A field experiment was conducted at the agriculture farm, Palli Siksha Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, Birbhum, West Bengal, India during kharif (rainy) seasons (June–September) of 2016 and 2017 to study effect of zinc application on growth, yield and nutrient uptake of rice. The experiment was laid out in split plot design replicated thrice, consisting two main plot treatments i.e. crop establishment methods (CEMs) and seven sub-plot treatments (levels of zinc and methods of application). Two CEMs were direct seeded rice (DSR) and transplanted puddled rice (TPR) and seven levels of zinc and methods of application were namely control (Zn0), Seed coating of Zn @ 1250 mg kg-1 (Zn1), Seed coating of Zn @ 2500 mg kg-1 (Zn2), Seed coating of Zn @ 3750 mg kg-1 (Zn3), two foliar sprays @ 1050 mg kg-1 (Zn4), three foliar spray @ 1050 mg kg-1 (Zn5), 2500 mg kg-1 seed coating+2-foliar spray @ 1050 mg kg-1 (Zn6). In respect of yield attribute and yield, Zn6 resulted significantly highest number of Panicle m-2 as well as number of filled grains panicle-1. Zn3 though recorded 5.7% more grain yield than Zn6 but later Zn6 resulted highest zinc concentration and uptake. Zn1 recorded highest zinc use indices. Zn1 resulted much highest Zn use efficiency than foliar application and combined application of seed coating and foliar spray. Correlation between Zn levels and Zn concentration in both grain and straw of rice was highly positive; very highly positive correlation was recorded with the Zn levels and Zn uptake by both grain and straw.

A field experiment was conducted during at the Experimental Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, School of Agriculture Sciences and Rural Development (SASRD), Nagaland University, Medziphema, during kharif season of 2009 to study the influence of different sources of organic nutrients and bio-nutrient on the productivity of upland rice. The experiment was laid out in RBD with seven treatments including control and replicated thrice. The treatments consisted of control, seed inoculation with biofertilizer (Azotobactor) and three sources of organic manures i.e. pig manure, vegetable sea weed manure and vermicompost at the rate of 3.2 t ha-1, 25 kg ha-1 and 2.25 t ha-1 respectively, along with seed treatment with biofungicide (Trichoderma). The experiment results indicated that the application of Biofertilizer+pig manure @ 3.2 t ha-1+Trichoderma significantly increased the growth, yield, yield attributes and nutrient uptake of rice over the other treatments. The maximum plant height (135.37 cm), number of tillers hill-1 (9), dry weight (404.63 g), number of panicle m-2 (122), number of grains panicle-1 (151), grain yield (25.18 q ha-1), straw yield (54.83 q ha-1) were obtained. The maximum uptakes of N (23.86%), P (27.47%) and K (21.83%) in the grain were recorded in the treatment, which was significantly higher over the Biofertilizer+vegetable sea weed manure @ 25 kg ha-1.

A study has been undertaken on wood anatomy of 20 woody species in northeast Mexico.There exists large variation among species in wood anatomical traits such as porosity, vessel diameter, its distribution, parenchyma, compactness of ground tissues and fibre cell characteristics.Most of the species have narrow vessels which help protection against cavitation.Most of the species are ring to semiring porous viz., Acacia amentacea, Acacia berlandieri, Acacia shaffneri, Acacia wrightii, Cordia boissieri, Helietta parviflora, Condalia hookeri, Xanthoxylum fagara, Celtis pallida, Celtis laevigata, Caesalpinia mexicana, Eysenhardtia polystachya; only few of them are diffuse porous viz., Diospyros palmeri, Diospyros texana.Fibre cell characteristics also showed large variations in morphology, size, lumen breadth and in compactness, these species were soft and hard wood.Most of the species have narrow vessels, viz., Acacia berlandieri, Acacia shaffneri, Acacia wrightii, Helietta parviflora, Cordia boissieri, Diospyros palmeri, Celtis laevigata, Eysenhardtia polystachya, Xanthoxyllum fagara.Celtis pallida contained medium sized vessels, while Celtis laevigata and Caesalpinia mexicana possessed big sized vessels.Many of the species possess narrow vessels which although impose transport of water but protect the vessels against cavitation during drought and freezing the species with small narrow vessels mentioned have strategy to adapt both to hot and cold climate against cavitation.The species having big vessel diameter may be susceptible to drought such as Celtis pallida, Caesalpinia mexicana or they may have deep root system for adaptation to semiarid climates in northeast Mexico.All these wood anatomical traits could be utilized to distinguish species as well as quality determinations of species.The variation in hydraulic systems determine the capacity of water transport among species Statstically significant differences are observed in all wood anatomical parameters among species studied.

