Diseases remain a serious problem in cereal cultivation. The first parts of the book review current research on fungal diseases of cereals and the challenge of fungicide resistance. The book then discusses breeding resistant varieties and methods for integrated disease management of cereals.

Wheat Blast provides systematic and practical information on wheat blast pathology, summarises research progress and discusses future perspectives based on current understanding of the existing issues. The book explores advance technologies that may help in deciding the path for future research and development for better strategies and techniques to manage the wheat blast disease. It equips readers with basic and applied understanding on the identification of disease, its distribution and chances of further spread in new areas, its potential to cause yield losses to wheat, the conditions that favour disease development, disease prediction modelling, resistance breeding methods and management strategies against wheat blast. Features: Provides comprehensive information on wheat blast pathogen and its management under a single umbrella Covers disease identification and diagnostics which will be helpful to check introduction in new areas Discusses methods and protocol to study the different aspects of the disease such as diagnostics, variability, resistance screening, epiphytotic creation etc. Gives deep insight on the past, present and future outlook of wheat blast research progress This book’s chapters are contributed by experts and pioneers in their respective fields and it provides comprehensive insight with updated findings on wheat blast research. It serves as a valuable reference for researchers, policy makers, students, teachers, farmers, seed growers, traders, and other stakeholders dealing with wheat.

This collection reviews advances in the key areas required to achieve durable disease resistance in cereal crops, from advances in understanding pathogen biology/epidemiology and plant pathogen interactions to identifying sources of resistance and advance techniques for breeding new varieties.

Reference in this publication to a trademark, proprietary product, or company name by personnel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or anyone else is intended for explicit description only and does not imply approval or recommendation to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. --Book Jacket.

The global population is increasing rapidly, and feeding the ever-increasing population poses a serious challenge for agriculturalists around the world. Seed is a basic and critical input in agriculture to ensure global food security. Roughly 90 percent of the crops grown all over the world are propagated by seed. However, seed can also harbour and spread pathogens, e.g. fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses etc., which cause devastating diseases. Seed-borne pathogens represent a major threat to crop establishment and yield. Hence, timely detection and diagnosis is a prerequisite for their effective management. The book "Seed-Borne Diseases of Agricultural Crops: Detection, Diagnosis & Management" addresses key issues related to seed-borne/transmitted diseases in various agricultural crops. Divided into 30 chapters, it offers a comprehensive compilation of papers concerning: the history of seed pathology, importance of seed-borne diseases, seed-borne diseases and quarantine, seed health testing and certification, detection and diagnosis of seed-borne diseases and their phytopathogens, host-parasite interactions during development of seed-borne diseases, diversity of seed-borne pathogens, seed-borne diseases in major agricultural crops, non-parasitic seed disorders, mechanisms of seed transmission and seed infection, storage fungi and mycotoxins, impact of seed-borne diseases on human and animal health, and management options for seed-borne diseases. We wish to thank all of the eminent researchers who contributed valuable chapters to our book, which will be immensely useful for students, researchers, academics, and all those involved in various agro-industries.

The book provides a comprehensive record of current knowledge on the nature of Fusarium head blight, the damage it causes, and current research on how to control it. The book begins with a historical account of Fusarium head blight epidemics that gives context to recent attempts to control epidemics in wheat and barley. A review of pathogen taxonomy and population biology helps scientists to see relationships among head blight pathogens and other Fusarium species. The information on epidemiology included in this review also provides an understanding of the weather conditions and cultural practices that promote explosive epidemics. New information on infection processes will lead the reader to a better understanding of how to breed for resistance in wheat and barley.

Discusses the role of endophytes in food security, forestry and health. It outlines their general biology, spanning theory to practice.

The availability of modern tools and transgenic crop protection technology has opened new vistas in the vast field of pest management. All these issues form the focus of the book, where they have been discussed by eminent scientists who are authority in their respective fields. The book describes the science and art of integrated pest management. It contains 48 chapters grouped into six sections which include topics ranging from: ? Impact on food security ? Breeding for resistance ? IPM in crops, fruits, vegetables ? Future strategies and policy issues. ? IPR related issues It also gives detailed information on emerging strategies and problems such as the role of biotechnology and the implications of IPR issues. The roles of IPM in sustaining food productivity, contribution of IPM in meeting economic, environmental and social costs have been elaborated. The role of diagnostic tools, weather forecasting, transgenic plants, biological control, and new chemicals in future IPM programmes and strategies to meet the challenges of pest adaptation have been highlighted. The need for improved information transfer, implementation and application of IPM has been discussed. Finally, it is essential to know the status of IPM, its future, challenges and constraints which have been extensively elaborated in the last chapter of this book. The book intends to fill the gap by providing the critical analysis of different management strategies having bearing on agriculture sustainability and environmental protection. The compilation of this book is unique in the sense that it does not deal with the conventional way of discussing pest management with respect to particular crops or the regions. It emphasizes on the other hand an overview of the management strategies with critical evaluation of each in the larger context of ecologically based pest management.

The present book on "Diseases of Wheat and their Management" is the most comprehensive compilation of key issues of wheat diseases and their management approaches. It has detailed descriptions about epidemiology including outbreak most devastating and fast evolving stem rust race Ug99, genetics and management of wheat rusts; spot blotch a devastating menace to wheat in North-Eastern Plain Zone of India, much concerned Karnal bunt problem in North-Western Plain Zone of India. The current status of Fusarium head blight of wheat and barley of our country has been greatly emphasized along with its integrated management strategy. Several important seed borne diseases have been presented with respect to their identification and management. Recent information have also been incorporated about major plant parasitic nematodesof wheat and barley viz., wheat seed gall nematode (Anguina tritici), cereal cyst nematode (CCN)- Heterodera spp., root knot nematode (Meloidogyne graminicola), stunt nematode (Tylenchorhynchus spp.) and lesion nematode (Pratylenchus spp.) that cause huge losses.Moreover, it has current information on effect of micronutrients with respect to management of wheat and barley diseases as well as abiotic stress specially to heat and salinity tolerance in wheat. Hence, the present book will surely be useful to graduate and post-graduate students, teachers and research scientists of Agriculture, Plant Pathology, Plant Protection, Botany and Microbiology.