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The world population is increasing while arable land is decreasing at an alarming rate. About one-quarter of arable land is degraded and needs significant restoration before it can sustain crops again. By 2030, the water supply will fall 40% short of meeting global demand. Moreover, looming climate change poses additional challenge to increasing food production to feed 10 billion people by 2050. Current major agricultural systems are on a largely unsustainable trajectory because of their contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and biodiversity loss.For these reasons, innovative technologies are being introduced in modern agriculture to sustain food production. They include digital and geospatial technologies to manage soil, climate and plant genetic resources. With the development of tools and sensors integrated into the internet of things (IoT) environment, physically collected information is converted into computer-readable language. Digital innovations thus allow real-time analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) that manage massive amount of data, also known as big data. Accordingly, digital agriculture affords greater potential for sustainable farming and economic benefits. This book summarizes the latest advances in AI-integration of agriculture practices. Specific focus includes but not limited to, big data, yield mapping, pests management, and optimal fertigation. As such, it presents a forward-looking approach to meet multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically, SDG 2, 6, 13 and 15.

This book focuses on the recent progress of nanotechnology with emphasis on the interaction between nanoparticles and plants on the cellular level. It is devoted to understanding the pathways of nanomaterials entry into plant cell and their influence on cellular organelle processes and influence on crop yield. It consists of 16 chapters grouped in 3 parts: Part I Cellular mechanisms, Part II Cellular macromolecules, and Part III Implications of nanomaterials. Chapters present the plant response to nanomaterial applications including morphological, physiochemical, and anatomical changes and their effect on plant growth and productivity. The book discusses the mechanisms of absorbance and translocation of nanoparticles and their interaction with the plant cellular biochemical compounds and organelles. It presents the current perspective of nanomaterials influence on cellular processes which include photosynthesis, photorespiration and pigment synthesis and accumulation. In addition, it provides current understanding of the impact of nanomaterials on cellular macromolecules including carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, proteins, hormones, and antioxidant defense activities. Collectively, these processes and biochemical compounds have implications on crop yield. Chapters are written by globally recognized scientists and subjected to a rigorous review process to ensure quality presentation and scientific precision. Chapter begins with an introduction that covers similar contexts and includes a detailed discussion of the topic accompanied by high-quality color images, diagrams, and relevant details and concludes with recommendations for future study directions.Chapter'Impact of Nanomaterials on Plant Secondary Metabolism'is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book is the first comprehensive assemblage of contemporary knowledge relevant to genomics and other omics in date palm. Volume 2 consists of 11 chapters. Part I, Nutritional and Pharmaceuticals Properties, covers the utilization of date palm as an ingredient of various food products, a source of bioactive compounds and the production of nanomaterials. Part II, Omics Technologies, addresses omics resources, proteomics and metabolomics. Part III, Molecular Breeding and Genome Modification, focuses on genetic improvement technologies based on mutagenesis, quantitative traits loci and genome editing. Part IV, Genomics of Abiotic and Biotic Stress, covers metagenomics of beneficial microbes to enhance tolerance to abiotic stress and the various genomics advances as they apply to insect control. This volume represents the efforts of 34 international scientists from 12 countries and contains 65 figures and 19 tables to illustrate presented concepts. Volume 1 is published under the title: Phylogeny, Biodiversity and Mapping.

This book is the first volume of a comprehensive assemblage of contemporary knowledge relevant to genomics and other omics in date palm. Volume 1 consists of 11 chapters arranged in 3 parts grouped according to subject. Part I, Biology and Phylogeny, focuses on date palm biology, evolution and origin. Part II, Biodiversity and Molecular Identification, covers conformity of in vitro derived plants, molecular markers, barcoding, pollinizer genetics and gender determination. Part III, Genome Mapping and Bioinformatics, addresses genome mapping of nuclear, chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA, in addition to a chapter on progress made in date palm bioinformatics. This volume represents the efforts of 30 international scientists from 10 countries and contains 78 figures and 30 tables to illustrate presented concepts. Volume 2 is published under the title: Omics and Molecular Breeding.

The basic concept of this book is to examine the use of innovative methods augmenting traditional plant breeding towards the development of new crop varieties under different environmental conditions to achieve sustainable food production. This book consists of two volumes: Volume 1 subtitled Breeding, Biotechnology and Molecular Tools and Volume 2 subtitled Agronomic, Abiotic and Biotic Stress Traits. This is volume 2 which contains 18 chapters highlighting breeding strategies for specific plant traits including improved nutritional and pharmaceutical properties as well as enhanced tolerance to insects, diseases, drought, salinity and temperature extremes expected under predicted global climate change.

The basic concept of this book is to examine the use of innovative methods augmenting traditional plant breeding towards the development of new crop varieties under different environmental conditions to achieve sustainable food production. This book consists of two volumes: Volume 1 subtitled Breeding, Biotechnology and Molecular Tools and Volume 2 subtitled Agronomic, Abiotic and Biotic Stress Traits. This is Volume 1 which consists of 21 chapters covering domestication and germplasm utilization, conventional breeding techniques and the role of biotechnology. In addition to various biotechnological applications in plant breeding, it includes functional genomics, mutations and methods of detection, and molecular markers. In vitro techniques and their applications in plant breeding are discussed with an emphasis on embryo rescue, somatic cell hybridization and somaclonal variation. Other chapters cover haploid breeding, transgenics, cryogenics and bioinformatics.

This important 2-volume reference book is the first comprehensive resource reflecting the current global status and prospects of date palm cultivation by country. This volume covers Africa and the Americas. Countries included are: Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Cameroon, Djibouti, Chad, Mali Somalia, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and Senegal, as well as the United States of America and the South American countries Chile and Peru. Topics discussed are: cultivation practices; genetic resources and breeding; conservation and germplasm banks; cultivar classification and identification based on morphological and molecular markers; micropropagation and progress toward scale-up production; and advances in dates processing and marketing. Chapters are supported by tables and color photographs. Appendixes summarize traits and distribution of major cultivars, commercial resources of offshoots and in vitro plants; and institutions and scientific societies concerned with date palm.

This important reference book is the first comprehensive resource worldwide that reflects research achievements in date palm biotechnology, documenting research events during the last four decades, current status, and future outlook. This book is essential for researchers, policy makers, and commercial entrepreneurs concerned with date palm. The book is invaluable for date palm biotechnology students and specialists. This monument is written by an international team of experienced researchers from both academia and industry. It consists of five sections covering all aspects of date palm biotechnology including A) Micropropagation, B) Somaclonal Variation, Mutation and Selection, C) Germplasm Biodiversity and Conservation, D) Genetics and Genetic Improvement, and E) Metabolites and Industrial Biotechnology. The book brings together the principles and practices of contemporary date palm biotechnology. Each chapter contains background knowledge related to the topic, followed by a comprehensive literature review of research methodology and results including the authors own experience including illustrative tables and photographs.