Explore the vast range of titles available.

An understanding of the mineral nutrition of plants is of fundamental importance in both basic and applied plant sciences. The Third Edition of this book retains the aim of the first in presenting the principles of mineral nutrition in the light of current advances. This volume retains the structure of the first edition, being divided into two parts: Nutritional Physiology and Soil-Plant Relationships. In Part I, more emphasis has been placed on root-shoot interactions, stress physiology, water relations, and functions of micronutrients. In view of the worldwide increasing interest in plant-soil interactions, Part II has been considerably altered and extended, particularly on the effects of external and interal factors on root growth and chapter 15 on the root-soil interface. The third edition will be invaluable to both advanced students and researchers.

Background: Mexico is innovating in the livestock industry through in vitro generation of bovine embryos with technologies such as well-of-the-well (WOW) and polyester mesh (PM) single-embryo culture systems. These techniques allow to maintain embryos in separate areas of a shared culture medium. Objective: To compare the quantity and quality of bovine embryos produced in WOW and PM culture systems versus the conventional (CG) culture system. Methods: In total, 345 embryos fertilized in vitro were evaluated for blastocyst yield in the three culture systems. To count blastocyst cell numbers, 69 embryos in each system were differentially stained for trophectoderm (TE), inner cell mass (ICM), and apoptotic cells. A qPCR gene expression analysis was performed for embryos in all three systems. Results: The WOW, PM and CG systems developed similar amount of blastocysts (41, 35 and 36%, respectively; p>0.05). Blastocysts in all three systems showed adequate amounts of ICM and apoptotic cells. Blastocysts in the PM system showed a greater number of TE cells [63.7 versus 58.6% in the CG system (p<0.05)]. Relative mRNA expression of the embryonic genes POUF5F1, GNAS and TP53 did not differ significantly among systems (p>0.05). The ATP5B expression was higher in WOW than in PM (p<0.05), but similar to CG (p>0.05). The TJP3 expression was higher in PM than in WOW and CG (p<0.05). Expression of ID2 and CLDN4 was higher in WOW than in PM and CG (p<0.05). The biplot graphic from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that CG was located near degenerated embryos, whereas PM was located near arrested embryos, larger ICM and TE, and TJP3 expression. The WOW was located toward blastocysts, morulae, and expression of CLDN4, ID2 and GNAS. Conclusion: Compared with CG, both the PM and WOW systems are good options for culturing single embryos in the bovine model. Moreover, the PCA results suggest that embryos developed in the WOW system have greater capacity for generating blastocysts with increased ability to form TE and ICM layers, which might improve implantation.

In this work, analyses are performed on international reports applicable to Argentina regarding the use of biomass for energy generation. More specific trends in the national context are also analyzed, and then a more detailed study is performed for Córdoba, one of the three provinces in the so-called Central Region. Córdoba was chosen not only due to its large availability of biomass and wide range of agricultural production, but also because of its favorable regulation promoting energy generation with regional biomass. It becomes clear that projects using dry biomass are very limited in number and scale in this province. Considering previous studies, including articles by the authors on energy applications of regional biomass such as sorghum, esparto grass or corn, it can be hinted that the use of dry biomass resources for energy generation is well below the capacity in the chosen province. En este trabajo, se evalúan informes internacionales sobre el uso de biomasa para generación de energía en Argentina. También se analizan tendencias específicas del contexto nacional y luego se estudia más detalladamente Córdoba, una de las tres provincias de la denominada Región Centro. Se elige Córdoba no solo por su gran disponibilidad de biomasa y amplia variedad de producción agrícola, sino también por su normativa favorable para promover la generación de energía con biomasa regional. Resulta evidente que los proyectos con biomasa seca son muy limitados en cantidad y escala en esta provincia. Teniendo en cuenta estudios previos, incluso artículos de los autores sobre aplicaciones energéticas de biomasa regional como sorgo, espartillo o maíz, se revela que el aprovechamiento de los recursos de biomasa seca para generación de energía está muy por debajo de la capacidad de la provincia seleccionada.

