Plant diseases cause serious threats to the successful cultivation of horticultural crops resulting in huge losses in their yields. These plant diseases are known to affect horticultural crops at various growth stages and reduce the yield as well as quality of fruits and vegetables. Diseases also cause subsequent postharvest transit and storage losses. The volumes in this 4-volume set, Diseases of Horticultural Crops: Diagnosis and Management, provide the latest diagnostic information along with effective management solutions to the problems of field crop plants caused by phytopathogens. The volumes provide an abundance of information for understanding and managing plant diseases, with emphasis on diagnostic techniques. The collection includes four volumes that cover: Volume 1: Important fruit crops' Volume 2: Vegetable crops' Volume 3: Ornamental plants and spice crops' Volume 4: Important plantation crops, medicinal crops, and mushrooms. The destructive potential of plant diseases in modern day agriculture has increased due to the use of cultivars having a narrow genetic base over huge areas. Knowledge of perpetuation and spread of the pathogens and various factors affecting disease development is necessary for practical management. Disease diagnosis is the prime requirement for recommending preventive or curative measures for effective disease management. These volumes provide the information on the diagnostic tools necessary and management techniques for the various crop types. The chapters cover key diseases, typical symptoms, and management strategies. The volumes also include photographs that show symptoms of important diseases, which are helpful in disease diagnosis. This 4-volume set will be valuable to scientists and researchers, faculty and students, administrators, and many others in the discipline of plant pathology and related agriculture and allied fields.

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

Cannabis sativa is best known as the source of marijuana, the world's most widely consumed illicit recreational drug. However, the plant is also extremely useful as a source of stem fiber, edible seed oil, and medicinal compounds, all of which are undergoing extremely promising research, technological applications, and business investment. Indeed, despite its capacity for harm as a recreational drug, cannabis has phenomenal potential for providing new products to benefit society and for generating extensive employment and huge profits. Misguided policies, until recently, have prevented legitimate research on the beneficial properties of cannabis, but there is now an explosion of societal, scientific, and political support to reappraise and remove some of the barriers to usage. Unfortunately, there is also a corresponding dearth of objective analysis. Towards redressing the limitation of information, Cannabis: A Complete Guide is a comprehensive reference summarizing botanical, business, chemical, ecological, genetic, historical, horticultural, legal, and medical considerations that are critical for the wise advancement and management of cannabis in its various forms. This book documents both the risks and benefits of what is indisputably one of the world's most important species. The conflicting claims for medicinal virtues and toxicological vices are examined, based mainly on the most recent authoritative scientific reviews. The attempt is made consistently to reflect majority scientific opinion, although many aspects of cannabis are controversial. Aside from the relevance to specialists, the general public should find the presentation attractive because of the huge interest today in marijuana. Unfortunately, society has become so specialized and compartmentalized that most people have limited appreciation of the importance of science to their lives, except when a topic like marijuana becomes sensationalized. This review of cannabis can serve as a vehicle for public education in the realm of science and technology. Indeed, towards the goal of disseminating the important information in this book to a wide audience, the presentation is user-friendly, concise, and well-illustrated in the hope that non-specialists will find the topics both informative and entertaining.

Biotic Stress Resistance in Millets presents an important guide to the disease and pest-related challenges of this vital food crop. Biotic stresses are one of the major constraints for millet production, but newly emerging and forward-thinking problems with disease and insect pests are likely to increase as a result of changing weather, making this an imperative book on best practices. Current strategies are mainly through the development of resistant cultivars, as the use of chemicals is cost-prohibitive to many of those producing millet in developing countries where it is of most value as a food source. This book explores non-chemical focused options for improving plant resistance and protecting crop yield. This single-volume reference will be important for researchers, teachers and students in the disciplines of Agricultural Entomology, Plant protection, Resistance Plant Breeding and Biotechnological pest management.

