Artemisia annua is a well-known medicinal plant that has been utilized for a number of purposes, including malaria, for centuries. This is the first comprehensive book to cover the importance of Artemisia annua in the global health crisis and in the treatment against diseases. A component and extract, artemisinin, is the source of other derivatives which are also suitable for pharmaceutical use. The present demand for artemisinin far outpaces its supply. Researchers are working globally towards improving artemisinin content in the plant by various means. Artemisia annua: Prospects, Applications and Therapeutic Uses highlights the different approaches, including 'omics', that are being used in current research on this immensely important medicinal plant. Providing comprehensive coverage of the agricultural and pharmaceutical uses of this plant, Artemisia annua will be essential reading for botanists, plant scientists, herbalists, pharmacognosists, pharmacologists and natural product chemists.

This volume ‘Agrochemicals in Soil and Environment: Impacts and Remediation’ is a comprehensive collection of important literature on agrochemical contamination. The main focus of this book is to point out undesirable changes in biological, physical and chemical characteristics of agricultural soils and its impacts on global agricultural crop productivity. Soil is one of the important resources of basic needs for our sustenance but due to various anthropogenic activities like urbanization and industrialization, the soil is losing its basic quality characteristics. Soil microorganisms, water holding capacity, minerals, salts and nutrients are under the direct threat due to agrochemicals therefore, agricultural sector is facing a serious challenge. Lack of proper knowledge and luxurious applications of agrochemicals resulting into degradation and deterioration of soil quality, loss of soil and crop productivity and threatening the food security. Therefore, it is imperative to develop indices, indicators and soil parameters for the monitoring and impact assessment of agricultural contaminants. Further, biotic and abiotic stresses and their tolerance mechanisms in plants in relation to the soil contaminants such as toxic pollutants, heavy metals, inorganic and organic matters, variety of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, agricultural runoffs and solid wastes, and chemical fertilizers are also highlighted in this volume. This book also discusses causes of reduced agriculture productivity and suggests sustainable measures such as plant-based technologies, bioremediation and nanotechnology, that can be used to overcome the crop losses. The book is interest to research students, teachers, agricultural scientists, agronomists, environmentalists as well as policy makers. 

Emerging Plant Growth Regulators in Agriculture: Roles in Stress Tolerance presents current PGR discoveries and advances for agricultural applications, providing a comprehensive reference for those seeking to apply these tools for improved plant health and crop yield. As demand for agricultural crops and improved nutritional requirement continue to escalate in response to increasing population, plant researchers have focused on identifying scientific approaches to minimize the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture crops. Among the various applied approaches, the application of plant growth regulators (PGRs) have gained significant attention for their ability to enhance stress tolerance mechanisms. This book was developed to provide foundational and emerging information to advance the discovery of novel, cost-competitive, specific and effective PGRs for applications in agriculture.

Radiation-Processed Polysaccharides: Emerging Roles in Agriculture is the first book to focus exclusively on this emerging and important option for reducing the overuse and negative impact of agrochemicals in agriculture. Among practices being developed for effective and eco-friendly plant growth regulators in crop production, using radiation-processed polysaccharides (RPPs) is a promising technique. Comprised of chapters from diverse areas of plant science, including agriculture, agronomy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, molecular biology, and radiation agriculture, this book provides insights into the practical application of RPPs and inspires further research toward sustainable and efficient agricultural production. Polysaccharides (sodium alginate, carrageenan, chitosan and others) in their depolymerized state are increasingly important to agriculture based on their unique biological properties, biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxicity. Understanding the impact of RPPs on the plant phenotype, translocation of nutrients from source to sink, signal processing, and crosstalk helps improve the applicability of RPPs and sustainable agricultural yield.

