crop productivity, water use efficiency (wue), and microbial biomass c and n in rainfed dry area are influenced by tillage, rotation, and crop residue management. field experiments were conducted during 2005-08 to study the effect of tillage, crop rotation, and crop residue retention on oat fodder yield, water use efficiency, and microbial biomass c (mbc) and n (mbn) under semi-arid conditions ...

www.canopydelivery.msu.edu PAGE 1 We are an interdisciplinary team from Michigan State University, Washington State University, and Cornell University developing and optimizing resource-efficient Solid-Set Canopy Delivery Systems (SSCDS) for multiple uses by tree fruit producers. Our long-term goal is to help growers better manage chemical inputs, improve pest and crop management, and reduce la...

The procedure required to move forward with regard to get-ting genetically improved cotton accepted and commerciallyavailable is discussed. Three steps generally need to be taken,namely getting biosafety guidelines or regulations in place,secondly testing the technology for efficacy and suitability,and then thirdly, moving forward with commercializationthereby making the...

Peanuts receive major emphasis because of the crop's importance to the economy of southeastern Virginia and the magnitude of pesticide use in crop management. In 1992, growers planted 93,000 acres of the crop and harvested an estimated 123,225 tons of peanuts with a value of ca. 79 million dollars in farm income. When coupled with the shelling, processing and shipping industries in the Tidewate...

The USDA established the National Organic Program (NOP) to develop national standards for organically produced agricultural products and establish an organic certification program as required by the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) passed by Congress in 1990. Organic crop production excludes conventional pesticides, petroleum – based fertilizers, and sewage sludge based fertilizers with some...

Although the physiological principles involved in the growth of greenhouse and field crops are not basically different, the development of models for greenhouse crops to some extent has followed its own way. This is mainly due to the specific characteristics of the crops and of the greenhouse production systems involved. Many important greenhouse crops are multi-harvest crops, where the balance...

The reform of the European Union's sugar regime caused potential decreasing beet prices. Therefore, the Speeding Up Sugar Yield (SUSY) project was initiated. At the start, a 3 × 15 target was formulated: in 2015 the national average sugar yield in the Netherlands equals 15 t/ha (60% of the sugar beet potential) and the total variable costs 15 euro/t sugar beet, aspiring a saving on total variab...

Production processes in horticulture are increasingly industrialized. Greenhouses have developed towards high-tech production plants that are highly automated by advanced systems for climate control, irrigation, crop monitoring, harvesting, internal transportation, sorting and packaging. At the same time, horticultural production nowadays is a complex managerial task, which needs advanced manag...

Soil grown greenhouse crops require high fertilisation rates. Combined with the common practice of over-irrigation, leaching of nutrients is a serious problem. In order to reduce the environmental impact, a ‘fertigation’ model was developed as a decision support system for irrigation and fertiliser supply. The applicability in growers practice was evaluated during two years on commercial nurser...

Greenhouses with sophisticated environmental control systems, or so-called plant factories with solar light, enable growers to achieve high yields of produce with desirable qualities. In a greenhouse crop with high planting density, low photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) at the lower leaves tends to limit plant growth, especially in the winter when the solar altitude and PPFD at the cano...