This book discusses Micronutrient Malnutrition (MM) is a major obstacle to the development of human resources in developing nations in Asia and Africa and has been identified as a public health concern. Globally, more than 2 billion people suffer from MM. The most susceptible groups are women and young children under five. The main cause of the persistence of MM prevalence is the inaccessibility, unavailability, or high cost of diets rich in zinc. Typically, staple foods are poor in minerals. An inadequate intake of zinc (Zn) compromises human nutrition and immunological function. Breeding staple crops with enhanced critical nutrients offers a long-term solution for populations dependent on single staples or diets with less diversity. The significance of zinc in human nutrition, high throughput zinc phenotyping techniques, breeding product profile design, new varieties and germplasm that are rich in zinc, and the genetics and genomics of zinc are all covered in this book. For the first time, the publicly available standards (PAS) under the BSI standards for zinc crops were reviewed with an eye toward future global commercial production and commercialization. This edited volume will function as a scientific knowledge base and reference for researchers, graduate students, and other professionals in a comparable field. The goal is to enable biofortification science to help the poor world achieve food and nutrition security.

This book delves into the structural diversity of flavonoids found throughout the plant kingdom, the evolution of flavonoid biosynthesis genes in plants, and the molecular interaction of flavonoids with growth hormones. The metabolic routes of flavonoids are thoroughly investigated using both biochemical and molecular biology methods, and the book elucidates the links between genes/proteins and metabolites, as well as between metabolites. The book also explores the interplay between flavonoid metabolism and external environmental factors that are subject to continuous change.

This book provides a detailed overview of applications of post-genome era techniques for livestock genetics and breeding. It also describes techniques for genetically selecting highly productive animals without producing large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, community-based breeding programs for breeding rams and bucks, the response of bovine species to in vitro thermal stress stimulation, and the semen characteristics of wool-breed ram lamb-raised in conditions of high altitude.

This manual presents the training process for the Gender-Responsive Plant Breeding course, implemented by Makerere and Cornell Universities, over a period of five years (2016-2020), under the Gender-Responsive Researchers Equipped for Agricultural Transformation (GREAT) project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It has five broad parts: I) Introduction; II) Required preparation before the course; III) Phase one (9-day, face-to-face training); IV) the 5-month Field Training phase; and V) Phase two (5-day, face-to-face training). Each session consists of specific learning objectives, session plans and slides, delivery methods, practical exercises and examples, as well as relevant tips and synthesized take-home messages. The sessions were developed by an international multidisciplinary team of experts in gender and agriculture and subjected to a rigorous peer review and quality assurance process. GREAT aims to contribute to building a pool of gender-responsive agricultural researchers able to advance more equitable and effective agricultural systems in Africa and beyond. This manual is for all facilitators/trainers interested in applied, gender responsive agricultural research.

The book is an excellent reference collection of the research conducted by different workers on induced mutagenesis, worldwide, for more than 80 years. One can get almost all mutation breeding references at one place. The book gives a coherent and concise account of all the important and relevant aspects related to induced mutagenesis with an emphasis on recent developments in the field of crop improvement. The references have been arranged crop wise and important topic wise which deal with not only classical mutation breeding but also spontaneous mutations, somaclonal variations, nanoparticles, and relevant modern aspects.

Presents the latest knowledge of improving the stress tolerance, yield, and quality of rice crops
One of the most important cereal crops, rice provides food to more than half of the world population. Various abiotic stresses—currently impacting an estimated 60% of crop yields—are projected to increase in severity and frequency due to climate change. In light of the threat of global food grain insecurity, interest in molecular rice breeding has intensified in recent years. Progress has been made, but there remains an urgent need to develop stress-tolerant, bio-fortified rice varieties that provide consistent and high-quality yields under both stress and non-stress conditions.

Asiatic Momordica comprises 10 species of which 3 are monoecious and rest dioecious. They are unique in the sense that all are wild or cultivated vegetables with medicinal uses. Barring bitter gourd, all are under utilized vegetables with little research and conservation efforts. In this book, the authors have presented the available information on various aspects of Asiatic Momordica like taxonomy, cytogenetics, crop improvement, origin, ethnobotany and crop production at one place.

This book is an advanced textbook and a reference book for the post-graduate plant-breeding students and the plant breeders. It consolidates fundamental concepts and also the latest advances in plant-breeding practices including development in crop genomics. It contains crop wise explanation on origin, reproduction, genetics of yield contributing traits, biotic and abiotic stresses, nutritional improvement and crop specific plant-breeding procedures and techniques.

This volume is dedicated to Rice - a staple crop in many coastal and non-coastal areas of the globe and requires a large production area.

This book intends to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the current progress in the application of genetic and genomic science in the poultry field. The book should prove useful to researchers and students working in related fields.

This book describes some recent advances in rice research in terms of crop breeding and improvement, crop production and protection, and crop quality control and food processing. This volume is a useful reference for professionals and graduate students working in all areas of rice science and technology.

This book discusses the diversity of cassava and its microbiome, cassava cultivation and postharvest practices, as well as crop yield-reducing diseases. This book will help readers to gain knowledge about cassava, its biological properties, and some of the strategies and procedures necessary to increase cassava crop output.