Over half of the European landscape is under agricultural management and has been for millennia. Many species and ecosystems of conservation concern in Europe depend on agricultural management and are showing ongoing declines. Agri‐environment schemes (AES) are designed partly to address this. They are a major source of nature conservation funding within the European Union (EU) and the highest conservation expenditure in Europe. We reviewed the structure of current AES across Europe. Since a 2003 review questioned the overall effectiveness of AES for biodiversity, there has been a plethora of case studies and meta‐analyses examining their effectiveness. Most syntheses demonstrate general increases in farmland biodiversity in response to AES, with the size of the effect depending on the structure and management of the surrounding landscape. This is important in the light of successive EU enlargement and ongoing reforms of AES. We examined the change in effect size over time by merging the data sets of 3 recent meta‐analyses and found that schemes implemented after revision of the EU's agri‐environmental programs in 2007 were not more effective than schemes implemented before revision. Furthermore, schemes aimed at areas out of production (such as field margins and hedgerows) are more effective at enhancing species richness than those aimed at productive areas (such as arable crops or grasslands). Outstanding research questions include whether AES enhance ecosystem services, whether they are more effective in agriculturally marginal areas than in intensively farmed areas, whether they are more or less cost‐effective for farmland biodiversity than protected areas, and how much their effectiveness is influenced by farmer training and advice? The general lesson from the European experience is that AES can be effective for conserving wildlife on farmland, but they are expensive and need to be carefully designed and targeted.

The need for food production worldwide is constantly increasing, generating a deterioration of the environment, which requires the implementation of less harmful crop management techniques, one of these strategies is the use of microorganisms with the potential to increase plant growth. The evaluation of the effect of inoculation in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seeds of nine fungal strains (HC1, HC2, HC3, HC4, LBH1, LBH33, LBH59, LBH9 and VP) was proposed. The seeds were sown in two types of tray sizes (128 and 200 alveoli) and the percentage of germination, stem length and diameter, root length, aerial and root dry weight were measured after five weeks of growth. The results show that the HC2 and LBH9 strains have the greatest potential to increase the variables evaluated under the study conditions. Just as there are strains that increase the growth of plants, there are also those that inhibit it, which makes it necessary to evaluate them in different crops to generate a proper management of them, optimizing the use of resources and, in turn, producing crops with better development of aerial parts and roots and, consequently, higher productivity. La necesidad de producción de alimentos en todo el mundo aumenta constantemente generando un deterioro del medio ambiente, que requiere la implementación de técnicas de manejo de cultivos menos dañinas, Una de estas estrategias es el uso de microorganismos con el potencial de aumentar el crecimiento de las plantas. Fue propuesto la evaluación del efecto de la inoculación en semillas de pimentón (Capsicum annuum L.) con nueve cepas de hongos (HC1, HC2, HC3, HC4, LBH1, LBH33, LBH59, LBH9 y VP). Las semillas se sembraron en dos tipos de bandeja de siembra (128 y 200 alvéolos) y el porcentaje de germinación, longitud y diámetro del tallo, longitud de la raíz, peso seco aéreo y de la raíz, se midieron después de cinco semanas de crecimiento.  Los resultados muestran que las cepas HC2 y LBH9 tienen el mayor potencial para aumentar las variables evaluadas bajo las condiciones del estudio. Del mismo modo que hay cepas que aumentan el crecimiento de las plantas, hay otras que las inhiben, lo que hace necesario evaluarlas en diferentes cultivos para generar un manejo adecuado de las mismas, optimizando el uso de los recursos y, a su vez, produciendo cultivos con un mejor desarrollo de las partes aéreas y las raíces y, en consecuencia, una mayor productividad.

The absence of knowledge regarding the intervals of macro-nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) applied to corn is one of the flaws that do not allow us to take advantage of the potential of certified seeds, which is complicated even more so when the appropriate experimental designs are not used to establish the said intervals. Faced with this situation, this trial was developed with an incomplete second-order factorial arrangement called central compound design (DCC), in order to identify macro-nutrient intervals for greater corn production. A randomized complete block distribution was used in which 15 formulations (treatments) of N-P-K were tested with three repetitions of each one and the dry grain yield was evaluated as a response variable. The data were evaluated by means of analysis of variance to detect linear and quadratic effects, the respective response surfaces and contour graphs were obtained and a second order model was fitted. It was found that the highest corn yields, between 10 to 11 t/ha, were obtained when applying between 110 to 140 kg/ha of nitrogen, from 50 to 70 kg/ha of phosphorus and from 100 to 140 kg/ha of potassium; in addition to corroborating the goodness of the DCC when the limits of experimental operation of the study factors are known.

