This book provides all aspects of the physiology, stress responses and tolerance to abiotic stresses of the Brassicaceae plants. Different plant families have been providing food, fodder, fuel, medicine and other basic needs for the human and animal since the ancient time. Among the plant families, Brassicaceae has special importance for their agri-horticultural importance and multifarious uses apart from the basic needs. Interest understanding the response of Brassicaceae plants toward abiotic stresses is growing considering the economic importance and the special adaptive mechanisms. The knowledge needs to be translated into improved elite lines that can contribute to achieve food security. The physiological and molecular mechanisms acting on Brassicaceae introduced in this book are useful to students and researchers working on biology, physiology, environmental interactions and biotechnology of Brassicaceae plants.

Soils are known to be an enormous reservoir of carbon and represent an important and dynamic part of the global carbon cycle. However, this reservoir is under constant threat due to a combination of issues, including mismanagement, climate change and intensive agricultural production which has led to depletion of soil organic carbon. Understanding and fostering soil carbon sequestration reviews the wealth of research on important aspects of soil carbon sequestration, including its potential in mitigating and adapting to climate change and improving global food security. The collection explores our understanding of carbon sequestration in soils, detailing the mechanisms and abiotic factors that can affect the process, as well as the socioeconomic, legal and policy issues that can arise as a result of this use. In its extensive exploration of soil carbon cycling and capture, the book highlights how an informed understanding of carbon sequestration in a variety of soil types can contribute to achieving a more sustainable agriculture, as well as the methods which can be implemented by farmers to optimise the process of fostering carbon in soils.

Environmental Organic Chemistry for Engineers clearly defines the principles of environmental organic chemistry and the role they play in forming remediation strategies. In this reference, the author explores parameter estimation methods, the thermodynamics, and kinetics needed to predict the fate, transports, and reactivity of organic compounds in air, water, and soils. The book's four part treatment starts with the classification of organic molecules and physical properties of natural organic matter, halocarbons, phenols, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, organophosphates, and surfactants. An overview of remediation technologies and a discussion of the interactions that lead to physical properties that affect chemical distribution in the environment is also detailed, as are the important reaction classes of organic molecules, including substituent effects and structure and activity relationships found in Part Two and Three. Part four is devoted to the strengths and weaknesses of different remediation technologies and when they should be employed.

Explains genomic selection (GS) through statistical models, programming language, and graphics to guide plant breeders in adopting the tool in breeding schemes. Provides examples of GS adoption and potential for expanding the tool's application in crops from the genera of cereals, oilseeds, legumes, tuber crops, and vegetables. Gives insight on prospective of GS in crops by considering the expanding genomic resources.

This book provides a sociological analysis of the controversy surrounding GM crops in Telangana, India. There is much debate as to whether GM technology holds the key to improving the welfare of poor farmers globally or serves primarily to increase the profits of multinational corporations while enhancing cultivator risk. Desmond's study is located in the economically vulnerable and politically volatile district of Warangal in Telangana, a context associated with high numbers of farmer suicides. Uniquely foregrounding the perspectives of cultivators and the landless, Desmond explores how GM crops are variously legitimated and delegitimated in three Warangal villages by those whose livelihoods are at stake in the debate, but whose voices are rarely heard within it. This book will be significant for those with an interest in GM crops, power and knowledge and their relation to understandings of development, democracy and risk management worldwide.

This long-needed book highlights how traditional Mexican agriculture has changed according to environmental, climatic, geographical, social and cultural conditions. Grounded in archaeological-historical data from interrelated research of various scientific disciplines, the book also draws on studies made by anthropologists of varied small-scale agricultural groups. Traditional Mexican Agriculture is the result of a holistic study of Mexican agriculture. It offers the reader a perspective of traditional agriculture in Mexico from social, cultural and ecological Anthropology, Ethnology, regional and environmental History, and Agroecology, to help obtain sustainable agroecology where human societies obtain better ways of life and a healthy and nutritious food system. The book further aims to recover ideas, management, and components of local knowledge of small-scale farmers. Pitched at university students and academics, as well as researchers and developers of agricultural matters, this book will be ideal reading at agrarian universities and related institutions. It provides a basis for future studies in sustainable agricultural systems in this region.