The movement of seeds of cultivated plants started with the movement of man across nations and continents. However, the formal trade of seeds was started with the establishment of the Fédération Internationale du Commerce des Semences (FIS) (International Seed Trade Federation) in The First International Seed Congress held in London in 1924. In 1938, the Interna­tional Association of Plant Breeders for the Protection of Plant Varieties (ASSINSEL, the acronym derived from French for Association Internationale des Sélectionneurs pour la Protec­tion de Obentions Végétales) was established with the chief objective to adopt international norms for protection of plant varieties. With the aim of encouraging the development of new varieties of plants, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) was established in 1961 by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (the “UPOV Convention”)

A field experiment was conducted in the experimental research farm of School of Agricultural Sciences and Rural development (SASRD), Nagaland University during April to September 2011 to study the effect of different sources of organic nutrients on productivity of upland rice (Oryza sativa L.). The soil of the experimental field was sandy loam in texture, acidic in nature (4.6 pH) with high organic carbon (1.31%), low available N (153.87 kg ha-1), low available P (11.87 kg ha-1) and medium available K (236.12 kg ha-1). The treatments namely Sesbania aculeata @ 6.25 t ha-1, Green leaf manure @ 10 t ha-1, Paddy straw @ 10 t ha-1, Sesbania aculeata @ 6.25 t ha-1­+Azotobacter@ 20 g kg-1 seed, Green leaf manure @ 10 t ha-1+Azotobacter@ 20 g kg-1 seed, Paddy straw @ 10 t ha-1+Azotobacter @ 20 g kg-1 seed and control were used in Randomised Block Design with 3 replication. The result of the experiment revealed that Sesbania aculeata @ 6.25 t ha-1+Azotobacter@ 20 g kg-1 seed significantly recorded maximum no of grains panicle-1 (173.14), no of panicles m-2 (163.43) and grain yield (30.88 q ha-1), giving highest gross return (rs. 33116.8) and net return (Rs.20366.8).

A field experiment on ricebean was conducted at the Agricultural Farm of the Institute of Agriculture (Palli Siksha Bhavana), Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal, India during July to December, 2013 to study the performance of few indigenous landraces collected from Nagaland and Mizoram states of India. The indigenous landraces collected are rhudi, rhuka, rhuwho-1, rhuwho-2, rhusie, rhujo, champhal, kolasib. They showed wide variability both in growth habit and yield attributes. Wide variability of test weight mainly differed the seed yield of the crop. The highest yield was recorded in rhusie cultivar (21 q ha-1) which was significantly higher than the all other cultivars like rhudi, rhuka, rhuwho-1, rhuwho-2, rhujo, champhal, kolasib. Though the rhusie cultivar test weight is low, but it recorded highest yield because of early onset of reproductive growth with more number of pickings. Rhuwho-2 cultivar recorded the second highest yield (19 q ha-1) which was significantly higher than the other cultivars like rhudi, rhuka, rhuwho-1, rhujo, champhal, kolasib. Lowest yield was recorded in rhuwho-1 cultivars (1 q ha-1).

The excellent rice biodiversity of old alluvial region of North and South Dinajpur district in West Bengal had a long history and it had been developed through evolutionary process over a long period of time and sustained through ages by maintaining a perfect interaction with the environment and ecosystem. However, that rich rice biodiversity is under threat as most of the varieties are extinct only with some exception. The existing indigenous rice landraces have been studied based on their associated ethnic cultivation techniques, adaptation, stress tolerance, morphological and physiological characters, overall production and current existence status. The landraces are well adapted under various agro-ecological conditions. Diversity can be observed in their morphological and physiological characters, tolerance to stress and response to different traditional agro techniques. The existence of these varieties are either because of their extra ordinary adaptation or stress tolerance character or excellent grain quality and therefore, high market price. Involvement of certain cultivars in ethnic and socio-religious life also plays an important role towards the survival of these landraces under the scenario of a disappearing indigenous rice biodiversity in this region. Suitable market oriented cultivation in terms of organic crop, promoting commercially as holistic food, processed product, aromatic quality rice etc. can increase demand and market price of these cultivars. Side by side, conservation and research work should be enhanced for these underutilized varieties. With such strategies cultivars can find their way of survival.

