Recent Advances in Crop Physiology Vol. 2

Global food demand is expected to be doubled by 2050, while production, environment and natural resources are shrinking and deteriorating. Inadequate attention to agriculture across the larger part of the world has led to steep rise in food prices and increased food riots pushing about 100 million more people into poverty. More than one billion people already are earning less than one dollar a day, and 842 million are suffering from hunger. Majority of them live in rural areas, and are largely dependent on agriculture. The climate change and diversion of arable lands to urbanization and industrialization has further aggravated food crisis. On the other hand, with recent technologies, there is tremendous development in agriculture and productivity during the last two decades and it is hoped that with ingenuity, determination and innovative partnerships among everyone, we can meet the food needs of 9 billion people by 2050 without harming our planet. Using tools and technologies that allow farmers to apply nutrients more precisely at lower cost, improved seeds with less water and nutrients, new fertilizers, site specific nutrient management, effectively placed wetlands and buffers, and cover crops, we can meet the intertwined needs of environmental sustainability and rising food demand. However, all these informations are scattered and need to be compiled and circulated widely. This series on "Recent Advances in Crop Physiology" is an effort in this direction, which will act as a reference for directly implementing the technologies and to help the researchers for planning their future research.