Böcker av V.L.Chopra

In the backdrop of remarkable strength and achievements of modern medical science, an overwhelmingly large proportion of world population still depends upon varying indigenous systems for meeting its health care needs. These systems, exemplified by Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha, rely on traditional knowledge of indigenous communities about health-imparting and curative properties of plants. Such plants of health promoting and curative value are currently collected from the wild in large amounts and face threat of loss of diversity and extinction. Because of this reason, and the imperative of improving them genetically for productivity and the desired trait quality, it becomes desirable that the needed demands for them are met from organised cultivation and not by extraction from natural stands. Meeting complex demands of the above mentioned kind will require collation and presentation of detailed information about the targeted plant species.The book is an attempt to meet this requirement for nine important plant species, viz., Panax ginseng, Polygonatum spp., Picrorhiza kurroa, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Crepedium acuminatum, Tribulus terrestris, Ephedra spp. Crataegus rhipidophylla and Ginkgo biloba.Each chapter provides information on different plants on aspects such as, reproductive biology, medicinal, chemical and pharmacological aspects, threats and conservation, cultivation, commercial status, future directions for research, value addition, patents and literature cited. The book will be of interest to a very wide and diverse audience, which includes academics and researchers, interest groups of drug industry, administrators and policy makers.

Crop growth and productivity is limited by a large number of adverse conditions of ambient environment and soil composition. Among these, drought and soil salinity are most prevalent stresses. In view of shrinking land resources and continuing pressures of growing population in most developing countries, it has become imperative that crop yields are not allowed to suffer on any type of cultivable land. Breeding crop varieties resistant to drought and salinity stress, therefore, assumes great importance. Major limitations to exploiting genetic resistance have been the lack of (i) definition of the level of stress that is relevant to crop productivity, (ii) screening procedures that can be reliably employed for identifying genotypes possessing attributes governing stability of performance under stress conditions, and (iii) Understanding of the processes that have direct as well as indirect relevance to conferment of resistance. This book presents the much-needed information on drought and salinity stress under one cover. s have been contributed by a leading authority and practitioner of his own field of specialization. The book will be an indispensable source of information for students and researchers interested in the subject of drought and salinity stresses and breeding approaches for achieving resistance to these stresses.