Various environmental conditions including both abiotic (wind, temperature, water, soil, light, etc.) and biotic (micro-organisms, viruses, insects, plants and animals) exert their influences on plants. Here, four environmental factors have been selected for dicussion. They include abiotic (water and temperature) and biotic (insects and plant diseases). Despite the evolution of natural defense mechanisms, many especially food and fiber crops, still experience serious losses every year due to environmental stress. Recently, scientists have learned to manipulate plants to overcome some of these conditions through newly discovered techniques such as molecular genetics and biotechnology. An important goal of this workshop is to bring together specialists in these fields to share their expertise with the plants scientists at the major Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's).
