This book gives a complete overview of current developments in nanotechnology-based environmental remediation and sustainable agriculture practices/sectors. It will provide the use of nanotechnology in the agricultural sector such as crop production and improvement, soil fertility management along with benefits and risks of nanotechnology on ecological farming. Additionally, the book also discovers how nanotechnology is used in water, air remediation techniques and major challenges in using nanomaterials for improving water and air quality. The book can be a reference source for academicians, scientists, policymakers, students, and research scientists working in minimizing the environmental pollution and increasing agricultural production using nanoparticles.

This book discusses the latest developments in plant-mediated fabrication of metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles, and their characterization by using a variety of modern techniques. It explores in detail the application of nanoparticles in drug delivery, cancer treatment, catalysis, and as antimicrobial agent, antioxidant and the promoter of plant production and protection. Application of these nanoparticles in plant systems has started only recently and information is still scanty about their possible effects on plant growth and development. Accumulation and translocation of nanoparticles in plants, and the consequent growth response and stress modulation are not well understood. Plants exposed to these particles exhibit both positive and negative effects, depending on the concentration, size, and shape of the nanoparticles. The impact on plant growth and yield is often positive at lower concentrations and negative at higher ones. Exposure to some nanoparticles may improve the free-radical scavenging potential and antioxidant enzymatic activities in plants and alter the micro-RNAs expression that regulate the different morphological, physiological and metabolic processes in plant system, leading to improved plant growth and yields. The nanoparticles also carry out genetic reforms by efficient transfer of DNA or complete plastid genome into the respective plant genome due to their miniscule size and improved site-specific penetration. Moreover, controlled application of nanomaterials in the form of nanofertilizer offers a more synchronized nutrient fluidity with the uptake by the plant exposed, ensuring an increased nutrient availability. This book addresses these issues and many more. It covers fabrication of different/specific nanomaterials and their wide-range application in agriculture sector, encompassing the controlled release of nutrients, nutrient-use efficiency, genetic exchange, production of secondary metabolites, defense mechanisms, and the growth and productivity of plants exposed to different manufactured nanomaterials. The role of nanofertilizers and nano-biosensors for improving plant production and protection and the possible toxicities caused by certain nanomaterials, the aspects that are little explored by now, have also been generously elucidated.

Global climate change is bound to create a number of abiotic and biotic stresses in the environment, which would affect the overall growth and productivity of plants. Like other living beings, plants have the ability to protect themselves by evolving various mechanisms against stresses, despite being sessile in nature. They manage to withstand extremes of temperature, drought, flooding, salinity, heavy metals, atmospheric pollution, toxic chemicals and a variety of living organisms, especially viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects and arachnids and weeds. Incidence of abiotic stresses may alter the plant-pest interactions by enhancing susceptibility of plants to pathogenic organisms. These interactions often change plant response to abiotic stresses. Plant growth regulators modulate plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, and regulate their growth and developmental cascades. A number of physiological and molecular processes that act together in a complex regulatory network, further manage these responses. Crosstalk between autophagy and hormones also occurs to develop tolerance in plants towards multiple abiotic stresses. Similarly, biostimulants, in combination with correct agronomic practices, have shown beneficial effects on plant metabolism due to the hormonal activity that stimulates different metabolic pathways. At the same time, they reduce the use of agrochemicals and impart tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. Further, the use of bio- and nano-fertilizers seem to hold promise to improve the nutrient use efficiency and hence the plant yield under stressful environments. It has also been shown that the seed priming agents impart stress tolerance. Additionally, tolerance or resistance to stress may also be induced by using specific chemical compounds such as polyamines, proline, glycine betaine, hydrogen sulfide, silicon, -aminobutyric acid, -aminobutyric acid and so on. This book discusses the advances in plant performance under stressful conditions. It should be very useful to graduate students, researchers, and scientists in the fields of botanical science, crop science, agriculture, horticulture, ecological and environmental science.