Agricultural production in India is highly vulnerable to climate change. Transformational change to farming systems is required to cope with this changing climate to maintain food security, and ensure farming to remain economically viable. The south Asian rice-fallow systems occupying 22.3 million ha with about 88% in India, mostly (82%) concentrated in the eastern states, are under threat. These systems currently provide economic and food security for about 11 million people, but only achieve 50% of their yield potential. Improvement in productivity is possible through efficient utilization of these fallow lands. The relatively low production occurs because of sub-optimal water and nutrient management strategies. HHaJathrough Historically, the Agro-met advisory service has assisted farmers and disseminated information at a district-level for all the states. In some instances, Agro-met delivers advice at the block level also, but in general, farmers use to follow the district level advice and develop an appropriate management plan like land preparation, sowing, irrigation timing, harvesting etc. The advisories are generated through the District Agrometeorology Unit (DAMU) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) network, that consider medium-range weather forecast. Unfortunately, these forecasts advisories are general and broad in nature for a given district and do not scale down to the individual field or farm. Farmers must make complex crop management decisions with limited or generalised information. The lack of fine scale information creates uncertainty for farmers, who then develop risk-averse management strategies that reduce productivity. It is unrealistic to expect the Agro-met advisory service to deliver bespoke information to every farmer and to every field simply with the help of Kilometre-scale weather forecast. New technologies must be embraced to address the emerging crises in food security and economic prosperity. Despite these problems, Agro-met has been successful. New digital technologies have emerged though, and these digital technologies should become part of the Agro-met arsenal to deliver valuable information directly to the farmers at the field scale. The Agro-met service is poised to embrace and deliver new interventions through technology cross-sections such as satellite remote sensing, drone-based survey, mobile based data collection systems, IoT based sensors, using insights derived from a hybridisation of crop and AIML (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) models. These technological advancements will generate fine-scale static and dynamic Agro-met information on cultivated lands, that can be delivered through Application Programming Interface (APIs) and farmers facing applications. We believe investment in this technology, that delivers information directly to the farmers, can reverse the yield gap, and address the negative impacts of a changing climate.

West Bengal, India is immensely rich in plant biodiversity. The present study was undertaken for an exploration and collection mission for wild, semi-wild, and domesticated populations of Chilli germplasm collection was carried out from 2009 to 2012, a total eighty-eight accessions in 17 district of WB on the basis of their shape, size and color along with pungency which are always the selected characteristics feature of chilli. This collection was expanding the number of accessions of wild chilli that are publicly available for research in plant improvement, characterization, evaluation and for subsequent use in an inquiry into the domestication. The diversity could mainly be attributed to diverse agro climatic conditions in WB. The intraregional diversity could be as a valuable source as interregional diversity for chilli improvement. With the establishment of Seed Genebank we stored natural orthodox seeds in low temperature (4-60C) and low humidity condition.

The First ever International Conference on Bio-resource and Stress Management was held during 6-9 February, 2013 at Science City, Kolkata, India under the chairmanship of Prof. R. K. Maiti, PhD, DSc and with the great leadership of co-chairman Prof. Humberto Gonzalez Rodriguez, PhD. The conference (www.bsmconf.in) was organized by Ratikanta Maiti Foundation (www.rkmf.org.in), Kolkata in collabora­tion with the technical partner, Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres (www.crijaf.org.in), Barrackpore, West Bengal, India and publishing partner, Puspa Publishing House, Kolkata

