Agriculture

Novel Approach to Sustainable Temperate Horticulture

Gulzar Ahmad Nayik, Sajad H Wani, Vajahat Khursheed, Mohammad Javed Ansari

In the current scenario, marked by a continual improvement in living standards, it becomes imperative to boost the productivity as well as the efficiency of agriculture, especially horticulture, which holds the potential for significant economic prosperity aligning with Sustainable Development Goal number 8, "Decent Work and Economic Growth". Modern technological interventions, such as geospatial technology and geographic information system (GIS) technology, can be harnessed to yield effective results in addressing challenges and providing enhanced decision support, particularly in the planning of horticultural resource management. Cultivation and production of fresh produce face several challenges, including prolonged juvenile phases and reproductive cycles with extended breeding periods, creating bottlenecks in the process. The evolving trends in biotechnology offer promising solutions for improving the selection of desirable traits. Biotechnological techniques aimed at improving fruit efficiency encompass tissue culture, induction of genetic variability, germplasm conservation, and molecular breeding/genomics. These methods involve the study of genetic diversity, DNA fingerprinting, and Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) analysis for marker-assisted selection. Over the past few decades, the global population has consistently risen, raising concerns about the ability of the current food system to adequately feed the anticipated 10 billion people in the next 30 years. While this challenge is deemed achievable, certain changes in both food production and consumption systems are essential to ensure sustainability, reduce food loss and waste, and contribute to a global shift toward healthier and more sustainable diets. Implementing sustainable models of crop production represents a significant undertaking. To address the growing food demand amid deteriorating production environments, there is a need for promising technologies and effective management options to enhance productivity. This book is poised to be a valuable resource for horticultural scientists operating in universities, government agencies, and research centers, offering insights into achieving sustainable cultivation practices for fruits. It stands out as the first of its kind, providing in‑depth knowledge on environmentally friendly methods for cultivating temperate fruit crops, to reduce harmful emissions and pollution. This book will delve into the application of geographic information system (GIS) for estimating horticulture area expansion and crop yield. Additionally, it will encompass recent biotechnological interventions in horticulture, circular agriculture models, and emerging non‑thermal food preservation techniques as significant components. Aims to provide a comprehensive and integrated overview of current techno-statistical techniques employed in horticulture, delving into the associated livelihood benefits derived from the practice. Explores the novel geographical trends to identify the site suitability indices of several temperate fruits. Offers a comprehensive and integrated exploration of recent trends in biotechnological approaches aimed at enhancing food production, quality, and safety.

Integrating Landscapes: Agroforestry for Biodiversity Conservation and Food Sovereignty

Florencia Montagnini

This updated and expanded second edition summarizes advances in agroforestry research and practice and proposes alternatives to increase the effectiveness of agroforestry systems. It offers an important contribution to help solve the most pressing development and environmental challenges in this sector today.  The contributing authors present views from the academic, the practitioner and the development areas. Chapters offer alternatives and suggestions for facing challenges in agroforestry adoption, profitability, and in the implementation of integrated landscape management approaches. With new chapters and substantial revisions made in many others, the scope was broadened both geographically and thematically. Students, Scientists and practitioners will therefore gain more insights from Africa and Asia, as well as the Americas.

Data-Driven Farming

Syed Nisar Hussain Bukhari

Soil Health and Sustainable Agriculture in Brazil

Ieda Mendes, Maurício R. Cherubin

A far-reaching survey showcasing the improvements made to soil health in Brazil The maintenance of healthy soil resources provides the foundations for an array of global efforts and initiatives that affect humanity. Researchers, consultants, and farmers must be able to correctly examine and understand the complex nature of this essential, fragile resource. Soil Health and Sustainable Agriculture in Brazil provides a highly readable overview of the major cropping systems and management practices adopted in Brazil to improve soil health and sustain agricultural/forest production systems. Key Features Soil Health and Sustainable Agriculture in Brazil is ideal for soil scientists, agronomists, and any other researchers in both academia and industry interested in building a sustainable future.

Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas Volume 3: Diseases and pests

Prof André Drenth, Prof Gert Kema, Dr Jean Carlier, Dr Mauricio Guzmán, Dr Einar Martinez, Prof Luis Ernesto Pocasangre, Dr Jane Ray, Dr Guy Blomme, Dr Luis Pérez-Vicente, Dr Lilia Carvalhais, Dr John Thomas, Dr Andrew Geering, Dr Sebastien Massart, Dr Mieke Daneel, Dr Tony Pattison, Dr Cesar Guillen Sanchez, Mr Frans Wielemaker Sanderse, Dr Luud Clercx, Mr Marc Jackson, Dr Maria Gloria Lobo

Bananas are a key food source for millions, whilst their production supports the livelihood of farmers across the globe. However, recent research has identified the vulnerability of particular banana varieties to major pests and diseases, such as the threat of Tropical Race 4 (Panama disease) to the Cavendish variety. With the banana industry under threat of extinction, more research is required into understanding the biology of the pests and diseases that pose this threat so that more effective management strategies can be developed and the risk of future outbreaks reduced. Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas Volume 3: Diseases and pests provides a comprehensive review of the major pests and diseases affecting global banana production including Tropical Race 4, black Sigatoka, banana streak virus, root knot nematodes, weevil borer and thrips. The collection explores existing methods for pest/disease diagnosis and identification, as well as current management strategies used to control and/or prevent outbreaks, such as cultural, chemical and biological control methods, the development of disease resistant cultivars and integrated pest and disease management.

Sustainable Management of Nematodes in Agriculture, Vol.2: Role of Microbes-Assisted Strategies

Kamal Kishore Chaudhary, Mukesh Kumar Meghvansi, Sazada Siddiqui

The Coconut: Botany, Production and Uses

Stephen Adkins, Julianne Biddle, Amirhossein Bazrafshan, Sundaravelpandian Kalaipandian

The coconut palm ( Cocos nucifera L .) is one of the world's most important palms, and contributes significantly to the income and livelihood of many people in tropical countries. Widely referred to as the "tree of life," coconut has been used as a source of food, drink, oil, medicine, shelter and wood for around 500 years. Every part of the coconut palm can be utilized. The demand for coconut fruit and its products has increased recently as people have become aware of its nutritional and health benefits, especially those of coconut water and virgin coconut oil. This book covers all aspects of coconut including origins and diversity; ecophysiology; production in a changing climate; pests and diseases; harvest and postharvest management; breeding and genetics; as well as the current and future status of coconut as an economic crop. This book is a key resource for researchers and students in horticulture, plant science and agriculture, and those interested in the production of tropical crops, and practitioners in the coconut industry.

Genetic improvement of Small Millets

Sweta Mishra, SHAILESH KUMAR, R C Srivastava

This book brings out a comprehensive collection of information on small millets. The main focus of this book is to introduce the various types of long forgotten small millets to the readers, their genetics, botany and diversity, cultivation, breeding strategies, genomic resources available, how they can be incorporated into the existing cropping systems, their processing strategies and value addition to incorporate into daily diet of humans. It covers finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, little millet, kodo millet, and browntop millet. Millets originated before 10000 BC and were consumed by humans across civilizations until the green revolution took place in India and other developing countries. After green revolution, due to the advent of high-yielding varieties, as the area, production, and market of wheat and rice increased, the acreage of millets gradually decreased. However, with increasing lifestyle diseases, humans have recognized the potential of small millets crop. It is now being considered as super food and smart food as they are nutri-packed and rich in calcium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, and fiber, which is much higher than that available in wheat and rice. This book is of interest to the students, research scholars, national and international agricultural scientists, millet professionals, and food industry

