Agronomy is an important field of study in the discipline of agricultural science that primarily deals with crop production and soil management for food, fuel and other useful products. The aim of this book is to provide an understanding of the multiple aspects of agronomy with the help of concepts such as sustainable agriculture, crop rotation, plant breeding and genetics, use of fertilizers, crop yield, etc. This book, with its detailed analyses and data, will prove immensely beneficial to professionals and students engaged in this field at various levels.

Agronomy is the field of science that takes into account a more holistic and integrated view of the agriculture and all the important fields related to it. It encompasses soil classification, crop rotation, irrigation and drainage, plant physiology, plant breeding, soil fertility, weed control, insect and pest control. Crop science on the other hand focuses on the effects of drought, water use efficiency, effect of temperatures on crops, mineral deficiency and toxicity stress and to reduce them. These are overlaping fields as they both concentrate on crops. This book attempts to understand the multiple branches that fall under the disciplines of agronomy and crop science and how such concepts have practical applications. The various studies that are constantly contributing towards advancing technologies and evolution of these fields are examined in detail. From theories to research to practical applications, case studies related to all contemporary topics of relevance to this field have been included in this book. It will help the readers in keeping pace with the rapid changes in this field. It will serve as a reference to a broad spectrum of readers.

Agronomic crops have been used to provide foods, beverages, fodders, fuels, medicines and industrial raw materials since the dawn of human civilization. Today, agronomic crops are being cultivated by employing scientific methods instead of traditional methods. However, in the current era of climate change, agronomic crops are subjected to various environmental stresses, which results in substantial yield loss. To meet the food demands of the ever-increasing global population, new technologies and management practices are being adopted to boost yield and maintain productivity under both normal and adverse conditions. Scientists are now exploring a variety of approaches to the sustainable production of agronomic crops, including varietal development, soil management, nutrient and water management, pest management, etc. Researchers have also made remarkable progress in developing stress tolerance in crops through different approaches. However, achieving optimal production to meet the increasing food demand is an open challenge. Although there have been numerous publications on the above-mentioned problems, and despite the extensive research being conducted on them, there is hardly any comprehensive book available. In response, this book offers a timely resource, addressing all aspects of production technologies, management practices and stress tolerance in agronomic crops in a single volume.

This textbook explains the various aspects of sustainable agricultures to undergraduate and graduate students. The book first quantifies the components of the crop energy balance, i.e. the partitioning of net radiation, and their effect on the thermal environment of the canopy. The soil water balance and the quantification of its main component (evapotranspiration) are studied to determine the availability of water to rain fed crops and to calculate crop water requirements. Then it sets the limitations of crop production in relation to crop phenology, radiation interception and resource availability (e.g. nutrients). With that in mind the different agricultural techniques (sowing, tillage, irrigation, fertilization, harvest, application of pesticides, etc.) are analyzed with special emphasis in quantifying the inputs (sowing rates, fertilizer amounts, irrigation schedules, tillage plans) required for a given target yield under specific environmental conditions (soil & climate). For all techniques strategies are provided for improving the ratio productivity/resource use while ensuring sustainability. The book comes with online practical focusing on the key aspects of management in a crop rotation (collecting weather data, calculating productivity, sowing rates, irrigation programs, fertilizers rates etc).

Agronomy deals with the principles and practices of crop production and soil management. In its broader sense, it includes crop ecology, crop production, crop nutrition, soil fertility, water management, weed control, seed technology etc. To be a good agronomist, one needs to have a sound knowledge of all these agronomic aspects as also some related aspects from other sciences. The task of selecting the terms to be included in any branch of science offers many difficulties particularly in Agronomy, which draws upon from several diverse fields of agriculture. How far, it is advisable to include terms from those over lapping science which lie on the borderland is a question on which no two people might think alike. A compilation of available information has been a felt need of students, teachers, research workers and administrators in Agronomy. This book makes an attempt to present the available information on Agronomy in an easily understandable manner. It would be useful not only to graduate and post graduate students and those appearing in the competitive examinations, but also to the teachers and researchers of the Agricultural Universities / research organizations.