This comprehensive volume covers recent studies into agricultural problems caused by soil and water contamination. Considering the importance of agricultural crops to human health, the editors have focused on chapters detailing the negative impact of heavy metals, excessive chemical fertilizer use, nutrients, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, agricultural wastes and toxic pollutants, among others, on agricultural soil and crops. In addition, the chapters offer solutions to these negative impacts through various scientific approaches, including using biotechnology, nanotechnology, nutrient management strategies, biofertilizers, as well as potent PGRs and elicitors. This book serves as a key source of information on scientific and engineered approaches and challenges for the bioremediation of agricultural contamination worldwide. This book should be helpful for research students, teachers, agriculturalists, agronomists, botanists, and plant growers, as well as in the fields of agriculture, agronomy, plant science, plant biology, and biotechnology, among others. It serves as an excellent reference on the current research and future directions of contaminants in agriculture from laboratory research to field application.

This comprehensive volume covers recent studies into agricultural problems caused by soil and water contamination. Considering the importance of agricultural crops to human health, the editors have focused on chapters detailing the negative impact of heavy metals, excessive chemical fertilizer use, nutrients, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, agricultural wastes and toxic pollutants, among others, on agricultural soil and crops. In addition, the chapters offer solutions to these negative impacts through various scientific approaches, including using biotechnology, nanotechnology, nutrient management strategies, biofertilizers, as well as potent PGRs and elicitors. This book serves as a key source of information on scientific and engineered approaches and challenges for the bioremediation of agricultural contamination worldwide. This book should be helpful for research students, teachers, agriculturalists, agronomists, botanists, and plant growers, as well as in the fields of agriculture, agronomy, plant science, plant biology, and biotechnology, among others. It serves as an excellent reference on the current research and future directions of contaminants in agriculture from laboratory research to field application.

This book studies the production of indole alkaloids in the important medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, commonly known as periwinkle. The anticancer alkaloids, viz. vinblastine and vincristine, are mainly present in the leaves of C. roseus and inhibit the growth of cancer cells by hindering the formation of mitotic apparatus during cell division. Further, vinblastine helps increase the chance of surviving childhood leukemia while vincristine is used to treat Hodgkin's disease. Great efforts have been made to produce these alkaloids at a large scale by the culture of plant cells. In view of this worldwide demand for commercial use, this book explores how to maximize the production of anticancer alkaloids from C. roseus. This reference book will be helpful for research students, teachers, ethnobotanists, pharmacologists and herbal growers who have a strong interest in this anticancer medicinal plant of paramount importance.

This book explores the agricultural, commercial, and ecological future of plants in relation to mineral nutrition. It covers various topics regarding the role and importance of mineral nutrition in plants including essentiality, availability, applications, as well as their management and control strategies. Plants and plant products are increasingly important sources for the production of energy, biofuels, and biopolymers in order to replace the use of fossil fuels. The maximum genetic potential of plants can be realized successfully with a balanced mineral nutrients supply. This book explores efficient nutrient management strategies that tackle the over and under use of nutrients, check different kinds of losses from the system, and improve use efficiency of the plants. Applied and basic aspects of ecophysiology, biochemistry, and biotechnology have been adequately incorporated including pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, agronomical, breeding and plant protection parameters, propagation and nutrients managements. This book will serve not only as an excellent reference material but also as a practical guide for readers, cultivators, students, botanists, entrepreneurs, and farmers.

This book studies the production of indole alkaloids in the important medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, commonly known as periwinkle. The anticancer alkaloids, viz. vinblastine and vincristine, are mainly present in the leaves of C. roseus and inhibit the growth of cancer cells by hindering the formation of mitotic apparatus during cell division. Further, vinblastine helps increase the chance of surviving childhood leukemia while vincristine is used to treat Hodgkin's disease. Great efforts have been made to produce these alkaloids at a large scale by the culture of plant cells. In view of this worldwide demand for commercial use, this book explores how to maximize the production of anticancer alkaloids from C. roseus. This reference book will be helpful for research students, teachers, ethnobotanists, pharmacologists and herbal growers who have a strong interest in this anticancer medicinal plant of paramount importance.

