Plant based biotechnology has come to represent a means of mitigating the problems of global food security in the twenty-first century. Products and processes in agriculture are increasingly becoming linked to science and cutting edge technology, to enable the engineering of what are in effect, designer plants. One of the most successful , non-chemical approaches to pest management and disease control is biological control, which seeks a solution in terms of using living organisms to regulate the incidence of pests and pathogens, providing a natural control' while still maintaining the biological balance with the ecosystem. This volume, (the first of two), addresses the different types of biocontrol for different pests, namely, crop diseases, weeds and nematodes, and details the biology of both the pest and its enemies, which is vital for efficient use of biological control. The book has numerous contributors who are authorities in their fields, and would be an asset to those who have interest in sustainable agriculture and crop productivity.

Biological control offers a promising alternative to chemical control which can have adverse environmental implications. This volume contains 16 articles describing the most modern topics in biocontrol of plant pathogens, including risk analysis for the release of microbial antagonists, genetic engineering and application of tissue culture.

`The fundamental problem the world faces today, is the rapidly increasing pressure of population on the limited resources of the land. To meet the ever increasing demands of expanding populations, agricultural production has been raised through the abundant use of inorganic fertilizers, the adoption of multicropping systems and liberal application of chemical pesticides (fungicides, bactericides, etc. ). Though the use of chemicals has increased the yield dramatically, it has also resulted in the rapid deterioration of land and water resources apart from wastage of scarce resources. This has adversely affected the biological balance and lead to the presence of toxic residues in food, soil and water in addition to imposing economic constraints on developing countries.' (From the Preface) Mycorrhizal Biology addresses the global problem of land degradation and the associated loss of soil productivity and decline in soil quality caused by exploitative farming practices and poor management in developing countries, and the far reaching socio-economic and ecological consequences of its impact on agricultural productivity and the environment. In the light of a need for sustainable development, a new system of productive agriculture, to ensure the efficient management of agricultural inputs for long term high crop productivity with minimum damage to the ecological and socio-economic environment is essential. The management of mycorrhizal fungi will form a significant part of such a system and this work investigates the key association of plant roots with mycorrhizal fungi, known to benefit plants under conditions of nutritional and water stress and pathogen challenge and analyses the developments in our understanding of the genetic loci that govern mycorrhiza formation.

The importance of mycorrhiza for the improvement of plant growth is increasingly being realised in Agriculture and Forestry and several mycorrhizal fungi have been commercially recognised for the purpose. The aim of this book is to describe the various techniques used to study the mycorrhizal biology. Problems with preparing such a book are many. Mainly mailing of manuscripts to and from authors resulted in irregular and final editing. Every effort was made not to change the peer review original manuscript to ensure accuracy. Our sole aims is to communicate to the greatest extent possible a current world need in mycorrhizal research. Plant productivity is regulated by microbial associations established in the plant root systems. The interactions of microorganisms and plant roots are especially important in providing nutritional requirements of the plant and the associated microorganisms. Plant growth and development are controlled largely by the soil environment in the root region -rhizosphere. This is a very complex environment in which the effects of the plant on soil microorganisms and the effects of microorganisms on the plant are interacting, interdependent and highly complex. Plant root exudates and breakdown products feed the microbes and the microbe in tum often benefit the plant. Mycorrhizal fungi are important tools for increasing growth, development and yield of economically important plants, they play important role of biofertilizer which can help establish plants in nutrient deficient soils, particularly phosphorus deficient soils, arid, semi-arid and waste lands.

Plant based Biotechnology has come to represent a means of mitigating the problems of global food security in the twenty first century. Products and processes in agriculture are increasingly becoming linked to science and cutting edge technology, to enable the engineering of what are in effect, designer plants. One of the most successful, non chemical approaches to pest management and disease control, which seeks a solution in terms of using living organisms to regulate the incidence of pests and and pathogens, providing a `natural control' while still maintaining the biological balance with the ecosystem. This volume, describes the various biological agents used to control insect pests of a variety of crops. Readers may also be interested in Volume 1: Crop diseases, Weeds and Nematodes, published in December 2000, ISBN 0-306-46460-8.

Plant based biotechnology has come to represent a means of mitigating the problems of global food security in the twenty-first century. Products and processes in agriculture are increasingly becoming linked to science and cutting edge technology, to enable the engineering of what are in effect, designer plants. One of the most successful, non-chemical approaches to pest management and disease control is biological control, which seeks a solution in terms of using living organisms to regulate the incidence of pests and pathogens, providing a natural control' while still maintaining the biological balance with the ecosystem. This volume, (the first of two), addresses the different types of biocontrol for different pests, namely, crop diseases, weeds and nematodes, and details the biology of both the pest and its enemies, which is vital for efficient use of biological control. The book has numerous contributors who are authorities in their fields, and would be an asset to those who have interest in sustainable agriculture and crop productivity.

The fundamental problem the world faces today, is the rapidly increasing pressure of population on the limited resources of the land. To meet the ever increasing demands of expanding populations, agricultural production has been raised through the abundant use of inorganic fertilizers, the adoption of multicropping systems and liberal application of chemical pesticides (fungicides, bactericides, etc. ). Though the use of chemicals has increased the yield dramatically, it has also resulted in the rapid deterioration of land and water resources apart from wastage of scarce resources. This has adversely affected the biological balance and lead to the presence of toxic residues in food, soil and water in addition to imposing economic constraints on developing countries.' (From the Preface) Mycorrhizal Biology addresses the global problem of land degradation and the associated loss of soil productivity and decline in soil quality caused by exploitative farming practices and poor management in developing countries, and the far reaching socio-economic and ecological consequences of its impact on agricultural productivity and the environment. In the light of a need for sustainable development, a new system of productive agriculture, to ensure the efficient management of agricultural inputs for long term high crop productivity with minimum damage to the ecological and socio-economic environment is essential. The management of mycorrhizal fungi will form a significant part of such a system and this work investigates the key association of plant roots with mycorrhizal fungi, known to benefit plants under conditions of nutritional and water stress and pathogen challenge and analyses thedevelopments in our understanding of the genetic loci that govern mycorrhiza formation.

Biological control offers a promising alternative to chemical control which can have adverse environmental implications. This volume contains 16 articles describing the most modern topics in biocontrol of plant pathogens, including risk analysis for the release of microbial antagonists, genetic engineering and application of tissue culture.

Plant based Biotechnology has come to represent a means of mitigating the problems of global food security in the twenty first century. Products and processes in agriculture are increasingly becoming linked to science and cutting edge technology, to enable the engineering of what are in effect, designer plants. One of the most successful, non chemical approaches to pest management and disease control, which seeks a solution in terms of using living organisms to regulate the incidence of pests and and pathogens, providing a natural control' while still maintaining the biological balance with the ecosystem. This volume, describes the various biological agents used to control insect pests of a variety of crops. Readers may also be interested in Volume 1: Crop diseases, Weeds and Nematodes, published in December 2000, ISBN 0-306-46460-8.

This unique compilation fulfils a great demand for a laboratory manual on mycorrhizal research describing the basic techniques, and contains chapters by eminent Indian mycorrhizologists. Chapters cover mycorrhizal dependency, mycorrhiza as biocontrol agents in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry, and the establishment of micropropagated plants.