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The majority of studies on the agricultural history of Japan have focused on the public administration of land and production, and rice, the principal source of revenue, has received the most attention. However, while this cereal has clearly played a decisive role in the public economy of the Japanese State, it has not had a predominant place in agricultural production. Far from confining its scope to a study of rice growing for tax purposes, this volume looks at the subsistence economy in the plant kingdom as a whole. This book examines the history of agriculture in premodern Japan from the 8th to the 17th century, dealing with the history of agricultural techniques and food supply of rice, wheat, millet and other grains. Drawing extensively on material from history, literature, archaeology, ethnography and botany, it analyses each of the farming operations from sowing to harvesting, and the customs pertaining to consumption. It also challenges the widespread theory that rice cultivation has been the basis of'Japaneseness'for two millennia and the foundation of Japanese civilization by focusing on the biodiversity and polycultural traditions of Japan. Further, it will play a role in the current dialogue on the future of sustainable agricultural production from the viewpoints of ecology, biodiversity, dietary culture and food security throughout the world as traditional techniques such as crop rotation are explored in connection with the safeguarding of the minerals in the soil.Surveying agricultural techniques across the centuries and highlighting the dietary diversity of Japan, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Japanese history, the history of science and technology, medieval history, cultural anthropology and agriculture.

Rice is the staple food for half of the world's population. Consumption of rice is the major exposure route globally to the class one, non-threshold carcinogen inorganic arsenic. This book explains the sources of arsenic to paddy soils and the biogeochemical processes and plant physiological attributes of paddy soil-rice ecosystems that lead to high concentrations of arsenic in rice grain. It presents the global pattern of arsenic concentration and speciation in rice, discusses human exposures to inorganic arsenic from rice and the resulting health risks. It also highlights particular populations that have the highest rice consumptions, which include Southern and South East Asians, weaning babies, gluten intolerance sufferers and those consuming rice milk. The book also presents the information of arsenic concentration and speciation in other major crops and outlines approaches for lowering arsenic in rice grain and in the human diet through agronomic management.

From the author of the New York Times bestselling The Rice Diet Solution-a practical 30-day plan for inner healing and lasting weight loss Since 1939, the world-renowned Rice Diet has been one of the most medically sound, effective, and sustainable weight loss programs, with 43% of participants maintaining their weight loss after six years. Now, building on the Rice Diet's success, The Rice Diet Renewal goes beyond what you eat to help you heal the roots of the emotional, mental, and spiritual underpinnings that often get in the way of achieving and maintaining weight loss.Gives you the framework you need to break down the psychological and behavioral barriers to sustainable weight lossPresents a scientifically based 4-step foundation for Cleansing Your Body, Healing Your Heart, Empowering Your Mind, and Connecting with Your SpiritOffers the latest science needed to transcend a limiting diet perspective, to a sustainable dieta, a way of life that promotes optimal weight and healthGives you practical, active tools to meet weight-loss and health goals, such as music therapy, journaling, creative exercises like dream boards and other deep healing therapeutic approaches including emotional freedom technique (EFT)Includes inspiring stories of'Ricers'who have found weight-loss success, sometimes after years of failure with traditional dietsProvides a 4-week menu of seasonal, organic, local foods, naturally low in saturated fat, sodium, and sugar, empowering you with the desire for conscious consumptionGoing far deeper than diet, The Rice Diet Renewal empowers you to change the thoughts and beliefs that may have limited your weight-loss success in the past so that you can reach the weight, healing, and life goals you desire at last.

There is suf?cient need to document all the available data on biological control of rice diseases in a small volume. Part of this need rests on the global importance of rice to human life. In the?rst chapter, I have tried to show that rice is indeed life for most people in Asia and shortages in production and availability can lead to a food crisis. While rice is cultivated in most continents, biological disease management attains special relevance to rice farmers of Africa, Asia, and also perhaps, Latin America. These farmers are resource-poor and might not be able to afford the cost of expensive chemical treatments to control devastating rice pathogens such as Magnaporthe oryzae (blast), Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (bacterial leaf blight), Rhizoctonia solani (sheath blight) and the virus, rice tungro disease. In an earlier volume that I developed under the title, Biological Control of Crop Diseases (Dekker/CRC Publishers, 2002), I included transgenic crops generated for the management of plant pathogens as biological control under the umbrella of a broad de?nition. Dr Jim Cook who wrote the Foreword for the volume lauded the inclusion of transgenic crops and induced systemic resistance (ISR) as a positive trend toward acceptance of host plant resistance as part of biocontrol. I continue to subscribe to this view.

Rice is the most important food crop for half the world's population. Over the last three decades, the imporvement in human nutrition and health in Asia has largely been attributable to a relatively stable and affordable rice supply. The challenge to produce enough rice for the future, however, remains daunting, as the current rate of population growth outpaces that of increases in rice production. Science has a central role to play in raising rice productivity and this book highlights areas of plant science that are particularly relevant to solving the major constraints on rice production. Examining molecular, genetic and cellular techniques, it considers recent advances in four research approaches for increasing yields and improving the nutritional quality of rice. Plant genomics: knowing the identity and location of each gene in the rice genome is of immense value in all aspects of rice science and cultivar improvement. Molecular biological approaches to increase yield: to produce more biomass by increasing photosynthetic rate and duration, and by improving grain filling. Enhancing tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses: with new DNA array technologies, it is now possible to assess global genomic response to stresses. Understanding the relationships among stress pathways may create new opportunities for gene manipulation to enhance tolerance to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. Improving nutritional quality in the grain: knowledge of the biosynthesis of micronutrients in plants permits genetic engineering of metabolic pathways to enhance the availability of micronutrients.