Chapters authored
Seed Priming: The Way Forward to Mitigate Abiotic Stress in Crops
Abiotic stress is a major threat to the farming community, biasing the crop productivity in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The seed is an important component of agriculture, contributing significantly to the booming production of food and feed crops across the different agro-ecological regions of the world with constant challenges with reference to production, storage, and quality control. Germination, plant growth, and development via non-normal physiological processes are detrimentally affected by stress. Seed priming is an alternative, low cost, and feasible technique, which can improve various abiotic stress tolerances through enhanced and advanced seed production. Seed priming is a process that involves imbibing seed with a restricted amount of water to allow sufficient hydration and advancement of metabolic processes but preventing germination. The beneficial influence of priming on the germination performance of diverse species is attributed to the induction of biochemical mechanisms of cell repair: the resumption of metabolic activity that can re-impose cellular integrity, through the synthesis of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and proteins and the improvement of the antioxidant defense system metabolic damage incurred by dry seed and thus fortifying the metabolic machinery of the seed. With this background, this chapter highlights the morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of seed priming and recent advances in priming methods as a tool to combat abiotic stress in crop plants.
Part of the book: Plant Stress Physiology
The Rising Threat of Invasive Alien Plant Species in Agriculture
A species is considered to be invasive if it establishes, persists, and spreads widely inside a natural ecosystem, stunting the growth of native plants and giving them room to overtake crops and native plants. Non-native plant species that have been brought into a new geographic area and have a negative effect on the ecosystems supporting horticulture and agriculture are known as invasive plant species. Invasive/noxious weeds, which are widely distributed in many types of ecosystems, significantly reduce crop production. Compared to native species, invading plant species have a higher potential to move their niche more rapidly and are more likely to adapt to new environments. The timing, speed, and longevity of seed germination have indeed been discovered to change as a result of climate change, which has consequences for plant invasions. More than native plant species, invasive plant species gain from atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) enrichment, greenhouse gas emissions, and global warming. A loss of native biodiversity due to invasive species includes species extinction, changes in hydrology, and altered ecosystem function.
Part of the book: Resource Management in Agroecosystems
Biostimulant Properties of Marine Bioactive Extracts in Plants: Incrimination toward Sustainable Crop Production in Rice
Enhancing productivity through integrated and comprehensive nutrient management is pertinent to sustainable intensification of agricultural ecosystems. The utilization of marine bioactive stimulants has been gaining momentum and impetus in crop agricultural farming system due to their phytoelicitor activity. Liquids biostimulants derived from seaweed evoke defense responses in plants that contribute to resistance to abiotic stresses and challenges like high temperature, salinity, moisture stress, and cold. Seaweed extracts are immensely organic and suitable for growing crops that are both organic and environmentally friendly. Seaweeds provide an abundant source of natural growth substances that can be employed to enhance plant growth. Seaweeds are one of the most significant marine resources of the world, and derived compounds have been extensively used as amendments in crop production systems due to the presence of macronutrients such as Ca, K, and P and micronutrients like Fe, Cu, Zn, B, Mn, Co, and Mo, presence of several plant growth stimulating compounds including cytokinin, auxins, gibberellins, and betaines which are essential for plant growth and development. The purpose of the current chapter is to explore the functional and growth characteristics induced by seaweed extracts in addition to their modes and mechanisms of action in rice crops, which are responsible for elicitor and phytostimulatory activities and boost in grain production and nutrient usage efficiency.
Part of the book: Marine Ecosystems