"'Published by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, with funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture."

Meeting the food requirements of an ever-increasing population is a pressing challenge for every country around the globe. Soil degradation has a negative impact on food security by reducing the cultivated land areas, while at the same time the world population is predicted to increase to 9.2 billion in 2050. Soil degradation adversely affects soil function and productivity and degraded soils now amount to 6 billion ha worldwide. The major factors are salinization, erosion, depletion of nutrients due to exhaustive agricultural practices and contamination with toxic metal ions and agrochemicals, which reduces the activity of soil microbe. In addition, poor soil management also decreases fertility. As such, measures are required to restore the soil health and productivity: organic matter, beneficial microorganisms and nutrient dynamics can all improve the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. Understanding the role of soil health restoration and management in sustainability and nutritional security calls for a holistic approach to assess soil functions and examine the contributions of a particular management system within a defined timescale. Further, best management practices in cropping systems are important in ensuring sustainability and food and nutritional security without compromising the soil quality and productivity potential. Rational soil management practices must allow environmentally and economically sustainable yields and restoration of soil health.

Cover crops slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests and bring a host of other benefits to your farm. At the same time, they can reduce costs, increase profits and even create new sources of income. You¿ll reap dividends on your cover crop investments for years, since their benefits accumulate over the long term. This book will help you find which ones are right for you. Captures farmer and other research results from the past ten years. The authors verified the info. from the 2nd ed., added new results and updated farmer profiles and research data, and added 2 chap. Includes maps and charts, detailed narratives about individual cover crop species, and chap. about aspects of cover cropping.

Our capacity to maintain world food production depends heavily on the thin layer of soil covering the Earth's surface. The health of this soil determines whether crops can grow successfully, whether a farm business is profitable and whether an enterprise is sustainable in the long term. Farmers are generally aware of the physical and chemical factors that limit the productivity of their soils but often do not recognise that soil microbes and the soil fauna play a major role in achieving healthy soils and healthy crops. Soil Health, Soil Biology, Soilborne Diseases and Sustainable Agriculture provides readily understandable information about the bacteria, fungi, nematodes and other soil organisms that not only harm food crops but also help them take up water and nutrients and protect them from root diseases. Complete with illustrations and practical case studies, it provides growers and their consultants with holistic solutions for building an active and diverse soil biological community capable of improving soil structure, enhancing plant nutrient uptake and suppressing root pests and pathogens. The book is written by scientists with many years' experience developing sustainable crop production practices in the grains, vegetable, sugarcane, grazing and horticultural industries. This book will be useful for: growers, consultants, agronomists and soil chemists, extension personnel working in the grains, livestock, sugarcane and horticultural industries, professionals running courses in soil health/biological farming, and students taking university courses in soil science, ecology, microbiology, plant pathology and other biological sciences.