So central was labor in the lives of African-American slaves that it has often been taken for granted, with little attention given to the type of work that slaves did and the circumstances surrounding it. Cultivation and Culture brings together leading scholars of slavery- historians, anthropologists, and sociologists- to explore when, where, and how slaves labored in growing the New World's great staples and how this work shaped the institution of slavery and the lives of African-American slaves. The authors focus on the interrelationships between the demands of particular crops, the organization of labor, the nature of the labor force, and the character of agricultural technology. They show the full complexity of the institution of chattel bondage in the New World and suggest why and how slavery varied from place to place and time to time.

By seeking to rediscover the profession's agricultural roots, this volume proposes a 21st-century shift in thinking about landscape architecture that is no longer driven by binary oppositions, such as urban and rural; past and present; aesthetics and ecology; beautiful and productive, but rather prioritizes a holistic and cross-disciplinary framing. The illustrated collection of essays written by academics, researchers and experts in the field seeks to balance and redirect a current approach to landscape architecture that prioritizes a narrow definition of the regional in an effort to tackle questions of continuous urban growth and its impact on the environment. It argues that an emphasis on conurbation, which occurs at the expense of the rural, often ignores the reality that certain cultivation and management practices taking place on land set aside for production can be as harmful to the environment as is unchecked urbanization, contributing to loss of biodiverstiy, soil erosion and climate change. By contrast, the book argues that by expanding the expertise of design professionals to include the productive, food systems, soil conservation and the preservation of cultural landscapes, landscape architects would be better equipped to participate in the stewardship of our planet. Written primarily for landscape practitioners and academics, cultural and environmental historians and conservationists, The Culture of Cultivation will appeal to anyone interested in a thorough rethinking of the role and agency of landscape architecture.

Plant production in hydroponics and soilless culture is rapidly expanding throughout the world, raising a great interest in the scientific community. For the first time in an authoritative reference book, authors cover both theoretical and practical aspects of hydroponics (growing plants without the use of soil). This reference book covers the state-of-the-art in this area, while offering a clear view of supplying plants with nutrients other than soil. Soilless Culture provides the reader with an understanding of the properties of the various soiless media and how these properties affect plant performance in relation to basic horticultural operations, such as irrigation and fertilization. This book is ideal for agronomists, horticulturalists, greenhouse and nursery managers, extension specialists, and people involved with the production of plants.* Comprehensive discussion of hydroponic systems, irrigation, and control measures allows readers to achieve optimal performance* State-of-the-art book on all theoretical aspects of hydroponics and soilless culture including a thorough description of the root system, its functions and limitation posed by restricted root volume* Critical and updated reviews of current analytical methods and how to translate their results to irrigation and fertilization practices * Definitive chapters on recycled, no-discharge systems including salinity and nutrition management and pathogen eradication * Up-to-date description of all important types of growing media

In this innovative work of cultural and technological history, Frieda Knobloch describes how agriculture functioned as a colonizing force in the American West between 1862 and 1945. Using agricultural textbooks, USDA documents, and historical accounts of western settlement, she explores the implications of the premise that civilization progresses by bringing agriculture to wilderness. Her analysis is the first to place the trans-Mississippi West in the broad context of European and classical Roman agricultural history. Knobloch shows how western land, plants, animals, and people were subjugated in the name of cultivation and improvement. Illuminating the cultural significance of plows, livestock, trees, grasses, and even weeds, she demonstrates that discourse about agriculture portrays civilization as the emergence of a colonial, socially stratified, and bureaucratic culture from a primitive, feminine, and unruly wilderness. Specifically, Knobloch highlights the displacement of women from their historical role as food gatherers and producers and reveals how Native American land-use patterns functioned as a form of cultural resistance. Describing the professionalization of knowledge, Knobloch concludes that both social and biological diversity have suffered as a result of agricultural 'progress.'

"No-till farming is the new best practice for preventing soil erosion, building soil biology, and providing growing conditions for vibrant, healthy crops. But for organic vegetable farmers and gardeners-and any farmer who wants to avoid herbicide use-the seemingly insurmountable dilemma with no-till has been how to control weeds without cultivating. In this thorough, practical guide, expert organic farmer Bryan O'Hara provide the answers. O'Hara systemically describes the growing methods he developed and perfected during a multi-year transition of his Connecticut certified organic vegetable farm to a no-till system. O'Hara asserts that this flexible, nature-friendly agricultural methodology is critical to vegetable farming success both economically as well as to maintain the health of the soil and the farm ecosystem. His methodology has proven itself over years of cropping on his home farm, Tobacco Road Farm, as well as other farms in his region, often with stunning results in yields, quality, and profitability. In No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture, O'Hara delves into the techniques he has experimented with and perfected in his 25 years of farming, including making and using compost, culturing and applying indigenous microorganisms to support soil biology, reduced tillage systems, no-till bed preparation techniques, seeding and transplanting methods, irrigation, use of fertilizers (including foliar feeds), pest and disease management, weed control, season extension, and harvest and storage techniques. O'Hara also explores the spiritual understanding of the nuances of the soil and a farm ecosystem and how that influences practical production decisions such as when to plant, water, and fertilize a crop. O'Hara goal is to pass on his knowledge to those who feel the impulse to make their livelihood in harmony with nature, requiring a relatively small land base of a few acres or less and little capital investment in mechanization. Home gardener and large-scale farmers will also find value in his methods. This manual will provides farmers with an advanced agricultural methodology not available in any other single book on organic vegetable production, a methodology that will allow farmers to continue to adapt to meet future challenges"--

