Describes modern management practices with regard to all of the major crops in India comprising cereals, millets, pulses, oilseeds, fibre crops, forage and sugar crops. The book contains the latest, authoritative and readily-usable information on the improved farming techniques for stepping up crop productivity. Information gathered is for use by students, teachers, extension workers and others interested in the agricultural prosperity of the nation.

Advancement in Crop Improvement Techniques presents updates on biotechnology and molecular biological approaches which have contributed significantly to crop improvement. The book discusses the emerging importance of bioinformatics in analyzing the vast resources of information regarding crop improvement and its practical application and utilization. Throughout this comprehensive resource, emphasis is placed on various techniques used to improve agricultural crops, providing a common platform for the utility of these techniques and their combinations. Written by an international team of contributors, this book provides an in-depth analysis of existing tools and a framework for new research. - Reviews techniques used for crop improvement, from selection and crossing over, to microorganismal approaches - Explores the role of conventional biotechnology in crop improvement - Summarizes the combined approaches of cytogenetics and biotechnology for crop improvement, including the importance of molecular techniques in this process - Focuses on the emerging role of bioinformatics for crop improvement

The book is divided into two parts, kharif crops and rabi crops, covering as many as 48 crops. It contains the latest, authoritative and readily usable information about the cultivation techniques, varieties, nutrient/water/weed management along with specific climatic/soil requirements of all the crops. It is essentially a teaching and study material as it is written conforming to ICAR syllabus, strictly considering the limitations of the students and the teachers. Information on each crop is chosen in such a way that it is readily understandable by the undergraduate students and can be explained by the teachers in 22 weeks of a semester. Unnecessary detailing and research information has been avoided. Photographic illustrations of the crops are given to enable the students to understand the morphology of the crop clearly. Related terms, concepts or recent advancements in each crop are highlighted in the box. For a group of related crops, model questions are also given to visualise the probable questions on each crop. An attempt has been made to include the latest statistics from FAO and other global and Indian sources. Points to remember given at the end of each chapter enable the students to have a quick recap of the topic before examination. Further, many general topics, related to field crops, have been covered in eight separate brief chapters, to ensure that the students understand crop-related topics.

From the late 1940s to the early 1970s, farmers in the Corn Belt transformed their region into a new, industrial powerhouse of large-scale production, mechanization, specialization, and efficiency. Many farm experts and implement manufacturers had urged farmers in this direction for decades, but it was the persistent labor shortage and cost-price squeeze following WWII that prompted farmers to pave the way to industrializing agriculture. Anderson examines the changes in Iowa, a representative state of the Corn Belt, in order to explore why farmers adopted particular technologies and how, over time, they integrated new tools and techniques. In addition to the impressive field machinery, grain storage facilities, and automated feeding systems were the less visible, but no less potent, chemical technologies--antibiotics and growth hormones administered to livestock, as well as insecticide, herbicide, and fertilizer applied to crops. Much of this new technology created unintended consequences: pesticides encouraged the proliferation of resistant strains of plants and insects while also polluting the environment and threatening wildlife, and the use of feed additives triggered concern about the health effects to consumers. In Industrializing the Corn Belt, J. L. Anderson explains that the cost of equipment and chemicals made unprecedented demands on farm capital, and in order to maximize production, farmers planted more acres with fewer but more profitable crops or specialized in raising large herds of a single livestock species. The industrialization of agriculture gave rural Americans a lifestyle resembling that of their urban and suburban counterparts. Yet the rural population continued to dwindle as farms required less human labor, and many small farmers, unable or unwilling to compete, chose to sell out. Based on farm records, cooperative extension reports, USDA publications, oral interviews, trade literature, and agricultural periodicals, Industrializing the Corn Belt offers a fresh look at an important period of revolutionary change in agriculture through the eyes of those who grew the crops, raised the livestock, implemented new technology, and ultimately made the decisions that transformed the nature of the family farm and the Midwestern landscape.

Agronomy deals with the principles and practices of crop production and soil management. In its broader sense, it includes crop ecology, crop production, crop nutrition, soil fertility, water management, weed control, seed technology etc. To be a good agronomist, one needs to have a sound knowledge of all these agronomic aspects as also some related aspects from other sciences. The task of selecting the terms to be included in any branch of science offers many difficulties particularly in Agronomy, which draws upon from several diverse fields of agriculture. How far, it is advisable to include terms from those over lapping science which lie on the borderland is a question on which no two people might think alike. A compilation of available information has been a felt need of students, teachers, research workers and administrators in Agronomy. This book makes an attempt to present the available information on Agronomy in an easily understandable manner. It would be useful not only to graduate and post graduate students and those appearing in the competitive examinations, but also to the teachers and researchers of the Agricultural Universities / research organizations.

Sucking pests are most notorious group of pests for agricultural crops. Unlike most pests with chewing mouth parts, sucking pests cause more severe damage to the crops and are complex to get identified until advanced stages of infection. Not only is this late detection detrimental to their effective control, sucking pests also often cause fungal growth and virus transmission. The book emphasizes on sucking pests of most major crops of India. It aims to reflect Indian scenario before the international readership. This book complies comprehensive information on sucking pests of crops and brings the attention of the readers to this multiple damage causing insect complex. The chapters are contributed by highly experienced Indigenous experts from Universities & ICAR institutes, and book collates useful content for students and young researchers in plant pathology, entomology and agriculture.