Combating Climate Change An Agricultural Perspective

Foreword
M. S. Swaminathan

Preface
M.S. Kang and S.S. Banga

Declining Agricultural Productivity and Global Food Security
William D. Dar and C.L. Laxmipathi Gowda

Global Agriculture and Climate Change: A Perspective
Manjit S. Kang and Surinder S. Banga

Dynamics and Economic Aspects of Climate Change
José A. Tapia Granados and Óscar Carpintero

Intensive Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Pool
Rattan Lal

Greenhouse Gas Emission from Agricultural Soils: Sources and Mitigation Potential
Dinesh K. Benbi

Agroecological Intelligence Needed to Prepare Agriculture for Climate Change
Prem S. Bindraban

Agronomic Practices and Input-Use Efficiency
Robert Norton

Developing Climate-Resilient Crops: A Conceptual Framework
Surinder S. Banga and Manjit S. Kang

Genomic Perspective on the Dual Threats of Imperiled Native Agroecosystems and Climate Change to World Food Security
Bikram S. Gill, W.J. Raupp, and B. Friebe

Climate Change and the Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources
Toby Hodgkin and Paul Bordoni

Climate Change Impact on Plant Pathogens and Plant Disease
Yigal Elad and Ilaria Pertot

Climate Change Effects on Insects: Implications for Crop Protection and Food Security
Hari C. Sharma

Merging Physiological and Genetic Approaches to Improve Abiotic Stress Resistance
Jiwan P. Palta

Abiotic Stresses and Agricultural Sustainability
Lawrence Gusta

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Nontilled, Permanent Raised, and Conventionally Tilled Beds in the Central Highlands of Mexico
L. Dendooven, L. Patiño-Zúñiga, N. Verhulst,. K. Boden, A. García-Gaytán, M. Luna-Guido, and B. Govaerts

Birth of Trinitario Cacao: History Intertwined with Myths and Edaphic and Climatic Factors
Lambert A Motilal and Thayil N. Sreenivasan

The WorldClim and DIVA Software for Modeling Current and Future Climates at a 5 km Resolution: Case Studies from Timor Leste and India
Nicholas Molyneux, Isabel Soares, and Florindo Neto

Biography

Dr. Manjit S. Kang is a plant geneticist and is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University, Manhattan. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, Columbia, USA. He specializes in quantitative genetics as applied to crop improvement. His expertise is globally recognized. Dr. Kang has lectured internationally on quantitative genetics as applied to crop improvement. He has edited/authored several books and has published 140 refereed journal articles in prestigious international journals, 40 book chapters/encyclopedia essays, and 135 other technical publications. He has received several prestigious honors and awards from various organizations and is a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America.

Dr. Surinder S. Banga received a Ph.D. in plant breeding from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, India. He holds a prestigious ICAR national professor chair in the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics at PAU and served as the head of the department from 2009–2010. He leads the Brassica group at the University, which has developed many innovative research programs on oilseed Brassicas. The group’s research primarily aims at germplasm enhancement with a focus on heterosis, polyploidy, and wide hybridization. He has published extensively in journals of international repute. In addition, he has edited two well-received books. He has chaired several crop breeding sessions and delivered invited lectures at national and international conferences.

"Experts consider plant pathogens, plant disease, insects and more as they consider the latest options for handling future climates. The result is a powerful recommendation for any college-level student of agriculture or environmental science."
—Midwest Book Review