Faheem Shehzad Baloch – författare

Nanomaterials for Enhanced Plant-Based Food Production a new release in the Nanomaterial-Plant Interactions series, presents up-to-date insights on the use of nano-enabled agricultural tools from nanofertilizers to nanosensors, including how to balance safety and environmental impact concerns to ensure optimal utilization. The book provides a range of solution options and guides the reader in identifying the most appropriate choice. With state-of-the-art, broad coverage of recent and potential applications, this book covers the most recent advances in the application of nanotechnology toward fulfilling the world's food demands for present and future generations.

Presents the advantages and challenges of utilizing nanomaterials for plant health improvementIncludes coverage of environmental impact concernsHighlights the latest advances and future prospects for improving crop yield for improved food security

However, the recent consumer's (misdirected) focus on gluten content and nutritional value urges scientists to reexamine their knowledge about wheat (i.e., origin, evolution, and general and special quality characteristics), as well as their wild relatives and landraces for newer possible genetic resources.

Wheat (Triticum L.), an annual herbaceous plant in Poacae (Gramineae) family, settles in the Triticeae (Hordeae) subfamily. The grasses (Poaceae Barnhart) are the fifth largest (monocotyledonous flowering) plant family and of great importance for human civilization and life. Cereal crops such as maize, wheat, rice, barley, and millet are the domesticated ones in the family. It is still the most vital economical plant family in modern times, providing food, forage, building materials (bamboo, thatch), and fuel (ethanol). Wheat has many accessions in national and international gene banks. The estimated number of wheats by FAO in 2010 is 856,000, and, followed by rice (774,000), and barley (467,000). However, the recent consumer's (misdirected) focus on gluten content and nutritional value urges scientists to reexamine their knowledge about wheat (i.e., origin, evolution, and general and special quality characteristics), as well as their wild relatives and landraces for newer possible genetic resources. Cultured or non-cultured ancestral wheats: einkorn, emmer, wild emmer, spelt, macha, and vavilovii are still limitedly grown on the higher areas in Turkey, Italy, Germany, Morocco, Israel, and Balkan countries. They are exploited mostly for their desired agronomic, and specific quality. In some cultures, wheat species are believed to be therapeutic, with bioactive compounds that reduce and inhibit stubborn illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer, and cardiovascular diseases. In this book, we summarize the importance of ancestral wheat species, and provide a prospect for their future with special considerations in terms of species conservation and improvement.

Access to food with enough calories and nutrients is a fundamental right of every human. The global population has exceeded 7.8 billion and is expected to pass 10 billion by 2055. Such rapid population increase presents a great challenge for food supply. More grain production is needed to provide basic calories for humans. Thus, it is crucial to produce 60-110% more food to fill the gap between food production and the demand of future generations.Meanwhile food nutritional values are of increasing interest to accommodate industrialized modern lives. The instability of food production caused by global climate change presents another great challenge. The global warming rate has become more rapid in recent decades, with more frequent extreme climate change including higher temperatures, drought, and floods. Our world faces various unprecedented scenarios such as rising temperatures, which causes melting glaciers and the resulting various biotic and abiotic stresses, ultimately leading to food scarcity. In these circumstances it is of utmost importance to examine the genetic basis and extensive utilization of germplasm to develop “climate resilient cultivars” through the application of plant breeding and biotechnological tools. Future crops must adapt to these new and unpredictable environments. Crop varieties resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses are also needed as plant disease, insects, drought, high- and low-temperature stresses are expected to be impacted by climate change. Thus, we need a food production system that can simultaneously satisfy societal demands and long-term development.Since the Green Revolution in the 1960s, farming has been heavily dependent on high input of nitrogen and pesticides. This leads to environmental pollution which is not sustainable in the long run. Therefore, a new breeding scheme is urgently needed to enable sustainable agriculture; including new strategies to develop varieties and crops that have high yield potential, high yield stability, and superior grain quality and nutrition while also using less consumption of water, fertilizer, and chemicals in light of environmental protection. While we face these challenges, we also have great opportunities, especially with flourishing developments in omics technologies. High-quality reference genomes are becoming available for a larger number of species, with some species having more than one reference genome. The genome-wide re-sequencing of diverse varieties enables the identification of core- and pan-genomes. An integration of omics data will enable a rapid and high-throughput identification of many genes simultaneously for a relevant trait. This will change our current research paradigm fundamentally from single gene analysis to pathway or network analysis. This will also expand our understanding of crop domestication and improvement. In addition, with the knowledge gained from omics data, in combination with new technologies liketargeted gene editing, we can breed new varieties and crops for sustainable agriculture.

