Calcium carbide as a precursor of ethylene

Present-day agriculture is dependent on application of agrochemicals including fertilizers and pesticides resulting in enhanced crop yields. However, use of excessive amounts of these chemicals has led to increased concerns about the health of global environment. In addition, the ever-increasing rates of these inputs and their shortage at crucial times has implications to agricultural economics as well as the well-being of farming community. These concerns have instigated the researchers to look for strategies that will help plants do better with minimum inputs under diverse agricultural conditions. An approach gaining popularity is the use of plant growth regulators (PGRs) that are produced within the plant tissues as well as available for exogenous application following microbial or chemical synthesis. Amongst many kinds of PGRs, ethylene is reported to have enormous effects on plants growth and developments. The main theme of the book is to use calcium carbide as a source of ethylene and exploit its potential of enhancing crop yields. This book encompasses agronomic, physiological and molecular aspects of wheat and cotton by the activity of soil applied calcium carbide.