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This book provides comprehensive knowledge of the methods of detection and identification of phyllosphere microbial pathogens and the management of different kinds of diseases caused by them in various crops. Interactions between pathogens and host plants result in the induction of defense responses expressed via molecular signals, from initiation of infection to systemic progression of pathogen invasion in susceptible plants and contrasting signals in resistant plants, leading to inhibition of pathogen development through activation of preinfectional and postinfectional defense responses. These are critically discussed.The author describes the intricate and complex competitive activities of the pathogens and host plants in a molecular warfare that the host plant must win to break the link in the pathogens'life cycle, allowing the development of disease management strategies based on the principles of exclusion, eradication, and immunization. Integration of strategies concerning the development of cultivars resistant to pathogens through breeding and biotechnological techniques, application of biotic and abiotic inducers of resistance to pathogens, and use of disease-free seeds and propagules that are complementary to each other along with effective cultural practices are emphasized.This book presents information gathered through an extensive literature search to help researchers and graduate students in agricultural sciences identify research gaps and successfully complete their research projects.

This book covers the biotechnological advances being used for the understanding of plant diseases and the subsequent enhancement of disease resistance in crop plants. Chapters are focused on recent advances in sequencing technologies, computational resources and genomics tools useful for the identification of loci governing disease resistance. In addition, emphasis is given to novel approaches like genomic selection for achieving significant genetic gain for quantitative disease resistance. The book thoroughly describes sequencing-based approaches like whole genome sequencing, resequencing, and transcriptome profiling being explored for the understanding of disease resistance mechanisms. Finally, several chapters systematically describing the utilities and concerns of high-end technologies like genome-editing are provided. Simplified Illustrations are provided in every chapter to explain different biotechnological approaches and strategies. The book will help to better explore the biotechnological advances in development of disease resistant crop varieties.

This book provides a comprehensive view for plant microbe interactions towards stress management and microbiome-assisted approaches in sustainable agriculture. It is divided into four major sections. The book gives insights into the increasing threat of abiotic and biotic stresses and the accompanying challenges to modern agriculture. Through different chapters, the book shows how various microorganisms could ameliorate abiotic and biotic stress, and contribute towards food sustainability and restore ecosystem functioning. It provides a deep understanding of soil microbiome and its interaction with plants, to enhance food security. It further talks about metagenomic approaches for methodological tool for studying the soil microbiome. Separate sections on stress, talk at length about the various abiotic and biotic stresses that plants are faced it. The book culminates with an exciting section on microbiome-assisted approaches for combating stress. It talks about the different microbiomes such as rhizosphere, soil, phyllosphere and endophytic microbiome. The book would be beneficial to students, researchers and course instructors in microbiology, botany, plant pathology and agriculture.

The edited book covers all major and minor diseases in grain legumes (chickpea, pigeon pea, lentil, mung bean, common bean, groundnut, and soybean) and forages legumes (including Medicago, rice bean, and faba bean) and their control measures by using various breeding approaches.Grain legumes are versatile nutritionally rich crops, and are one of the important components of global food security. However, grain legumes are severely challenged by various major and emerging minor diseases causing serious limitations in grain yield and production. Thus, to minimize the negative impact of the growing yield loss caused by these diseases, several approaches have been developed and embraced. This book covers all the latest development in genetics, breeding, genomics, and molecular biology tools for combating various major and minor emerging diseases in all the grain legumes from expert authors. Chapters in this title contain all the relevant illustrations and statistical data detailing the present scenario and identifying the gap for meeting the future demand for sustaining global protein security by developing disease-resistant cultivars. This book is of interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, and policymakers to understand the impacts of various diseases on yield loss in legume crops.

The book deals with latest research achievements of Brassica scientists using omics approaches in understanding host-pathogen interaction, molecular detection, identification, and functional characterization of effectors/genes including pathogenomics and biometabolomics. Genomics of host-pathogen interaction is a source of information for the teachers, students, researchers, and policy makers to foster success in enhancing the Brassica production and productivity through the development of improved disease-resistant varieties with the use of omics technologies. It is a base and sound plate form for managing biological stresses of Brassica at global level. The book covers up-to-date information on genomics of host-pathogen interaction, pathogenomics of crucifers'pathogen, and biometabolomics of host pathosystem supplemented with ample photographs, illustrations, and figures which make it stimulating, effective, and easy to comprehend for readers, researchers, biology students, teachers, and policy makers.

