Recently, genetically modified (GM) technology has been successfully used to reduce the cost and to enhance the profit in agriculture. Although GM technology brings many benefits for non-food crops, people still misgive the effects of GM products for the health and the environment. Furthermore, GM crops might affect food (non-GM) crops in the open environment. Hence, how to find strategies for ...

In recent years agricultural practices in New England have undergone dramatic changes. Traditional dryland crops such as potatoes and silage corn have been replaced by irrigated “landscape” crops; specifically turf and nursery crops. For example, commercial sod production in Rhode Island has risen from 200 acres in 1972 to over 2,500 acres in 1986, while potato acreage has shown a similm declin...

Crop rotation is one of the oldest and most important approaches to the con­ trol of nematodes that feed on the roots of annual crop plants. The value of rotations often was recognized long before their effects upon the dynamics of nematode populations and communities were considered. As specific nema­ tode problems were identified and their economic importance demonstrated, attention usually w...

All US government pesticide residue datasets show that persistent organochlorine (OC) insecticide residues are surprisingly common in certain foods despite being off the market for over 20 years. Residues of dieldrin, in particular, pose substantial risks in certain root crops. About 60% of the samples of organic vegetables found to contain pesticides are contaminated with OCs. Government regul...