Plant Function Traits: Linking Climate and Ecosystem Functioning, part of the Plant Biology, Sustainability and Climate Change series, presents a wholistic understanding of Plant Functional Traits. As global climate change advances, natural resources are facing increasing survival challenges, hence this book directly addresses that need, exploring the morphological, physiological, and phenological properties of a plant that can be used as a proxy to understand plant environment interactions. Users will find great illustrations throughout individual chapters, along with case studies that demonstrate applications of functional traits in classifying vegetation of a region into distinct type groups as Plant Functional Types (PFTs).Additional information includes applications in the development of new generation of Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (DGVM) and an understanding of the response of vegetation to changing environments.
Non-coding RNA in Plants: Modulation and Stress Responses  is the first book to present the basics of the importance of long non-coding RNA and its potential in addressing abiotic and biotic stresses. Describing the MiRNA and small RNA and their role in plant development, this book explains the importance of long non-coding RNA in plants, including its significance in virus resistance, its transposable elements, effector trigger immunity, and fungal and bacterial resistance in plants. Non-coding RNA for Modulation and Stress Response in Plants presents the state-of-the-science from its historical foundation through application throughout the lifecycle and production of agricultural and non-agricultural plants. While various coding has been explored within animal science, plant exposition has been minimal.  This book is designed to inspire additional research and developments toward improved plant resiliency and production.
Microbiome Nano-Cross-Talk: Sustainable Agriculture and Beyond presents a comprehensive overview of the functional aspects of multiphasic microbial and nanotechnological interactions within and between plants and their ecosystem. Recognizing that beneficial microbes are involved in plant growth promotion, this book highlights their mechanism and regulation to enhance plant’s yield and development even under stressed conditions. The merging of nanotechnology with microbiology is an essential aspect of this book. Various nanomaterials, their synthesis approaches as well as applications in agriculture have been studied extensively in past years.With a focus on focus the morphological, anatomical, biochemical, molecular and gene expression levels of plant growth promotion, the book is the first of its kind to enable scientists to unravel the different pathways and signaling cascades involved in response to this interaction and to understanding how nanomaterials regulate the plant-microbe associations. It critically examines the role of beneficial microbes in conjunction with nanoparticles in plants and the mechanisms adopted by the plants at the biochemical and molecular levels to enhance plant growth and mitigate various stresses.
Defense-related Proteins in Plants presents detailed information on the identification, characterization, mechanism of action, and application in crop improvement programs of these mechanisms in a single, cohesive volume. It includes foundational information to enable the understanding of these proteins and their applications in crop improvement programs.Defense-related proteins have drawn the attention of various plant and agricultural scientists and industries because they provide generalized direct stress tolerance in crop plants. These proteins, including lectins, chitinases, thaumatin, and osmotin among others, have been used for the development of transgenic plants to provide protection against various abiotic and biotic stresses. While there is a breadth of research and application information available, it has not previously been compiled into a single volume for the ease of comparison and translational work. This book is a complete guide to defense-related proteins in plants for various categories of readers. Also, it will inspire future research into the unexplored areas of the molecular aspects of these proteins to understand their role and action mechanism in plants and living organisms as a whole. Additionally agricultural scientists and industry professionals will find the application part of this book helpful in future crop design strategies.
The Chemical Dialogue Between Plants and Beneficial Microorganisms provides foundational insights on plant beneficial microorganisms and their impact on the health and productivity of plants. Providing in-depth and recent updates about unexplored aspects of plant microbes interactions, the book includes the biological repertoire of arbuscular mycorrhizal association, molecular architecture of Rhizobium-plant symbiosis, and endophytes in transcriptional plasticity during host colonization by endophytes. The book also includes details about the mechanism of different plant beneficial microorganisms, how these differ, and their cross signaling. This book will be an important reference for researchers working on different plant beneficial microorganisms and their molecular arsenal.