Mycorrhizal Symbiosis and Agroecosystem Restoration

Rizwan Ali Ansari, Rose Rizvi, Irshad Mahmood

Mycorrhiza in agroecosystem restoration is a groundbreaking book that sheds light on the critical role of mycorrhiza in restoring agroecosystems. This book comprehensively overviews the latest research findings, methodologies, and techniques for mycorrhizal management in agricultural systems. It serves as an essential guide for researchers, professionals, and students interested in understanding the importance of mycorrhizae in agroecosystem restoration. The book covers a broad range of topics related to mycorrhizae, including the ecological and economic significance of mycorrhiza in agricultural systems, the diversity of mycorrhizal associations, the role of mycorrhizae in plant nutrition, and the application of mycorrhizae in agroecosystem restoration. The book critically analyzes the current state of mycorrhizal research, highlighting the gaps and challenges in our understanding of mycorrhizae and their role in agroecosystem restoration. The authors of this book are leading experts in the field of mycorrhizal research, with extensive experience in studying mycorrhizae in agricultural systems. They bring their expertise and knowledge to this book, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the importance of mycorrhizae in agroecosystem restoration. Mycorrhiza in agroecosystem restoration is a timely contribution to the field of mycorrhizal research. With the growing recognition of the importance of mycorrhizae in sustainable agriculture, this book is a valuable resource for researchers, professionals, and students interested in understanding the potential of mycorrhizae in agroecosystem restoration. This book provides readers with a deep understanding of the mechanisms of mycorrhizal symbiosis and their impact on plant growth and development. The book covers a wide range of topics, including the impact of mycorrhizae on soil structure and fertility, the use of mycorrhizal inoculants in crop production, and the role of mycorrhizae in the restoration of degraded agroecosystems. “Mycorrhiza in Agroecosystem Restoration” is a must-read for anyone interested in the potential of mycorrhizae in sustainable agriculture. With its comprehensive coverage of the latest research findings and methodologies, this book is an essential guide for researchers, professionals, and students alike. The authors’ expertise and knowledge make this book valuable for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of mycorrhizae and their role in agroecosystem restoration.

Sandy Soils

Alfred E Hartemink, Jingyi Huang

Sandy soils cover approximately 900 million ha worldwide, and there are extensive areas of sandy soils under cultivation. Most sandy soils have high water permeability, low water-holding capacity, low ability to retain and exchange nutrients, weakly developed soil structure and they may be prone to erosion by wind. As irrigation is required for obtaining good crop yields, there is a risk of substantial leaching of nutrients and pesticides, and ground water depletion. Due to global pressure on land resources, marginal soils such as sandy soils are taken into production or cultivated more intensely. Sandy soils – as a group of soils with specific characteristics and ecological limitations – have received limited research attention. This books presents the main papers from the Global Conference on Sandy Soils which was held in June 2023 in Madison, USA. This book focuses on novel and exciting aspects of research on sandy soils which is presented into three Distribution and Assessment, Soil Carbon and Soil Health, and Water and the Environment. It presents a global glimpse on what recent progress has been in the study of sandy soil and their properties and management.

Transformation of Agri-Food Systems

K C Bansal, W S Lakra, Himanshu Pathak

This edited volume covers all major topics related to agri-food transformation towards sustainability in this era of climate change. The topics cover field crops, horticultural crops, livestock sector, nutritional aspects, application of latest field-based technologies, and agriculture related policies and institutions. Some of the key topics Innovations for Reconfiguring Food Systems; Transforming High-value Food Commodities; Demand-Supply of Agri-food Commodities; Balancing Human Demand and Ecological Sustainability; International Partnership for Transformation of Agri-Food Systems; Transforming Animal Health and Aquatic Food Systems for Food Security; Climate Resilient Agriculture; Addressing Nutritional Security through Natural Resource Management; Water Harvesting and Improving Water Productivity; Combating Micronutrient Deficiencies; Plant Genetic Resources for Food Security and Nutrition; Genome Editing for Crop Improvement; and Biosafety and Socioeconomic Considerations. Written by experts, this book serves in exchanging and sharing the latest research findings, ideas and experiences on all aspects of agri-food systems to enable the formulation of the ways forward to transform our agri-food system to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations by 2030. The target audience include academicians, researchers, students, farmers, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and others.

