PUBLICATIONS
PUBLICATIONS
Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas
Editors
Abstract:
Bananas are a key food source for millions, whilst their production supports the livelihood of farmers across the globe. However, recent research has identified the vulnerability of particular banana varieties to major pests and diseases. With the banana industry under threat of extinction, more research is required into understanding the biology of the pests and diseases that pose this threat so that more effective management strategies can be developed and the risk of future outbreaks reduced.
Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas Volume 3: Diseases and pests provides a comprehensive review of the major pests and diseases affecting global banana production including Tropical Race 4, black Sigatoka and banana streak virus. The book explores existing methods for pest/disease diagnosis and identification, current management strategies used to control and/or prevent outbreaks, as well as the development of disease-resistant cultivars and integrated pest and disease management programmes.
Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas
Editors
Abstract:
Bananas are the world’s most exported and valuable fruit. However, banana production faces a number of challenges, including a very narrow genetic base for commercial cultivation which leaves the crop highly vulnerable to a range of diseases and other stresses. There is an urgent need to improve existing and develop new varieties which retain key yield and quality characteristics whilst improving resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses. The book begins with a discussion of progress in identifying and broadening the genetic base for Musa species. Chapters review ways of classifying banana cultivars, exploiting current collections of germplasm and collecting and evaluating wild Musa species and landraces. Parts 3 and 4 review advances in both conventional and recent molecular breeding techniques and their application in producing improved varieties. Topics include improving fertility and other traits in Cavendish, developing hybrid varieties as well as techniques for genetic improvement.
Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas
Volume 1: Cultivation techniques
Editors
Dr Gert H. J. Kema is Professor of Phytopathology and chair at the Laboratory for Phytopathology of Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He initiated and coordinated several international banana research programs focusing on Fusarium wilt of banana and black Sigatoka as well as interdisciplinary research projects and public-private-partnerships on other perennial crops. He is a cofounder of several spin-off companies focusing on banana improvement, disease management and bioprocessing.
Dr André Drenth is Professor in Tropical Plant Pathology and Program Leader for crop protection in the Centre for Horticultural Science at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), at the University of Queensland. He leads several projects on tropical plant diseases and he initiated and led a national Banana Plant Protection Programme set up to protect Australia’s banana industry from the impact of a range of pests and diseases.
Description
This volume reviews key recent research on improving banana cultivation. Part 1 reviews current challenges in banana production. Part 2 surveys ways of improving cultivation practice across the value chain, from propagation to harvesting, packaging and ripening. The final part of the book assesses ways of measuring and improving the environmental i
Understanding and minimising fungicide resistance
Description
The emergence of fungicide resistance is a major challenge facing agriculture. With increasing regulation and costs limiting the development of new fungicides, farmers remain reliant on a relatively small group of working fungicides, many of which are decreasingly effective as major crop disease pathogens develop resistance to them.
Understanding and minimising fungicide resistance provides an authoritative review on the wealth of research on understanding the development of fungicide resistance in agricultural crops and the establishment of preventative measures which can be implemented to limit its spread and the consequent impact of disease on yields. This collection includes ways of understanding and preventing resistance to key groups of fungicides, such as SBI, Qol, SDHI and OSBPI.
Key features
- Reviews good practices for minimising the development of fungicide resistance in crop cultivation
- Provides a comprehensive overview of our current understanding of resistance to the key groups of fungicides used across agriculture
- Considers trends in the development of resistance in key staple crops and advances in techniques to predict future patterns in resistance development
Advances in understanding insect pests affecting wheat and other cereals
Description
With growing concerns surrounding the impact of climate change on both native and invasive pest invasions, coupled with the rising threat of global food insecurity, more research is required to understand the major insect pests of cereals, including how best to control and monitor them.
Advances in understanding insect pests affecting wheat and other cereals provides a comprehensive review of the wealth of research that addresses this challenge. This collection discusses the most recent developments in fundamental and applied research on major pests and shows how better understanding of these pests can be used to improve integrated pest management strategies.
Key features
- Addresses the wealth of research on understanding, managing and monitoring major insect pests affecting cereal crops
- Considers emerging issues facing cereal production, including the arrival of invasive species as a result of climate change
- Explores key advances in understanding plant-insect interactions in infestations of wheat and other cereals
Advances in monitoring of native and invasive insect pests of crops
Description
Insect pests remain a major threat to crop production primarily because of their ability to inflict severe damage on crop yields, as well as their role as key vectors of disease. Early identification of pests is critical to the success of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes and essential for the development of phytosanitary/quarantine regimes to prevent the introduction of invasive insect pests to new environments.