Transcriptome Profiling: Progress and Prospects assists readers in assessing and interpreting a large number of genes, up to and including an entire genome. It provides key insights into the latest tools and techniques used in transcriptomics and its relevant topics which can reveal a global snapshot of the complete RNA component of a cell at a given time. This snapshot, in turn, enables the distinction between different cell types, different disease states, and different time points during development. Transcriptome analysis has been a key area of biological inquiry for decades. The next-generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized transcriptomics by providing opportunities for multidimensional examinations of cellular transcriptomes in which high-throughput expression data are obtained at a single-base resolution. Transcriptome analysis has evolved from the detection of single RNA molecules to large-scale gene expression profiling and genome annotation initiatives. Written by a team of global experts, key topics in Transcriptome Profiling include transcriptome characterization, expression analysis of transcripts, transcriptome and gene regulation, transcriptome profiling and human health, medicinal plants transcriptomics, transcriptomics and genetic engineering, transcriptomics in agriculture, and phylotranscriptomics.
Environmental, Physiological and Chemical Controls of Adventitious Rooting in Cuttings provides a review of the environmental, physiological and chemical controls of adventitious rooting in cuttings obtained from plants. In plants, adventitious roots, which are highly useful for vegetative propagation (or clonal propagation) are produced mainly from leaves, hypocotyls, stems or shoots. Vegetative propagation may occur naturally by using propagules such as roots, underground and aerial stems, leaves, buds and bulbils. It may also be done artificially through regenerative organs (rhizomes, bulbs, and corms) and by utilizing specialized methods, like cutting, grafting and layering. This book covers the latest tactics surrounding these processes. As a plethora of factors affect the adventitious rooting of cuttings, adding to the complexity of the phenomenon. The main factors which control adventitious root formation are types of cuttings, presence of leaf area on cuttings, types of hormones and their concentration, duration of hormonal treatment (quick dip, long soak, dry dip, spray dip, or total immerse method), maturation (juvenile or mature), genotype, explant position, and more, all of which are discussed here.
Agriculture’s Ethical Horizon: Third Edition covers the changing environment in which practitioners of agriculture are challenged to produce food for the world. Fully revised and updated, the book encourages discussions on the moral questions that agriculture faces, including what goals should agricultural science pursue and how should practitioners address important ethical questions which are different and more complex than the dominating questions of production? The book presents the story of agriculture from the blood, sweat and tears era, to the present genetic era, including the paradox of agriculture. This book is ideal for agricultural students, practitioners and anyone who would like to understand the tremendous responsibility of agricultural production. It presents a foundation for the important discussions and decisions that will be necessary to support the future of agriculture.
Scientific Perspectives of Tea Plant Horticulture and Productivity is a complete, step-by-step guide on how to maximize tea plant growth, yield and quality. Chapters focus on the methods of cultivation, soil and water management, plant physiology, plant protection and weed control, problems from pollution and climate change, and eco-friendly remedial actions. This is an essential read for plant biologists and tea horticulturalists as the tea industry is struggling due to high production costs, changing climates and diminishing plant yields, with countries in Asia declaring the industry at ‘crisis point.’ Horticulturalists need solutions to problems with plant productivity, quality, stress management and eco-friendly cultivation practices. There have been several technological advances in the field and horticulturalists need guidance on how best to implement new technologies, hence the importance of this new resource.
Studies in the Agricultural and Food Sciences: Plant Breeding for Pest and Disease Resistance presents a critical review of the development of resistant varieties of plant to pests and diseases. It discusses the economic impact of pests and diseases; the methods of controlling these pests and diseases; and the challenges being faced by a plant breeder. Some of the topics covered in the book are the general principles and methods of breeding for resistance; importance of parasite variability to the plant breeder; methods of testing for resistance; requirements for successful inoculation; production of resistant varieties; and economic importance of fungal diseases; and variability in fungal pathogen. Pathogenic fungi and fungal diseases are also covered. The control of fungal diseases by resistant varieties is discussed. An in-depth analysis of diseases in plants is provided. The characteristics of bacteria and bacterial diseases are also presented. A chapter is devoted to epidemiology of diseases associated with mycoplasma-like organisms and rickettsia-like organisms. The book can provide useful information to farmers, botanists, students, and researchers.