Improving the quality of apples

Dr Masoumeh Bejaei, Dr Hilde Nybom, Dr Chun-Hua Zhou, Dr Gabriela Ploscutanu, Dr Matteo Scampicchio, Prof Kate Evans, Dr Luigi Manfrini, Prof John Cline, Prof Zora Singh, Professor Fabrizio Costa

Apples are one of the most highly consumed fruits globally, with estimations that almost 88 million tonnes of apples are produced worldwide each year. As a result of this popularity, consumers have extremely high expectations of the sensory quality of the apples they consume. Improving the quality of apples provides a comprehensive review of the wealth of research on the processes which determine the key quality attributes of apples, including texture, flavour and nutritional content. The book addresses how these properties can be enhanced during the pre- and postharvest stages to ensure product quality and customer satisfaction, as well as the role of breeding programmes in identifying genes directly related to sensory quality characteristics. In its detailed exploration of the key quality attributes of apples, the book provides its readers with an insight into the science behind producing the ‘perfect’ product and how influential quality attributes are on consumer purchasing behaviours.

Rainfed Agriculture and Watershed Management

Sohan Singh Walia, Karmjeet Kaur, Tamanpreet Kaur

This book provides a comprehensive explanation of rainfed farming, dryland agriculture, and watershed management concepts. Despite utilizing all available water resources for irrigation, approximately half of the cultivated land will still rely on rainfall. With limited scope for expanding cultivated areas, meeting future food demands becomes an immense challenge. It is within this context that the significance of dryland agriculture emerges. Indian agriculture relies heavily on the monsoon, making water crucial for sustainable development. Unequal distribution of the global average rainfall (about 1000 mm) contributes to disparities in agriculture and socio-economic conditions. Around 70% of India's agriculture depends on rainfall, producing nearly 44% of the food and supporting 40% of the human and 60% of the livestock population. Even with full irrigation potential, half of cultivated land still relies on rain. Approximately 30% of the country is prone to drought and water scarcity, posing challenges for rainfed agriculture. Inefficient water use affects other inputs, emphasizing the need for resource management and indigenous systems. This book serves as a valuable resource for farmers, students, and scholars by providing guidance on various aspects of rainfed agriculture, dryland farming, and watershed resource management techniques. It aims to optimize the use of irrigation water and foster sustainable agricultural development. Additionally, it caters to the needs of graduate and postgraduate students studying agriculture, offering specific insights relevant to their designated course on rainfed agriculture and watershed management.

Earthworms and Vermicomposting: Species, Procedures and Crop Application

Sohan Singh Walia, Tamanpreet Kaur

This book explains the lifecycle of earthworms, biological features, multiplication of worms, species of earthworms that are suitable for vermicomposting, different sources of vermicompost, nutrient recovery and different procedures for making of vermicompost and importance of application of vermicompost in cereal, fruit and vegetable crops. The tremendous increase in population, urbanization, industrialization and agricultural production results in accumulation quantities of solid wastes. This has created serious problem in the environment. In order to dispose this waste safely it should be converted effectively. This is achieved by bio-composting and vermicomposting of farm, urban and agro-industrial waste. It is being increasing realized that composting is an environment friendly process, convert wide variety of wastes into valuable agricultural inputs. Compost is excellent source of humus and plant nutrients, on application of which improve soil biophysical properties and organic matter status of the soil. India generates about 350 million tonnes of agricultural waste every year. Agricultural wastes include crop residues, weeds, leaf litter, sawdust, forest waste, and livestock waste. Under appropriate conditions, worms eat agricultural waste and reduce the volume by 40 to 60%. Vermicompost produced by the activity of earthworms is rich in macro and micro-nutrients, vitamins, growth hormones, enzymes such as proteases, amylases, lipase, cellulase and chitinase and immobilized microflora. This book will assist farmers, students and scholars to guide them about lifecycle of earthworms, biological features, multiplication of worms, species of earthworms that are suitable for vermicomposting and different procedures for making of vermicompost. This book will also benefit students of agriculture at graduate and post graduate level as students have a designated course on vermicomposting.

