With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. This latest volume includes reviews on plant physiology, biochemistry, genetics and genomics, forests, and ecosystems.

This book deals with a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. It is a discipline that addresses current issues: climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control and biodiversity depletion. This series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then proposes alternative solutions.

"Brassica" crop species and their allies ("Raphanus, Sinapis, Eruca, " etc.) are important sources of edible roots, stems, leaves, buds and inflorescences, as well as of edible or industrial oils, condiments and forage. Many well known names of plants or plant products, such as kale, cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohl-rabi, Chinese cabbage, turnip, rape, rutabaga, swede, colza or rapeseed, canola, mustard, rocket, etc. are directly associated to this botanical group.
The scientific interest for this botanical group has run parallel to its economical importance, and research achievements in our days would have certainly appeared unimaginable only two decades ago. As the end of the millenium approaches, entirely new fields (transformation, somatic fusion, etc.) have been added to the classical ones. Thus, nobody can doubt the opportuneness of this book, which combines and presents both the basic and applied biological aspects of the Brassica species.

This detailed volume covers a wide variety of techniques either developed specially for plant senescence studies or optimized for studying senescing plants. After an introduction to the topic, the book continues with sections on phenotypic analysis and molecular markers of plant organ senescence, hormonal control of plant senescence, stress-induced senescence, molecular and cellular processes in plant senescence, as well as systems biology approaches. Written for 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 practical, Plant Senescence: Methods and Protocols aims to provide a useful hand book of standard protocols for plant molecular biologists working on senescence.

This volume presents protocols for Brachypodium genomics in numerous areas ranging from marker development, trait evolution, functional genomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, genomics, and tilling. This book also explores techniques to study the widening genetic base of Brachypodium that will help researchers better understand the model plant using NGS technologies. 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. Cutting-edge and comprehensive, Brachypodium Genomics: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for bench-oriented molecular biologists and computational biologists working towards further evolving this field.

This volume presents a comprehensive perspective of the biopesticides Bacillus thuringiensis and Lysinibacillus sphaericus, from their basic biology to agriculture, forestry and public-health applications. It covers their ecology, virulence factors, and genetic characterization. The topics related to agriculture and forestry include mode of action, receptors of insect pests, and heterologous expression of toxins in insect cells and plants. Public-health researchers will find information on vector control programs with an emphasis on the Neotropical region. The book also discusses new products and the global market.

Written by leading global experts, including pioneers in the field, the four-volume set on Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Vegetation, Second Edition, reviews existing state-of-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. Volume I, Fundamentals, Sensor Systems, Spectral Libraries, and Data Mining for Vegetation introduces the fundamentals of hyperspectral or imaging spectroscopy data, including hyperspectral data processes, sensor systems, spectral libraries, and data mining and analysis, covering both the strengths and limitations of these topics. Volume II, Hyperspectral Indices and Image Classifications for Agriculture and Vegetation evaluates the performance of hyperspectral narrowband or imaging spectroscopy data with specific emphasis on the uses and applications of hyperspectral narrowband vegetation indices in characterizing, modeling, mapping, and monitoring agricultural crops and 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. Volume IV, Advanced Applications in Remote Sensing of Agricultural Crops and Natural Vegetation discusses the use of hyperspectral or imaging spectroscopy data in numerous specific and advanced applications, such as forest management, precision farming, managing invasive species, and local to global land cover change detection.

About seventy-one per cent of the Earth's surface is water, and even on dry land we remain closely connected to aquatic life. It provides us with oxygen, food, medicine and materials. Wild waterlife infiltrates our lives in many surprising ways. Every other breath we take is filled with oxygen provided by ocean-dwelling microscopic plants. A type of seaweed provides a means to directly test whether people are infected with viruses, including Covid-19. Robotics design takes inspiration from a pike's ability to accelerate with greater g-force than a Porsche. Wild Waters by Susanne Masters is a celebration of the breadth of wildlife that can be found in and around our varied waterways, from oceans and rivers to rock pools and ponds. Armchair explorers can read a fascinating account of how aquatic plants and animals enrich human life. Swimmers, paddleboarders, dog walkers, families and anyone with a passion for the great outdoors can learn about local wildlife, including when and where to look for different species without causing any harm. With stunning illustrations by Alice Goodridge, Wild Waters provides a tantalising insight into the world beneath the surface.

Currently, there is a need for new management practices for fruit orchards in order to sustain the growth and productivity of various fruit crops. In addition, due to the continuous growth in the world's population, there is a demand for adequate food which is produced from the same sources of water and soils. The main factors limiting agricultural production are droughts and the population growth; this makes it important to prevent fruit production from being subject to climatic hazards. This book enhances the growth and productivity of fruit trees through different techniques, such as artificial intelligence optimization for soil conditioner, site-specific nutrient management in orchards in fertilizing as an application of smart agriculture, irrigation, modeling of parameters of water requirements in fruit orchards, and up-to-date trends in vineyard practices. The book also explores pest control on orchards to increase the efficiency of pesticides and protect the environment and discusses the shading of citrus orchards to avoid negative impacts such as rising temperatures and heatwaves on citrus productivity. Finally, the book discusses the carbon and water footprint for various fruit orchards. This book is ideal for researchers and academics of horticultural science, agricultural organizations, fruit growers, and economics and data analyzers.

