New crops face formidable competition from established crops. Management practices for established crops are well understood, and their productivity gains over time are often spectacular, such as the nearly linear increase in maize yields from 1955 to the present (Troyer 2004). Their long success reflects well-organized research, extension and marketing efforts. For new crops to prosper against...

For the long-term sustainability of the dairy industry in the Northeastern USA, manure nutrient application rates should not exceed crop nutrient removal once aboveoptimum soil fertility levels are reached. Dairy producers have shown a growing interest in brown midrib (BMR) forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) · sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense Piper) hybrids (S · S) as a more environment...

In greenhouse horticulture, energy costs form an increasingly larger part of the total production costs. Energy is primarily used for temperature control, reduction of air humidity, increase of light intensity and CO2 supply. Use of fossil energy can be reduced by limiting the energy demand of the system and decreasing energy losses, by intelligent climate control, by increasing the energy effi...

With the rapid development of internet technology and protected cultivation in China, it is impending to implement a web-based information service system to spread professional agricultural knowledge. In this study, a 3-layer architecture web-based information service platform (ISP) for protected crop pests was developed using HTML, JavaScript and active server page (ASP). The platform included...

Weeds are a major obstacle to successful crop production in organic farming. Producers may be able to reduce inputs for weed management by designing rotations to disrupt population dynamics of weeds. Population-based management in conventional farming has reduced herbicide use by 50% because weed density declines in cropland across time. In this paper, we suggest a 9-year rotation comprised of ...

This paper examines common factors that constrain wheat yields: insufficient nutrients (using nitrogen as an example); problems of late planting and poor crop establishment; suboptimal water management; lodging; and weeds. The authors suggest agronomic practices, including tillage practices, rotations, and input management options that can ameliorate important constraints and sustainably improv...

To improve the management of irrigation district is a key to develop water-saving agriculture. Based on the basic principles of water-saving irrigation, and using the method of Modified Penman Monteith and water balance equation, The system of irrigation management and decision support based on WEBGIS was developed,which is according to the soil moisture, crop growth status, meteorology change ...

Commercial cow-calf producers commonly use the term “percent calf crop,” but what does it mean? Does percent calf crop represent the number of calves born relative to the number of cows bred, or perhaps it is the number of calves born relative to the number of cows exposed to a bull? Some might calculate percent calf crop as the number of calves weaned compared to the number of calves born, or ...

Two watermelon pest management practices, a squash trap crop and a standard recommendation using soil-applied carbofuran, were compared using large-scale field plots to assess trap crop suitability as a replacement for the standard in 2000, 2001, and 2002. In both systems, foliar insecticide applications were used to control squash bugs when populations exceeded threshold levels. During 2001 an...

Multiple cropping systems provide more harvest security for farmers, allow for crop intensification and furthermore influence ground cover, soil erosion, albedo, soil chemical properties, pest infestation and the carbon sequestration potential. We identify the traditional sequential cropping systems in ten sub-Saharan African countries from a survey dataset of more than 8600 households. We find...