Mechanisms of Plant Fertilization

Contents: Preface. 1. Soil fertility. 2. Plant nutrition and fertilisers. 3. Nitrogen fertilisation. 4. Phosphorus fertilisation. 5. Organic manures and chemical fertilisers. 6. Crop rotation and fertilisation. 7. Fertilisers for greenhouse production. 8. Tools in ornamental plant breeding. 9. Fertilisation of woody plants. 10. Soil testing and fertility. 11. Fertilisation and disease. Bibliography. Index.

"In higher plants the meristem tissues in the root and stem tips, in the buds and in the cambium are areas of active growth. Plants also differ from animals in the internal structure of the cell and in certain details of reproduction. In addition, plants grow continually throughout life and have no maximum size or characteristic form in the adult, as do animals. In these the gametophyte stage is completely reduced, and the sporophyte begins life inside an enclosure called a seed, which develops while on the parent plant, and with fertilization by means of pollen grains.

Whereas other vascular plants, such as ferns, reproduce by means of spores and so need moisture to develop, some seed plants can survive and reproduce in extremely arid conditions.

This book examines carefully, and with many vivid details. It tries to integrate the perspective of the social and technical aspects of plant fertilization." (jacket)