Lessons learned in Latin America is about the use and dissemination of cover crops in different agroecosystems need to be made more widely available not only to Spanish speaking, but also Anglophone regions. This publication aims to inform a wide range of actors involved in rural development projects, as well as those in applied research, of the potential of cover crops as components of low external input agricultural (LEIA) systems. Cover Crops are, or have the potential to be, an important component in complex, diverse, risk-prone and resource poor farming situations.
The publication includes selected case studies from four different countries within Latin America. These address key issues regarding crop cover integration in LEIA systems. A wide range of agroecosystems are covered by the case studies, so that the information can be adapted for use in other regions. The key issues covered by the case studies are the following: Cover crops in annual cropping systems (Honduras), Cover crops in Perennial crops (Bolivia), Role of cover crops in animal husbandry (Mexico), Cover crop systems – Soil improvement and conservation (Honduras), Alternatives to slash-and-burn (Mexico), Diffusion aspects of cover crop based systems, Applied research activities for agricultural systems improvement (Bolivia), Action research with campesino farmers in South-East Mexico.
Each organism has its own internal biological clock, which is reset by environmental cues (Zeitgebers), thus keeping it synchronized with the external environment. It is a chemically based oscillating system within cells, relying on molecular feedback loops. Circadian biological clocks exist in most organisms.
What is so special about the clock in fish? Where is it located—in the retina, inside the brain, or in the pineal? What is the molecular basis of its function? How is the clock able to keep time in the absence of environmental cues?
Although biological clocks have been intensively studied over the past four decades, only recently have the tools needed to examine the molecular basis of circadian rhythms become available. This book reviews the state of knowledge in sufficient detail and presents the latest contributions to the field, showing fish provide a unique model of the circadian biological clock.
Organic farming is a technique of producing crops, in which the use of synthetic and chemical inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives is avoided. To reduce the harm caused by indiscriminate use of synthetic chemicals, organic materials such as farm manure, compost, vermicompost, biofertilizer, biopesticide and so on, can be used. Over the years, need to go organic in agriculture is being increasingly felt for attaining sustainable production. The present book incorporates articles on different aspects of the subject in two sections. Section I deals with information on Organic Farming and Section II includes articles on Mycorrhizae. Both the sections provide most extensive and thematic coverage of the subject. It incorporates articles on organic farming, biofertilizers, PGPR bioinoculant, role of mycorrhiza in agriculture, biopesticides, VAM biotechnology and economics of bio-inputs usage in agriculture. It is of interest to agricultural scientists, teachers and researchers in the field of agriculture.
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Urban agriculture or urban farming is one of the hottest topics nowadays especially when governments, city planners, gardeners, farmers, food justice advocates, and other concerned groups discuss food security. Worldwide food supply is definitely a huge concern for many people all over the world.
This book contains proven steps and strategies on how to set up a food production system in urban areas where there are large populations.
This book covers the advantages and benefits of urban farming. It also outlines some of the best strategies for establishing and growing a farm in limited spaces. It also points out some of the challenges that you may face as well as some of the easiest solutions that are readily available to you.
Here Is A Preview Of What You’ll Learn…
What is Urban Farming?
The Benefits of Urban Farming
Starting a Sustainable Urban Farm
The Usual Challenges
Growing In Limited Spaces
Challenges and Solutions
And more….
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First there was subsistence farming. Then there was a technological revolution: develop- ments in machinery and chemicals allowed us to clear and cultivate land faster, feed plants and animals quicker (and grow them faster); and kill pests or diseases quickly. These new- found abilities seemed like a godsend to mankind; and throughout the 20th century we used them to their fullest, generally with little regard to any unforseen repercussions.
Gradually, time has revealed a variety of problems caused by this modern agricultural development, including chemical residues affecting plant and animal life on land and in the sea, soil degradation in the form of soil structural decline, erosion, salinity, soil acidification, loss of fertility, nutrient loading of waterways, dams and lakes and more.
As we move into the 21st century and concern about our environment grows, there is an obvious move towards more sustainable farming.
Sustainable farming is, in essence, concerned with anything that affects the sustain- ability of a farm. You cannot keep farming a property indefinitely if there is a degradation of resources (environmental resources, financial resources, equipment, machinery, materi- als, or any other resources). In the short to medium term, the problem of sustainability is overwhelmingly a financial one; but in the long term, environmental sustainability will possibly have a greater impact on the whole industry than anything else.
Why be sustainable?
If we can’t sustain agricultural production, we will eventually see a decline in production; hence a decline in food and other supplies. There is no escaping the fact that people need agricultural products to survive: for food, clothing, etc. Science may be able to introduce substitutes (eg synthetic fibres) but even the raw materials to make these will generally be limited. As the world’s population increases (or at best remains stable in some places) demand for agricultural produce increases accordingly. Poorly maintained farms produce less in terms of quantity and quality. Profitability decreases mean that surplus money is no
First there was subsistence farming. Then there was a technological revolution: develop- ments in machinery and chemicals allowed us to clear and cultivate land faster, feed plants and animals quicker (and grow them faster); and kill pests or diseases quickly. These new- found abilities seemed like a godsend to mankind; and throughout the 20th century we used them to their fullest, generally with little regard to any unforseen repercussions.
Gradually, time has revealed a variety of problems caused by this modern agricultural development, including chemical residues affecting plant and animal life on land and in the sea, soil degradation in the form of soil structural decline, erosion, salinity, soil acidification, loss of fertility, nutrient loading of waterways, dams and lakes and more.
As we move into the 21st century and concern about our environment grows, there is an obvious move towards more sustainable farming.
Sustainable farming is, in essence, concerned with anything that affects the sustain- ability of a farm. You cannot keep farming a property indefinitely if there is a degradation of resources (environmental resources, financial resources, equipment, machinery, materi- als, or any other resources). In the short to medium term, the problem of sustainability is overwhelmingly a financial one; but in the long term, environmental sustainability will possibly have a greater impact on the whole industry than anything else.
Why be sustainable?
If we can’t sustain agricultural production, we will eventually see a decline in production; hence a decline in food and other supplies. There is no escaping the fact that people need agricultural products to survive: for food, clothing, etc. Science may be able to introduce substitutes (eg synthetic fibres) but even the raw materials to make these will generally be limited.
