Crop Production for Agricultural Improvement

In the recent years, the looming food scarcity problem has highlighted plant sciences as an emerging discipline committed to devise new strategies for enhanced crop productivity. The major factors causing food scarcity are biotic and abiotic stresses such as plant pathogens, salinity, drought, flooding, nutrient deficiency or toxicity which substantially limit crop productivity world-wide. In this scenario, strategies should be adopted to achieve maximum productivity and economic crop returns. In this book we have mainly focused on physiological, biochemical, molecular and genetic bases of crop development and related approaches that can be used for crop improvement under environmental adversaries. In addition, the adverse effects of different biotic (diseases, pathogens etc.) and abiotic (salinity, drought, high temperatures, metals etc) stresses on crop development and the potential strategies to enhance crop productivity under stressful environments are also discussed.

Crop improvement through different means: Challenges and prospect, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Sajid Aqeel Ahmad, Munir Ozturk and Ahmad Aksoy
PART I. Breeding for crop improvement
Bridging genomic and classical breeding approaches for improving crop productivity, Mehboob-ur-Rahman, Tayyaba Shaheen, Muhammad Ashraf, Yusuf Zafar
Breeding for improved drought tolerance, Abazar Rajabi, Eric Schmieder Ober
Breeding for biotic stress resistance/tolerance in plants, Carlotta Balconi, Piergiorgio Stevanato, Mario Motto
The American halophyte Prosopis strombulifera, a new potential source to confer salt tolerance to crops, Mariana Reginato, Verónica Sgroy, Analía Llanes, Fabricio Cassán, Virginia Luna
Breeding for Biotic Stress Tolerance in Plants, L.F. De Filippis
Breeding Wheat for Salt Tolerance and Stem Rust Resistance, Makhdoom Hussain, Aziz ur Rehman, Imran Habib, Mumtaz Hussain, Nadeem Ahmad, Muhammad Arif Khan, Muhammad Hussain and Faqir Muhammad
The potential of breeding okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) for water stress tolerance, Abdul Naveed, Asif Ali Khan, Saeed Rauf
PART II. Biotechnology , Molecular Biology and Genetics
Biotechnology as an aid for crop improvement to overcome food shortage, Khalid ul Rehman Hakeem, Munir Ozturk, Parvaiz Ahmad, Abdul Razaque Memon
Plant Genetic Engineering: Problems and Applications, Bushra Rashid, Tayyab Husnain, Sheikh RiazuddinAgrobacterium tumefaciens and its Use in Plant Biotechnology, Ibrahim Ilker Özyigit
Progress and prospects for efficient micropropagation of woody plants, Faheem Aftab
Novel Methods in Micropropagation of Pistachio, Engin Tilkat, Yelda Ozden Çiftçi, Hulya Akdemir, Ahmet Onay, Emine Ayaz
Crop productivity and water use efficiency: The role of carbon isotope discrimination technique, Javed Akhter and Philippe Monneveux
Behaviour of Plant Pathogens for Crops under Stress during the Determination of Physiological, Biochemical, and Molecular Approaches for Salt Stress Tolerance, Murat Dikilitas and Sema Karakas
Biochemical and molecular aspects of drought tolerance in wheat Triticum L. Genotypes, Rada Mammad Huseynova, Samira Mahammadrahim Rustamova, Saftar Yusif Suleymanov, Jalal Alirza Aliyev
Molecular basis of disease resistance in cereal crops: An overview, Hadi Bux, Muhammad Ashraf, Awais Rasheed, Dipak Sharma Poudyal, Alvina Gul Kazi,  Muhammad Afzaal
Polyamines: Role in plants under abiotic stress, Parvaiz Ahmad, Ashwani Kumar, Aditi Gupta, Xiangyang Hu, Khalid ul Rehman Hakeem, Satyawati Sharma
PART III. Crop Management
Practices in Saskatchewan, Canada, Ahmet Ruhi Mermut
Invasive weed species: A threat to sustainable agriculture, Ghazala Nasim, Asad Shabbir
An overview of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for sustainable agriculture, Rifat Hayat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Rizwan Ali Sheirdil
Arbuscular mycorrhizae for sustainable agriculture, Ghazala Nasim
A site-specific potassium fertilization approach to overcome sporadic response of crops, Abdul Hannan, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Waqas
Optimal Supply of Micronutrients Improves Drought Tolerance in Legumes, Muhammad Yasin Ashraf, Khalid Mahmood, Muhammad Ashraf, Javed Akhter, Faqir Hussain
Potential of Rhizobia for Sustainable Production of Non-legumes, Ijaz Mehboob, Muhammad Naveed, Zahir Ahmad Zahir and Muhammad Ashraf
Effect of Drip and Subsurface Drip Irrigation with Saline Water on Tomato Crop, Besma Kahlaoui, Mohamed Hachicha, Saloua Rejeb, Mohamed Néjib Rejeb
Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. walp) cultivars in relation to temperature stress, Shahidul Islam, Carmen Rafaela Carvajal Rebanales, James Otis Garner, Jr.
Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis of root nodules of model legume plants, Abdul Razaque Memon
A Review on Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus, Syed Jawad Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Bashir, Naheed Manzoor

