involve compounds like proline, glycine betaine, polyamines, trehalose, raffinose family oligosaccharides, fructans, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), and sugar alcohols playing structural, physiological, biochemical, and signaling roles during normal plant growth and development. The current and sustaining problems of climate change and increasing world population has challenged global food security. To feed more than 9 billion, the estimated population by 2050, the yield of major crops needs to be increased 1.1-1.3% per year, which is mainly restricted by the yield ceiling. A major factor limiting the crop yield is the changing global environmental conditions which includes drought, salinity and extreme temperatures and are responsible for a reduction of crop yield in almost all the crop plants. This condition may worsen with a decrease in agricultural land or the loss of potential crop yields by 70%. Therefore, it is a challenging task for agricultural scientists to develop tolerant/resistant varieties against abiotic stresses. The development of stress tolerant plant varieties through conventional breeding is very slow due to complex multigene traits. Engineering compatible solutes biosynthesis by deciphering the mechanism behind the abiotic tolerance or accumulation in plants cell is a potential emerging strategy to mitigate adverse effects of abiotic stresses and increase global crop production. However, detailed information on compatible solutes, including their sensing/signaling, biosynthesis, regulatory components, underlying biochemical mechanisms, crosstalk with other signaling pathways, and transgenic development have not been compiled into a single resource. Our book intends to fill this unmet need, with insight from recent advances in compatible solutes research on agriculturally important crop plants.

This book presents the progress, changes, and evolvement for apple mechanical harvest during the past decades, which include, but not limited to, bulky harvest method, harvest platform, apple infield sorting, and harvest robotics. Though there are significant progresses in apple harvest robotics, there still is a long way ahead before its practical applications, with existing and potential bottlenecks described in this book. Hence, other researchers would take advantage of this book to have a hint of the apple mechanical harvest history and state-of-the-art progress, so that they can find the room for their new research. This book targets senior undergraduates and more importantly graduate students in the field of agricultural engineering, sensing, automatic, and robotics.

This volume provides a comprehensive collection of methods for plant breeders and researchers working in functional genomics of cereal crops. Chapters detail advances in sequencing of cereal genomes, methods of traditional plant breeding, use of machine learning for genomic selection, random and targeted mutagenesis with CRISPR/Cas9, quantitative proteomics and phenotyping in cereals. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Accelerated Breeding of Cereal Crops aims to be of interest to plant breeders, researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and students working in functional genomics for the development of the next generation of crop plants.

Papaya (Carica papaya) is an important and widely-cultivated tropical fruit, grown in more than 60 countries of the world. Global papaya production has grown significantly over the last few years, mainly as a result of increased production in India. Papaya has become an important agricultural export for developing countries where export revenues of the fruit provide a livelihood for thousands of people, especially in Asia and Latin America. This book includes coverage of recent research developments with the potential to improve crop yields and quality. New research has contributed to our understanding of the crop environment, plant growth and physiology of tree and fruit development with implications for both breeding and cultivation. It looks at how analysis of the papaya genome promises new, faster breeding techniques to improved cultivars and how these and other advances are helping to tackle disease like papaya ring spot viruses and major pests which cause significant losses. Key features include: updated information for sustainable papaya cultivation research developments in tackling the major production and post-harvest problems interdisciplinary and collaborative research With contributions from international experts, the book presents the current state of knowledge concerning the history, physiology, culture and marketing of papaya throughout the world. It is an essential resource for researchers, growers and all those involved in the papaya industry.

Grain legumes are characterised by their nutritional value, an ability to grow rapidly and improve soil health. This makes them a key rotation crop in promoting food security. However, yields are constrained by factors such as pests and diseases as well as vulnerability to poor soils, drought and other effects of climate change. This collection reviews the wealth of research addressing these challenges. Volume 2 assesses key research on particular types of grain legume with chapters on developing improved varieties as well as improvements in cultivation techniques. The book covers common beans, lentils, soybeans, groundnuts, cowpea, faba beans and pigeonpea. With its distinguished editorial team and international range of expert authors, this will be a standard reference for the grain legume research community and farmers of these important crops. It is accompanied by a companion volume which reviews general advances in breeding and cultivation techniques.

