Many of our current agricultural crops are natural or agricultural hybrids (between two or more species), or polyploids (containing more than one genome or set of chromosomes). These include potato, oats, cotton, oilseed rape, wheat, strawberries, kiwifruit, banana, seedless watermelon, triticale and many others. Polyploidy and hybridization can also be used for crop improvement: for example, to introgress disease resistance from wild species into crops, to produce seedless fruits for human consumption, or even to create entirely new crop types. Some crop genera have hundreds of years of interspecific hybridization and ploidy manipulation behind them, while in other genera use of these evolutionary processes for crop improvement is still at the theoretical stage. This book brings together stories and examples by expert researchers and breeders working in diverse crop genera, and details how polyploidy and hybridization processes have shaped our current crops, how these processes have been utilized for crop improvement in the past, and how polyploidy and interspecific hybridization can be used for crop improvement in the future.

From Mediterranean Europe to Chile and from China to Australia, chestnut cultivation surface has greatly increased globally over the last several decades. The crop provides solid revenue to growers, is resilient to climate change and the fruits are a calorie-dense, carbohydrate-rich nut, the production of which improves soil and sequesters carbon. However, there is a great lack and a great need for technical information on management of old and new chestnut plantations. The Chestnut Handbook shares achievements in chestnut development and cultivation including information on sustainable planning and management of chestnut production from nursery to plantation, entomology, pathology, and ecosystem services. Cultivation techniques of Chinese, Japanese, and European chestnut species including hybrids are described containing information on over 550 local and commercial cultivars. Beautiful original handmade drawings and technical sheets facilitate accessibility and comprehension of information. FEATURES: * Offers practical, easy-to-follow, technical solutions for chestnut farming and forestry, provides ideas for present and future plantations and management * Contains more than 300 figures published in full color featuring original handmade drawings * Provides information about cultural practices, nursery techniques and ecosystem services * Includes a reference list of over 550 local and commercial cultivars of Chinese, Japanese, and European chestnut species and their hybrids * Presents important information on both major and minor pests and diseases as well as pest diseases and physiological disorders. With the collaboration of more than 30 researchers from internationally renowned institutes, professionals and nurserymen this book serves as a technical reference and valuable resource for agronomists, forest experts, farmers, researchers and students of agricultural and forestry sciences.

The term "soil health" refers to the functionality of a soil as a living ecosystem capable of sustaining plants, animals, and humans while also improving the environment. In addition to soil health, the environment also comprises the quality of air, water, vegetation, and biota. The health of soil, plants, animals, people, and the environment is an indivisible continuum. One of the notable ramifications of the Anthropocene is the growing risks of decline in soil health by anthropogenic activities. Important among these activities are deforestation, biomass burning, excessive soil tillage, indiscriminate use of agrochemicals, excessive irrigation by flooding or inundation, and extractive farming practices. Soil pollution, by industrial effluents and urban waste adversely impacts human health. Degradation of soil health impacts nutritional quality of food, such as the uptake of heavy metals or deficit of essential micro-nutrients, and contamination by pests and pathogens. Indirectly, soil health may impact human health through contamination of water and pollution of air. This book aims to: Present relationships of soil health to human health and soil health to human nutrition. Discuss the nexus between soil degradation and malnourishment as well as the important links between soil, plant, animal and human health. Detail reasons oil is a cause of infectious diseases and source of remedial measures. Part of the Advances in Soil Sciences series, this informative volume covering various aspects of soil health appeals to soil scientists, environmental scientists and public health workers.

