Crop Protection Articles
-
The economic impact of transgenic crops in developing countries: a note on the methods
A vast literature has accumulated since crop varieties with transgenic resistance to insects and herbicide tolerance were released to farmers in 1996 and 1997. A comparatively minor segment of this literature consists of studies conducted by agricultural economists to measure the farm-level impact of transgenic crop varieties, the size and distribution of the economic benefits from adopting them ...
-
Nitrogen supply for cover crops and effects on peanut grown in succession under a no-till system
In Brazil, as no-till (NT) crop management expands, there is an increased interest in growing peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) with this system. However, it is not known if the preceding cover crop species, the amount of straw on the soil surface, or the N supplied to the cover crop will affect peanut grown in a NT system. An experiment was conducted on a Typic Haplorthox in Botucatu, São Paulo ...
-
Planting date and cultivar effects on grain yield in dryland corn production
Corn (Zea mays L.) production is gradually spreading into the Sudan savanna zone of West Africa where production is limited by erratic and inadequate rainfall. To increase corn production, production practices should be properly designed to minimize the effects of low precipitation and high temperatures that characterize the zone. A study, to determine the performance of late (120 d), early (90 ...
-
Attitudes of farmers toward sludge use in the Gaza Strip
The local production of organic fertiliser in the Gaza Strip is 66,800 m³/year, which represents only 8.5% of the required quantities. This means that farmers have to import 728,000 m³ of organic fertiliser per year, which costs around 10.2 Mio US$. The social survey carried out for more than 300 farmers in the Gaza Strip shows that the scarcity of organic fertilisers and their high prices could ...
-
Watering Scarcity: Private investment opportunities in agricultural water use efficiency
This report was prepared by Rabobank in collaboration with the World Resources Institute. In many regions around the world, demand for fresh water now outstrips renewable supplies. Water scarcity is projected to worsen considerably due to a combination of factors such as population increase, higher incomes and changing lifestyles, pollution, and climate change. Agriculture is by far the biggest ...
-
Summer cover crop and management system affect lettuce and cantaloupe production system
Cover crops are widely used in both conventional and organic systems to protect and improve the soil. This study evaluated the effect of summer cover crop and management system on the production of fall romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and spring cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L.) from 1999 to 2003. Cover crop treatments included cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] incorporated (CPI), cowpea used ...
-
Evaluation of convective heat and mass transfer in Open Sun and Green House Drying
In this paper, a study on open sun and green house drying has been performed to evaluate the convective heat and mass transfer coefficients as a function of climatic parameters. The hourly data for the rate of moisture removal, crop temperature, relative humidity inside greenhouse and outside greenhouse and ambient air temperature for complete drying have been recorded. The experiments were done ...
-
Social resistance to biotechnology: attempts to create a Genetically Modified-free territory in Brazil
This paper looks at the attempt to create a territory free of transgenic crops in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) Although the state government had legal grounds under federal law and court decisions that banned these crops in Brazil, resistance by groups representing local farmers managed to disseminate the planting of transgenic soybeans in the state. The reasons for the government's ...
-
Soil organic carbon after twelve years of various crop rotations in an aridic boroll
Eliminating summer fallow or establishing perennial grass elicited measurable gains in soil organic C (SOC) after just 6 yr in a crop rotation study on an Aridic Boroll in southern Alberta. This study was resampled after 12 yr to determine if SOC increases were continuing with time and to evaluate the impact of alternative crop rotation and fertilizer treatments on SOC. The crop rotation ...
-
The impact of using GM insect resistant maize in Europe since 1998
Genetically Modified (GM) insect resistant (Bt) maize crops have been grown commercially in the European Union (EU) since 1998, and in 2006, there were plantings in seven EU member states. This paper reviews the specific economic impacts on yield and farm income as well as the environmental impact in respect of insecticide usage (where data exists). The analysis shows that there have been ...
-
Self-seeded cereal cover crop effects on interspecific competition with corn
Perpetuating cereal cover crops through self-seeding may increase adoption by reducing risk and cost. Winter rye (Secale cereale L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack) were used to develop self-seeding cover crop systems in a soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]–corn (Zea mays L.) rotation. Cereal cover crops were planted in varying row spacing configurations and ...
-
Breeding effects on grain filling, biomass partitioning, and remobilization in mediterranean durum wheat
This work assesses the changes resulting from durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) breeding in Italy and Spain during the 20th century on grain filling, biomass production, and allocation at anthesis, and the remobilization of preanthesis photosynthates to the grain of main stems. Field experiments, involving 12 Italian and 12 Spanish cultivars released at different periods, were ...
-
Irrigated, no-till corn and barley response to nitrogen in Northern Colorado
Converting irrigated, conventional-till (CT) systems to no-till (NT) production systems can potentially reduce soil erosion, fossil fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrogen fertilization effects on irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) and malting barley (Hordeum distichon L.) yields in a corn-barley rotation were evaluated for 6 yr on a clay loam soil to determine the viability of using a ...
-
Crop productivity and economics during the transition to alternative cropping systems
Many environmental benefits accrue from reducing tillage and increasing crop diversity; however, economic factors often encourage the continued use of intensive tillage and specialized crop production. This study examined crop yields, input costs, and economic returns during the transition to a range of cropping system alternatives in the northern Corn Belt region, including different system ...
-
The effect of rigid scheduling on productivity and water-use of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) grown under small-scale irrigation
This paper evaluates the results of a study highlighting the effect of rigid scheduling on crop water use and soil water extraction patterns, crop coefficients, crop response functions and water-use efficiency (WUE). The cumulative Penman potential evapotranspiration (Etp) at the end of the season reached around 400 mm and the total depth of water applied between planting and harvest through ...
-
Losing Soil
In 1938, Walter Lowdermilk, a senior official in the Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, traveled abroad to look at lands that had been cultivated for thousands of years, seeking to learn how these older civilizations had coped with soil erosion. He found that some had managed their land well, maintaining its fertility over long stretches of history, and were ...
-
Behavioural and chemical ecology underlying the success of turnip rape (Brassica rapa) trap crops in protecting oilseed rape (Brassica napus) from the pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus)
There is increasing interest in the use of trap crops as components of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. Understanding the mechanisms underlying host plant preferences of herbivorous pests can lead to improved effectiveness and reliability of the trap crop. We investigated the behavioural and chemical ecology underlying the success of turnip rape, Brassica rapa, trap crops in ...
-
Cover crop effects on the fate of N following soil application of swine manure
Abstract Cereal grain cover crops increase surface cover, anchor corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] residues, increase infiltration, reduce both rill and interrill erosion, scavenge excess nutrients from the soil, and are easily obtained and inexpensive compared to other cover crop options. The use of cereal grain cover crops in fields where manure application occurs ...
-
The Effect of Off-farm Work on the Intensity of Agricultural Production
Changes in agricultural production methods have been associated with environmental pressure and a loss of natural habitats. This paper explores the extent to which farmer participation in off-farm work (an increasing phenomenon in most developed countries) changes the intensity of agricultural input use focusing, in particular, on fertilizer and crop protection product use. A sample selection ...
-
Agricultural innovation and biotechnology development towards sustainable goals: can we make it more pro-poor?
Agriculture continues to change – driven by innovation and new technology. Genetics and breeding have revolutionised agricultural systems, and the 'Green Revolution', based on higher yielding varieties of dwarf wheat and rice, is arguably the greatest achievement in food crop development. Gene technologies now offer additional opportunities, where new traits improving crop protection ...
Need help finding the right suppliers? Try XPRT Sourcing. Let the XPRTs do the work for you