Cultivation Of Food Crops Research Articles

Nilai Ekonomi Langsung Berbagai Sistem Pengelolaan Hutan Rakyat di Desa Mirring, Kab. Polewali, Sulawesi Barat

Public forests are land ownership whose management is oriented to timber productivity, but in addition to timber under stands can also be cultivated food crops and environmental services all of which have economic value. Community forest management can provide direct and indirect economic benefits as an alternative source of economic income for the people of Mirring Village, Binuang District, Polman , West Sulawesi. This research aims to find out how much the direct economic value of community forest based on its management system which can then be used as a reference for future forest management plan. The research was conducted from March to December 2017. Data were collected using survey and interview methods, where the observed variables included descriptions of community forests, community forest productivity including timber and non-timber forest products, and local market prices. The analysis is done descriptively quantitative. The result of the research shows the highest economic value is in agroforestry forest management system of Rp.127.962.157, followed by mixed stands and monoculture system of Rp.97.894.958 and Rp.71.728.608, respectively. Products produced by community forests consist of timber and non-timber forest products.Keywords: economic value, forest community, Polman.

GIS-based agroecological assessment of land suitability for food crop development at a regional scale: A study case of Buton Island.

Agriculture has long become a prime sector for regional development in Buton Island, although local government emphasis on perennial crops. Food crop have been developed in very limited land areas, mainly on transmigration areas, as parts of central government programs. Today, the central government has launched a national strategic program on food self-sufficiency and has imposed the local government to optimize available land for cultivating food crop. The primary aim of study is to develop rapid assessment on a spatial basis using GIS for agricultural land suitability evaluation of agriculture commodities, i.e., rice (irrigated paddy field, rainfed rice) and corn (Zea maize L.). The study was undertaken using the following procedures: (i) conducting reconnaissance soil survey based on land units; (ii) constructing soil database in a GIS; and (iii) classifying land suitability using the FAO method. Spatial data were generated from digital topographic map, soil survey, soil characteristics, as well as climate data. Preliminary results indicate that quite large area available for food crop cultivation both in the context of land suitability (mostly in S2 and S3 classes) and land availability. All data bases were managed in GIS, then it is amenable to various operations in GIS to accommodate possible additional assessment including socio-economic and policy assessment.

ANALISIS DAYA DUKUNG LAHAN DAN OPTIMASI PENDAPATAN USAHA TANI DI DAERAH TRANSMIGRASI KURO TIDUR, BENGKULU

The objective of the research is to know the cultivation land scale of farmers according to kind of commodities in order to achieve the highest farm income subject to the low land carrying capacity condition. The research use Linear Programming Technique with subject to two main constraints, that are area of cultivation and availability of man power. The research was carried out in Wonoharjo Village, Unit VIII Kuro Tidur Transmigration area, Bengkulu. The method of sampling drawn was random sampling. Number of respondentswas 60 farmers who cultivate food crops as well as estate crops. The results of the research show that the highest farm income can be achieved to a high of Rp. 2.279.217,- a year or increase amount of Rp. 511.140,- a year or 28.9 % through intensive cultivation of wetland rice = 0.261 ha, upland rice = 0.188 ha, cassava = 0.120 ha, peanut = 0,101 ha, and coffee = 0.750 ha.Kaywords: Transmigration land income

The Local Genius of Tengger People in Conserving Forest and Increasing Economic Benefits Using Agroforestry System

The supporting capacity of Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park environment, which is inhabited by the Tengger society, is increasingly unbalanced. The local community originally utilized their agricultural land to the cultivate food crops in order to meet daily needs as economic activity. These agricultural activity is shifting to commercial crops such as leek, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, etc. The objectives of the research are: (1) To determine Tengger community activity in utilizing forest area for economic improvement (2) To determine Tengger community form of local wisdom in preserving the forest (3) To understand Tengger community forest management using agroforestry system to preserve the environment and improve the community’s economy. This study utilized descriptive qualitative method. The data was obtained by the reviewing literature related to agroforestry and Tengger society local wisdom, in-depth interview, field observation, and documentation. The results exhibit Tengger community local wisdom, in preserving the forest, still adhering to rituals on harvest periods and applying Tri Hitna Karana. In applying agroforestry, they are less able to perform optimally, because a huge number of pine trees were cut. These trees are considered blocking sunlight vital for vegetable crops growth. As the agricultural land were used for stalls and homestay, therefore as agricultural activity utilized forests instead, even on steep grounds. In conclusion, Bromo Tengger and Semeru National Park should regularly control Tengger community agricultural activity, especially in enclave areas.

