Merging coverage of two increasingly popular and quickly growing food trends, Organic Production and Use of Alternative Crops provides an overview of the basic principles of organic agriculture and highlights its multifunctionality with special emphasis on the conservation of rare crops and their uses. Considering more than 30 disregarded and negle

Merging coverage of two increasingly popular and quickly growing food trends, Organic Production and Use of Alternative Crops provides an overview of the basic principles of organic agriculture and highlights its multifunctionality with special emphasis on the conservation of rare crops and their uses. Considering more than 30 disregarded and negle

Advances in Organic Farming: Agronomic Soil Management Practices focuses on the integrated interactions between soil-plant-microbe-environment elements in a functioning ecosystem. It explains sustainable nutrient management under organic farming and agriculture, with chapters focusing on the role of nutrient management in sustaining global ecosystems, the remediation of polluted soils, conservation practices, degradation of pollutants, biofertilizers and biopesticides, critical biogeochemical cycles, potential responses for current and impending environmental change, and other critical factors. Organic farming is both challenging and exciting, as its practice of "feeding the soil, not the plant provides opportunity to better understand why some growing methods are preferred over others. In the simplest terms, organic growing is based on maintaining a living soil with a diverse population of micro and macro soil organisms. Organic matter (OM) is maintained in the soil through the addition of compost, animal manure, green manures and the avoidance of excess mechanization. - Presents a comprehensive overview of recent advances and new developments in the field OF research within a relevant theoretical framework - Highlights the scope of the inexpensive and improved management practices - Focuses on the role of nutrient management in sustaining the ecosystems

Organic agriculture is defined as an environmentally and socially sensitive food supply system. This publication considers the contribution of organic agriculture to ecological health, international markets and local food security. It contains a number of case studies of the practical experiences of small farmers throughout the world (including India, Iran, Thailand, Uganda and Brazil) who have adopted fully integrated food systems, and analyses the prospects for a wider adoption of organic agriculture. The book also discusses the weakness of institutional support for nurturing existing knowledge and exchange in organic agriculture.

With global revenue surpassing twenty-five billion dollars annually, organic agriculture is a highly visible and rapidly growing component of agricultural production. In Organic Agriculture: A Global Perspective, Paul Kristiansen, Acram Taji, and John Reganold, and their international group of contributors scientifically review key aspects of organic agriculture. At the intersection of research, education, and practice, the contributors look at the organic agricultural movement’s successes and limitations. The first half of this book critically evaluates the agricultural production of both plants and livestock in organic farming systems. All major aspects of organic agriculture are explored, including historical background and underlying principles, soil-fertility management, crop and animal production, breeding strategies, and crop protection. This global and comprehensive overview also addresses the economic, social, and political aspects of organic farming. These include economics and marketing; standards and certification; environmental impacts and social responsibility; and research, education, and extension. The book is a unique and timely science-based international work documenting current practices in organic agriculture and evaluating their strengths and weaknesses. For more than two decades, research into organic methods by mainstream scientists has generated a large body of information that can now be integrated and used for assessing the actual impacts of organic farming in a wide range of disciplines. The knowledge of selected international experts has been combined in one volume, providing a comprehensive review of organic farming globally. Researchers, teachers, extensionists, students, primary producers and others around the world who are interested in sustainable agriculture will find this book to be a valuable and reliable resource.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Sustainable Agriculture–Beyond Organic Farming" that was published in Sustainability

Organic Crop Breeding provides readers with a thorough review of the latest efforts by crop breeders and geneticists to develop improved varieties for organic production. The book opens with chapters looking at breeding efforts that focus on specific valuable traits such as quality, pest and disease resistance as well as the impacts improved breeding efforts can have on organic production. The second part of the book is a series of crop specific case studies that look at breeding efforts currently underway from around the world in crops ranging from carrots to corn. Organic Crop Breeding includes chapters from leading researchers in the field and is carefully edited by two pioneers in the field. Organic Crop Breeding provides valuable insight for crop breeders, geneticist, crop science professionals, researchers, and advanced students in this quickly emerging field.

A modern classic of the new agrarianism "Chris Smaje...shows that the choice is clear. Either we have a small farm future, or we face collapse and extinction."—Vandana Shiva "Every young person should read this book."—Richard Heinberg In a groundbreaking debut, farmer and social scientist Chris Smaje argues that organizing society around small-scale farming offers the soundest, sanest and most reasonable response to climate change and other crises of civilisation—and will yield humanity’s best chance at survival. Drawing on a vast range of sources from across a multitude of disciplines, A Small Farm Future analyses the complex forces that make societal change inevitable; explains how low-carbon, locally self-reliant agrarian communities can empower us to successfully confront these changes head on; and explores the pathways for delivering this vision politically. Challenging both conventional wisdom and utopian blueprints, A Small Farm Future offers rigorous original analysis of wicked problems and hidden opportunities in a way that illuminates the path toward functional local economies, effective self-provisioning, agricultural diversity and a shared earth. Perfect for readers of both Wendell Berry and Thomas Piketty, A Small Farm Future is a refreshing, new outlook on a way forward for society—and a vital resource for activists, students, policy makers, and anyone looking to enact change.