Access to food with enough calories and nutrients is a fundamental right of every human. The global population has exceeded 7.8 billion and is expected to pass 10 billion by 2055. Such rapid population increase presents a great challenge for food supply. More grain production is needed to provide basic calories for humans. Thus, it is crucial to produce 60-110% more food to fill the gap between food production and the demand of future generations.Meanwhile food nutritional values are of increasing interest to accommodate industrialized modern lives. The instability of food production caused by global climate change presents another great challenge. The global warming rate has become more rapid in recent decades, with more frequent extreme climate change including higher temperatures, drought, and floods. Our world faces various unprecedented scenarios such as rising temperatures, which causes melting glaciers and the resulting various biotic and abiotic stresses, ultimately leading to food scarcity. In these circumstances it is of utmost importance to examine the genetic basis and extensive utilization of germplasm to develop “climate resilient cultivars” through the application of plant breeding and biotechnological tools. Future crops must adapt to these new and unpredictable environments. Crop varieties resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses are also needed as plant disease, insects, drought, high- and low-temperature stresses are expected to be impacted by climate change. Thus, we need a food production system that can simultaneously satisfy societal demands and long-term development.Since the Green Revolution in the 1960s, farming has been heavily dependent on high input of nitrogen and pesticides. This leads to environmental pollution which is not sustainable in the long run. Therefore, a new breeding scheme is urgently needed to enable sustainable agriculture; including new strategies to develop varieties and crops that have high yield potential, high yield stability, and superior grain quality and nutrition while also using less consumption of water, fertilizer, and chemicals in light of environmental protection. While we face these challenges, we also have great opportunities, especially with flourishing developments in omics technologies. High-quality reference genomes are becoming available for a larger number of species, with some species having more than one reference genome. The genome-wide re-sequencing of diverse varieties enables the identification of core- and pan-genomes. An integration of omics data will enable a rapid and high-throughput identification of many genes simultaneously for a relevant trait. This will change our current research paradigm fundamentally from single gene analysis to pathway or network analysis. This will also expand our understanding of crop domestication and improvement. In addition, with the knowledge gained from omics data, in combination with new technologies liketargeted gene editing, we can breed new varieties and crops for sustainable agriculture.

Sustainable food production is vital to ensure food and nutritional security to growing human population. Recently, there has been a shift in agricultural production system, crop production is not only considering yield as primary interest to produce higher number of calories for reducing hunger, but also more nutrient-rich food to reduce malnutrition or “hidden hunger”. Micronutrient malnutrition is a continuing and serious public health problem in many countries, various Interventions to alleviate this problem have been implemented. Biofortification, the process of breeding nutrients into food crops, provides a comparatively cost effective, sustainable, and long-term means of delivering more micronutrients. Legumes have higher protein content than most plant foods approximately twice than cereals and are rich in the key micronutrients folate, niacin, thiamine, calcium, iron and zinc. This book summarizes the biofortification of legumes. Detailed information through contributed chapters shed light on legumes research relevant to human health, with key topics that include genomic and genetic resources for food security, conventional and modern breeding approaches for improving nutrition, agronomic traits and biotechnological interventions.

Sustainable food production is vital to ensure food and nutritional security to growing human population.

The global population is projected to exceed 9 billion by 2050, leading to imminent food shortages not only for the current but also future generations. Anticipated increases in appetite coming 50 years will pose significant challenges to food production. This demand will exert additional pressure on agriculture for the escalating need for food. On one hand, research indicates a 60% increase in food production is necessary to accommodate the projected 9 billion people, on the other hand, a substantial portion of the population is grappling with various micronutrient deficiencies, such as iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin A, and folic acid, a condition referred to as "hidden hunger." Hence, it is imperative to exert substantial efforts towards developing improved cultivars under enhanced technological conditions.Concerns about climate change are anticipated to profoundly affect soil water availability, carbon storage, and crop yields. Droughts in the Mediterranean and Africa are expected to worsen during certain seasons. Each year, climate change leads to substantial losses in agricultural production, with a worsening scenario in the future.Wheat breeding has witnessed significant advancements with the wheat genomics, whole-genome sequencing, high-throughput phenotyping, genome-editing technologies, and marker-assisted breeding. These enable genome-based breeding to produce higher enough yielding by 2050. Speed breeding has a crucial role in the incorporation of new genes into breeding pipelines, facilitating the creation of innovative homozygous advanced lines, and accelerating the identification and functional characterization of new genes.Climate change and recent technological advancements necessitate efficient utilization of remote sensing, digital tools, and artificial intelligence approaches, have gained prominence in wheat agriculture. This book aims to encompass both past and upcoming research activities in this domain. It serves as a valuable resource for wheat breeders interested in leveraging modern data technologies in their research endeavours.