Assessing the drivers of land use change in the Rumpi hills forest protected area, Cameroon

ABSTRACTProtected areas serve two objectives, biodiversity conservation and securing of ecosystem services. But the recent expansion of human activities around Cameroon’s Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve in this Era of Sustainable Development Goals is a call for concern. This study assesses land use and land cover change around the reserve and their potential impact on its sustainability. A total of 250 household surveys were conducted across 13 villages in four selected sites around the reserve in addition to 11 focus group discussions. Landsat 7 ETM (2000) and Landsat 8 OLI (2014) images and topographic maps were utilized to quantify land use and land cover change.During the 14-year period, dense forest dropped to 90.2% while settlements increased from 744.6 to 2148.8 hectares in 2014. Also, farmlands increased by 18.25% representing a change from 9400.4 to 11117.16 hectares. Over 98% and 85% of the respondents are engaged in the cultivation of food and cash crops and are dependent on the forests for timber and non-timber forests products. Land and tree-based interventions that improve soil fertility should be promoted among smallholder farmers to ensure the sustainability of protected areas in Cameroon.

Waste Polypropylene and Waste Cooking Oil As Feedstocks for an Alternative Component Containing Diesel Fuel Production

Nowadays the development and application of alternative fuels (including biofuels) are highly important for several reasons, e.g., protection of the environment and people’s health and achievement of sustainable development, etc. Diesel fuels are important in road transportation in the European Union and all over the world. So, it is necessary to develop alternative (bio)fuels for diesel engines. During the development of these alternative fuels, it is necessary to take into account that it does not endanger the cultivation of food and feed crops. According to the above-mentioned reasons, we studied the catalytic hydrogenation of mixtures of the middle distillates derived from thermal cracking of waste polypropylene (WPPCF) (5–30%), waste cooking oil (WCO) (20–45%), and straight-run gas oil (GO) (50%), on a sulfided NiMo/Al2O3 catalyst to produce diesel fuel. We investigated the effects of feedstock compositions and process parameters (T = 300–360 °C, LHSV = 1.0–3.0 h–1, P = 40 bar, hydrogen/feedstock = 4...

A defensin-like protein drives cadmium efflux and allocation in rice

Pollution by heavy metals limits the area of land available for cultivation of food crops. A potential solution to this problem might lie in the molecular breeding of food crops for phytoremediation that accumulate toxic metals in straw while producing safe and nutritious grains. Here, we identify a rice quantitative trait locus we name cadmium (Cd) accumulation in leaf 1 (CAL1), which encodes a defensin-like protein. CAL1 is expressed preferentially in root exodermis and xylem parenchyma cells. We provide evidence that CAL1 acts by chelating Cd in the cytosol and facilitating Cd secretion to extracellular spaces, hence lowering cytosolic Cd concentration while driving long-distance Cd transport via xylem vessels. CAL1 does not appear to affect Cd accumulation in rice grains or the accumulation of other essential metals, thus providing an efficient molecular tool to breed dual-function rice varieties that produce safe grains while remediating paddy soils.

Estimating winter wheat planting area in north China driven by the East Asia monsoon

Mapping and monitoring cropland areas and distributions from remote sensing data could provide early warning information of threats to the global and regional food security. Winter wheat is traditionally the most cultivated food crop in China, and the Huang-Huai-Hai (HHH) plain is an important winter wheat production base. Due to a long latitudinal distance, the same winter wheat growth stage delays from the north to the south of the plain. Influenced by the monsoon climate, isolines of the winter wheat phenology are oriented in a northeast–southwest direction, which is similar to that of the temperature distribution. In this paper, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer-enhanced vegetation index (EVI) was applied to estimate the winter wheat planting information on the HHH plain, using a model built according to seasonal change of the winter wheat EVI. The result shows that the average accuracy of the estimation was 75.4% with a standard deviation of 26.1%, when the impacts from the phenology delay and the monsoon climate were not considered. When winter wheat phenology delay was considered with and without the influences from the monsoon climate, the accuracy was 93.2% with a standard deviation of 6.1% and 84.7% with a standard deviation of 11.0%, respectively. The accuracy increased evidently. Therefore, both the phenology delay and monsoon climate impacts should be taken into consideration when estimating the winter wheat planting information in a large monsoon climate region.

