Darwinian Agriculture - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Darwinian Agriculture write by R. Ford Denison. This book was released on 2016-08-16. Darwinian Agriculture available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Harnessing evolution for more sustainable agriculture As human populations grow and resources are depleted, agriculture will need to use land, water, and other resources more efficiently and without sacrificing long-term sustainability. Darwinian Agriculture presents an entirely new approach to these challenges, one that draws on the principles of evolution and natural selection. R. Ford Denison shows how both biotechnology and traditional plant breeding can use Darwinian insights to identify promising routes for crop genetic improvement and avoid costly dead ends. Denison explains why plant traits that have been genetically optimized by individual selection—such as photosynthesis and drought tolerance—are bad candidates for genetic improvement. Traits like plant height and leaf angle, which determine the collective performance of plant communities, offer more room for improvement. Agriculturalists can also benefit from more sophisticated comparisons among natural communities and from the study of wild species in the landscapes where they evolved. Darwinian Agriculture reveals why it is sometimes better to slow or even reverse evolutionary trends when they are inconsistent with our present goals, and how we can glean new ideas from natural selection's marvelous innovations in wild species.
Understanding Agriculture
Understanding Agriculture - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Understanding Agriculture write by National Research Council. This book was released on 1988-02-01. Understanding Agriculture available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. This book responds to the widespread recognition among experts that our educational system needs to change in order to provide the skills and knowledge necessary to ensure the future vitality of U.S. agriculture. Understanding Agriculture focuses on agricultural literacy (education about agriculture) and vocational agricultural education (education in agriculture). The section on agricultural literacy addresses the teaching of science through agriculture, teacher education and training, model educational programs, community support, and agricultural career exploration programs. Vocational agricultural education is examined in terms of program enrollment, availability and content, supervised occupational experiences, the Future Farmers of America program, and teacher education and supply.
Traditional Arid Lands Agriculture
Traditional Arid Lands Agriculture - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Traditional Arid Lands Agriculture write by Scott E. Ingram. This book was released on 2015-04-02. Traditional Arid Lands Agriculture available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Traditional Arid Lands Agriculture is the first of its kind. Each chapter considers four questions: what we don’t know about specific aspects of traditional agriculture, why we need to know more, how we can know more, and what research questions can be pursued to know more. What is known is presented to provide context for what is unknown. Traditional agriculture, nonindustrial plant cultivation for human use, is practiced worldwide by millions of smallholder farmers in arid lands. Advancing an understanding of traditional agriculture can improve its practice and contribute to understanding the past. Traditional agriculture has been practiced in the U.S. Southwest and northwest Mexico for at least four thousand years and intensely studied for at least one hundred years. What is not known or well-understood about traditional arid lands agriculture in this region has broad application for research, policy, and agricultural practices in arid lands worldwide. The authors represent the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, agronomy, art, botany, geomorphology, paleoclimatology, and pedology. This multidisciplinary book will engage students, practitioners, scholars, and any interested in understanding and advancing traditional agriculture.
Systems Research for Agriculture
Systems Research for Agriculture - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Systems Research for Agriculture write by Laurie E. Drinkwater. This book was released on 2016-06-01. Systems Research for Agriculture available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle.
Understanding Food Systems
Understanding Food Systems - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Understanding Food Systems write by Ruth MacDonald. This book was released on 2017-05-25. Understanding Food Systems available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Understanding Food Systems: Agriculture, Food Science, and Nutrition in the United States explores the complex and evolving system from which the United States gets its food. From farm, to home, and everything in-between, the authors use a scientific perspective that explains the fundamentals of agricultural production, food science, and human nutrition that will guide readers through the issues that shape our food system, including political, societal, environmental, economic, and ethical concerns. Presenting the role and impact of technology, from production to processing and safety, to cultural and consumer behavior perspectives, the book also explores the link between food systems and the history of nutrients and diet patterns, and how these influence disease occurrence. Current topics of concern and debate, including the correlations between food systems and diet-related diseases, such as obesity and diabetes are explored, as are the history and current status of food insecurity and accessibility. Throughout the text, readers are exposed to current topics that play important roles in personal food choices and how they influence components of the food system. Presents the evolution of the US food system, from historical beginnings, to current consumer and political roles and responsibilities Provides farm to fork insights on production and consumption practices in the United States Explores complex topics in call-out boxes throughout the text to help readers understand the various perspectives on controversial topics
