Oryza2000

This book collects all the latest technologies with their implications on the global rice cultivation. It discusses all aspects of rice production and puts together the latest trends and best practices in the rice production. Rice is produced and consumed worldwide and especially an important crop for Asia. It is a staple food in majority of population living is this continent which distinguishes this from rest of the world. Climatic fluctuations, elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide, enhanced temperature have created extreme weather conditions for rice cultivation. Also, increasing pest attacks make situation complicated for the farmers. Therefore, rice production technology also has to be adjusted accordingly. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, plant biotechnologists, pathologists, agronomists, soil scientists, food technologists from different part of the globe. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for students of agriculture, soil science, and environmental sciences. National and international agricultural scientists, policy makers will also find this to be a useful read

Agriculture is currently facing multi-faceted threats in the form of unpredictable weather variability, frequent droughts and scarcity of irrigation water, together with the degradation of soil resources and declining environmental health. These stresses result in the modification of plant physiology to impart greater resilience to changing abiotic and biotic environments, but only at the cost of declining plant productivity. In light of these facts, assessing the status of natural resource bases, and understanding the mechanisms of soil-plant-environment interactions so as to devise adaptation and mitigation approaches, represent great and imminent challenges for all of us. In this context, it is essential to understand the potential applications of modern tools, existing coping mechanisms and their integration, as this will allow us to develop suitable advanced mitigation strategies. From a broader perspective, the book deals with crop-environment interaction in the context of changing climatic conditions. To do so, it addresses four major aspects: Understanding the mechanism of carbon dynamics in the soil-plant-environment continuum; greenhouse gas fluxes in agricultural systems; and soil properties influenced by climate change and carbon sequestration processes. Mitigation and management of the photo-thermal environment to improve crop productivity; soil health under variable climate; reducing agro-ecosystem evapotranspiration losses through biophysical controls; and heat stress in field crops and its management. Studying the impact of climate change on biotic environments; insect-pest interactions; manifestations of disease; and adaptation strategies for island agro-ecosystems. Innovative approaches to assess stress impacts in crops, such as crop modeling, remote sensing, spectral stress indices etc. The book presents a collection of contributions from authoritative experts in their respective fields. Offering young researchers new perspectives and future research directions, it represents a valuable guide for graduate students and academics alike.

The book gives a detailed description of the application of DSSAT in simulating crop and soil processes within various Agro-ecological zones in Africa. The book, an output of a series of 3 workshops, provides examples of the application of DSSAT models to simulate nitrogen applications, soil and water conservation practices including effects of zai technology, phosphorus and maize productivity, generation of genetic coefficients, long-term soil fertility management technologies in the drylands, microdosing, optimization of nitrogen x germplasms x water, spatial analysis of water and nutrient use efficiencies and, tradeoff analysis. The minimum dataset requirements for DSSAT is discussed. This book arises from attempts to address the limited use of models in decision support by African agricultural (both soil scientist and agronomists) scientists.

Rice-maize (R-M) cropping systems have emerged in recent years on 3.5 million hectares in Asia in response to the increasing demand from a rapidly expanding human population for rice and livestock products. They are rapidly spreading in southern and northeastern India and Bangladesh, driven by the rising demand for maize by the poultry and fish sectors and the tightening world export-import markets. The recent development of short-duration rice varieties and maize hybrids with improved drought tolerance is also providing opportunities for the expansion of R-M systems into areas of South Asia with insufficient irrigation or rain for continuous rice cultivation. Agroecologically, R-M systems have the potential to expand into broad climatic zones across Asia. Because strong economic multipliers exist between food production and feed and livestock production, more diversified cropping systems are also likely to become a key engine for economic growth in rural areas of Asia. This will contribute to more diversified diets, improved human nutrition, reduced poverty, and greater investment in other aspects of quality of life such as education and health care. R-M systems will also provide new business opportunities for the local agribusiness sector, including hybrid seed production and marketing, the fertilizer sector, the agricultural machinery sector, and the grain marketing and livestock feed-processing sector. Recognizing the importance of diversifying cropping systems in Asia and the need for system-level research to support new opportunities for agricultural development, IRRI and CIMMYT scientists, in collaboration with NARES partners, have recently begun work on R-M systems in many countries of Asia. This report contains information on a strategic assessment of R-M systems for 29 selected sites representing diverse soils, climate, and agroecosystems across nine countries in Asia (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). Conducted jointly by IRRI and CIMMYT, the process involves regional and site-level biophysical assessment, supported by socioeconomic evaluation using economic data at the regional level and some microeconomic data. Biophysical assessment includes agroecosystem characterization of R-M systems, analysis of historical daily climatic data, and regional-level prediction of yield potential for the 29 sites. The study then provides a detailed analysis of 10 selected sites to understand existing cropping systems, identify alternative potential systems, and explore measures to optimize these. The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), a project funded by the Gates Foundation and USAID in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, was launched in early 2009. It now provides an overall strategy and a new umbrella for contributing new science and technologies to accelerate short- and long-term cereal production growth in South Asia's most important grain baskets. It builds on technologies developed and lessons learned from the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC) and many other investments in agricultural R & D by both the public and private sector. Through creating and facilitating innovative and effective public-/private-sector partnerships in key "hubs" in South Asia. CSISA will boost the deployment of existing varieties, hybrids, crop- and aquaculture-related management technologies, and market information. The results from the strategic assessment of R-M systems are already being used in several CSISA hubs.

Gases: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Gases. The editors have built Gases: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Gases in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Gases: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

This two-volume book on biomass is a reflection of the increase in biomass related research and applications, driven by overall higher interest in sustainable energy and food sources, by increased awareness of potentials and pitfalls of using biomass for energy, by the concerns for food supply and by multitude of potential biomass uses as a source material in organic chemistry, bringing in the concept of bio-refinery. It reflects the trend in broadening of biomass related research and an increased focus on second-generation bio-fuels. Its total of 40 chapters spans over diverse areas of biomass research, grouped into 9 themes.

Work continues at two sites in China, the Zhanghe irrigation system (ZIS) in Hubei and the Liuyuankuo irrigation system (LIS) in Henan, and at the Murrumbidgee irrigation area (MIA) in Australia. Progress this year is reported by subproject. However, as we move into the modeling phase of the study, a major focus this coming year will be on integrating activities between subprojects.