Search

This book provides new insight and a better understanding of nanotechnology in mitigating crop biotic stresses.It covers crop diseases and different nano-based management strategies used to manage pathogens and plant-parasitic nematodes damaging crops. Nanoparticles have the potential to revolutionize crop yield and can control plant biotic stress. Nanotechnology in plant pathology is a new frontier among various nanotechnological applications. Nanotechnology applications include the development of nano-based pesticides and nanoformulations of chemicals for crop improvement by reducing biotic stress. Different nanomaterials like ZnONPs, SiO2NPs, CuONPs, AgNPs, and TiO2NPs have been examined for their impacts on plant growth and biotic stress management. This book deals with the advanced use of nanotechnology in managing the biotic stress of crops and improving crop production. It covers these issues and many more. Each chapter focus on one particular topic. Incorporate chapters provide detailed information on nanotechnology and may help in future research. This book will be useful for researchers, professors, and postgraduate and undergraduate students, especially concerning agriculture and plant pathology.

This book covers cadmium contamination of soil and plants, its sources, acute and long-term impacts on the environment and human health, and overall challenges posed by the global poisoning issue. Cadmium is among the elements that have been most broadly used by man over time, which has led to extensive pollution of surface soils, mainly associated with the mining and smelting of the metal and the addition of organic cadmium compounds to petrol. The release of cadmium into the atmosphere from various high-temperature processes has also led to surface contamination on a regional and even global scale. Cadmium is particularly firmly bound to humic matter in organic-rich soil and to iron oxides in mineral soil and is rather immobile in the soil unless present at very high concentrations. Plants grown on cadmium-rich soils incorporate cadmium, thus increasing the concentration of cadmium in crop plants. Cadmium thus enters the food chain through the consumption of plant material, whichposes important health risks to humans and animals. In this book, readers will find out about the latest mitigation strategies, including a multi-disciplinary approach to address cadmium contamination. Recent methods in cadmium detoxification, speciation, and molecular mechanisms are included, and the book offers the knowledge required for efficient risk assessment, prevention, and countermeasure. Divided into 3 parts, this book brings together expert contributions on cadmium toxicity. In the first part, readers will find out about the different sources and distribution of cadmium in soil and plant ecosystems. The second part of the book outlines the health risks linked to cadmium toxicity, and in the final part, readers will discover sustainable cadmium toxicity mitigation strategies and potential applications of recent biological technology in providing solutions. This book is a valuable resource for students, academics, researchers, and environmental professionalsdoing fieldwork on cadmium contamination throughout the world.

This book describes the contributing aspects of contemporary developments related to sustainable agricultural resources and assessment of sustainable agriculture in developing nations. The issues like food crisis and declining agro-productivity, post-pandemic food security, zonation and mapping technique viewing food crisis, biotechnology and sustainable agricultural, scaling hunger indices, health hazard and food crisis, changing climate and food availability, consumer load and fertilizer usage, growing demand and increasing usage of harmful chemical in agro-fields are regarded as serious concerns. Thereafter, the scope of sustainable agricultural potentiality (SAP) modeling, amidst the arena of deforestation and encroachment of new cultivable land, impact of pandemic on sustainable agriculture, using wastewater as non-sustainable agricultural practice, applying geospatial techniques on extreme weather susceptibility and agro-production, soil erosion and poor agricultural production, questioning shifting cultivation on the issue of sustainability, meteorological drought and irrigational gaps, occupational mobility and loss of agricultural heritage, farm-excreta burning and air quality index (AQI), GI-Science and sustainable agro-management, community preparedness in food crisis management, multi-criteria hunger index (MCHI), climate change declining sustainable agro-production are worth some. Almost the entire world has recently suffered from several natural and human-induced problems, among which food crisis and unsustainable agriculture throw significant challenges to human society. Contrastingly, if modern technology and means, with advanced monitoring and calibration methodology and policy guidance, can help, it will undoubtedly reduce half of the world's problems and ensure the future survival of human society. In addition, this approach also can minimize the other partially linked problems, like climate change and food shortage, livelihood crisis, environmental refugees, international trade balance, global food supply chain interruption, the ever-expanding gap between rich and poor, and so on. Therefore, properly nurturing the knowledge on the application of GI-Science for an agriculturally sustainable society and their monitoring and management can curtail the gap between science, policy, and the ground-level scenario concerned.

