Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. Sustainable agriculture is a discipline that addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control, and biodiversity depletion. Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, and social sciences. Indeed, sustainable agriculture decipher mechanisms of processes that occur from the molecular level to the farming system to the global level at time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. For that, scientists use the system approach that involves studying components and interactions of a whole system to address scientific, economic and social issues. In that respect, sustainable agriculture is not a classical, narrow science. Instead of solving problems using the classical painkiller approach that treats only negative impacts, sustainable agriculture treats problem sources. Because most actual society issues are now intertwined, global, and fast-developing, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then propose alternative solutions. It will therefore help all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians who wish to build a safe agriculture, energy and food system for future generations.

The revised edition of the bestselling textbook, covering both classical and molecular plant breeding Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding integrates theory and practice to provide an insightful examination of the fundamental principles and advanced techniques of modern plant breeding. Combining both classical and molecular tools, this comprehensive textbook describes the multidisciplinary strategies used to produce new varieties of crops and plants, particularly in response to the increasing demands to of growing populations. Illustrated chapters cover a wide range of topics, including plant reproductive systems, germplasm for breeding, molecular breeding, the common objectives of plant breeders, marketing and societal issues, and more. Now in its third edition, this essential textbook contains extensively revised content that reflects recent advances and current practices. Substantial updates have been made to its molecular genetics and breeding sections, including discussions of new breeding techniques such as zinc finger nuclease, oligonucleotide directed mutagenesis, RNA-dependent DNA methylation, reverse breeding, genome editing, and others. A new table enables efficient comparison of an expanded list of molecular markers, including Allozyme, RFLPs, RAPD, SSR, ISSR, DAMD, AFLP, SNPs and ESTs. Also, new and updated “Industry Highlights” sections provide examples of the practical application of plant breeding methods to real-world problems. This new edition: Organizes topics to reflect the stages of an actual breeding project Incorporates the most recent technologies in the field, such as CRSPR genome edition and grafting on GM stock Includes numerous illustrations and end-of-chapter self-assessment questions, key references, suggested readings, and links to relevant websites Features a companion website containing additional artwork and instructor resources Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding offers researchers and professionals an invaluable resource and remains the ideal textbook for advanced undergraduates and graduates in plant science, particularly those studying plant breeding, biotechnology, and genetics.

The plant breeder and his work; Reproduction in crop plants; Genetics and plant breeding: gene recombination; Genetics and plant breeding: variations in chromosome number; Genetics and plant breeding: mutation; Fertility regulating mechanisms and their manipulation; Plant introduction, acclimatization and germ plasm conservation; Methods of breeding: self-pollinated crops; Methods of breeding: cross-polinated crops, asexually propagated crops; Techniques in breeding field crops; Breeding wheat and triticale breeding wheat; Breeding rice; Breeding barley and oats breeding barley; Breeding soybeans; Breeding corn; Breeding sorghum and millet breeding sorghum; Breeding cotton; Breeding sugar beets; Breeding forage crops; Seed production practices.

This book attempts to present a readable format on plant breeding principles and their application, based on the collective experience of the three authors, but with a heavy dependence on the scientific literature. Modem pedagogy recognizes that teaching can occur when students are motivated to learn. Subject matter must be communicated in an interesting, appealing, and understandable fashion. In preparing the text, every effort has been made to translate pertinent plant breeding references into a clear, logical, and comprehensible format for those studying the challenging and dynamic field of plant breeding.

Plant Breeding Reviews presents state-of-the-art reviews on plant genetics and the breeding of all types of crops by both traditional means and molecular methods. Many of the crops widely grown today stem from a very narrow genetic base; understanding and preserving crop genetic resources is vital to the security of food systems worldwide. The emphasis of the series is on methodology, a fundamental understanding of crop genetics, and applications to major crops.

With the advent of genetic engineering, "designer" crops might interbreed with natural populations. Could such romances lead to the evolution of "superweeds", as some have suggested? But haven't crops had sex with wild plants in the past? Has such gene swapping occurred without consequences? And if consequences have indeed occurred, what lessons can be gleaned for engineered crops? In Dangerous Liaisons? Norman Ellstrand examines these and other questions. He begins with basic information about the natural hybridization process. He then describes what we now know about hybridization between the world's most important crops—such as wheat, rice, maize, and soybeans—and their wild relatives. Such hybridization, Ellstrand explains, is not rare, and has occasionally had a substantial impact. In some cases, the result was problematic weeds. In others, crop genes have diluted natural diversity to the point that wild populations of certain rare species were absorbed into the gene pool of the more common crop, essentially bringing the wild species to the brink of extinction. Ellstrand concludes with a look to the future. Will engineered crops pose a greater threat than traditional crops? If so, can gene flow and hybridization be managed to control the escape of engineered genes? This book will appeal to academics, policy makers, students, and all with an interest in environmental issues.

This book is concerned with the ways in which crops might be developed, or improved, for soils that are agriculturally unproductive because of excesses- high salinity and metal toxicity - and/or deficiencies of certain minerals. The aim is that those working to derive crops for growth on these problem soils should be aware of the many diverse avenues that areavailable. The methods discussed are conventional breeding, selection based on knowledge of the physiological basis of tolerance, the use of cell culture and cytogenetics, and the exploitation of native flora.