This book presents abiotic stresses that cause crop damage in the range of 6-20%. Understanding the interaction of crop plants to the abiotic stresses caused by heat, cold, drought, flooding, submergence, salinity, acidity, etc., is important to develop resistant crop varieties. Knowledge on the advanced genetic and genomic crop improvement strategies including molecular breeding, transgenics, genomic-assisted breeding, and the recently emerging genome editing for developing resistant varieties in cereal crops is imperative for addressing FPNEE (food, health, nutrition, energy, and environment) security. Whole genome sequencing of these crops followed by genotyping-by-sequencing has facilitated precise information about the genes conferring resistance useful for gene discovery, allele mining, and shuttle breeding which in turn opened up the scope for 'designing' crop genomes with resistance to abiotic stresses. The nine chapters each dedicated to a cereal crop in this volume are deliberate on different types of abiotic stresses and their effects on and interaction with crop plants; enumerate on the available genetic diversity with regard to abiotic stress resistance among available cultivars; illuminate on the potential gene pools for utilization in interspecific gene transfer; are brief on the classical genetics of stress resistance and traditional breeding for transferring them to their cultivated counterparts; elucidate on the success stories of genetic engineering for developing abiotic stress-resistant crop varieties; discuss on molecular mapping of genes and QTLs underlying stress resistance and their marker-assisted introgression into elite varieties; enunciate on different emerging genomics-aided techniques including genomic selection, allele mining, gene discovery, and gene pyramiding for developing adaptive crop varieties with higher quantity and quality, and also elaborate some case studies on genome editing focusing on specific genes for generating abiotic stress-resistant crops.

Salinity and water stress limit crop productivity worldwide and generate substantial economic losses each year, yet innovative research on crop and natural resource management can reveal cost-effective ways in which farmers can increase both their productivity and their income. Presenting recent research findings on salt stress, water stress and stress-adapted plants, this book offers insights into new strategies for increasing the efficiency of crops under stressful environments. The strategies are based on conventional breeding and advanced molecular techniques used by plant physiologists, and are discussed using specific case studies to illustrate their potential. The book emphasizes the effects of environmental factors on specific stages of plant development, and discusses the role of plant growth regulators, nutrients, osmoprotectants and antioxidants in counteracting their adverse affects. Synthesising updated information on mechansisms of stress tolerance at cell, tissue and whole-plant level, this book provides a useful reference text for post graduate students and researchers involved in the fields of stress physiology and plant physiology in general, with additional readership amongst researchers in horticulture, agronomy, crop science, conservation, environmental management and ecological restoration.

This proceedings is a collection of 46 selected papers that were presented at the 12th International Wheat Genetics Symposium (IWGS). Since the launch of the wheat genome sequencing project in 2005, the arrival of draft genome sequences has marked a new era in wheat genetics and genomics, catalyzing rapid advancement in the field. This book provides a comprehensive review of the forefront of wheat research, across various important topics such as germplasm and genetic diversity, cytogenetics and allopolyploid evolution, genome sequencing, structural and functional genomics, gene function and molecular biology, biotic stress, abiotic stress, grain quality, and classical and molecular breeding. Following an introduction, 9 parts of the book are dedicated to each of these topics. A final, 11th part entitled “Toward Sustainable Wheat Production” contains 7 excellent papers that were presented in the 12th IWGS Special Session supported by the OECD. With rapid population growth and radical climate changes, the world faces a global food crisis and is in need of another Green Revolution to boost yields of wheat and other widely grown staple crops. Although this book focuses on wheat, many of the newly developed techniques and results presented here can be applied to other plant species with large and complex genomes. As such, this volume is highly recommended for all students and researchers in wheat sciences and related plant sciences and for those who are interested in stable food production and food security.

Plants are subjected to a variety of abiotic stresses such as drought, temperature, salinity, air pollution, heavy metals, UV radiations, etc. To survive under these harsh conditions plants are equipped with different resistance mechanisms which vary from species to species. Due to the environmental fluctuations agricultural and horticultural crops are often exposed to different environmental stresses leading to decreased yield and problems in the growth and development of the crops. Drought stress has been found to decrease the yield to an alarming rate of some important crops throughout the globe. During last few decades, lots of physiological and molecular works have been conducted under water stress in crop plants. Water Stress and Crop Plants: A Sustainable Approach presents an up-to-date in-depth coverage of drought and flooding stress in plants, including the types, causes and consequences on plant growth and development. It discusses the physiobiochemical, molecular and omic approaches, and responses of crop plants towards water stress. Topics include nutritional stress, oxidative stress, hormonal regulation, transgenic approaches, mitigation of water stress, approaches to sustainability, and modern tools and techniques to alleviate the water stress on crop yields. This practical book offers pragmatic guidance for scientists and researchers in plant biology, and agribusinesses and biotechnology companies dealing with agronomy and environment, to mitigate the negative effects of stress and improve yield under stress. The broad coverage also makes this a valuable guide enabling students to understand the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms of environmental stress in plants.

This book presents deliberations on molecular and genomic mechanisms underlying the interactions of crop plants to the biotic stresses caused by different diseases and pests that are important to develop resistant crop varieties. Knowledge on the advanced genetic and genomic crop improvement strategies including molecular breeding, transgenics, genomic-assisted breeding, and the recently emerging genome editing for developing resistant varieties in cereal crops is imperative for addressing FHNEE (food, health, nutrition, energy, and environment) security. Whole genome sequencing of these crops followed by genotyping-by-sequencing has provided precise information regarding the genes conferring resistance useful for gene discovery, allele mining, and shuttle breeding which in turn opened up the scope for 'designing' crop genomes with resistance to biotic stresses. The eight chapters each dedicated to a cereal crop in this volume elucidate on different types of biotic stresses and their effects on and interaction with the crop; enumerate on the available genetic diversity with regard to biotic stress resistance among available cultivars; illuminate on the potential gene pools for utilization in interspecific gene transfer; present brief on classical genetics of stress resistance and traditional breeding for transferring them to their cultivated counterparts; depict the success stories of genetic engineering for developing biotic stress-resistant crop varieties; discuss on molecular mapping of genes and QTLs underlying stress resistance and their marker-assisted introgression into elite varieties; enunciate on different genomics-aided techniques including genomic selection, allele mining, gene discovery, and gene pyramiding for developing adaptive crop varieties with higher quantity and quality of yields, and also elaborate some case studies on genome editing focusing on specific genes for generating biotic stress-resistant crops.