The present study was undertaken to determine carbon and nitrogen content among 40 plant species of diverse growth habit with a view to select species with high carbon fixation (carbon content) and nitrogen content.In this study, we selected few species with high carbon fixation such as Eugenia caryophyllata (51.66%),Litsea glauscensens (51.54%),Rhusvirens (50.35%),Gochantia hypoleuca (49.86%),Pinus arizonica (49.32%),Eryobotrya japonica (47.98%),Tecoma stans (47.79%),Rosamarinus officinalis (47.77%).Few of these species could be recommended for plantation in CO 2 polluted areas to reduce carbon load.In addition these, high carbon concentration could serve as good source of energy.We selected few species with high nitrogen content such as Mimosa malacophylla (8.44%), Capscicum annuum (6.84%), Moringa oleifer (6.25%), Azadirachta indica (5.85%), Eruca sativa (5.46%), Rosamarinus officinalis (5.40%), Mentha piperita (5.40%).These species could serve as good sources of nitrogen for health care.We selected few species with high C/N ratio such Arbutus xalapensis (26.94%),Eryngium heterophyllum (24.29%),Rhus virens (22.52%),Croton suaveleons (20.16%),Cinnamomum verum (19.89%) which may be related to high production of secondary metabolites and antioxidants.

Mangroves cover large areas of shoreline in the tropics and subtropics where they are important components in the productivity and integrity of their ecosystems. High variability is observed among the families of mangroves. Structural adaptations include pneumatophores, thick leaves, aerenhyma in root helps in surviving under flooded saline conditions. There is major inter-and intraspecific variability among mangroves. In this paper described morpho-anatomical characters helps in identification of family and genus and species of mangroves. Most of the genus have special type of roots which include Support roots of Rhizophora, Pnematophores of Avicennia, Sonneratia, Knee roots of Bruguiera, Ceriops, Buttress roots of Xylocarpus. Morpho-anatomically the leaves show xerophytic characteristics. This morphological and anatomical response to local conditions may allow the trees to maximize their photosynthetic efficiency Most of the species are now endangered species due to environmental effects and human activities.

An attempt has been made to synthesize a brief account on research advances on various phases of phenology. Climate has positive impact on the timing of phenology; cold-air drainage may influence the start of leaf growth, however leaf phenology in tropical evergreen forests is not determined by the seasonality of precipitation. Climate warm­ing in late winter and spring may enhance sensitivity of the growing season's spatial response due to the relationship of beginning date to temperature. Elevated tempera­ture strongly influences greater in C3 plants than in C4 plants but the disadvantages of warming may be considerably attenuated by elevated CO2, especially for C3 grasses. Species with high wood densities can able to store only limited quantities of water in their trunks; leaf fall in these species occurred during the dry season. Flowering phenology may be changing faster and precipitation may play a more important role in semi-arid grasslands than in humid-temperate systems. Peak flowering and fruit­ing are dependent on seasons for both endemic and non-endemic species. Population sensitivity to global warming might be stable for a given species, in spite of its pos­sible local adaptation. It might be possible for ecologists to establish comprehensive networks for long-term monitoring of potential photosynthetic capacity from regional to global scales by linking satellite-based programme. Use of satellite-derived metrics, such as VARI, may be used for evaluating the spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of species composition across broad geographic regions.

Branching pattern and crown architecture are the important component of plant growth and development of any plant species. The leaf area and photosynthesis efficiency mainly depended on the crown architecture. There are many models developed for estimation of yield of various plant products of different species in different environments. These models are used for virtual evaluation of a plant or tree species which would otherwise take decades together to know the potential of species or cultivars. Here, the research findings in this respect pertaining to the shrubs and tree species of the North East Mexico has been reviewed. The branching habit has been classified as monopodial, simpodial and pseudomonopodial, while the crown architecture as globose and irregular.

