New frontiers in stress management for durable agriculture

Abstract

Using accessible farming practices to meet the growing demands on agriculture is likely to result in more intense competition for natural resources, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and further deforestation and land degradation, which will in turn produce additional stress in the soil-water-plant-animal continuum. Stress refers to any unfavorable force or condition that inhibits customary functioning in plants. Concurrent manifestations of different stresses (biotic and abiotic) are very frequent in the environment of plants, which consequently reduces yield. Better understanding stress not only changes our perspective on the current environment, but can also bring a wealth of benefits, like improving sustainable agriculture and human beings' living standards. Innovative systems are called for that protect and enhance the natural resource base, while increasing productivity via 'holistic' approaches, such as agroecology, agro-forestry, climate-smart agriculture and conservation agriculture, which also incorporate indigenous and traditional knowledge. The book 'New Frontiers in Stress Management for Durable Agriculture' details the current state of knowledge and highlights scientific advances concerning novel aspects of plant biology research on stress, biotic and abiotic stress responses, as well as emergent amelioration and reclamation technologies to restore normal functioning in agroecology.