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone originally extracted from the medicinal plant Artemisia annua L., is an effective antimalarial agent, particularly for multi-drug resistant and cerebral malaria. However, the concentration of artemisinin in the plant is very low. Because the chemical synthesis of artemisinin is complicated and not economically feasible in view of the poor yield of the drug, the intact plant remains the only viable source of artemisinin production. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the concentration of artemisinin in A. annua to reduce the cost of artemisinin based antimalarial drugs. Plant scientists have focused their efforts on A. annua for a higher artemisinin crop yield. With the present volume, we are bringing together the research which is being done on this plant throughout the world and future possibilities for scientists and researchers who want to work on it.

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone originally extracted from the medicinal plant Artemisia annua L., is an effective antimalarial agent, particularly for multi-drug resistant and cerebral malaria. However, the concentration of artemisinin in the plant is very low. Because the chemical synthesis of artemisinin is complicated and not economically feasible in view of the poor yield of the drug, the intact plant remains the only viable source of artemisinin production. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the concentration of artemisinin in A. annua to reduce the cost of artemisinin based antimalarial drugs. Plant scientists have focused their efforts on A. annua for a higher artemisinin crop yield. With the present volume, we are bringing together the research which is being done on this plant throughout the world and future possibilities for scientists and researchers who want to work on it.

Hazardous and Trace Materials in Soil and Plants: Sources, Effects and Management explores the latest advancements in reducing, avoiding and eliminating soil contaminants that challenge the health and safety of agricultural plants. With a focus on minimizing the production of those hazardous substances, controlling their distribution and ensuring safe utilization, the book explores each contributing area and provides insights toward improved, sustainable and secure production. This is an excellent reference resource on both current research and future directions from laboratory research to field applications. The combined impacts of climate change and industrialization have led to increased and diversified threats to the health of the soil in which our food crops are grown, as well as in the plants themselves. This dual-hazard scenario is increasingly recognized as a threat to not just the environment, but to global food security as agricultural soils contaminated with pollutants alter plant metabolism, thus resulting in reduced crop quality and production quantity.

Artemisia annua is a well-known medicinal plant that has been utilized for a number of purposes, including malaria, for centuries. This is the first comprehensive book to cover the importance of Artemisia annua in the global health crisis and in the treatment against diseases. A component and extract, artemisinin, is the source of other derivatives which are also suitable for pharmaceutical use. The present demand for artemisinin far outpaces its supply. Researchers are working globally towards improving artemisinin content in the plant by various means. Artemisia annua: Prospects, Applications and Therapeutic Uses highlights the different approaches, including 'omics', that are being used in current research on this immensely important medicinal plant. Providing comprehensive coverage of the agricultural and pharmaceutical uses of this plant, Artemisia annua will be essential reading for botanists, plant scientists, herbalists, pharmacognosists, pharmacologists and natural product chemists.

The accumulation of large amounts of contaminants occurs in the environment due to industrialization and various other anthropogenic activities. Contaminants ultimately affect human health worldwide. Organic, inorganic, and radioactive substances are the prevalent forms of environmental contaminants and their complete remediation in soils and sediments is rather a difficult task. Concerns of their toxicities led to the emphasis on development of effective techniques to assess the presence and mobility of contaminants in air, water, and soil. Furthermore, the ever-increasing concentration of toxic pollutants in the environment is considered a serious threat to plant, animal, human, and environmental health. Many technologies are in use to clean and eliminate hazardous contaminants from the environment; however, these technologies can be costly, labor intensive, and often distressing to the general public. Phytoremediation is a simple, cost effective, environmentally friendly and fast-emerging new technology for eliminating toxic contaminants from different environments. Phytoremediation refers to the natural ability of certain plants and their associated microbiome (including hyper-accumulators or bio-accumulators) to remove, degrade, or render contaminants harmless. Through this technique, certain species of plants flourish by accumulating contaminants present in the environment. The unique and selective uptake capabilities of plant root and shoot systems, effective translocation, bioaccumulation, and contaminant degradation capabilities of the accumulator plants are utilized in phytoremediation techniques. Phytotechnologies involving the use of plants for contaminant removal gained importance during the last two decades and phytoremediation technology became an effective tool for environmental detoxification because of plants ability to accumulate the contaminants at very high concentrations. Phytoremediation strategies can remove, degrade, or stabilize inorganic and organic contaminants entering a multitude of ecosystems using green plants and their associated microbial communities. The development and use of phytotechnologies continues to move forward at a steady pace. Researchers recognize the potential of phytoremediation to offer a green, cost effective, eco-friendly and feasible application to address some of the world's many environmental challenges. This book provides significant information to add to the previous volumes published on the topic and can serve as the foundation for the development of new applications that feature the integration of modern research discoveries into new methods to remediate contaminated ecosystems. Moreover, this volume brings recent and established knowledge on different aspects of phytoremediation and nano-phytoremediation, providing this information in a single source that offers a cutting-edge synthesis of scientific and experiential knowledge on polluted environments that is useful for policy makers, practitioners and scientists, and engineers. Phytoremediation: Management of Environmental Contaminants, Volume 7 highlights the various prospects that are involved in current global phytoremediation research. This book delivers a content-rich source to the reader and can act as a platform for further research studies. It should meet the needs of all researchers working in, or have an interest in this particular field.