Citrus rank among top three fruits of the world with respect to area and production. Grown commercially in more than 140 countries around the world, world production of citrus fruit has experienced continuous growth in the last decades of the twentieth century with total annual citrus production over 105 million tons between 2000 and 2004. These fruits are commercially important contributing $6-8 billion (US) annually to the world economy and providing jobs to millions of people around the world in harvesting, handling, transportation, storage and marketing. Post harvest biology and technology of citrus fruits is gaining importance as the therapeutic value of citrus fruits is realized and supported by the increase in health awareness among the general public.
The purpose of this book is to provide the most comprehensive reference on citrus fruit biology, biotechnology and quality. Basic and applied scientific information is interwoven to serve the researcher, marketer, scientist, nutritionist, or dietician. With discussions of fruit morphology, anatomy, physiology and biochemistry and chapters on growth phases, maturity standards, grades and physical and mechanical characteristics of citrus trees, this book provides the foundation for understanding growth, harvest and post harvest aspects of these important plants. Insect-pests and diseases, irrigation, nutrition and rootstocks are also explored.
* Provides practical tips for post harvest management.
* Includes all aspects of citrus fruit biology, technology and quality evaluation.
* Discusses biotechnological applications and potential fresh citrus fruit quality improvement
* Evaluates medicinal and therapeuticapplications and recent clinical findings
* Exhaustive glossary included

This new volume looks at the evolution and challenges of sustainable agriculture, a field that is growing in use and popularity, discussing some of the important ideas, practices, and policies that are essential to an effective sustainable agriculture strategy. The book features 25 chapters written by experts in crop improvement, natural resource management, crop protection, social sciences, and product development. The volume provides a good understanding of the use of sustainable agriculture and the sustainable management of agri-horticultural crops, focusing on eco-friendly approaches, such as the utilization of waste materials. Topics include ecofriendly plant protection measures, climate change and natural resource management, tools to mitigate the effect of extreme weather events, agrochemical research and regulation, soil carbon sequestration, water and nutrient management in agricultural systems, and more. Key features: Discusses sustainable agriculture within the framework of recent challenges in agriculture Looks at the development and diversification of crops and cultural practices to enhance biological and economic stability Discusses innovative nanotechnologies in research and production technologies Highlights the development of new varieties in agri-horticultural crops Discusses use of recent technologies for soil-plant-microbe-environment interactions.

Beneficial Microbes in Agro-Ecology: Bacteria and Fungi is a complete resource on the agriculturally important beneficial microflora used in agricultural production technologies. Included are 30 different bacterial genera relevant in the sustainability, mechanisms, and beneficial natural processes that enhance soil fertility and plant growth. The second part of the book discusses 23 fungal genera used in agriculture for the management of plant diseases and plant growth promotion. Covering a wide range of bacteria and fungi on biocontrol and plant growth promoting properties, the book will help researchers, academics and advanced students in agro-ecology, plant microbiology, pathology, entomology, and nematology.

Consisting of fifty barn poems, 50 Barn Poems is an evocative yet accessible sketch of that old barn that haunts the back of your brain. Vague memories of road trips, skateboarding, the ocean, and ping-pong are all reconstructed in the shape of a barn and set on fire. We're not even sure they're poems. Maybe they are just: BARN. Go ahead, take off your shoes and drive off a cliff. The barn awaits.

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.

Advances in Agronomy, Volume 159, the latest release in this leading reference on agronomy, contains a variety of updates, including specific chapters on the Environmental Behavior of Glyphosate in Soil, Agriculture Contingency Plans for Managing Weather Aberrations and Extreme Climate Events: Development, Implementation and Impacts in India, Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Precision Weed Management Applications: Prospects and Challenges, Ratoon Rice Technology: A Green and Resource-Efficient Way for Rice Production, Growth Characteristics of Winter Wheat in China Based on GDD Comprehensive and Quantitative Analysis of Growth Characteristics of Winter Wheat in China Based on Growing Degree Days, and more.

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.

Oregano - The genera Origanum and Lippia is an updated and analytic review on the currently available technical knowledge and market information on the world's commercially most valued spice. The book treats in detail various aspects of practical significance for the crops industrilization - such as optimizing germplasm selection and utilization, novel cultivation methods and product processing, blending and uses in different countries, along with other market related issues never included in previous reviews. Written by leading experts, every aspect of this plant genera is examined in detail.
Information provided on the structural dynamics of Origanum as well as analytical information on extraction, isolation and characterization assist the reader in forming a clear picture about the construction and operation of this specific genus. Extensively referenced and including a special guide to electronic data retrieval strategies, this volume is the definitive source of information for anyone interested in the research in, and application of, Oregano across both academia and industry.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203222091