The Use of Vanilla Plantations by Lemurs: Encouraging Findings for both Lemur Conservation and Sustainable Agroforestry in the Sava Region, Northeast Madagascar

Extensive areas of forest are cleared every year to establish new agricultural land in the tropics, resulting in a catastrophic loss in habitat for the world’s primates. A prominent example of this process is Madagascar, where an increasing demand for arable land has led to the once-forested landscape to be now dominated by agricultural areas used for the cultivation of food and cash crops. Despite the prominence of these plantations throughout Madagascar, their suitability as a habitat to support endemic lemur populations remains unclear. Here, we assessed lemur presence in vanilla plantations, Madagascar’s principal export crop, within the northeastern Sava region with the use of line transects. We confirmed the presence of five lemur species, four of which were nocturnal cheirogaleids, in these vanilla plantations. Intensively farmed vanilla plantations and those in existing stands of vegetation supported at least one species of lemur. Furthermore, lemurs were significantly more likely to be present in plantations grown close or adjacent to natural forest fragments, compared to more intensively farmed, anthropogenic sites. In comparison, we observed eight lemur species in natural forest fragment sites in close proximity to the vanilla plantation sites, four of which we did not observe in any of the plantation sites. Our results provide evidence of lemurs using vanilla plantations and show that vanilla plantations may act as extensions of suitable habitat for lemurs, suggesting that they may also function as matrices between isolated forest fragments through which gene flow can occur. These are important and encouraging findings for both lemur conservation and for sustainable agroforestry undertaken by local farming communities.

Nitrogen Fertilizer Management in Dryland Wheat Cropping Systems.

Wheat is the most widely cultivated food crop in the world, which provides nutrition to most of the world population and is well adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. Timely and efficient rates of nitrogen (N) application are vital for increasing wheat grain yield and protein content, and maintaining environmental sustainability. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of using different rates and split application of N on the performance of spring wheat in dryland cropping systems. The experiment was conducted in three different locations in Montana and Idaho during two consecutive growing seasons. A split-plot experimental design was used with three at planting N fertilization application (0, 90 and 135 kg N ha−1) and two topdressing N fertilization strategies as treatments. A number of variables such as grain yield (GY), protein content (GP) in the grains and N uptake (NUP) were assessed. There was a significant effect of climate, N rate, and time application on the wheat performance. The results showed that at-planting N fertilizer application of 90 kg N ha−1 has significantly increased GY, GP and NUP. On the other hand, for these site-years, increasing at-planting N fertilizer rate to 135 kg N ha−1 did not further enhance wheat GY, GP and NUP values. For all six site-years, topdress N fertilizer applied at flowering did not improve wheat GY, GP and NUP compared to at-planting fertilizer alone. As the risk of yield loss is minimal with split N application, from these results we concluded the best treatment for study is treatments that had received 90 kg N ha−1 split as 45 kg N ha−1 at planting and 45 kg N ha−1 at flowering.

Diversity and use of wild and non-cultivated edible plants in the Western Himalaya

BackgroundLocal people in the Himalayan region use a wide range of wild and non-cultivated edible plants (WNEPs) for food, spice, medicinal, and cultural purposes. However, their availability, use, status and contribution to livelihood security are poorly documented, and they have been generally overlooked in recent agro-biodiversity conservation and management programmes. The study aimed to investigate WNEP diversity and current status in a part of the Kailash Sacred Landscape—a transboundary landscape shared by Nepal, India and PR China—in terms of collection, use, management and conservation initiatives.MethodsMultiple methodologies and tools were used for data collection. A series of participatory tools (45 key informant interviews, 10 focus group discussions, a crop diversity fair, direct observation of species through a transect walk and rapid market assessments) was followed by a household survey (195 respondents) and complemented by a literature review.ResultsThe study recorded 99 WNEPs belonging to 59 families of which 96 were angiosperms, one gymnosperm and two pteridophytes. Species were used for food, spice, medicine, rituals and income generation. Thirty-five species had multiple uses, including these: 40 species were used for fruit and 31 for vegetables. WNEPs contribute significantly to daily food requirements, especially the vegetables. The use value of Dryopteris cochleata was found highest (0.98) among frequently used vegetable species. The values of informant consensus factor were found maximum for worms in the stomach (0.99) and minimum for skin disease treatment (0.67). Nearly 85% of households depended exclusively on WNEPs for at least more than a month per year. Results on the importance and use of different species, gender roles in WNEP activities and conservation approaches are presented.ConclusionsPeople living in the Kailash Sacred Landscape depend significantly on WNEPs, and this is especially critical in times of food shortage. The WNEPs have considerable potential as an important supplement to cultivated food crops. Farmers prioritise species with multiple use values and popular vegetables. However, there are numerous challenges and interventions needed to ensure conservation and management of species and their continued availability to support food security and local livelihoods.