A field experiment was carried out in the experimental research farm of School of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development (SASRD), Nagaland University dur­ing April to September, 2008 to study the Influence of organic sources of nutrients in enhancing productivity of upland rice (Oryza sativa L.). The treatments were vermicompost @ 3 t ha-1, Farmyard manure (FYM) @ 12 t ha-1, Vegetable sea weed manure (VSWM) @ 25 kg ha-1 + FYM @ 2 t ha-1, Azospirillum + FYM @ 9 t ha-1, Bio-activated algal sea weed manure (BASWM) @ 25 kg ha-1 + FYM @ 2 t ha-1, Azospirillum + Vermicompost @ 2.25 t ha-1 and control replicated thrice laid out in Randomized Block Design. The investigation revealed that application of Azospirillum + FYM @ 9 t ha-1 recorded Maximum (489.1 g, 146, 275) dry weight m-2, number of panicles m-2 and grains panicle-1 contributing to highest (28.17 and 56.27 q ha-1, respectively) grain and straw yield. Similarly, the same treatment also yielded highest (34.93, 29.26 and 188.2 kg ha-1, respectively) N uptake by grain and straw as well as available nitrogen

Rice bean is an underutilized legume crop that comes up with many benefits i.e., dried pulse, fodder and green manure thus helps in human, animal nutrition and environmental health. It is a resilient plant that is resistant to a variety of diseases and pests especially to the Bruchids, it can be grown well in less fertile, exhausted, degraded lands and drought prone sloping areas; along with these, Rice bean contains genes for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, including drought, soil acidity tolerance especially for Aluminum ions. Waterlogging shows a greater negative impact on crops especially on legumes by reducing photosynthesis, plant growth, grain yield; formation, function and survival of nodules, biological nitrogen fixation, and may even causes plant death in severe waterlogged conditions. An insufficient supply of nitrogen or carbohydrates is thought to have hampered flowering plant life and recovery. Waterlogging at any stage has a detrimental impact on seed output. Depending on the conditions, flooding stress can range from transient to permanent. Based on the sort of flooding regime in the habitat, different species, or even different genotypes of the same species, choose an avoidance, escape, or quiescence strategies to overcome stress, among these coping options Rice bean may follow morphological alterations in the escape mechanism. As Rice bean can thrive well in adverse conditions and even in waterlogged conditions, once the exact reason behind this tolerance is explored, that feature can be used in breeding programs for crop improvement.

The field experiments were conducted to study effect of zinc (Zn) application on growth, yield, Zn uptake and Zn use indices of lentil (Lens culinaris or Lens esculanta) during rabi (October to March) seasons 2016 and 2017 in red and lateritic soil of West Bengal, India. There were two main plot treatments i.e., crop establishment methods (zero tillage and conventional tillage) and seven sub-plot treatments i.e. levels of Zn and methods of application (seed coating @ 0.6% ZnSO4.7H2O, 1.2% ZnSO4.7H2O and 1.8% ZnSO4.7H2O, two foliar sprays @ 0.5% ZnSO4.7H2O, three foliar sprays @ 0.5% ZnSO4.7H2O, seed coating @ 1.2% ZnSO4.7H2O+two foliar sprays @ 0.5% ZnSO4.7H2O and control were laid out in split plot design replicated thrice. The crop establishment methods did not show any significant influence on growth, yield and nutrient uptake by lentil. However, among the levels of Zn and methods of application, seed coating @ 1.8% ZnSO4.7H2O produced significantly taller plants, more leaf area index, dry matter accumulation and yield. Regarding Zn concentration, combination of seed coating and foliar application @ 1.2% ZnSO4.7H2O+two foliar sprays @ 0.5% ZnSO4.7H2O resulted in significantly higher concentration than other treatments. Zn use efficiency was significantly higher (seed coating @ 1.2% ZnSO4.7H2O for agronomic efficiency and physiological efficiency, seed coating @ 0.6% ZnSO4.7H2O for partial factor productivity and seed coating @ 1.8% ZnSO4.7H2O for apparent Zn recovery) as compared to that of foliar application or combined application of seed coating and foliar spray.

During recent decades, tremendous progress and innovations have been made in rice science with the goal of increasing production to meet the world's growing demands. This new volume provides a concise overview of rice, covering the background and importance of rice; origin, evolution, and domestication of rice; and the world rice production. It goes on to provide new and important recent research advances on many different aspects of rice science and production. The authors look at advances in rice ideotypes, abiotic stress management techniques, biotic stress affecting crop productivity, new methods and technology for cultivation, and new methods and techniques in rice grain quality analysis and processing. It also describes new rice varieties, new hybrid rice technology, and new breeding methods for rice.