Plant & Soil Science

Dr. R.O. Parker is currently director and journal editor for North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) and president of the National Agricultural Institute. He is a past director of AgrowKnowledge, the National Center for Agriscience and Technology Education, a project funded by the National Science Foundation. As a former division director at the College of Southern Idaho (CSI), Dr. Parker worked in agriculture, information technology, drafting, and electronics, and taught computer, agriculture, and writing classes. In 1992, he received an honorary state Future Farmers of America (FFA) degree from Idaho, and in 2005, he received an honorary American FFA degree at the 78th National FFA Convention. From 2005 to 2008 he served as a board member of The National Council for Agricultural Education (The Council), and he is the 2008 recipient of the NACTA Distinguished Educator Award and the 2010 recipient of the NACTA Murray Brown Leadership Award. Dr. Parker has authored several Cengage textbooks, including PLANT & SOIL SCIENCE, AQUACULTURE SCIENCE, INTRODUCTION TO PLANT SCIENCE, and INTRODUCTION TO FOOD SCIENCE & FOOD SYSTEMS, among other contributions). He earned his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. in reproductive physiology from Iowa State University, and he completed post-doctoral work at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and the University of Wyoming, Laramie.

Part I: INTRODUCTION TO PLANTS.
1. The Plant Kingdom.
2. Origins of Cultivated Plants.
3. Structure of Cultivated Plants.
4. Anatomy of Plants.
Part II: FUNDAMENTALS OF SOIL SCIENCE.
5. Soil Materials and Formation.
6. Soil Characteristics, Classifications and Use.
7. Soil Fertility and Management.
8. Soil-less Plant Production.
9. Irrigation.
10. Soil and Organic Farming.
Part III: FUNDAMENTALS OF PLANT GROWTH AND PROPAGATION.
11. Temperature.
12. Light.
13. Photosynthesis.
14. Respiration.
15. Basics of Plant Growth.
16. Vegetative Growth.
17. Plant Propagation.
18. Plant Pests.
19. Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.
20. Precision Agriculture and Robotics.
Part IV: CROPS -- APPLIED PLANT SCIENCE.
21. Major Agronomic Crops.
22. Cereal Grains, Forage Grasses and Oil Seeds.
23. Food Legumes and Forage Legumes.
24. Vegetables.
25. Small Fruits.
26. Fruit and Nut Production.
27. Flowers and Foliage.
28. Sod Production.
29. Careers in Plant and Soil Sciences.
Glossary.
Appendices.
Index.