Bread Wheat

Bread Wheat

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13:

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Wheat is the most widely grown cereal crop in the world, with an ever increasing demand. It plays a fundamental role in food security, and a major challenge is to meet the additional requirements with new cultivars and improved cropping technologies. This book covers information from a number of international experts on the current status of research on wheat improvement and production (wheat breeding programs and genetics), as well as on other aspects (including wheat diseases), from its evolutionary origins to seed production technologies. [from the FAO website]


Industrially Important Fungi for Sustainable Development

Industrially Important Fungi for Sustainable Development

Author: Ahmed M. Abdel-Azeem

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-06-18

Total Pages: 609

ISBN-13: 3030675610

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Fungi are an understudied, biotechnologically valuable group of organisms. Due to their immense range of habitats, and the consequent need to compete against a diverse array of other fungi, bacteria, and animals, fungi have developed numerous survival mechanisms. However, besides their major basic positive role in the cycling of minerals, organic matter and mobilizing insoluble nutrients, fungi have other beneficial impacts: they are considered good sources of food and active agents for a number of industrial processes involving fermentation mechanisms as in the bread, wine and beer industry. A number of fungi also produce biologically important metabolites such as enzymes, vitamins, antibiotics and several products of important pharmaceutical use; still others are involved in the production of single cell proteins. The economic value of these marked positive activities has been estimated as approximating to trillions of US dollars. The unique attributes of fungi thus herald great promise for their application in biotechnology and industry. Since ancient Egyptians mentioned in their medical prescriptions how they can use green molds in curing wounds as the obvious historical uses of penicillin, fungi can be grown with relative ease, making production at scale viable. The search for fungal biodiversity, and the construction of a living fungi collection, both have incredible economic potential in locating organisms with novel industrial uses that will lead to novel products. Fungi have provided the world with penicillin, lovastatin, and other globally significant medicines, and they remain an untapped resource with enormous industrial potential. Volume 1 of Industrially Important Fungi for Sustainable Development provides an overview to understanding fungal diversity from diverse habitats and their industrial application for future sustainability. It encompasses current advanced knowledge of fungal communities and their potential biotechnological applications in industry and allied sectors. The book will be useful to scientists, researchers, and students of microbiology, biotechnology, agriculture, molecular biology, and environmental biology.


Causes, Impacts and Solutions to Global Warming

Causes, Impacts and Solutions to Global Warming

Author: Ibrahim Dincer

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-10-29

Total Pages: 1171

ISBN-13: 1461475880

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Global Warming: Causes, Impacts and Solutions covers all aspects of global warming including its causes, impacts, and engineering solutions. Energy and environment policies and strategies are scientifically discussed to expose the best ways to reduce global warming effects and protect the environment and energy sources affected by human activities. The importance of green energy consumption on the reduction of global warming, energy saving and energy security are also discussed. This book also focuses on energy management and conservation strategies for better utilization of energy sources and technologies in buildings and industry as well as ways of improving energy efficiency at the end use, and introduces basic methods for designing and sizing cost-effective systems and determining whether it is economically efficient to invest in specific energy efficiency or renewable energy projects, and describes energy audit producers commonly used to improve the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings as well as industrial facilities. These features and more provide the tools necessary to reduce global warming and to improve energy management leading to higher energy efficiencies. In order to reduce the negative effects of global warming due to excessive use of fossil fuel technologies, the following alternative technologies are introduced from the engineering perspective: fuel cells, solar power generation technologies, energy recovery technologies, hydrogen energy technologies, wind energy technologies, geothermal energy technologies, and biomass energy technologies. These technologies are presented in detail and modeling studies including case studies can also be found in this book.


Microbiota and Biofertilizers, Vol 2

Microbiota and Biofertilizers, Vol 2

Author: Gowhar Hamid Dar

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2022-04-02

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9783030610128

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The dependence of present farming on artificial input of “chemical fertilizers” has caused numerous ecological tribulations associated with global warming and soil contamination. Moreover, there is an essential requirement for realistic agricultural practices on a comprehensive level. Accordingly, biofertilizers including microbes have been recommended as feasible environmentally sound solutions for agricultural practices which not only are natural, and cost-effective but also preserve soil environs and important biota of agricultural land. In addition, it enhances the nutrient quantity of soils organically. Microbial biofertilizers promote plant growth by escalating proficient absorption of nutrients for the plants and by providing an excellent disease-fighting mechanism.Agriculture, the backbone of human sustenance, has been put under tremendous pressure by the ever-increasing human population. Although various modern agro-techniques boosted agricultural production, the excessive use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides have proven extremely detrimental to agriculture as well as to the environment in which it is carried out. Besides this some faulty agricultural practices like monoculture and defective irrigation, further complicate the scenario by eliminating biodiversity, increasing the efflux of nutrients into the water bodies, the formation of algal blooms, eutrophication, damaging the water quality and lowering fish stocks. Biofertilizers are the organic compounds applied to crops for their sustainable growth and the sustainability of the environment as the microbiota associated with biofertilizers interact with the soil, roots and seeds to enhance soil fertility. Application of biofertilizers results in the increased mineral and water uptake, root development, vegetative growth and nitrogen fixation besides liberating growth-promoting substances and minerals that help the maintenance of soil fertility. They further act as antagonists and play a pivotal role in neutralising soil-borne plant pathogens and thus, help in the bio-control of diseases. Application of biofertilizers instead of synthetic fertilizers could be a promising technique to raise agricultural productivity without degrading environmental quality. The present book focuses on the latest research approaches and updates from the microbiota and their applications in the agriculture industry. We believe this book addresses various challenges and shed lights on the possible future of the sustainable agricultural system.


Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future. First Mediterranean Assessment Report

Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future. First Mediterranean Assessment Report

Author: Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change (MedECC)

Publisher: MedECC

Published: 2020-11-17

Total Pages: 632

ISBN-13: 2957741601

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The First Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR1) prepared by the independent network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change (MedECC) founded in 2015 was published in November 2020. MAR1 assesses the best available scientific knowledge on climate and environmental change and associated risks in the Mediterranean Basin in order to render it accessible to policymakers, stakeholders and citizens. The report has been written by 190 scientists from 25 countries, all contributing in individual capacity and without financial compensation. The report includes a Summary for Policymakers (SPM), which comprises the key messages of the MAR1. The UNEP/MAP – Barcelona Convention Secretariat, through its Plan Bleu Regional Activity Center, and the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean work in partnership to support MedECC, and to contribute to establish a sound and transparent scientific assessment process.


Agriculturally Important Fungi for Sustainable Agriculture

Agriculturally Important Fungi for Sustainable Agriculture

Author: Ajar Nath Yadav

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-08-09

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 3030484742

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Microbes are ubiquitous in nature. Among microbes, fungal communities play an important role in agriculture, the environment, and medicine. Vast fungal diversity has been found in plant systems. The fungi associated with any plant system are in the form of epiphytic, endophytic, and rhizospheric fungi. These associated fungi play important roles in plant growth, crop yield, and soil health. The rhizospheric fungi present in rhizospheric zones have a sufficient amount of nutrients released by plant root systems in the form of root exudates for growth, development, and activities of microbes. Endophytic fungi enter in host plants mainly through wounds that naturally occur as a result of plant growth, or develop through root hairs and at epidermal conjunctions. The phyllospheric fungi may survive or proliferate on leaves, depending on the extent of influences of material in leaf diffuseness or exudates. The diverse group of fungal communities is a key component of soil-plant systems, where they are engaged in an intense network of interactions in the rhizospheric, endophytic, and phyllospheric areas, and they have emerged as an important and promising tool for sustainable agriculture. These fungal communities help to promote plant growth directly or indirectly by mechanisms for plant growth-promoting (PGP) attributes. These PGP fungi can be used as biofertilizers, bioinoculants, and biocontrol agents in place of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in an environmentally and eco-friendly manner. This book covers the current knowledge of plant-associated fungi and their potential biotechnological applications in agriculture and allied sectors. This book should be useful to scientists, researchers, and students of microbiology, biotechnology, agriculture, molecular biology, environmental biology, and related subjects.


Endophytic Fungi

Endophytic Fungi

Author: Ahmed M. Abdel Azeem

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2024-08-07

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 032399315X

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Endophytic Fungi: The Full Story of the Untapped Treasure covers the developments in endophytic fungal research from beginning to the end by the eminent researchers involved in the field. It sheds light on the endophytic fungal current research, challenges, and future possibilities, the trending recent topics in the plant-fungal endophytes' biodynamics for sustainable development of bioproducts and its applications are supported in large-scale biosynthesis of industrially and pharmaceutical important biomolecules.Endophytic Fungi: The Full Story of the Untapped Treasure highlights the bioprospecting and applied aspects of endophytic fungal communities from diverse hosts and discusses the practical applications of such endophytes in detail. It also reviews recent strategies on alternative sustainable sources of medicines such as secondary metabolites of fungi instead of over collection of plants under prohibiting of biodiversity conventions. The uniqueness of this book is the inclusion of updated bioinformatics-based strategies and its importance in bioactive molecules produced by endophytic fungi. The book addresses one of the most eminent issues in this field: how to translate the potential that endophytic fungi hold in stable practical application. - Covers major concepts of plant-fungi interaction, biodiversity of endophytic fungi from diverse and biotechnological applications for sustainable development - Is extensively illustrated and clearly written, using easy-to-understand language, sharing the latest developments and potential of fungal products for various applications - Sheds light on the endophytic fungal current research, challenges, and future possibilities