How were today’s complex approaches to improving crops developed? The quest for a steady food supply sparked plant breeding attempts over 12,000 years ago. The Concise Encyclopedia of Crop Improvement is a comprehensive resource explaining the development of crop improvement methods over the centuries. This extensive history of development is examined in detail, including influential individuals in the field, plant cultivation in Asia since the Neolithic time, techniques used in the Old World, and cropping in ancient America. The advance of scientific plant breeding in the twentieth century is extensively explored, including hybrid breeding, biotechnological improvement, and genetic manipulation. The Concise Encyclopedia of Crop Improvement focuses on the full range of social and scientific advances in crop development. This concise yet detailed overview discusses leaders in the field, theories, achievements, disputes, and institutions that were crucial in the evolution of crop improvement, breeding, and plant genetics. Individual chapters discuss crop improvement within a specific time frame or geographic area as well as providing separate sections describing specific types or advances of breeding or scientific method. Numerous helpful tables, figures, and photos are included for idea clarity and illustration, and include comprehensive references. Topics in the Concise Encyclopedia of Crop Improvement include: plant breeding development over the past 10,000 years Arabic agriculture Medieval and Renaissance agriculture in Europe Mendel’s laws—the beginning of genetic research breeding by selection pure lines and improvement of self-pollinated crops positive and negative mass selection backcross breeding synthetics mutation breeding induced mutation somaclonal variation by in vitro culture much, much more The Concise Encyclopedia of Crop Improvement is essential for governmental, public, and academic libraries. This superb reference is a perfect desktop resource for students, educators, researchers, seed producers, historians, and anyone interested in agronomy, plant breeding, genetics, biotechnology, or biology.

How were today’s complex approaches to improving crops developed? The quest for a steady food supply sparked plant breeding attempts over 12,000 years ago. The Concise Encyclopedia of Crop Improvement is a comprehensive resource explaining the development of crop improvement methods over the centuries. This extensive history of

An easy-to-use single reference source covering the full range of subject areas associated with plant pathology! This comprehensive volume covers the entire field of plant pathology. It does not merely define the numerous subjects covered (297 topics carefully arranged in 38 sections!) but describes them in detail. Each section of this boo

Stay a step ahead of the global competition in food and fiber production, processing, and sales! Multinational Agribusinesses is an essential guide to the inner workings of companies with direct investments in the food and fiber system in the United States and the world. The book provides in-depth and up-to-date analysis of the crucial issues facing multinational enterprises involved in input and output supply activities, commodity investment, food manufacturing, and food distribution. An international panel of academics and researchers working in economics and agriculture presents strategic management and economic analysis of agribusinesses representing a variety of sizes and nationalities. Multinational Agribusinesses examines the key areas of concern to multinationals involved with food and drink processing and/or upstream industries, including recent trends, growth factors, innovations, product and geographic diversification, and intra-firm trade. The book presents updated statistics (total sales, agrifood sales, net income, employment figures, number of total businesses on overseas and home markets) on the world’s 100 largest food multinationals, and updated tables on sell-offs, divestitures, and plant closures. Multinational Agribusinesses looks at enterprises in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Brazil, including Ajinomoto®, Coca-Cola®, Nestlé®, Ralston Purina®, Unilever®, Barilla®, and the Charoen Pokphan Group®. Multinational Agribusinesses provides managers with answers to the questions they consider every day, including: Why do some multinational agribusinesses grow faster than others? Is product or geographic diversification conducive to good performance? Are Japanese food multinationals a challenge to my business? What industrial and geographical strategies are my competitors using? Government officials in countries hosting multinationals can find answers to their questions, including: Is my food multinational taking its research and development facilities abroad? Will foreign direct investment outflows reduce my country’s export of food? Are multinational agribusinesses from new source countries viable? And Multinational Agribusinesses will supply academics with responses to theoretical inquiries, such as: Is the standard theory of the multinational enterprises applicable to food multinationals? What are the specificities of food multinationals compared to other multinationals? Multinational Agribusinesses is a unique resource for international business managers, officials from government or international organizations, and academics working in international business studies and agricultural economics.

Make sure your beef harvest, production, and processing methods meet the highest standards Handbook of Beef Safety and Quality is a comprehensive guide to the impact and importance of pre-harvest/production, harvest, and further processing controls, methods and practices on safety and qualitywith commodity beef as the target market. This unique book was developed with the help of American Meat Science Association members to create a safety and quality handbook for the beef industry as it moves toward a consumer-driven market that values flavor, palatability, convenience, nutrient value, and price. The book also includes an extensive glossary, tables and figures, examples of sensory evaluation ballots, and descriptions of USDA quality grade and age verification requirements. The public’s increased concerns about food safety and health risks in the wake of numerous instances of food-borne illness in the past 20 years (E. coli, campylobacteriosis, yersiniosis) and the events surrounding outbreaks of Food and Mouth Disease (FMD), Bovine Spongiform Enchephalopathy (BSE) and Avian Influenza (Bird flu) have led to a more conscious awareness of sound quality assurance practices by food producers and a commitment to management strategies that inspire consumer confidence. The Handbook of Beef Safety and Quality examines pathogen control in animal production, chemical, physical, and biological hazards that pose threats to beef during slaughter and fabrication, the relationship of disease to performance and quality, the need to develop quality-focused supply chains, enhancing beef demand in domestic and international markets, beef carcass quality, sensory attributes, beef muscle palatability, and consumer preferences. Topics addressed in the Handbook of Beef Safety and Quality include: direct-fed microbials antimicrobial intervention immunomodulation residue avoidance Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Systems (HACCP) implementation injection site lesions mouthing and skeletal maturity consumer demand models consumer perceptions of quality and much more! The Handbook of Beef Safety and Quality is an essential resource for beef industry specialists and for educators and students working in meat science and beef production.