If there was ever a time to make the most of American hemp, our newest cash crop, the time is now. The blueprint is here; you're reading it.-Governor Jesse Ventura December of 2018 marked a largely unprecedented victory for cannabis. The 2018 Farm Bill passed and with it hemp became legal. What the federal government listed for decades as a schedule 1 narcotic was finally classified as an agricultural crop, giving great promise to the rise of a new American hemp industry. Filled with catchall research, American Hemp examines what this new domestic crop can be used for, what makes it a superior product, and what made it illegal in the first place; the book also delves into the many health and medical benefits of the plant. Hobbs weighs in on how hemp can improve existing industries, from farming to energy to 3D printing, plus how it can make a serious impact on climate change by removing toxins from the soil and by decreasing our dependence on plastics and fossil fuels. The table of contents includes: CHAPTER 1: How to Identify Hemp CHAPTER 2: History of Hemp CHAPTER 3: Hemp as a Wartime Crop CHAPTER 4: The Return of American Hemp CHAPTER 5: Hemp Disrupts American Farming CHAPTER 6: Hemp Health and Nutrition CHAPTER 7: Hemp-CBD: A Super Medication CHAPTER 8: Hemp Cures Poisoned Land CHAPTER 9: The EPA Is Not Your Friend CHAPTER 10: Clean Up with Hemp CHAPTER 11: Building with Hemp CHAPTER 12: Our Future with Hemp American Hemp lays out where we are as a nation on expanding this entirely new (yet ancient) domestic industry while optimistically reasoning that by sowing hemp, we can grow a better future and save the planet in the process.

Agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. More sustainable crop production based on agroecological principles is seen as a key solution to this challenge. Understanding and improving soil health is the foundation for this approach. Improving soil health provides a considered assessment of key management strategies to enhance the physical, chemical and biological health of soils in achieving sustainable improvements in crop yields. The book reviews the role of cultivation practices as well as organic and other soil amendments, such as biofertilizers. By assessing the dimensions of soil health, and reviewing the wealth of evidence on how well individual techniques contribute to improving soil, the book shows how farmers can achieve sustainable improvements in both productivity and profitability. Improving soil health will be a standard reference for researchers in soil and crop science, government and other agencies responsible for the health of agricultural soils, companies providing soil monitoring and management services and farmers wishing to further their knowledge on the latest developments in effective soil management.

Coffee cultivation faces a number of crucial challenges, including increasing biotic and abiotic stresses related to climate change, concern about its environmental impact and the vulnerability of many smallholder coffee farmers. Climate-smart production of coffee: Improving social and environmental sustainability addresses the need for more resilient and sustainable methods of cultivation which produce high-quality products with minimum environmental impact while still protecting smallholder livelihoods. The book considers ways of assessing and improving social sustainability, including the role of speciality coffees in improving smallholder incomes, as well as ways coffee production can be optimised throughout the value chain, from breeding through to postharvest. Coffee is extremely susceptible to a range of pests and diseases such as soil-borne and other insect pests, nematodes and diseases such as coffee leaf rust. This new book reviews recent advances in sustainable crop protection methods on coffee farms and plantations around the world, with a particular focus on integrated pest and disease management programmes. With contributions from a wide range of internationally-renowned experts, the book shows how coffee production can be made more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable in the face of climate change.

The global population is increasing rapidly, and feeding the ever-increasing population poses a serious challenge for agriculturalists around the world. Seed is a basic and critical input in agriculture to ensure global food security. Roughly 90 percent of the crops grown all over the world are propagated by seed. However, seed can also harbour and spread pathogens, e.g. fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses etc., which cause devastating diseases. Seed-borne pathogens represent a major threat to crop establishment and yield. Hence, timely detection and diagnosis is a prerequisite for their effective management. The book "Seed-Borne Diseases of Agricultural Crops: Detection, Diagnosis & Management" addresses key issues related to seed-borne/transmitted diseases in various agricultural crops. Divided into 30 chapters, it offers a comprehensive compilation of papers concerning: the history of seed pathology, importance of seed-borne diseases, seed-borne diseases and quarantine, seed health testing and certification, detection and diagnosis of seed-borne diseases and their phytopathogens, host-parasite interactions during development of seed-borne diseases, diversity of seed-borne pathogens, seed-borne diseases in major agricultural crops, non-parasitic seed disorders, mechanisms of seed transmission and seed infection, storage fungi and mycotoxins, impact of seed-borne diseases on human and animal health, and management options for seed-borne diseases. We wish to thank all of the eminent researchers who contributed valuable chapters to our book, which will be immensely useful for students, researchers, academics, and all those involved in various agro-industries.

