Meet the editor

Aakash Goyal graduated with a degree in Biology from Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University (MDSU), Ajmer, in 1999. He obtained a master's in Biotechnology with a specialization in Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Breeding from Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology (GJUS&T), Hissar, in 2002, and a Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding with a specialization in Wheat Breeding from Chaudhary Charan Singh

Universit (CCSU), Meerut, in 2007. After earning his Ph.D., Dr. Goyal completed a visiting fellowship with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and joined the wheat and triticale breeding program at Lethbridge Research Center, Agriculture and Agri Food Canada (AAFC), Lethbridge. In 2012, he received an honorable position of Wheat Breeder for Bayer Crop Science, Saskatoon, Canada. In 2014, he took a senior research scientist position with the International Center of Agriculture Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA). In 2017, he moved back to Canada and joined InnoTech Alberta as a Native Plant Research Scientist. Since November 2019 he has been working as an agriculture specialist with Palm Gardens, Inc. In July 2021, he joined RAYN Cultivation Inc., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dr. Goyal has published ten books and fifty research papers, review articles, book chapters, and book reviews. He is also an elected fellow member of the International College of Nutrition (FICN) and Society of Applied Biotechnology (FSAB).

Contents

**Section 1**

*by Shyama R. Weerakoon*

and Consumption Security

*by Richard Olutayo Akinwale*

*by Yulin Jia and Melissa H. Jia*

*and M. Shahjahan Kabir*

Using Holistic Breeding Approach

*by Tobias Wojciechowski and Josefine Kant*

*by Ryusuke Oishi*

**Section 2**

Microbes

**Preface III**

Germplasm **1**

**Chapter 1 3**

**Chapter 2 21**

**Chapter 3 41**

**Chapter 4 59**

Agronomy and Breeding **69**

**Chapter 5 71**

**Chapter 6 91**

**Chapter 7 117**

Characterization of Wild Rice - *Oryza* Species Complexes in Sri Lanka

Economic Perspectives on Analysis of Ensuring Cereal Production

Present Status and Future Prospects of Drought Tolerance in Rice *by Veerendra Jaldhani, Ponnuvel Senguttuvel, Bathula Srikanth,* 

*Puskur Raghuveer Rao, Desiraju Subrahmanyam and Durbha Sanjeeva Rao*

Heterosis and Heterotic Grouping among Tropical Maize Germplasm

Physiological, Ecological and Genetic Interactions of Rice with Harmful

Enhancing Abiotic Stress Tolerance to Develop Climate-Smart Rice

*by M. Akhlasur Rahman, Hasina Khatun, M. Ruhul Amin Sarker, Hosneara Hossain, M. Ruhul Quddus, Khandakar M. Iftekharuddaula* 

How Sorghum Root Traits Can Contribute to Cereal Yield Increase
