Today's approach to crop production considers not only the effects of fertilizer applications on crop yield and quality but also includes awareness of the potential of fertilizer nutrients to adversely affect the environment. Managing crop nutrients deliberately and carefully takes on special significance in Hawaii, where imported nutrient inputs are costly and the environment--particularly the underground aquifer and coastal waters--is vulnerable to pollution. This book contains a distillation of decades of CTAHR research on soils, fertilizers, and crop nutrient needs, written for the lay reader and intended to provide a solid base of knowledge for the serious agriculturist. While the text makes reference to Hawaii's crops and soil conditions, its basic information is transferrable to similar tropical and subtropical locations throughout the world.

Aimed at taking the mystery out of soil science, Soils: Principles, Properties and Management is a text for undergraduate/graduate students who study soil as a natural resource. Written in a reader-friendly style, with a host of examples, figures and tables, the book leads the reader from the basics of soil science through to complex situations, covering such topics as: the origin, development and classification of soil physical, chemical and biological properties of soil water and nutrient management management of problem soils, wetland soils and forest soils soil degradation Further, the ecological and agrological functions of soil are emphasized in the context of food security, biodiversity and climate change. The interactions between the environment and soil management are highlighted. Soil is viewed as an ecosystem itself and as a part of larger terrestrial ecosystems.

Long-awaited second edition of classic textbook, brought completely up to date, for courses on tropical soils, and reference for scientists and professionals.

This book discusses many aspects of plant-nutrient-induced abiotic stress tolerance. It consists of 22 informative chapters on the basic role of plant nutrients and the latest research advances in the field of plant nutrients in abiotic stress tolerance as well as their practical applications. Today, plant nutrients are not only considered as food for plants, but also as regulators of numerous physiological processes including stress tolerance. They also interact with a number of biological molecules and signaling cascades. Although research work and review articles on the role of plant nutrients in abiotic stress tolerance have been published in a range of journals, annual reviews and book chapters, to date there has been no comprehensive book on this topic. As such, this timely book is a valuable resource for a wide audience, including plant scientists, agronomists, soil scientists, botanists, molecular biologists and environmental scientists.

Continuous discoveries in plant and crop physiology have resulted in an abundance of new information since the publication of the third edition of the Handbook of Plant and Crop Physiology. Following its predecessors, the fourth edition of this well-regarded handbook offers a unique, comprehensive, and complete collection of topics in the field of plant and crop physiology. Divided into eleven sections, for easy access of information, this edition contains more than 90 percent new material, substantial revisions, and two new sections. The handbook covers the physiology of plant and crop growth and development, cellular and molecular aspects, plant genetics and production processes. The book presents findings on plant and crop growth in response to climatic changes, and considers the potential for plants and crops adaptation, exploring the biotechnological aspects of plant and crop improvement. This content is used to plan, implement, and evaluate strategies for increasing plant growth and crop yield. Readers benefit from numerous tables, figures, case studies and illustrations, as well as thousands of index words, all of which increase the accessibility of the information contained in this important handbook. New to the Edition: Contains 37 new chapters and 13 extensively revised and expanded chapters from the third edition of this book. Includes new or modified sections on soil-plant-water-nutrients-microorganisms physiological relations; and on plant growth regulators, both promoters and inhibitors. Additional new and modified chapters cover the physiological responses of lower plants and vascular plants and crops to metal-based nanoparticles and agrichemicals; and the growth responses of plants and crops to climate change and environmental stresses. With contributions from 95 scientists from 20 countries, this book provides a comprehensive resource for research and for university courses, covering plant and crop physiological responses under normal and stressful conditions ranging from cellular aspects to whole plants.

The future of agriculture strongly depends on our ability to enhance productivity without sacrificing long-term production potential. An ecologically and economically sustainable strategy is the application of microorganisms, such as the diverse bacterial species of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). The use of these bio-resources for the enhancement of crop productivity is gaining worldwide importance. “Bacteria in Agrobiology: Plant Nutrient Management” focus on the management of plant nutrient to support plant growth and development. The topics treated in this book include mechanisms of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, zinc and phosphate solubilizing microorganisms, sulfur oxidizing bacteria, ACC deaminase, siderophores, phytohormones, quorum-sensing, biofilms, antibiotics, volatiles, denitrification and integrated nutrient management.

Essential Minerals in Plant-Soil Systems: Coordination, Signaling and Interaction Under Adverse Conditions is the first book to encompass these key aspects of plant science, biochemistry, soil science and fertilizer development in a single volume. Describing the micro- and macronutrients in the plant-soil system with the help of suitable illustrations, the book connects all the pieces enabling comprehensive and connected understanding. Terrestrial plants are sessile in nature. They face various adverse environmental conditions including soil nutrient-deficiency signals, which influence overall plant growth and development. Some of the essential nutrients are unreachable to roots due to their low solubility and relative immobilization. Thus, the soil-plant system has evolved signaling, communication and coordination responses for survival under multiple adverse situations. By evolving highly sophisticated mechanisms at the cellular as well as whole-plant scale, these plants have developed ways to co-regulate these stresses in order to maintain homeostasis. Essential Minerals in Plant-Soil Systems covers recent advances in the understanding of how plants coordinate the acquisition, transport, signaling, and interaction, cross-talks between macro- and micro-nutrients in adverse environmental situations. These points are key to understanding the significance of essential, as well as beneficial, elements for sustainable plant growth and production. This book is a valuable reference for those putting research into practice in addressing stress situations, as well as providing important foundational insights for further research. - Provides a comprehensive overview of micro- and macronutrients and their interaction with phytohormones under stress conditions - Explores proteomic and genomic research into deficiencies and toxicities in plant systems - Highlights the use of nanobiotechnology for controlled release of micro- and macronutrients in the plant-soil systems

The book focuses in detail on learning and adapting through partnerships between managers, scientists, and other stakeholders who learn together how to create and maintain sustainable resource systems. As natural areas shrink and fragment, our ability to sustain economic growth and safeguard biological diversity and ecological integrity is increasingly being put to the test. In attempting to meet this unprecedented challenge, adaptive management is becoming a viable alternative for broader application. Adaptive management is an iterative decision-making process which is both operationally and conceptually simple and which incorporates users to acknowledge and account for uncertainty, and sustain an operating environment that promotes its reduction through careful planning, evaluation, and learning until the desired results are achieved. This multifaceted approach requires clearly defined management objectives to guide decisions about what actions to take, and explicit assumptions about expected outcomes to compare against actual outcomes. In this edited book, we address the issue by pursuing a holistic and systematic approach that utilizes natural resources to reap sustainable environmental, economic and social benefits for adaptive management, helping to ensure that relationships between land, water and plants are managed in ways that mimic nature.

Phyto-pathogens are one of the dominating components which badly affect crop production. In light of the global food demand, sustainable agricultural plans utilizing agrochemicals became necessary. The role of beneficial microbes in the defense priming of host plants has been well documented. This book details new aspects of microbial-assisted plant protection and their role in agricultural production, economy, and environmental sustainability.