Mutation Breeding and Efficiency Enhancing Technologies for Resistance to Striga in Cereals

Abdelbagi M.A. Ghanim, Shoba Sivasankar, Patrick J. Rich

This open access book is a compilation of protocols developed through a Coordinated Research Project of the Joint FAO/IAEA Center of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, specifically focused on mutation breeding for resistance to Striga. The book consists of three sections; (i) a general introduction on Striga biology and impact and mutagenesis in cereal crops; (ii) protocol chapters focusing on field, screenhouse and laboratory screening and diagnostic for resistance to Striga asiatica and S. hermonthica in sorghum, upland rice and maize, and; (iii) efficiency enhancing technologies such as rapid crop cycling, doubled haploid production and genomics for mutation discovery and marker development. These chapters were written by well recognized experts in Striga biology and physiology, and cereal breeders. The book is intended to serve as a unique reference and guide for plant breeders and geneticists engaged in breeding for resistance to Striga in cereals.

Basics of Integrated Farming Systems

Sohan Singh Walia, Tamanpreet Kaur

This volume on Integrated Farming Systems explains the diverse components that can be included in the agriculture sector. It is a practical guide to increasing a farm's productivity, profitability, and sustainability. The use of integrated farming systems has become essential with the growing population and the decreased availability of land resulting in the need to optimize the existing resources. By combining different farm enterprises like dairy, poultry, and fishery, farmers can achieve vertical expansion and increase their income and employment opportunities. This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of integrated farming systems, from the different components that can be included to the benefits of recycling crop residues and the by-products within the farm. With practical advice for small and marginal farmers, this book offers a roadmap for improving productivity and ensuring balanced nutrition for farm families. The book is suitable for a vast audience, from a farmer looking to increase profits and sustainability, a student of agriculture at the graduate or post-graduate level, or a researcher in the field of farming systems. It is an essential resource for reaping the benefits of integrated farming systems.

Climate-Resilient Agriculture, Vol 1: Crop Responses and Agroecological Perspectives

Mirza Hasanuzzaman

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.

Climate-Resilient Agriculture, Vol 2: Agro-Biotechnological Advancement for Crop Production

Mirza Hasanuzzaman

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.

Mineral Biofortification in Crop Plants for Ensuring Food Security

Mirza Hasanuzzaman, Muhammad Suleman Tahir, Mohsin Tanveer, Adnan Noor Shah

This book provides a comprehensive summary of the recent advances in the biofortification of plants under climate change and how it affects food security globally. The need for mineral biofortification to eradicate or alleviate malnutrition through sustainable agriculture is also discussed. Biofortification of edible plants is considered the most appropriate approach to alleviate nutritional problems and nutrient deficiencies. In contrast, biofortification focuses on improving the nutritional content of the region's current agricultural biodiversity while preserving its habits and customs. Emphasis is also placed on recent advances and developments in omics, particularly metabolomics and related techniques, to unravel the potential alterations in plants caused by biofortification. The book brings together eminent scientists to present the latest developments in the field. This timely publication addresses practical scenarios of bio-fortified food production and climate change. The book focuses on the methods, techniques, and environmental changes used to enhance and improve agricultural products. This book is one of the first to provide information on the use of modern biotechnologies to modify crops for health benefits. It also examines the mechanisms of the plant responses to genetically induced biofortification, the production and responses of fortified plants under climate change, and their effects on food security. The book will be useful for students and researchers, especially crop scientists, environmental scientists, biotechnologists, botanists, and agronomists, to understand the techniques and mechanisms of biofortification, and responses of biofortified plants under climate change.

Diseases in Legume Crops: Next Generation Breeding Approaches for Resistant Legume Crops

UDAY CHAND JHA, Harsh Nayyar, Kamal Dev Sharma, Eric J Bishop Von Wettberg, Prashant Singh, Kadambot Siddique

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.

