Human demand for energy has grown multi-folds in recent years. This is the result of rapidly increasing human population, which, in turn, has resulted in increased organic (petroleum) and inorganic pollution on the biosphere. Due to this, we are now facing a number of challenges to sustain life on earth. For example, the increased organic and inorganic pollution in our environment is leading to loss of biodiversity, degradation of environment and thus ultimately causing food insecurity. In this situation, it is imperative to keep updated ourselves with advances on the effects of pollutants, tolerance mechanisms and the potential of different plants and microbes in removing these pollutants from the environment. For this purpose, we invited a number of scientists worldwide to review the current scenario of the problems, current development, and future prospects of the challenges and their solutions in an International Conference on ''Plants and Environmental Pollution'' held in KAYSERI, TURKEY from 6-11 July 2009. The output of this conference has been summarized in the form of this book.

Human demand for energy has grown multi-folds in recent years. This is the result of rapidly increasing human population, which, in turn, has resulted in increased organic (petroleum) and inorganic pollution on the biosphere. Due to this, we are now facing a number of challenges to sustain life on earth. For example, the increased organic and inorganic pollution in our environment is leading to loss of biodiversity, degradation of environment and thus ultimately causing food insecurity. In this situation, it is imperative to keep updated ourselves with advances on the effects of pollutants, tolerance mechanisms and the potential of different plants and microbes in removing these pollutants from the environment. For this purpose, we invited a number of scientists worldwide to review the current scenario of the problems, current development, and future prospects of the challenges and their solutions in an International Conference on ''Plants and Environmental Pollution'' held in KAYSERI, TURKEY from 6-11 July 2009. The output of this conference has been summarized in the form of this book.

In the recent years, the looming food scarcity problem has highlighted plant sciences as an emerging discipline committed to devise new strategies for enhanced crop productivity. The major factors causing food scarcity are biotic and abiotic stresses such as plant pathogens, salinity, drought, flooding, nutrient deficiency or toxicity which substantially limit crop productivity world-wide. In this scenario, strategies should be adopted to achieve maximum productivity and economic crop returns. In this book we have mainly focused on physiological, biochemical, molecular and genetic bases of crop development and related approaches that can be used for crop improvement under environmental adversaries. In addition, the adverse effects of different biotic (diseases, pathogens etc.) and abiotic (salinity, drought, high temperatures, metals etc) stresses on crop development and the potential strategies to enhance crop productivity under stressful environments are also discussed.