Confusion about the genera Geranium and Pelargonium existed even before Linnaeus' binomial system of classification bundled both into the former category in 1753. Despite later evaluations that separated the two, many practitioners of alternative medicine and aromatherapists, among others, remain unaware of the distinction. Laymen and plant sales personnel are often equally in the dark - the majority of garden centre 'geraniums' are Pelargonium species and cultivars. This work aims to dispel myths and peel away layers of incorrect and muddled information which contribute to the unclear image of the genera.
Geranium and Pelargonium: History of Nomenclature, Usage and Cultivation features discussion and new information on some of the following areas:
* taxonomy and history of usage and nomenclature
* cultivation for essential oil production and retail purposes in different countries
* phytochemistry of the genera
* chemistry of Geranium and Pelargonium oils
* theory and practice of distillation of Geranium and Pelargonium oils
* pharmacology an therapeutic properties of Geranium and Pelargonium oils and extracts
* use of Geranium and Pelargonium products in aromatherapy, perfumery, cosmetics, food processing and medicine
* new research into Geranium and Pelargonium
This book will be of interest to graduate students, scientists and professionals in the Geranium and Pelargonium growing and retail industry, the perfumery, food and cosmetics industries, and to those interested in Geranium and Pelargonium for alternative and conventional medical use.
* Theory and practice of distillation

eBook available with sample pages: 0203216539

Cardamom otherwise known as Malabar cardamom, true cardamom or small cardamom second only to pepper in its importance during the Renaissance period, is often qualified as the Queen of Spices because of its very pleasant aroma and taste. The Western Ghat forest of the Malabar coast, India, is the centre of origin and diversity for cardamom and it might have been nature's design that the King and Queen of spices (black pepper and cardamom) originated in the same forest.
This volume contains sixteen chapters, fourteen on cardamom and one each on large cardamom and false cardamoms. All aspects of the cardamom crop have been covered in this volume, and each chapter is written by experts in their respective fields. This volume is visualised as both a textbook and reference work for scientists and students of horticulture, plantation crops, botany and related fields, and will go on to serve as the main reference volume on cardamom for many years to come.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203216636

With the underpinning role of forage legumes in the nitrogen economy and animal productivity from temperate grasslands certain to expand in the future, particularly in regions where their potential has not yet been realized, it is essential that the wealth of information currently available is widely disseminated. This book serves the purpose with very detailed information on and illustrations of 35 selected forage legume species that will contribute to more efficient and viable grassland farming.

Completely revised and updated, the Second Edition of Specialty Corns includes everything in the first edition and more. Considered the standard in this field, significant changes have been made to keep all the information current and bring the references up-to-date. Two new chapters have been added to keep up with the latest trends: Blue Corn and Baby Corn.
Access the latest methods in developing specialty corns with this standard-setting reference. Edited by an expert in the field who has spent his professional life working with corn, Specialty Corns, Second Edition discusses the genetic variation inherent in corn, genetic materials available, breeding methods, and special problems associated with the development of specialty corns. Hallauer has assembled a team of international experts who have contributed to this work.

In this manual, Post-harvest Tobacco Infestation Control, we have addressed the 'state-of-the-art' and given little account of obsolete techniques. With contributing authors from international cigarette manufacturers, plus consultation with the worldwide tobacco industry, we have recorded the acceptable methodology for infestation management. This manual fills a void, as the most recent treatment of this subject was more than 20 years 350 ago. Major emphasis is on sanitation which should, where possible, reduce or replace pesticide use at all stages of tobacco processing. This manual is divided into an introduction and chapters dealing with: biology, monitoring, sanitation, physical control and insecticides - with separate chapters on insect growth regulators and fumigation. At the end, a few case histories are outlined to show how this integrated approach to infestation control is put into practice. Comments from users of this manual regarding general usefulness, omissions and/or corrections are welcome and should be addressed to CORESTA, the infestation control subgroup of the Phytopathology group. Introduction 1 Tobacco is vulnerable to many insect pests while growing in the 13 357 field. 4. 3 * Farmers may use pesticides to help control some insects and avoid losing up to 40% of the growing crop. Two insects, the cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) and the tobacco moth (Ephestia elutella), feed on cured tobacco leaves, whether air-cured burley, sun-cured oriental, flue-cured or tobacco by-products (Chapter 2).