This book highlights the recent advancement in point-of-care testing (POCT) technologies utilizing ‘smart’ nanomaterials for the analysis of biomarkers related to disease, which includes metabolites, enzymes, proteins, nucleic acids, cancer cells and multidrug-resistant pathogen. The POCT refers to medical diagnostic tests performed near the place and time of patient care. During the recent pandemic of COVID-19, many realized the importance of affordable, rapid and accurate POCT devices and their usefulness to combat the spread of the infection. The chapters in this book describe the emergence of ‘smart’ nanomaterials with unique physical and chemical properties being utilized in POCT devices for immobilizing biorecognition elements and labels for signal generation, transduction and amplification. It showcases the applications of these smart nanomaterials and their superiority in developing point-of-care diagnostics devices in a wide range of applied fields like food industry, agriculture sector, water quality assessment, pharmaceuticals and tissue engineering. It also looks into the challenges associated and future direction of research in this promising field. This book caters as reference book for researches from the field of nanobiotechnology and biomedical sciences who are interested in the development of rapid, affordable and accurate POCT devices.

Environmental, Physiological and Chemical Controls of Adventitious Rooting in Cuttings provides a review of the environmental, physiological and chemical controls of adventitious rooting in cuttings obtained from plants. In plants, adventitious roots, which are highly useful for vegetative propagation (or clonal propagation) are produced mainly from leaves, hypocotyls, stems or shoots. Vegetative propagation may occur naturally by using propagules such as roots, underground and aerial stems, leaves, buds and bulbils. It may also be done artificially through regenerative organs (rhizomes, bulbs, and corms) and by utilizing specialized methods, like cutting, grafting and layering. This book covers the latest tactics surrounding these processes. As a plethora of factors affect the adventitious rooting of cuttings, adding to the complexity of the phenomenon. The main factors which control adventitious root formation are types of cuttings, presence of leaf area on cuttings, types of hormones and their concentration, duration of hormonal treatment (quick dip, long soak, dry dip, spray dip, or total immerse method), maturation (juvenile or mature), genotype, explant position, and more, all of which are discussed here.

In the recent past, threats from climate change and unforeseeable environmental extremes to plant growth and productivity have consistently increased. The climate change-driven effects, especially from unpredictable environmental fluctuations, can result in an increased prevalence of abiotic and biotic stresses in plants. These stresses have slowed down the global yields of crop plants. On the other hand, food security for the rapidly growing human population in a sustainable ecosystem is a major concern of the present-day world. Thus, understanding the core developmental, physiological and molecular aspects that regulate plant growth and productivity in a challenging environment is a pivotal issue to be tackled by the scientific community dealing with sustainable agricultural and horticultural practices. Plants are influenced by the adverse environmental conditions at various levels, their different and diverse responses play a significant role in determining their growth, production and the overall geographical distribution. The chapters in this book focus on the biological mechanisms and fundamental principles that determine how different plant species grow, perform and interact with a challenging environment. This book covers a broad range of topics in plant science, including gene function, molecules, physiology, cell biology and plant ecology, to understand the functioning of plants under harsh environmental conditions. The book elucidates the physiological and molecular mechanisms in different plant species, ecophysiological interactions of plants, interplay between plant roots, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, biosensors for monitoring stress, production of secondary metabolites, stress alleviation processes, and more.

Bio-based materials, including those containing wood, will become increasingly important as we move to a bio-based economy. Among their many attributes, it is vitally important that these materials are renewable, sustainable with proper management and environmentally benign. Wood remains one of our most important bio-based materials. While it is an amazing material, wood still has negative attributes and drawbacks that can affect performance, including dimensional instability when wetted, vulnerability to fire and high temperatures, and susceptibility to biodeterioration. A variety of treatments have been developed to overcome these weaknesses. Among the most exciting of these treatments are nanomaterials. These materials have some exceptionally attractive properties for improving timber performance and have been the subject of intensive research over the past decade. There is a tremendous need for a single comprehensive source of information on this rapidly emerging subject with tremendous potential to enhance the performance of a variety of bio-based materials. This book contains 10 chapters, each compiled by different author(s) who are considered the top researcher(s) in their respective fields. The chapters begin with some basic background on nanomaterials and their synthesis, then explore different areas for potential applications and conclude with a review of the emerging questions about nanomaterial safety. The book is designed to provide the latest information and know-how on application and utilization of different nanomaterials to improve the properties of wood and wood-based composite panels. The contents cover some main topics in the industry including improving physical and mechanical properties, increasing resistance to biodegradation (including fungi and insects), developing wood-plastic composites (WPC), applying nanomaterials in paper and board industry, and emergence of transparent wood and radiation shielding. It also covers the use of nanomaterials to improve the performance of paints and finishes used for forest products. The book provides a single location for those interested in the field to begin.

