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Books in Agricultural and biological sciences

The Agricultural and Biological Sciences collection advances science-based knowledge for the improvement of animal and plant life and for secure food systems that produce nutritious, novel, sustainable foods with minimal environmental impact. Food Science titles include not only those products from agriculture but all other aspects from food production to nutrition, health and safety, chemistry to security, policy, law and regulation. Biological Sciences address animal behaviour and biodiversity, organismal and evolutionary biology, entomology, marine biology and aquaculture, plant science and forestry.

  • Cultivating Edible Fungi

    International Symposium on Scientific and Technical Aspects of Cultivating Edible Fungi (IMS 86), July 15 - 17, 1986 Proceedings
    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • P.J. Wuest + 2 more
    • English
    Developments in Crop Science, 10: Cultivating Edible Fungi covers the proceedings of the International Symposium on Scientific and Technical Aspects of Cultivating Edible Fungi (IMS 86), held on July 15-17, 1986. The book focuses on the methodologies, processes, and technologies involved in the cultivation of edible fungi. The selection first offers information on antitumor activities of edible mushrooms by oral administration; variability of fluorescent Pseudomonas populations in composts and casing soils used for mushroom cultures; and influence of microorganisms and fungistasis on sporophore initiation in Agaricus brunnescens. The text then elaborates on the kratovirulence determinant of wood-decay fungi in transfer of mycelia to, and basidiocarp formation on, wooden raw substrates; spent compost as a carrier for bacterial inoculant production; and effects of growth regulator compounds on yield and size of Agaricus bisporus. The manuscript examines the effect of benomyl application and spawnmate supplementation on yield and size of selected genotypes of Pleurotus spp; changes in free amino acid content of the compost during growth and development of Agaricus bisporus; and basidiospore number variation in Agaricus. The book then takes a look at the integrated control of pests and diseases in mushroom cultivation; status of pests in the cultivated mushroom in India; and laboratory and cropping tests with cyromazine for mushroom sciarid control in mushroom compost. The selection is a dependable source of data for researchers interested in the cultivation of edible fungi.
  • Parasitic Protozoa

    Volume 9
    • 2nd Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Julius P. Kreier
    • English
    Updated and much expanded, the Second Edition of Parasitic Protozoa is designed to be useful to physicians, veterinarians, and research scientists concerned with diseases caused by protozoa in man, and in domestic and wild animals including fish, mollusks and insects, as well as the more commonly considered vertebrate animals. Each section contains information on disease pathogens, treatment, diagnosis, and epidemiology of the diseases caused by the various protozoans. The book is not limited to these medically-oriented subjects, but treats taxonomy, morphology, and metabolism of the organisms in such a way as to be of interest to scientists and graduate students working in the field of protozoology. The entire edition, published in ten volumes, is arranged so that subjects of common interest occupy individual volumes.
  • Drainage Geochemistry

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 6
    • October 22, 2013
    • M. Hale + 1 more
    • English
    The considerable exploration success achieved by geochemistry over the last several decades - and still continuing - has provided both the basis and rationale for the Handbook of Exploration Geochemistry series, including Volume 6, Drainage Geochemistry in Mineral Exploration. With contributions from 25 experts of truly global professional experience in drainage geochemistry, this book is a thorough appraisal of the state of the art in the use of surface and sub-surface waters, stream and lake sediments, heavy minerals for mineral exploration in tropical rain forests, temperate glaciated terrains, mountain chains, arid deserts and regions of agricultural and industrial pollution. Additional attention is given to gold and uranium exploration, and to the growing role of drainage geochemistry as a multi-purpose environmental mapping technique with applications in human health studies, ore deposit modelling and pollution monitoring. It comprises 16 chapters, more than 250 figures and a bibliography of some 1600 references.This book is the most extensive and detailed single work on the principles and applications of drainage geochemistry in mineral exploration blending both theoretical considerations and practical implementations.
  • Diversity of Environmental Biogeochemistry

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 6
    • October 22, 2013
    • J. Berthelin
    • W.S. Fyfe
    • English
    Biogeochemistry, still in its formative stage twenty years ago, is now a young, interdisciplinary subfield of earth sciences, life sciences and chemistry. An international scientific association (International Symposia on Environmental Biogeochemistry incorporated - ISEB) was founded to organize international symposia to bring together microbiologists, biologists, chemists, geochemists, soil scientists, oceanographers, ecologists and environmental engineers interested in the biogeochemistry of terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric environments.After the 8th ISEB held in Nancy, France, this volume was compiled. These fifty selected contributions from specialists of varying backgrounds and interests show the diversity and the common framework of the direct or indirect interactions of living organisms and their abiotic environments.
  • Environmental Soil Chemistry