Major world oil crops and their products are among the most valuable commodity in today's world trade. Over the past couple of decades, oilseed production has increased to become the most important world sources of vegetable oils, in response to the rising world population and living standard. Recent technological advances made in breeding major world oil crops have led to higher production and improved product quality.This comprehensive volume encompasses recent innovations and practice in the production and use of different oil crops, including Brassica, Sunflower, Safflower, Cottonseed, Castor, Olive, Coconut, Oilpalm, Sesame, Groundnut, and Soybean. The contributors are leading specialists from different countries of the world. Much of the literature available on these crops is not up-to-date; hence this volume is a ready reference for researchers, breeders, biotechnologists, industrialists, and nutritionists. Dr. Surinder Kumpar Gupta, born in 1959, is currently working as Professor/Chief Scientist (Oilseeds) Plant Breeding & Genetics and Nodal officer in the School of Biotechnology, S K University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology. He holds a brilliant academic and service record and has been devoted to research on Oilseed Brassicas for nearly two decades. He obtained his post-graduate degree and PhD from Punjab Agricultural University. He is a recipient of a post-doctoral Fellowship in Plant Biotechnology and has published more than 100 research papers in esteemed national and international journals, mostly on Brassicas. He has already developed five varieties of rapeseed-mustard, and has written two books and edited three volumes on rapeseed & mustard breeding. For his excellent scientific endeavors, he has been conferred the 'Young Scientists Award: 1993-1994' by the State Department of Science & Technology.

Nanobiotechnology in agriculture is a new knowledge area that offers novel possibilities to achieve high productivity levels at manageable costs during the production and merchandising of crops. This book shows us how we can use the cutting-edge knowledge about agriculture, nanotechnology, and biotechnology to increase the agricultural productivity and shape a sustainable future in order to increase the social welfare in rural areas and preserve the environmental health. Specialists from several countries will provide their feedback on a range of relevant topics such as environment-friendly use of nanofertilisers, nanodevices, nano-food packaging, nanocoating and nanocarriers and their relationship with the modern agriculture.

This book reviews modern strategies in the breeding of vegetables in the era of global warming. Agriculture is facing numerous challenges in the 21st century, as it has to address food, nutritional, energy and environmental security. Future vegetable varieties must be adaptive to the varying scenarios of climate change, produce higher yields of high- quality food and feed and have multiple uses. To achieve these goals, it is imperative to employ modern tools of molecular breeding, genetic engineering and genomics for 'precise' plant breeding to produce 'designed' vegetable varieties adaptive to climate change. This book is of interest to scientists working in the fields of plant genetics, genomics, breeding, biotechnology, and in the disciplines of agronomy and horticulture.

Postharvest Ripening Physiology of Crops is a comprehensive interdisciplinary reference source for the various aspects of fruit ripening and postharvest behavior. It focuses on the postharvest physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology of ripening and provides an overview of fruits and vegetables, including chapters on the postharvest quality of ornamental plants and molecular biology of flower senescence. It describes various developments that have taken place in the last decade with respect to identifying and altering the function of ripening-related genes. Taking clues from studies in grape and tomato as model fruits, the book reviews a few case studies and gives you a detailed account of molecular regulation of fruit ripening, and signal transduction and internal atmospheres in relation to fruit ripening. It also presents an overview of methods utilized in fruit proteomics, as well as a global proteome and systems biology analysis of fruits during ripening, and discusses the basics of dormancy, its molecular and physiological basis, and methods to break the dormancy. The book provides an overview of the most important metabolic pathways and genes that control volatile biosynthesis in model fruits, including tropical, subtropical, and temperate fruits, with a special emphasis on fruit ripening and the role of ethylene during this process. It presents a brief description of the composition of volatiles in various fruit species and addresses the influences of preharvest factors and postharvest technologies on fruit aroma, basic mechanisms responsible for postharvest flavor change in fresh produce, and the potential impacts of various postharvest technologies on flavor.

From the long-stemmed pipe to snuff, the water pipe, hand-rolled cigarettes, and finally, manufactured cigarettes, the history of tobacco in China is the fascinating story of a commodity that became a hallmark of modern mass consumerism. Carol Benedict follows the spread of Chinese tobacco use from the sixteenth century, when it was introduced to China from the New World, through the development of commercialized tobacco cultivation, and to the present day. Along the way, she analyzes the factors that have shaped China's highly gendered tobacco cultures, and shows how they have evolved within a broad, comparative world-historical framework. Drawing from a wealth of historical sources--gazetteers, literati jottings ("biji"), Chinese "materia medica, " Qing poetry, modern short stories, late Qing and early Republican newspapers, travel memoirs, social surveys, advertisements, and more--"Golden-Silk Smoke" not only uncovers the long and dynamic history of tobacco in China but also sheds new light on global histories of fashion and consumption.

