Sustainable Agriculture Reviews: Volume 13 (Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, 13)

Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. It is a discipline that addresses current issues: climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control and biodiversity depletion. This series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then proposes alternative solutions. Contents 6 Leaf-Cutting Ants, Biology and Control 7 1 Introduction 9 2 Geographical Distribution 10 3 Biology and Behavior 10 3.1 Reproduction 10 3.2 Social Behaviour 12 3.3 Foraging 13 4 Symbiosis 14 4.1 Fungi 14 4.2 Actinomycete 15 5 Economic and Natural Losses 16 6 Pest Management 17 6.1 Physical Management 17 6.2 Synthetic Chemical Management 17 6.3 Sustainable Pest-Management 18 6.4 Integrated Pest-Management 19 7 Conclusion 21 References 21 Impact of Pesticide Productivity on Food Security 24 1 Introduction 25 2 Crop Losses to Pests 26 3 Estimates of Pesticide-Related Productivity 29 4 Costs and Benefits of Pesticide Use 31 5 Biopesticides and Integrated Pest Management 33 6 Challenges of the Global Pesticide Market 34 7 Conclusion 35 References 37 Farmland Birds and Arable Farming, a Meta-Analysis 39 1 Introduction 40 2 Materials and Methods 42 2.1 Literature Search 42 2.2 Data Extraction 42 2.3 Meta-Analysis on Bird Preferences for Organic or Conventional Farming 56 2.4 Meta-Analysis on Skylark Crop-Type Preferences 56 3 Results and Discussion 58 3.1 Characteristics of the Data Extracted from the 66 Articles 58 3.2 Meta-Analysis of Bird Preference for Organic or Conventional Farming 58 3.3 Meta-Analysis of Skylark Crop-Type Preference 62 3.4 Limitations of Current Studies for Meta-Analysis 64 4 Conclusion 65 References 65 Phytoremediation, Transgenic Plants and Microbes 68 1 Introduction 69 2 Plants and Phytoremediation 70 3 Phytoremediation Technologies 70 3.1 Phytoextraction 70 3.2 Phytotransformation 71 3.3 Phytostabilization 72 3.4 Phytovolatilization 73 3.5 Rhizodegradation 73 4 Characteristics of Plant Species for Phytoremediation 75 5 Transgenic Plants and Phytoremediation 75 6 Microbes and Phytoremediation 76 6.1 Endophytic Bacteria and Phytoremediation 77 6.2 Arbuscular Mycorrhizae and Phytoremediation 78 6.3 Importance of Endophytic Bacteria 79 7 Advantage and Disadvantage of Phytoremediation 79 8 Ecological Considerations 80 9 Conclusion 81 References 82 Management of Pathogens of Stored Cereal Grains 89 1 Introduction 90 2 The Losses in Stored Grains 91 3 Agents and Factors Responsible for Biodeterioration of Stored Grains 92 3.1 Abiotic Factors 92 3.1.1 Temperature 92 3.1.2 Relative humidity 92 3.1.3 pH and Oxygen 93 3.2 Biotic Factors 93 3.3 Fungal Biodeterioration of Stored Grains 94 4 Management of Postharvest Losses in Cereals 95 4.1 Physical Methods 96 4.1.1 Physical Separation 96 4.1.2 Drying 96 4.1.3 Irradiation 96 4.1.4 Storage Structures and Methods 97 4.2 Biological Control 98 4.3 Non-Chemical Methods 99 4.3.1 Plant Extracts 99 4.3.2 Proteins as Biopesticides 101 4.3.3 Essential Oils 102 4.4 Biotechnological Methods 104 4.4.1 Contribution of Molecular Biology in the Development of Alternatives of Synthetic Chemicals 104 4.4.2 Role of Biotechnology in Identification of Natural Product 104 4.4.3 Genetically Engineered Resistant Varieties as Alternatives to Synthetic Chemicals 105 5 Plant Products in Pest Management 105 6 Conclusion 106 References 107 Allelopathy for Pest Control 110 1 Introduction 111 2 Chemical Defense in Plants 115 3 Molecular Evolution of Allelochemical Diversity 119 4 Allelochemicals as Biocontrol Agents for Plant Diseases 120 5 Application of Biotechnology in Extraction and Purification of Allelochemicals 122 6 Conclusion 123 References 123 Rice Bed Planting and Foliar Fertilization 133 1 Introduction 134 1.1 The Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed Planting System 135 1.2 The Conventional Planting with Flood Irrigation System 136 1.3 Different Application Methods of N-Fertilizer 136 1.4 Foliar Spray of N-Fertilizer 137 2 Review of Literature 138 2.1 Bed Planting in Rice 138 2.2 Advantages of Bed Planting 139 2.3 Zero-Tillage 139 2.4 Effects of Foliar Application of Fertilizers 140 2.5 Effects of Soil Application of Fertilizers 143 3 Results and Discussion 147 3.1 Grain Yield and Yield Components 147 3.2 Other Plant Attributes 147 3.3 Tiller Production 148 3.4 Leaf Area Index 150 3.5 Dry Matter Production 150 3.6 Crop Growth Rate 151 3.7 Weed Population 152 3.8 Irrigation Water 153 3.9 Input Water Use 153 3.10 Water Use Efficiency 154 3.11 Agronomic Efficiency of Fertilizer 155 4 Conclusions 156 References 156 Integrated Nutrient Management and Postharvest of Crops 162 1 Introduction 163 2 Sustainable Agriculture 166 2.1 Sustainability and Conservation of Natural Resources 172 2.2 Soil Functions and Sustainability 175 2.3 Environmental Soil Management and Sustainable Development 181 2.4 Human Development, Food and Agriculture 183 2.5 Water Use for Food Production 185 2.6 The Outlook of Water for Agriculture 190 2.7 Food Security and Insecurity 192 2.8 Rural Poverty, Water and Food Security 197 2.9 Soil Science and the Understanding of Food Security 199 2.10 