Agriculture sustainable

4 The development of Integrated Crop Management (ICM), Integrated Farm Management (IFM) and sustainable crop production 

There was no universally accepted definition of Integrated Crop Management. However, a definition would generally refer to the financial performance of a business that is producing food that is wholesome and safe to eat and includes the implications of the farming system on the enviromnent in terms of wildlife and pollutioa ICM was the first attempt to propose the concept of a holistic or whole 

The aim of soil cultivations is to produce a seedbed which is firm enough to provide good soil to seed contact but has spaces between aggregates that allow 

The history of agricultural production has been inextricably lirtked to the control of weeds, pests and diseases in crop production practices. There is no doubt that the production of consistently high yielding, highqrrality crops requires the use of pesticides. Although orgarric production methods provide a viable alternative the yields achieved are lower arrd the qrrahty of the produce can be more variable. The aim, therefore, of an IFM system is to utilise the cultural control methods that are known to reduce the incidence of pests on crops, and then use crop protection chemicals as a final resort. 

Whilst it has been stated that rotatiorrs are a cornerstone of IFM, there can be little doubt that the choice of variety selected to be grown is an integral part of the philosophy. If the aim is to reduce the application of crop protection chemicals the starting point must be to choose varieties from the HGCA Recommended Lists that have resistance to disease. The next important step in the implementation of a crop protection policy involves the correct identification and evaluation of a pest problem. This has been recognised by the reqrriremerrt of all advisers recommerrding crop protection products to hold the BASIS Certificate of Competence. 

In recent times, different types of organic compounds have been used. An important class of fungicides is the dithiocarhamates and their derivatives, which are widely used on many crops such as fruits and field vegetables. 

Sulfur is a solid at room temperature. Powdered sulfur is used to control fungi. 

Extensive use of fertilizers and pesticides, and development of higher yielding varieties of crops, have made it possible to increase crop yields dramatically. However, poor farming practices have resulted in soil erosion and loss 

Soil erosion caused by water runoff, which carries soil, fertilizer, and pesticides with it. 

Organic farming Farming without synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides 

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Sustainable Agriculture. The third factor that will influence the future of pesticide sales is the emphasis on sustainable agriculture systems that rely on more natural pest control methods and reduced pesticide usage. These are integrated systems that requke nutrients and crop protection chemicals from on-farm natural sources and cultural methods. Many current sustainable farms are site-specific systems that may depend on the soils in a... 

Biotechnology, use of highly active chemicals at lower rates, wide adoption of sustainable agriculture, and enactment of more restrictive use regulations will lower the pesticide burden in the environment and improve water quaUty. 

Eastern gama grass is a variety of a prairie plant that produces seeds rich in protein. It is the subject of sustainable agriculture research because it produces an abundance of seeds and yet is a perennial plant that is resistant to drought. 

Pimentel, D. In Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture Policy Alternatives Fessenden MacDonald, J., Ed. National Agricultural Biotechnology Council Boyce Thompson Institute, Ithaca, NY, 1989 pp. 69-74. 

Balsam, J. (2006). Anaerobic Digestion of Animal Wastes Factors to Consider. ATTRA-National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. 

Pressman, A. (2010). Dairy Farm Energy Efficiency. ATTRA. National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, http //www.attra.ncat.org. (accessed 24.10.10). 

R. G. Linderman, Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae and soil microbial interactions, Mycorrhizae in Sustainable Agriculture (G. J. Bethlenfalvay and R. G. Linderman, eds.), American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, 1992, p. 45. 

S. Gianinazzi and H. Schuepp, Impact of arbuscular mycorrhizas on sustainable agriculture and natural ecosystems, Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, 1994. 

Handbook of Photosynthesis, edited by Mohammad Pessarakli Chemical and Isotopic Groundwater Hydrology The Applied Approach, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded, Emanuel Mazor Fauna in Soil Ecosystems Recycling Processes, Nutrient Fluxes, and Agricultural Production, edited by Gero Benckiser Soil and Plant Analysis in Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, edited by Teresa Hood and J. Benton Jones, Jr. 

TD. Spittler, S.K. Brightman, M.C. Humiston, and D.R. Eomey, Watershed monitoring in sustainable agriculture studies, in Agrochemical Fate and Movement Perspective and Scale of Study, ed. TR. Steinheimer, L.J. Ross, and T.D. Spittler, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, pp. 126-134 (2000). 

The above-mentioned features are consistent with the wider global efforts at sustainable agriculture. 

Consumers who participated in a survey for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in the USA (The New Farm, 2003) preferred... 

Dyer JA, Desjardins RL. The Impact of Farm Machinery Management on the Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Canadian Agriculture. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture. 2003 22(3) 59-74. DOI 10.1300/[064v22n03 07... 

Burton CH, Turner C (2003) Manure management, treatment strategies for sustainable agriculture. Silsoe Research Institute, Bedford... 

Pretty J N, Ball A S, Xiaoyun Li and Ravindranath, N H (2002). The role of sustainable agriculture and renewable-resource management in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and increasing sinks in China and India . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 360, 1741-1761. 

Asami, D.K., Flong Y.-J., Barret D.M. and Mitchell A.E. (2003). Comparison of the total phenolic and ascorbic acid content of freeze-dried and air-dried marionberry, strawberry, and com grown using conventional, organic, and sustainable agricultural practices , Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, 51, 1237-1241. 

Society Issues, Painkiller Solutions, Dependence and Sustainable Agriculture... 

E. Lichtfouse (ed.), Sociology, Organic Farming, Climate Change and Soil Science, Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 3, DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-3333-8 l,... 

Agronomy should thus be used as a core tool to build a sustainable society. Table 1.1 gathers the major practices of sustainable agriculture, and their main benefits. It should thus help readers to build rapidly an overall vision of the current innovative tools and approaches to build a sustainable world. 

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