This authoritative and wide-ranging book is a first-class contribution to the literature in the important area of biotechnology. It draws on the collective knowledge of a wide range of contributors to bring together a wide-ranging and detailed review of biotechnology in the 21st century. The book is aimed at a wide range of readers from graduate level students to a range of plant and agricultural scientists. Biotechnology is a key tool in the armoury to feed the world's rapidly growing population with food of the right quality and quantity and to allow crops to grow more efficiently in harsh environments with lower input costs.

The opening sections provide a useful review of the advances relevant to the science of biotechnology in a number of fields such as genomics, tissue culture and genetic transformation, as well as breeding and germplasm technologies. This is followed by a useful section on plants’ response to the environment and abiotic and biotic stresses, such as salinity and drought, and pests and diseases, as well as phytoremediation. The area of yield and quality traits is well covered, as are developments in post-harvest and storage quality management and use of plants as ‘factories’ for production of bioenergy and pharma and other biomaterials. The book is completed by a review and discussion in the crucially important areas of transgene flow, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), regulatory issues and biotechnology in developing countries. This is a comprehensive and highly useful overview of a crucial area of technology for human survival as we move forward into the new millennium.