This contributed volume aims at bringing together all the genetic engineering tools for managing various types of crop pests. The main focus of this book is to explore the application of these tools in pest management. Major pest groups covered in this book are insects, mites and nematodes.The first section covers all major genetic tools and molecular approaches. The second section deals with genetic tools for of beneficial containing three chapters involving honey bees, silkworms and natural enemies. Next section deals with genetic interactions against pests in diverse geographical regions with special focus on Africa, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Sections four and five addresses diverse aspects as management of pests, genetic behavior, gene expression, plasticity, pathways and interactions and options for mitigation of pests.It serves as a useful resource for professionals in the fields of entomology, agronomy, horticulture, ecology, and environmental sciences, as well as to agricultural producers and plant biotechnologists.

The cadmium (Cd) contamination has raised increasingly global concern on food safety. The book was composed to bring comprehensive and valuable thoughts about the food safety management against heavy metal contamination. In this book, current status of cadmium contamination in agricultural soils and crops is systematically summarized. In order to reduce the risk of Cd pollution in crops, Cd pollution-safe cultivar (Cd-PSC) strategy, i.e. identifying, breeding and applying the cultivars with particularly low Cd accumulation capacity in edible parts even when grown in Cd contaminated soil, is proposed as a most effective, low-cost and environmental-friendly method for minimizing Cd pollution in crops. To describe the framework of the Cd-PSC strategy, a series research results on water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica Forsk) are summarized as a typical case. The latest findings about the Cd-PSCs of water spinach, including cultivar variation in shoot Cd accumulation, identification and verification of low- and high-Cd accumulating cultivars, stability of Cd accumulation capacity at the cultivar level, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of the cultivar-dependent Cd uptake, transfer and accumulation, breeding methods for improving Cd-PSCs, and so on, have been covered. This book will provide valuable theoretical and practical understandings for controlling Cd pollution in crops grown on agricultural soils with known or unknown risk of Cd contamination.

This book covers the important diseases and pests of potato which are of global significance. The pests and diseases in potato lead to huge economic losses by reducing the yield and quality of the produce. This book describes major pests and diseases in detail with particular emphasis on the latest developments with respect to their biology, ecology, and management. It highlights the importance of virus infection for seed potato production and diagnostic symptoms, along with management guidelines. The book brings forth tips for judicious use of pesticides for sustainable potato production and management of pesticide resistance. Use of novel approaches such as RNA interference, genome editing, and other genomic resources for drug designing in diseases and pest management is also emphasized in the book. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, extension workers, potato growers, and policy makers. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture and plant pathology. National and international agricultural scientists and policy makers will also find this to be a useful read.

The book presents comprehensive information on fundamental, and applied knowledge for developing varieties resistant individually as well as to all the major pathogens of crucifers, such as Albugo, Alternaria, Erysiphe, Hyaloperonospora, Plasmodiophora, Leptosphaeria, Sclerotinia, Turnip mosaic virus, Verticillium, and Xanthomonas through the use of latest biotechnological approaches including identification of R genes and their incorporation into agronomically superior varieties. The chapters include the information's viz., principles of host resistance, identification of R-genes sources, inheritance of disease resistance, host resistance signaling network system to multiple stresses. The book also covers transfer of disease resistance, and management of disease resistance. Standardized, reproducible techniques are also included for the researchers of cruciferous crops for developing resistant cultivars. The book deals with the gaps in understanding, knowledge of genomics, and offers suggestions for future research priorities in order to initiate the advance research on disease resistance. This book is immensely useful to the researchers especially Brassica breeders, teachers, extension specialists, students, industrialists, farmers, and all others who are interested to grow healthy, and profitable cruciferous crops all over the world.

Plants are an important source of fats and oils, which are essential for the human diet. In recent years, genomics of oil biosynthesis in plants have attracted great interest, especially in high oil-bearing plants, such as sesame, olive, sunflower, and palm. Considering that, genome sequencing projects of these plants have been undertaken with the help of advanced genomics tools such as next generation sequencing. Several genome sequencing projects of oil crops are in progress and many others are en route. In addition to genome information, advanced genomics approaches are discussed such as transcriptomics, genomics-assisted breeding, genome-wide association study (GWAS), genotyping by sequencing (GBS), and CRISPR. These have all improved our understanding of the oil biosynthesis mechanism and breeding strategies for oil production.There is, however, no book that covers the genomes and genomics of oil crops. For this reason, in this volume we collected the most recent knowledge of oil crop genomics for researchers who study oil crop genomes, genomics, biotechnology, pharmacology, and medicine. This book covers all genome-sequenced oil crops as well as the plants producing important oil metabolites. Throughout this book, the latest genomics developments and discoveries are highlighted as well as open problems and future challenges in oil crop genomics. In doing so, we have covered the state-of-the-art of developments and trends of oil crop genomics.

