Advances in seed science and technology for more sustainable crop production

Part 1 Understanding seeds: from biology to the field
1.Seed dormancy and germination: a critical update: Henk W. M. Hilhorst, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands and University of Cape Town, South Africa;
2.Understanding the effects of maternal environment in controlling seed dormancy: Roberto L. Benech-Arnold, Cátedra de Cultivos Industriales, IFEVA-Facultad de Agronomía (CONICET/UBA), Argentina; M. Verónica Rodríguez, Cátedra de Fisiología Vegetal, IFEVAFacultad de Agronomía (CONICET/UBA), Argentina; Diego Batlla, Cátedra de Cerealicultura, IFEVA-Facultad de Agronomía (CONICET/UBA), Argentina; and Rocío Fernández Farnocchia, Cátedra de Cultivos Industriales, IFEVA-Facultad de Agronomía (CONICET/UBA), Argentina;
3.Applying population-based threshold models to quantify and improve seed quality attributes: Kent J. Bradford and Pedro Bello, University of California-Davis, USA;
4.Biotic sources of seed losses influencing germination and emergence success in crop plants and agricultural weeds: James W. Dalling and Adam S. Davis, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA;
5.Advances in understanding the genetic and environmental factors determining seed longevity: Julia Buitink and Olivier Leprince, Institut Agro, Univ Angers, INRAE, IRHS, France;

Part 2 Seed quality control and treatment
6.Advances in seed phenotyping using X-ray imaging: Sherif Hamdy, Aurélie Charrier and Laurence Le Corre, GEVES, France; Pejman Rasti, Université d’Angers and École d’ingénieur Informatique et Environnement (ESAIP), France; and David Rousseau, Université d’Angers, France;
7.Advances in testing seed health: Peter Bonants, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands;
8.Advances in preservation of seed vigour during storage: Fiona R. Hay, Aarhus University, Denmark;
9.Enhancing seed defence mechanisms against pathogens: John Hampton, Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, New Zealand;
10.Advances in seed priming techniques: Henry Bruggink, Incotec Europe, The Netherlands;

Dr Julia Buitink is a Research Director at IRHS (the Research Institute of Horticulture and Seeds) within INRAE (the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment). Dr Buitink is President of the International Society for Seed Science (ISSS). She is internationally renowned for her research on regulatory networks involved in the acquisition of seed vigour during development.

Dr Olivier Leprince is Professor of Plant Physiology at L’Institut Agro Rennes Angers, France. Professor Leprince is a world-leading expert on the seed desiccation tolerance, longevity and vigour. He is ISSS Regional Representative for Western Europe and Scandinavia and Associate Editor of Seed Science Research.

“The editors of this excellent book, Dr Julia Buitink and Dr Olivier Leprince, are two world-renowned seed scientists. They have brought together a fantastic team of experts for the ten book chapters with topics covering the broad and diverse field of seed science, providing the latest technological advances and bridging the fundamental and applied research relevant for supporting a more sustainable crop production. In summary, this is a highly attractive and comprehensive book into advances in seed science and technology for more sustainable crop production, written by world experts. It is a valuable source of information for advanced-level university students, academic and industrial researchers, and other professionals across a wide range of plant science disciplines and beyond in seed sector agencies. The attractive format of the chapters with many excellent colour figures and extensive lists of relevant literature are beneficial for university-level teaching and industrial workshops. This illuminating book addresses the key challenges facing seed science and deserves high recommendation.” (Book Review by Professor Gerhard Leubner, Royal Holloway University of London, UK – Published in Seed Science Research)

“In Advances in seed science and technology for more sustainable crop production, Dr Julia Buitink and Professor Olivier Leprince have collected the works of notable authors to establish a higher understanding of seed quality, germination and dormancy, not to mention how seeds for both crop plants and weeds behave when in the soil or stored for future use. I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it. It contains literally thousands of references and resources that I expect to use well into the future.” (Book Review by Dr Michael Sussman, USDA-ARS, USA – Published in Seed Science and Technology)