Cumo Plants and People

Origin and Development of Human--Plant Science Relationships
Erscheinungsjahr 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4987-0709-1
Verlag: CRC Press
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 288 Seiten

An exploration of the relationship between plants and people from early agriculture to modern-day applications of biotechnology in crop production, this book covers the development of agricultural sciences from Roman times through the development of agricultural experiment stations in the United States to the rise of agri-business. It discusses plant anatomy, physiology, and reproduction; evolution of plants and people; early uses of plants; the rise of agriculture in both Old and New Worlds; creation of land grant universities and agricultural experiment stations; the Green Revolution; plant biotechnology; and the future of plant sciences in feeding the growing human population.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cumo, Christopher

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Botanik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

The Biology of Plants
The Rise of the Sciences

Plant Biology: The Cell

The Plant Goes Underground

Stem

Leaves

Flowers

Anatomy of Flowers

Dicots and Monocots

Fruits

Seeds

Water

Photosynthesis

References

Evolution of Plants and People
Toward Natural Selection

Punctuated Equilibrium: A Modification of Darwinism

Evolution of Plants

Earliest Life

Toward the First Plants

Rapid Evolution of Terrestrial Plants

Evolution of Roots

Variety of Land Plants

Pathways of Evolution

First Forests

Evolution of Seed Plants

Rise of Flowering Plants

Flowering Plants at the End of the Cretaceous Period

Rise of the Grasses

Tropical Rainforests

Evolution of Plants in Perspective

Human Evolution

Australopithecines

Homo habilis

Homo erectus

Toward a Variety of Humans
H. heidelbergensis
Neanderthals
H. sapiens
Homo floresiensis
Mitochondrial Eve
Out of Africa
References

Early Uses of Plants
Overview
Role of Plants in Human Evolution
Woman, the Gatherer
Plants and Human Evolution
Edible Plants in the Americas
Partial and Tentative Movement toward Agriculture within the Context of Hunting and Foraging
References

The Neolithic Revolution
Overview
Southwestern Asia
Europe, Egypt, and North Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
East Asia
Southeast Asia
The Pacific Islands
South Asia
The Americas
References

Rise of Empiricism in Antiquity: An Overview
Greco Roman Agricultural Writers
Place of Agriculture in the Greco Roman World
Empiricism and the First Stirrings of the Plant Sciences in the West
Soil Depletion and Its Remedies
Plowing, Weeding, and Planting
The Olive Tree, Other Fruit Trees, and Grapevine
Grains and Other Crops
References

The Columbian Exchange
From the Old World
Soybean
Rice
From the New World
References

The Rise of the Land Grant Complex
Overview
Movement toward Federal Funding of the Agricultural Sciences
The Land Grant Colleges
Toward the State Agricultural Experiment Stations
A Variety of Plant Sciences at Public and Private Institutions
References

The Hybrid Corn Revolution
Overview
Improvement of Corn through Breeding
Rise of the European Corn Borer
The European Corn Borer Spreads to the Gateway to the Corn Belt

Spread of Hybrid Corn in the Corn Belt
Hybrid Corn in the Developing World
References

The Green Revolution
Geopolitics and the Green Revolution
Overview of Science and the Green Revolution
Achievements of the Green Revolution
Response to Criticism
Toward the Future: The Agencies that Made Possible the Green Revolution
References

Plant Biotechnology
Overview
Basics
Techniques for Plant Transformation
Biotechnology of Herbicide Resistance
Biotechnology and Insect-Resistant Crops
Biotechnology and the Search for Resistant to Plant Diseases
Biotechnology and Abiotic Stress
Public Acceptance of Plant Biotechnology and Its Present State
References

The Malthusian Crisis
An Essay on the Principle of Population
Population Problem
Trends in Food Production
Problems of Plentitude
References

Bibliography