Discover the positive and helpful contributions made by microorganisms to various areas of human health, food preservation and production, biotechnology, industry, environmental clean up and sustainable agriculture. In Good Microbes in Medicine, Food Production, Biotechnology, Bioremediation and Agriculture, a team of distinguished researchers delivers a comprehensive and eye-opening look at the positive side of bacteria and other microbes. The book explores the important and positive roles played by microorganisms. Divided into five sections, Good Microbes examines the use of microorganisms and the microbiome in human health, food production, industrial use, bioremediation, and sustainable agriculture. Coverage spans from food allergies, skin disorders, microbial food preservation and fermentation of various beverages and food products, also from an ethnical point of view to beneficial use of microbes in biotechnology, industry, bioeconomy, environmental remediation such as resource recovery, microbial-based environmental clean-up, plant-microbe interactions in biorestauration, biological control of plant diseases, and biological nitrogen fixation. Provides basic knowledge on bacterial biology, biochemistry, genetics and genomics of beneficial microbes Includes practical discussions of microbial biotechnology, including the contribution of microbial biotechnology to sustainable development goals Features a comprehensive introduction and extensive index to facilitate the search for key terms. Perfect for scientists, researchers and anyone with an interest in beneficial microbes, Good Microbes in Medicine, Food Production, Biotechnology, Bioremediation and Agriculture is also an indispensable resource for microbiology graduate students, applied microbiologists and policy makers.

This book focuses on the nature and properties of soils of Hindu Kush-Himalayas and their management for agricultural land use. It discusses all aspects of climatic variations and potential of resources in the Himalayan region including examples from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China (Tibet), India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. Chapters cover the geology of the parent material of native soils, soils microbes, flora and fauna. Soil classification has been given in detail to better understand the nature of soils for judicious management strategies. The authors present land use practices and suggestions for changes in land use to benefit from the full potential of the soils in this region. Their ultimate aim is to find ways of feeding the ever-increasing population and raising the standard of life for the people living in the Himalayan mountain region.

Under ongoing climate change, natural and cultivated habitats of major food crops are being continuously disturbed. Such condition accelerates to impose stress effects like abiotic and biotic stressors. Drought, salinity, flood, cold, heat, heavy metals, metalloids, oxidants, irradiation etc. are important abiotic stresses; and diseases and infections caused by plant pathogens viz. fungal agents, bacteria and viruses are major biotic stresses. As a result, these harsh environments affect crop productivity and its biology in multiple complex paradigms. As stresses become the limiting factors for agricultural productivity and exert detrimental role on growth and yield of the crops, scientists and researchers are challenged to maintain global food security for a rising world population.This two-volume work highlights the fast-moving agricultural research on crop improvement through the stress mitigation strategies, with specific focuses on crop biology and their response to climatic instabilities. Together with'Climate Resilient Agriculture, Vol 1: Crop Responses and Agroecological Perspectives', it covers a wide range of topics under environmental challenges, agronomy and agriculture processes, and biotechnological approaches, uniquely suitable for scientists, researchers and students working in the fields of agriculture, plant science, environmental biology and biotechnology.

Under ongoing climate change, natural and cultivated habitats of major food crops are being continuously disturbed. Such condition accelerates to impose stress effects like abiotic and biotic stressors. Drought, salinity, flood, cold, heat, heavy metals, metalloids, oxidants, irradiation etc. are important abiotic stresses; and diseases and infections caused by plant pathogens viz. fungal agents, bacteria and viruses are major biotic stresses. As a result, these harsh environments affect crop productivity and its biology in multiple complex paradigms. As stresses become the limiting factors for agricultural productivity and exert detrimental role on growth and yield of the crops, scientists and researchers are challenged to maintain global food security for a rising world population.This two-volume work highlights the fast-moving agricultural research on crop improvement through the stress mitigation strategies, with specific focuses on crop biology and their response to climatic instabilities. Together with'Climate Resilient Agriculture, Vol 2: Agro-Biotechnological Advancement for Crop Production', it covers a wide range of topics under environmental challenges, agronomy and agriculture processes, and biotechnological approaches, uniquely suitable for scientists, researchers and students working in the fields of agriculture, plant science, environmental biology and biotechnology.

