Plant Regulation and World Agriculture

By the year 2000, the most critical world problem--as things stand now--will be sustaining the human race. The quality and the availability of food will continue to be central to this issue. However, since the beginning of the final quarter of the twentieth century, few attempts have been made to organize and integrate information applying our knowledge of the regulation of plant growth to the enhancement of the world's yield of food, forage, fiber, and other useful plants. It is appropriate, therefore, to approach a solution to future human needs by combining an area of basic science with a defined and needed application of it. The purpose of this NATO Advanced Study Institute--Plant Regulation and World Agriculture--is reflected in the content of this volume. It covers a wide range of physiological processes including photosynthesis, translocation, seed germination, source- sink relationships, water relationships, flowering, fruiting, and adaptations to stress. The identification, chemistry, and bio- chemistry of naturally occurring as well as known and new synthetic plant growth regulators are discussed in relation to productivity, growth retardation, and herbicidal activity. Other topics include plant breeding and genetics, tissue culture and its use in the improvement of and the increase in plant varieties, and ecological implications in agriculture. Chapter titles in bold print in the Table of Contents designate keynote presentations for the three major subtopics in Section II.