This book offers a comprehensive guide to the identification, detection, characterization, classification and management of plant pathogens and other beneficial microbes in agriculture. The science of plant pathology is a dynamic field and, given the growing interest in sustainable agricultural practices, plant disease management has also gained importance. Further, there has been a shift from traditional chemical-based methods to eco-friendly integrated disease management strategies with a greater focus on bio-control and other eco-friendly technologies. This book provides a comprehensive and timely account of latest concepts and advances in the field of plant pathology, including detection and diagnosis, host resistance, disease forecasting and plant biotechnological approaches. Accordingly, it will be of great interest to academics and all stakeholders working in the fields of plant pathology, microbiology, biotechnology, plant breeding, and other life sciences.

Increasing world population, unpredictable climate and various kind of biotic and abiotic stresses necessitate the sustainable increase in crop production through developing improved cultivars possessing enhanced genetic resilience against all odds. An exploration of these challenges and near possible solution to improve yield is addressed in this book. It comprehensively and coherently reviews the application of various aspect of rapidly growing omics technology including genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics for crop development. It provides detailed examination of how omics can help crop science and introduces the benefits of using these technologies to enhance crop production, resistance and other values. It also provides platform to ponder upon the integrative approach of omics to deal with complex biological problems. The book highlights crop improvement such as yield enhancement, biotic and abiotic resistance, genetic modification, bioremediation, food security etc. It explores how the different omics technology independently and collectively would be used to improve the quantitative and qualitative traits of crop plants. The book is useful for graduate and post-graduate students of life science including researchers who are keen to know about the application of omics technologies in the different area of plant science. This book is also an asset to the modern plant breeders, and agriculture biotechnologist.

This book sheds new light on ways to alleviate biotic and abiotic stress in plants, using signaling molecules of plant growth promotory rhizobacteria. Further, it elaborates on the different types of stress and strategies used by plants under various stress conditions. The respective sections describe the importance of the microbiome for the overall health of plants and how exploring plant-microbe communication and signaling pathways could offer a promising avenue for future research. The book also discusses how rhizobacteria could be exploited in stress alleviation and sustainable agriculture, and addresses omics strategies for stress response and mitigation. Thanks to clearly annotated references, the book also supports and encourages readers to further explore the topics discussed.

Palms are monocots, Angiosperms, belonging to the family Palmae (Arecaceae), perennials having woody stems. Palmae (Arecaceae) family comprised of about six subfamilies, 200 genera and 2,700 species that are distributed all over the tropical, subtropical and Mediterranean landscape. Palms are diverse (ecologically and morphologically) group of plants. Ornamental palms are important component of landscape as well as interiorscapes. Additionally, these plants are good source of food, feed and shelter with numerous other commercial benefits. Likewise other trees and crops, landscape and field nurseries of palms are also subjected to various threats of insect pest and diseases (caused by different plant pathogens). Amongst fungal diseases leaf spots, leaf blights, Fusarium wilts, butt rots, bud rots, root rots, lethal yellowing and decline of palms are major growth constraints of palm growth. In developing countries very little attention has been paid on the etiology and management of these fungal diseases on ornamental palms. Accurate diagnosis and reliable management plan of palm fungal diseases usually requires expertise in both modern and advanced plant pathological approaches. Historically it was general belief that plant pathogens are not associated with human diseases. Since 19th century, several clinical reports are available indicating many plant pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Alternaria spp., Trichoderma spp., Fusarium spp., Curvularia spp. and Colletotrichum Spp) as novel agents of human diseases. Besides the association of fungal plant pathogens infecting ornamental palms, harbouring any of earlier mentioned or other fungal species (capable of causing certain diseases in human beings or pets) by the ornamental palms cultivation (either grown indoor or outdoor) is an important area of research to be explored and addressed thoroughly. This book will provide the deep information regarding major fungal diseases of ornamental palms, their symptoms, disease identification, and etiology and management strategies. This book will also provide unique knowledge regarding the ornamental palms harbouring kinds of human fungal pathogens and their practical management at domestic and commercial scale, in order to make cultivation of these plant more beneficial for humans, animals and environment.

With 160+ countries and islands, the tropical belt is the geographical region centered on the equator and limited by the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Tropical agricultural production is mostly for local consumption but cash crops are also present. Tropical agriculture is characterized by a significant lack of capital in research and agricultural systems and by a high prevalence of insect pests and diseases. Phytoplasma diseases are associated by bacteria-like pathogens living in plant sap and spread by sap-feeding insects. They are emerging diseases and are difficult to control, mostly because their epidemiology is not known. This book will focus on detection and prevention of phytoplasma diseases in field and horticultural crops grown in the tropical belt. The book will review current prevention methods used in small and large-scale farms, and present research results aiming at developing sustainable management of phytoplasma diseases in the tropics.

