Water Stress and Crop Plants

The latest update on improving crop resistance to abiotic stress using the advanced key methods of proteomics, genomics and metabolomics. The wellbalanced international mix of contributors from industry and academia cover work carried out on individual crop plants, while also including studies of model organisms that can then be applied to specific crop plants

This book is the first to address the most urgent issues, combining a solid basic research approach with applied individual and stress issues, including interventions. Throughout, the focus is on our latest knowledge about various causes of stress and its neuro-cognitive and biological implications. World-renowned authors from Europe as well as the US describe how stress affects the brain of young people as well as adults. They cover the topic from all perspectives, showing how stress affects life in general, from the societal and organizational level to the individual, organ and molecular level. While the book clearly points out stress as a risk factor to health, it also offers a number of evidence-based methods to cope with stress and even ride the positive energy of stress – both as an individual, as well as what managers can do to create a healthy and productive workplace. Written in a reader-friendly and appealing style, the book provides real-life examples from various laboratories, as well as such events as the Volvo Ocean Race, the largest around-the-globe sailing competition. Essential reading for clinicians and biologists, as well as for a wide range of students, including medicine and public health, but also managers and HR staff. With a Foreword by Nobel Laureate Professor Arvid Carlsson (Medicine 2000).

In this ready reference, a global team of experts comprehensively cover molecular and cell biology-based approaches to the impact of increasing global temperatures on crop productivity. The work is divided into four parts. Following an introduction to the general challenges for agriculture around the globe due to climate change, part two discusses how the resulting increase of abiotic stress factors can be dealt with. The third part then outlines the different strategies and approaches to address the challenge of climate change, and the whole is rounded off by a number of specific examples of improvements to crop productivity. With its forward-looking focus on solutions, this book is an indispensable help for the agro-industry, policy makers and academia.

Presents readers with a user-friendly, non-technical introduction to statistics and the principles of plant and crop experimentation. Avoiding mathematical jargon, it explains how to plan and design an experiment, analyse results, interpret computer output and present findings. Using specific crop and plant case studies, this guide presents: * The reasoning behind each statistical method is explained before giving relevant, practical examples * Step-by-step calculations with examples linked to three computer packages (MINITAB, GENSTAT and SAS) * Exercises at the end of many chapters * Advice on presenting results and report writing Written by experienced lecturers, this text will be invaluable to undergraduate and postgraduate students studying plant sciences, including plant and crop physiology, biotechnology, plant pathology and agronomy, plus ecology and environmental science students and those wanting a refresher or reference book in statistics.

Durable commodities are the raw products from which food can be made and are the staples on which most humans rely; with but a few exceptions they are the seeds of plants. Volume 1 of this ground-breaking book series (details below) explains how crops should be dried, handled, protected from pests and stored by smaller holders or large-scale enterprises. This second volume presents a series of case studies on how durable crops are actually stored and marketed. The compilation of this three-volume work has been supported and is endorsed by the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich, U.K. The editors of this comprehensive and thorough book are well known and respected in the world of post-harvest science and technology. They have drawn together 36 expert contributors from Europe, North America, Asia, Australasia, South America and Africa to provide a huge wealth of information on major world crops including rice, maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, beans, cowpea, oilseeds, peanuts, copra, coffee, cocoa, dried fruit and nuts, and dried fish. Crop Post Harvest, Volume 2 is an essential purchase for cereal technologists, food scientists and technologists, agricultural scientists, entomologists, post-harvest crop protection specialists and consultants, commercial growers, shippers and warehousing operatives, and personnel of packaging companies. Researchers and upper-level students in food science, food technology, post-harvest science and technology, crop protection, applied biology, and plant and agricultural sciences will find a huge amount of great use within this landmark publication and the three-volume series as a whole. All libraries in research establishments and universities where these subjects are studied and taught should have several copies of each on their shelves.

World-wide losses of crops, post-harvest, through microbial action, pests, diseases and other types of spoilage amount to millions of tons every year. This essential handbook is the first in a three-volume series which covers all factors affecting post-harvest quality of all major fruits, vegetables, cereals and other crops. Compiled by members of the world-renowned Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, Chatham, UK, the comprehensive contents of this landmark publication encourage interactions between each sector of the agricultural community in order to improve food security, food safety and food quality in today’s global atmosphere. Through the carefully compiled and edited chapters, internationally respected authors discuss ways to improve harvest yield and quality, drawing on their many years’ practical experience and the latest research findings, applications and methodologies. Subjects covered include: an introduction to the systems used in post-harvest agricultural processes, physical and biological factors affecting post-harvest commodities, storage issues, pest management, food processing and preservation, food systems, the latest research and assimilation of this work, and current trade and international agreements. An invaluable glossary showing important pests, pathogens and plants is also included. Crop Post-Harvest: Science and Technology Volume 1: Principles and Practice is a must-have reference book which offers the reader an overview of the globalisation of post-harvest science, technology, economics, and the development of the storage and handling of perishable and durable products. Volumes 2 and 3 will go on to explore durables and perishables individually in more detail, with many case studies taken from around the globe. This 3-volume work is the standard handbook and reference for all professionals involved in the harvesting, shipping, storage and processing of crops, including agricultural and plant scientists, food scientists and technologists, microbiologists, plant pathologists, entomologists and all post harvest, shipping and storage consultants. Libraries in all universities and research establishments where these subjects are studied and taught should have multiple copies on their shelves

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced during the interaction of metabolism with oxygen. As ROS have the potential to cause oxidative damage by reacting with biomolecules, research on ROS has concentrated on the oxidative damage that results from exposure to environmental stresses and on the role of ROS in defence against pathogens. However, more recently, it has become apparent that ROS also have important roles as signalling molecules. A complex network of enzymatic and small molecule antioxidants controls the concentration of ROS and repairs oxidative damage, and research is revealing the complex and subtle interplay between ROS and antioxidants in controlling plant growth, development and response to the environment. This book covers these new developments, generally focussing on molecular and biochemical details and providing a point of entry to the detailed literature. It is directed at researchers and professionals in plant molecular biology, biochemistry and cell biology, in both the academic and industrial sectors.

Over the past decade, our understanding of plant adaptation to environmental stress has grown considerably. This book focuses on stress caused by the inanimate components of the environment associated with climatic, edaphic and physiographic factors that substantially limit plant growth and survival. Categorically these are abiotic stresses, which include drought, salinity, non-optimal temperatures and poor soil nutrition. Another stress, herbicides, is covered in this book to highlight how plants are impacted by abiotic stress originating from anthropogenic sources. The book also addresses the high degree to which plant responses to quite diverse forms of environmental stress are interconnected, describing the ways in which the plant utilizes and integrates many common signals and subsequent pathways to cope with less favorable conditions. The book is directed at researchers and professionals in plant physiology, cell biology and molecular biology, in both the academic and industrial sectors.

This book explores human exposure and consumer risk assessment in response to issues surrounding pesticide residues in food and drinking water. All the three main areas of consumer risk assessment including human toxicology, pesticide residue chemistry and dietary consumption are brought together and discussed. Includes the broader picture – the environmental fate of pesticides Takes an international approach with contributors from the European Union, USA and Australia Highlights the increasing concerns over food safety and the risks to humans