Plant Breeding Reviews is an ongoing series presenting state-of-the art review articles on research in plant genetics, especially the breeding of commercially important crops. Articles perform the valuable function of collecting, comparing, and contrasting the primary journal literature in order to form an overview of the topic. This detailed analysis bridges the gap between the specialized researcher and the broader community of plant scientists.

This edited book provides a comprehensive overview of modern strategies in fruit crop breeding in the era of climate change and global warming. It demonstrates how advances in plant molecular and genomics-assisted breeding can be utilized to produce improved fruit crops with climate-smart traits. Agriculture is facing a number of challenges in the 21st century, as it has to address food, nutritional, energy and environmental security. Future fruit varieties must be adaptive to the varying scenarios of climate change, produce higher yields of high-quality food, feed, and fuel 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' fruit crop varieties. 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.

Focuses on cotton breeding and biotechnology Proposes ideas, data, and strategies to mount breeding programs for enhancing cotton production Details strategies for cotton quality improvement against abiotic and biotic stresses

With the completion of a finished rice genome sequence, increasing efforts have focused on functional characterization of rice genes, elucidation of the underlying mechanisms involved in major agronomic traits (e.g., high yield, grain quality, abiotic stress tolerance, and disease resistance), and the subsequent translation of genomic knowledge into agricultural productivity via molecular breeding and improved cultural practice. To meet increasing interest in this field, "Rice Protocols" has been compiled to provide a series of core techniques and approaches commonly used in studying rice molecular biology and functional genomics. These approaches include genetic and molecular techniques such as artificial hybridization, fluorescence "in situ" hybridization, generation and characterization of chemical and T-DNA insertional mutants, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analysis and map-based cloning, site-specific transgene integration, and artificial microRNA-mediated gene silencing, along with a variety of omics techniques. 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 easy to use, "Rice Protocols" will prove useful for both beginners and experienced researchers whether they are molecular biologists who want to study rice plants or rice researchers who are interested in learning molecular techniques."

Plants often encounter abiotic stresses including drought, salinity, flooding, high/low temperatures, and metal toxicity, among others. The majority of these stresses occur simultaneously and thus limit crop production. Therefore, the need of the hour is to improve the abiotic stresses tolerance of crop plants by integrating physiology, omics, and modern breeding approaches. This book covers various aspects including (1) abiotic stress responses in plants and progress made so far in the allied areas for trait improvements, (2) integrates knowledge gained from basic physiology to advanced omics tools to assist new breeding technologies, and (3) discusses key genes, proteins, and metabolites or pathways for developing new crop varieties with improved tolerance traits.

As populations in many developed countries age and the burden of chronic disease increases, there remains a need to establish effective preventative measures. Fruit and vegetables are a natural source of vitamins and minerals which can contribute to good health. Understanding and optimising the nutraceutical properties of fruit and vegetables reviews the associated health benefits of key horticultural crops, including apples, broccoli and cranberries. The book provides authoritative discussions on the nutraceutical properties of the major phytochemical compounds, including antioxidants and flavonoids, and how these properties can be optimised to prevent the onset of chronic diseases. By providing a comprehensive insight into the human health benefits of fruit and vegetables, the book highlights the emergence of a more sustainable, alternative method to preventing the onset of disease with less reliance on overburdened healthcare systems.

Micropropagation of plants is a multibillion dollar industry being prac- ticed in hundreds of small and large nurseries and commercial labora- tories throughout the world. At present, it is the only component of plant biotechnology which has been commercially exploited on such a large scale, especially for the production of ornamentals. Now micro- propagation of trees and medicinal plants has also assumed great im- portance. With recent progress made in the propagation of fruit and forest trees, and the immediate need for afforestation and planting of orchards, propagules and plantlets are required quickly and in large numbers. Taking these points into consideration High-Tech and Micro- propagation I, If, If I, and IV were published in 1991 and 1992. The present two volumes, High-Tech and Micropropagation V and VI, com- prise 51 chapters contributed by international experts from 24 countries. High-Tech and M icropropagation V comprises 24 chapters arranged into the following three sections: I. Vegetables and fruits (garlic, Amaranthus, Brassica oleracea, pepper watermelon, cassava, banana, Myrtus communis, passionfruit, Poly- mnia sonchifolia, pepino, and spinach) II. Grasses (bamboos, Caustis dioica, Dendrocalamus, Miscanthus x giganteus, sugarcane) III. Trees (Aegle marmelos, Eucalyptus, Fraxinus excelsior, Juglans cinerea, Pinus virginiana, Prosopis, and Ulmus species) High-Tech and Micropropagation VI comprises 27 chapters arranged in two sections: I.