With advances in agro-technology, cucurbits are now being grown throughout the year. However, they are prone to biotic and abiotic stresses resulting in significant yield loss. Sustainable management of such stresses is a complex issue in the intensive cultivation of cucurbits involving high levels of fertilization and irrigation. Further, under the changing climatic conditions, pest scenarios vary constantly, with invasive alien species of pests becoming more common as a result of free trade and frequent international travel. As such, agrochemicals are being used as powerful weapons to combat the increasing number of pests and diseases. Lack of proper crop management technologies, inaccurate diagnosis, and indiscriminate and excessive use of pesticides are major causes of pesticide resistance and resurgence, environmental pollution, and hazards to the non-target biota. This comprehensive book provides essential insights into the management of biotic and abioticstresses in cucurbit cultivation and re-evaluating the role of agrochemicals, and gathers information on insect pests, mites, nematodes, diseases and weeds, as well as on their sustainable management from scattered sources. Written in language that is easy to understand and including high-quality photographs, it is a valuable resource for students, researchers, plant protection specialists, extension workers, and growers.

The regulation of the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation process, resulting in “cellular switches” that monitor normal plant physiology, growth and development, has immense potential in crop systems. With much of the information in the nascent stages, coming largely from Arabidopsis and rice particularly, the use of cell biology, genetic screens, biochemical approaches aided by an omics approach should help unravel the detail functional information available about signaling pathways in plants. The regulation could be exploited to develop crop varieties better equipped to handle changing environments and enhance agricultural productivity. In the post-genomic era, one of the major challenges is investigation and understanding of multiple genes and gene families regulating a particular physiological and developmental aspect of plant life cycle. One of the important physiological processes is regulation of stress response, which leads to adaptationor adjustment in response to adverse stimuli. With the holistic understanding of the signaling pathways involving phosphatases, one gene family or multiple genes or gene families, plant biologist can lay a foundation for designing and generating future crops, which can withstand the higher degree of environmental stresses. Especially abiotic stresses, which are the major cause of crop loss throughout the world without losing crop yield and productivity.This book incorporates the contributions from leading plant biologists in the field of stress-mediated dephosphorylation by phosphatases as an important task to elucidate the aspects of stress signaling by functional genomic approaches.

This book provides in-depth information on all key aspects of geminivirus biology, e.g. the genetics and evolution, global diversity and spread of these plant pathogens, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying their virulence. Geminiviridae is one of the largest viral families, comprising numerous plant-infecting viruses that cause diseases in crops and weeds. These diseases have been reported from nearly all continents, in particular Asia, Europe, Africa and America. The book summarizes the current state of knowledge on the interactions between plant host and virus. In addition, it discusses advances regarding the trans-replication of satellite molecules and its effect on geminiviral pathogenesis, as well as pest management strategies to combat these diseases in the field. Given its scope, the book is a must-read reference guide for all researchers and advanced students working in virology, agriculture and plant biotechnology..

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 andproductivity 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.

Human population is escalating at an enormous pace and is estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. As a result, there will be an increase in demand for agricultural production by 60–110% between the years 2005 and 2050 at the global level; the number will be even more drastic in the developing world. Pathogens, animals, and weeds are altogether responsible for between 20 to 40% of global agricultural productivity decrease. As such, managing disease development in plants continues to be a major strategy to ensure adequate food supply for the world. Accordingly, both the public and private sectors are moving to harness the tools and paradigms that promise resistance against pests and diseases. While the next generation of disease resistance research is progressing, maximum disease resistance traits are expected to be polygenic in nature and controlled by selective genes positioned at putative quantitative trait loci (QTLs). It has also been realized that sources of resistance are generally found in wild relatives or cultivars of lesser agronomic significance. However, introgression of disease resistance traits into commercial crop varieties typically involves many generations of backcrossing to transmit a promising genotype. Molecular marker-assisted breeding (MAB) has been found to facilitate the pre-selection of traits even prior to their expression. To date, researchers have utilized disease resistance genes (R-genes) in different crops including cereals, pulses, and oilseeds and other economically important plants, to improve productivity. Interestingly, comparison of different R genes that empower plants to resist an array of pathogens has led to the realization that the proteins encoded by these genes have numerous features in common. The above observation therefore suggests that plants may have co-evolved signal transduction pathways to adopt resistance against a wide range of divergent pathogens. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms necessary for pathogen identification and a thorough dissection of the cellular responses to biotic stresses will certainly open new vistas for sustainable crop disease management. This book summarizes the recent advances in molecular and genetic techniques that have been successfully applied to impart disease resistance for plants and crops. It integrates the contributions from plant scientists targeting disease resistance mechanisms using molecular, genetic, and genomic approaches. This collection therefore serves as a reference source for scientists, academicians and post graduate students interested in or are actively engaged in dissecting disease resistance in plants using advanced genetic tools.

