Diversity and species composition of carabid beetles were investigated at Quzhou county in the North China Plain. The study area was originally affected by high salinity and desalinized in three stages in 1973, 1978 and 1982. At sites desalinized in 1982, carabids were sampled at field margins as well as inside fields to investigate the role of field margins as refuge habitats. Furthermore, sam...

Concerns about sustainability in agricultural systems centre on the need to develop technologies and practices that do not have adverse effects on environmental goods and services, are accessible to and effective for farmers, and lead to improvements in food productivity. Despite great progress in agricultural productivity in the past half-century, with crop and livestock productivity strongly ...

Conservation agriculture (CA) integrates ecological management with scientific agricultural production. CA promotes minimal disturbance of the soil by tillage (zero tillage), balanced application of chemical inputs (only as required for improved soil quality and healthy crop and animal production), and careful management of residues and wastes. CA Promotes application of fertilizers, pesticides...

ventional monocultural crop systems often supported by high inputs of pesticides and fertilizers to sustainable agriculture. Although precise definitions of sustainable agriculture vary, one key aspect is a reduction in agrichemical inputs with a corresponding shift to alternative crop protection strategies, such as cultural practices, organic amendments, resistant or tolerant crop varieties, a...

The agricultural production system in Sri Lanka consists of two traditional and well-defined components. One is the plantation section, established during the colonial period, consisting of large units, and producing perennial crops such as coffee, tea, rubber, and coconut mainly for export. The other is the smallholder sector comprised of small farms which produce most of the country’s rice, v...

The study employed a Stochastic Frontier Production approach to determine the future investment strategies that can enhance the production of rice in Punjab, Pakistan. The data is collected from 200 farmers in the year of 2005 from two Tehsils of Sheikhupura district which is one of the major rice growing districts of Punjab province. The results of stochastic production function indicate that ...

The aim of this study was to generate an easy to use index to evaluate the ecological state of agricultural land from a sustainability perspective. We selected environmental indicators, such as the use of organic soil amendments (green manure) versus chemical fertilizers, plant biodiversity (including crop associations), variables which characterize soil conservation of conventional agricultura...

The study employed a Stochastic Frontier Production approach to determine the future investment strategies that can enhance the production of rice in Punjab, Pakistan. The data is collected from 200 farmers in the year of 2005 from two Tehsils of Sheikhupura district which is one of the major rice growing districts of Punjab province. The results of stochastic production function indicate that ...