In this book we cover the isolation and identification of different seed mycoflora from different oil seed . There has been an increased interest in the use of ecofriendly technologies for plant disease control. However, due to high cost of fungicides and the worldwide awareness regarding environmental pollution and residual problems, the excessive use of fungicides is discouraged. Botanical pesticides are considered as potential alternatives to chemical agents which can be hazardous to human and animal health. The effects of these botanicals i.e. Azadirachta indica and Ricinus communis and Biocontrol agent i.e. Trichoderma viride against seed mycoflora of some oil seed crops were studied.

Fungi bio-prospects in sustainable agriculture, environment and nanotechnology is a three-volume series that has been designed to explore the huge potential of the many diverse applications of fungi to human life. The series unveils the latest developments and scientific advances in the study of the biodiversity of fungi, extremophilic fungi, and fungal secondary metabolites and enzymes, while also presenting cutting-edge molecular tools used to study fungi. Readers will learn all about the recent progress and future potential applications of fungi in agriculture, environmental remediation, industry, food safety, medicine, and nanotechnology. Volume 1 will cover the biodiversity of fungi and the associated biopotential applications. This volume offers insights into both basic and advanced biotechnological applications in human welfare and sustainable agriculture. The chapters shed light on the different roles of fungi as a bio-fertilizer, a bio-control agent, and a component of microbial inoculants. They also focus on the various applications of fungi in bio-fuel production, nano-technology, and in the management of abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and metal toxicity. - Provides a deep understanding of fungi and summarizes fungi's various applications in the fields of microbiology and sustainable agriculture - Describes the role of fungal inoculants as biocontrol agents, and in improved stress tolerance and growth of plants

To feed a world population that will exceed 9 billion by 2050 requires an estimated 60% increase over current primary agricultural productivity. Closing the common and often large gap between actual and attainable crop yield is critical to achieve this goal. To close yield gaps in both small and large scale cropping systems worldwide we need (1) definitions and techniques to measure and model yield at different levels (actual, attainable, potential) and different scales in space (field, farm, region, global) and time (short and long term); (2) identification of the causes of gaps between yield levels; (3) management options to reduce the gaps where feasible and (4) policies to favour adoption of sustainable gap-closing solutions. The aim of this publication is to critically review the methods for yield gap analysis, hence addressing primarily the first of these four requirements, reporting a wide-ranging and well-referenced analysis of literature on current methods to assess productivity of crops and cropping systems.

Fusarium wilt of banana: some history and current status of the disease; Importante of fusarium wilt in different banana-growing regions; Taxonomy of fungi in the genus fusarium with emphasis on fusarium oxysporum; Genetic exchange within sexual and asexual populations of the genus fusarium; Molecular genetics of plant pathogenic fusarium oxysporum; Using karyotype variability to investigate the origins and relatednes of isolates of fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense; Population biology of fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense; Biological control of diseases caused by fusarium oxysporum; Influence of mineral nutrition on fusarium wilt: a proposed mechanism involving cell water relations; Host responses to the pathogen; Banana breeding and fusarium wilt; Breeding bananas and plantains for resistance to fusariu m wilt: the track record; Somaclonal resistance in cavendish banana to fusarium wilt; Baseline tissue and cell culture studies for use in banana improvement schemes.

Plant endophytes are a potential source for the production of bioactive compounds that can fight against devastating diseases in both plants and humans. Among these endophytic microorganisms, endophytic fungi are one of the dominant group of microorganisms with a potential role in plant growth promotion and the discovery of noble bioactive natural products. Endophytic fungi possess several bioactivities like anticancer, antimicrobial, insecticidal, plant growth stimulants, crop protection, phytoremediation, etc. Presence of modular biosynthetic genes clusters like PKS and NRPS in several endophytic fungi underscores the need to understand and explore such organisms. This volume presents and demonstrates the applied aspects of endophytic fungi. Practical applications of such endophytes are discussed in detail, including studies in pharmaceutical development and agricultural management of important microbial diseases. The beneficial effects that endophytic fungi provide to host plants—enhancing growth, increasing fitness, strengthening tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses through secondary metabolites—are also discussed. The reader is provided with a comprehensive and detailed understanding of such relationships between endophytic fungi and their host.