Soybean

is working as Senior Agronomist (Pulses) (equivalent to Professor) in the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. He received his BSc Agri. (Hons.) and MSc Agronomy degrees from the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India and he was scholarship holder. He did his PhD from the University of Wales, Bangor, United Kingdom on Commonwealth Scholarship where he studied the effects of herbicides on biological nitrogen fixation in peas (Pisum sativum). He has about 20 years experience of working on various grain legumes at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. His main areas of research include conservation agriculture, planting method and planting time, weed management, nutrient management, plant population and planting geometry, water management, etc. He has given very useful recommendations to farmers for raising productivity of their grain legume crops and reducing the cost of cultivation. He is actively involved in teaching of Agronomy courses to students as well as extension education programmes for farmers. He also worked with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) at its Regional Office for Central Asia and the Caucasus, Tashkent, Uzbekistan for one year (2005-2006) where he worked as Technical Coordinator of an Asian Development Bank funded project on 'Improving rural livelihoods through efficient water and soil fertility management in Central Asia'.

• Part I: History and Importance 1: The Origin and History of Soybean 2: The Role of Soybean in Agriculture Part II: Botany, Genetics and Physiology 3: Soybean Growth and Development 4: Soybean Genetic Resources 5: Varietal Improvement in Soybean 6: Soybean Yield Physiology: Principles and Processes of Yield Production Part III: Production 7: Agro-techniques for Soybean Production 8: Nutrient Management in Soybean 9: Water Management in Soybean 10: Weed Management in Soybean 11: Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Soybean 12: Storage of Soybean Part IV: Protection 13: Diseases of Soybean and Their Management 14: Insect Pests of Soybean and Their Management 15: Nematodes of Soybean and Their Management Part V: Utilization 16: Soybean Processing and Utilization 17: Nutritional Value of Soybean 18: Uses of Soybean: Products and Preparation 19: Vegetable Soybean Part VI: Marketing and Trade 20: Global Soybean Marketing and Trade: a Situation and Outlook Analysis