Devarajan Thangadurai

Nanoagrotechnology for Soil Quality, Crop Performance and Environmental Management

Nanotechnology is emerging as the key enabling technology that contributes to increased crop production with special emphasis on soil protection with environmental sustainability. Increasing worldwide food security and challenging climatic conditions are the key components for encouraging the scientific community to focus on accelerating the growth of nanoagrotechnology. Last few decades immensely contributed to the field of agriculture; technological innovations by several hybrid varieties, synthetic chemical compounds and advanced techniques of biotechnology are an integral part of this achievement. The present decade emerged as the “decade of nanoagrotechnology”, as a new origin of agricultural developments through most groundbreaking scientific finding in the field.

Production of Bionanomaterials from Agricultural Wastes

Nature is gifted with numerous nanomaterials which could be simply prepared from plant materials. Agricultural waste (waste produced on a farm through various farming activities) includes both natural and nonnatural wastes. In the agricultural residues, refuse and wastes create a significant amount of worldwide agricultural productivity. It has variously been estimated that wastes can account for over 30% of worldwide agricultural productivity. The goal of this chapter is to assess the most recent trends to produce bionano nanomaterials from agricultural waste. Nanocellulose extraction from agricultural wastes is a promising substitute for waste treatment, and a few more wide applications of nanocellulose in biological science are much expected in the near future. The most salient nanocellulose applications in this chapter deal with the production and support matrices for enzyme immobilization, biosensors, and antimicrobial agents. Silicon nanoparticles concluded to be one of the elite compounds for the enhancement of agricultural yields.

Agricultural Nanotechnology: Concepts, Benefits, and Risks

Nanotechnology is one of the utmost significant tools in modern agriculture is predicted to become a driving cost-effective force in the near future. Nanotechnology in agriculture has gained drive in the last decade with an abundance of public funding, but the step of development is uncertain, even though many disciplines come under the agriculture system. This could be attributed to a unique nature of farm production whereby energy and matter are exchanged freely, the scale of demand of input materials constantly being enormous in contrast with industrial nanoproducts. The nanotechnologic intervention in farming has prospects for improving the efficiency of nutrient use through nanoformulations of fertilizers, surveillance and control of pests and diseases, improvement of new-generation pesticides, biosensors (which are exclusively used in remote sensing devices for precision farming), clay-based nanoresources for precision water management, and reclamation of salt-affected lands.

Effect of biologically treated petroleum sludge on seed germination and seedling growth of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Fabaceae)

The present investigation was carried out to study the response of different concentrations of treated petroleum sludge on seed germination, root and shoot length and tolerance of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. The biologically treated petroleum sludge with bacterial consortium showed 54.8% reduction in total petroleum hydrocarbons. Treated sludge was utilized with agricultural soil in known concentration for the assessment of growth of V. unguiculata. A remarkable absence of seed germination was observed at higher sludge concentration. The different concentrations of treated petroleum sludge showed severe decline on the length, weight and vigour index of the tested seedlings with increasing sludge concentrations. The results showed that the difference in rate of seed germination was significant among various concentrations. Under environmental stress condition, germination is the most critical phase of life cycle in crop plants. In this present study, the high oil content found to alter the osmotic relation between seed and water and thus reduce the amount of water absorbed. It was concluded that the concentration of nutrients and oil present in the treated sludge were toxic to the plant.

Bioinformatics Tools for the Multilocus Phylogenetic Analysis of Fungi

Mycologists are generally identifying fungal communities by microscopic and macroscopic assessment. This conventional approach has several limitations due to the growth and environmental factors. Hence, molecular techniques and bioinformatics tools are essential in the field identification and characterization of fungi. Multilocus sequences are widely used in most of the bioinformatics tools and they can be used to recognize species boundaries. Nucleic acid and protein sequences-based analysis in fungal studies are revolutionizing the view on mycology. Numerous bioinformatics tools are available online to guide molecular biologists and biotechnologists. This chapter provides a guide to utilizing the available bioinformatics tools on the World Wide Web for sequence alignment, editing, and multilocus phylogenetic analysis.

Staining Techniques and Biochemical Methods for the Identification of Fungi

In the past, conventional identification of fungi relied on the combination of morphological and physiological properties. In recent years, morphological studies, supplemented with staining techniques and biochemical methods, still play an important role in the overall identification of fungi in the molecular era. In most instances, these tools are widely used to determine the correct identity of yeasts and molds at the genus and species levels.

Identification Key for the Major Growth Forms of Lichenized Fungi

Lichens are classified as cup fungi, mainly under the phylum of Ascomycota and rarely as Basidiomycota. The body of the lichen is called a thallus, in which the mycobionts and photobionts are stratified in separate layers. Based on their characteristics and thalli, lichens are classified into four main groups. This chapter consists of a pair of parallel and opposing statements that can be compared and will help to identify several genera of foliose, fruticose, crustose, and squamulose lichens.

Genomics and Proteomics: Principles, Technologies, and Applications

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