The Encyclopedia of Plant Viruses and Viroids provides an up-to-date information on the viruses and viroids infecting all types of cultivated and weed plants at global level; and is unique among plant virology texts as it is organized alphabetically by the genus name of the host plant infected. It allows the reader to readily determine all of the different viruses currently reported naturally infecting the plant genus and species. Information is provided for each virus and viroids on common synonyms, current taxonomic status, geographical distribution, symptoms induced, other known hosts, means of transmission and properties of both the virus particles and the genome. Where ever the same virus is known to infect multiple hosts, host-specific information, biological properties and genome characters are presented under each host affected. The index can be utilized to identify other crops infected by the same virus, showing which other crops might be at risk of infection in the event of introduction of a virus that has not previously reported in an area, or which might serve as potential virus reservoirs for infection of more sensitive or economically important crops than the host in which it is initially identified. The taxonomy and nomenclature of the viruses and viroids are followed based on the current guidelines of the 10th ICTV Report, covering up to 2018 and also about many new viruses and viroids that have been reported but not yet recognized as species by ICTV, have been included in this Encyclopedia. The uniqueness of this Encyclopedia is that all the known viruses and viroids affecting more than 1010 plant species at global level are described and the plant species are arranged in alphabetical order of the scientific name of the plant along the relevant information on 1518 viruses and viroids and is the ready-reckoner of the global plant species and their viruses and viroids for students, scientists, teachers of Plant Pathology& Virology; and also for the crop protection professionals, agricultural policymakers, seed companies and quarantine agencies.

The earliest land-plants evolved around 450 million years ago from aquatic plants devoid of vascular systems. The diversification of flowering plants (angiosperms) during the Cretaceous period is associated with speciation in insects. Early insect herbivores were mandibulate, but the evolution of vascular plants led to the co-evolution of other forms of herbivory, such as leaf feeding, sap-sucking, leaf mining, tissue borer, gall forming and nectar-feeding. Plant defense against biotic stress is an adaptive evolution by plants to increase their fitness. Plants use a variety of strategies to defend against damage caused by herbivores. Plant defense mechanisms are either inbuilt or induced. Inbuilt mechanisms are always present within the plant, while induced defenses are produced or mobilized to the site where a plant is injured. Induced defense mechanisms include morphological, physiological changes and production of secondary metabolites.Host plant resistance (HPR) is one of the eco-friendly methods of pest management. It protects the crop by making it less suitable or tolerant to the pest. While books on theoretical aspects of HPR are available, an exclusive book on the practical aspects is lacking. There is a wide gap between the theory and the experimental procedures required for conducting studies on plant resistance for the post graduate students and young researchers. A dire need for a book on practical aspects was strongly felt. Initially a practical manual was prepared which eventually evolved into the present book. We hope this book provides information on major aspects of screening crop germplasm, sampling techniques, genetic and biochemical basis of HPR, behavioural studies on pheromone and plant volatiles, and some of the recent approaches in HPR. Further, the references provide the scientific articles and books as additional information to readers and workers alike.

Raspberry is a globally-significant soft fruit crop, with increasing interest to consumers due to its versatility and health-related constituents. In this background context, it is therefore timely to consider the present and future status of the raspberry crop, particularly with the advances in the use of molecular tools and plant phenotyping to improve our understanding of improving crop quality and fruit yields. Since the 1980s a wealth of fundamental genomics and metabolomics resources have been developed for soft fruits including linkage maps, physical maps, QTLs and expression tools. However, a number of serious and emerging challenges exist for the raspberry industry, including the plants'ability to resist major pest and disease burdens and the impact of climate change on crop production, specifically water use and water availability for soft fruit crops.This book aims to address some of these challenges by updating the information known about this important crop, its health value, the major pest and diseases which affect raspberry and approaches for their control, and the speed and precision offered by selective breeding programs by the deployment of molecular tools and linkage maps for germplasm assessment. Understanding the genetic control of commercially and nutritionally important traits and the linkage of these characteristics to molecular markers on chromosomes is the future basis of plant breeding. We will also introduce the opportunity to fast track breeding by improving the speed of phenotypic selection by utilizing imaging sensor technologies, thereby reducing the cost of years of field assessment through developing this knowledge into markers linked to key fruit traits. The chapters of this book will span the knowledge gained from the collaborations between growers, plant breeders, plant physiologists, soil scientists, geneticists, agronomists and physicists which is essential to achieve progress in improving productivity and a sustainable industry.

Fungi are an economic very important class of microbes. Not only do they host a range of versatile enzymes used in industrial applications (biofuels, laundry, food processing), as well do they produce several very important pharmaceutical drugs (statins and penicillins). Moreover, fungal pathogens can cause great damage in agricultural production (Phytophthora and Botrytis) and during mammalian infections (Penicillium marneffei and Candida). Transformation of DNA is used to understand the genetic basis behind these traits. Several different techniques have been developed over the years and readily shown to be decisive methods to improve fungal biotechnology. This book will cover the basics behind the most commonly used transformation methods, as well as associated tools and techniques. Each chapter will provide protocols along with examples to be used in laboratories worldwide.

