At the end of the High Middle Ages in Europe, with buying power and economic sophistication at a high, an itinerary detailing the toll stations along a commercial artery carrying eastern goods (from China, India and Iran) towards Europe was compiled, and later incorporated in the well-known trading manual of the Florentine bank official Pegolotti; Pegolotti was twice stationed in the city of Famagusta in Cyprus, which lay opposite the city of Ayas where the land route ended. The Il-Khanid capital, Tabriz in Iran, attracting expensive merchandise such as spices and silk from a variety of origins, was the road's starting-point. To demonstrate the importance of the route in its own time, parallel and contemporary routes in the Black Sea and the Levant are traced and the effect of trade on their cities noted. To compare the Ayas itinerary (1250s to 1330s) with previous periods the networks of commercial avenues in the previous period (1100-1250) and the subsequent one (1340s to 1500) are reconstructed. In each period the connection of east-west trade with the main movements of the European economy are fully drawn out, and the effects on the building history of the three main Italian cities concerned (Venice, Genoa and Florence) are sketched. Attention then turns to the Pegolotti itinerary itself. The individual toll stations are identified employing a variety of means, such as names taken from the Roman itineraries (Peutinger Table and Antonine Itinerary) and archaeological data; this allows the course of the track to be followed through diverse topography to the city of Sivas, then across plains and through passes to Erzurum and finally to Tabriz. A picture is drawn of the urban history of each major city, including Sivas, Erzurum and Tabriz itself, and of the other towns along the route.

The history of humankind is intimately tied to the history of agriculture: powerful societies rose, persisted and waned in parallel with their food supply systems. Describing what crops were grown, the constraints on their production and the foods that were obtained, this book traces the impact of cropping and food preparation in ten societies that were among the most powerful and influential in history, detailing how technology varied and developed as it related directly to agriculture and food production. The book covers the background of agricultural development, early agricultural societies, and the advancement of technology from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the present. It finishes by addressing the implications for the future of agriculture and food supply as grain production moves towards biofuels. A compelling text for all those interested in the history of society and civilisations, global agriculture, and what it means for the future, this text is also an essential reference for students of agriculture, food technology, history and anthropology.

Production of food fibre and fuel is vital for humanity, and as the world population continues to rise, demands on these resources is ever increasing. In a context of growing worldwide concern about sustainability and environmental impacts of cropland, grassland and forestry practices, this textbook provides an introduction to the processes that define the ecology and environment of plant production. Core principles are examined such as soil-plant relationships, genetic manipulation and diversity, yield and water requirements, as well as physical factors such as solar radiation, temperature and weather. Fully updated with new chapters on climate change and biofuels, this edition is an important text for students and researchers in agronomy, forestry, botany, ecology and environmental sciences. Praise for the first edition: 'I highly recommend this book for undergraduate students in plant production courses. It is easy to read, well-structured and of high scientific level...also useful for a more general readership' Scientia Horticulturae

At the end of the High Middle Ages in Europe, with buying power and economic sophistication at a high, an itinerary detailing the toll stations along a commercial artery carrying eastern goods (from China, India and Iran) towards Europe was compiled, and later incorporated in the well-known trading manual of the Florentine bank official Pegolotti; Pegolotti was twice stationed in the city of Famagusta in Cyprus, which lay opposite the city of Ayas where the land route ended. The Il-Khanid capital, Tabriz in Iran, attracting expensive merchandise such as spices and silk from a variety of origins, was the road's starting-point. To demonstrate the importance of the route in its own time, parallel and contemporary routes in the Black Sea and the Levant are traced and the effect of trade on their cities noted. To compare the Ayas itinerary (1250s to 1330s) with previous periods the networks of commercial avenues in the previous period (1100-1250) and the subsequent one (1340s to 1500) are reconstructed. In each period the connection of east-west trade with the main movements of the European economy are fully drawn out, and the effects on the building history of the three main Italian cities concerned (Venice, Genoa and Florence) are sketched. Attention then turns to the Pegolotti itinerary itself. The individual toll stations are identified employing a variety of means, such as names taken from the Roman itineraries (Peutinger Table and Antonine Itinerary) and archaeological data; this allows the course of the track to be followed through diverse topography to the city of Sivas, then across plains and through passes to Erzurum and finally to Tabriz. A picture is drawn of the urban history of each major city, including Sivas, Erzurum and Tabriz itself, and of the other towns along the route.

Drought remains the biggest single threat from climate change to the production of key cereal crops, such as wheat and barley. Cereals also respond in complex ways to drought stress, making improved drought tolerance a challenging trait to achieve. With many cereals recognised as staple food crops due to their nutritional value, more research is required into improving drought tolerance as a means of ensuring the future food security of millions. Developing drought-resistant cereals reviews the wealth of research which addresses how to overcome this challenge in order to mitigate climate change effects in cereal production. This collection details our understanding of the mechanisms of drought tolerance, as well as the development of techniques for improving resistance, including phenotyping, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genome editing.

Global food production and climate change among other concerns are societal issues that require major research input from crop science. While suggestions are abundant on how crop science can help to resolve these issues, many of the suggestions come from people who are not actually familiar with the challenges and requirements to modify crop plants grown under field conditions to achieve the necessary improvements. Efforts to alter a gene or even several genes have very rarely proven successful in having impact on crop production under realistic field conditions. This lack of success has not been addressed head on. This book serves as a reminder to crop scientists and others that open, clear-minded assessments of the entirety of evidence concerning a hypothesis is required before making claims of possible increases in crop performance. This attitude of skepticism is not a negative attitude but rather an employment of the cornerstone of scientific investigation based on formation and evaluation of hypotheses. Skeptical analyses are to be presented in the book on some of the common suggestions for improving crop plants. The six specific topics to be addressed are photosynthesis, seed number, nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency, crop water loss, and unconfirmed field observations. Each of the topics in this book, will first be reviewed to present the origins of the popular assumptions about how specific plant modification will result in improved crop performance. The review of the background information will be followed by an examination of the evidence, logic, and predicted outcomes for the assumed benefits of the modifications. Finally, each chapter will offer novel, alternate approaches to plant modification that have documented support for positively impacting crop performance. The book will not be written in specialized, detail language but offer access for those with a wide range of interests in options for increasing crop production in the future. The goal of the book is to provide information that is useful to those with interests ranging from climatologist to food-oriented sociologists. Of course, the topics covered will be of direct interest to those studying plant sciences, particularly crop scientists. The hope is to challenge a reader to re-examine some of her/his assumptions about crop improvement and approach the topic with a renewed practice of skepticism in formulating and evaluating hypotheses.

Model studies focus experimental investigations to improve our understanding and performance of systems. Concentrating on crop modeling, this book provides an introduction to the concepts of crop development, growth, and yield, with step-by-step outlines to each topic, suggested exercises and simple equations. A valuable text for students and researchers of crop development alike, this book is written in five parts that allow the reader to develop a solid foundation and coverage of production models including water- and nitrogen-limited systems.