Botanical Extracts and Their Phytochemicals: Potentiality in the Development of Sustainable Agriculture

In an effort to make sustainable agriculture a reality, researchers and scientists are trying novel ways to improve soil quality. Efforts are being made to use various types of botanicals or plant-based formulations in agriculture to upgrade overall crop productivity. This new volume highlights scientific approaches that include agricultural, pharmacological, and pharmaceutical aspects of botanical extracts, their phytochemical properties, and their use in the field of plant biology.

This book provides a better understanding of the use of botanicals and their extracts, active ingredients, extraction processes, and analytical methods, as well as the rules and regulations for formulations for application in agriculture as fungicides, pesticides, insecticides, biostimulants, and fertilizers. In addition, the book also spotlights the usage of botanicals for better stress tolerance, postharvest quality assurance, and enhanced agricultural output.

Mahesh R. Ghule, PhD (Microbiology), qualified the National Eligibility Test (NET) under the Life Science subject and the Graduate Aptitude Test of Engineering (GATE) under the Biological Science subject. He has more than 13 years of experience and is currently working on organic farming and the integration of artificial intelligence in the development of sustainable farming for different crops in India. He is the Head of Research and Development at Ajay Biotech India Ltd, Pune, India, and he is involved in the production of organic /or residue-free vegetables, fruits, and grains at Cultivate Agro Farm in Pune, India. Dr. Ghule is a recipient of many awards and has participated in several national and international conferences organized by reputed scientific bodies in India. He has several scientific publications to his credit, published in highly reputed and impacted journals, such as articles in plant pathology journals such as the Journal of Plant Disease, Archive of Plant Pathology and Plant Protection, Australian Plant Pathology, and The Plant Pathology Journal, which attest to his scientific insight, fine experimental skills, and outstanding writing skills. Dr. Ghule has written many book chapters, including Soil Chemical Pollution and Remediation, Remediation of Agrochemicals in Soil and Environment, and Various Diseases Incidence on Fenugreek Crops and Their Management, for some of the world’s leading scholarly publishing houses, such as Springer Nature, Elsevier, and Taylor & Francis Group.

M. Naeem is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany at Aligarh Muslim University, India. His research aims to escalate the production of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) and their active principles, reducing the cost of medicines for the masses and using potent PGRs under normal and stressful environmental conditions. He has also accomplished substantial research in the field of growing medicinal legumes. He has more than 22 years of experience working on MAPs. His research also focuses on abiotic stress tolerance in medicinal plants and how to cope with this trauma. Dr. Naeem has published over 100 research papers in reputable international journals. He has also authored 14 books and co-authored several book chapters published by global publishers. For his research contributions, Dr. Naeem has received numerous honours and recognitions.

Iffat Zareen Ahmad, PhD, is working as a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering, Integral University, Lucknow, India. Her area of expertise involves plant and algal biotechnology, natural products, stress biology, nanoformulations, and pharmacology. She has around 85 publications to her credit with publishers of international repute and high impact factors. To date, 16 students have been awarded their doctoral degrees under her supervision. Her work has been recognized globally, and she has received many awards and recognitions from national and international agencies. She has been awarded prestigious research projects from the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and Life Sciences Research Board, and the Defence Research and Development Organization (India). She is on the panel of examiners for many national and international educational organizations. She is the Chairperson of the Internal Complaints Committee of Integral University and plays an instrumental role in organizing several programs under the aegis of the Mission Shakti initiative by the government of U.P. She earned her BSc and MSc degrees as well as her PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Allahabad, India.