Agrobacterium tumefaciens and its Use in Plant Biotechnology, Ibrahim Ilker Özyigit
Progress and prospects for efficient micropropagation of woody plants, Faheem Aftab
Novel Methods in Micropropagation of Pistachio, Engin Tilkat, Yelda Ozden Çiftçi, Hulya Akdemir, Ahmet Onay, Emine Ayaz
Crop productivity and water use efficiency: The role of carbon isotope discrimination technique, Javed Akhter and Philippe Monneveux
Behaviour of Plant Pathogens for Crops under Stress during the Determination of Physiological, Biochemical, and Molecular Approaches for Salt Stress Tolerance, Murat Dikilitas and Sema Karakas
Biochemical and molecular aspects of drought tolerance in wheat Triticum L. Genotypes, Rada Mammad Huseynova, Samira Mahammadrahim Rustamova, Saftar Yusif Suleymanov, Jalal Alirza Aliyev
Molecular basis of disease resistance in cereal crops: An overview, Hadi Bux, Muhammad Ashraf, Awais Rasheed, Dipak Sharma Poudyal, Alvina Gul Kazi,  Muhammad Afzaal
Polyamines: Role in plants under abiotic stress, Parvaiz Ahmad, Ashwani Kumar, Aditi Gupta, Xiangyang Hu, Khalid ul Rehman Hakeem, Satyawati Sharma
PART III. Crop Management
Practices in Saskatchewan, Canada, Ahmet Ruhi Mermut
Invasive weed species: A threat to sustainable agriculture, Ghazala Nasim, Asad Shabbir
An overview of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for sustainable agriculture, Rifat Hayat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Rizwan Ali Sheirdil
Arbuscular mycorrhizae for sustainable agriculture, Ghazala Nasim
A site-specific potassium fertilization approach to overcome sporadic response of crops, Abdul Hannan, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Waqas
Optimal Supply of Micronutrients Improves Drought Tolerance in Legumes, Muhammad Yasin Ashraf, Khalid Mahmood, Muhammad Ashraf, Javed Akhter, Faqir Hussain
Potential of Rhizobia for Sustainable Production of Non-legumes, Ijaz Mehboob, Muhammad Naveed, Zahir Ahmad Zahir and Muhammad Ashraf
Effect of Drip and Subsurface Drip Irrigation with Saline Water on Tomato Crop, Besma Kahlaoui, Mohamed Hachicha, Saloua Rejeb, Mohamed Néjib Rejeb
Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. walp) cultivars in relation to temperature stress, Shahidul Islam, Carmen Rafaela Carvajal Rebanales, James Otis Garner, Jr.
Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis of root nodules of model legume plants, Abdul Razaque Memon
A Review on Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus, Syed Jawad Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Bashir, Naheed Manzoor