Cash crops

E-C. Oerke, H-W. Dehne, F. Schunheck, and A. Weber, Crop Production and Crop Protection—Estimated Tosses in MajorFood and Cash Crops, Elsevier Science B. 

Similar findings on dairy farms in Canada were reported by Stonehouse, et al. (2001). The superior economic performance on organic dairy farms was attributed to lower costs of production for almost all material inputs, including dairy herd replacements and livestock feeds. The organic dairy farmers used more land for feed crop production for the dairy cows in order to be as self-sufficient as possible. The conventional dairy farmers imported crop seeds, synthetic chemical fertilisers and pesticides, feedstuffs and herd replacements, with more of their land being devoted to cash crops. 

The purple speck disease of soybeans is caused by the fungus Cercospora kikuchii, and additional cash crops such as tobacco, com, sugar, and coffee are damaged by fungi from the genus Cercospora [3]. Cercosporin (3, Chart 7.1), initially isolated in 1957 from Cercospora kikuchii and subsequently from other Cercospora species, was found to be the phototoxin responsible for the destructive nature of the pathogen [4]. For these reasons, the natural product was extensively studied, yet its structure was not elucidated until the 1970s [5]. 

Living mulches are plants interplanted with the annual or perennial cash crop for... 

Annual cover crops are usually killed before planting a cash crop and then either incorporated as a cover crop residue into the soil or left as a mulch on the surface of the soil. A trend towards more reduced weed growth was observed where residues were not incorporated into soil but they were retained on the soil surface (Jones et al. 1999). 

A different reason for appropriating a material object comes from the kauri (Agathis alba) and merkus (Pinus merkusii) pine forests of Malaysia. Local people collect soft resin from these trees and sell it as a cash crop. Under the name Malay damar, this exudate is exported as a valued ingredient for high quality varnishes. 

The potato is a basic food crop in the Andean region of South America, and is an important cash crop in many other sections of Latin America. The investment necessary to produce a crop is considerably higher than in the case of corn, wheat, or beans, and the potato grower is correspondingly more interested in protecting this investment wherever diseases or insects are likely to be a problem. 

At present fungicides are used sparingly on the basic food crops in tropical America. Their wider use on these crops must develop along with the evolution from a small scale subsistence type of agriculture practiced by the majority of the population, to a cash-crop type of agriculture, where larger individual holdings on the better lands can support the rest of the population. 

In this chapter we will explore why we so readily consume caffeine. There are sound physiological reasons why so many companies make so much money from caffeine. The economics are staggering. Coffee alone is one of the largest cash crops in the world. It is estimated that in 1998/1999 coffee production was greater that 6 billion kilograms (more that 12 billion pounds), which would translate into over a trillion cups of coffee and literally tons of caffeine. This does not even take into consideration the caffeine consumed from cola beverages, tea, and chocolate. Our brains and our wallets are hooked on caffeine. 

Organic no-till systems present many challenges, including production and management of high-residue cover crops, establishment of cash crops and weed management. Each challenge is discussed below with desired objectives, recommendations for success, and limitations. 

Complete killing of cover crops (either the entire bed or just bed tops) is generally essential to avoid competition with cash crops. Implements used to kill cover crops include flail mowers, undercutters, rollers or roller-crimpers (Creamer and Dabney 2002). 

Growth stage of cash crop when weeding is considered necessary Optional weed management methods... 

---