This review analyzes the potential role and long-term effects of field perennial polycultures (mixtures) in agricultural systems, with the aim of reducing the trade-offs between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. First, crop rotations are identified as a suitable tool for the assessment of the long-term effects of perennial polycultures on ecosystem services, which are not visible ...

In tropical fruit crops, anthracnose is mainly caused by species belonging to the fungal genus, Colletotrichum. These phytopathogens can infect several parts of crops; however, infection during postharvest or ripening stages responsible for major economic losses. Due formation black dark brown sunken lesions on surface, reduces quality and marketability. Among most common crops susceptible are ...

Ceratocystis fimbriata is a complex of many species that cause wilt and cankers on woody plants and rot of storage roots or corms of many economically important crops worldwide. In Brazil, C. fimbriata infects different cultivated crop plants that are not native to Brazil, including Gmelina arborea, Eucalyptus spp., Mangifera indica (mango), Ficus carica (fig), and Colocasia esculenta (inhame)....

Populations of the rare annual forb Amsinckia grandiflora may be declining because of competitive suppression by exotic annual grasses, and may perform better in a matrix of native perennial bunchgrasses. We conducted a field competition experiment in which Amsinckia seedlings were transplanted into forty 0.64-m 2 experimental plots of exotic annual grassland or restored perennial grassland. Th...

Organic agricultural production has become a major economic and cultural force. However, in water-limited environments the tools used for weed control and nutrient supply, namely tillage and cover crops, may not be environmentally or economically sustainable as tillage damages soil and cover crops use valuable water. Thus, a major challenge has been finding appropriate ways to minimize tillage ...

Three-quarters of leading global food crops rely on animal pollination. With both managed and wild pollinators declining, is there reason for concern? Researchers are beginning to pin down the possible long-term risks.