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.

Books Journals

Amniote Origins

1st Edition
December 16, 1996
Stuart Sumida + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 2 7 0 9 3

Amniote Origins integrates modern systematic methods with studies of functional and physiological processes, and illustrates how studies of paleobiology can be illuminated by studies of neonatology. For this reason, comparative anatomists and physiologists, functional morphologists, zoologists, and paleontologists will all find this unique volume very useful. Inspired by the prospect of integrating fields that have long been isolated from one another, Amniote Origins provides a thorough and interdisciplinary synthesis of one of the classic transitions of evolutionary history.

Vertisols and Technologies for their Management

1st Edition
Volume 24
December 11, 1996
N. Ahmad + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 4 3 5 2 9

Vertisols, one of the eleven established soil orders, are clay soils with unusual and interesting properties. They cover more than 350 million hectares of land in the world and in tropical Africa alone there are over 100 million hectares. Because of their very small particle size and high surface area, these soils have higher physical and chemical reactivity than other soils. Their interaction with agrochemicals/industrial wastes, has been, increasingly, the subject of research especially in the last two decades. Vertisols create special problems when used for engineering purposes.This book is intended to provide comprehensive and state-of-the-art information about Vertisols worldwide. Special attention is given to the use and management of soils such as fertilizer use, crop selection, soil tillage, water restriction on land including irrigation, and soil erosion. A special chapter has been added to deal with geotechnical engineering of Vertisols.Vertisols have great potential for agricultural production but many, especially in the developing world, are underutilized due to a lack of understanding regarding their behaviour and management.This book is written by leading scientists worldwide. It is expected that this monograph will be of great use to soil scientists and agronomists, graduate and senior graduate students.Improvement of their management may solve the current food deficiency in the world.

Growth Control in Woody Plants

1st Edition
December 10, 1996
Theodore T. Kozlowski + 1 more
Jacques Roy
English
Hardback
9 7 8 0 1 2 4 2 4 2 1 0 4
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 3 2 6 8 4

The processes and mechanisms that control the growth of woody plants are of crucial importance for both economic and biological reasons. The comprehensive coverage of Growth Control in Woody Plants includes discussion of the growth controlling factors in both reproductive structures (flowers, fruit, seeds, pollen, etc.) and vegetative organs (stems, branches, leaves, and roots). Other major topics covered include seed germination, seedling growth, physiological and environmental regulation of growth, cultural practices, and biotechnology.This comprehensive treatment of the many factors that control the growth of woody plants can serve both as a valuable text and as a frequently used reference.

Pectins and Pectinases

1st Edition
Volume 14
December 1, 1996
J. Visser + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 4 4 6 0 1

Pectins are one of the classes of complex structural plant cell wall polysaccharides. They are localized in the middle lamella and primary cell wall of higher plants. Pectins have a long-standing use as gelling agents whereas their enzymatic degradation or modification plays an important role in the processing of agricultural crops and the manufacturing of foods and beverages. Progress in pectin and pectinase research has been most prominent in two areas over the past 5 years. The first one concerns the analysis and elucidation of the complex chemical structure of pectin and identification of novel enzymes involved in the degradation of these structures. The second area concerns the mode of action and the 3-dimensional structure of various pectin degrading enzymes as well as the cloning of a large number of genes encoding enzymes involved in pectin degradation and modification. This book covers the following topics. First the structural, physical and chemical properties of pectin are treated followed by information about its biosynthesis and about the biological effects of pectin and its degradation products in biological systems such as plant-pathogen interactions and human nutrition. Identification of novel enzymes, the mode of action of different pectinases and the 3-D structure of bacterial pectate lyases forms the second block. This is followed by the genetics and regulation of pectinase biosynthesis in saprophytic and phytopathogenic microbial systems as well as in plant systems. Finally, developments in pectin manufacturing and application of pectinases in traditional (food, beverage) and novel technologies are treated. This book is meant for those actively involved in fundamental and applied aspects of pectin and pectinase research but it is also of value for those interested in plant cell wall biosynthesis and architecture, phytopathology, food technology and human nutrition. This book not only reflects the present status of research in the field but it will turn out to be a very useful reference work as well.

