The genetic modification of crop plants from the methodology involved in their production through to the current debate on their use in agriculture are reviewed. Techniques for plant transformation by Agrobacterium tumefaciens and particle bombardment, and for the selection of transgenic plants using marker genes are described. The benefits of currently available genetically modified (GM) crops...

To observe the comparative effects of poultry manure, household waste compost and fertilizers and their combinations on growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.), this experiment was conducted in the crop field of the Department of Soil Science, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh during Rabi season in 2010-2011. There were ten treatments, one control and nine fertilizer combinations. In three s...

The thermal conversion of sewage sludge to biochar offers a promising alternative use for a hazardous waste material with potential benefits to agricultural productivity and soil quality. Three short-term greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of corn cob (CC) and sewage sludge (SS) biochars, with their anaerobically treated counterparts, on soil properties and plant growt...

Modern biorefineries target the production of chemicals and fuels from lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks such as energy crops and biodegradeable wastes. Biofuels produced from such processes are considered “second-generation-biofuels” and are considered to be more sustainable than first-generation-biofuels from food and oil crops. This paper considers the contribution that biorefineries can ma...

Reactive nitrogen (N) is created in order to sustain food production, but only a small fraction of this N ends up being consumed as food, the rest being lost to the environment. We calculated that the total N input (TN) of global food production was 171 Tg N yr(-1) in 2000. The production of animal products accounted for over 50% of the TN, against 17% for global calories production. Under curr...

India has been perceived as a development enigma: Recent rates of economic growth have not been matched by similar rates in health and nutritional improvements. To meet the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG2) of achieving zero hunger by 2030, India faces a substantial challenge in meeting basic nutritional needs in addition to addressing population, environmental and dietary pressures. H...

The cumulative and residual effects of integrated nutrient management of kharif rice on soil enzyme activities i.e urease, phosphatase, dehydrogenase and cellulase at different growth stages of rabi greengram were tested in an Inceptisol in North Coastal Zone of Andhra Pradesh during rabi 2009 and 2010. Results revealed that all the cumulative treatments showed higher soil enzyme activities at ...

The increasing consumption of energy with the depletion of crude oil reserves urges the usage of alternative fuel. Since there is an existing demand for edible vegetable oils, waste vegetable oils and non-edible crude vegetable oils are preferred as potential low priced biodiesel sources. In this present work the utilization of a commonlyavailable bioenergy crop in the Western Ghats region,Crot...

Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz (camelina) is an oilseed producing plant in the family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) originating from the Mediterranean to Central Asia [1]. Camelina meal (CM) is the by-product of camelina oil extraction and has a crude protein content similar to canola meal [2]. There is increasing interest in converting waste cooking oil and oil produced from oilseed crops, such as ca...