This important book is the re-titled third edition of the extremely well received and widely used Agricultural Extension (van den Ban & Hawkins, 1988, 1996). Building on the previous editions, Communication for Rural Innovation maintains and adapts the insights and conceptual models of value today, while reflecting many new ideas, angles and modes of thinking concerning how agricultural extension is taught and carried through today. Since the previous edition of the book, the number and type of organisations that apply communicative strategies to foster change and development in agriculture and resource management has become much more varied and this book is aimed at those who use communication to facilitate change in agriculture and resource management. Communication for Rural Innovation is essential reading for process facilitators, communication division personnel, knowledge managers, training officers, consultants, policy makers, extension specialists and managers of agricultural extension or research organisations. The book can also be used as an advanced introduction into issues of communicative intervention at BSc or MSc level.
Microbial responses to acidic and alkaline pH are important in many areas of bacteriology. For example, the mechanisms of resistance to acidic pH are important in the understanding of the passage of human pathogens through the acid of the stomach; and an understanding of microbial degradation of alkaline industrial waste is important for the environment. Bringing together contributions from an international and interdisciplinary group of experts working on the many aspects of bacterial cellular responses to pH, this stimulating volume draws together new and innovative work in this area. It delineates both similarities and differences between mechanisms of tolerance and response, providing readers with an invaluable resource on the subject.
This work is based on the Mexico 2000 meeting under the auspices of ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics) and INTSORMIL (International Sorghum and Millet Collaborative Research Support Program). Sorghum and millet are very important agronomic crops in many parts of the world, specifically in the semi-arid regions in warm areas. The crops are of great significance in supplying food and feed in the developing areas of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Exotic pests and diseases have long been an important concern in agriculture. The problem is becoming increasingly urgent and complex because agricultural trade has been liberalized worldwide, and as a consequence, the probability of spreading a disease or a pest through national borders has become a real threat, not only for the agricultural industry but also for human health and the natural environment. This edited volume’s list of international contributors reads like a Who’s Who of international agricultural research! This book includes ten interdisciplinary case studies that focus on specific pests or diseases that represent a range of threats to U.S. agriculture, wild lands and the urban landscape, and possible government responses to these threats. Each chapter combines, in an original fashion, biological foundations and implications for the public, giving powerful insights to a series of public policy issues of national and international relevance. In many instances, economic analysis of alternative policies is included. Exotic pest control is discussed in a public good general framework, and under the international regulatory laws comprised by the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Protocol of the WTO.
Divided into logical easy-to-use sections, Neotyphodium in Cool-Season Grasses is an up-to-date anthology of the latest knowledge on the genus Neotyphodium. This thorough text covers the molecular biology of Neotyphodium endophytes and their effects on grass hosts, invertebrate and vertebrate herbivores, and the plant communities in which they interact. The expert editors also include information on the commercial uses of endophytes in livestock and turf industries. Researchers and teachers in grass research, extension, agronomy, and animal toxicology, and university libraries with courses in these subjects should not be without this important text.
A sociological study of changing farming methods, Conservation Tillage and Cropping Innovation investigates those techniques that have gradually continued to replace the plow culture. With thorough documentation of the conservation tillage and cropping revolution, this book features chapters on: The Social Construction of Innovative Networks; Planning Conservation Cropping: Implications for Research, Development, and Extension; The New Agriculture of Conservation Cropping: Present and Future.
The science and practice of pig production has changed rapidly over recent decades; new husbandry practices, new understandings of growth, reproduction and health, new appreciations of welfare and environmental impact, new nutritional approaches, and modern reproductive and genetic techniques have all come into being, together with the emergence of new health challenges. Now in its third edition, this long established reference book on the management, breeding, feeding, nutrition, health and welfare of pigs has been fully revised to provide clear and current information on both the practical and scientific aspects of the pig industry. With the help of a new panel of international experts and a senior editor, the overall structure now contains input from international centres across Europe and North America. This edition includes: Updated versions of existing chapters; Completely revised and new sections on: Pig meat and carcass quality, Reproduction, The maintenance of health, Nutritional value of protein and amino acids in feed stuffs, Value of fats and oils in pig diets, Product marketing, Environmental management, Simulation modelling; Input from international authorities; Many tables, diagrams, photographs and figures.
Readers of this book will encounter peasants and farmers who struggle at home and traverse national borders to challenge the World Trade Organization and other powerful global institutions. Studies the activists in Brazil who uproot plots of genetically modified soybeans, forest dwellers in Indonesia who chop down rubber plantations to cultivate rice to feed their families, ‘runaway villages’ in China that take up arms to resist corrupt officials, and Mexican migrants who, having exited in desperation, return from abroad to transform their communities Little-known transnational agrarian movements of the early twentieth century share the stage with more recent, high-profile global alliances, such as Vía Campesina Celebrates a dynamic sector of international civil society, and tackles the thorny questions of successes and failures, ethical and political dilemmas, troubled alliances with NGOs, protest repertoires, and representation claims Analyzes contemporary collective action in all its complexity, acknowledging ambiguities and contradictions, posing challenging questions, and providing concrete strategies for scholars and activists
Biological control – utilizing a population of natural enemies to seasonally or permanently suppress pests – is not a new concept. The cottony cushion scale, which nearly destroyed the citrus industry of California, was controlled by an introduced predatory insect in the 1880s. Accelerated invasions by insects and spread of weedy non-native plants in the last century have increased the need for the use of biological control. Use of carefully chosen natural enemies has become a major tool for the protection of natural ecosystems, biodiversity and agricultural and urban environments. This book offers a multifaceted yet integrated discussion on two major applications of biological control: permanent control of invasive insects and plants at the landscape level and temporary suppression of both native and exotic pests in farms, tree plantations, and greenhouses. Written by leading international experts in the field, the text discusses control of invasive species and the role of natural enemies in pest management. This book is essential reading for courses on Invasive Species, Pest Management, and Crop Protection. It is an invaluable reference book for biocontrol professionals, restorationists, agriculturalists, and wildlife biologists. Further information and resources can be found on the Editor’s own website at: www.invasiveforestinsectandweedbiocontrol.info/index.htm
Oilseed rape, a major crop in many parts of the world, is attacked by a wide range of insect pests, many of which are of considerable economic importance. With the increasing demand to reduce agrochemical inputs on arable crops, the Commission of the European Communities supported a three-year programme in which scientific participants reviewed the natural enemies of oilseed rape insect pests. The various outputs from this important work form the basis of this comprehensive new book. Biocontrol of Oilseed Rape Pests commences with a review of the oilseed rape crop, followed by chapters on pests, pest management strategies and parasitoids of specific pests or groups of pests. Detailed information is also included on sampling, trapping and rearing pests, their parasitoids and predators; the identification of hymenopterous parasitoids; pathogens of oilseed rape pests, predators, predator taxonomy and identification, and the impact of on-farm landscape structures and systems on predators. This book is an essential purchase for all those involved with oilseed rape and for anyone with an interest in agricultural biocontrol strategies. It is also essential reading and an invaluable source of reference for agricultural scientists, entomologists, crop protection specialists, advisers and consultants. All agrochemical companies should have multiple copies of this book on their shelves, as should all libraries in universities and research establishments where biological and agricultural sciences are studied and taught. Dr David V. Alford, based in Cambridge, UK, has many years of experience working as a government entomologist.