This book is the first comprehensive compilation of deliberations on jute botanical descriptions, germplasm resources, genetic diversity and population structure, DUS test and DNA fingerprinting, interspecific hybridization, classical genetics, cytology and cytogenetics, genetic transformation; and detailed enumeration on molecular mapping, genome sequencing initiatives of three major jute fiber producing countries, interspecific and intergeneric comparative genomics, organellar genomes, elucidation on functional genomics and genomics resources and database. Genetics and genomics of bast fiber development, biotic stress resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, and flowering pathways have also been discussed. It also presents a narrative on the power of molecular markers and genomics technology on jute breeding. Altogether, the book contains about 400 pages over 21 chapters authored by internationally reputed experts on the relevant field in this crop. This book will be useful to the students, teachers and scientists in the academia and relevant private companies interested in agronomy, genetics, pathology, entomology, physiology, molecular genetics and breeding, genetic engineering, and structural and functional genomics.

Coastal areas are commonly defined as the interface or transition areas between land and sea, including large inland lakes. Overall, about 50–70% of the global population live within 100 km of the coastline covering only about 4% of earth's land, thereby drawing heavily on coastal and marine habitats for food, building sites, transportation, recreational areas, and waste disposal. The people of these zones depend mainly on low productive agriculture due to several constraints such as prolonged water logging and drainage congestion in predominantly low-lying areas with heavy soils during the wet season, preponderance of saline and acid sulphate soils, scarcity of good quality irrigation water, particularly in the dry season, seawater intrusion into adjoining lands, and water pollution due to eutrophication, and others affecting the aquatic habitats, etc. Carbon sequestration in coastal areas, such as, marshes, lagoons, etc. has significant influence on soil quality, and the carbon pool in soils as well as their impacts on the environment. Over and above these, the coastal areas are prone to disasters due to climate change leading to colossal loss of lives and properties in many areas. Forestry and mangrove dynamics, in particular, because of their continuing diminishing nature, are also subjects of interest affecting the ecology of coastal zones requiring appropriate attention. The international symposium held in this context on ‘ Transforming Coastal Zones for Sustainable Food and Income Security'in virtual mode in March, 2021 offered scope to present and discuss various thematic areas by eminent scientists from all over the world. The proceedings of selected papers presented reflect cross-sectoral views of the areas highlighting, wherever necessary, a fusion of technologies, with the ultimate target to suggest livelihood security and sustainable development for the sensitive coastal zones. The book intends to share the knowledge with researchers, academicians, and various other stakeholders to address the complex problems of coastal regions, production constraints, social, economic, technical and environmental issues to draw out strategies for resilient agricultural technologies and improving livelihood security in coastal agro-ecosystems.

This edited book covers all aspects of grain legumes including negative impact of abiotic and biotic stresses under the changing global climate. It discusses the role of various subject disciplines ranging from plant breeding, genetics, plant physiology, molecular biology, and genomics to high-throughput phenotyping and other emerging technologies for sustaining global grain and fodder legume production to alleviate impending global food crises. The book offers strategies to ensure plant-based dietary protein security across the globe. It covers all major commercial legume crops used as food, feed and fodder. This book is targeted to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, progressive farmers and policymakers to inform them of the importance of cultivating grain and fodder legumes for future global food and nutritional security and for maintaining sustainable ecosystem.

This comprehensive edited volume collects the most recent information with up-to-date citations, on the decrease in plant productivity under climatic changes and its link with global food security. The book emphasis on the crop management practices and recent advancement in the techniques for mitigating the negative effects of climate induced biotic and abiotic stress. It brings together 19 chapters developed by eminent researchers in the area of plant and environmental sciences. Global climate change is increasingly becoming a concern for future of agriculture. High levels of inorganic and organic pollutants and climatic stress adversely affects the sensitive and complex equation of natural resources and ecosystem services. To meet the increased food demand, plant productivity needs to be enhanced, therefore this book fills in the gap and brings together information on the physiological and molecular approaches for improving crop productivity. The book is resourceful reading material for researchers, faculty members, graduate and post graduate students of plant science, agriculture, agronomy, soil science, botany, Molecular biology and environmental science.

