Pathogen biology. Cell biology of pathogenesis. Signalling systems and gene expression regulating appressorium formation in magnaporthe grisea. Genetic regulation of sporulation in the rice blast fungus. Genetic interactions in magnaporthe grisea that affect cultivar specific avirulence/virulence on rice. Genomic structure and variability in pyricularia grisea. Molecular genetic approach to the study of cultivar specificity in the rice blast fungus. Avirulence genes and mechanisms of genetic instability in the rice blast fungus. Host plant resistance. International collaboration on breeding for resistance to rice blast. Present knowledge of rice resistance genetics and strategies for magnaporthe grisea pathogenicity and avirulence gene analysis. Mapping of blast resistance genes in rice. Molecular genetic analysis fo the rice bacterial blight resistance locus, Xa21. Current status for gene transfer into rice utilizing variety-independent delivery systems. Pathogen population dynamics and utilization of host plant resistance. Virulencecharacteristics of genetic families of pyricularia grisea in Colombia. Race-specific and rate-reducing resistance to rice blast in US rice cultivars. A strategy for accumulating genes for partial resistance to blast disease in rice within a conventional breeding program. Lineage exclusion: a proposal for linking blast population analysis to resistance breeding. Use of host genetic diversity to control cereal diseases: implications for rice blast. Figs, wasps, nematodes and sitting ducks: rice blast, from the outside looking in. Epidemiology, loss assessment, and management. The economic impact of rice blast disease in China. Current rice blast epidemics and their management in Thailand. Rice blast in west Africa: its nature and control. Understanding and modeling leaf blast effects on crop physiology and yield. Methodology for quantifying rice yield effects of blast. The epidemiological basis for blast management. Using simulation models to explore better strategies for the management of blast disease in temperate rice pathosystems. Blast management in high input, high yield potential, temperate rice ecosystems. Practical approaches to rice blast management in tropical monsoon ecosystems, with special reference to Bangladesh. Rice breeding programs, blast epidemics and blast management in the United States. Strategies for the discovery of rice blast fungicides. Biological control of rice leaf blast. Farmers' perspectives. Crop-livestock interactions: implications for crop improvement in sustainable agriculture. Assessing indigenous and traditional knowledge in farming systems. Rice, reason, and resistance: a comparative study of farmers' vs. Scientists' perception and strategies.

In large parts of the developed and developing worlds soil tillage by plough or hoe is the main cause of land degradation leading to stagnating or even declining production levels and increasing production cost. It causes the soil to become more dense and compacted, the organic matter content to be reduced and water runoff and soil erosion to increase. It also leads to droughts becoming more severe and the soil becoming less fertile and less responsive to fertiliser. This book brings together the key notes lectures and other outstanding contributions of the I World Congress on Conservation Agriculture and provides an updated view of the environment and economic advantages of CA and of its implementation in diferent areas of the World.