This book represents a current look at what we know about organic farming practices and systems, primarily from the U.S. and Canadian perspectives. the discussion begins with history and certification, ecological knowledge as the foundation for sustaining food systems, and biodiversity. The next chapters address crop-animal systems; forages, grain, oil seed, and specialty crops; organic cropping and soil nutrient needs; and vegetation and pest management. Readers will next learn about marketing organics, organic foods and food security, and education and research. The book concludes with a survey of the future of organic farming and a perspective on the agricultural industry and the future of the rural sector.--COVER.

Merging coverage of two increasingly popular and quickly growing food trends, Organic Production and Use of Alternative Crops provides an overview of the basic principles of organic agriculture and highlights its multifunctionality with special emphasis on the conservation of rare crops and their uses. Considering more than 30 disregarded and negle

Modern agriculture and food systems, including organic agriculture, are undergoing a technological and structural modernisation and are faced with a growing globalisation. Organic agriculture (OA) can be seen as pioneering efforts to create sustainable development based on other principles than mainstream agriculture. There are however large differences between the challenges connected to, on one hand, modern farming and consumption in high-income countries and, on the other, smallholder farmers and resource poor consumers in low-income countries. The point of departure is the increasing globalisation and the production and trade of food and fodder and how this influences the role of OA. This book provides an overview of the potential role and challenges of organic agriculture in this global perspective, as seen from different perspectives such as sustainability, food security and fair trade.

This book is an up-to-date and comprehensive reference covering pest management in organic farming in major crops of the world. General introductory chapters explore the management of crops to prevent pest outbreaks, plant protection tools in organic farming, and natural enemies and pest control. The remaining chapters are crop-based and discuss geographic distribution, economic importance and key pests. For each pest the fundamental aspects of its bio-ecology and the various methods of control are presented. Understanding of the scientific content is facilitated with practical advice, tables and diagrams, helping users to apply the theories and recommendations. This is an essential resource for researchers and extension workers in crop protection, integrated pest management and biocontrol, and organic farming systems.

Stakeholders show a growing interest for organic food and farming (OF&F), which becomes a societal component. Rather than questioning whether OF&F outperforms conventional agriculture or not, the main question addressed in this book is how, and in what conditions, OF&F may be considered as a prototype towards sustainable agricultures. The book gathers 25 papers introduced in a first chapter. The first section investigates OF&F production processes and its capacity to benefit from the systems functioning to achieve higher self-sufficiency. The second one proposes an overview of organic performances providing commodities and public goods. The third one focuses on organics development pathways within agri-food systems and territories. As well as a strong theoretical component, this book provides an overview of the new challenges for research and development. It questions the benefits as well as knowledge gaps with a particular emphasis on bottlenecks and lock-in effects at various levels.

This book provides a comprehensive reference work, summarizing our knowledge of apples and their production worldwide. It includes 24 chapters written by international authorities from the USA, Canada, Europe and New Zealand. The main subjects addressed include taxonomy and production statistics, plant materials, apple physiology, orchard and tree management, crop protection (including organic production), harvesting and handling and utilization. The book will be of significant interest to those working in horticulture and botany.