Ending hunger, achieving food security and promoting sustainable development are at the top of the list of United Nations (UN) sustainable global development priorities. In the times of high population growth and increasing pressure of agricultural systems, efficiency in use of natural resources has been at the epicenter of sustainable agricultural. The concept of ‘Input efficiency'implies production of high quantity and quality of food, from using only finite natural resources as inputs, in the form of mainly land, water, nutrients, energy, or biological diversity. In this book, editors provide a roadmap to the food, nutritional, and environmental security in the agricultural systems. They share insight into the approaches that can be put in practice for increasing the input use efficiency in the cropping systems and achieve stability and sustainability of agricultural production systems. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, climate change scientists, capacity builders and policymakers. Also the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, agroforestry, agroecology, and environmental sciences. National and international agricultural scientists, policymakers will also find this to be a useful read.

The third volume of the series ‘Bacilli and Agrobiotechnology'is comprised of 25 chapters that bring a unique perspective to the readers about Bacillus-mediated biotic and abiotic plant stress tolerance, bioremediation and bioprospecting. These chapters are prepared by the leading scientists of global repute. The negative impacts of agrochemicals such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides on human health and environment are paramount. Bacillus and allied genera of beneficial plant-associated microbes are presenting beacon of hope to the farmers, plant scientists and stewards of environment. Several chapters of this volume focus on the induction of various signaling pathways in plants by Bacillus spp. to alleviate biotic and abiotic stresses impacted by global climate change Agricultural lands contaminated with heavy metals affect the ecological food chain starting from crop cultivation. How the toxic effects of trace metals originating from industrial effluents and agrochemicals can be remediated? This book addresses how to overcome these issues by applying elite strains of Bacillus. Bioprospecting is a systematic and organized search for conversion of bioresources to industrially important products by utilizing microbe-derived metabolites. This volume is enriched by including the bioprospecting aspects mediated by Bacillus spp. with novel insights.

This edited volume deals with the understanding of the issues concerned with the pollution caused by toxic elements and heavy metals and their impacts on the different agro-ecosystems as well as the techniques involved in sustainable remediation and amelioration of polluted soils. Furthermore, the book is a detailed comprehensive account for the treatment technologies from unsustainable to sustainable which includes chapters prepared by professionals with expertise in environmental microbiology, biotechnology, bioremediation, and environmental engineering.It focuses on the characterization, reclamation, bioremediation, and phytoremediation of polluted soils. The research presented also highlights some of the significantly important plant and microbial species involved in remediation, the physiology, biochemistry, and the mechanisms of remediation by various plants and microbes, and suggestions for future improvement of bioremediation technology. It offers insights into the current focus and recent advances in bioremediation and green technology applications for sustainable soil management.

Feeding the increasing global population, which is projected to reach ~10 billion by 2050, there has been increasing demands for more improved/sustainable agricultural management practices that can be followed by farmers to improve productivity without jeopardizing the environment and ecosystem. Indeed, about 95% of our food directly or indirectly comes from soil. It is a precious resource, and sustainable soil management is a critical socio–economic and environmental issue. Maintaining the environmental sustainability while the world is facing resource degradation, increasing climate change and population explosion is the current challenge of every food production sectors. Thus, there is an urgent need to evolve a holistic approach such as conservation agriculture to sustain higher crop productivity in the country without deteriorating soil health. Conservation Agriculture (CA), is a sustainable approach to manage agro–ecosystems in order to improve productivity, increase farm profitabilty and food security and also enhance the resource base and environment. Worldwide, it has been reported various benefits and prospects in adopting CA technologies in different agro-climatic conditions. Yet, CA in arid and semi-arid regions of India and parts of south Asia raises uncertainities due to its extreme climates, large scale residue burning, soil erosion and other constraints such as low water holding capacity, high potential evapotranspiration, etc. Thus, the proposed book has 30 chapters addressing all issues relevant to conservation agriculture/no-till farming system. The book also gives further strengthening existing knowledge in relation to soil physical, chemical and biological processes and health within close proximity of CA as well as machinery requirements. Moreover, the information on carbon (C) sequestration, C credits, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, mitigation of climate change effects and socio-economic view on CA under diverse ecologies namely rainfed, irrigated and hill eco-region is also deliberated. For large scale adoption of CA practices in South Asian region especially in India and other countries need dissemination of best-bet CA technologies for dominant soil types/cropping systems through participatory mode, strong linkages and institutional mechanism and public-private-policy support.We hope this book gives a comprehensive and clear picture about conservation agriculture/no-till farming and its associated problem, challenges, prospects and benefits. This book shall be highly useful reference material to researchers, scientists, students, farmers and land managers for efficient and sustainable management of natural resources.