The earth's biodiversity is a degree of ecosystem health which is vital to ecology and environmental sustainability. The microbial world is the largest unexplored reservoir. The agro-ecosystem enriched with rhizosphere implicit abundant and species-rich component of microbial diversity. Its global exploration designs a worldwide framework for agricultural sustainability adjoining benefits in its conservation.Agricultural sustainability requires a major share from ecosystem management which is better paid by microbial diversity and conservation. Diversity of bacteria influences plant productivity providing nutrient convenience from soil instead altering per se community and diversity in the rhizosphere where they may influence mechanistic competent and antagonistic micro-flora. The potential species among the diversity are therefore, essential subjective to their maintenance for use around the globe. Microbial population in agro-ecosystem is influenced by stresses, reduce functionality as a component. It is therefore, important to explore secrets of planned strategy so as to unravel the microbial diversity and conservation in agricultural development. Microorganisms are minute, pervasive in nature and alleged as disease host instead tiny recognize as employee of agro-ecosystem, indulge in agricultural development and potential contributor in world of ecological and economical wealth creation. This step pertinently would help to launch scientific motivation needed to support the refrain of microbial diversity and conservation.

White rust caused by the fungus Albugo is the most devastating disease known to occur in more than 50 countries and infects about 400 plant species belonging to 31 families worldwide including important vegetable crucifers, oil yielding Brassicas, ornamental plants and numerous weeds. This book on “White Rust” deals with the aspects on “the disease” and “the pathogen” is vividly illustrated for stimulating, effective and easy reading and understanding. We are sure that this comprehensive treatise on “white rust” will be of immense use to the researchers, teachers, students and all others who are interested in the diagnosis and management of white rust diseases of crops worldwide.

In the middle of the twentieth century, new insecticides were being con­ stantly developed and it seemed that pesticides would be able to control insect pests indefinitely. In fact, from the 1950s to the 1980s, pest control was mostly based on conventional insecticides such as organochlorines, organo­ phosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids. However, the severe adverse effects of pesticides on the environment, the resistance problems reaching crisis pro­ portions and public protests led to stricter regulations and legislation aimed at reducing the use of pesticides. Consequently, other ways to manage insects have been suggested, such as the use of biorational pesticides with minimal adverse effects on the environment, biological control, host-plant resistance to pests, mating disruption with pheromones, and cultural and physical con­ trol. The ideas behind'integrated control'were published at the end of the 1950s by groups of entomologists from California, and served as a basis for initiating integrated pest management (IPM) in the 1970s. Since the 1980s, insecticide resistant management (IRM) programs have been introduced as a result of increasing problems of resistance to pesticides. IPM programs were strengthened as the awareness of environmental fragility intensified. Since the late 1990s, advanced approaches to manage insect pests have been devel­ oped. One of the novel and exciting innovations in the study of plant resis­ tance to pests has been the introduction of genetically engineered or trans­ genic plants.

This volume mainly reports on new and recent advancements on different aspects of Pseudomonas syringae, a plant pathogenic bacterial species that include a high number of pathogens of important crops, which is an interesting model organism in plant pathology. In addition some related fluorescent Pseudomonas spp., responsible of new and emerging diseases, as well as some pathogens previously included in the above genus and now classified in the genera Ralstonia, Acidovorax are also considered. The tremendous recent advancements on: the ecology and epidemiology and, in particular, the adaptation of P. syringae to stresses and adverse environmental conditions; the function and regulation of genes involved in the production of phytotoxins and on their mechanism of action in the interaction with the host cells; the structure, function and regulation of type three secretion system (TTSS) and the transport of the effectors proteins in the host cells; the possibility to control diseases through the induction of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR); the development of molecular techniques for the highly specific and sensible identification and detection of pathogens; the determination of the causal agents of new and emerging diseases as well the classification of the different pathovars of P. syringae; are reported in 76 chapters cured by leading scientist in the respective fields.

The book presents a chronology of events of B. tabaci and geminiviruses, and an overview within the Caribbean and Latin America. The pathosystems involving Tomato yellow leaf curl virus, Cotton leaf curl virus and the cassava mosaic viruses are discussed. Data is presented on amino acid concentrations influencing B. tabaci and thus serves the basis for holidic diets. The essential molecular techniques for B. tabaci identification and classification are included with factors to consider for appropriate applications; an essential working guide for graduate students and researchers in the molecular field. Excellent photos portray symptoms of geminivirus-infecting crops: tomato, cotton, cassava, legumes and cucurbits; an important guide for researchers and growers. The novel insecticides, their mode of action and specificity; emphasize the applications of these within IPM programs.

