Recent Trends in Horticultural Biotechnology

Contents Preface. 1. Introduction to horticulture. 2. History of horticulture. 3. Nontraditional soil amendments. 4. Weed management. 5. Importance and scope of horticulture in India. 6. Indian floriculture industry present status and scope. Bibliography. Index. All soil amendments including traditional amendments such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides have both beneficial and detrimental effects on soil and environmental quality. The positive and negative effects of most traditional soil amendments are clearly understood and years of experience and research have helped us learn how to manage these materials to maximize their beneficial effects and minimize or eliminate any detrimental effects. While some by products materials such as sewage sludge or biosolids have been extensively researched and are widely used this is not the case for most of them. Some by products may be used as a source of plant macro and micronutrients others may be used as a limestone substitute to neutralize soil acidity. Some may add organic matter to soils and others as a soil conditioner. Furthermore these beneficial effects generally will be provided at no or very low economic cost to the farmer. The present book tries to explore all these topics and problems in an easy and comprehensive manner undersigned is confident enough that readers will enjoy and grasp the matter of the text. 336 pp.…