Ecological intensification involves using natural resources such as land, water, soil nutrients, and other biotic and abiotic variables in a sustainable way to achieve high performance and efficiency in agricultural yield with minimal damage to the agroecosystems. With increasing food demand there is high pressure on agricultural systems. The concept of ecological intensification presents the mechanisms of ensuring high agricultural productivity by restoration the soil health and landscape ecosystem services. The approach involves the replacement of anthropogenic inputs with eco-friendly and sustainable alternates. Effective ecological intensification requires an understanding of ecosystems services, ecosystem's components, and flow of resources in the agroecosystems. Also, awareness of land use patterns, socio-economic factors, and needs of the farmer community plays a crucial role. It is therefore essential to understand the interaction of ecosystem constituents within the extensive agricultural landscape. The editors critically examined the status of ecological stress in agroecosystems and address the issue of ecological intensification for natural resources management. Drawing upon research and examples from around the world, the book is offering an up-to-date account, and insight into the approaches that can be put in practice for poly-cropping systems and landscape-scale management to increase the stability of agricultural production systems to achieve ‘Ecological resilience'. It further discusses the role of farmer communities and the importance of their awareness about the issues. This book will be of interest to teachers, researchers, climate change scientists, capacity builders, and policymakers. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, forestry, ecology, agronomy, soil science, and environmental sciences. National and international agricultural scientists, policymakers will also find this to be a useful read for green future.

This book provides a unique account of cross-sectoral innovations through efficient partnerships based on the hands-on experience of internationally renowned contributors specialised in the field of Science of Delivery. The challenges and lessons learned from large development initiatives based in Asia, and from the work undertaken by international research institutions, such as the FAO, are brought together in this book to benefit development agencies, policy makers, corporates, post graduate students, farmers'organizations, and those involved in supplying agricultural inputs and/or buying agricultural produce, particularly in developing countries within Asia and Africa. Through a number of case studies the book describes how the consortium approach of capacity building for equitable and efficient benefits, collective action, and convergence, will benefit millions of small farm-holders in different regions of Asia

Despite significant progress in increasing agricultural production, meeting the changing dietary preferences and increasing food demands of future populations remains a significant challenge. Salinity, drought, water logging, high temperature and toxicity are abiotic stresses that affect the crop yield and production. Tolerance for stress is a important characteristic that plants need to have in order to survive. Identification of proper techniques at a proper time can make it easy for scientists to increase crop productivity and yield. In Engineering Tolerance in Crop Plants against Abiotic Stress we have discussed the possible stresses and their impact on crops and portrayed distinctive abiotic stress tolerance in response to different techniques that can improve the performance of crops.Features of the Book: Provide a state-of-the-art description of the physiological, biochemical, and molecular status of the understanding of abiotic stress in plants. Address factors that threaten future food production and provide potential solution to these factors. Designed to cater to the needs of the students engaged in the field of environmental sciences, soil sciences, agricultural microbiology, plant pathology, and agronomy. New strategies for better crop productivity and yield. Understanding new techniques pointed out in this book will open the possibility of genetic engineering in crop plants with the concomitant improved stress tolerance.