'Experimental Plant Virology” provides the updated methodology for studying the genomic characterization and mechanisms of infection, the quantitative determination as well as the diagnosis of plant pathogenic viruses. With illustrations showing viral symptoms and ultra-structures, clear and concise descriptions, the book presents the latest developments in experimental plant virology. This book is intended for researchers, university teaching staff, graduate students and undergraduates in plant science. Dr. Jishuang Chen is a professor of plant pathology at the Institute of Bioengineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, China.

A few members of the Gossypium (cotton) genus are cultivated for the production of elongated single-celled fibers valued worldwide at about $20 billion annually at the farm gate, and which sustain one of the world's largest industries (textiles) with an annual worldwide economic impact of about $500 billion. In a number of ways, cotton production and the textile industry are closely tied to petrochemical usage. At a practical level, cotton genomics offers both bio-based carbon sequestration alternatives to petrochemical use, and improved sustainability of crop production. The Gossypium (cotton) also genus presents novel opportunities to advance our understanding of the natural world and its organic evolution. In particular, the evolution of cultivated cottons from their wild ancestors has involved a fascinating series of events that offer scientists the opportunity to dissect the evolution of a novel organ, the ‘lint fiber', and also to unravel the consequences of polyploidy, both for the generation of biodiversity and for crop productivity. In this book, advances of the past decade will be summarized and synthesized to elucidate the current state of knowledge of the structure, function, and evolution of the Gossypium genome, and progress in the application of this knowledge to cotton improvement. This book will address five broad topics. First, as a backdrop for all studies of the genus, it is important to understand the naturally-occurring diversity in the genus, its organization and distribution, and its evolutionary history. Of special importance is the formation of a single polyploid from two (among 8) diploid genome types, the radiation of this polyploid, and the domestication and improvement of two (among 5 extant) polyploid species.

Rice blast, caused by the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe grisea, is one of the most destructive rice diseases worldwide and destroys enough rice to feed more than 60 million people annually. Due to high variability of the fungal population in the field, frequent loss of resistance of newly-released rice cultivars is a major restraint in sustainable rice production. In the last few years, significant progress has been made in understanding the defense mechanism of rice and pathogenicity of the fungus. The rice blast system has become a model pathosystem for understanding the molecular basis of plant-fungal interactions due to the availability of both genomes of rice and M. grisea and a large collection of genetic resources. This book provides a complete review of the recent progress and achievements on genetic, genomic and disease control of the disease. Most of the chapters were presented at the 4th International Rice Blast Conference held on October 9-14, 2007 in Changsha, China. This book is a valuable reference not only for plant pathologists and breeders working on rice blast but also for those working on other pathysystems in crop plants.

Investigations on various aspects of plant-pathogen interactions have the ultimate aim of providing information that may be useful for the development of effective crop disease management systems. Molecular techniques have accelerated the formulation of short- and long-term strategies of disease management. Exclusion and eradication of plant pathogens by rapid and precise detection and identification of microbial pathogens in symptomatic and asymptomatic plants and planting materials by employing molecular methods has been practiced extensively by quarantines and certification programs with a decisive advantage. Identification of sources of resistance genes, cloning and characterization of desired resistance genes and incorporation of resistance gene(s) into cultivars and transformation of plants with selected gene(s) have been successfully performed by applying appropriate molecular techniques. Induction of resistance in susceptible cultivars by using biotic and abiotic inducers ofresistance is a practical proposition for several crops whose resistance levels could not be improved by breeding or transformation procedures. The risks of emergence of pathogen strains less sensitive or resistant to chemicals have been reduced appreciably by rapid identification of resistant strains and monitoring the occurrence of such strains in different geographical locations.

Studies on the phenomenon of plant pathogenesis (disease development) have been useful to have a deep insight into the interactions between host plant and the pathogen. Depending on the levels of susceptibility (compatibility) or resistance (incompatibility) of the host plant and virulence of the pathogen, disease development may progress, either leading to symptom expression or result in the suppression of pathogen proliferation. Molecular techniques have been applied to elucidate the nature of interactions between the gene products of the plant and pathogen at cellular and molecular levels. Successful evasion of host's surveillance system and subsequent activities of metabolites of the pathogen (enzymes and toxins) encoded by pathogen genes counteracting the effects of various defense-related antimicrobial compounds present already or produced by the host plants, after initiation of infection have been critically studied by applying various molecular techniques. In addition to studying various phases of disease development in individual plants, molecular methods have been demonstrated to be effective, in gathering data on various aspects of epidemiology under natural conditions where the interaction of pathogen with populations of plants is influenced significantly by the environmental conditions existing in different ecosystems. This volume focuses on the possibility of applying the knowledge on pathogenesis and molecular epidemiology to determine the vulnerable stages in the life cycles of the pathogens that can be disrupted to achieve more effective disease control.