Mutation Breeding in Coffee with Special Reference to Leaf Rust: Protocols

Ivan L.W. Ingelbrecht, Maria do Céu Lavado da Silva, Joanna Jankowicz-Cieslak

This open-access book provides a comprehensive overview of current methodologies for improving resistance to leaf rust in coffee, one of the world's most important cash crops and beverages. Coffea arabica L. (Arabica) accounts for about 60% of the world's coffee production. Coffee leaf rust (CLR), caused by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix is the major disease affecting Arabica coffee resulting in losses of over $1 billion annually. The geographical distribution of CLR is expanding due to climate change. Moreover, the genetic improvement of Arabica coffee is constrained due to its very narrow genetic base. This protocol book introduces essential concepts of mutation breeding as an efficient tool to increase the genetic diversity of Arabica coffee and presents practical methods on mutation induction and screening for resistance to CLR. Current breeding approaches, challenges and opportunities for Arabica coffee improvement are briefly reviewed and a survey of common coffee diseases with emphasis on CLR is presented. Practical protocols for mutation induction and screening for resistance to CLR are described, including novel methods for single-cell mutagenesis using in vitro cell and tissue culture techniques and for genome-wide screening of induced mutations using genomics tools. Each protocol chapter has an introduction and is supported by example results. Given the impact of recent CLR epidemics on Arabica coffee production in Latin America, the book is intended to serve as a timely reference and guide for students and researchers in the agricultural sciences, plant pathologists and breeders, as well as growers and end-users interested in producing novel coffee genotypes for genetic studies, breeding, and commercial applications.

Millet Rhizosphere

Ramesh Namdeo Pudake, Maya Kumari, Deepak Rameshwar Sapkal, Anil kumar Sharma

This edited volume is the first book that explicitly explains the link between the extraordinarily small-scale microbial processes and the growth and yield attributes of millet crops. This book includes chapters emphasizing on the effects of rhizosphere biology on long-term millet crop management. Millets are a collection of small-grained cereal grasses that are grown for human carbohydrate needs. They are among the oldest crops, mainly divided into two major and small millets based on seed size. Major millets are composed of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum); while small millets are composed of six species that includes finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.)), little millet (Panicum sumatrense), kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum (L.)), foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.)), barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea (L.)), and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum (L.). These crops are earlier considered as orphan crops, but recently due to their nutritional values it is gaining the importance. Various reports are published based on role of rhizosphere on growth and health of these crops. The rhizosphere being a dynamic interface among the plant roots and soil microbes provides a number of advantages to the millets too. The soil properties in rhizospheric region are also different as compared to the bulk soil. This book discovers the functional attributes of rhizosphere in promoting the healthy growth of millet crop and achieving higher yield during the changing climatic condition. This book is of interest to university teachers, scientists working in the millets, and policymakers in agricultural departments. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, biotechnology, microbiology, genetics, and soil science.

Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia: Innovations, Scaling, and Policies for Environmentally Sustainable Lowland Rice Production

Melanie Connor, Martin Gummert, Grant Robert Singleton

This open access book contributes not only to the scientific literature on sustainable agricultural development and in particular rice agriculture but also is highly valuable to assist practitioners, projects, and policymakers due to its sections on reducing carbon footprint, agricultural innovations, and lessons learned from a multi-country/multi-stages development project. The scope of the book is conceived as a detailed documentation of the implementation, dissemination, and impact of the CORIGAP project in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, with spill-over to Cambodia and the Philippines. It pulls together actionable research findings with the experience of bringing these findings into use. The aim of the book is to provide a wide array of pathways to impact for sustainable rice production in lowland irrigated rice-based agricultural systems. The book is written by local actors of the rice value chain, researchers, and engineers working on a range of best management practices, climate-smart rice production innovations, knowledge translation, and dissemination, as well as decision-making and policy aspects. It is envisioned that the contents of the book can be translated into messages that can help farmers, extension workers, policymakers, and funders of agricultural development, decide on implementing best management practices and climate-smart technologies in their agroecological systems by presenting the technological/practical options along the rice value chain and the partnerships and business models required for their implementation. The book is aimed at practitioners, extension specialists, researchers, and engineers interested in information on current best management practices, sustainable, and climate-smart rice production and constraints that need further investigation. Furthermore, the book is also aimed at policymakers and agricultural development funders required by public opinion and legally binding agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve biodiversity and increase agroecological practices, who are looking for research-based evidence to guide policymaking and implementation.