This book provides all aspects of the physiology, stress responses and tolerance to abiotic stresses of the Brassicaceae plants. Different plant families have been providing food, fodder, fuel, medicine and other basic needs for the human and animal since the ancient time. Among the plant families, Brassicaceae has special importance for their agri-horticultural importance and multifarious uses apart from the basic needs. Interest understanding the response of Brassicaceae plants toward abiotic stresses is growing considering the economic importance and the special adaptive mechanisms. The knowledge needs to be translated into improved elite lines that can contribute to achieve food security. The physiological and molecular mechanisms acting on Brassicaceae introduced in this book are useful to students and researchers working on biology, physiology, environmental interactions and biotechnology of Brassicaceae plants.

This volume comprises select papers presented during the Indian Geotechnical Conference 2018. This volume discusses concepts of soil dynamics and studies related to earthquake geotechnical engineering, slope stability, and landslides. The papers presented in this volume analyze failures connected to geotechnical and geological origins to improve professional practice, codes of analysis and design. This volume will prove useful to researchers and practitioners alike.

The problems related to the process of industrialisation such as biodiversity depletion, climate change and a worsening of health and living conditions, especially but not only in developing countries, intensify. Therefore, there is an increasing need to search for integrated solutions to make development more sustainable. The United Nations has acknowledged the problem and approved the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. On 1st January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda officially came into force. These goals cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals comprehensively addresses the SDGs in an integrated way. It encompasses 17 volumes, each devoted to one of the 17 SDGs. This volume addresses SDG 2, namely'End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture'and contains the description of a range of related terms, to allow for a better understanding and foster knowledge. Our planet produces enough food to feed everyone. Malnutrition and hunger are the result of inappropriate food production processes, bad governance and injustice. SDG 2 seeks to guarantee quality and nutritious food to ensure healthy life by adopting a holistic approach that involves various actions targeting different actors, technologies, policies and programs. These initiatives have to face challenges coming from extensive environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and the interrelated effects of climate change.Concretely, the defined targets are:End hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year roundEnd all forms of malnutrition, including achieving the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older personsDouble the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employmentEnsure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil qualityMaintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmedand domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreedIncrease investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countriesCorrect and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development RoundAdopt measu

Under ongoing climate changes, natural and cultivated habitats of major crops are being continuously disturbed. Such conditions impose and exacerbate abiotic and biotic stressors. Drought, salinity, flood, cold, heat, heavy metals, metalloids, oxidants, irradiation, etc. are important abiotic stressors, while diseases and infections caused by plant pathogens, such as fungal agents, bacteria and viruses, are major biotic stresses. In many instances, stresses have become the major limiting factor for agricultural productivity and exert detrimental role on growth and yield of the crops. To help feed an ever increasing world population and to ensure global food security, concerted efforts from scientists and researchers have identified strategies to manage and mitigate the impacts of climate-induced stresses. This book, summarizing their findings, is aimed at crop improvement beyond such kind of barriers, by agronomic practices (genetics, breeding, phenotyping, etc.) and biotechnological applications, including molecular markers, QTL mapping, genetic engineering, transgenesis, tissue culture, various'omics'technologies and gene editing. It will cover a wide range of topics under environmental challenges, agronomy and agriculture processes, and biotechnological approaches. Additionally, fundamental mechanisms and applied information on stress responses and tolerance will be discussed. This book highlights problems and offers proper solutions for crop stress management with recent information and up-to-date citations. We believe this book is suitable for scientists, researchers and students working in the fields of agriculture, plant science, environmental biology and biotechnology.

Plant improvement has shifted its focus from yield, quality and disease resistance to factors that will enhance commercial export, such as early maturity, shelf life and better processing quality. Conventional plant breeding methods aiming at the improvement of a self-pollinating crop, such as wheat, usually take 10-12 years to develop and release of the new variety. During the past 10 years, significant advances have been made and accelerated methods have been developed for precision breeding and early release of crop varieties. This edited volume summarizes concepts dealing with germplasm enhancement and development of improved varieties based on innovative methodologies that include doubled haploidy, marker assisted selection, marker assisted background selection, genetic mapping, genomic selection, high-throughput genotyping, high-throughput phenotyping, mutation breeding, reverse breeding, transgenic breeding, shuttle breeding, speed breeding, low cost high-throughput field phenotyping, etc. It is an important reference with special focus on accelerated development of improved crop varieties.

