The Atlas of African Agriculture Research & Development is a multifaceted resource that highlights the ubiquitous nature of smallholder agriculture in Africa; the many factors shaping the location, nature, and performance of agricultural enterprises; and the strong interdependencies among farming, natural resource stocks and flows, rural infrastructure, and the well-being of the poor.
The Atlas of African Agriculture Research & Development is a multifaceted resource that highlights the ubiquitous nature of smallholder agriculture in Africa; the many factors shaping the location, nature, and performance of agricultural enterprises; and the strong interdependencies among farming, natural resource stocks and flows, rural infrastructure, and the well-being of the poor.
Classifying environments of bean production areas in Africa; Socio-Economic aspects of bean production; Cropping systems; Distribution of bean seed types; Bean diseases; Bean insect pests; Abiotic constraints.
Drying Atlas: Drying Kinetics and Quality of Agricultural Products provides, in a condensed and systematic way, specific insights on the drying-relevant properties and coefficients of over 40 agricultural products. It also presents information about the production methods that influence the drying process, the quality of the dried product, the official quality standards of the products, and the design principles and operating characteristics of drying systems that are widely used in the postharvest processing and food industry. Available books on drying technology mainly focus on drying theory and simulation of drying processes. This book offers systematic information on the impact of other important parameters, such as relative humidity, air flow rate, mechanical, thermal and chemical pre-treatment, and drying mode for specific products. It is a unique and valuable reference for scientists and engineers who want to focus on industrial drying applications and dryers, as well as graduate and post-graduate students in postharvest technology and drying. - Explores the production methods that influence the drying process and quality of the dried product - Outlines the official quality standards of the products, the design principles, and the operating characteristics of drying systems that are used in postharvest processing - Features 41 chapters that are (each for an agricultural product) presented in a condensed and systematic way
Most branches of science have what might be termed a 'core area' which is both related to and helps to integrate peripheral topics to form the overall subject area. Without this central link, the subject is simply a collection of disparate, albeit gener ally related topics. What genetics is to plant breeding, epidemiology is to the subject of plant pathology and, no matter what individual topic is considered, it is always possible to recognize the interaction with and relationship to epidemiological factors. Broadly speaking, until the 1950s, plant pathology was considered as the applied side of mycology and, indeed, the British Society of Plant Pathology was spawned from its mentor, the British Mycological Society, with considerable help from The Association of Applied Biology. However, with the exploding world popu lation and the growing demand for food, plant pathologists became increasingly aware of the need for a more considered, measured, precise and even holistic approach to their subject and, particularly, to plant disease management. Looking back over 40 years of teaching and research in plant pathology, it was very clear that the 'core' of the subject was epidemiology and that this 'new' study was developing a very distinct identity which was rapidly being recognized in its own right. The 'shotgun' approach to plant disease 'control' was quickly perceived to be too inexact and almost every aspect of the subject was being reviewed, refined and advanced.
Root and tuber crops are important to agriculture, food security and income for 2.2 billion people in developing countries. These species produce large quantities of dietary energy and have stable yields under difficult environmental conditions. This second edition of Tropical Root and Tuber Crops is an authoritative treatment of four important root and tuber crops: cassava. sweet potato, yams, and aroids.
It appears that a comprehensive and up-to-date book on the impact of virus diseases on the major crops in developing countries is now much needed, especially as there have been rapid advances in the biological and molecular characterization and detection of the pathogens and possible approaches for their control. On the other hand, the economic losses caused by many of these diseases are tremendous and much of the accumulated knowledge to diminish the crop losses has not filtered through, or cannot be applied. This book is focused on the important crops. Each chapter on a specific crop will include inter alia, geographical distribution, the viruses - symptoms, damage, detection - a brief description of the viruses concerned, and present and future ways for their control. Experts from India, Nigeria, UK, USA, France, Germany, Peru, Japan, Australia, Netherlands, Venezuela, Kazakhstan and Israel (many of them from the International Research Institutions) have contributed chapters to this book.