This book is the first comprehensive assemblage of contemporary knowledge relevant to genomics and other omics in date palm. Volume 2 consists of 11 chapters. Part I, Nutritional and Pharmaceuticals Properties, covers the utilization of date palm as an ingredient of various food products, a source of bioactive compounds and the production of nanomaterials. Part II, Omics Technologies, addresses omics resources, proteomics and metabolomics. Part III, Molecular Breeding and Genome Modification, focuses on genetic improvement technologies based on mutagenesis, quantitative traits loci and genome editing. Part IV, Genomics of Abiotic and Biotic Stress, covers metagenomics of beneficial microbes to enhance tolerance to abiotic stress and the various genomics advances as they apply to insect control. This volume represents the efforts of 34 international scientists from 12 countries and contains 65 figures and 19 tables to illustrate presented concepts. Volume 1 is published under the title: Phylogeny, Biodiversity and Mapping.

This book presents deliberations on molecular and genomic mechanisms underlying the interactions of crop plants to the biotic stresses caused by different diseases and pests that are important to develop resistant crop varieties. Knowledge on the advanced genetic and genomic crop improvement strategies including molecular breeding, transgenics, genomic-assisted breeding, and the recently emerging genome editing for developing resistant varieties in cereal crops is imperative for addressing FHNEE (food, health, nutrition, energy, and environment) security. Whole genome sequencing of these crops followed by genotyping-by-sequencing has provided precise information regarding the genes conferring resistance useful for gene discovery, allele mining, and shuttle breeding which in turn opened up the scope for 'designing' crop genomes with resistance to biotic stresses. The eight chapters each dedicated to a cereal crop in this volume elucidate on different types of biotic stresses and their effects on and interaction with the crop; enumerate on the available genetic diversity with regard to biotic stress resistance among available cultivars; illuminate on the potential gene pools for utilization in interspecific gene transfer; present brief on classical genetics of stress resistance and traditional breeding for transferring them to their cultivated counterparts; depict the success stories of genetic engineering for developing biotic stress-resistant crop varieties; discuss on molecular mapping of genes and QTLs underlying stress resistance and their marker-assisted introgression into elite varieties; enunciate on different genomics-aided techniques including genomic selection, allele mining, gene discovery, and gene pyramiding for developing adaptive crop varieties with higher quantity and quality of yields, and also elaborate some case studies on genome editing focusing on specific genes for generating biotic stress-resistant crops.

This book tackles the main feature of water-smart, soil-smart and crop-smart practices and their integration to sustainably enhance food production. The book includes some insights on the implications of using climate-smart practices in irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, and suggests approaches to eradicate the negative effects of water scarcity, climate variability and climate change. The book reviews the most important crops resilient to climate variability and their resistance to other biotic and abiotic stresses, and contains the existing practices in Egypt that achieved the three pillars of climate-smart agriculture

Presenting an overview of agroecology within the framework of climate change, this book looks at the impact of our changing climate on crop production and agroecosystems, reporting on how plants will cope with these changes, and how we can mitigate these negative impacts to ensure food production for the growing population. It explores the ways that farmers can confront the challenges of climate change, with contributed chapters from around the world demonstrating the different challenges associated with differing climates. Examples are provided of the approaches being taken right now to expand the ecological, physiological, morphological, and productive potential of a range of crop types. Describes the effects and responses of the macro and micro levels of crops under the different components of climate change Reports on the adaptation and resilience of food production systems within the changing climate Covers how plants cope with the changing climate including physiological, biochemical, phenotype, and ecosystem responses Provides an in-depth discussion on the importance of agricultural education connected to climate change Giving readers a greater understanding of the mechanisms of plant resilience to climate change, this book provides new insights into improving the productivity of an individual crop species as well as bringing resistance and resiliency to the entire agroecosystem. It offers a strong foundation for changing research and education programs so that they build the resistance and resilience that will be needed for the uncertain climate future ahead.

