This book provides a precise and meticulous overview of the production technologies involved in the cultivation of tropical plants. Technological advances have transformed the cultivation of fruit and ornamental plants from agronomic to value-added plants. The book highlights the essentials for developing tropical plants with increased nutritive, nutraceutical, and aesthetic value.

Important advances in tropical plant breeding achieved by French research teams of Cirad, Inra and Ird, in collaboration with counterpart staff in tropical countries, are reviewed in the present publication. All 24 chapters focus on different plants, and include: in-depth analysis of trait diversity in cultivated forms and links with related wild species; overviews of breeding techniques and biotechnological innovations utilized by breeders; assessment of genetic progress, based on examples from varietal improvement and extension programmes.

This book attempts to provide to provide concise, critical, synthetic and up-to-date coverage of different aspects of plant disease management. The first eleven chapters are devoted to principles and related aspects and the remining seven to management practices based on them. The book attempts to capture some of the images of such rapidly expanding fields as host-parasite recognition and biotechnology even at the risk of making the subject a bit conceptual. This book is intended to serve as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of plant pathology and related disciplines and as a reference source for teachers, researchers, students, and technologists.

Among the Horticultural Crops, Fruits and Vegetables (FV) are of primary - portance as the key source of essential components in an adequate and balanced human diet. FV have supported largely the daily food requirement of mankind since ages and even before man learned to grow cereal crops systematically. Over the years, growing FV has been the mainstay of rural economy and has emerged as an indispensable part of agriculture world over, offering farmers a wide range of crops in varied topography and climate. In certain parts of the world, FV are the major dietary staple. Apart from being a rich source of vitamins and minerals, this sector also contributes significantly in economy of the region or the nation. The increased income from per unit area of FV is far ahead and can not be compared with that of cereal crops. A recent survey by the Economist revealed that the world population has - creased by 90 % in the past 40 years while food production has increased only by 25 % per head. With an additional 1. 5 billion mouth to feed by 2020, farmers worldwide have to produce 39 % more. Looking at the load of the future food requirement, the global increased production of FV during last few years has absorbed the additional food requirement and accordingly the eating habits are also changing and shifting - wards more consumption of these commodities worldwide.