Global human population is increasing rapidly, and it has been estimated to reached 9.7 billion by year 2050. With this massive population growth, the greatest challenge is sustainable food production. The traditional agriculture system does not have capacity to meet growing food demand therefore, it is emergent to introduce emerging technologies helping farming community to precisely utilize the resources to ensure food security under climate change conditions. The technological revolution of 21st century has transformed every sector of life with no exception to agriculture. The application of recent technical concepts i.e., Internet of things, cloud computing, big data, data mining and artificial intelligence had helped farming community to make smart decisions and actions for resolving complex problems of agriculture. Precision agriculture involves the utilization of sensors, drones, and satellite imagery for monitoring for monitoring crop health, soil conditions and weather patterns therefore, integration of artificial intelligence and data science-based technologies can improve sustainability, productivity, and climate resilience.  The utilization of data sciences in precision agriculture represents a radical turn toward knowledge-based decision making. The application of data science concepts can help farming community to optimize the resource allocation, real time crops monitoring, efficiently and timely harvesting and yield prediction. This synergy will not only enhance the productivity but can also promote sustainable agricultural practices.The book covers the latest developments taking place on application of data sciences for precision agriculture. It specifically focuses on the technological innovations for improving decision making, and cover various fields of data sciences and their application in agriculture production system.

This contributed book covers forage crops grown in different parts of the world and focuses on the use of biotechnological and genomic techniques for breeding forage crops and their application in these crops.Forage crops are grown specifically to be utilized as feed for livestock and are typically high in nutritional value. They play a crucial role in animal husbandry, providing essential nutrients for the health and productivity of livestock, and are essential for sustainable livestock farming, as they can reduce reliance on purchased feeds and promote efficient nutrient cycling within agricultural systems. They also contribute to soil conservation and can be integrated into crop rotation systems to improve overall farm productivity and resilience. Forage crop research has seen significant advancements in the omics era, which encompasses disciplines such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and others. These technologies have revolutionized the way we understand, breed, and manage forage crops, leading to improvements in yield, quality, and resilience. This book covers the application of genomics, biotechnology, and the digital revolution in most forage crop species. The application of DNA molecular markers in these groups of plants has been elaborated. Further topics include the use of transgenic technology and genome editing in forage crops. The book also discusses the possibility of artificial intelligence application for precise breeding and production of forage crops.This book will serve as an essential resource for work done in recent years on the use of genomics and biotechnological applications for forage crop improvement strategies. Students, scientists, and breeding communities with an interest in forage crop cultivation, breeding, and the application of novel biotechnological approaches for the development of climate-resilient cultivars will find this book useful.

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This edited book is focused on Sustainable Development Goal 2, which aims to achieve 'Zero Hunger.' It provides deep insights into the global sorghum status, limitations to its production, advancements in agronomic practices, and the application of high-throughput phenotyping technologies.Sorghum plays a vital role in global food security, agricultural sustainability, and rural livelihoods, making it an important crop for both developing and developed countries. It is a staple food for millions of people around the world, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions where other crops may struggle to grow. Sorghum exhibits significant genetic diversity, providing a rich resource for breeding programs aimed at developing improved varieties with traits such as higher yield, disease resistance, and nutritional quality. The book enhances readers' understanding of classical breeding methods and their role in sorghum improvement. It also focuses on the contribution of OMICs and biotechnological approaches to sorghum improvement. Detailed information about the genetic and genomic resources of sorghum provided is helpful for the scientific community to utilize in sorghum breeding. Chapters highlight sorghum genome sequencing, transgenic and hybrid sorghum, and the application of genome editing.This book is useful to the breeding community, serving as a resource for interdisciplinary research groups such as geneticists, breeders, biotechnologists, bioinformaticians, and students, supporting them in accelerating their activities related to sorghum breeding.

The topics included in the book cover information about different bioenergy crops, their classification and use as biofuel, agronomic practices to improve biomass yield, classic breeding techniques, genetic diversity, current status and future perspective of bioenergy crops in the omics era.