This book covers the use and dynamics of potassium fertilizers in agriculture. It explores potassium dynamics in soil, phytoavailability, uptake and translocation in crop plants, impact of potassium fertilizers on quality of agricultural produce. Potassium is an essential plant nutrient that has long been overlooked in agriculture of many developing countries. In most of the agro-ecosystems of such countries, potassium balance is negative because its application seldom matches with crop removal. Agro-technicians lack enough skills and resources to promote the right source of fertilizer at the right rate, time and place to facilitate profitable farming. There is a need for farmers to update their farming practices so as to improve the crop yield and quality under unfavorable climatic conditions. Correct application of potassium fertilizers is directly linked with increased crop yield per unit land area in most of the developing countries. Therefore this book fills the gap in the information and provide the readers with latest updates on use of potassium fertilizers. This book contains latest information relevant for graduate students, progressive farmers, extension worker, early career researchers, and policy makers.

This open access book describes recent innovations in food systems based on root, tuber and banana crops in developing countries. These innovations respond to many of the challenges facing these vital crops, linked to their vegetative seed and bulky and perishable produce. The innovations create value, food, jobs and new sources of income while improving the wellbeing and quality of life of their users. Women are often key players in the production, processing and marketing of roots, tubers and bananas, so successful innovation needs to consider gender. These crops and their value chains have long been neglected by research and development, hence this book contributes to filling in the gap. The book features many outcomes of the CGIAR Research Program in Roots, Tubers and Banana (RTB), which operated from 2012-21, encompassing many tropical countries, academic and industry partners, multiple crops, and major initiatives. It describes the successful innovation model developed by RTB that brings together diverse partners and organizations, to create value for the end users and to generate positive economic and social outcomes. RTB has accelerated the scaling of innovations to reach many end users cost effectively. Though most of the book's examples and insights are from Africa, they can be applied worldwide. The book will be useful for decision makers designing policies to scale up agricultural solutions, for researchers and extension specialists seeking practical ideas, and for scholars of innovation.

This is the first book that analyzes the growth of the Peruvian fresh fruit and vegetable (FFV) export industry from the view point of the industrial development. Instead of pointing out comparative advantages in production factors such as favorable climate and cheap labor, this book focuses on the strategies of agribusiness companies, industrial organizations, and the public sector in the FFV export industry. The analysis is based on the theoretical frameworks of coordination, integration, and upgrades in value chains, business strategies to overcome seasonality and mitigate risks in agriculture, and cluster development based on joint actions among players in the industry. Based on the field studies with major FFV production and export companies and industrial organizations, the case studies describe specific innovations in management and organizations taken by key actors in the industry. This book can help policymakers in developing countries seek industrial development options based on agricultural exports.

"...this book covers a range of algal phyla, specialised algal bioprocessing and application topics that make it very interesting for a broad audience. Each chapter covers a theme in such a way that can easily be read by a non-specialist but, as the authors incorporate recent published papers, the book will also be interesting for experts...I also recommend the book for entrepreneurs and technical staff working in different algal-based operations." (Journal of Phycology) As the global demand for meat increases due to population and economic growth, more pressure has been placed on the animal feed sector to support sustainable livestock production, whilst also ensuring the nutritional value and palatability of feed. With traditional sources of protein, including oilseeds and distiller grains, considered as major contributors to climate change, there is growing interest in establishing alternative, more 'climate-smart' sources of protein, such as seaweed and other forms of microalgae that can supplement livestock diets. Seaweed and microalgae as alternative sources of protein summarises current advances in utilising macroalgae and microalgae as alternative sources of proteins. The collection reviews processes of protein formation in macroalgae and microalgae, macroalgae farming and processing as well as microalgae bioprocessing. Chapters also discuss the practical application of seaweed as an alternative protein source in ruminant, pig, poultry and fish diets. Edited by Professor Xin Gen Lei, Cornell University, USA, Seaweed and microalgae as alternative sources of protein will be a standard reference for researchers from universities or other research centres involved in macroalgae/microalgae production and livestock nutrition, companies involved in the manufacture or supply of animal feed or livestock nutrition services, government and other agencies regulating the animal feed sector, as well as farmers interested in furthering their knowledge on recent developments in the animal feed/livestock nutrition sector.