This book gives a complete overview of current developments in the fabrication and diverse applications of metal and metal oxide nanomaterials synthesized from agricultural/horticultural products and organic waste materials. Nanoparticles are thought to have been present on earth naturally since its origin in the form of soil, water, volcanic dust, and minerals. Besides their natural origin, they have been also synthesized by using physical, chemical, and biological means. The chapters in this book look at agricultural as well as horticultural wastes from industries, such as palm oil, rubber, paper, wood, vegetable, coffee/tea, rice, wheat, maize, grass, and fruit juice processing factories, and describe the methods to extract and synthesize metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, which are then applied in various sectors such as food, agriculture, cosmetics, and medicines industries. The book is a reference source for academician, scientists, policymakers, students, and researchers scientist working in minimizing the environmental pollution and implementing nanotechnology into agricultural waste products to produce eco-friendly and cost-effective nanoparticles.

Because of Covid-19, people around the globe are looking for alternatives to allopathic medicines not only for boosting their immunity, but also to improve their health without compromising on the quality of the product. Medicinal mushrooms look to fill this gap as they are not only full of therapeutic values but are also low in calories, good for both health-conscious people as well as for those who are interested in boosting immunity. This book is useful for researchers or scientists working in the fields of Fungal Science (Mycology) and their interdisciplinary streams. It will also help pharmaceutical companies those keeping an eye on new developments in medicinal properties of different biological organisms including wild mushrooms. International audience and multidisciplinary – chapter authors belong to different countries including India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Philippines, China, USA, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, and Estonia.

Researchers have established that numerable aquatic plants have a high medicinal value. Despite this, there is currently no book available in the market which provides full information on the phytochemical and medicinal uses of exclusively aquatic medicinal plants growing in fresh and marine water bodies. Provides a comprehensive overview of aquatic medicinal plants of the world and their potential uses. This book will be useful for scientists/researchers working in freshwater, marine, and wetlands medicinal plants. Moreover, the proposed book will also facilitate understanding and interaction of medicinal plants in a specific ecosystem. This book helps identify some important aquatic medicinal plants and their future possibility for the synthesis or preparation of modern drugs.

Key Features: Provides botanical descriptions, distribution and pharmacological investigations of notable medicinal and herbal plants used to prevent or treat diabetes. Discusses phytochemical and polyherbal formulations for the management of diabetes and other related complications. Contains reports on antidiabetic plants and their potential uses in drug discovery based on their bioactive molecules.

Due to the increasing popularity of herbal-based drugs under the pandemic like COVID 19, the worldwide demand for medicinal plants has increased to aid the immune system. Very timely topic for working on or have an interest in the traditional as well as modern research of medicinal plants. The book can be a useful reference for students, pharmacists, pharmacognosists, chemists, phytochemists, and cosmetic chemists by providing information about fundamental chemical principles, modes of action, and product formulation of bioactive natural products for medical applications.

The book showcases the newest research on smart nanoplatforms responding to “hypoxia�; an omnipresent pathological feature of many modern-day diseases and its potential applications. The book demonstrates the versatility of hypoxia targeted smart nanoplatforms in disease management in diverse pathological settings presented in chapters contributed by various experts in the field. The themes in the book touch upon critical facets to address pathological hypoxia such as nanomaterials enhancing oxygenation, hypoxia responsive nanoformulations which deliver the drug directly to the hypoxic site, limited toxicity and enhanced efficacy of smart nanoformulations to counter molecular consequences of hypoxia, and theranostics combining hypoxia detection systems with drug delivery systems. This book disseminates the current implications of smart nanomaterials in disease management that can be exploited by scholars, researchers, and pharma industries to develop, manufacture, and commercialize hypoxia targeted diagnostics and therapeutics.