This volume 'Agrochemicals in Soil and Environment: Impacts and Remediation' is a comprehensive collection of important literature on agrochemical contamination. The main focus of this book is to point out undesirable changes in biological, physical and chemical characteristics of agricultural soils and its impacts on global agricultural crop productivity. Soil is one of the important resources of basic needs for our sustenance but due to various anthropogenic activities like urbanization and industrialization, the soil is losing its basic quality characteristics. Soil microorganisms, water holding capacity, minerals, salts and nutrients are under the direct threat due to agrochemicals therefore, agricultural sector is facing a serious challenge. Lack of proper knowledge and luxurious applications of agrochemicals resulting into degradation and deterioration of soil quality, loss of soil and crop productivity and threatening the food security. Therefore, it is imperative to develop indices, indicators and soil parameters for the monitoring and impact assessment of agricultural contaminants. Further, biotic and abiotic stresses and their tolerance mechanisms in plants in relation to the soil contaminants such as toxic pollutants, heavy metals, inorganic and organic matters, variety of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, agricultural runoffs and solid wastes, and chemical fertilizers are also highlighted in this volume. This book also discusses causes of reduced agriculture productivity and suggests sustainable measures such as plant-based technologies, bioremediation and nanotechnology, that can be used to overcome the crop losses. The book is interest to research students, teachers, agricultural scientists, agronomists, environmentalists as well as policy makers.

Scholarly Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Psychology - Clinic and Health Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, grade: -, Governament College University Faisalabad (GC University), course: MS (Clinical Psychology), language: English, abstract: People considering themselves able to control their outcomes are known as internal or possessing internal Locus of Control. Externals or individuals with external Locus of Control considered their outcomes beyond of their control. Individual with internal Locus of Control have high motivation for achievement and low outer directedness. On the other side externals always keep trying to search out explanations for their failures. We may also refer internals as "self control" or "self determination." Internal individuals can be psychologically unhealthy and instable if they decline competence, efficacy and opportunity. They may become neurotic, nervous or depress. It can be said that they require suitable surroundings which influence them to experience success. External individuals may be easy going, relaxed and lead a pleasant life (Hans, 2000; Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997). According to Bjorkqvist et al. (1999), internal locus of control is composed of dependent events mostly related to one's permanent characteristics. Three types of locus of control had been acknowledged. Foremost, internal locus of control reflects the trust that one has personage control in surplus of the proceedings to make possible happen. Succeeding, authoritative other locus of control is the conviction that proceedings are not resolute by one's own behavior, excluding by persons who are in positions of power over the human being. Third, unidentified locus of control is at what time a person does not acquainted with why actions take place (Doumas & Halloran, 1999). Any individual enrolled in graduation program and previously have passed an undergraduate program is called a graduation student. Mostly these individuals are enrolled in master de

