Crop Responses to Environment
Anthony E. Hall
CRC Press
Crop Responses to Environment discusses the principles, theories, and experimental observations concerning plant responses to environment that are particularly relevant to developing improved crop cultivars and management methods. The book illustrates the importance of considering emergent plant properties as well as reductionist approaches to understanding plant function and adaptation.Dr. Hall explains many practical applications to plant breeding, agronomy, and horticulture. He examines plant physiological and developmental responses to light and temperature as well as plant water-relations. He also describes climatic zone definitions based on temperature, rainfall, and evaporative demand in relation to plant adaptation and the prediction of crop water use. Irrigation management and crop responses to salinity and toxic levels of boron and aluminum are considered.Numerous figures and tables illustrate the climates of major agricultural zones, giving a thorough knowledge of which crop species and production systems are effective in different climates. The book concludes with an analysis illustrating the relevance of crop responses to environment to plant breeding. The practical examples in this book, some of them pulled from Dr. Hall's research, show your students the principles provided by Crop Response to Environment can be used in developing improved crop production systems.