Due to the increasing popularity of herbal-based drugs under the pandemic like COVID 19, the worldwide demand for medicinal plants has increased to aid the immune system. Very timely topic for working on or have an interest in the traditional as well as modern research of medicinal plants. The book can be a useful reference for students, pharmacists, pharmacognosists, chemists, phytochemists, and cosmetic chemists by providing information about fundamental chemical principles, modes of action, and product formulation of bioactive natural products for medical applications.

Medicinal plants are accumulating impurities from increasing environmental pollution. Pollutants have altered growth features, gas exchange parameters, biochemical attributes, bioactive substances, antioxidant activity, and gene expression. This book brings to light these conditions and a need to alter them. Plants are the natural source of medicines mainly due to the presence of secondary metabolites and have been used as medicine in crude extract form. They have been used to isolate the bioactive compounds in modern medicine as well as in herbal medicine systems and are used worldwide as a valuable source for new drug formulations. This book focuses on secondary metabolites, phytochemicals, and bioactive compounds associated with medicinal plants growing in contamination conditions. There is no existing book on this topic.

Drawing on indigenous and scientific knowledge of medicinal plants, Traditional Herbal Therapy for the Human Immune System presents the protective and therapeutic potential of plant-based drinks, supplements, nutraceuticals, synergy food, superfoods, and other products. Medicinal plants and their products can affect the immune system and act as immunomodulators. Medicinal plants are popularly used in folk medicine to accelerate the human immune defence and improve body reactions against infectious or exogenous injuries, as well as to suppress the abnormal immune response occurring in immune disorders. This book explains how medicinal plants can act as a source of vitamins and improve body functions such as enhanced oxygen circulation, maintained blood pressure and improved mood. It also outlines how specific properties of certain plants can help boost the immune system of humans with cancer, HIV, and COVID-19. Key features: Provides specific information on how to accelerate and or fortify the human immune system by using medicinal plants. Presents scientific understanding of herbs, shrubs, climbers and trees and their potential uses in conventional and herbal medicine systems. Discusses the specific role of herbal plants that act as antiviral and antibacterial agents and offer boosted immunity for cancer, H1N1 virus, relieving swine flu, HIV and COVID-19 patients. Part of the Exploring Medicinal Plants series, this book is useful for researchers and students, as well as policy makers and people working in industry, who have an interest in plant-derived medications.

Drawing on indigenous and scientific knowledge of medicinal plants, Traditional Herbal Therapy for the Human Immune System presents the protective and therapeutic potential of plant-based drinks, supplements, nutraceuticals, synergy food, superfoods, and other products. Medicinal plants and their products can affect the immune system and act as immunomodulators. Medicinal plants are popularly used in folk medicine to accelerate the human immune defence and improve body reactions against infectious or exogenous injuries, as well as to suppress the abnormal immune response occurring in immune disorders. This book explains how medicinal plants can act as a source of vitamins and improve body functions such as enhanced oxygen circulation, maintained blood pressure and improved mood. It also outlines how specific properties of certain plants can help boost the immune system of humans with cancer, HIV, and COVID-19. Key features: Provides specific information on how to accelerate and or fortify the human immune system by using medicinal plants. Presents scientific understanding of herbs, shrubs, climbers and trees and their potential uses in conventional and herbal medicine systems. Discusses the specific role of herbal plants that act as antiviral and antibacterial agents and offer boosted immunity for cancer, H1N1 virus, relieving swine flu, HIV and COVID-19 patients. Part of the Exploring Medicinal Plants series, this book is useful for researchers and students, as well as policy makers and people working in industry, who have an interest in plant-derived medications.

