The declining water availability for agriculture is becoming problematic for many countries. Therefore the study of plants under water restriction is acquiring extraordinary importance. Botanists currently follow the dehydration of plants comparing the fresh and dry weight of excised organs, or measuring their osmotic or water potentials; these are destructive methods inappropriate for in-vivo ...

The term apomixis encompasses a suite of processes whereby seeds form asexually in plants. In contrast to sexual reproduction, seedlings arising from apomixis retain the genotype of the maternal parent. The transfer of apomixis and its effective utilization in crop plants (where it is largely absent) has major advantages in agriculture. The hallmark components of apomixis include female gamete ...

Ever since plants colonized land, they evolved mechanisms to respond to changing environmental conditions and settle in extreme habitats. Recent studies show that several plant species require microbial associations for stress tolerance and survival. Although many plants lack the adaptive capability to adapt to stress conditions, the ability of a variety of plants to adapt to stress conditions ...

In this paper we discuss research work that enables the development of mixed societies of communicating plants and artefacts. PLANTS is an EUfunded Research and Development project, which aims to investigate methods of creating “interfaces” between artefacts and plants in order to enable people to form mixed, interacting (potentially co-operating) communities. Amongst others the project aims to...

This paper discusses the medicinal herb industry in relation to conservation of medicinal plants, including an overview of sustainable wildcrafting and sustainable forest agriculture. Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) and Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) are given as examples of wild herbs of economic importance which may be readily cultivated. Includes guidelines and techniques for forest fa...

The paradigm of the response of a biological organism to exposure to stressor agents is hormetic dose response, in which high doses of a stressor are toxic or harmful but low doses are beneficial. The exploitation of this biological characteristic could enable the efficient use of plants in the fields of phytoremediation and agriculture.

last decade as a critical part of the knowledge base for successful and sustainable agricultural production. A key component of biology is the profound plant/mycorrhizal fungi relationship, which has enormous potential for improved management of contemporary farming systems. Although using these fungi has the potential to revolutionize agriculture they are certainly not new in terms of the evol...

Pantoea sp. 1.19, a plant growth-promoting bacterium (PGPB), was isolated from the rhizosphere of rice plants in Spain. Its genome, estimated at 3,771,065 bp, encodes 3,535 coding sequences (CDSs), carrying genes for synthesis of auxins, homoserine lactones, enzymes, siderophores, and quorum sensing. Several CDSs emphasize its biotechnological potential as an agriculture inoculant.

In this article, the current knowledge and knowledge gaps in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in livestock and plants and importance in terms of animal and human health are discussed. Some recommendations are provided for generation of the data required in order to develop risk assessments for AMR within agriculture and for risks through the food chain to animals and h...