BACKGROUND Farming has been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the role of pesticides is not known. OBJECTIVES We examined associations between RA and pesticides or other agricultural exposures among female spouses of licensed pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study. METHODS Women were enrolled between 1993 and 1997 and followed through 2010. Cases (n = 275 total,...

Unprecedented agricultural intensification and increased crop yield will be necessary to feed the burgeoning world population, whose global food demand is projected to double in the next 50 years. Although grain production has doubled in the past four decades, largely because of the widespread use of synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation promoted by the "Green Revolution...

Precision agriculture is a knowledge-based system that enables producers to apply precise amounts of fertilizers, pesticides, water, seeds, or other production inputs to specific areas where and when plants need them for optimal growth. It is a promising group of technologies that could theoretically increase crop productivity and profitability, reduce chemical use, and decrease environmental d...

The generally higher biodiversity on organic farms may be influenced by management features such as no synthetic pesticide and fertilizer inputs and/or by differences in uncropped habitat at the site and landscape scale. We analysed bird and habitat data collected on 48 paired organic and conventional farms over two winters to determine the extent to which broad-scale habitat differences betwee...

The technological process of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) application in the system of precise farming includes sequential interrelated operations: monitoring and sounding of crops (using light UAVs equipped with multispectral cameras), obtaining, processing and transmitting information for crop management, differentiated application of pesticides and fertilizers according to a specified trea...