High Pressure Bioscience and Biotechnology

1st Edition
Volume 13
December 1, 1996
Claude Balny + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 4 4 6 1 8

For many years, pressure was disregarded by biochemists. Today, there is a growing interest in pressure as a variable acting on biosystems.The activities that are currently of interest to scientists working in the field of High Pressure Bioscience and Biotechnology have been well presented in this volume, with topics ranging from physical biochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology and food science to industrial application.The editors have been successful in promoting the possibility of applying pressure in specific biotechnological areas, not only for food processing but also for biotechnology in general. These proceedings present an up-to-date view of high pressure research and will contribute to future developments in this field.

Obesity Management and Redux

1st Edition
November 21, 1996
Stylianos Nicolaidis
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 3 7 9 1 7

Redux™ is a revolutionary new anti-obesity drug that has just been approved (July 1996) by the FDA. It is the first weight management drug treatment to be launched in the United States in 20 years and is not addictive, unlike earlier drugs used for this purpose. Obesity Management and Redux™ includes a brief introduction which leads up to its discovery and includes an overview of new trends in obesity management. The book lists the pharmacological profile of the drug, given by experts involved in monitoring the effects of the drug on the brain neurotransmitters, as well as detailing the results (including safety data) of the various clinical trials.

Plant Tissue Culture: Theory and Practice

1st Edition
Volume 5
November 1, 1996
S.S. Bhojwani + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 3 9 0 9 6

Since the publication of the first edition in 1983, several new and exciting developments have taken place in the field of plant tissue culture, which forms a major component of what is now called plant biotechnology. The revised edition presents updated information on theoretical, practical and applied aspects of plant tissue culture. Each chapter has been thoroughly revised and, as before, is written in lucid language, includes relevant media protocols, and is profusely illustrated with self-explanatory diagrams and original photographs. This book includes three new chapters: "Variant selection", "Genetic Engineering" and "Production of Industrial Compounds" and contains a complete bibliography and a glossary of terms commonly used in tissue culture literature.This updated version proves to be an excellent text for undergraduate, postgraduate students and teachers in various fields of plant sciences and a useful reference book for those interested in the application of any aspect of this aseptic technology.

Mycorrhizal Symbiosis

2nd Edition
October 25, 1996
Sally E. Smith + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 3 7 1 9 1

In nature, the roots of most plants are colonized by symbiotic fungi to form mycorrhiza, which play a critical role in the capture of nutrients from the soil, and therefore in plant nutrition. Thirteen years have passed since the publication of the First Edition of Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, the book that has been generally acclaimed as the most definitive work on this fascinating topic. The Second Edition co-authored by Professor Sally Smith and Professor David Read has been completely rewritten to cover the significant advances in our understanding of this field.

Interrelationships of Fishes

1st Edition
October 18, 1996
Melanie L.J. Stiassny + 2 more
English
Hardback
9 7 8 0 1 2 6 7 0 9 5 0 6
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 3 4 9 2 3

Comprising by far the largest and most diverse group of vertebrates, fishes occupy a broad swathe of habitats ranging from the deepest ocean abyss to the highest mountain lakes. Such incredible ecological diversity and the resultant variety in lifestyle, anatomy, physiology and behavior, make unraveling the evolutionary history of fishes a daunting task. The successor of a classic volume by the same title, Interrelationships of Fishes, provides the latest in the "state of the art" of systematics and classification for many of the major groups of fishes. In providing a sound phylogenetic framework from leading authorities in the field, this book is an indispensable reference for a broad range of biologists, especially students of fish behavior, anatomy, physiology, molecular biology, genetics and ecology--in fact, anyone who wishes to interpret their work on fishes in an evolutionary context.

Photoperiodism in Plants

2nd Edition
October 17, 1996
Brian Thomas + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 3 8 8 7 7

Photoperiodism is the response to the length of the day that enables living organisms to adapt to seasonal changes in their environment as well as latitudinal variation. As such, it is one of the most significant andcomplex aspects of the interaction between plants and their environment and is a major factor controlling their growth and development. As the new and powerful technologies of molecular genetics are brought to bear on photoperiodism, it becomes particularly important to place new work in the context of the considerable amount of physiological information which already exists on the subject. This innovative book will be of interest to a wide range of plant scientists, from those interested in fundamental plant physiology and molecular biology to agronomists and crop physiologists.

Related subjects

Agricultural science

Animal science

Aquatic science

Entomology

Food science and technology

Forest science

Mathematical biosciences

Plant science

Soil science

Veterinary science

Life Sciences

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Social Sciences & Humanities

Health