Managing Soil to Address Food Security and Environmental Issues 202 2.11 Opportunities for Advancing Food Security Through Soil Management 205 3 Plant Nutrition and Human Health 206 3.1 Undernourishment or Chronic Hunger, Malnutrition and Under-Nutrition 207 3.2 Soils and Human Health in a Historical Perspective 209 3.3 Impacts of Soils on Human Nutrition 210 3.4 Promotion of Human Health Through Soils 213 3.5 Soil Elements Necessary for Human Health 215 3.6 Health and Nutrient Imbalances in Soil 215 3.7 Plant Nutrition, Food Quality and Human Health 217 3.8 Plant Nutrition and Crop Quality 219 3.8.1 Nitrogen Supply and Product Quality 222 3.8.2 Phosphorus Supply and Product Quality 223 3.8.3 Potassium Supply and Product Quality 225 3.8.4 Calcium Supply and Product Quality 226 3.8.5 Magnesium Supply and Product Quality 227 3.8.6 Sulphur and Selenium Supply and Product Quality 227 3.8.7 Micronutrient Supply and Product Quality 228 3.9 Nutritional Quality of Crops and Their Importance in Human Health 229 3.10 Climate and Soils – Influence on Human Health and Society 231 4 Degradation of Soil Fertility Versus Soil Fertility Management 232 4.1 Improving Soil Fertility 234 5 Harvest and Postharvest 237 5.1 Harvest Recommendations 239 5.2 The Postharvest Environment 241 5.3 Postharvest Physiological Disorders of Fresh Crops 242 5.4 Disorders Associated with Calcium Deficiency 243 6 Integrated Nutrient Management 245 6.1 Common Mistakes in Nutrient Management 246 6.2 Penetration of Surface-Applied Nutrients into the Root Zone 248 6.3 From Fertilization to Integrated Nutrient Management 249 6.4 The Need for Integrated Nutrient Management 250 6.5 Components of Integrated Nutrient Management 251 6.6 Nutrient Recovery by Crops and Nutrient Removal 252 7 Conservation Agriculture for Improving Soil Quality and Agroecosystem 255 8 Managing Soils for Addressing Global Issues of the Twenty-First Century 262 8.1 Soil Processes and Properties 263 8.2 Biofuels 265 8.3 Dialogue with Policy Makers 266 References 267 Intercropping Taro and Bambara Groundnut 274 1 Introduction 275 2 Intercropping 278 3 Resource Utilization 280 4 Sustainability 282 5 Materials and Methods 282 5.1 Planting Material 282 5.2 Site Description and Experimental Design 282 5.3 Data Collection and Analyses 283 6 Results and Discussion 283 6.1 Crop Growth 283 6.2 Yield and Intercrop Productivity 286 7 Conclusion 287 References 288 Land Productivity and Food Security in Zhangjiagang, China 290 1 Introduction 291 2 Materials and Methods 292 2.1 Study Area 292 2.2 Material Acquisition and Pretreatment 293 2.3 Research Methods 294 2.4 Cellular Automaton Models and Parameters 295 3 Results and Discussion 296 3.1 Distribution of Cultivated Land Instability Degree and Change of Cultivated Land in Zhangjiagang City 296 3.2 Extraction of Crop Farming Area in Zhangjiagang City 297 3.3 Prediction of Main Crop Productivity and Food Quantity Per Capital Possession in Zhangjiagang City 298 3.4 Ecology Safety of Agriculture in Zhangjiagang City 298 3.5 Analysis of Model Sensitivity 301 3.6 Relationship Between CLID and Security of Cultivated Land in Small and Medium-Sized Cities 302 3.7 Productivity of Cultivated Land and Food Security 302 3.8 Reasons for Agricultural Deficit in Zhangjiagang 303 4 Conclusion 303 References 304 Index 306 Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. Sustainable agriculture is a discipline that addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control, and biodiversity depletion. Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, and social sciences. Indeed, sustainable agriculture decipher mechanisms of processes that occur from the molecular level to the farming system to the global level at time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. For that, scientists use the system approach that involves studying components and interactions of a whole system to address scientific, economic and social issues. In that respect, sustainable agriculture is not a classical, narrow science. Instead of solving problems using the classical painkiller approach that treats only negative impacts, sustainable agriculture treats problem sources. Because most actual society issues are now intertwined, global, and fast-developing, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then propose alternative solutions. It will therefore help all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians who wish to build a safe agriculture, energy and food system for future generations. Front Matter....Pages i-v Leaf-Cutting Ants, Biology and Control....Pages 1-17 Impact of Pesticide Productivity on Food Security....Pages 19-33 Farmland Birds and Arable Farming, a Meta-Analysis....Pages 35-63 Phytoremediation, Transgenic Plants and Microbes....Pages 65-85 Management of Pathogens of Stored Cereal Grains....Pages 87-107 Allelopathy for Pest Control....Pages 109-131 Rice Bed Planting and Foliar Fertilization....Pages 133-161 Integrated Nutrient Management and Postharvest of Crops....Pages 163-274 Intercropping Taro and Bambara Groundnut....Pages 275-290 Land Productivity and Food Security in Zhangjiagang, China....Pages 291-306 Back Matter....Pages 307-315