Living Off Wetlands: A Case Study of Mara Bay and Masirori Wetlands, Tanzania

This study was undertaken to help highlight the negative impacts of economic activities on wetlands in East Africa with a specific focus on Mara Bay and Masirori wetlands, Tanzania, a region where the local communities still harness wetland resources for economic sustenance. Key economic activities and the negative impacts of the income-generating activities on the wetlands are identified, including the main goods harnessed, level of dependency of the locals to the wetlands, and the level of environmental knowledge of the locals on the wetlands’ ecosystem services. Both qualitative and quantitative tools and techniques viz.: questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, market surveys and spreadsheet analysis were used in this study. The proportion of wetland users involved in papyrus harvesting, food crop cultivation and fishing was 30%, 25% and 24%, respectively while charcoal/firewood and grass for livestock accounted for 12% and 7%, respectively. Significant differences in incomes for charcoal (p < 0.05) across the four villages were recorded but farming, fishing, mat making, herding and fish mongering were non-significant. About 6% of those interviewed had some considerable knowledge on wetland ecosystem services, while the rest (94%) lacked information. Issues identified as having detrimental impacts on the wetlands’ ecosystem services included conversion of sections of the wetlands into farmlands, grazing, charcoal burning, unsustainable fishing, overharvesting of papyrus and brick-making. Farming was found to be a major income-generating activity within the two wetlands. Other important economic activities were charcoal burning, fishing, mat making and fish mongering. The findings from the research are useful for devising appropriate strategies for wetland conservation. Such measures may include assigning wetland ecologists to the village governments, valuation of the wetlands, commissioning of a price and resource regulatory board for the wetland goods, creation of wetlands monitoring program, a fining regime system and a roll-out of mass environmental education in the wetlands regions.

Concentration of Potentially Toxic Elements in Various Berries Grown in Allotment Gardens of Rīga City, Latvia

AbstractConcentration of trace and major elements is an important indicator of nutritional value of food, also regarding cultivated food crops like fruits, berries, and vegetables. Concentration of elements differs regionally and is influenced by various factors. Nevertheless, some chemical elements (As, Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn, etc.) are known as environmental pollutants and may affect the quality and safety of crops and food products. The aim of the study was to determine the concentration of potentially toxic elements like Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn in samples of berries grown in allotment gardens of Rīga city. Dried and homogenised samples of raspberries, strawberries, red currants, black currants, gooseberries, and cherries were mineralised in a solution of concentrated HNO3/H2O2by heating on a thermoblock. Quantitative analysis of sample solutions was performed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Potentially toxic elements were in concentrations as follows: Fe &gt; Zn &gt; Cu &gt; Ni &gt; Pb &gt; Cr &gt; Cd. Mean concentrations of the elements of the major concern were: Ni 0.54 mg/kg, Pb 0.20 mg/kg, Cr 0.10 mg/kg, and Cd 0.03 mg/kg. Results indicated significant variability of element concentration among the species.

Plant functional types differ between the grassland and savanna biomes along an agro-ecosystem disturbance gradient in South Africa

Intensive, large-scale cultivation of food crops has led to major biodiversity loss worldwide due to fragmentation and degradation of remnant semi-natural habitat within agro-ecosystems. The response of vegetation to these disturbances is often measured in terms of taxonomic diversity loss. However, some plant groups may have more pronounced negative reactions to agricultural disturbance than others, which may not necessarily be expressed in the overall species diversity of the community. It is now widely accepted that the responses of plant taxa to environmental disturbances may be more directly linked to characteristics or traits that enable or hinder their persistence in disturbed environments. This highlights the need to assess the impacts of agricultural disturbance on the abundance patterns and diversity of specific plant traits and functional types. Maize agriculture is a common land-use feature in the grassy biomes of South Africa, but the effect that crop production has on surrounding semi-natural vegetation is still relatively unknown. In this study, we describe the specific functional trait patterns of plant communities associated with maize agro-ecosystems in six localities situated within the Grassland and Savanna biomes of South Africa. Although functional diversity was severely decreased in maize fields, marginal vegetation (30–100m from crop field edges) displayed no indication of functional diversity loss or major changes in trait composition. Chamaephytic and hemicryptophytic (perennial) life forms, nitrogen-fixing ability and spinescence were trait attributes that were most frequently found in semi-natural vegetation but were lost in the crop field environment. Inside the maize fields, these trait attributes were replaced by annual, low-growing individuals with clonal parts and long-range dispersal mechanisms that can establish in the ephemeral crop field environment. Observed patterns were different for grassland and savanna maize fields, indicating that maize fields situated in the Grassland and Savanna biomes favoured different plant trait assemblages.

