Bücher der Reihe Books in Soils, Plants, and the Environment

Stressing the potential application of biochemical processes in soil to environmental biotechnology, this work considers the vital role that such biochemical processes have in the environment - emphasizing the activity of micro-organisms in soil. It highlights the interaction of xenobiotics, such as pesticides, with soil organisms.

Addressing a topic of major importance to the maintenance of world food supplies, this reference identifies knowledge gaps, defines priorities, and formulates recommendations for the improvement of the rice-wheat farming system. The book reveals new systems of rice intensification and management and illustrates the application of no-till and conser

Merging coverage of two increasingly popular and quickly growing food trends, Organic Production and Use of Alternative Crops provides an overview of the basic principles of organic agriculture and highlights its multifunctionality with special emphasis on the conservation of rare crops and their uses. Considering more than 30 disregarded and neglected crops suitable for growth in temperate climates, each chapter covers the botany, climate conditions, cultivars, production and yield, growth and ecology, organic cultivation, harvesting, handling and storage, and utilization where the information is available and applicable to the crop under discussion. Other topics include organic production systems, the nutritional and health benefits of products, food processing, and suggestions for some homemade foods.The authors have a wide range of experience in the growing and processing of alternative crops, the management of the processing projects, and the marketing of organic products. They have worked in close cooperation with many small scale processing activities on farms and in the food industry. Drawing on their combined experience, they provide a summary of the major problems and the knowledge base for utilization of alternative crops in new products. The broad range of coverage and interdisciplinary approach make this book a comprehensive reference and useful tool not only for the production of alternative crops but also for the development of new niche market products.

Aiming to improve work efficiency in such areas as tillage in agriculture, earth-moving in civil engineering, and tunnel-making in sea-bed operations, this work offers an introduction to Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis of soil-machine systems.

A compendium of information on arid soils. It provides a comprehensive background of the various soils and biota of arid regions, as well as an account of the understanding of degradation processes, and includes methodologies for arid land maintenance and rehabilitation.

This book provides an assessment of the understanding of soil microbiology and biochemistry as part of reclamation processes. It attempts to assemble more specialized literature on reclamation, where application of microbiological concepts has provided the understanding of the process.

This book describes the interactions between soil minerals and microorganisms to more specialized areas such as the formation of desert varnishes. It is helpful for scientists and students who want to extend their knowledge of and research into soil biochemistry.

Explores the role of biochemical processes in the soil environment, particularly the activity of microorganisms, and the potential application of those processes to environmental biotechnology. This title highlights the application of molecular biology and microbial genetics to soil biology.

Explores the climate, soil zones, and altitudinal variation in soil formation. This book discusses the genesis, properties, classification, and land use of the soils. It covers the development of soil science in Indonesia, the geography and geomorphology of the archipelago, climate, vegetation, and mineralization and humification processes.

This book reviews some aspects of soil biochemistry, including the biochemical turnover of specific elements and organic compounds in soil; the properties and functions of soil enzymes; and the structure, distribution and pathways of metabolism of organic compounds.

Outlining breeding techniques to augment the yields of the world's major crops, this reference analyzes the physiological and genetic basis for past and potential future increases in crop yields. It describes several genetic factors responsible for both yield potential and stress resistance in barley.

Exploring the role of enzymes in biogeochemical processes, this book explores the function, molecular biology, and biochemistry of microorganisms and their intra-and extra-cellular enzymes in soils and aquatic systems. It offers discussions on the use of enzymes to assess nutrient turnover, soil health, and environmental stresses.

Features scientific, technical and practical information on mineral, organic and synthetic conditioners, as well as their beneficial effects on the soil's physical properties that promote optimal plant growth, maximize soil fertility, and enhance biomediation processes.

Offers description of various soil-water phenomena and their applications to soil problems such as water retention and the flux of water in soils and clays. This title contains material on the physical properties of adsorbed water, the application of fractal theory to solute and water flows in field soils, and fingering research.

Weed management systems are provided for cotton, peanut, soybean, wheat, barley, oat, sorghum, rice, fruits, nut crops, and more. This title offers the fundamental information necessary for the development of weed management strategies for various major US crops using concepts that can be applied worldwide.

The field of humic matter research has undergone drastic changes in concepts and principles, and a second edition is now warranted to communicate these advances. This revised and updated edition continues the tradition of providing comprehensive coverage of the genesis, extraction, properties, and impacts of humic matter on agriculture, industry, and the environment. Chapters examine organic matter; present concepts of humus versus humic matter; and explore the nature and distribution, chemical composition, characterization, electrochemical properties, agronomic and industrial applications, and medicinal and pharmaceutical applications of humic substances.

Emphasizing the unpredictable nature of plant behavior under stress and in relation to complex interactions of biological pathways, this work covers the versatility of plants in adapting to environmental change. It analyzes environmentally triggered adoptions in developmental programs of plants that lead to permanent, heritable DNA modifications.

Offers statistical and biometrical procedures for designing, conducting, analyzing and interpreting field experiments. This work addresses some of the important research topics in agriculture, including agronomy, breeding and pasture trials; farming systems research; and, intercropping research.

Integrates basic biotechnological methodologies with agricultural practices, offering solutions to specific agricultural needs and problems from plant and crop yield to animal husbandry. This title presents and evaluates the limitations of classical methodologies and the potential of novel and emergent agriculturally related biotechnologies.

A textbook for a graduate or advanced undergraduate course in biotechnology in a wide range of fields concerned with plants. It describes the use of both endogenous and introduced biochemical regulators to manipulate plant responses.

Offers findings and research breakthroughs in plant ecology. This book investigates plant structure and behavior across the ecological spectrum. It features chapters on molecular ecology as well as the ecology and evolution of plant crowns. It includes a concluding chapter that addresses approaches to generalization in functional plant ecology.

This new edition of a bestseller examines plant nutrition's role as one of the most important limiting factors that must be overcome to optimize food production. Extensively revised and updated, the new edition provides comprehensive coverage of topics such as genetic, physiological, and agronomic bases of crop growth. It covers the soil-plant-climate relationships that govern the growth and mineral nutrition of crops in temperate and tropical regions. Offering several new figures, references, and tables, the book contains two new chapters covering remediation of heavy metal contaminated soils and cover crops.

Covers the fungal infection process, molecular host-defense mechanisms, and events leading to the suppression of these defense mechanisms by fungal pathogens. This book features chapters on disease resistance and susceptibility genes in signal perception and emission, and cell death signaling in disease susceptibility and resistance.

This work provides information on the detection, identification, and differentiation of all microbial plant pathogens - presenting modern protocols for rapid diagnosis of diseases based on biological, physical, chemical and molecular properties. It contains methods for the selection of disease-free seeds and vegetatively propagated planting materials and quarantine techniques for screening newly introduced plant materials.

Describes the sampling and analysis methods commonly used in modern soil laboratories around the world. This book contains three chapters on soil and plant test methods. It focuses on testing and analysis limited to edaphology, as opposed to edaphology and pedology as a whole in the ecosystem.