Advances in Agronomy (eBook)

Cover 1
Copyright Page 5
Contents 6
Contributors 14
Preface 16
Chapter 1. Forces Between Minerals and Biological Surfaces in Aqueous Solution 18
I. Introduction „ Forces in Nature 19
II. Fundamental Forces at the Interface of Biological Particles and Inorganic Surfaces 21
III. Force Curve Theory and Collecting Force Data 28
IV. Forces at the Biomolecule–Mineral Interface 44
V. Forces at the Bacterium–Mineral Interface 52
VI. Future Work 61
Acknowledgments 62
References 63
Chapter 2. Rice Functional Genomics: Large-Scale Gene Discovery and Application to Crop Improvement 72
I. Introduction 73
II. Rice as a Model Genetic System 76
III. Rice Genome 81
IV. Key Ingredients for Gene Discovery in Rice 86
V. Forward and Reverse Genetics 90
VI. Functional Validation of Rice Genes 106
VII. Applications to Crop Improvement 112
VIII. International Collaboration and the Role 115
IX. Concluding Remarks 117
Acknowledgments 118
References 119
Chapter 3. The Nature,Properties and Managment of Volcanic Soils 130
I. Introduction 131
II. Volcanic Soil Distribution 133
III. Soil Genesis in Volcanic Materials 135
IV. Soil Classification 140
V. Chemical Weathering 144
VI. Mineralogical Characteristics 151
VII. Selected Chemical Characteristics of Volcanic Soils 162
VIII. Productivity and Management of Volcanic Soils 167
References 184
Chapter 4. Microarray Technology and Applications in Environmental Microbiology 200
I. Introduction 201
II. Microarray Types and Advantages 204
III. Microarray Fabrication 207
IV. Microarray Hybridization and Detection 222
V. Microarray Image Processing 231
VI. Microarray Data Analysis 236
VII. Using Microarrays to Monitor Genomic Expression 248
VIII. Application of Microarrays to Environmental Studies 259
IX. Concluding Remarks 275
References 276
Chapter 5. The Agronomy and Economy of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.)„The "King of Spice" 288
I. Introduction 290
II. The Pepper Plant „ Its Botany and Chemistry 296
III. Pepper Agronomy 305
IV. The Role of The Nutrient Buffer Power ConceptŽ in Pepper Nutrition 313
V. Establishing a Pepper Plantation 323
VI. Pepper Pests and Their Control 328
VII. The Processing of Black Pepper On-Farm 339
VIII. An Account of Indonesian Pepper Processing 345
IX. Industrial Processing of Black Pepper 347
X. The Future of the Global Pepper Economy 356
XI. Pepper Economy in India 364
XII. Pepper Pharmacopoeia 372
XIII. Consumer Products Out of Black Pepper 382
XIV. Value Addition in Pepper 382
XV. Conclusions and a Peep Into Pepper’s Future 386
Acknowledgment 389
References 390
Chapter 6. Soil Mineral-Organic Matter-Microorganism Interactions: Fundamentals and Impacts 408
I. Introduction 410
II. Mechanisms of Binding of Nonhumic Organics and Humic Substances by Soil Mineral Colloids 411
III. Influence of Organic Substances on the Formation, Transformation, and Surface Properties of Metal Oxides 417
IV. Role of Soil Minerals in Abiotic Catalysis of the Formation of Humic Substances 423
V. Interactions of Soil Mineral Colloids with Microorganisms 427
VI. Interactions of Soil Colloids with Enzymes 432
VII. Microbial Mediation of Soil Mineral Weathering and Transformation 435
VIII. Interactions of Soil Mineral Colloids with Organic Substances and Microorganisms in Relation to Soil Structure Stability 438
IX. Influence of Mineral Colloids on Biogeochemical Cycling of C, N, P, and S in Soil 443
X. Effects of Interactions between Microorganisms and Soil Colloids on the Transformation of Organic Pollutants 448
XI. Impact of Interactions of Physicochemical, Biochemical, and Biological Processes on Metal Transformation 457
XII. Foreseeable Impacts of Soil Mineral–Organic Matter–Microorganism Interactions on the Ecosystem 464
XIII. Summary and Conclusions 476
Acknowledgment 476
References 477
Chapter 7. Low External Input Technologies for Livelihood Improvement in Substances Agriculture 490
I. Introduction 490
II. The Technologies 493
III. Generic Issues 521
IV. Discussion 543
V. Concluding Remarks 556
Acknowledgments 558
References 558
Chapter 8. Ammonia Emission from Mineral Fertilizers and Fertilized Crops 574
I. Introduction 575
II. Mineral Fertilizer Consumption 577
III. Ammonia Volatilization from Mineral Fertilizers 578
IV. Ammonia Emission from Crop Foliage 598
V. Management Strategies 603
VI. Measurement Techniques 615
VII. Conclusions and Perspectives 624
Appendix 626
Acknowledgment 628
References 628
Index 640