Author Description

Plant breeding during its evolution has been utilizing biodiversity for producing better crops. Nowadays everyone is concerned about saving the biodiversity. Intensive agricultural practices, climate change and Industrialization are having a straight impact on biodiversity. Use of single new improved varieties of crops for large areas is a big threat for crop biodiversity. Modern breeding approaches are also suggesting going back towards the land races and farmer’s varieties for gene hunting for resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. This book includes the description about biodiversity and crop improvement. It also addresses the utilization of plant genetic resources and crop wild relatives for crop improvement through application of traditional plant breeding techniques as well as molecular and genomic approaches. Through this multi authored book an effort has been made to assimilate the most topical results about biodiversity and crop improvement with contemporary plant breeding approaches. Eleven chapters written by leading scientists involved in crop Improvement research worldwide provide sufficient coverage of the major factors impacting utilization of biodiversity for crop improvement.