Since the publication of the first edition, important developments have emerged in modern mushroom biology and world mushroom production and products. The relationship of mushrooms with human welfare and the environment, medicinal properties of mushrooms, and the global marketing value of mushrooms and their products have all garnered great attention, identifying the need for an updated, authoritative reference. Mushrooms: Cultivation, Nutritional Value, Medicinal Effect, and Environmental Impact, Second Edition presents the latest cultivation and biotechnological advances that contribute to the modernization of mushroom farming and the mushroom industry. It describes the individual steps of the complex mushroom cultivation process, along with comprehensive coverage of mushroom breeding, efficient cultivation practices, nutritional value, medicinal utility, and environmental impact. Maintaining the format, organization, and focus of the previous edition, this thoroughly revised edition includes the most recent research findings and many new references. It features new chapters on medicinal mushrooms and the effects of pests and diseases on mushroom cultivation. There are also updated chapters on specific edible mushrooms, and an expanded chapter on technology and mushrooms. Rather than providing an encyclopedic review, this book emphasizes worldwide trends and developments in mushroom biology from an international perspective. It takes an interdisciplinary approach that will appeal to industrial and medical mycologists, mushroom growers, botanists, plant pathologists, and professionals and scientists in related fields. This book illustrates that mushroom cultivation has and will continue to have a positive global impact on long-term food nutrition, health care, environmental conservation and regeneration, and economic and social change.

Written by leading global experts, including pioneers in the field, the four-volume set on Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Vegetation, Second Edition, reviews existing stateof- the-art knowledge, highlights advances made in different areas, and provides guidance for the appropriate use of hyperspectral data in the study and management of agricultural crops and natural vegetation. Hyperspectral remote sensing or imaging spectroscopy data has been increasingly used in studying and assessing the biophysical and biochemical properties of agricultural crops and natural vegetation. Volume III, Biophysical and Biochemical Characterization and Plant Species Studies demonstrates the methods that are developed and used to study terrestrial vegetation using hyperspectral data. This volume includes extensive discussions on hyperspectral data processing and how to implement data processing mechanisms for specific biophysical and biochemical applications such as crop yield modeling, crop biophysical and biochemical property characterization, and crop moisture assessments. The concluding chapter provides readers with useful guidance on the highlights and essence of Volume III through the editors' perspective. Key Features of Volume III: Covers recent abilities to better quantify, model, and map plant biophysical, biochemical water, and structural properties. Demonstrates characteristic hyperspectral properties through plant diagnostics or throughput phenotyping of plant biophysical, biochemical, water, and structural properties. Establishes plant traits through hyperspectral imaging spectroscopy data as well as its integration with other data, such as LiDAR, using data from various platforms (ground-based, UAVs, and earth-observing satellites). Studies photosynthetic efficiency and plant health and stress through hyperspectral narrowband vegetation indices. Uses hyperspectral data to discriminate plant species and\or their types as well as their characteristics, such as growth stages. Compares studies of plant species of agriculture, forests, and other land use\land cover as established by hyperspectral narrowband data versus multispectral broadband data. Discusses complete solutions from methods to applications, inventory, and modeling considering various platform (e.g., earth-observing satellites, UAVs, handheld spectroradiometers) from where the data is gathered. Dwells on specific applications to detect and map invasive species by using hyperspectral data.

Biomass currently accounts for about fifteen per cent of global primary energy consumption and is playing an increasingly important role in the face of climate change, energy and food security concerns. Handbook of Bioenergy Crops is a unique reference and guide, with extensive coverage of more than eighty of the main bioenergy crop species. For each it gives a brief description, outlines the ecological requirements, methods of propagation, crop management, rotation and production, harvesting, handling and storage, processing and utilization, then finishes with selected references. This is accompanied by detailed guides to biomass accumulation, harvesting, transportation and storage, as well as conversion technologies for biofuels and an examination of the environmental impact and economic and social dimensions, including prospects for renewable energy. This is an indispensable resource for all those involved in biomass production, utilization and research.