    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Donald L. Sparks
    • English
    As the author states in his Preface, this book is written at a time when scientific and lay communities recognize that knowledge of environmental chemistry is fundamental in understanding and predicting the fate of pollutants in soils and waters, and in making sound decisions about remediation of contaminated soils. Environmental Soil Chemistry presents the fundamental concepts of soil science and applies them to environmentally significant reactions in soil. Clearly and concisely written for undergraduate and beginning graduate students of soil science, the book is likewise accessible to all students and professionals of environmental engineering and science. Chapters cover background information useful to students new to the discipline, including the chemistry of inorganic and organic soil components, soilacidity and salinity, and ion exchange and redox phenomena. However, discussion also extends to sorption/desorption, oxidation-reduction of metals and organic chemicals, rates of pollutant reactions as well as technologies for remediating contaminated soils. Supplementary reading lists, sample problems, and extensive tables and figures make this textbook accessible to readers.
  • Photosynthetic Reaction Center

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 2
    • October 22, 2013
    • Johann Deisenhofer + 1 more
    • English
    The availability of the photosynthetic reaction center's structure at an atomic resolution of less than three angstroms has revolutionized research. This protein is the first integral membrane protein whose structure has been determined with such precision. Each volume of the Photosynthetic Reaction Center contains original research, methods, and reviews. Together, these volumes cover our current understanding of how photosynthesis converts light energy into stored chemical energy.Volume II details the electron transfer process; it is oriented to the physical aspects of photosynthesis. It thus primarily discusses bacterial photosynthesis and model compounds. Volume II features the very complex and rapidly evolving issues associated with the theory of electron transfer in the bacterial reaction center, and explores picosecond and femtosecond spectroscopy. This volume also covers holeburning spectroscopy; primary events of bacterial photosynthesis with emphasis on the application of large, external electric fields designed to manipulate and probe mechanisms of the initial chemistry; the role of accessory carotenoid pigments; the techniques of infrared spectroscopy and magnetic resonance as applied to photosynthesis; and the interplay between natural and artificial photosynthesis.
  • Sexual Reproduction of Tree Crops

    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • M. Sedgley + 1 more
    • English
    Research into the reproductive biology of crop plants has expanded greatly in recent years and has lead to an increasing awareness of the importance of flowering, pollination, and fruit set in crop productivity. This book focuses specifically on tree cultivation. It deals with the basic biology of sexual reproduction and relates this to the practical aspects of tree crop breeding and orchard management for fruit and seed production, in both temperate and tropical species.It is aimed at both students and research scientists in horticulture, forestry, and pollination ecology as well as those working in tree breeding, tree cultivation, and orchard management. The conservation problems of rainforest regeneration in the tropics and subtropics and of changing land use priorities in Europe and North America also make this book of value to those concerned with tree species preservation and survival.
  • The Biology of the Mollusca

    • 2nd Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • R. D. Purchon
    • G. A. Kerkut
    • English
    Reviews the most important literature on the functional morphology and natural history of molluscs over a period of half a century, from 1925 to the present day, and draws extensively upon authoritative papers published mostly in the English language in a large number of international journals during this period. By these means it is hoped to provide an anthology of what is most interesting in the literature in a number of selected topics. Appendices give some practical assistance for the dissection of selected examples
  • The Soil-Root Interface

    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • J. L. Harley
    • English
    The Soil-Root Interface contains the proceedings of an international symposium held in Oxford, England, on March 28 to 31, 1978. The first five chapters of this book contain the majority of papers presented at the meeting, as well as the descriptions of displayed posters and films. Abstracts of other contributions offered by participants but not read at the meeting form the final chapter. The first five parts cover topics on nutrient demand and supply at the soil root interface; physics and chemistry of the interfacial region; biological activities at the interface; the interface in relation to environmental stress and disease; and the interface in relation to soil function and growth.
  • Plant Biotechnology

    Comprehensive Biotechnology Second Supplement
    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • M.W. Fowler + 2 more
    • English
    Today it is generally accepted that one of the key areas of biotechnology for the next century will be in plant-based biotechnology. Biotechnology has created new opportunities for plant scientists, with important applications to agriculture and forestry. This reference text is divided into five sections for ease of presentation. The first section focuses on the structure, composition and functionality of plant cells and genes with particular emphasis on the cellular and molecular biology of plants and cultured cells. Section two is concerned with the direct exploitation of cell cultures for the production of useful substances. The third section deals with regeneration and propagation systems. The fourth section considers the increasingly central area of genetic manipulation of plant cell systems. The last section is on specific applications in plant biotechnology. This reference work is a survey of these various facets of plant biotechnology. The individual chapters and the follow-up literature cited allow an easy access to the various subject areas and will, hopefully, stimulate interest in these rapidly moving and exciting fields of research.