Cultivation and Drought Management in Agriculture: Climate Change Adaptation

Shafiqul Islam

This book represents the background of the Barind Tract of Bangladesh with the proximity of drought information, conceptual and logic of the books, history, definition and perception on drought and climate scenario and how people understand underlying causes, impacts and consequences of drought in agriculture, environment, human health and society. It also states the trend and severity of drought of Barind Tract. This book gives the local response to cope, mitigation and adaptation to agricultural drought. The book also addresses the gender response in the hardship of drought in the rural areas. It also elicits the local and indigenous methods of drought prediction and sustainable cultivation and management of drought in agriculture.

Microbiomes for the Management of Agricultural Sustainability

Gowhar Hamid Dar, Rouf Ahmad Bhat, Mohammad Aneesul Mehmood

This volume discusses innovative advancements in soil and crop microbiome technology and methods to support agricultural sustainability and reduce soil degradation. As climate change impacts agricultural productivity and soil health in impacted regions throughout the world, potential alternatives to find balance between soil health and crop yield are increasingly needed. Therefore, this book provides a timely, global perspective with a collection of expert authors to address how microbiomes can be used to achieve agricultural sustainability in threatened and degraded areas, while also covering related matters including soil health, pest management, waste disposal, environmental contamination, biofertilizer production, composting, and microbial engineering. The book is meant to serve as a reference for agriculturalists, environmentalists, graduate and post-graduate students, researchers, and professors of sustainability and agricultural management.

Banana Production in Venezuela: Novel Solutions to Productivity and Plant Health

Barlin Orlando Olivares Campos

This book presents an important contribution to the knowledge of the banana soils of Venezuela. Banana, the edible fruit of Musaceae, is a staple food for more than 400 million people worldwide due to their nutritional and energy attributes. This makes Musaceae a crop of worldwide relevance, particularly in tropical regions, highlighting the impact of improved Musaceae cropping systems in the current efforts worldwide oriented towards a new agricultural revolution based on sustainable intensification. To achieve this, better practices for food production based on scientific and technical research capable to consider the complexity and variability within the agri-food sector are necessary. The research presented in this book is oriented towards providing answers to the causes of two aspects considered of high relevance for banana production, both affecting productivity and sustainability, always addressed for the Venezuelan conditions, one of the world’s largest producing 1- The impact of phytosanitary risks related to Fusarium Wilt (FW) and the influence of the soil on the incidence of Banana Wilt (BW); and 2- An observed trend towards loss of productivity and decline of soil quality in some commercial farms of Aragua and Trujillo states in Venezuela. The book presents a pioneering study in the application of categorical regression (CATREG) in the characterization of banana soils and analyses soil morphological variables, such as texture, dry consistency, biological activity, reaction to HCl, and type of structure to characterize soil productivity for growing healthy bananas. It develops, for the first time in Venezuela, risk analysis and climatic suitability maps for lethal wilt disease in bananas caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense ( Foc ) Tropical Race 4 (TR4) (syn. Fusarium odoratissimum ). Innovative machine learning techniques are used to predict BW so that future crop development can be done more efficiently and sustainably.

Towards Sustainable Food Production in Africa: Best Management Practices and Technologies

Morris Fanadzo, Nothando Dunjana, Hupenyu Allan Mupambwa, Ernest Dube

This edited book is focused on Sustainable Development Goal 2. It offers a comprehensive and topical collection of practices, technologies and innovations in the field of sustainable food production and security under a changing climate. It is a one-stop handbook for farmers, researchers, extensionists, policy makers and other stakeholders seeking to identify and disseminate best fit technologies for local and regional landscapes. It offers an understanding of the challenges, risks and uncertainties as well as opportunities to foster productive and sustainable food production. Smallholder farming and agriculture in general is facing a serious threat from climate change that has resulted in erratic and unpredictable rainfall and increased temperatures, among other abiotic stresses. These climate change induced pressures have reduced productivity mainly among the smallholder farmers, who are critical in driving the attainment of sustainable development goals like SDG 2, 12 and 13. The objective of the book is to document effective and practicable practices and technologies that can be adopted by smallholder African farmers as mitigation measures against the effects of climate change. This book is of interest to researchers, agricultural scientists, climate change scientists, capacity builders and policymakers.

