Crop Loss Assessment in Rice


Book Description

Crop loss assessment: background, rationale, and concepts; Component technology for crop loss assessment; Applications of pest and loss assessment technology to pest management.




Advances in Botanical Research


Book Description

Harmonious, integrated functioning of the whole plant system requires that its various cells, tissues and organs should be able to communicate with each other, transferring a range of information on environmental conditions, physiological and microbial stresses etc. In this volume of Advances in Botanical Research incorporating Advances in Plant Pathology three articles are concerned with different aspects of plant signalling. McDonald and Davis consider how shoot systems respond to drying and N-deficient soil, in terms of their stomatal behaviour and growth, via the transmission of root-derived chemical signals. Malone considers the major hypotheses that have been proposed with particular attention being given to hydraulic pressure signals and the hydraulic dispersal of chemical signals. At a different, intracellular level of communication, a wide variety of second messengers couple extracellular stimuli to a characteristic physiological response. Webb et al . Consider progress made in establishing similar roles for calcium in plant signalling in the context of the mammalian paradigms. The effects of UV-B radiation on plants have been extensively investigated in recent years. Jordan considers progress in understanding the chain of events from perception of UV-B to signal transduction and consequent changes in gene expression and regulation. Smith and Smith assess the various hypotheses erected over the years to explain structure and function of the host-parasite interface formed by vesticular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizas, an important and widespread mutualistic symbioses of a wide range of higher and some lower plants.




Advances in Botanical Research


Book Description

The twenty-first volume in the series focuses on plant pathology and is the first to integrate Advances in Plant Pathology into Advances in Botanical Research. The articles represented strive both to draw insights from relevant biological disciplines into the realm of plant pathology and to reveal the general principles of plant pathology to the broad audience of biologists, including undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and teachers.Kombrink and Somssich address how plant pathogens communicate at the genetic and biochemical level in determining resistance or susceptibility. This general theme is continued in articles on the nature of fungal wilt diseases (Beckman and Roberts); plant virus infection (de Zoeten); and the gene-for-gene interactions between plants and fungi (de Wit). Ehrlich takes up the timely issue of how pressure to expand and intensify agriculture is influencing agroecosystems and natural ecosystems on a global scale. The current status and future prospects of chestnuts, in health and disease, is considered by Anagnostakis. In an article on phytoplasmas, Kirkpatrick and Smart review the recent application of molecular techniques to the inference of taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships among mycoplasma-like organisms. To conclude the volume, Savary and colleagues show how a form of systems analysis can be used to handle large and complex data sets in epidemology.




Rice Insects: Management Strategies


Book Description

Due to the worldwide importance of rice as a crop plant, the biology of rice pests is of great interest to agricultural research. This timely book brings together contributions from the fields of entomology, agronomy, population ecology, and biostatistics to provide a comprehensive survey of rice-insect interaction. Among the topics discussed are - crop loss assessment - economic thresholds and injury levels for incest pests - mosquito leafhoppers and planthoppers population dynamics - pheromone utilization - techniques for predator evaluation - chemical based for insect resistance - applications of tissue culture - systems analysis and - rice pestmanagement. With its emphasis on experimental techniques of pest analysis and control, Rice Insects: Management Strategies will be a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners alike.




Crop Loss Assessment Methods


Book Description

Crop losses today, profit tomorrow: an approach to quantifying production constraints and to measuring progress; Structural components of a crop loss programme; Crop loss terminology.




Postharvest Losses, Technology, And Employment


Book Description

This book presents a Bangladesh case study of the farm-level postharvest system. There are two main objectives. First, to use measured estimates of food loss to test (and reject) the conventional assumptions: that postharvest farm-level food losses are large; that they can be prevented cost-effectively by technical change; and that as a consequence, there will be more food consumption by hungry people. Commonly, none of these assumptions are true and the evidence from Bangladesh, plus supporting evidence from elsewhere, is used to show why they are wrong.




Changing the Global Environment


Book Description

Changing the Global Environment: Perspectives on Human Involvement focuses on the extent of global environmental changes and the extent to which technology can be employed to improve the global environment. This book is divided into three sections. Section I sets forth a broad perspective on specific conceptual issues of concern such as the sustainable use of the global ocean; deforestation and extinction of species; large-scale alteration of biological productivity due to transported pollutants; and soil degradation and conversion of tropical rainforests. The second section discusses technologies of remote sensing, computer-based data systems, and advanced chemical analytical techniques. The interactions among social, environmental, and economic goals and the role that technological advances might play in attaining these goals are deliberated in Section III. This publication is valuable to environmentalists and students interested in how technologies can change man's perception of the environment.




Integrated Pest Management


Book Description

The book ‘Silent Spring’ written by Rachel Carson in 1962, is considered the la- mark in changing the attitude of the scientists and the general public regarding the complete reliance on the synthetic pesticides for controlling the ravages caused by the pests in agriculture crops. For about ve decades, the Integrated Pest Mana- ment (IPM) is the accepted strategy for managing crop pests. IPM was practiced in Canet ̃ e Valley, Peru in 1950s, even before the term IPM was coined. Integrated Pest management: Innovation-Development Process, Volume 1, focuses on the recog- tion of the dysfunctional consequences of the pesticide use in agriculture, through researchanddevelopmentoftheIntegratedPest Managementinnovations. Thebook aims to update the information on the global scenario of IPM with respect to the use of pesticides, its dysfunctional consequences, and the concepts and advan- ments made in IPM systems. This book is intended as a text as well as reference material for use in teaching the advancements made in IPM. The book provides an interdisciplinary perspective of IPM by the forty-three experts from the eld of entomology, plant pathology, plant breeding, plant physiology, biochemistry, and extension education. The introductory chapter (Chapter 1) gives an overview of IPM initiatives in the developed and developing countries from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, Latin America and North America. IPM concepts, opportunities and challenges are d- cussed in Chapter 2.




Biofertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the benefits of biofertilizers as an alternative to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Agricultural production has increased massively over the last century due to increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but these gains have come at a price. The chemicals are not only expensive; they also reduce microbial activity in agricultural soils and accumulate in the food chain, with potentially harmful effects for humans. Accordingly, it is high time to explore alternatives and to find solutions to overcome our increasing dependence on these chemicals. Biofertilizers, which consist of plant remains, organic matter and microorganisms, might offer an alternative. They are natural, organic, biodegradable, eco-friendly and cost-effective. Further, the microbes present in the biofertilizers are important, because they produce nutrients required for plant growth (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), as well as substances essential for plant growth and development (e.g., auxins and cytokinins). Biofertilizers also improve the physical properties, fertility and productivity of soil, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers while maintaining high crop yield. This makes biofertilizers a powerful tool for sustainable agriculture and a sustainable environment. The book covers the latest research on biofertilizers, ranging from beneficial fungal, bacterial and algal inoculants; to microbes for bioremediation, wastewater treatment; and recycling of biodegradable municipal, agricultural and industrial waste; as well as biocontrol agents and bio-pesticides. As such, it offers a valuable resource for researchers, academics and students in the broad fields of microbiology and agriculture.