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a highly reactive constituent of the soil matrix because of its large surface area, high ion exchange capacity, enormous affinity for water due to hygroscopicity, and capacity to form organo-mineral complexes. It is an important source and sink of atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases depending on climate, land use, soil and crop management, and a wide range of abiotic and biotic factors, including the human dimensions of socioeconomic and political factors. Agroecosystems are among important controls of the global carbon cycle with a strong impact on anthropogenic or abrupt climate change. This volume of Advances in Soil Sciences explains pedological processes set-in-motion by increases in SOM content of depleted and degraded soils. It discusses the relationship between SOM content and critical soil quality parameters including aggregation, water retention and transport, aeration and gaseous exchange, and chemical composition of soil air. The book identifies policy options needed to translate science into action for making sustainable management of SOM as a strategy for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. Features: Relates soil organic matter stock to soil processes, climate parameters, vegetation, landscape attributes Establishes relationships between soil organic matter and land use, species, and climate Identifies land use systems for protecting and restoring soil organic matter stock Links soil organic matter stock with the global carbon cycle for mitigation of climate change Part of the Advances in Soil Sciences series, this volume will appeal to agricultural, environmental, and soil scientists demonstrating the link between soil organic matter stock and provisioning of critical ecosystem services for nature and humans.

Although biochar has promise as a soil toxicity remedy, limited research is available, as well as books that summarize the current understanding of this topic. Using herbicides is a fundamental part of the current agricultural model and without the use of these products, food security is threatened on a global scale. Biochar is getting much attention in Korea and Brazil. The book would be of interest in these countries. This subject area has been highlighted due to the increased public concerns around pesticides and their fate in the environment.

Abiotic and Biotic Stresses in Soybean Production: Soybean Production Volume One presents the important results of research in both field and greenhouse conditions that guide readers to effectively manage the chemical, physical, and biological factors that can put soybean production at risk. Including the latest in genetics, signaling, and biotechnology, the book identifies these types of stresses, their causes, and means of avoiding, then addresses existing stresses to provide a comprehensive overview of key production yield factors. By presenting important insights into the historical and emerging uses for soybean, the book educates readers on the factors for consideration as new uses are developed. It is an ideal complement to volume two, Environmental Stress Conditions in Soybean Production, that work together to provide valuable insights into crop protection.

With the continued effects of climate change threatening the security of the global food system, there is a greater emphasis on ensuring successful crop establishment as a means of optimising agricultural production. Advances in seed science and technology for more sustainable crop production considers how an improved understanding of seed quality, germination and seedling emergence can address this challenge. The book reviews the development of new techniques to ensure seed quality control, including seed phenotyping, as well as the role of genetic and environmental factors in determining seed longevity. In its comprehensive exploration of seed science and technology, the book highlights how an informed understanding of seed biology can contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change on seed quality and consequently crop production.

This book provides an overview of the innovations in crop phenotyping using emerging technologies, i.e., high-throughput crop phenotyping technology, including its concept, importance, breakthrough and applications in different crops and environments. Emerging technologies in sensing, machine vision and high-performance computing are changing the world beyond our imagination. They are also becoming the most powerful driver of the innovation in agriculture technology, including crop breeding, genetics and management. It includes the state of the art of technologies in high-throughput phenotyping, including advanced sensors, automation systems, ground-based or aerial robotic systems. It also discusses the emerging technologies of big data processing and analytics, such as advanced machine learning and deep learning technologies based on high-performance computing infrastructure. The applications cover different organ levels (root, shoot and seed) of different crops (grains, soybean, maize, potato) at different growth environments (open field and controlled environments). With the contribution of more than 20 world-leading researchers in high-throughput crop phenotyping, the authors hope this book provides readers the needed information to understand the concept, gain the insides and create the innovation of high-throughput phenotyping technology.

Focuses on cotton breeding and biotechnology Proposes ideas, data, and strategies to mount breeding programs for enhancing cotton production Details strategies for cotton quality improvement against abiotic and biotic stresses