Mathematical model for scheduling irrigation for swamp rice in Port Harcourt L.G.A, Nigeria

The thirst for increased food production and management of our natural resources (water) is increasing on daily basis and there is a great need for proper utilization of such important resource. Nigerian farmers today still rely on rainfall for cultivation of food crops, this is simply because they do not have the knowledge of irrigation scheduling and timing and it has affected the rate at which food crops are produced in our country. The formula of a mathematical model that can predict the required amount of irrigation water for swamp rice in Port Harcourt L.G.A. of Nigeria was the main objective of this work. Thus, the formula or the model is given as; d 2 = d 1 + E RF + I + I p – ET c . The maximum and minimum values of water depth (d max and d min ) required in the field were determined to be 320.32mm and160mm respectively. The result showed that, the model was able to augment the water need of the planted crop except in weeks 5 and 6 which have the values of d 2 (final water depth in the field) as 135.69mm and 120.07mm respectively. While the mother model indicated that the planted crops will be under severe water stress because the values of their d 2 were below the allowable range of water depletion except in weeks 1,7,10,16 and 17 with their d 2 values to be; 178.50mm, 181.47mm, 162.11mm, 198.80mm and 187.60mm respectively. Water application is made on the field whenever the water level is at or below d min . The result of the correlation analysis for the two models was obtained to be 0.002796. This showed that the two models have a strong non linear relationship between them. Keywords: Mathematical model, irrigation, Water, swamp rice

Pertumbuhan dan Hasil Dua Varietas Jagung Manis terhadap Pemberian Pupuk Hayati pada Lahan Rawa Lebak

Lebak wetland is land that has many limiting factors for the development of food crop cultivation, especially maize. These limiting factors include excess water, varied soil fertility and toxic elements. Efforts that can be made to increase corn production are by using the right varieties and providing fertilizers, especially using biological fertilizers. This study aims to determine (i) the effect of two sweet corn varieties on several doses of biological fertilizers, (ii) the influence of varieties, (iii) the effect of doses of biological fertilizers, (iv) the interaction of varieties with biological fertilizers, (v) the best varieties and (vi ) the best dosage of biofertilizer on the growth and yield of two varieties of sweet corn. The study was conducted in Pasar Senin Village, Amuntai Tengah District, Hulu Sungai Utara Regency from April to July 2017. Using a Randomized Block Design (RBD) Factorial 2 factors. The first factor is sweet corn varieties, namely v1 = Bonanza F1 and v2 = Valentino F1. The second factor of the dosage of biological fertilizer is: h0 = 0 kg.ha-1, h1 = 50 kg.ha-1, h2 = 100 kg.ha-1 and h3 = 150 kg.ha-1. The results showed no interaction of varieties with fertilizers on all observation variables, varieties had an effect on plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, ear weight with straws and without weight, ear length with straws and without cornhusk and diameter with strawberries and without nuts with the best treatment is v1, while biofertilizer influences the weight of the cob with the weight, the length of the cob with the straw and without the weight and diameter of the cob with the kelobot and without the kelob with the best treatment is h2.

Nodulation and Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in the Biofuel Legume Tree Pongamia pinnata