Researchers have established that numerable aquatic plants have a high medicinal value. Despite this, there is currently no book available in the market which provides full information on the phytochemical and medicinal uses of exclusively aquatic medicinal plants growing in fresh and marine water bodies. Provides a comprehensive overview of aquatic medicinal plants of the world and their potential uses. This book will be useful for scientists/researchers working in freshwater, marine, and wetlands medicinal plants. Moreover, the proposed book will also facilitate understanding and interaction of medicinal plants in a specific ecosystem. This book helps identify some important aquatic medicinal plants and their future possibility for the synthesis or preparation of modern drugs.

Medicinal plants are accumulating impurities from increasing environmental pollution. Pollutants have altered growth features, gas exchange parameters, biochemical attributes, bioactive substances, antioxidant activity, and gene expression. This book brings to light these conditions and a need to alter them. Plants are the natural source of medicines mainly due to the presence of secondary metabolites and have been used as medicine in crude extract form. They have been used to isolate the bioactive compounds in modern medicine as well as in herbal medicine systems and are used worldwide as a valuable source for new drug formulations. This book focuses on secondary metabolites, phytochemicals, and bioactive compounds associated with medicinal plants growing in contamination conditions. There is no existing book on this topic.

Forests cover thirty-one percent of the world's land surface, provide habitats for animals, livelihoods for humans, and generate household income in rural areas of developing countries. They also supply other essential amenities, for instance, they filter water, control water runoff, protect soil erosion, regulate climate, store nutrients, and facilitate countless non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The main NTFPs comprise herbs, grasses, climbers, shrubs, and trees used for food, fodder, fuel, beverages, medicine, animals, birds and fish for food, fur, and feathers, as well as their products, like honey, lac, silk, and paper. At present, these products play an important role in the daily life and well-being of millions of people worldwide. Hence the forest and its products are very valuable and often NTFPs are considered as the 'potential pillars of sustainable forestry'. NTFPs items like food, herbal drugs, forage, fuel-wood, fountain, fibre, bamboo, rattans, leaves, barks, resins, and gums have been continuously used and exploited by humans. Wild edible foods are rich in terms of vitamins, protein, fat, sugars, and minerals. Additionally, some NTFPs are used as important raw materials for pharmaceutical industries. Numerous industry-based NTFPs are now being exported in considerable quantities by developing countries. Accordingly, this sector facilitates employment opportunities in remote rural areas. So, these developments also highlight the role of NTFPs in poverty alleviation in different regions of the world. This book provides a wide spectrum of information on NTFPs, including important references. We hope that the compendium of chapters in this book will be very useful as a reference book for graduate and postgraduate students and researchers in various disciplines of forestry, botany, medical botany, economic botany, ecology, agroforestry, and biology. Additionally, this book should be useful for scientists, experts, and consultants associated with the forestry sector.

There is no current book is available in the market explaining medicinal values, toxicity responses, and other potential uses of poisonous plants exclusively. In recent years, extensive attention has been paid towards the up-gradation of medicinal and herbal plants therefore; this book includes important chapters on relevant topics. Audience - Those who are working on or have an interest in modern research especially in medicinal, herbal, and poisonous plants and is also useful for some pharmaceutical companies involved in herbal drug preparation.

Global climate change is bound to create a number of abiotic and biotic stresses in the environment, which would affect the overall growth and productivity of plants. Like other living beings, plants have the ability to protect themselves by evolving various mechanisms against stresses, despite being sessile in nature. They manage to withstand extremes of temperature, drought, flooding, salinity, heavy metals, atmospheric pollution, toxic chemicals and a variety of living organisms, especially viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects and arachnids and weeds. Incidence of abiotic stresses may alter the plant-pest interactions by enhancing susceptibility of plants to pathogenic organisms. These interactions often change plant response to abiotic stresses. Plant growth regulators modulate plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, and regulate their growth and developmental cascades. A number of physiological and molecular processes that act together in a complex regulatory network, further manage these responses. Crosstalk between autophagy and hormones also occurs to develop tolerance in plants towards multiple abiotic stresses. Similarly, biostimulants, in combination with correct agronomic practices, have shown beneficial effects on plant metabolism due to the hormonal activity that stimulates different metabolic pathways. At the same time, they reduce the use of agrochemicals and impart tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. Further, the use of bio- and nano-fertilizers seem to hold promise to improve the nutrient use efficiency and hence the plant yield under stressful environments. It has also been shown that the seed priming agents impart stress tolerance. Additionally, tolerance or resistance to stress may also be induced by using specific chemical compounds such as polyamines, proline, glycine betaine, hydrogen sulfide, silicon, -aminobutyric acid, -aminobutyric acid and so on. This book discusses the advances in plant performance under stressful conditions. It should be very useful to graduate students, researchers, and scientists in the fields of botanical science, crop science, agriculture, horticulture, ecological and environmental science.

