Saad Abdel Rahman Sulieman Mohamed Knihy

This thoughtful and provocative book offers a concise, contemporary examination of how current and projected phosphorus scarcity impacts legume growth and their nitrogen-fixing capabilities. It explores the physiological and molecular responses of nodules to phosphorus deficiency to identify common principles relevant to crop productivity. Students and researchers in various agricultural disciplines will find this work a valuable contribution to plant stress physiology. The insights provided can assist plant breeders, particularly through innovative genetic engineering methods, in developing unique cultivars with enhanced symbiotic efficiency. With the world's population rapidly increasing, agricultural production must rise correspondingly to sustain future food demands. Legumes play a crucial role in this context, offering abundant proteins and oils while contributing significantly to agricultural sustainability and human health. Their ability to fix nitrogen in partnership with rhizobia presents a resource-conserving alternative to chemical fertilizers, enhancing crop productivity and reducing fossil fuel consumption, which in turn mitigates global warming effects. However, low soil phosphorus availability remains a major constraint for legume production, as most soils are phosphorus-deficient. This book addresses how nodule nitrogen fixation responds to low phosphorus conditions, highlighting its importance for improving le