The legume tree Pongamia pinnata (also called Millettia pinnata) is a non-food crop that can grow on marginal land not destined for the cultivation of food crops. It is an important candidate for the production of biofuel (bio-oil, biodiesel and aviation biofuel) from its oil-rich seeds. An important trait is its ability to grow in marginal, nitrogen-limited soils. This growth ability is attributed to the nitrogen-fixation activity of root nodules. Cutting both cotyledons in halves had little effect on shoot dry weight, nodule number and weight per plant at 8 weeks. These parameters were reduced when both cotyledons were removed; plants were visibly yellow. Surprisingly when no nutrients were supplied and with both cotyledons intact, plants grew as well as those with nutrients. To isolate rhizobial inoculants from soil, samples were collected from Meandu Mine, a coal-mining site near Kingaroy, Queensland (Australia), where pongamia is currently grown to rehabilitate the soil. Pongamia nodules were also collected from Mt. Coot-tha Botanic Gardens (Brisbane), where pongamia was introduced decades ago. Established ‘Baiting technique’ and ‘One-drop-one-nodule technique’ were applied to isolate potential rhizobia from the soil samples and nodules. All isolates were screened and characterised for symbiotic effectiveness and nitrogenase activity. A total of 21 putative rhizobial samples were isolated – five from soil samples and 16 from pongamia nodules. Out of these iso lates, seven were slow-growers while 14 were fast-growers. These isolates were coded as PR-UQ. Among the isolates, the fast-growers PR-UQ-03 and PR-UQ-05 were considered as the superior strains compared to the slow-growers PR-UQ-01 and PR-UQ-04, which were more effective than the rest of the isolates. The new isolates enhanced nodule number, shoot length and total plant dry weight and resulted in better plant growth than the available Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains CB1809, USDA110 and CB564. Acetylene reduction assay (short term) and Nitrogen Difference Analysis (long term) further confirmed that pongamia fixed more nitrogen upon inoculation with these rhizobia. Based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis, PR-UQ-01 and PR-UQ-04 are closely related to Bradyrhizobium elkanii and Bradyrhizobium pachyrizi, while PR-UQ-03 and PR-UQ-05 are both related to Rhizobium mesoamericanum. Cotyledons supply the seedling with nutrients for a considerable period of early seedling growth. The newly isolated, fast-growing rhizobia PR-UQ-03 and PR-UQ-05 and the slow-growing PR-UQ-01 and PR-UQ-04 are related to Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium species and aid in the nodulation, nitrogen fixation and seedling/sapling growth of Pongamia pinnata.

Facilitating smallholder tree farming in fragmented tropical landscapes: Challenges and potentials for sustainable land management

Under changing land use in tropical Asia, there is evidence of forest product diversification through implementation of tree-based farming by smallholders. This paper assesses in two locations, West Java, Indonesia and eastern Bangladesh, current land use conditions from the perspective of smallholder farmers, the factors that facilitate their adoption of tree farming, and the potential of landscape-scale approaches to foster sustainable land management. Data were collected through rapid rural appraisals, focus group discussions, field observations, semi-structured interviews of farm households and key informant interviews of state agricultural officers. Land at both study sites is typically fragmented due to conversion of forest to agriculture and community settlement. Local land use challenges are associated with pressures of population increase, poverty, deforestation, shortage of forest products, lack of community-scale management, weak tenure, underdeveloped markets, government decision-making with insufficient involvement of local people, and poor extension services. Despite these challenges, smallholder tree farming is found to be successful from farmers' perspectives. However, constraints of local food crop cultivation traditions, insecure land tenure, lack of capital, lack of knowledge, lack of technical assistance, and perceived risk of investing in land due to local conflict (in Bangladesh) limit farmers' willingness to adopt this land use alternative. Overcoming these barriers to adoption will require management at a landscape scale, including elements of both segregation and integration of land uses, supported by competent government policies and local communities having sufficiently high social capital.

Resource Use Efficiency in Cultivation of Major Food Crops under Rainfed and Irrigated Conditions in Northern Dry Zone of Karnataka

Resource Use Efficiency in Cultivation of Major Food Crops under Rainfed and Irrigated Conditions in Northern Dry Zone of Karnataka

Food security in Sri Lanka - agronomic implications and potentials

The population of the world is growing at an alarming rate and its greatest impact is on the developing nations of Asia and Africa. South Asia, which has the poorest population in Asia is also affected by this process. Among the nations of South Asia, Sri Lanka has a relatively high degree of social welfare, although food security for its 20.1 million people is not achieved. This is due to the phenomenon of smallholder farming systems producing some 90% of the food required under marginal conditions in low fertile soils. The current problems of irregular climates, global warming and anthropogenic effects of conventional intensive cropping have added to the challenges facing the increase of in-country food production. As land for expansion of food crop cultivation is not available in Sri Lanka, short term measures are required for enhancing crop productivity to ensure food security within the next decade. The options available are breeding suitable crops or enhancing agronomic management of the food crop systems. As breeding programmes take time and could be expensive, the short-term measures to increase food production would thus be improved agronomic management of the smallholder farming systems. A principal component of improved agronomic management of food crop systems is the building up of soil quality and its maintenance to ensure sustained productivity in the context of rising costs of inputs. The role of holistic agronomic practices such as green manures, crop rotations, and even agroforestry and their integration to enhance food productivity and maintain sustainability to ensure that Sri Lanka could achieve its targets of food security is presented in this review.