The dryland areas of Central Chile are associated to Mediterranean climate. Under these conditions, water availability during crop growth is a crucial factor for crop productivity. Conservation tillage systems play an important role in this area, increasing soil water availability; however, crop yield responses can be variable. Soil management should be aimed at reducing water loss and promotin...

Background. Up to 75% of crop species benefit at least to some degree from animal pollination for fruit or seed set and yield. However, basic information on the level of pollinator dependence and pollinator contribution to yield is lacking for many crops. Even less is known about how insect pollination affects crop quality. Given that habitat loss and agricultural intensification are known to d...

Accurate crop performance monitoring and production estimation are critical for timely assessment of the food balance of several countries in the world. Since 2001, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has been monitoring crop performance and relative production using satellite-derived data and simulation models in Africa, Central America, and Afghanistan where ground-based monit...

While climate change impacts on crop yields has been extensively studied, estimating the impact of water shortages on irrigated crop yields is challenging because the water resources management system is complex. To investigate this issue, we integrate a crop yield reduction module and a water resources model into the MIT Integrated Global System Modeling framework, an integrated assessment mod...

An obvious need for an updated and comprehensive study prompted this investigation of the complex of environmental costs resulting from the nation’s dependence on pesticides. Included in this assessment of an estimated $10 billion in environmental and societal damages are analyses of: pesticide impacts on public health; livestock and livestock product losses; increased control expenses resultin...

Crop domestication provides a useful model system to characterize the molecular and developmental bases of morphological variation in plants. Among the most universal changes resulting from selection during crop domestication is the loss of seed and fruit dispersal mechanisms, which greatly facilitates harvesting efficiency. In this review, we consider the molecular genetic and developmental ba...

Remote sensing offers an efficient and reliable means of collecting the information required, in order to map crop type and acreage. Besides providing a synoptic view, remote sensing can provide structure information about the health of the vegetation. The spectral reflectance of a field will vary with respect to changes in the phenology (growth), stage type, and crop health, and thus can be me...