Major Fungal Diseases of Rice: Recent Advances provides a comprehensive overview of latest research in rice fungal pathology. There are 25 chapters dealing with the blast, sheath blight, sheath rot, brown spot and scald diseases of rice as well as some broader topics. The book covers recent progress in a number of key fundamental aspects such as pathogenicity, pathogen diversity, molecular characterisation, gene cloning, genetics of host resistance and host-pathogen interactions. It also presents the current status and perspectives in strategic and applied areas such as epidemiology, resistance breeding, biological control, induced resistance, seed-borne diseases and quarantine issues and disease management strategies. This book is essential for rice researchers, pathologists and breeders and will also be suitable for cereal and plant pathologists in general, as there is an extensive coverage of recent research advances in rice blast, a model system in plant pathology.

An analysis of the historical and scientific effects of technology transfer from an imperial to colonial setting. Science and Power in Colonial Mauritius examines, within the context of the history of sugarcane production in Mauritius, the cross-cultural debates about the production and dissemination of science and technology from "developed" to "less-developed" countries and from elites to peasants within these countries. The book also shows in great detail that the history of science, technology, and colonialism can shed light on contemporary problems in natural resource management and global policy making.

Identification of desirable genotypes with traits of interest is discernible for making genetic improvement of crop plants. In this direction, screening of a large number of germplasm for desirable traits and transfer of identified traits into agronomic backgrounds through recombination breeding is the common breeding approach. Although visual screening is easier for qualitative traits, its use is not much effective for quantitative traits and also for those, which are difficult to score visually. Therefore, it is imperative to phenotype the germplasm accessions and breeding materials precisely using high throughput phenomics tools for challenging and complex traits under natural, controlled and harsh environmental conditions. Realizing the importance of phenotyping data towards identification and utilization of a germplasm as donors, global scientific community has exerted increased focus on advancing phenomics in crop plants leading to development of a number of techniques and methodologies for screening of agronomic, physiological, and biochemical traits. These technologies have now become much advanced and entered the era of digital science. This book provides exhaustive information on various aspects related to phenotyping of crop plants and offers a most comprehensive reference on the developments made in traditional and high throughput phenotyping of agricultural crops.

This book is the self-contained fourth volume of a seven-volume comprehensive series on nitrogen fixation. The outstanding aspect of this book is the integration of basic and applied work on biological nitrogen fixation in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and ecology in general. Nowadays, the concept of sustainability, which originated in agriculture and land use, is reaching many other areas of society and industry. Sustainability has a major part to play in the global challenge of continued development of regions, countries, and continents all around the World and biological nitrogen fixation has a key role in this process. This volume begins with chapters specifically addressing crops of major global importance, such as soybeans, rice, and sugar cane. It continues with a second important focus, agroforestry, and describes the use and promise of both legume trees with their rhizobial symbionts and other nitrogen-fixing trees with their actinorhizal colonization. An over-arching theme of all chapters is the interaction of the plants and trees with microbes and this theme allows other aspects of soil microbiology, such as interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and the impact of soil-stress factors on biological nitrogen fixation, to be addressed. Furthermore, a link to basic science occurs through the inclusion of chapters describing the biogeochemically important nitrogen cycle and its key relationships among nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification. The volume then provides an up-to-date view of the production of microbial inocula, especially those for legume crops. No other available work provides the up-to-date and in-depth coverage of this volume, whichis intended to serve as an indispensable reference work for academic, government, and industrial scientists working in the applied areas of agronomy, plant breeding, plant nutrition, ecology, and forestry as well as those in the basic science areas of plant physiology, soil microbiology, and related environmental disciplines. This volume will be an invaluable tool for students entering this challenging area of research and will provide science administrators with ready access to vital relevant information.

This new volume emphasizes the drastic quantitative and qualitative transformation of our surrounding environment and looks at bioresource management and the tools needed to manageenvironmental stresses. This unique compilation and interpretation of concrete scientific ventures undertaken by environmental specialists at the global level explores research dedicated to the management of natural resources by controlling biotic and abiotic factors that make the earth vulnerable to these stresses. The chapter authors look at all types of bioresources on earth and their management at times of stress/crisis, focusing on the need for documentation, validation, and recovery of ethnic indigenous knowledge and practices that could have great impact in stress management. The book looks at topics in nature and changing climate management, adaptation, and mitigation, such as the effects of climate change on agriculture and horticulture, on timber harvesting, and on forest resources. Also specifically discussed are crop resources management, seed crops, tree seedlings, soil management, and conservation practices. The volume also includes chapters on animal resources management.

