Wireworms, the soil-dwelling larvae of click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae), comprise major pests several crops worldwide, including maize and potatoes. The current trend towards reduction in pesticides use has resulted strong demand for alternative methods to control wireworm populations. This review provides a state-of-the-art theory practice order develop new agroecological strategies. fir...

Sub-Saharan Africa could have a shortfall of nearly 90Mt of cereals by the year 2025 if current agricultural practices are maintained. Biotechnology is one of the ways to improve agricultural production. Insect-resistant varieties of maize and cotton suitable for the subcontinent have been identified as already having a significant impact. Virus-resistant crops are under development. These incl...

This study aims to demonstrate the effect of farming technology on introducing medicinal plants (MP) and wild food plants (WFP) into a traditional agricultural system within peri-urban zones. Field investigations and semi-structured focus group interviews conducted in the Buhozi community showed that 27 health and nutrition problems dominated in the community, and could be treated with 86 domes...

The main goal of this study was to quantify within and between field variability in mapping agricultural crop types, their biophysical characteristics, and yield for precision farming applications using near-real-time and historical (archival) Landsat TM images. Data for 6 crops (wheat, barley, chickpea, lentil, vetch, and cumin) were gathered from a representative benchmark study area in the s...

With increased emphasis for diesel substitution, production of brown mustard (Brassica juncea), canola (Brassica napus) and camelina (Camelina sativa) used as biodiesels may increase in the High Plains. Since these are new crops to this region, understanding their growth is critical for their acceptance. The objective was to elucidate the growth pattern of these crops when spring-planted in wes...

Transgenic crops producing insecticidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used to control pests, but their benefits will be lost if pests evolve resistance. The mandated high-dose/refuge strategy for delaying pest resistance requires planting refuges of toxin-free crops near Bt crops to promote survival of susceptible pests. We report that pollen-mediated gene flow up to 31 m f...

Crop rotation is an effective tactic for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) management. In the North Central region of the USA, corn is almost exclusively used as a nonhost rotation crop with soybean. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of crops common to or having potential use in the North Central region as rotation crops for managing SCN. Sixteen potential rotation crops and SCN...