The book on ‘Shifting Cultivation and Tribal Culture of Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, India’ has been written mainly to show how the traditional life of Tribal people of state of Arunachal Pradesh, India are very much attached to shifting cultivation. Shifting cultivation is more a culture than agriculture to these people. The beliefs and practices, art and crafts, food habit, the technique of hunting and fishing, traditional healing, food habits and even the sentiments and emotions of the people are either directly or indirectly related to shifting cultivation. The book has also mentioned how centuries of practicing same system has helped these people to learn many secret of nature, which is termed as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Book has mentioned how, many scholars have misconception about shifting cultivation without knowing much about it. Farmers not only cut the trees, but also grow crops and domesticate animals. They are the maintainers of crop diversities as they grow more than 30 crops. They do not use any chemical fertilizers and pesticides to increase the productivity. It has also mentioned that shifting cultivation is practiced in the forest. In other way it can be said, shifting cultivation is there, so is the forest. They do not remove the forest permanently like agro-forestry and many other commercial farming. They fallow the forest to allow to regenerate. Secondary forest during fallow period can support more organisms due large plant diversity. The whole book has been divided into seven chapters comprised of Introduction, Origin of farmers and farming, Beliefs and Practices, General Life of Farmers, Different Stages of Shifting Cultivation, Shifting Cultivation and Allied Activities and Conclusion. The meaning of local terms has been given in the glossary at the end and instruction to pronounce local words is given in the front. The book is one way of documentation of culture of shifting cultivators of Tribal ethnic groups of Arunachal Pradesh India. One day shifting will meet its natural death. The book would be of immense importance to researchers and people who had less exposure to their own society.

Handbook of Microalgal Culture is truly a landmarkpublication, drawing on some 50 years of worldwide experience inmicroalgal mass culture. This important book comprisescomprehensive reviews of the current available information onmicroalgal culture, written by 40 contributing authors from aroundthe globe. The book is divided into four parts, with Part I detailingbiological and environmental aspects of microalgae with referenceto microalgal biotechnology and Part II looking in depth at majortheories and techniques of mass cultivation. Part III compriseschapters on the economic applications of microalgae, includingcoverage of industrial production, the use of microalgae in humanand animal nutrition and in aquaculture, in nitrogen fixation,hydrogen and methane production, and in bioremediation of pollutedwater. Finally, Part IV looks at new frontiers and includeschapters on genetic engineering, microalgae as platforms forrecombinant proteins, bioactive chemicals, heterotrophicproduction, microalgae as gene-delivery systems for expressingmosquitocidal toxins and the enhancement of marine productivity forclimate stabilization and food security. Handbook of Microalgal Culture is an essential purchasefor all phycologists and also those researching aquatic systems,aquaculture and plant sciences. There is also much of great use toresearchers and those involved in product formulation withinpharmaceutical, nutrition and food companies. Libraries in alluniversities and research establishments teaching and researchingin chemistry, biological and pharmaceutical sciences, food sciencesand nutrition, and aquaculture will need copies of this book ontheir shelves. Amos Richmond is at the Blaustein Institute for DesertResearch, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

Food and the City explores the physical, social, and political relations between the production of food and urban settlements. Essays offer a variety of perspectives--from landscape and architectural history to geography--on the multiple scales and ideologies of productive landscapes across the globe from the sixteenth century to the present.

This book is an inquiry into ki-energy, its role within Eastern mind-body theory, and its implications for our contemporary Western understanding of the body. Yuasa examines the concept of ki-energy as it has been used in such areas as acupuncture, Buddhist and Taoist meditation, and the martial arts. To explain the achievement of mind-body oneness in these traditions he offers an innovative schematization of the lived body. His approach is interdisciplinary and cross-cultural, offering insights into Western philosophy, religion, medical science, depth psychology, parapsychology, theater, and physical education. To substantiate the relationship that ki-energy forms between the human body and its environment, Yuasa introduces contemporary scientific research on ki-energy in China and Japan, as well as evidence from acupuncture medicine and from the experience of meditators and martial arts practitioners. This evidence requires not only a rethinking of the living human body and of the mind-body and mind-matter relation, but also calls into question the adequacy of the existing scientific paradigm. Yuasa calls for an epistemological critique of modern science and explores the issue of the relation of teleology to science.