This is the first manual presenting a set of protocols for production of doubled haploids (DH) in 22 major crop plant species including 4 tree species. It contains various protocols and approaches of DH production proven for different germplasm of the same species. The protocols describe in detail all steps of DH production - from donor plants growth conditions, through in vitro procedures, media composition and preparation, to regeneration of haploid plants and chromosome doubling methods. The users of this manual will be able to choose among microspore versus anther cultures, wide hybridisation or gynogenesis, the most suitable method for production of DH in particular laboratory conditions for their plant material. Numerous colour illustrations should help in this decision. The user will also find information on organization of a doubled haploid laboratory, basic DH media and on associated simple cytogenetic methods for ploidy level analysis. The practical protocols are supplemented with the list of published DH protocols for other crop plants and separate chapters dealing with major applications of DH in breeding, mutant production, transgenesis, and genetic mapping and genomics.
The book was prepared by the Plant Breeding and Genetics Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture in close co-operation with the EU program COST 851' on Gametic cells and molecular breeding for crop improvement'.

We hear a lot about how agriculture affects climate change and other environmental issues, but we hear little about how these issues affect agriculture. When we look at both sides of the issues, we can develop better solutions for sustainable agriculture without adversely affecting the environment. Agroecology, Ecosystems, and Sustainability explores a modern vision of ecology and agricultural systems, so that crop production can be sustainably developed without further environmental degradation. With contributions from experts from more than 20 countries, the book describes how to make the transition to modern agroecology to help the environment. It examines the global availability of natural resources and how agroecology could allow the world population to reach the goal of global sustainable ecological, agricultural, and food production systems. The book discusses important principles that regulate agroecological systems, including crop production, soil management, and environment preservation. Making the link between theory and practices, the book includes examples of agroecology such as an interdisciplinary framework for the management of integrated production and conservation landscapes and the use of mechanized rain-fed farming and its ecological impact on drylands. An examination of how ecology and agriculture can be allied to ensure food production and security without threatening our environment, the text shows you how natural resources can be used in a manner to create a "symbiosis" to preserve ecological systems and develop agriculture.

The semiarid plains of western Kansas and eastern Colorado are hardly the setting for an agricultural empire, but it was here that former field hand John Kriss managed G-K Farms for Wichita entrepreneur Ray Garvey. Their enterprise became one of the largest wheat operations on the plains and yielded Kriss a one million bushel crop.

"Harvesting the High Plains" is the rags-to-riches story of how Kriss applied hard work and common sense to make large-scale farming work under the most adverse conditions. Drawing on correspondence between Kriss and Garvey, it tells how the two men had to make innumerable decisions about the purchase of expensive machinery and of ever larger tracts of land, and how Kriss kept detailed records of crops and rainfall to manage the land carefully, farming thousands of acres in an environmentally sensitive way and retaining a viable operation even during the Dust Bowl years.

In chronicling the story of Kriss's success, historian Craig Miner provides a bold counterpoint to the argument that large, technology-based farming is inherently bad or that only small farmers can be conscientious stewards of the land. He sets his narrative in the context of local and agricultural history-as well as the Kriss family's own story-in order to document the transition to mechanized, specialized farming on the plains. He addresses philosophical and historical questions about the relation between agriculture and nature in a semiarid region, showing that G-K Farms managed to strike a remarkable balance between profit and ecology. He also suggests that G-K may even have done its region more economic good than small farms simply by staying in business during bad times.

The Kriss family still works the land, and although their operation is huge, it still depends on traditional family farming values and approaches. Harvesting the High Plains provides keen insights into their special approach to large-scale farming and gives a human face to the faceless statistics of other agricultural studies.

Peanut, an amphidiploid, is an important food and oil crop and has an interesting evolutionary history. This book provides a glimpse of the advances in genetic resources and genomics research of peanut made during the last decade. It contains an overview of germplasm, advances in genetic and genomic resources, genetic and trait mapping, proteomic and transcriptomic analyses, functional and comparative genomics studies, and molecular breeding applications. This book should prove useful to students, teachers, and young researchers as a ready reference to the latest information on peanut genetics and genomics.

This book evaluates maize as a bioenergy fuel source from two perspectives. It explores whether the input energy needed to generate fuel significantly exceeded by the energy harvested. In examining this issue, the chapters provide assessments of the social, economic, and political impact on fuel pricing, food costs, and the environmental challenge with corn biomass the engine of change. It then examines whether corn be genetically improved so that its biomass is significantly increased, its cellulose-lignin complex made more amenable to harvesting and to processing, and grown in regions not normally associated with its cultivation of food.

