Agro Commodities & Agricultural Produts

The Biochar Solution: Carbon Farming and Climate Change (Sustainable Agriculture) Civilization as we know it is at a crossroads. For the past 10,000 years, we have turned a growing understanding of physics, chemistry and biology to our advantage in producing more energy and more food and as a consequence have produced exponential population surges, resource depletion, ocean acidification, desertification and climate change.The path we are following began with long-ago discoveries in agriculture, but it divided into two branches, about 8,000 years ago. The branch we have been following for the most part is conventional farming — irrigation, tilling the soil, and removing weeds and pests. That branch has degraded soil carbon levels by as much as 80 percent in most of the world’s breadbaskets, sending all that carbon skyward with each pass of the plow. The other branch disappeared from our view some 500 years ago, although archaeologists are starting to pick up its trail now. At…. Click here to Read More

Plant Parasitic Nematodes in Subtropical and Tropical Agriculture This fully updated second edition covers all aspects of practical plant nematology in subtropical and tropical agriculture. It covers the major food and cash crops including; rice, cereals, solanum and sweet potatoes and other root and tuber crops, food legumes, vegetables, peanut, citrus, tree and fruit crops, coconut and other palms, coffee, cocoa, tea, bananas, sugarcane, tobacco, pineapple, cotton, other tropical fibres, spices, condiments and medicinal plants. It provides practical guidance on methods of extraction, processing and diagnosing of different plant and soil nematodes and on integrated pestmanagement. List Price: $ 230.00 Price: $…. Click here to Read More

Agriculture Course: The Birth of the Biodynamic Method When Rudolf Steiner gave these lectures eighty years ago, industrial farming was on the rise and organic methods were being replaced in the name of science, efficiency, and technology. With the widespread alarm over food quality in recent years, and with the growth of the organic movement and its mainstream acceptance, perceptions are changing. The qualitative aspect of food is on the agenda again, and in this context Steiner’s only course of lectures on agriculture is critical to the current debate. With these talks, Steiner created and launched “biodynamic” farming—a form of agriculture that has come to be regarded as the best organically produced food. However, the agriculture Steiner speaks of here is much more than organic—it involves working with the cosmos, with the earth, and with spiritual beings. To facilitate this, Steiner prescribes specific “preparations” for the soil, as well as other distinct methods…. Click here to Read More

Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit Supermarket produce sections bulging with a year-round supply of perfectly round, bright red-orange tomatoes have become all but a national birthright. But in Tomatoland, which is based on his James Beard Award-winning article, “The Price of Tomatoes,” investigative food journalist Barry Estabrook reveals the huge human and environmental cost of the billion fresh tomato industry. Fields are sprayed with more than one hundred different herbicides and pesticides. Tomatoes are picked hard and green and artificially gassed until their skins acquire a marketable hue. Modern plant breeding has tripled yields, but has also produced fruits with dramatically reduced amounts of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, and tomatoes that have fourteen times more sodium than the tomatoes our parents enjoyed. The relentless drive for low costs has fostered a thriving modern-day slave trade in the United States. How have…. Click here to Read More

Soil Management: Building a Stable Base for Agriculture Degradation of soils continues at a pace that will eventually create a local, regional, or even global crisis when diminished soil resources collide with increasing climate variation. It’s not too late to restore our soils to a more productive state by rediscovering the value of soil management, building on our ever-expanding scientific understanding of soils. This book is unique because of its treatment of soil management based on principles-the physical, chemical, and biological processes and how together they form the foundation for soil management. Audience: Students, certified/practicing professionals, industry and academic researchers in soil science, land management, environmental science, food security, and ecosystem services. Whether new to soil science or needing a concise reference, readers will benefit from this book’s ability to integrate the science of soils with management issues and long-term…. Click here to Read More

Soil Management: Building a Stable Base for Agriculture Degradation of soils continues at a pace that will eventually create a local, regional, or even global crisis when diminished soil resources collide with increasing climate variation. It’s not too late to restore our soils to a more productive state by rediscovering the value of soil management, building on our ever-expanding scientific understanding of soils. This book is unique because of its treatment of soil management based on principles-the physical, chemical, and biological processes and how together they form the foundation for soil management. Audience: Students, certified/practicing professionals, industry and academic researchers in soil science, land management, environmental science, food security, and ecosystem services. Whether new to soil science or needing a concise reference, readers will benefit from this book’s ability to integrate the science of soils with management issues and long-term…. Click here to Read More

Plant Breeding and Biotechnology: Societal Context and the Future of Agriculture This comprehensive survey of modern plant breeding traces its history from the earliest experiments at the dawn of the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century to the present day and the existence of high tech agribusiness. Murphy tells the story from the perspective of a scientist working in this field, offering a rationale and evidence-based insight into its development. Crop improvement is examined from both a scientific and socio-economic perspective and the ways in which these factors interact and impact on agricultural development are discussed, including debates on genetically-modified food. Murphy highlights concerns over the future of plant breeding, as well as potential options to enable us to meet the challenges of feeding the world in the 21st century. This thoroughly interdisciplinary and balanced account serves as an essential resource for everyone involved with plant breeding…. Click here to Read More

The Oil Palm (World Agriculture Series) The oil palm is the world’s most valuable oil crop. With palm oil production increasing by more than 50% in the last decade of the twentieth century and set to double in the next twenty years, it has never before been so important to understand the history, use and cultivation of this fascinating crop.There have been many new developments since the third edition of The Oil Palm in 1988, particularly in the fields of clonal propagation, agronomy, breeding and molecular genetics. This new edition has been completely rewritten, and is the first book to record and explore these and many other developments. The book traces the origins and progress of the industry, and describes the basic science underlying the physiology, breeding and nutrition of the oil palm. It covers both cutting-edge research, and wider issues such as genetic modification of the crop, the promise of clonal propagation, and the effects of palm oil on human health. The…. Click here to Read More

Sugarcane (World Agriculture Series) From enhancing the flavour of food to providing a substrate for fermentation, sugar is renowned worldwide for its importance as a commodity. For many centuries sugarcane has been cultivated and developed, and we now have a huge range of crop varieties. Based on Blackburn’s highly successful Sugarcane, originally published in 1984, this new edition has been fully revised and expanded by an international team of widely respected sugarcane specialists. Focussing on the agricultural aspects of the crop, this book follows a logical progression from the botany and breeding through to planning cultivation, control of weeds, pests and diseases, harvest management and payment for cane. An invaluable asset to those involved in planning or running sugar estates as well as small producers An easy-to-follow reference for students and agriculturalists alike Comprehensive reference sections and further reading List Price: $ 189.95 Price:…. Click here to Read More