Brings togther 21 leading authorities in plant biology and agriculture to present a synthesis of issues on: genetics and plant breeding, molecular biology and genetic engineering, plant development and reproduction, soils and plant nutrition, agro-ecology and the sustainability of agricultural practices, population increases and the difficulty of eradicating hunger, pest control practices and their environmental consequences, the role of biotechnology in modern crop production. Scope is not strictly towards American or even "Western" agriculture, as many examples are taken from agricultural problems in developing countries.