Advances in monitoring of native and invasive insect pests of crops reviews the wealth of research on techniques to monitor and thus prevent threats from both native and invasive insect pests. The book considers recent advances in areas such as sampling, identifying and modelling pest populations.
With its considered approach, the book explores current best practices for the detection, identification and modelling of native and invasive insect pests of crops. The contributors offer farmers informed advice on how to mitigate a growing problem which has been exacerbated as a result of climate change.
Key features
- Highlights the relationship between climate change and the emergence of invasive insect crop pests
- Considers the key challenges facing the identification of crop insect pests and the role of new, emerging technologies in improving the rate of detection (e.g. image-based, DNA barcoding)
- Reviews the establishment of successful integrated pest management (IPM) programmes to control and/or eradicate the existence of invasive species
The ‘Work-Work Balance’ in higher education: between overwork, falling short and the pleasures of multiplicity
ABSTRACT
The neoliberalization of higher education in western countries has led to work intensification, projectification, and work-life balance issues for academics. This article draws on interviews with Digital Humanities practitioners in higher education conducted in 2017–2018 in three Nordic countries to introduce the concept of the ‘work-work balance’, an under-researched phenomenon in contemporary academe. The term ‘work-work balance’ refers to the ways in which workers in higher education seek to balance conflicting concurrent work demands made on them. Four such work scenarios emerged from the data: the 50/50 split across different jobs; working across multiple projects simultaneously; occupying multiple functional roles; and conflicting demands within one job. The article argues that work-work balance, or rather imbalance, issues result in the inability of higher education workers to meet the demands put upon them. This raises questions regarding the role of HEIs and research funding regimes in the generation and maintenance of work-work balance scenarios and suggests that work-work balance issues need to be researched further as well as requiring urgent attention from HEIs and research funders.
"History of Plant Pathology in South Africa", authored by Teresa A Coutinho & Michael J Wingfield
This book covering the history of Plant Pathology in South Africa and also covering the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP) has appropriately been produced during the United Nations 2020 International Year of Plant Health. While it is focused on the history of plant pathology in South Africa, it also captures much of the history of the society that served as a catalyst for the discipline in general.
This book provides a synthesis of the key issues and challenges facing agriculture and food production in Southern Africa.
Southern Africa is facing numerous challenges from diverse issues such as agricultural transformations, growing populations, urbanization and climate change. These challenges place great pressure on food security, agriculture, water availability and other natural resources, as well as impacting biodiversity. Drawing on case studies from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the chapters in this book consider these challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective, covering key areas in constraints to production, the most important building blocks of good farming practices, and established and emerging technologies. This book will be a valuable support for informing new policies and processes aimed at improving food production and security and developing sustainable agriculture in Southern Africa.
This informative volume will be key reading for those interested in agricultural science, African studies, rural studies, development studies and sustainability. It will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and agricultural practitioners.
New Publication (12 October 2021)
Description
It’s been estimated that up to 40% of crop yields are lost to pests and diseases worldwide, a problem exacerbated by increasing fungicide resistance. Given the continuous struggle between crops and the diseases which exploit them, achieving durable disease resistance remains a key challenge in ensuring global food security. A range of issues need to be addressed to meet this challenge for major diseases affecting cereal crops such as Fusarium, barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and Septoria.
Achieving durable disease resistance in cereals provides an authoritative review of key advances, from better understanding of pathogen biology/epidemiology and plant-pathogen interactions, to identifying sources of resistance and advances in techniques for breeding new varieties. This collection offers a comprehensive review of research on achieving durable resistance to diseases such as leaf rust, Fusarium head blight, Septoria tritici blotch, Septoria nodorum blotch, tan spot, blast, BYDV and Ramularia.
Edited by Professor Richard Oliver, Curtin University, Australia, Achieving durable disease resistance in cereals will be an excellent reference for researchers in cereal science, arable farmers, government and private sector agencies supporting cereal production and companies supplying the cereals sector (e.g. seed companies). It complements Integrated disease management of wheat and barley, also edited by Professor Oliver, published by Burleigh Dodds Science in 2018.
This book provides a synthesis of the key issues and challenges facing agriculture and food production in Southern Africa.
Southern Africa is facing numerous challenges from diverse issues such as agricultural transformations, growing populations, urbanization and climate change. These challenges place great pressure on food security, agriculture, water availability and other natural resources, as well as impacting biodiversity. Drawing on case studies from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the chapters in this book consider these challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective, covering key areas in constraints to production, the most important building blocks of good farming practices, and established and emerging technologies. This book will be a valuable support for informing new policies and processes aimed at improving food production and security and developing sustainable agriculture in Southern Africa.
This informative volume will be key reading for those interested in agricultural science, African studies, rural studies, development studies and sustainability. It will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and agricultural practitioners.