This detailed volume explores rice molecular biology, genetic engineering, and genome editing technologies. Dividing into three parts, the book covers subjects such as genetic engineering and tissue culture of rice, including efficient methods for rice transformation and regeneration, genome editing, targeted integration, and gene stacking in rice, including multiple methods utilizing CRISPR systems for targeted gene knock-out or genome modification via base editing, and diverse methods describing bioinformatic, molecular, and cellular analyses in rice. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Rice Genome Engineering and Gene Editing: Methods and Protocols serves as a valuable resource for researchers worldwide striving to further their efforts on advancing research and producing genetically improved rice varieties.

This volume describes breeding methods for the development of biparental and multiparental mapping populations. Chapters detail lab protocols for high-throughput isolation of nucleic acids and metabolites, high performing genotyping approaches, mapping strategies for QTLs, mutation identifications, computational, bioinformatic pipelines, tissue culture-based and transformation methods for androgenesis, ploidy modification, and RNA interference. Additional chapters highlight recent developed genome editing protocols including CRISPR and TALEN methods and methodologies for in-field/in-soil plant phenotyping. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Crop Breeding: Genetic Improvement Methods aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

Discussing the latest processes involved in researching yield generation, Wheat: Ecology and Physiology of Yield Determination will help you design various types of crop production systems for maximum yield. Featuring information on developing high-yielding, low-input, and quality-oriented systems, this book offers you both physiological and ecological approaches that will help you understand the crop as well as increase its production. Discussing aspects of wheat growth for specific regions around the world, Wheat provides you with information that will improve the size and quality of your crops, including: how temperature, vernalization, and the photoperiod affect the development of wheat using the correct amount of nitrogen fertilizers for wheat crops an explanation of the reproduction and nitrogen cycles of wheat how elements and conditions such as lipids, proteins, nitrogen, and climate enhance grain quality estimating and determining optimal sowing dates examining factors that may affect wheat yield-density relationships, such as planting arrangement and date of sowing preventing seed decay and examining effects of mildews and leaf blights examining historical trends of the crop to see what further research needs to be done You'll also receive information on the genetic gains in wheat research that are improving the physiological traits and numerical components of this essential grain. Within Wheat, you'll find data and methods from international experts in the field that will improve the yield and growth of the world's most important crop.

Agronomic crops have been used to provide foods, beverages, fodders, fuels, medicines and industrial raw materials since the dawn of human civilization. Today, agronomic crops are being cultivated by employing scientific methods instead of traditional methods. However, in the current era of climate change, agronomic crops are subjected to various environmental stresses, which results in substantial yield loss. To meet the food demands of the ever-increasing global population, new technologies and management practices are being adopted to boost yield and maintain productivity under both normal and adverse conditions. Scientists are now exploring a variety of approaches to the sustainable production of agronomic crops, including varietal development, soil management, nutrient and water management, pest management, etc. Researchers have also made remarkable progress in developing stress tolerance in crops through different approaches. However, achieving optimal production to meet the increasing food demand is an open challenge. Although there have been numerous publications on the above-mentioned problems, and despite the extensive research being conducted on them, there is hardly any comprehensive book available. In response, this book offers a timely resource, addressing all aspects of production technologies, management practices and stress tolerance in agronomic crops in a single volume.

Soybeans are one of the most widely-grown crops in the world. As the world's main source of vegetable protein, they have a wide range of food and non-food uses. Current yields need to increase significantly to meet growing demand but in a way that reduces input use, does not damage the environment and is resilient to climate change. This collection reviews the wealth of research addressing this challenge. Volume 1 focuses on breeding and cultivation techniques. Part 1 starts by reviewing our understanding of soybean physiology and genetic diversity. It then discusses advances in conventional and marker-assisted breeding, as well as transgenic techniques, and their use to produce more stress-resistant varieties. Part 2 reviews key advances in cultivation techniques to make the most of these new varieties. With its distinguished editor and international team of authors, this will be a standard reference for soybean scientists, growers, government and non-government agencies supporting soybean cultivation. It is accompanied by a companion volume that looks at diseases and pests as well as the crop's range of uses.

