Bananas are a key food source for millions, whilst their production supports the livelihood of farmers across the globe. However, recent research has identified the vulnerability of particular banana varieties to major pests and diseases. With the banana industry under threat of extinction, more research is required into understanding the biology of the pests and diseases that pose this threat so that more effective management strategies can be developed and the risk of fu...

Members of the genus Phytophthora cause serious damage to a huge array of plants. From the nineteenth century Irish potato famine to current widespread threats to forests and ecosystems in North and South America, Europe and Australia, the genus lives up to its reputation as the plant destroyer. This book provides an overview of Phytophthora species impacting crops, forests, nurseries, greenhouses and natural areas worldwide. Chapters cover major hosts, identification, epidemiology, manage...

This book features five peer-reviewed reviews on understanding and tackling Fusarium wilt in global banana production.The first chapter examines the way in which monoculture has affected the banana industry and discusses the available banana varieties, the advent of the Cavendish variety and the need to develop new banana varieties.The second chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the history, epidemiology and management of F. oxysporum forma specialis cubense Race 1 ...

Focus on key issues in expanding the genetic base for Musa, including, exploiting current collections of germplasm and collecting and evaluating wild Musa species and landracesCovers methods for improving fertility, resistance and other traits in CavendishReviews the range of conventional and modern molecular techniques for breeding new banana varieties

Assesses current yields in different regions and constraints in improving productivityDiscusses all the key stages in cultivation needed to make banana production more efficientReviews ways of assessing and improving the sustainability of banana cultivation

Bananas are a staple food for over 500 million people and are also an important cash crop. Fusarium wilt, caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense, is one of the most destructive diseases of banana globally. Since the 1990s, an aggressive variant of this fungus, called Tropical Race 4 (TR4), severely affected banana plantations in Southeast Asia from where it spread to other continents, including Latin America, where the global banana export market is primari...

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environment-friendly method of pest control that integrates well into area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes. This book takes a generic, thematic, comprehensive, and global approach in describing the principles and practice of the SIT. The strengths and weaknesses, and successes and failures, of the SIT are evaluated openly and fairly from a scientific perspective. The SIT is applicable to some major pests of plant-, animal-, and h...

Biological Control: Global Impacts, Challenges and Future Directions of Pest Management provides a historical summary of organisms and main strategies used in biological control, as well as the key challenges confronting biological control in the 21st century.Biological control has been implemented for millennia, initially practised by growers moving beneficial species from one local area to another. Today, biological control has evolved into a formal science that provides...

This open access book presents simple, robust pre-field screening protocols that allow plant breeders to screen for enhanced tolerance to heat stress in rice. Two critical heat-sensitive stages in the lifecycle of the rice crop are targeted – the seedling and flowering stages – with screening based on simple phenotypic responses. The protocols are based on the use of a hydroponics system and/or pot experiments in a glasshouse in combination with a controlled growth chamber where the heat s...

Assesses developments in genetic resources, genomic information and their application in marker-assisted breeding of cassava;Reviews advances in breeding new varieties with enhanced properties such as higher yield, enhanced nutritional value and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses;Discusses advances in understanding cassava pests and diseases and integrated pest management techniques

Plutella xylostella (DBM) is a key pest of crucifers resistant to many insecticides and some crystalendotoxins. Biological control based IPM and classical biocontrol have had varied success. How can it be improved? This book presents key papers and the proceedings of an international symposium held in Montpellier (France) in October 2002. The status of Plutella and control measures used in different areas of the world are discussed, and recommendations for improving bioco...

The oil palm is a remarkable crop, producing around 40% of the world’s vegetable oil from around 6% of the land devoted to oil crops. Conventional breeding has clearly been the major focus of genetic improvement in this crop. A mix of improved agronomy and management, coupled with breeding selection have quadrupled the oil yield of the crop since breeding began in earnest in the 1920s. However, as for all perennial crops with long breeding cycles, oil palm faces immense challenges in the c...