Achieving sustainable cultivation of rice Volume 2: Cultivation, pest and disease management

1. The origin, domestication and dispersal of bananas : Hugo Volkaert, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Thailand
2. Understanding the banana industry: monoculture and beyond : Dan Koeppel, Independent Journalist and Researcher, USA
3. Banana cultivation in Africa : W. K. Tushemereirwe and J. Kubiriba, National Agricultural Research Laboratories, Uganda
4. Challenges and opportunities for smallholders in banana value chains : William Tinzaara, Bioversity International, Uganda; Dietmar Stoian, Bioversity International, France, Walter Ocimati, Enoch Kikulwe and Gloria Otieno, Bioversity International, Uganda; and Guy Blomme, Bioversity International, Ethiopia
5. A functional approach to bunch formation in banana : D. W. Turner, School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Australia and D. J. Gibbs, Consultant, Perth, Australia
6. Banana plant propagation methods : Sharon D. Hamill, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Australia
7. Conserving banana germplasm through field genebanks : Mike Smith, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Australia
8. Good agricultural practices: an end point or a starting point for more sustainable banana production? : Charles Staver, Bioversity International, France
9. Challenges in cultivation of bananas in the subtropics : Víctor Galán Saúco, Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agrarias, Spain
10. Nutrition and soil management in banana cultivation : Jetse J. Stoorvogel, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; and Rafael A. Segura, CORBANA S.A., Costa Rica
11. Harvesting and packaging of bananas : Juan José Aycart, Dole, Ecuador
12. Ripening systems for bananas : Frits Popma, Popma Fruit Expertise, The Netherlands
13. Life cycle assessment and carbon footprint of banana cultivation : Louis Bockel, Laure-Sophie Schiettecatte and Orane Debrune, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Italy
14. Sustainable banana cultivation: from standards to multiple solutions : Sietze Vellema and Kees Jansen, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
15. Organic banana cultivation and sustainability : Frans Wielemaker, Consultant (formerly Director of Research at Dole Fresh Fruit International), Costa Rica

Dr Takuji Sasaki is Professor at the Nodai Research Institute, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan. Professor Sasaki is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Rice, and played a leading role in the international rice genome sequencing project.

"Rice feeds half the world population. Production of rice must continue to increase at the rate of one percent a year to maintain food security. This will require varieties with higher yield potential and better management practices. This collection summarizes the latest technologies for genetic improvement of rice and for its management under diverse environments. It will serve as standard reference for rice scientists." (Professor Gurdev Khush, University of California-Davis, USA; formerly the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), winner of the Japan Prize, the World Food Prize and the Wolf Prize)