Rapid industrialization in India, during the last few decades, in the form of chemical, dairy, pharmaceutical, mining, distillery, fertilizer, paper and pulp, petrochemical, textile, sugar, machinery, vehicle, food processing, tannery factories in addition to coal fired thermal power plants, has burdened the land and resulted in deterioration of air, soil as well as water. Thus, the utilization of treated wastewater as liquid fertilizer makes sense because (i) it replaces and conserves mineral fertilizer (ii) improves soil structure and (iii) an alternative disposal method could be environmentally damaging. Whereas fly ash from coal based thermal power plant stations is successfully utilized for the growth of variety of vegetables, millets, cereals and trees when amended with soil. In view of the known beneficial role of wastewater and of fly ash in crop productivity and for helping the disposal management of the two waste products and keeping the importance of pulses in mind the present author proposed a hypothesis that chickpea could be grown profitably using fly ash and waste water. This book is meant for post graduate students and the students pursuing higher studies.

Majority of the medicinal plants belong to angiospermic families of which legume family (Fabaceae) is the third largest, with approximately 650 genera and 20,000 species. A handsome number of medicinal legumes are potential sources of glycosides (aloe-emodin, chrysophenol, emodin, and rhein etc.), antibiotics, flavonoids, alkaloids and phytochemicals, which are used in drug manufacturing by the pharmaceutical industries. Among them, hyacinth bean, senna sophera, coffee senna and cassia tora constitute the most important source of therapeutic agents used in the modern as well as traditional systems of medicine. For the cultivation of plants, the role of mineral nutrition is of paramount importance. Generally legumes require high amount of phosphorus and calcium for their growth, nodule formation and N2-fixation. Hence, intensive research efforts should be expanded for maximizing the yield of potentially useful leguminous medicinal plants particularly through optimal supply of the required fertilizers. This work provides valuable information regarding mineral nutrition strategies for the cultivation of medicinally important leguminous plants.

Historical uses of Catharanthus roseus in the treatment of diabetes, fever, malaria, regulation of menstrual cycle, throat infection and chest complaints have been reported. Only few plants have the anticancer properties and periwinkle is one of them. The physiologically important and antineoplastic alkaloids, vinblastine and vincristine, are mainly present in leaves and antihypertensive alkaloids are found in roots such as ajmalicine, serpentine and reserpine. Vincristine and vinblastine have extensive use in modern medicine as potential anticancer compounds. Above medicinal properties are worth attracting the attention of plant scientists to increase the secondary metabolites of this plant. The growth and active constituents production of medicinal plants can be altered by the application of several PGRs.The present study explore the role of two well known PGRs namely gibberellic acid and triacontanol to increase the productivity aanticancerous alkaloids in Catharanthus roseus L.

Herbal medicines are in great demand in both developed and the developing countries because even in many of the modern medicines, the basic composition of drugs is derived from plants due to their easy availability, least side effects, low prices, and long-lasting curative properties. Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) occupy prominent positions both in ancient and modern systems of medicine. Though India is a major producer of turmeric, the growing on supply demand owing to its nutritive and therapeutic values is putting a heavy strain in the market. To overcome this critical situation, its enhanced production with value addition, if possible, is extra-ordinarily desirable. Thus, it is necessary to improve the techniques of cultivation and increase the per hectare yield of the medicinal and spice crops through balanced nutrition. This work provides valuable information regarding mineral nutrition strategies for the cultivation of this important spice crop. The application of mineral nutrients through roots improves the productivity and quality attributes and production of curcumin content in Curcuma longa L.

This contributed volume brings together an inclusive collection of information about the medicinal crop fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum). Fenugreek is one of the medicinal plants important in the management of diabetes and contributes greatly in the alternative systems of medicine. These beneficial properties of fenugreek are covered in here. Further, this book explores the agronomy, biotechnology, genomics and biochemistry aspects of the crop. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, agronomists and biochemists. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for graduate students of agriculture and pharmacology. National and international agricultural scientists, policy makers will also find this to be a useful read.