Disinfection and callus induction in forest species is essential to improve genetic production. Although multiple methods exist, their application in forest plants requires further research. Therefore, this study focused on the effect of disinfection, leaf development and phytohormones on callus induction in Simarouba amara. The study was structured in two experiments. In the first experiment, the efficacy of leaflet disinfection was evaluated using a completely randomized design with three sodium hypochlorite treatments (0 %, 0.25 % and 0.5 %). The second experiment, focused on callus induction, was developed under a 3 x 6 factorial design, which included three stages of leaf development (young, intermediate and mature) and six combinations of phytohormones (BAP, TDZ, 2,4-D, BAP+TDZ, BAP+2,4-D, TDZ+2,4-D, all at 1 mg/L). The main results showed that 0.25 % sodium hypochlorite achieved 88.9 % asepsis, with a lower percentage of oxidation (17 %). It was observed that, combinations of BAP+2,4-D and TDZ+2,4-D promoted higher callus formation, increased callus area and fresh and dry matter production, especially in segments of intermediate leaf development stage. This study highlights the importance of adjusting disinfectant and phytohormones according to leaf development stage for successful callus induction in Simarouba amara.

Crop and livestock depredation by wildlife is a primary driver of human-wildlife conflict, a problem that threatens the coexistence of people and wildlife globally. Understanding mechanisms that underlie depredation patterns holds the key to mitigating conflicts across time and space. However, most studies do not consider imperfect detection and reporting of conflicts, which may lead to incorrect inference regarding its spatiotemporal drivers. We applied dynamic occupancy models to elephant crop depredation data from India between 2005 and 2011 to estimate crop depredation occurrence and model its underlying dynamics as a function of spatiotemporal covariates while accounting for imperfect detection of conflicts. The probability of detecting conflicts was consistently <1.0 and was negatively influenced by distance to roads and elevation gradient, averaging 0.08-0.56 across primary periods (distinct agricultural seasons within each year). The probability of crop depredation occurrence ranged from 0.29 (SE 0.09) to 0.96 (SE 0.04). The probability that sites raided by elephants in primary period t would not be raided in primary period t + 1 varied with elevation gradient in different seasons and was influenced negatively by mean rainfall and village density and positively by distance to forests. Negative effects of rainfall variation and distance to forests best explained variation in the probability that sites not raided by elephants in primary period t would be raided in primary period t + 1. With our novel application of occupancy models, we teased apart the spatiotemporal drivers of conflicts from factors that influence how they are observed, thereby allowing more reliable inference on mechanisms underlying observed conflict patterns. We found that factors associated with increased crop accessibility and availability (e.g., distance to forests and rainfall patterns) were key drivers of elephant crop depredation dynamics. Such an understanding is essential for rigorous prediction of future conflicts, a critical requirement for effective conflict management in the context of increasing human–wildlife interactions. La depredación de cultivos y ganado por parte de animales silvestres es un conductor principal del conflicto humano – animales silvestres, un problema que amenaza la coexistencia de la gente y la vida silvestre a nivel global. Entender los mecanismos que son la base de los patrones de depredación es la clave para mitigar los conflictos a lo largo del tiempo y el espacio. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los estudios no consideran la detección imperfecta y el reporte de conflictos, lo que puede llevar a la interferencia incorrecta con respecto a los conductores espacio-temporales. Aplicamos modelos dinámicos de ocupación a datos de depredación de cultivos por elefantes en India desde 2005 y hasta 2011 para estimar la incidencia de depredación de cultivos y modelar sus dinámicas como una función de covarianzas espacio-temporales mientras representan la detección imperfecta de los conflictos. La probabilidad de detectar conflictos fue constantemente <1.0 y estuvo influenciada negativamente por la distancia a las carreteras y el gradiente de elevación, promediando 0.08 – 0.56 en los periodos primarios (temporadas agrícolas distintas dentro de cada año). La probabilidad de la incidencia de depredación de cultivos varió desde 0.29 (SE 0.09) hasta 0.96 (SE 0.04). La probabilidad de que los sitios saqueados por elefantes en un periodo primario t no fueran saqueados en un periodo primario t + 1 varió con el gradiente de elevación en diferentes temporadas y estuvo influenciado negativamente por la precipitación promedio y la densidad de la aldea y positivamente por la distancia al los bosques. Los efectos negativos de la variación en la precipitación y la distancia a los bosques explicaron de mejor manera la variación en la probabilidad de que los sitios no saqueados por elefantes en el periodo primario t serían saqueados en el periodo primario t + 1. Con nuestra novedosa aplicación de los modelos de ocupación, separamos a los conductores espacio-temporales de los factores que influyen en cómo son observados, permitiendo así la inferencia más fiable de los mecanismos que son la base de los patrones observados de los conflictos. Encontramos que los factores asociados con el incremento en la disponibilidad y accesibilidad de los cultivos (p. ej.: la distancia a los bosques y los patrones de precipitación) fueron conductores clave en las dinámicas de depredación de cultivos de los elefantes. Tal entendimiento es esencial para una predicción rigurosa de conflictos futuros, un requerimiento crítico para el manejo efectivo de conflictos en el contexto de las crecientes interacción humano – animales silvestres.