Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary research field. In recent past efforts have been made to improve agricultural yield through exhaustive research in nanotechnology. The green revolution resulted in blind usage of pesticides and chemical fertilizers which caused loss of soil biodiversity and developed resistance against pathogens and pests as well. Nanoparticle-mediated material delivery to...

Abscission is a process in plants for shedding unwanted organs such as leaves, flowers, fruits, or floral organs. Shedding of leaves in the fall is the most visually obvious display of abscission in nature. The very shape plants take is forged by the processes of growth and abscission. Mankind manipulates abscission in modern agriculture to do things such as prevent pre-harvest fruit drop prior...

Diseases in plants cause major production and economic losses in agricultural industry worldwide. Monitoring of health and detection of diseases in plants and trees is critical for sustainable agriculture. In this paper an approach for building software systems for plant disease control that perform real time prediction of the outbreak and the development of the disease is proposed. Mathematica...

The cultivation of grafted plants have gradually increased in the last years. As the use of this technique spread, the aims also expanded until today when grafting serves a spectrum of purposes: (1) to boost plant growth and development; (2) to control wilt caused by pathogens; (3) to reduce viral, fungal and bacterial infection; (4) to strengthen tolerance to thermal or saline stress; (5) to i...

An updated short account is given of the nature and practice of biological control. It includes data on key mechanisms of biocontrol agents (bca’s) being studied, relationships between bca’s and plants being investigated and commercialization prospects in modern world agriculture. Based on the voluminous literature on biological control research and application, successful cases are selected an...

There has been great interest in the use of carbon nano-materials (CNMs) in agriculture. However, the existing literature reveals mixed effects from CNM exposure on plants, ranging from enhanced crop yield to acute cytotoxicity and genetic alteration. These seemingly inconsistent research-outcomes, taken with the current technological limitations for in situ CNM detection, present significant h...

Plant morphogenesis and its regulation have fascinated researchers for more than two centuries. Among determinants of morphogenesis mechanical signals appear as an important cue. The fact that plants respond to mechanical stimuli was reported by Darwin in the 1850's. As described by Iida in this research topic, mechanical stimuli were used in traditional agriculture practices like mugifumi. In ...

An ex-situ experiment to assess the metal extractive potential of fourteen agriculture plants (Vigna unguiculata, Gossypium hirsutum, Jatropha curcas, etc.) was conducted on Magnesite mines which had above permissible levels of Cadmium and Lead. There was no much difference in the total chlorophyll a and b, carbohydrate and protein contents in the plants grown in the mining soil and adjacent co...

Pesticide chemicals are an important component of modern agriculture. Through their use, plants and animals are exposed to pesticides directly and indirectly from transport through soil, water, and other environmental components. Pesticide chemicals which are absorbed by plants and animals undergo extensive biotransformation. Lipophilic compounds are converted to polar metabolites through a var...

Published by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Andrew G. Hashimoto, Director/Dean, Cooperative Extension Service/CTAHR, University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822. An equal opportunity/affirmative action inst...