Preface

Ensuring food security for the growing global population is a modern problem that must be addressed. Agronomists and plant biologists are responsible for improving crop production, which is the art and science of producing food by exploiting land and natural resources. However, various abiotic and biotic stresses as well as loss of soil productivity and natural biodiversity are hindering crop production. The success of crop production largely depends on how efficiently the crops are managed and cultivated. With the advancement of science and technology, many improved methods of crop production have been developed and are currently being practiced by farmers. However, due to the adverse effects of climate change, crop production warrants new methods and techniques to produce maximum output in a unit area. New approaches to soil management, crop husbandry, and water and nutrient management are being researched and adopted for crop production. Low-input agronomic practices are contributing to sustainable agriculture and food production. Considering these issues, researchers have been developing new approaches to make crop production more sustainable. Many agronomic strategies have also been developed to enhance stress tolerance in crops as well. This book provides a current and comprehensive overview of various crop production practices in the changing world.

Across twenty-one comprehensive chapters, this book details various soil and crop management issues, including modern techniques in enhancing crop production in the era of climate change. There are a few case studies and experimental evidence about these production systems in specific locations. The first section (Crop Production and Farming System) contains six chapters related to different issues and experimental evidence of managing farms and ways of crop production. As soil is at the heart of crop production systems, the second section (Soil Management) includes six chapters that present various soil management options, including nutrient management in different crops, different environments, and soil conditions. The final section (Sustainable and Advanced Technologies for Crop Production) includes eight chapters that discuss recent approaches for sustainable crop production, including biotechnology, nanotechnology, and precision agriculture.

We would like to give special thanks to the authors for their outstanding and timely work in producing such excellent chapters. We are very thankful to Nina Kalinic Babic, Author Service Manager at IntechOpen publishing, for her prompt responses during the acquisition. We believe that this book is useful for undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, and researchers, particularly in the fields of crop science, soil science, and agronomy.

> **Dr. Mirza Hasanuzzaman** Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

> > **Dr. Masayuki Fujita** Kagawa University, Japan

> > > **1**

Section 1

Crop Production

and Farming System

**Dr. Marcelo Carvalho Minhoto Teixeira Filho and Dr. Thiago Assis Rodrigues Nogueira** São Paulo State University, Brazil Section 1
