Agricultural Chemistry

Four main things are required for plants to grow: sunlight, water, nutrients, and protection from predators. Chemistry has directly impacted water and nutrient availability and pest protection: water purification techniques have been developed to improve water quality and create safe and usable water in regions where access to such was low.

There are several ways chemistry can be applied to agriculture, such as understanding the underlying biochemical reactions that cause plant growth; undertaking chemical analysis of the soil to indicate what nutrients are required to maximize harvest and developing pesticides and fertilizers to protect and promote growth of the crops.

Majority of the mechanisms that control plant growth include chemistry in one way or another, however, this discipline does not exist in isolation. It brings together research areas including genetics, microbiology, and biochemistry to bring about improvements to the practice of growing and harvesting plants.

This collection aims to collate recent and novel research ranging from experimental developments to real-world applications that are related to but not limited to the following topics:

• Crop preservation/storage techniques
• Crop yield and quality control
• Fertilizer development and soil fertility improvement
• Irrigation and prevention of drought stress
• Pesticide & insecticide development
• Plant & soil nutrition
• Removal of chemicals from agricultural waste
• Plants adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses
• Increase the sustainability of agricultural systems
• Microbial agricultural chemicals
• Non-destructive analytical techniques

Collection advisors: Rene Herrera Diaz