The accelerating pace in the automation of agricultural tasks demands highly accurate and robust localization systems for field robots. Simultaneous Localization Mapping (SLAM) methods inevitably accumulate drift on exploratory trajectories primarily rely place revisiting loop closing to keep a bounded global error. Loop closure techniques are significantly challenging fields, as local visual a...

Weed species Anoda cristata, Ipomoeahederacea,and I. trilobaare reported for the first time for the flora of Iran. Trianthema portulacastrum, andMerremiadissecta, which have been previously reported as a doubtful and an ornamental species respectively from non-agricultural areas, are recorded for the first time from arable and farmlands of the country. Exact localities, crops, distribution, ill...

....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................... iv

Organic chemistry has been, and for the foreseeable future will remain, vitally important for crop protection. Control of fungal pathogens, insect pests and weeds is crucial to enhanced food provision. As world population continues to grow, it is timely to assess the current situation, anticipate future challenges and consider how new chemistry may help meet those challenges. In future, agricul...

By 2050, the world population is likely to be 9.1 billion, the CO(2) concentration 550 ppm, the ozone concentration 60 ppb and the climate warmer by ca 2 degrees C. In these conditions, what contribution can increased crop yield make to feeding the world? CO(2) enrichment is likely to increase yields of most crops by approximately 13 per cent but leave yields of C4 crops unchanged. It will tend...

A major challenge for agriculture is to enhance productivity with minimum impact on the environment. Several studies indicate that cover crops could replace anthropogenic inputs and enhance crop productivity. However, so far, it is unclear if cover crop effects vary between different cropping systems, and direct comparisons among major arable production systems are rare. Here we compared the sh...

1 AgroParisTech, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, Thiverval Grignon, France, 2 Laboratoire de Géologie de l’ENS-PSL Research University–Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR8538, Paris, France, 3 Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 4 Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, 5 Department of Ecology, S...