Can private standards bring about more sustainable production practices? This question is of interest to conscientious consumers, academics studying the effectiveness of private regulation, and corporate social responsibility practitioners alike. Grabs provides an answer by combining an impact evaluation of 1,900 farmers with rich qualitative evidence from the coffee sectors of Honduras, Colombia and Costa Rica. Identifying an institutional design dilemma that private sustainability standards encounter as they scale up, this book shows how this dilemma plays out in the coffee industry. It highlights how the erosion of price premiums and the adaptation to buyers' preferences have curtailed standards' effectiveness in promoting sustainable practices that create economic opportunity costs for farmers, such as agroforestry or agroecology. It also provides a voice for coffee producers and value chain members to explain why the current system is failing in its mission to provide environmental, social, and economic co-benefits, and what changes are necessary to do better.

"In this timely publication, Dr Rott has sourced contributions from scientists working on cane throughout the tropics...Richly referenced, this is both an informed and informative book that is well written. It will appeal to both researchers and cane growers." International Sugar Journal/Agribusiness intelligence Sugarcane is the source of over three quarters of the world's sugar, and is grown widely in the tropics and sub-tropics. Despite rising demand, average yields have not increased significantly, partly because of continued vulnerability to pests and diseases. In addition, cultivation has been seen as damaging biodiversity and soil health with a negative effect on both yields and the environment. This volume summarises the wealth of research addressing these challenges. Volume 1 reviews cultivation techniques and sustainability issues. Part 1 summarises current best practice in sugarcane cultivation across the value chain, from planting through to post-harvest operations. Part 2 looks at ways of measuring the environmental impact of sugarcane cultivation as well as ways of supporting smallholders. With its distinguished editor and international team of expert authors, this will be a standard reference for sugarcane scientists, growers, government and non-governmental agencies responsible for supporting and monitoring the impact of sugarcane cultivation. It is accompanied by a companion volume reviewing breeding, pest and disease management.

This book provides unparalleled integration of fundamentals and most advanced management to make this strawberry crop highly remunerative besides enhancing per capita availability of fruit even in the non-traditional regions of the world.

As soil and crop management procedures have become more complex, County Agricultural Agents, farm advisors, consultants, and fertilizer and chemical dealers have had to specialize in some aspect of soil fertility and crop nutrition management procedures, limiting their ability to provide a range of advice and services. Most farmers and growers can no longer turn to just one source for the information and instruction needed to achieve their production goals. With over 70 percent new material, the second edition of the Plant Nutrition and Soil Fertility Manual discusses the principles determining how plants grow and the elements essential for successful crop production, with a focus on the principles of soil fertility and plant nutrition. The book covers physical and chemical properties of soil, chemical and organic fertilizers, soil acidity and alkalinity, liming and liming materials, and micronutrients essential to plant growth. It also describes elements toxic to plants, soil testing, and plant analysis. The topics and discussion in this self-contained book are practical and user-friendly, yet comprehensive enough to cover material presented in upper-level soil and plant science courses. It allows practitioners with general background knowledge to feel confident applying the principles presented to soil/crop production systems.

Explores the Sustainable Development of Agriculture in Technology Precision agriculture technology, when properly integrated into the crop production process, can greatly improve overall production and sustainability. Precision Agriculture Technology for Crop Farming focuses on the technology of site-specific crop management; detailing applications for sensing, data handling, modeling, and control. Written by experts who have contributed significantly to the development of precision agriculture technology, this book reviews its history-establishing background on the various processes and applications-describes the current status, and offers insight into the future technology of precision agriculture. Introducing processes and applications based on a global scale, the book reveals how precision agriculture can be used in large-scale agriculture, community agriculture, and diversified farming. It includes site-specific information from a variety of information sources for planning, planting, growing, and harvesting agricultural crops. It also presents a new concept based on the control system theory that can be used to formulate systematic methods for more effective precision crop production. In addition, this author: Describes yield monitors and guidance systems, GPS-based soil sampling, real-time crop and soil sensors, and remote sensing Evaluates a Japanese model of community-based precision agriculture aimed at high profitability and reliability under regional and environmental constraints Highlights autonomous vehicles, field robots, and other intelligent machinery, emerging developments, and future technology in the field of production agriculture Precision Agriculture Technology for Crop Farming provides an overview of precision agriculture technology development, discusses current and future considerations, and aims to facilitate the successful integration of precision agriculture technology.