Molecular Interventions for Developing Climate-Smart Crops: A Forage Perspective: A forage perspective

Rajesh Kumar Singhal, Shahid Ahmed, Saurabh Pandey, Subhash Chand

This edited book is collection of information on molecular interventions needed for climate-resilient forage crops. The main focus is to address the gap in the advanced scientific knowledge for the forage species. Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate, and even slight change in climatic factors such as temperature causes tremendous losses in yield potential. Forage crops are crucial in global food security and environmental sustainability and face several environmental challenges in field conditions. However, the research on forage crops is far-off compared to agricultural crops and causes a substantial gap in forage demand and productivity. Further, this gap is directly associated with animal health, reproduction, and productivity. Abiotic stresses mainly affect the plant's crucial processes, ultimately reducing the final yield. The problem of abiotic stresses is more frequent in forage crops as they are growing and cultivated in less productive soil and harsh conditions. This book discusses current aspects of crucial physiological, biochemical and molecular processes in forage crops, which are essential for forage crops improvement. The text's major focus is on the advanced technologies and approaches such as seed priming, bio-fortification, breeding, omics, transgenic and bioengineering of metabolic pathways in unique ways, which helps us develop innovative solutions for forage crops. This book covers all the crucial advance technologies, which help mitigate the abiotic stresses in forage crops. We believe that this book will initiate and introduce the readers to state-of-the-art developments and unique in this field of study. 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, forestry, ecology, soil science, and environmental sciences. National and international agricultural scientists and policymakers will also find this a worthwhile read.

Precision Agriculture: Evolution, Insights and Emerging Trends

Qamar Zaman

Precision Evolution, Insights and Emerging Trends presents a complete guide from foundational concepts to the economic, commercial and environmental implications of the approach. Showcasing recent research improvements, future trends, and highlighting innovative use of machine vision, artificial intelligence, UAVs, drones, IoT and data analytics to promote sustainable agriculture, the book brings the reader up-to-date with understanding and implementing this targeted practice. From the basic elements of agronomy to insights on reflectance and remote sensing indices, chapters use summary abstracts, case studies and real-world examples of implementing the tools of precision agriculture (PA) to demonstrate the latest advances. It includes explanations on the origin of the intra-plot variability of a culture (spatial and temporal), different types of existing sensors, controllers and site-specific management. The book further explores yield monitoring, weed, disease and pest control, automated irrigation systems, PA tools for variable rate application of inputs within the field, and data processing methods. By also exploring the economic profitability of precision farming approaches, and its utility for sustainable agriculture, Precision Evolution, Insights and Emerging Trends is a truly comprehensive view of this important approach to improving global agriculture production. Scientists, researchers, policymakers, graduate and postgraduate students, and engineers in the related fields of agriculture, computer science and engineering will benefit from this book.

Emerging Sustainable Aquaculture Innovations in Africa

Ndakalimwe Naftal Gabriel, Edosa Omoregie, Kenneth Prudence Abasubong

This edited book presents the emerging sustainable innovations in all areas of aquaculture in Africa with a view to create an opportunity whereby scientific outputs and recommendations can be endorsed for improved aquaculture outputs towards poverty alleviation and food security on the continent. Food insecurity and poverty are some of the challenges faced on the African continent. These challenges are further exacerbated by the growing human population and the impacts of climate change. Today, aquaculture has become one of the fastest food producing sectors in the world, with the potential to contribute significantly to food security and poverty alleviation in developing countries. In Africa, aquaculture is at an infant stage, however, many African countries have recognized the potential roles of aquaculture in food security, poverty alleviation and conservation of aquatic resources through their commitment to achieve the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals. The book reviews and synthesize research work from these thematic areas across Africa and provide a unique perspective on the emerging aquaculture innovations and illustrate how aquaculture practices could be feasible and cost effective while promoting social and environmental sustainability. The book also draws from global discussions on sustainable aquaculture practices and provides recommendations on what is feasible for Africa. This book is a great tool for the university students, scholars, aquaculture farmers, investors, and policymakers to understand the scientific based sustainable aquaculture innovations from an African perspective. This book is focused on SDG 2 and SDG 14.