Plant Transposons and Genome Dynamics in Evolution

‘This well-documented book provides a thorough survey of the several problems facing one of the major participants in the management of one of America’s natural resources. It belongs in the library of anyone involved in resources policy…’

The book remains a comprehensive and up-to-date reference work on the biology of aphids, the various methods of controlling them and the progress of integrated pest management as illustrated by ten case histories. Helmut van Emden is Emeritus Professor of Horticulture at the University of Reading, UK. He has researched on aphids for over 50 years and has wide international experience, including in the tropics. Richard Harrington retired in 2015 as Head of the Rothamsted Insect Survey, with which he worked for 36 years on aphid monitoring and forecasting. He led the EU project “EXAMINE” (Exploitation of Aphid Monitoring In Europe) which brought together colleagues involved in aphid monitoring throughout Europe and beyond.

From the pre-historic era to modern times, cereal grains have been the most important source of human nutrition, and have helped sustain the increasing population and the development of human civilization. In order to meet the food needs of the 21st century, food production must be doubled by the year 2025, and nearly tripled by 2050. Such enormous increases in food productivity cannot be brought about by relying entirely on conventional breeding methods, especially on less land per capita, with poor quality and quantity of water, and under rapidly deteriorating environmental conditions.

This is the first book on global agromining/phytomining technology. It presents the complete metal farming or agromining chain; an emerging technology expected to be transformative in the extraction of resources of those elements not accessible by traditional mining techniques. Meeting the demand for critical minerals (rare earth elements, platinum group elements, nickel cobalt) is increasingly difficult in the 21st century due to resource depletion and geopolitical factors.