Record of the literature on blue-green algae and rice; Ecology of blue-green algae in paddy fields; Physiology of blue-green algae in paddy fields; Blue-green algae and the rice plant; Algalization.

Rice fields provide an ideal environment for harbouring Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). A number of reports are now available to indicate a wide distributional spectrum of these organisoms under different soil and agroclimatic conditions. There is enough evidence that these rice fields cyanobacteria are capable of atmospheric nitrogen fixation in considerably large quantities and to some extent the organic matters. Thus the role of nitrogen fixing Cyanobacteria in the maintenance of the rice field soil fertility has been well sustained and documented. There is now positive evidence for the nitrogen fixing ability of more than 100 species of Cyanobacteria. During growth, Cyanobacteria liberate relatively large quantities of combined nitrogen mainly in the form of polypeptides with lesser amounts of free amino acids. Vitamins and auxin live substance. Approximately 40 to 50% of the algal nitrogen has been found to be recovered by the rice crop. These observations indicate the efficiency of these organisoms as a biological nitrogen source in a rice field ecosystem. In this book, a comprehensive floristic account on the rice field Cyanobacterial studies were attempted. In addition this book also offers an extensive discussion on isolation and cultural techniques and application in various fields. Contents Chapter 1: Biology of Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria); Chapter 2: Isolation, Purification and Cultivation of Blue-Green Algae; Chapter 3: Taxonomic Enumeration of Rice-Fields Blue-Green Algae; Chapter 4: Importance of Blue-Green Algae.

Distribution and succession of blue-green algae in rice fields; Algal nitrogen fixation in rice soils; Methods for the assay of nitrogen fixation; Algal application and soil properties; Pesticides and blue-green algae; Crop-alga association; Establishment of blue-green algae in rice soils; Algal application and rice yield; Production of algae for field application; Recommendations for field application of blue-green algae; Economics of algal production and application; Indian State level organizational patthern for the transfer of blue-green algae technology; Elements of development programmes; Appendices: General features of blue-green algae; List of nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae; Keys to the orders and genera of some nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae; Description of the nitrogen-fixing blue-green algal genera; Culture media; Isolation and quantification procedures; Proforma for compiling information on the production and performance of algal fertilizer material.

It is an established fact that we must continually increase and improve agricultural production if we are to meet even the minimum requirements of a growing popu lation for food, shelter, and fuel. In recent years, the introduction of new plant varieties and the extensive use of fertilizers have effectively increased crop yields, but intensifying agricultural methods has often led to depleting soil fertility. Two examples of the harmful consequences of intensive farming practices are the loss of up to 2.5 cm of topsoil every 15 years in the United States through erosion and the alarming rise in environmental pollution through widespread use of pesticides. Countless other processes affecting the activity of soil micro flora and the inter actions between microorganisms and plants may pose an equal danger to soil equilibrium, but their potential hazards are often overlooked because of an insufficient understanding of soil microbiology on the part of scientists. In the first published study of its kind, the authors of this book have attempted to address major aspects of the microbial activity of soil in the tropics. Tropical conditions serve as an ideal context for a discussion of soil microbiology, since biological processes in the soil are particularly active in tropical environments in comparison to other settings and in relation to physical and chemical processes.

Advances in Cyanobacterial Biology presents the novel, practical, and theoretical aspects of cyanobacteria, providing a better understanding of basic and advanced biotechnological application in the field of sustainable agriculture. Chapters have been designed to deal with the different aspects of cyanobacteria including their role in the evolution of life, cyanobacterial diversity and classification, isolation, and characterization of cyanobacteria through biochemical and molecular approaches, phylogeny and biogeography of cyanobacteria, symbiosis, Cyanobacterial photosynthesis, morphological and physiological adaptation to abiotic stresses, stress-tolerant cyanobacterium, biological nitrogen fixation. Other topics include circadian rhythms, genetics and molecular biology of abiotic stress responses, application of cyanobacteria and cyanobacterial mats in wastewater treatments, use as a source of novel stress-responsive genes for development of stress tolerance and as a source of biofuels, industrial application, as biofertilizer, cyanobacterial blooms, use in Nano-technology and nanomedicines as well as potential applications. This book will be important for academics and researchers working in cyanobacteria, cyanobacterial environmental biology, cyanobacterial agriculture and cyanobacterial molecular biologists.

The book covers the various aspects of the use of pesticides, their behavior, degradation, and impacts in wetland ricefields, and presents the results of surveys conducted in the Philippines and Thailand. It includes both bibliographic reviews and selected aspects of the experimental results of a research project on pesticide impacts in wetland ricefields. The first phase of the `Pesticide Impact' project was developed in the Philippines from 1989 to 1991. It was a multidisciplinary/collaborative approach involving scientists from IRRI, NRI (England), ORSTOM (France), UPLB (Philippines) who studied the effects of pesticides on the environment and on farmers' health, and the economical aspects of their use.

Algal World has been carefully written and edited with an interdisciplinary appeal and aims to bring all aspects of Algae together in one volume. The 22 chapters are divided into two different parts which have been authored by eminent researchers from across the world. The first part, Biology of Algae, contains 10 chapters dealing with the general characteristics, classification and description of different groups such as Blue Green Algae, Green Algae, Brown Algae, Red Algae, Diatoms, Xanthophyceae, Dinophyceae, etc. In , it has two important chapters covering Algae in Extreme Environments and Life Histories and Growth Forms in Green Algae. The second part, Applied Phycology, contains 12 chapters dealing with the more applied aspects ranging from Algal Biotechnology, Biofuel, Phycoremediation, Bioactive Compounds, Biofertilizer, Fatty Acids, Harmful Algal Blooms, Industrial Applications of Seaweeds, Nanotechnology, Phylogenomics and Algal culture Techniques, etc.

Cyanobacteria make a major contribution to world photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation, but are also notorious for causing nuisances such as dense and often toxic `blooms' in lakes and the ocean. The Ecology of Cyanobacteria: Their Diversity in Time and Space is the first book to focus solely on ecological aspects of these organisms. Its twenty-two chapters are written by some thirty authors, who are leading experts in their particular subject. The book begins with an overview of the cyanobacteria - or blue-green algae, for those who are not specialists - then looks at their diversity in the geological record and goes on to describe their ecology in present environments where they play important roles. Why is one of the key groups of organisms in the Precambrian still one of the most important groups of phototrophs today? The importance of ecological information for rational management and exploitation of these organisms for commercial and other practical purposes is also assessed. Accounts are provided of nuisances as well as the ecology of the commercially successful Spirulina and the role of cyanobacteria in ecosystem recovery from oil pollution. Many chapters include aspects of physiology, biochemistry, geochemistry and molecular biology where these help general understanding of the subject. In addition there are three chapters dealing specifically with molecular ecology. Thirty-two pages of colour photos incorporate about seventy views and light micrographs. These features make the book valuable to a wide readership, including biologists, microbiologists, geologists, water managers and environmental consultants. The book complements the highly successful The Molecular Biology of Cyanobacteria already published by Kluwer.