Volume 56 contains six reviews covering key contemporary topics on crop and soil sciences. Three chapters focus on soils: heath and sustainability, phytoremediation of contaminated soils, and sorption by soils. The other three chapters focus upon the control of weeds, the improvement of drought tolerance in plants, and corn and aflatoxins. With this latest volume, Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a prolific and first-rate reference by the scientific community. In 1993 Advances in Agronomy increased its publication frequency to three volumes per year, and will continue this trend as the breadth of agronomic inquiry and knowledge continues to grow. - Soil health and sustainability - Phytoremediation - Biological control of weeds - Organic chemistry of soils - Drought tolerance in plants - Aflatoxins and corn