Weed control is generally considered to be essential for crop production and herbicides have become the main method used for weed control in developed countries. However, concerns about harmful environmental consequences have led to strong pressure on farmers to reduce the use of herbicides. As food demand is forecast to increase by 50% over the next century, an in-depth quantitative analysis o...

In agricultural production, land-use decisions are components of economic planning that result in the strategic allocation of fields. Climate variability represents an uncertainty factor in crop production. Considering yield impact, climatic influence is perceived during and evaluated at the end of crop production cycles. In practice, this information is then incorporated into planning for the ...

Although the refinement of laboresque technologies that save farm labor continues, its boom (in terms of sheer number of machines) passed during the quarter-century lifetime of Technology in Society. Instead, landesque technology, which spares land, holds the spotlight. Landesque is exemplified by high-yielding varieties, the Green Revolution, and genetically modified organisms. The contributio...

While the area of organic crop production increases at a global scale, the potential interactions between pest management in organic and conventionally managed systems have so far received little attention. Here, we evaluate the landscape-level codependence of insecticide-based and natural enemy-based pest management using a simulation model for parasitoid-host interactions in landscapes consis...

Shifting cultivation is the main land-use system transforming landscapes in riverine Amazonia. Increased concentration of the human population around villages and increasing market integration during the last decades may be causing agricultural intensification. Studies have shown that agricultural intensification, i.e. higher number of swidden-fallow cycles and shorter fallow periods, reduces c...

Spatial variability in crop production occurs as a result of spatial and temporal variations in soil structure and fertility; soil physical, chemical and hydraulic properties; irrigation applications; pests and diseases; and plant genetics. It is argued that this variability can be managed and the efficiency of irrigation water use increased by spatially variable application of irrigation water...

AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING of the terms fertilizer-use efficiency (FUE) and maximum economic yield (MEY) has likely never been as important to western Canadian agronomists and farmers as it is today. The objective of PPI/PPIC and Foundation for Agronomic Research (FAR) sponsored research projects in western Canada is to support a better understanding of the role of phosphorus (P) and potassium (...

BACKGROUND In Mexico, the traditional maize cultivation system has resisted intensification attempts for many decades in some areas, even in some well-connected regions of the temperate highlands. We suggest that this is due to economics. METHODS The total useful biomass of several fields in Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala, are evaluated for productivity and costs. RESULTS Maize grain production is l...

Availability of mass flowering plants in landscapes dominated by agriculture can have a strong positive impact on the density of generalist, native pollinators. Row-crop production in Iowa accounts for 75% of the arable acres, with corn, Zea mays, representing the majority of hectares planted. To date, there has been no description of the insect pollinator community found within Iowa cornfields...

Most eukaryotes develop close interactions with microorganisms that are essential for their performance and survival. Thus, eukaryotes and prokaryotes in nature can be considered as meta-organisms or holobionts. Consequently, microorganisms that colonize different plant compartments contain the plant's second genome. In this respect, many studies in the last decades have shown that plant-microb...