Owing to its considerable winter hardiness, rye is a cereal that played a major role in the feeding of European populations throughout the Middle Ages. Recent data shows that rye is grown on about 5.4 million hectares, with a world production of approximately 13 million tons. While still an important bread food in many countries, rye produced for bread making has decreased or stagnated, whereas production is increasing for other market segments. Particularly, rye for feeding, ethanol processing, and biogas is promoted in Europe. The first comprehensive monograph on rye, Rye: Genetics, Breeding, and Cultivation gathers all the relevant and historic information from botany and genetics to utilization and sustainability of rye. The book covers taxonomy, morphology, and other botany-related aspects of rye. It describes its physiology, cytology, and genetics, including use for genetic improvement of other cereals. The author addresses various types of breeding such as population, hybrid, and molecular breeding. He also discusses rye cropping, including seeding techniques, fungal and viral diseases, and predators. The book examines the various uses for rye beyond bread making. This includes feeding, biomass and biogas production, ethanol production, and other important characteristics such as phytosterol content and antioxidant activity. It also explores the nutritional value of rye. Written by a leading expert in the field, this monograph compiles the most important facets of rye research, past and present.

Examine several methods of testing for genetically modified organisms and the reasons behind their strict regulation! Testing of Genetically Modified Organisms in Foods is the first study of the screening methods and tools utilized for determining the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products. Leading experts in science, medicine, and government agencies examine the significant research and clinical developments in bio-engineered agriculture to bring you an accurate risk assessment of GMOs in relation to human consumption, economics, and the environment. This book focuses on three high-profile biotechnological commercial aspects of GMO inclusion in the world market: insect resistance, herbicide tolerance, and virus resistance. It also identifies new GM food crops that are in the laboratory and may soon be on your table. Testing of Genetically Modified Organisms in Foods looks at GMOs from the perspectives of both sides of the globe—the European Union and the United States Department of Agriculture—who each have their own set of rules and opinions regarding safety issues and marketing of bioengineered food products. This book looks at the government standards of scientific testing for GMOs, and several chapters specifically analyze current screening methods. This book also explores the impact of GMOs on farming, agricultural economy, pesticide control, and world famine. Testing of Genetically Modified Organisms in Foods brings you current information on: the risks and benefits of agricultural biotechnology—to people and the environment the regulations and protocols of testing for GMOs that have been adopted by European and United States agencies scientific techniques that test for GMOs, including certified reference materials (CRMs) and matrix-based, protein-based, and DNA-based methods of testing the limitations of today’s GMO screening methods and the benefits of alternatives that may be used in the future the long-term risks associated with gene flow of GMOs to other plants, specifically focusing on liabilities, regulatory climates, and intellectual property rights Testing of Genetically Modified Organisms in Foods is generously enhanced with figures, tables, and graphs as well as references at the end of every chapter. The commercialization of agricultural biotechnology makes this text essential for scientists, planners, and students of food, agriculture and environmental science. Government officials and activists will find this book invaluable in debating current issues of agricultural biotechnology and food safety.

Arguably one of the oldest scientific traditions, plant breeding began in Neolithic times, with methods as simple as saving the seeds of desirable plants and sowing them later. It was not until the re-encounter with Mendel’s discoveries thousands of years later that the genetic basis of breeding was understood. Developments since then have provided further insight into how genes acting alone, or in concert with other genes and the environment, result in a particular phenotype. From Abaxial to Zymogram, the Dictionary of Plant Breeding contains clear and useful definitions of the terms associated with plant breeding and related scientific/technological disciplines. This second edition of a bestseller defines jargon, provides helpful tables, examples, and breeding schemes, and includes a list of crop plants with salient details. Packed with data and organized to make that data easy to access, this revised and expanded reference provides comprehensive coverage of the latest discoveries in cytogenetics, molecular genetics, marker-assisted selection, experimental gene transfer, seed sciences, crop physiology, and genetically modified crops. A complex subject, plant breeding draws from many scientific and technological disciplines, often making it difficult to know the precise meanings of many terms and to accurately interpret specific concepts. Most dictionaries available are highly specific and fragmentary. As in the previous edition, this dictionary unifies concepts by including the specific terms of plant breeding and terms that are adjusted from other disciplines. Drawing on the author’s 30 years of experience, the dictionary provides an encyclopedic list of commonly used technical terms that reflect the latest developments in the field.

Potatoes are a crucial food crop around the world, grown in nearly 150 countries. The Handbook of Potato Production, Improvement, and Postharvest Management compiles everything you need to know about potato crop production in one well-organized reference. Leading international authorities clearly discuss the biology, genetics, breeding, diseases, and effective approaches for improvement of crop and handling after harvest. This one-of-a-kind text explores, from interdisciplinary perspectives, every aspect of potato crop management from seed germination to end use while presenting the most current research available.