Studies on molecular biology of pathogens, infection process and disease resistance, have provided information essentially required to understand the vulnerable stages at which the pathogens can be tackled effectively and to adopt novel strategies to incorporate disease resistance genes from diverse sources and /or to induce resistance of cultivars with desirable agronomic attributes using biotic or abiotic agents. The nature of interaction between the gene products of the pathogen and plant appears to determine the outcome of the interaction resulting in either disease progression or suppression. Transgenic plants with engineered genes show promise for effective exploitation of this approach for practical application. Research efforts during the recent years to sequence the whole genomes of the pathogens and plants may lead to development of better ways of manipulating disease resistance mechanisms enabling the grower to achieve higher production levels and the consumer to enjoy safer food and agricultural products. Experimental protocols included in appropriate chapters will be useful for researchers and graduate students.

GeneticsandGenomicsofSoybean,EditedbyProfessorGaryStacey,isaremarkable collection of articles by internationally-recognized experts in the?eld of soybean genomics – many of whom helped to develop the tools and resources necessary to establish soybean as a powerful crop to investigate important basic and applied questions of plant biology. This collection of articles provides a comprehensive up-to-date review of the?eld of soybean genomics, and documents how far this?eld has advanced in the last few years. From the vantage point of someone like myself who?rst began investigatingthe organizationand expression of the soybean genome thirty years ago, the insights provided by the authors in this book in- cate that soybean has indeed “come of age,” and that decades-old mysteries of the soybean genome are now being illuminated. Genetics and Genomics of Soybean is divided into four sections: (1) soybean genome natural history and diversity – which includes chapters on the genetic variation of the soybean genome and its relationship to other legume genomes; (2) tools, resources, and approaches – which includes reviews of technological advances that are being used to study the s- bean genome – including the?rst glimpse of how the soybean genome is being sequenced and assembled; (3) investigations of soybean biology – which contains chapters that review how genomics tools have been used to study important qu- tions – such as seed development, host-pathogen interactions, abiotic stress, and metabolic pathways; and (4) how Roundup Ready soybeans, generated by genetic engineering, have made an impact on global soybean agriculture.

Having spent most of my life in Academia teaching and carrying out fundam- tal research on plant form and function, I found this collection of essays to be of considerable interest as they expanded my knowledge of genomics to plants - yond the well-studied model systems of Arabidopsis, rice, and temperate maize. It was even more valuable to me in terms of my more recent interest in international agriculture—in particular,my personal interest in promotingthe integration of - ings from the advanced plant sciences into current approaches to crop impro- ment for the bene t of poor, small-scale farmers in the developing world. In my experience, one of the greatest challenges to such integration is the relatively weak interactionamongscientists workingat the forefrontofgenomicsresearchandthose involved in the improvement of crops important to such farmers. Since most of the crops important to the poor are of tropical origin, one hopes that this very readable collection of essays will help bridge that gap as they should be of interest to both types of scientists. My own experience is interesting in this regard—I had thought that it might be useful to read just a few of these essays and ended up wanting to read them all! Reading this collection forced me to consider several important issues.

Ascochyta blights consistently affect large areas of grain legume production (pea, lentil, chickpea and faba bean) in all countries where they are cultivated. These diseases are capable of causing large yield losses under conducive environmental conditions. This book considers the state of the art by taking a comparative approach of Ascochyta blight diseases of cool season food and feed legumes. Topics considered are pathogen diversity, legume genetics and breeding, and integrated disease management. Reprinted from European Journal of Plant Pathology, Volume 119, No. 1, 2007

The idea of developing a comprehensive volume on PLANT-ASSOCIATED BACTERIA was born in my mind about 5 years back. I decided therefore that the proposed volume on Plant-Associated Bacteria will be a complete volume on plant bacteriology. There are several books on symbiotic and beneficial bacteria. There are also books and volumes on plant pathogenic bacteria. In recent years, the pla- growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) has emerged as an important group which has significant applications to crop production and biological disease control. There is a vital need for a comprehensive volume on all plant-associated bacteria that also includes epiphytic and endophytic bacteria. In my mind, the proposal appeared worthwhile and timely. In the present era of genomics, there has been an enhanced interest in the genomics of the plant-associated bacteria (Example: the Plant-Associated Microbe Genome Initiative, American Phytopathological Society–www.apsnetorg/ media/ ps/top.asp). Traditional methods of identification of bacteria have been replaced by molecular methods for diagnostics and their phylogeny. This volume tries to carefully document both the traditional and recent methods. To achieve this, the contributors have been chosen from among the best experts to provide updated information for a reader who has specific expectations in a volume of this nature.