Jonathan Gressel - Böcker

"Weeds are rarely considered a priority despite the fact that all active farmers know that the majority of their variable costs and time are devoted to eradicating them. Even most crop losses due to pests can be traced directly back to weeds, which harbor the pests as secondary hosts.In the Molecular Biology of Weed Control, Jonathan Gressel focuses attention upon the tools of molecular biology that can be used effectively in the science of weed control. Always keeping his perspective congruent with that of the working farmer, Gressel explains how weed biologists and ecologists are beginning to use recently developed tools to control intransigent weed species in modern as well as less developed areas of the world. With his usual candor, Gressel evaluates past efforts, while also exploring future prospects for replacing chemical herbicides with genetic engineering, to improve a crop's ability to compete against its feral cousins for light, nutrients, and water.Like much of Gressel's work, this book should be mandatory reading for all agriculturists and plant scientists, so that they employ and encourage what is truly effective and efficient in meeting one of this century's most critical challenges: maximizing agricultural productivity.

As the world's population rises to an expected ten billion in the next few generations, the challenges of feeding humanity and maintaining an ecological balance will dramatically increase. Today we rely on just four crops for 80 percent of all consumed calories: wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans. Indeed, reliance on these four crops may also mean we are one global plant disease outbreak away from major famine. In this revolutionary and controversial book, Jonathan Gressel argues that alternative plant crops lack the genetic diversity necessary for wider domestication and that even the Big Four have reached a "genetic glass ceiling": no matter how much they are bred, there is simply not enough genetic diversity available to significantly improve their agricultural value. Gressel points the way through the glass ceiling by advocating transgenics-a technique where genes from one species are transferred to another. He maintains that with simple safeguards the technique is a safe solution to the genetic glass ceiling conundrum.Analyzing alternative crops-including palm oil, papaya, buckwheat, tef, and sorghum-Gressel demonstrates how gene manipulation could enhance their potential for widespread domestication and reduce our dependency on the Big Four. He also describes a number of ecological benefits that could be derived with the aid of transgenics. A compelling synthesis of ideas from agronomy, medicine, breeding, physiology, population genetics, molecular biology, and biotechnology, Genetic Glass Ceilings presents transgenics as an inevitable and desperately necessary approach to securing and diversifying the world's food supply.

At a time when much of humanity is already but one failed harvest removed from starvation, we cannot afford to ignore any potential danger to food security, especially when that danger poses a threat to rice, the staff of life for so much of the world.Crop Ferality and Volunteerism brings together research pioneers from various disciplines including the crop, plant, and weed sciences to discuss crop ferality and volunteerism. The book provides thorough coverage of crop and plant molecular biology and genetics as it pertains to ferality and weeds. In an exhaustive effort to provide complete and highly useful coverage of this impending crisis, the authors go beyond the science of the problem to discuss the potential economic and social impact of crop ferality, particularly in relationship to rice.Readers will discover a wealth of well-organized and well-written material about the overall biology and management of weeds and weedy crops. Many examples of ferality are considered, because, as the editor states, readers will discover that there is no unified theory of ferality. Thanks to the incredible diversity of the plant kingdom, "Surprises abound in every chapter."

The intent of the NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) entitled “Novel Biotechnologies for Biocontrol Agent Enhancement and Management” was to permit the meeting of the major exponents in the scienti?c community working with enhancing different biological control agents (fungi, bacteria, virus, nematodes, and insects) on different targets (pathogens, insects, weeds, and rodents). This multidisciplinary group, having backgrounds in the diff- ent aspects of biotechnologies (transgenic enhancement, molecular biology, formulation, genetics, risk assessment, new technology, biochemistry, and physiology), presented highly advanced lectures during the 10-day-ASI, in order to allow students to improve their capability to enhance and manage - ological control agents. This approach will allow ASI attendees to bring new ideas, new approaches, or new methodologies coming from different ?elds of application to their own ?eld of expertise. A further aim of the NATO ASI was to create a network of young and experienced scientists, with few geographical barriers among countries, who will develop new opportunities to collaborate in this ?eld of science that requires a “global” collaborative approach. Forty students from twenty countries took part to the NATO ASI. In addition to the 45 lectures from the 15 lecturers, there were 25 short presentations and 8 posters on cogent research from students in this course, held between September 8- 2006 and September 19, 2006.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Novel Biotechnologies for Biocontrol Agent Enhancement and Management, held in Gualdo Tadino, Italy, 8-19 September 2006

This book was written in response to significant recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of parasitism in the Orobanchaceae, and breakthroughs in the control of the parasitic weeds Striga and Orobanche. It consists of 26 contributions by internationally recognized leading scientists. The main book chapters are grouped into two parts:·       Part I – The Orobanchaceae and Their Parasitic Mechanisms·       Part II – The Weedy Orobanchaceae and Their ControlThe first part provides cutting-edge information on all key aspects of plant parasitism, such as the structure, development and function of the haustorium; nutrient transfer and the physiology of the parasite-host association; host reaction to parasitic plants; seed production and germination; the strigolactones and host-parasite signaling mechanisms; the parasite genome, phylogenetics, evolution and epigenetics; and ecology. Topics of the second part include: the problem posed by the weedyparasites; population diversity and dynamics; molecular diagnosis of seed banks; and detailed discussion of the various management strategies, including agronomic, chemical and biotechnological approaches, as well as host breeding for resistance, allelopathy and biological control.  This book is intended for plant scientists, university lecturers and students, agronomists and weed specialists, breeders and farmers, extension personnel and experts in tropical and subtropical agriculture.

This book examines all key aspects of the parasitic syndrome within the Orobanchaceae. It integrates field and laboratory observations as well as presents a comprehensive analysis of available and future strategies for parasitic weed control.