The Gram-positive and spore-forming Bacilli are the most dominant group of bacteria that exist in various ecological niches on the earth. They represent one of the most important unmapped pools of biodiversity with immense potential of applications in agriculture, environment, and industry. As these bacteria are highly tolerant to stressful environment and enhance plant tolerance to harsh environment such as salinity, drought, and heavy metal toxicity, plant-associated Bacilli have high potential for promoting sustainable crop production. Many species of Bacilli are being commercially used as phytostimulator and biofertilizer. Some of them are applied as biopesticide for protecting crop plants from phytopathogens and insect pests. The Bacillus-based products are becoming popular in ecologically sound and climate resilient agricultural production system. In fact, Bacillus and allied species based formulations are already dominating the biopesticides market, although, to compete with other formulations and chemical alternatives, the biology of Bacillus had to be understood from perspective of such applications. Our understanding of the biology and molecular-basis of the beneficial effects of plant-associated Bacilli has greatly been progressed in recent years through genomics, metagenomics, post-genomics and metabolomics studies. The volume two of the series Bacilli and Agrobiotechnology comprehensively reviews and updates current knowledge of Bacilli as phytostimulant and biological control of plant pests. Better understanding the biology, ecology and mechanism of action of the beneficial strains of Bacilli will play a role in the development of products to support green biotechnology in agriculture and industries.

The proposed book aims to understand the mechanism of survival of microorganisms in response to chemical stress in various ecological niches that suffer direct human intervention, more so the agricultural, domestic and hospital settings. Microbicides (e.g. disinfectants, antiseptics, fungicides, algaecides, insecticides and pesticides) are used rampantly to control undesirable microbes. Insecticides and pesticides are routinely used in agriculture which directly affect the microbial population in farms, orchards and fields. Health care environments are always stressed with disinfectants and antibiotics. It is always probable that microbicide-stressed microorganisms are in a dynamic state, displaced from one niche to the other. Some soil and water borne bacteria or their resistance determinants are also getting prominence in hospital settings after suffering selective pressure from agricides. In order to reveal the survival strategies of microbicidal-resistant microbes, it isof prime importance to know the mode of action of these complete range of microbicides (agricides to antibiotics). The present book intends to address these issues. There will be several chapters dealing with tolerance and cross resistance in microbes and bacteria in particular, dwelling in various niches. Till date, there is no consensus among scientists in theorizing molecular mechanisms to explain bacterial tolerance and their cross resistance to agricides and antibiotics.

This book is the result of remarkable contribution from the experts of interdisciplinary fields of Science with comprehensive, in-depth and up-to-date research and reviews.​ It describes the applications of date palm for food, medicine and the environmental sectors. Date palm is one of the oldest cultivated trees and its fruit has been a dietary staple around the world for many centuries. Date pulps contain dietary fibers and easily digestible sugars (70%), mainly glucose, sucrose and fructose. They also contain vitamins like biotin, thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic and folic acid that are important for our body. The date palm fruit has been used in folk remedies for the treatment of various infectious diseases, cancer and immuno-modulatory activity. Date stones and date palm leaves are freely and abundantly available biomass. Therefore, the renovation of agricultural biomass wastes into activated carbons for drinking water purification, wastewater treatment, treatment of dyes, andmetal-ions from aqueous solution would add value to agricultural commodities which offer a solution to environmental problems as well as reduce the cost of waste disposal.

This book introduces readers to both seed treatment and seedling pretreatments, taking into account various factors such as plant age, growing conditions and climate. Reflecting recent advances in seed priming and pretreatment techniques, it demonstrates how these approaches can be used to improve stress tolerance and enhance crop productivity. Covering the basic phenomena involved, mechanisms and recent innovations, the book offers a comprehensive guide for students, researchers and scientists alike, particularly Plant Physiologists, Agronomists, Environmental Scientists, Biotechnologists, and Botanists, who will find essential information on physiology and stress tolerance. The book also provides a valuable source of information for professionals at seed companies, seed technologists, food scientists, policymakers, and agricultural development officers around the world.

