The use of biological control for the management of pest insects pre-dates the modern pesticide era. The first major successes in biological control occurred with exotic pests controlled by natural enemy species collected from the country or area of origin of the pest (classical control). Augmentative control has been successfully applied against a range of open-field and greenhouse pests, and ...

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes showing great promise as biocatalysts for the direct conversion of CO2 into fuels, chemicals, and other value-added products. Introduction of just a few heterologous genes can endow cyanobacteria with the ability to transform specific central metabolites into many end products. Recent engineering efforts have centered around harnessing the potential ...

The Malaysian oil palm industry is one of the most highly organised sectors of any national agriculture system of the world. Today, though, the focus has shifted to how well agriculture also meets universally accepted standards of sustainability. This paper highlights the development of oil palm cultivation and responsible farming practices in Malaysia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil....

Bioethanol has been identified as the mostly used biofuel worldwide since it significantly contributes to the reduction of crude oil consumption and environmental pollution. It can be produced from various types of feedstocks such as sucrose, starch, lignocellulosic and algal biomass through fermentation process by microorganisms. Compared to other types of microoganisms, yeasts especially Sacc...

Zeolites have been increasingly used in various application areas such as industry, agriculture, environmental protection, and even medicine. Although, there are no certain figures on the total amount of these minerals the world, some countries e.g. Cuba, USA, Russia, Japan, Italy, South Africa, Hungary and Bulgaria, have important reserves and production potentials. According to reports of 200...

Abstract Land salinization is a major obstacle to the sustainable development of agriculture in arid regions. The demand for food, fiber, fuel and fresh water has increased in the recent decades, particularly in developing nations, due to alarming rise in population. As fresh water resources and productive lands for crop production are limited, new strategies for the sustainable utilization of ...

Cover crops are important components of sustainable agricultural systems. They increase surface residue and aid in the reduction of soil erosion. They improve the structure and water-holding capacity of the soil and thus increase the effectiveness of applied N fertilizer. Legume cover crops such as hairy vetch and crimson clover fix nitrogen and contribute to the nitrogen requirements of subseq...

Sunburn of apple fruit is a surface injury caused by solar radiation that in the initial phase results in a light corky layer, golden or bronze discolouration, and other injuries to the epidermal tissue on the surface exposed to the sun. According to the definition of Retig and Kedar (1967), sunburn is a physiological injury that significantly affects fruit quality. Meteorological elements, the...

Sustainability of dairy farm production systems can be measured by the intersection between profitability and environmental stewardship. It is clear that unprofitable farms are destined to go out of business. Similarly, although not as evident, farms that are not efficient in the use of input resources, having higher wastages, and consequently producing more emissions, are likely to be un-susta...