Understanding and improving crop root function: 90 (Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science, 90) - Tapa dura

Acerca de los autores

Dr Peter J. Gregory is Emeritus Professor of Global Food Security at the University of Reading, UK, where he was previously Professor of Soil Science. Amongst many distinctions, Professor Gregory is a former President of the International Society of Root Research (ISRR) as well as former Chief Executive of the Scottish Crop Research Institute (now part of the James Hutton Institute) and East Malling Research (now NIAB-EMR). He is internationally-renowned for his research in soil and crop root science.

Tom Beeckman received his master’s degree in Botany from the University of Ghent, Belgium, in 1985 and completed his Belgian interuniversity postgraduate education in Marine Biology in 1989. After performing postdoctoral research at the Laboratory of Genetics (Ghent University), he became Group Leader of the Root Development Group at the Flanders Institute of Biotechnology (VIB) in 2001. He then became a Professor at Ghent University in 2007, teaching plant developmental biology. His current work aims to understand how the branching pattern of roots becomes established by disentangling the molecular basis of lateral root spacing mechanisms that guarantee an optimal uptake.

Amanda Rasmussen is Assistant Professor in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham. She obtained her PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia (2011) before embarking on a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship at the University of Ghent (Belgium), followed by a Newton International Fellowship and the Nottingham Research Fellowship both at the University of Nottingham (UK).

Professor Malcolm Hawkesford is head of the Plant Sciences Department at Rothamsted Research and leads the Institutes contribution to the UK Designing Future Wheat strategic research programme. He is a Honorary Professor in Plant Sciences in the School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham. He is an investigator on multiple international programmes with Brazil and India, is a lead investigator in the Defra-funded Wheat Genetic Improvement Network, participates in multiple BBSRC-funded projects aimed at optimizing resource use in wheat and is the lead scientist for major wheat GMO field experiments at Rothamsted. He is chair of the Nutrient Use Efficiency Expert Working Group of the International Wheat Initiative.

Dr Long Li is a professor in Agroecology at China Agricultural University currently. He has endeavoured to explore the ecological principle of agricultural intercropping, at the same time, and to focus at using the principle to develop intensively ecological agriculture.

De la contraportada

Recent decades have seen a dramatic increase in research on plant roots. A deeper understanding of the complex ways roots interact with soils is making it possible to design roots to optimise nutrient/water uptake in low-input environments as well as deliver other benefits such as improved soil health and reduced nutrient leaching. This collection summarises the wealth of current research in this important area and how it can contribute to more sustainable, climate-smart crop production.

Part 1 in this collection reviews recent research on understanding root system architecture and growth together key interactions in the rhizosphere. Chapters cover topics such as measurement and modelling techniques, root architecture, root growth regulators, root anatomy and nutrient acquisition. Part 2 assesses how roots respond to biotic stresses such as parasites, pathogens nematodes. Part 3 summarises what we know about root uptake of water and key nutrients such as nitrogen and, phosphorus Part 4 explores how this understanding can be used to optimise root function. Chapters cover topics such as phenotyping to identify desirable root traits, exploiting the genetics of root traits, the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM).

With its eminent editor and international array of expert authors, Understanding and improving crop root function will be a standard reference for university researchers in crop physiology and nutrition, government and other agencies supporting agriculture, companies supplying crop nutrition products and services, as well as farmers.

Dr Peter Gregory is Emeritus Professor of Global Food Security at the University of Reading, UK, where he was previously Professor of Soil Science. Amongst many distinctions, Professor Gregory is a former President of the International Society of Root Research (ISRR) as well as former Chief Executive of the Scottish Crop Research Institute (now part of the James Hutton Institute) and East Malling Research (now NIAB-EMR). He is internationally-renowned for his research in soil and crop root science.

De la solapa interior

"The proposed book is timely and highly relevant, given the advances accomplished in this topic over recent years. Its content provides a comprehensive compilation of current knowledge by well-recognized experts in the field. This book promises to be a standard reference for scientists and students in plant and agricultural science around the world. Congratulations."
Dr Philippe Hinsinger, Head of Environment and Agronomy Division, INRA, France

"This book brings together the foremost scientists in plant root research and promises to be a unique one-stop reference for the latest in root research. The chapters and topics are timely and important in exploiting our understanding of plant roots to help solve the resource challenges facing agriculture."
Professor Michelle Watt, University of Bonn, Germany; Director - Institute of Bio and Geosciences 2 (IBG-2), Germany; President of the International Society of Root Research

Recent decades have seen a dramatic increase in research on plant roots. A deeper understanding of the complex ways roots interact with soils is making it possible to design roots to optimise nutrient/water uptake in low-input environments, as well as deliver other benefits such as improved soil health and reduced nutrient leaching. Continued research is needed in this important area so that it can contribute to more sustainable, climate-smart crop production.

Understanding and improving crop root function features authoritative reviews of current research in all aspects of root science, including root growth regulators, root anatomy, nutrient acquisition and root system architecture. This collection discusses the responses of plant roots to abiotic and biotic stresses and how understanding nutrient uptake can be exploited to optimise root function. The book concludes with a dedicated section on methods used to improve crop root function and crop nutrient use efficiency, such as the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).

With its eminent editor and international array of expert authors, Understanding and improving crop root function will be a standard reference for university researchers in crop physiology and nutrition, government and other agencies supporting agriculture, companies supplying crop nutrition products and services, as well as farmers.

Dr Peter Gregory is Emeritus Professor of Global Food Security at the University of Reading, UK, where he was previously Professor of Soil Science. Amongst many distinctions, Professor Gregory is a former President of the International Society of Root Research (ISRR) as well as former Chief Executive of the Scottish Crop Research Institute (now part of the James Hutton Institute) and East Malling Research (now NIAB-EMR). He is internationally-renowned for his research in soil and crop root science.