This book presents around 80 briefly described cases which illuminate the accumulated experience in utilizing and managing crop genetic diversity in farmers' fields both in the South and the North. These experiences illustrate the conflict which has been thought to exist between crop conservation and development, and contribute to the understanding of the opportunities that are offered by new approaches and activities in this field. There are frequent similarities between problems in the South and the North, and the book presents the experiences and perspectives of farmers, genebanks, plant breeders, seed programs and NGOs involved in crop development and conservation. The authors analyze the experiences in the context of new approaches in local and global Plant Genetic Resource (PGR) management being tried by both the formal and informal sector.The last part of the book suggests guidelines for future development in PGR management. It discusses the implications of integrated and adaptive management approaches in PGR management, and the need to rethink the institutional organization required to bring about changes which can help farmers and professionals in PGR management to resist the pressures of a range of global forces.This book presents a very diverse and rich array of experiences and in effect proposes a synthesis of what have been taken to be conflicting views of conservation and development.

The common bean Phaseolus vulgaris L. is the most important pulse crop in Latin America, as well as in large parts of Asia and Africa. It is particularly important due to its ability, in symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria, to fix atmospheric nitrogen and due to its high nutrient value. Incorporating contributions from plant breeders, microbiologists, plant physiologists and soil scientists, this volume reports the results of an FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research Programme (1985-1991), whose main objective was to enhance yield and biological nitrogen fixation in the common bean by reducing its reliance on soil and fertilizer nitrogen. The volume should be useful for scientists working on biological nitrogen fixation and legume production.

Having a robust drought monitoring system for Ethiopia is crucial to mitigate the adverse impacts of droughts. Yet, such monitoring system still lacks in Ethiopia, and in the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin in particular. Several drought indices exist to monitor drought, however, these indices are unable, individually, to provide concise information on the occurrence of meteorological, agricultural and hydrological droughts. A combined drought index (CDI) using several meteorological, agricultural and hydrological drought indices can indicate the occurrence of all drought types, and can provide information that facilitates the drought management decision-making process. This thesis proposes an impact-based combined drought index (CDI) and a regression prediction model of crop yield anomalies for the UBN basin. The impact-based CDI is defined as a drought index that optimally combines the information embedded in other drought indices for monitoring a certain impact of drought, i.e. crop yield for the UBN. The developed CDI and the regression model have shown to be effective in indicating historic drought events in UBN basin. The impact-based CDI could potentially be used in the future development of drought monitoring in the UBN basin and support decision making in order to mitigate adverse drought impacts.

The first book on crop nutrition that covers topics from soil hydrology to molecular biology!The first book ever to elucidate so many different aspects of mineral nutrition of crops, Mineral Nutrition of Crops: Fundamental Mechanisms and Implications will allow you to grasp the complexity of the soil-water-plant-microbe interactions governing nutrient uptake and utilization by crops. By emphasizing a fundamental mechanistic approach, this book effectively complements the monograph Nutrient Use in Crop Production (The Haworth Press, Inc.). With Mineral Nutrition of Crops you will explore the many facets necessary to increase crop and pasture yields and minimize unwanted losses of nutrients to the environment.Mineral Nutrition of Crops covers a wide range of topics that span several scientific disciplines: agriculture, agronomy, botany, forestry, ecology, plant science, and soil science. From this book, you will gain vital knowledge required to understand the complexity of mechanisms and processes governing nutrient transport toward roots, including biological and chemical reactions influencing nutrient availability in the rhizosphere, uptake by root cells, long-distance transport toward grain, and the role of nutrients in metabolism. Also, you will explore issues relating to the following topics: biology and chemistry of nutrient availability in the rhizosphere kinetics of nutrient uptake by plant cells role of mineral photosynthesis and yield formation importance of seed nutrient reserves in crop growth and development breeding crops for improved nutrient efficiency significance of root size for plant production monitoring water and nutrient fluxes down the profile From Mineral Nutrition of Crops , you will gain the knowledge you need to understand and improve methods of crop growth and nutrition. Mineral Nutrition of Crops is an indispensable manual for anyone involved in the many aspects of growing crops.