This book is a compilation of information on insect/mite/vertebrate pests and fungal/bacterial/viral/mycoplasma/nematode diseases of tropical root and tuber crops such as cassava, sweet potato, yams, taro, Amorphophallus, yam bean and tannia. The book highlights the distribution, symptoms and damage, biology, survival and spread of each pest and describes management methods. It also sheds light on different eco-friendly pest management strategies including physical, cultural, chemical, biological, host resistance and integrated methods. The book is written in a lucid style using easy-to-understand language and offers adoptable recommendations involving eco-friendly control measures. It serves as a useful reference source for policy makers, research and extension workers, practicing farmers and students. The material can also be used for teaching post graduate courses in state agricultural universities.

Rapid changes and significant progress have been made in the Agrobacterium field, such as genetically transforming plants for both basic research purposes and agricultural development. In Agrobacterium Protocols, Third Edition, Volumes 1 and 2, a team of leading experts and veteran researchers describe in detail techniques for delivering DNA to plant cells and permanently altering their genomes. This edition emphasizes agricultural crops and plant species with economic values, with updated protocols on 32 plant species and protocols involving 19 new species. Together with the 1st and 2nd editions, these two volumes offer Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation protocols for a total of 76 plant species. For a number of important plants such as rice, barley, wheat and citrus, multiple protocols using different starting plant materials for transformation are included. Volume 1 details updated techniques available for 18 plant species drawn from cereal crops, legume plants, vegetable plants, and three model plant species: Brachypodium distachyon, Medicago truncatula, and Setaria viridis. It also updates a chapter for vector construction, a step critical to a successful plant transformation process. 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, Agrobacterium Protocols, Third Edition facilitates the transfer of this rapidly developing technology to all researchers for use in both fundamental and applied biology.

An introduction to the principles of membrane transport: How molecules and ions move across the cell membrane by simple diffusion and by making use of specialized membrane components (channels, carriers, and pumps). The text emphasizes the quantitative aspects of such movement and its interpretation in terms of transport kinetics. Molecular studies of channels, carriers, and pumps are described in detail as well as structural principles and the fundamental similarities between the various transporters and their evolutionary interrelationships. The regulation of transporters and their role in health and disease are also considered.

This detailed volume explores numerous protocols that can be specifically used for studying plant programmed cell death (PCD), a mechanism involved in a number of physiological and pathological processes that are triggered by developmental requirements as well as changing/adverse environmental conditions. Rich in methodological recommendations, this book enables readers to perform the described analyses, alerting them to possible difficulties and showing how the methods can also be applied in different contexts and/or on different plant matrices. 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, Plant Programmed Cell Death: Methods and Protocols provides essential methodological information that will help researchers to expand the field of plant PCD studies.

This volume provides up-to-date scientific achievements from the world's top researchers. Recombinant Proteins from Plants: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition guides readers through protocolsfor use with a variety of plant expression systems. Various aspects of production are covered including vector selection and cloning; product improvements for stability, glycosylation, and antibiotic-free selection; extraction and scale-up; and analysis of transgenic plants and their recombinant proteins. Written for the 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, Recombinant Proteins from Plants: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition is an ideal reference for those who are interested in plant molecular biology and molecular farming.

Plant Circadian Networks: Methods and Protocols provides a collection of protocols to investigate clock-controlled parameters including transcript and small RNA levels, promoter activity using luciferase reporters, protein levels and posttranslational modification, protein-protein interaction, in vivo DNA-protein interaction and RNA-protein interaction, cellular redox state, Ca2+ levels, and innate immune responses. Furthermore, the use of bioinformatics resources is described to evaluate high throughput data sets and to integrate the data into an overarching picture of circadian networks in the cell. Additional chapters focus on seasonal processes like flowering time control, and techniques on trees, moss and algae. 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 key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Plant Circadian Networks: Methods and Protocols is designed not only for the chronobiology community dealing with circadian biology but also for the plant community in general.

Abiotic stresses such as drought (water deficit), extreme temperatures (cold, frost and heat), salinity (sodicity) and mineral (metal and metalloid) toxicity limit productivity of crop plants worldwide and are big threats to global food security. With worsening climate change scenarios, these stresses will further increase in intensity and frequency. Improving tolerance to abiotic stresses, therefore, has become a major objective in crop breeding programs. A lot of research has been conducted on the regulatory mechanisms, signaling pathways governing these abiotic stresses, and cross talk among them in various model and non-model species. Also, various 'omics' platforms have been utilized to unravel the candidate genes underpinning various abiotic stresses, which have increased our understanding of the tolerance mechanisms at structural, physiological, transcriptional and molecular level. Further, a wealth of information has been generated on the role of chromatin assembly and its remodeling under stress and on the epigenetic dynamics via histones modifications. The book consolidates outlooks, perspectives and updates on the research conducted by scientists in the abovementioned areas. The information covered in this book will therefore interest workers in all areas of plant sciences. The results presented on multiple crops will be useful to scientists in building strategies to counter these stresses in plants. In addition, students who are beginners in the areas of abiotic stress tolerance will find this book handy to clear their concepts and to get an update on the research conducted in various crops at one place