Plant & Soil Science: Fundamentals And Applications

Soil and crop sensing is a fundamental component and the first important step in precision agriculture. Unless the level of soil and crop variability is known, appropriate management decisions cannot be made and implemented. In the last few decades, various ground-based sensors have been developed to measure spatial variability in soil properties and nutrients, crop growth and yield, and pest conditions. Remote sensing as an important data collection tool has been increasingly used to map soil and crop growth variability as spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions of image data have improved significantly in recent years.

In any ecosystem, plant and microbe interaction is inevitable. They not only co-exist but also support each other’s survival and also provide for sustenance in stressful environment. Agro-ecosystems of many regions around the globe are affected by multi-stress. Major limiting factors affecting the agricultural productivity worldwide are environmental stresses. Apart from decreasing yield they introduce devastating impact on plant growth as well.

This handbook presents how plant in vitro technologies can overcome current limitations in the production of important plant-derived substances. It explains the advantages of plant in vitro technologies, notably the independence from climatic and soil conditions and the ability to synthesize diverse bioactive substances under controlled conditions. Apart from making diverse metabolites, which can be used e.g. as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, colors, biopesticides or food additives, more easily and more efficiently available, the methods described in this handbook also offer the advantage that rare and threatened plants, which provide access to interesting and desired substances, can be better protected, when the substances are harvested from suitable plant in vitro systems.

This handbook presents how plant in vitro technologies can overcome current limitations in the production of important plant-derived substances. It explains the advantages of plant in vitro technologies, notably the independence from climatic and soil conditions and the ability to synthesize diverse bioactive substances under controlled conditions. Apart from making diverse metabolites, which can be used e.g. as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, colors, biopesticides or food additives, more easily and more efficiently available, the methods described in this handbook also offer the advantage that rare and threatened plants, which provide access to interesting and desired substances, can be better protected, when the substances are harvested from suitable plant in vitro systems.

This volume presents research in the field of agricultural engineering technologies and applications in agricultural equipment engineering, biosystem engineering, energy systems engineering, and computers in agriculture. It provides an overview of recent advancements in agricultural engineering and examines key aspects of emerging technologies and their applications. The book explores modern methodologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning for agricultural mechanization.