This book explores the uptake, toxicity, and tolerance of various contaminants in crop plants and discusses genetic and molecular methods, as well as biological tools, to improve plant growth under contamination stress. The book also covers defense mechanisms in plants using phytohormones and nanomaterials, along with safety concerns related to micro and nano-contaminants. Contaminants in soil-crop plant systems pose a significant challenge to sustainable agriculture, environmental health, and food security. These pollutants, such as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, salts, nanomaterials, and toxic metals like cadmium, lead, mercury, and arsenic, can enter the food chain through contaminated soil and crops. These substances can damage plants, alter their growth processes, and compromise their integrity. As a result, the persistence of such chemicals within the ecosystem can remain unchanged, affecting plant health and soil quality. This book looks at the effective management practices for the use and disposal of contaminants that are essential to limit their harmful dynamics. It highlights the various interventions for the their tolerance and survival mechanisms of plants against contaminants that can disrupt morpho-physiological and biochemical. It also highlights the use of signaling molecules, phytohormones, plant nutrients, bioaugmented agents, and nanomaterials that can support plants in coping with contamination, improving growth and productivity. This book is a good resource for upper-level students, faculty, scientists, and researchers working especially in nanobiotechnology, plant biology, plant biochemistry, botanical or crop sciences, environmental sciences, ecological sciences, and other allied subjects and or science.
Contaminants and soil-crop plant systems.- Emerging soil contaminants
and their persistence in crop plants, soil, and environments.-
Nanofertilizers in improving soil quality and crop plant growth.- Use of
phytoremediation in improving soil status.- Cadmium: uptake, toxicity and
tolerance in crop plants and management of Cd-contaminated soil.- Lead:
uptake, toxicity and tolerance in crop plants and management of
Pb-contaminated soil .- Mercury: uptake, toxicity and tolerance in crop
plants and management of Hg-contaminated soil.- Arsenic: uptake, toxicity and
tolerance in crop plants and management of As-contaminated soil.- Zinc:
uptake, toxicity and tolerance in crop plants and management of
Zn-contaminated soil.- Nickel: uptake, toxicity and tolerance in crop plants
and management of Ni-contaminated soil.- Silicon: uptake, toxicity and
tolerance in crop plants and management of Si-contaminated soil.- Exploring
genetic and molecular methods to induce crop plant tolerance under various
contamination.- Biological tools for improving crop plant growth under
contaminants.- Understanding the impact of herbicides, insecticides and
fungicides stress for crop plant growth and production.- Combined impact of
heavy metal and oil sludge on crop plant growth, physiology, and contaminant
removal.- Mitigating metal-induced toxicity in crop plants using PGPR.-
Understanding physiological and biochemical pathways responsible for stress
tolerance mechanisms in crop plants.- Managing defence mechanisms in crop
plants using phytohormones under contaminants.- Managing defence mechanisms
in crop plants using nutrients under contaminants.- Managing defence
mechanisms in crop plants using nanomaterials under contaminants.- Improving
crop plants production under stressed-soils using poly-omics techniques and
transcriptomic analysis.- Safety issues associated with the usesof micro and
nano contaminants.
Azamal Husen served as a Full Professor and Head of the Department of Biology at the University of Gondar, Ethiopia, and currently serves as a Foreign Delegate at Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Graphic Era University, India. Previously, he was a Full Professor at Sankalchand Patel University in India and a Visiting Faculty at the Forest Research Institute and Doon College of Agriculture and Forest in Dehra Dun, India. With 25 years of expertise in Nanobiotechnology, Plant Physiology, Environmental Botany, Medicinal Plants, and Clonal Propagation. He has led research funded by organizations such as the World Bank, the National Agricultural Technology Project, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the Indian Council of Forest Research Education, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. He has delivered numerous talks at conferences and workshops, led academic staff orientation courses, and developed BSc, MSc, and PhD curricula. He was honored with an award from the University of Gondar for his decade of service in teaching, research, and community work. Husen has published extensively and served on editorial boards of prestigious journals. Acknowledged as one of the "Worlds Top 2% Scientists" (2022-2024) by Stanford University, he has also contributed as a Book Series Editor and Journal Guest Editor for several scientific publications in Plant Biology, Medicinal Plants, and Nanotechnology.