Forests cover thirty-one percent of the world's land surface, provide habitats for animals, livelihoods for humans, and generate household income in rural areas of developing countries. They also supply other essential amenities, for instance, they filter water, control water runoff, protect soil erosion, regulate climate, store nutrients, and facilitate countless non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The main NTFPs comprise herbs, grasses, climbers, shrubs, and trees used for food, fodder, fuel, beverages, medicine, animals, birds and fish for food, fur, and feathers, as well as their products, like honey, lac, silk, and paper. At present, these products play an important role in the daily life and well-being of millions of people worldwide. Hence the forest and its products are very valuable and often NTFPs are considered as the 'potential pillars of sustainable forestry'. NTFPs items like food, herbal drugs, forage, fuel-wood, fountain, fibre, bamboo, rattans, leaves, barks, resins, and gums have been continuously used and exploited by humans. Wild edible foods are rich in terms of vitamins, protein, fat, sugars, and minerals. Additionally, some NTFPs are used as important raw materials for pharmaceutical industries. Numerous industry-based NTFPs are now being exported in considerable quantities by developing countries. Accordingly, this sector facilitates employment opportunities in remote rural areas. So, these developments also highlight the role of NTFPs in poverty alleviation in different regions of the world. This book provides a wide spectrum of information on NTFPs, including important references. We hope that the compendium of chapters in this book will be very useful as a reference book for graduate and postgraduate students and researchers in various disciplines of forestry, botany, medical botany, economic botany, ecology, agroforestry, and biology. Additionally, this book should be useful for scientists, experts, and consultants associated with the forestry sector.

In the recent past, threats from climate change and unforeseeable environmental extremes to plant growth and productivity have consistently increased. The climate change-driven effects, especially from unpredictable environmental fluctuations, can result in an increased prevalence of abiotic and biotic stresses in plants. These stresses have slowed down the global yields of crop plants. On the other hand, food security for the rapidly growing human population in a sustainable ecosystem is a major concern of the present-day world. Thus, understanding the core developmental, physiological and molecular aspects that regulate plant growth and productivity in a challenging environment is a pivotal issue to be tackled by the scientific community dealing with sustainable agricultural and horticultural practices. Plants are influenced by the adverse environmental conditions at various levels, their different and diverse responses play a significant role in determining their growth, production and the overall geographical distribution. The chapters in this book focus on the biological mechanisms and fundamental principles that determine how different plant species grow, perform and interact with a challenging environment. This book covers a broad range of topics in plant science, including gene function, molecules, physiology, cell biology and plant ecology, to understand the functioning of plants under harsh environmental conditions. The book elucidates the physiological and molecular mechanisms in different plant species, ecophysiological interactions of plants, interplay between plant roots, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, biosensors for monitoring stress, production of secondary metabolites, stress alleviation processes, and more.

Engineered Nanomaterials for Sustainable Agricultural Production, Soil Improvement and Stress Management highlights the latest advances in applying this important technology within agriculture sectors for sustainable growth, production and protection. The book explores various smart engineered nanomaterials which are now being used as an important tool for improving growth and productivity of crops facing abiotic stresses, improving the health of the soil in which those crops are growing, and addressing stresses once the plant begins to produce food yield. The book includes insights into the use of nanoparticles as bactericides, fungicides and nanofertilizers. In addition, the book includes an international representation of authors who have crafted chapters with clarity, reviewing up-to-date literature with lucid illustrations. It will be an important resource for researchers, nanobiotechnologists, agriculturists and horticulturists who need a comprehensive reference guide.