Selenium plays a significant role in preventing certain types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The level of Selenium in the human body depends on its concentration in food. In turn, the content in vegetable crops is a function of the soil-plant system. There are many countries in the world with low Selenium content in the soil. The average daily human intake is thus limited through food chain. Analysis of Selenium status suggests that fortification of the soil substrate with Sodium Selenate, and foliar application to agricultural crops are both effective means of Selenium enrichment. Our intention for this publication is to present the possibilities of augmenting Selenium content by biofortification of soils and plants through differentiated nutrition. In the first part of the monograph, the results of Selenium supplementation in model vegetation experiments are presented. The next part of the monograph presents the results of foliar supplementation of Selenium in field conditions. This book is an outstanding reference source for plant breeders and researchers engaged in biofortification of horticulture crops. It is also beneficial to agricultural companies and other stakeholders.

Following the enormous, decade-long success of his best-selling Winery Technology and Operations, physical chemist and winemaker Yair Margalit comes out with the successive, Concepts in Wine Technology, fully updated and revised to meet the advances of modern winemaking. Among the extended topics are fermentation, skin contact, acid balance, phenolics, bottling, the use of oak and quality control. He begins in the vineyard discussing proper maturation, soil and climate, bunch health, vineyard disease states and grape varieties. Next he tackles the pre-harvest with a careful look at vineyard management and preparing the winery for harvest. Dr. Margalit then outlines the entire process of harvesting, from destemming, crushing and skin contact as it applies to both red and white grapes to pressing, must correction and temperature control. Fermentation is examined fully and includes a lengthy look at the factors affecting malo-lactic fermentation and its pros and cons. There is a huge chapter on cellar operations that deals with racking, stabilization, fining, filtration, blending and maintaining winery hardware, followed by sections on barrelling and bottling. The final chapter pulls together the more general aspects of wine technology, covering sulphur-dioxides, different forms of wine spoilage and ways to ward them off, legal regulations and, one of the most important and enigmatic compounds in wine, phenolics.