This book presents recent advances in global wheat crop research, including the effects of abiotic stresses like high and low temperatures, drought, hypoxia, salinity, heavy metals, nutrient deficiency, and toxicity on wheat production. It also highlights various approaches to alleviate the damaging effects of abiotic stress on wheat as well as advanced approaches to develop abiotic-stress-tolerant wheat crops. Wheat is probably one of the world's most important cereals; it is a staple food in more than 40 countries, and because of its adaptability is cultivated in almost every region. Global wheat production has more than doubled in the last 50 years due to higher yields. However, despite their high yield potential, modern wheat cultivars are often subject to crop loss due to the abiotic stresses. As such, plant breeders have long aimed to improvetolerance in order to maintain yield. Written by 85 experts, and offering the latest insights into wheat responses and tolerance to various abiotic stresses, it is a valuable tool for agronomists, plant breeders, plant physiologists and students in the field of plant science and agriculture. It is the first book to comprehensively cover past and current abiotic stress problems and tolerance mechanisms.

This book addresses various aspects of the current castor bean research, including genetics, biotechnology, comparative genomics, and more specific topics such as oil metabolism and the ricin toxin. It also presents the whole genome sequencing of the castor bean and its impact on the mining of gene families and future plant breeding. Castor bean (Ricinus communis), an oilseed plant, belongs to the Euphorbiaceae (spurge) family. It is a tropical and subtropical crop valued for the high quality and uniform nature of its oil, which is mostly composed of the uncommon fatty acid ricinoleate. Castor bean oil has important industrial applications for the production of lubricants, cosmetics, medicines, and specialty chemicals, and castor bean has also been proposed as a biodiesel crop that does not pose concerns regarding the “food versus fuel” debate. However, it accumulates the type 2 ribosome-inactivating protein ricin in its seeds, and health concernsposed by ricin's high toxicity have prevented broader cultivation. Recently, there has been renewed interest in castor bean due to potential biosecurity issues.

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economy and development of Pakistan providing food to consumers, raw materials to industries, and a market for industrial goods. Unfortunately, agricultural production is stagnant due to several barriers including a fixed cropping pattern, reliance on a few major crops, a narrow genetic pool, poor seed quality, and a changing climate. In addition, the high cost of production, weak phytosanitary compliance mechanisms, and a lack of cold chain facilities makes Pakistan agriculturally uncompetitive in export markets. Despite all these issues, agriculture is the primary industry in Pakistan and small farmers continue to dominate the business. Small farmers grow crops for subsistence under a fixed cropping pattern and a holistic approach is required to develop agriculture to improve the livelihoods of the rural populace.This book presents an exhaustive look at agriculture in Pakistan. Chapters provide critical analyses of present trends, inadequacies in agriculture, strategic planning, improvement programs and policies while keeping in view the natural resources, plant- and animal-related agricultural production technologies, input supplies, population planning, migration and poverty, and balanced policies on finance, credit, marketing, and trade.

The book provides an overview on adoption of biotechnological approaches for the conservation, micropropagation, synseed production of various medicinal and ornamental climbers. The work includes a brief chapter on evolution and diversification of climbers. Other chapters give insights on protocols for in vitro propagation and synseed production of selected threatened medicinal and ornamental climbers. Informative chapter on the production of bioactive compound and their enhancement through genetic transformation and elicitation have been incorporated to cover latest advancement in the field of plant biotechnology. This book also explores the use of molecular marker technique for the desired improvement/magnification of medicinal and aesthetic value of climbing plants.

Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. Sustainable agriculture is a discipline that addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control, and biodiversity depletion. Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, and social sciences. Indeed, sustainable agriculture decipher mechanisms of processes that occur from the molecular level to the farming system to the global level at time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. For that, scientists use the system approach that involves studying components and interactions of a whole system to address scientific, economic and social issues. In that respect, sustainable agriculture is not a classical, narrow science. Instead of solving problems using the classical painkiller approach that treats only negative impacts, sustainable agriculture treats problem sources. Because most actual society issues are now intertwined, global, and fast-developing, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world.