This edited book is a compilation of information on existing frontier technologies in agriculture, such as driving modernized crop improvement programs via digitalization, mechanization and automation, artificial intelligence, speed breeding. The major focus of the book is on the technologies related to genetic gain, nutrition and food safety. Agriculture is core to industry as well as human civilization and sustainability of the society.

This book delivers an outline to graduate, undergraduate students, and researchers, as well as academicians who are working on lead toxicity with respect to remediation. It covers sources of lead contamination and its impact on human health and on prospective remediation through multi-disciplinary approaches with application of recent advanced biological technology. Lead is among the elements that have been most extensively used by man over time. This has led to extensive pollution of surface soils on the local scale, mainly associated with mining and smelting of the metal and addition of organic lead compounds to petrol. Release of lead to the atmosphere from various high-temperature processes has led to surface contamination on the regional and even global scale. In addition, plants grown on lead-rich soils incorporate lead, and thus, the concentration of lead in crop plants may be increased. Lead enters in the food chain through consumption of plant material. A high concentration of lead has been found to be harmful to vegetation. As the lead concentration increases, it adversely affects several biological parameters and eventually renders the soil barren. This edited book brings together a diverse group of researchers to address the challenges posed by global mass poisoning caused by lead contamination of soil and plants. The book sheds light on this global environmental issue and proposes solutions to contamination through multi-disciplinary approaches. This book contains three sections. The first section describes the different sources and distribution of lead in soil and plant ecosystems. The second section explains the health risks linked to lead toxicity. The third section addresses sustainable lead toxicity mitigation strategies and the potential applications of recent biological technology in providing solutions. This book is a valuable resource to students, academics, researchers, and environmental professionals doing fieldwork on lead contamination throughout the world.

This book dispenses a comprehensive coverage of up-to-date account of genomics and genome editing enriched smart plant breeding approaches for enhancing genetic gains in vegetable crops in the post-genomics era. The main focus of the present volume is to illuminate the applications of new techniques evolved in the post-genomics era. The techniques covered are high-throughput sequencing of DNA and RNA, genome editing, epigenetics and epigenomics, genotype by sequencing (GBS), QTL-seq and RNA-seq for transcriptome analysis. Vegetables are the important component of healthy diet, source of energy and hold a promising position in building up a strong immunity. Zero hunger and attaining the food and nutritional security is the top priority of United Nations development goals. Smart breeding of food and vegetable crops to fight the challenges ahead in sustainable manner by keeping the harmony with nature is an important approach to fulfill the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs).

The book spans across the research domains of mechanisation and automation, agrobusiness, food processing and value addition, climate smart agriculture, rural sanitation, agro biotechnology, and rural energy.

With the recent technological advancement usage of unique nanomaterials and bio-based composite materials as sensors has been greatly improved. Biopolymers and bio-based composite materials have especially been exploited due to their unique physical, optical, electrochemical, and biocompatible properties. In this book, experts and researchers in various sensor technology areas discuss the basics of biosensors, the methods used to synthesize different biomaterials, and the characterization and functionalization of these biomaterials. Processes for the self-assembly of biomaterials and the fabrication of biomaterials onto transducers are clearly explained. It also outlines the current status in the field and the utility of such bio-based sensors for medical diagnostics, food safety, industrial, and environmental monitoring. Besides pressure and temperature sensing applications, other applications include detecting gases, chemicals, biomolecules, body fluids, bacteria, and viruses.

The book provides an overview relevant to various biological mechanisms that regulate carbon exchanges between the major components and their response to climate change. Climate change has a significant impact on people's lives, energy demand, food security, etc. The soil microbial ecology is vital for assessing terrestrial and aquatic carbon cycles and climate feedback. However, the primary concern is the complexity of the soil microbial community and its severely affected functions due to the climate and other global changes. Global warming comprises an assessment of the dynamic interactions and feedback between microbes, plants, and their physical environment due to climate change.

The present book entitled, “Re-visiting the Rhizosphere Eco-system for Agricultural Sustainability” written by experts in the field, provides a comprehensive and consolidated state-of art overview of various aspects of rhizosphere biology, ecology and functioning. The role of rhizosphere microbial diversity in enhancing plant health and plant-microbe beneficial symbioses is discussed. Main topics include the diversity of plant-associated microbes in the rhizosphere, below-ground communication among the plant, soil, insects and microbes, rhizosphere ecosystem functioning, rhizosphere engineering, recruitment of microorganisms in the rhizosphere, mycorrhizal fungal symbiosis, positive interaction of the plants with the beneficial soil microorganisms for inducing the plant growth, conferring abiotic and biotic stress tolerance and modulating several pathways of the plants for the proper establishment and revitalization in the degraded and contaminated soils or negative likes the host-pathogen interactions leading to the disease development in plants.

This edited book is a comprehensive compilation of principles, conventional and molecular approaches used to develop improved varieties and hybrids of major crops in light of their origin, evolution, taxonomy, production and productivity and need by human civilization. The book covers breeding prospects of all important food and commercial crops. It highlights the importance of breeding tools and techniques in ensuring food security. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, agriculture scientists, capacity builders, and policymakers. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, soil science, and environmental sciences. National and international agricultural scientists and policymakers will find this book useful.

This edited book highlights the latest information on the use of nanotechnology, satellite technology, and biotechnological tools in pest management. It covers the role of climate change and ecology in managing pests and also their molecular identification. Other methods that the book encompasses are organic pest management, host-plant resistance, semiochemicals, and bio-control technology. The book also covers insect pollinators which play important role for fruits in horticultural crop production.

This book is a compilation of advancements and achievements in the field of sugar beet cultivation. It covers recent research and up-to-date information on this crop. It discusses essential aspects for high production and good yield, development and crop management, such as origin, breeding, seed production, physiology, pathology, entomology, biotechnology, and post-harvest technology.

various types of crop pests. The main focus of this book is to explore the application of these tools in pest management. Major pest groups covered in this book are insects, mites and nematodes.
The first section covers all major genetic tools and molecular approaches. The second section deals with genetic tools for of beneficial containing three chapters involving honey bees, silkworms and natural enemies. Next section deals with genetic interactions against pests in diverse geographical regions with special focus on Africa, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Sections four and five addresses diverse aspects as management of pests, genetic behavior, gene expression, plasticity, pathways and interactions and options for mitigation of pests.

This book discusses genetic engineering of both plants and microbes for making agricultural practices more productive and sustainable. It chapters explore the understanding of the interaction between plants and microbes, and genomic information to modify the metabolism of plants or microbes to further enhance the beneficial interaction.

This edited book covers all aspects of grain legumes including negative impact of abiotic and biotic stresses under the changing global climate. It discusses the role of various subject disciplines ranging from plant breeding, genetics, plant physiology, molecular biology, and genomics to high-throughput phenotyping and other emerging technologies for sustaining global grain and fodder legume production to alleviate impending global food crises. The book offers strategies to ensure plant-based dietary protein security across the globe. It covers all major commercial legume crops used as food, feed and fodder. This book is targeted to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, progressive farmers and policymakers to inform them of the importance of cultivating grain and fodder legumes for future global food and nutritional security and for maintaining sustainable ecosystem.