The study of soil nitrogen has long been an active field, but it was generally pivoted on agricultural and forestry production, and animal husbandry. With the rapid increase in the use of fertilizer nitrogen, more attention has been paid to the relationship between nitrogen management and environmental quality and human health. In addition, the study of soil nitrogen has become more comprehensive with the development of related sciences. The quantitative study of the processes of nitrogen cycling and their interrelationships has been an important part of this project and has attracted the attention of scientists all over the world. Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for plant growth and the application of fertilizer nitrogen is playing an important role in agricultural production. The annual consumption of fertilizer nitrogen in the world has reached 70 million tons, and China has an annual consumption of more than 15 million tons and is the largest fertilizer nitrogen consumer in the world. However, the efficiency of fertilizer nitrogen is low and losses are large. It is estimated that nitrogen losses from agriculture in China can be as high as 40-60% of the nitrogen applied. Some of the lost nitrogen enters the atmosphere and contributes to the greenhouse effect and some enters water bodies to pollute the water. Consequently, it is important for scientists all over the world to improve the efficiency of use of fertilizer nitrogen, to promote the biological fixation of nitrogen and to increase the nitrogen-supplying potential of soils.

Lessons learned in Latin America is about the use and dissemination of cover crops in different agroecosystems need to be made more widely available not only to Spanish speaking, but also Anglophone regions. This publication aims to inform a wide range of actors involved in rural development projects, as well as those in applied research, of the potential of cover crops as components of low external input agricultural (LEIA) systems.Cover Crops are, or have the potential to be, an important component in complex, diverse, risk-prone and resource poor farming situations.The publication includes selected case studies from four different countries within Latin America. These address key issues regarding crop cover integration in LEIA systems. A wide range of agroecosystems are covered by the case studies, so that the information can be adapted for use in other regions. The key issues covered by the case studies are the following: Cover crops in annual cropping systems (Honduras), Cover crops in Perennial crops (Bolivia), Role of cover crops in animal husbandry (Mexico), Cover crop systems - Soil improvement and conservation (Honduras), Alternatives to slash-and-burn (Mexico), Diffusion aspects of cover crop based systems, Applied research activities for agricultural systems improvement (Bolivia), Action research with campesino farmers in South-East Mexico.

The dependence of present farming on artificial input of "chemical fertilizers" has caused numerous ecological tribulations associated with global warming and soil contamination. Moreover, there is an essential requirement for realistic agricultural practices on a comprehensive level. Accordingly, biofertilizers including microbes have been recommended as feasible environmentally sound solutions for agricultural practices which not only are natural, and cost-effective but also preserve soil environs and important biota of agricultural land. In addition, it enhances the nutrient quantity of soils organically. Microbial biofertilizers promote plant growth by escalating proficient absorption of nutrients for the plants and by providing an excellent disease-fighting mechanism.Agriculture, the backbone of human sustenance, has been put under tremendous pressure by the ever-increasing human population. Although various modern agro-techniques boosted agricultural production, the excessive use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides have proven extremely detrimental to agriculture as well as to the environment in which it is carried out. Besides this some faulty agricultural practices like monoculture and defective irrigation, further complicate the scenario by eliminating biodiversity, increasing the efflux of nutrients into the water bodies, the formation of algal blooms, eutrophication, damaging the water quality and lowering fish stocks. Biofertilizers are the organic compounds applied to crops for their sustainable growth and the sustainability of the environment as the microbiota associated with biofertilizers interact with the soil, roots and seeds to enhance soil fertility. Application of biofertilizers results in the increased mineral and water uptake, root development, vegetative growth and nitrogen fixation besides liberating growth-promoting substances and minerals that help the maintenance of soil fertility. They further act as antagonists and play a pivotal role in neutralising soil-borne plant pathogens and thus, help in the bio-control of diseases. Application of biofertilizers instead of synthetic fertilizers could be a promising technique to raise agricultural productivity without degrading environmental quality. The present book focuses on the latest research approaches and updates from the microbiota and their applications in the agriculture industry. We believe this book addresses various challenges and shed lights on the possible future of the sustainable agricultural system.