ONCEPTS for the partitioning of genetic variability for a mating population 'were developed by FISHER (1918) and have been extended under varying assumptions by numerous authors. Quantification of the nonallelic gene interactions was presented by COCKERHAM (1954) and HORNER, COMSTOCK and ROBINSON (1955). The comments in this paper are modifications of COCKERHAM (1954). Partitioning of genetic v...

The extent of our reliance on animal pollination for world crop production for human food has not previously been evaluated and the previous estimates for countries or continents have seldom used primary data. In this review, we expand the previous estimates using novel primary data from 200 countries and found that fruit, vegetable or seed production from 87 of the leading global food crops is...

Japan's rice sector is supported by high prices paid by consumers that allow many farm households to maintain small rice farms. Japan's government controls trade within a tariff-rate quota and imposes a prohibitively high tariff on imports outside the quota. Within Japan, diversion programs pay farmers to substitute other crops for rice since, without government-mandated diversion, supply would...

Global biomass demand is expected to roughly double between 2005 and 2050. Current studies suggest that agricultural intensification through optimally managed crops on today's cropland alone is insufficient to satisfy future demand. In practice though, improving crop growth management through better technology and knowledge almost inevitably goes along with (1) improving farm management with in...

Niche construction efforts by small-scale human societies that involve 'wild' species of plants and animals are organized into a set of six general categories based on the shared characteristics of the target species and similar patterns of human management and manipulation: (i) general modification of vegetation communities, (ii) broadcast sowing of wild annuals, (iii) transplantation of peren...

What are the farm-level economic impacts of the global cultivation of GM crops? CEE protocol 11-002. Collaboration for Environmental Evidence: www.environmentalevidence.org/SR11002.html.

Coccinellids have been widely used in biological control for over a century, and the methods for using these predators have remained virtually unchanged. The causes for the relatively low rates of establishment of coccinellids in importation biological control have not been examined for most species. Augmentative releases of several coccinellid species are well documented and effective; however...

INTRODUCTION Ornamental grasses and sedges have a long history. Are they a new crop? Yes, both old and new at the same time. And a crop that has had a dramatic impact on the appearance of our developed landscape, on the work of landscape architects and planting designers, on nursery producers and landscape managers, and on researchers! Millions and millions of units of grasses and sedges are cu...