When plants are subjected to environmental stress conditions such as high light intensity, temperature extremes, drought, high salinity, herbicide treatment, or mineral deficiencies, the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species and the quenching activity of the antioxidants is upset, often resulting in oxidative damage. Oxidative damage to plants effects the overall production of the crop. To understand the effect of different environmental stresses it is essential to learn about the generation and quenching mechanism of the ROS. This volume gives the in-depth knowledge about how ROS is generated, what are its effects on biomolecules and how the crop productivity is affected and what are the mechanism of defense. This book also shows how transgenic approaches help us to protect the plants from environmental stresses without any effect on the crop productivity. Phytohormones which are very essential for the growth and development of the plant have also been shown to minimize the oxidative stress in plants. How the stress is sensed by the plant is also described in this volume as signalling pathways during salt stress. Heavy metals are easily taken up by plants and enters the food chain, causing serious health disorders in humans. This volume also covers the effect of different heavy metals on plants and their ability to sustain in such an environment. The volume also considers the role of mycorrhizal associations in alleviating the oxidative stress. Role of potassium in abating moisture stress is also highlighted in this volume. This volume provides invaluable information about the role of antioxidants in alleviating oxidative stress and will be very useful for biologists working on stress physiology. The volume is very much beneficial for the students, research scholars, plant physiologists and phytochemists of different research institutes and universities in India and abroad.

Dr. Parvaiz Ahmad has completed his M.Sc botany from Jamia Hamdard New Delhi in 2000. After qualifying his National Eligibility Test (NET/JRF) held by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi India, he joined Ph.D in Indian institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi, India. His Ph.D thesis was focussed on development of salt tolerant variants of mulberry. His main research area is stress physiology, molecular biology and plant tissue culture. He has published more than 20 research papers in high rated journals (National as well as International). He is also the editor and reviewer of number of national and international journals. Dr. Parvaiz was awarded Junior Research Fellowship and Senior Research Fellowship by CSIR, New Delhi, India, during his Ph.D. Dr. Parvaiz has also received Young Scientist Award under Fast Track scheme in 2007, by Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, New Delhi, India. At present Dr. Parvaiz is Assistant professor at A.S. College, Srinagar, University of Kashmir, India.Dr. Shahid Umar has done his M.Sc in 1983 from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. He has completed his M.Phil and Ph.D from National Research Centre for Groundnut (ICAR), Junagadh and A.M.U., Aligarh in 1989. The Doctoral thesis was on Potassium nutrition studies on groundnut under drought conditions. Dr. Umar has 30 years of research experience. Currently he is working on alleviation of nitrate toxicity in leafy vegetable, heavy metal toxicity, osmotic stress, nitrogen and potassium use efficiency in selected field. He has guided 6 Ph.Ds till date and 5 are in progress. He has 2-book and more than 100 research publications to his credit. He is member of various scientific societies (National as well as international). He is also the reviewer and editor of number of national and international journals. He has been awarded IPI-International Award (2003) instituted by International Potash Institute (Basel, Switzerland). At present Dr. Umar is Associate Professor, in Department of Botany, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi India.