American Society of Agronomy

Response of crops to limited water; understanding and modeling water stress effects on plant growth processes.

The new series is produced jointly by American societies for agronomy, crop science, and soil science, and will emphasize transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and its synthesis to solve practical problems. Here the issue is how irrigated agriculture can sustain productivity and meet the growing need for food and fiber as the water available for irrigation is reduced by global climate change. Contributing scientists look in particular at the research knowledge and technologies that are needed for the task. Their answers fall into the broad categories of conserving rain water and irrigation water, preserving groundwater and soil quality by preventing salinity, and increasing the efficiency of water use. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Sulfur; a missing link between soils, crops, and nutrition.

Jez (biology, Washington U., St. Louis and the Danforth Center) and more than 30 co-contributors offer an overview of the relationship between sulfur and nutrition in crops, animals, and humans. More specifically, the book pertains to the central role of sulfur as a link between crop yield and quality, animal feed value, and the human diet. The text is amply supported with graphs, tables, and illustrations. Chapters include extensive reference listings. Some topics included in this monograph are soil sulfur cycling n temperate agricultural systems, history of sulfur deficiency in crops, sulfur and cysteine metabolism, sulfur management for soybean production, sulfur nutrition and wheat quality, and a future crop biotechnology view of sulfur and selenium. While very technical, the book is written is written in a clear, readable style. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)