Reproductive Versatility In The Grasses

This 1990 text brings together a detailed review by acknowledged authorities of grass reproductive biology. Essential to contemporary awareness of grasses is an understanding of their role in sustaining ecologically fragile environments, and the relative importance of annual and perennial reproduction is examined here.

An examination of the domestication of grasses and cereals over the last ten thousand years.

Grasses: Systematics and Evolution is a selection of the very best papers from the Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Grass Systematics and Evolution held in Sydney, Australia in 1998. The papers represent some of the leading work from around the world on grasses and include reviews and current research into the comparative biology and classification. All 41 papers have been peer-reviewed and edited.

Dynamics.

Combines new findings on morphological aspects, the latest data on gene function in grasses, and the interaction of grasses with their habitats 45% of all arable land is covered by five grass crops: wheat, maize, rice, barley and sugar cane. This book demonstrates why crops and weeds are growing in characteristic environments today, and looks at how cropping practices may change in the future and how these changes will affect weed spectra. It explains the distribution of grasses and their role for mankind and summarizes our knowledge on grass genomes. Special emphasis is placed on the function of genes at defined developmental stages and in organs of grasses. The development of grasses is then described from the germination to fruit set with many unpublished examples. Grasses: Crops, Competitors and Ornamentals provides readers with a comparative description of selected grass organs (stem, root, leaf, inflorescence) and devotes several chapters to habitats of grasses and morphological characteristics that enable grasses to grow in special environments. In addition, some chapters deal with grasses as crops and weeds, and emphasis is placed on their adaptation to modern agriculture. Predicts how cropping practices may change in the future and how these changes will affect weed spectra Details grasses as crops and weeds, emphasizing their adaptation to modern agriculture Summarizes our knowledge on grass genomes Connects classical morphology with the latest tools in molecular biology as well as ecological aspects determining the wide distribution of grass species today Grasses: Crops, Competitors and Ornamentals will be of great interest to agricultural scientists who want to know more about crops and weeds, grassland specialists and breeders interested in special grass traits, and molecular biologists and ecologists who study the biology and habitat of grasses.

Plant reproductive biology has undergone a revolution during the past five years, with the cloning, sequencing and localization of the genes important in reproduction. These advantages in plant molecular biology have led to exciting applications in plant biotechnology, including the genetic engineering of male sterility and other reproductive processes. This book presents an interesting and contemporary account of these new developments from the scientists in whose laboratories they have been made. The chapters focus on two areas: the molecular biology of self-incompatibility, which is the system of self-recognition controlled by the S-gene and related genes; and the cellular and molecular biology of pollen development and genetic dissection of male sterility. Some chapters feature Arabidopsis, with its unique genetic system. Reproduction is vital for seed production in crop plants, and this book presents new approaches to manipulate plant breeding systems for the 21st century.

Tropical Forage Plants: Development and Use covers the research and resulting pasture development in the tropics and subtropics, which has undergone dramatic changes in the past few decades. Providing a broad, global perspective, it serves as a comprehensive resource covering a wide range of subjects pertaining to forage and animal production in th

Published in association with the International Herbage Seed Production Research Group, this volume and its companion provide the definitive resource for anyone involved in the breeding and commercial production of grass and legume seeds, whether for grazing systems, horticulture or recreation.