Download Free Intercropping And Diversity Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Intercropping And Diversity and write the review.

This study shows how classical ecological principles, especially those relating to competition and population ecology, can be applied to growing two or more crops together and how the approach can improve agricultural yields.
Agro-Ecosystem Diversity: Impact on Food Security and Environmental Quality presents cutting-edge exploration of developing novel farming systems and introduces landscape ecology to agronomy. It encompasses the broad range of links between agricultural development and ecological impact and how to limit the potential negative results. Presented in seven sections, each focusing on a specific challenge to sustaining diversity, the book provides insights toward the argument that by re-introducing diversity, it should be possible to maintain a high level of productivity of agro-ecosystems while also maintaining and/or restoring a satisfactory level of environment quality and biodiversity. - Demonstrates that diversified agro-ecosystems can be intensified with environmental quality preserved, restored and enhanced - Includes analysis of economic constraints leading to specialization of farms and regions and the social locking forces resisting to diversification of agro-ecosystems - Presents a global vision of world agriculture and the tradeoff between a necessary increase in food production and restoring environment quality
The edited volume focuses on modern agro-technologies for achieving climate smart agriculture in China and meeting the UN sustainable development goals (especially SDGs 2, 13, and 15). It describes the technologies being adopted in China for meeting food security challenges, with the main focus being on soils. China is a large and diverse country, and what happens there has a global impact. In the past decades, China has achieved remarkable increases in food production, feeding nearly 20% of the world population with less than 10% of the arable land. This great achievement was mainly based on the intensive use of chemical inputs like fertilizers and pesticides, which in turn caused environmental pollution and food safety issues. China has fully realized this important issue and has adopted a “Zero Growth” policy to restrict the further increase in chemical fertilizers after 2020. Chinese scientists have developed regional optimum crop management practices and guidelines to increase crop yield and nutrient use efficiencies compared with current farming practices. Chinese agricultural soil is also currently in critical condition with severe environmental pollution. These agricultural practices need improvement to maintain sustainable food production with minimum environmental footprint. At present, the traditional mode of agricultural production in China is difficult to sustain. This book offers case studies and sustainable solutions for transforming agricultural sciences in China. The book is a useful reading material for stakeholders such as governments, policymakers, research institutions, and farmers.
Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for our children. This discipline addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, starvation, obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control and biodiversity depletion. Novel solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, philosophy and social sciences. As actual society issues are now intertwined, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series analyzes current agricultural issues, and proposes alternative solutions, consequently helping all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians wishing to build safe agriculture, energy and food systems for future generations.
Explore the latest research on biological control! Completely updated for 2004, this new edition examines methods for making agricultural systems less susceptible to insect pests. Containing new findings and reports of strategies, Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems, Second Edition will show you how pests can be managed by enhancing beneficial biodiversity using agroecological diversification methods. Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems, Second Edition provides you with an essential overview of the role of biodiversity in agriculture and then gets specific, with new and updated information on: the agroecology of pest management plant diversity and pest outbreaks within agroecosystems diversification strategies for pest management how sustainable farming systems are designed You'll also explore: the role of plant diversity on the biology of beneficial insects insect regulation in diverse agroecosystems manipulation of plant diversity in agroecosystems ecological and socioeconomic implications The fact is, many modern agroecosystems are unstable as a consequence of constant human intervention in crop systems which ignore ecological principles. With case studies on a variety of crops and pests, Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems, Second Edition explores entomological aspects of agriculture and analyzes the ecological basis for the maintenance of biodiversity. It will familiarize you with the theory and practice of enhancing biological pest control in agricultural systems by managing vegetational diversity via multiple cropping, cover cropping, rotations, and other spatial and temporal designs. With studies on intercropping, cover cropping, weed management, and crop-field border vegetation manipulation, this book covers the effects of these diverse systems on pest population density and the mechanisms underlying pest reduction in polycultures. Make it a part of your reference/teaching collection today!
Climate change has intensified in recent decades, which has affected crop production as well as facilitated the emergence of new diseases and insect pests, causing serious threats to agriculture. Farmers have mostly taken a crop-based approach to insect pest management (IPM); the authors of this new volume, however, take the unique approach that IPM based on specific cropping systems is more efficient, resulting in reduced cultivation costs, increased yield and profitability, and decreased residue from crop produce and products. This volume presents the results of research done by crop protection scientists on integrated pest management in diverse cropping systems based on rice, wheat, maize, pulses, food legumes, oilseeds, groundnut, potato, and other horticulture crops. With chapters written by well-known and experienced scientists in their fields, this volume provides in-depth knowledge on integrated pest management in conjunction with an array of specific cropping systems, taking into consideration all the elements, including the crops, crop sequences, spatial and temporal aspects of managing an agricultural system, and other aspects. This volume will be valuable for entomologists, plant pathologists, and agronomists, as well as for farmers—both small and industrial sized, agricultural extension centers, faculty and students, and many others involved with crop cultivation.
This book examines the challenges faced by farmers trying to maintain crop biodiversity in developing and transitional economies. Using a collection of empirical case studies of farmers and crop scientists across a range of agricultural economies and income levels, it presents economic tools and methods for valuing and managing crop biodiversity. It discusses the economic benefits of crop biodiversity for farmers and suggests ways in which crop biodiversity can be supported by national policies. The book provides an indispensable 'tool kit' for all those concerned with the development of strategies to facilitate sustainable management and conservation of crop genetic diversity for future generations.