Agricultural Sustainability

Contributors

Foreword

Preface

Section I: Agricultural Biodiversity, Organic Farming, and New Crops

Chapter 1. Functional Agrobiodiversity: The Key to Sustainability?

1. Introduction

2. Agricultural Sustainability at the Onset of the Third Millennium

3. Agrobiodiversity: A Conceptual Framework

4. From Agrobiodiversity to Functional Agrobiodiversity

5. Functional Agrobiodiversity in Practice

6. Functional Agrobiodiversity: Opportunities and Bottlenecks

7. Conclusions

Acknowledgements

References

Chapter 2. Organic Agriculture—Driving Innovations in Crop Research

1. Introduction

2. Soil Fertility and Organic Farming in the Tropics—Challenges and the Way Forward

3. Plant Breeding Strategies for Organic and Low External Input Farming

4. Functional Biodiversity and Pest Management in Organic Farming

5. Agricultural Innovation—The Need for Transdisciplinary Research and Development

6. Outlook

Acknowledgements

References

Chapter 3. Guar: An Industrial Crop from Marginal Farms

1. Introduction

2. Origin, Genetics, and Breeding

3. Water and Salt Stress

4. Seed Composition

5. Galactomannan Properties, Biosynthesis, and Degradation

6. Preparation and Applications of Guar Gum

7. Biotechnology for Guar Gum Modification

8. Summary and Future Prospects

References

Section II: Effective Management of Resources (Nutrients and Water) and Crop Modelling

Chapter 4. Nitrogen Use as a Component of Sustainable Crop Systems

1. Introduction

2. Principles of Crop Sustainability in Rainfed Farming

3. Improving Nue and On-Site N Management

4. Targeting Crop Sustainability

Acknowledgement

References

Chapter 5. Potential of Management Practices and Amendments for Preventing Nutrient Deficiencies in Field Crops under Organic Cropping Systems

1. Introduction

2. Management Practices

3. Agricultural Organic Amendments

4. Industrial Organic Products/Byproducts

5. Mineral Amendments

6. Summary of Research Findings, Gaps, and Future Needs

7. Conclusions

References

Chapter 6. Effective Management of Scarce Water Resources in North-West India

1. Introduction

2. The Development of Water Scarcity for Irrigation

3. Reasons for Ground Water Depletion in Nw India

4. “Real” Water Savings

5. Improving Management of Water Resources

6. Conclusions

References

Chapter 7. Modeling for Agricultural Sustainability: A Review

1. Introduction

2. Major Simulation Models

3. Outlook

References

Section III: Molecular, Biotechnological, and Industrial Approaches for Enhancement of Crop Production and Quality

Chapter 8. Biotechnological Approaches for Increasing Productivity and Sustainability of Rice Production

1. Advances in Rice Biotechnology

2. Approaches for Increasing Yield Potential of Rice

3. Mapping Genes/QTLs and Marker-Assisted Breeding in Rice

4. Broadening the Gene Pool of Rice Through Wide Hybridization

5. Role of Anther Culture in Rice Breeding

6. Genetic Engineering Approaches for Sustainable Rice Production and Enhanced Nutritional Qualities

7. Advances in Functional Genomics Support Rice Breeding

References

Chapter 9. Biofortification of Staple Crops

1. Introduction

2. Biofortification: A New Tool to Reduce Micronutrient Malnutrition

3. Micronutrient Concentration and Grain Yield

4. Conclusion

References

Chapter 10. Nutrient-focused Processing of Rice

1. Introduction

2. Nutrient Composition of Rice Fractions

3. Health Problems in Rice Core Regions

4. Rice Processing

5. Potential usages of Edible Co-products

6. Future Scenarios of Nutrient-Focused Rice Processing

Acknowledgements

References

Chapter 11. Virus Resistance Breeding in Cool Season Food Legumes: Integrating Traditional and Molecular Approaches

1. Cool Season Food Legumes

2. Methods of Detecting Plant Virus Diseases

3. Source of Resistance to Viruses in CSFLs

4. Molecular Tools for Accelerating Virus Resistance Breeding

Acknowledgements

References

Section IV: Expert Advice on Policy and Developmental Aspects

Chapter 12. Talking Agricultural Sustainability Issues—an Interview with Dr. Gurdev Khush

Chapter 13. Economics and Politics of Farm Subsidies in India

1. Consumer Subsidies

2. Agricultural Subsidies

3. Policy Prescriptions

Chapter 14. Public-Private Partnership and Policy Reforms for Effective Agricultural Research, Development, and Training: A Viewpoint

1. The Issue

2. Strengths and Weaknesses of Public, Private, and Ngo Sectors

3. International Collaboration

4. Mechanism(S) for Establishing Public, Private, and NGO Partnership

5. Policy Support

Chapter 15. Contract-Farming for Production and Procurement of Mint—Lessons from Personal Experience

1. Introduction

2. Effective Communication—Foundation for a Good Start

3. Start on a Low Scale and Build Confidence in the Community Before Expanding

4. Cluster Approach for Expansion

5. Overcoming our Own Inhibitions for Expansion

6. Expansion was Required to Conquer Opposition from Within the Company

7. Balancing Company’s and Farmers’ Interests

8. Research and Development Support for Quick Expansion

9. Farmers First

10. Meeting Quality Goals

11. Advisory and Extension Services

12. Synergy with Other Organizations

13. Concluding Remarks

Acknowledgements

References

Index