Achieving sustainable cultivation of apples (Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science, 18) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1786760320 ISBN 13: 9781786760326

Publisher: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

Drawing on an international range of expertise, this collection focuses on ways of improving the cultivation of apples as a food crop at each step in the value chain, from breeding through to post-harvest storage. The book first reviews research in apple physiology and breeding. The following sections focus on cultivation techniques through to post-harvest storage, followed by a discussion of diseases and pests and their management. Concluding chapters address wider issues such as economics, consumer trends and sustainability.

Achieving sustainable cultivation of apples will be a standard reference for fruit and horticultural scientists in universities, government and other research centres and companies producing apples.

About this title

From the Back Cover

‘No other publication has this international range of expertise. In linking physiology, breeding, husbandry, plant health, nutrition and sustainability, it promises to be a benchmark reference for crop and food scientists, practitioners and students. A signal achievement by any measure.’ (Emeritus Professor Silviero Sansavini, University of Bologna, Italy)

Originating in Central Asia, apples are one of the most important fruits globally and are grown in over 100 countries. Apple cultivation faces a number of challenges. Increasing global competition has put the focus on lowering costs whilst further improving sensory quality and shelf-life. There is a need to reduce inputs such as water, fertiliser and labour, both to save costs and reduce environmentally-damaging emissions and pollution. There is a continual battle with fungal, viral and bacterial diseases as well as insect pests. In the long term there is a need for new varieties able to withstand disease or more extreme conditions associated with climate change. This means preserving genetic variety and exploiting new molecular breeding techniques opened up by the sequencing of the apple genome in 2010.

Drawing on an international range of expertise, this collection focuses on ways of improving the cultivation of apples as a food crop at each step in the value chain, from breeding through to post-harvest storage. Volume 1 reviews research in apple physiology and breeding as well as diseases and pests and their management. Chapters in Part 1 start by discussing genetic diversity and the apple genome. They then review research on apple physiology and how this understanding can be applied to rootstock improvement and marker-assisted breeding. Part 2 summarises recent research on understanding pre- and postharvest fungal diseases, viruses, bacterial diseases and insect pests, as well as integrated disease management and the development of pest and disease-resistant varieties.

Achieving sustainable cultivation of apples Volume 1: Physiology, breeding, pests and diseases will be a standard reference for fruit and horticultural scientists in universities, government and other research centres and companies producing apples. It is accompanied by Volume 2 which reviews improvements in cultivation techniques.

Dr Kate Evans is Professor of Horticulture at the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center at Washington State University, USA.

About the Author

Dr Kate Evans is Professor of Horticulture at the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center at Washington State University, USA.

Dr Kate Evans is Professor of Horticulture at the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center at Washington State University, USA.

Gerry Neilsen obtained his PhD.in Soils Science at McGill University in Montreal in 1977 and has worked at PARC-Summerland and at the national Soil Research Institutes in Ottawa and Aberdeen Scotland as well as with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture in Guelph Ontario in a research career spanning 37 years. Since his retirement in 2015 he has been an Honorary Research Associate at Summerland. At the Pacific Agriculture Research Centre in Summerland he has investigated soil and nutrient management strategies for intensive horticultural production systems including vegetables, temperate tree fruits and grapes. Considerable effort has been placed on development of techniques to optimize plant and fruit nutrition via fertigation, foliar and soil amendment and fertilizer applications of nutrients including N, P, K, B and Zn. The effects of orchard and vineyard floor vegetation management, mulching and organic soil amendments on nutrient cycling, soil quality and tree performance have also been assessed. He has authored or co-authored 160+ scientific manuscripts.

Dr. Manoj Karkee is an Associate Professor in the Biological Systems Engineering Department and the Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems at Washington State University (WSU). He was born in Nepal where he received his undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering. He received his MS from Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand and his PhD in Agricultural Engineering and Human Computer Interaction from Iowa State University. Dr. Karkee leads a strong research program in the area of agricultural automation and mechanization with a particular emphasis on sensing, machine vision and control for agricultural robotics. Some of his major research topics include fresh market apple and cherry harvesting, fruit tree and berry bush pruning, weed control in vegetable crops, and energy crop harvesting. He has published extensively in journals such as Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, and the Transactions of the ASABE and has been an invited speaker at several national and international conferences. Dr. Karkee is currently serving as an associate editor for Transactions of the ASABE, editorial board member for Image Processing in Agriculture, and editorial advisory board member of Computers and Electronics in Agriculture.

Professor Chris Watkins is Herman H. Cohn Professor of Horticulture and Associate Dean at Cornell University and Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension. An internationally-renowned expert on postharvest physiology, and a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science. He is the current Chair of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) Division for Postharvest and Quality Assurance, and a member of the editorial board of the journal Postharvest Biology and Technology.

About this edition

• Publisher: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1786760320
• ISBN 13: 9781786760326
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 616
• Editor: Evans Prof Kate