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This volume looks at the distinctions between agricultural, economic and environmental concerns. The authors seek to develop a system for evaluating the impact of alternate programmes and policies on America's natural resources. Models are based on agricultural and environmental processes. ... Read more

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Comprehensive text documents the current use, research, and policy concerns relating to harvesting non-timber forest produces. Provides state-of-the-art reviews of historical and contemporary wildcrafting, ongoing research on economically useful forest products, and sociopolitical and environmental considerations for NTFP. ... Read more

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Biological control, the suppression of pests and diseases by the rational use of living organisms, can provide a reliable and safe alternative to pesticide application. Although now gaining support in regulatory and governmental agencies, this alternative has only recently been assigned significant priority for funding within the US research and development community. This volume brings together international biological control specialists from the disciplines of entomology, plant pathology, nematology and weed science to review the state of the art in biological control. The book identifies impediments that limit the application of this pest and disease suppression tactic, and points the way for research in the next decade. The text will benefit biologists, entomologists, nematologists and plant pathologists. ... Read more

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Insects associated with raw grain and processed food causequalitative and quantitative losses. Preventing these losses caused bystored-product insects is essential from the farmer's field to theconsumer's table. While traditional pesticides play a significant rolein stored-product integrated pest management (IPM), there has recentlybeen, and will continue to be, a greater emphasis on alternativeapproaches. Alternatives to Pesticides in Stored-Product IPMdetails the most promising methods, ranging from extreme temperaturesto the controversial radiation, and from insect-resistant packaging topathogens. This collection is essential for anyone in academia,industry, or government interested in pest ecology or food or grainscience. ... Read more

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A comprehensive introduction, by one of the world's leading experts, to a neglected and ever more important form of agricultural irrigation --runoff agriculture.

Runoff agriculture uses surface and subsurface water and enables small farmers as well as commercial agriculturalists to improve yields and the security of harvest, even in harsh and remote environments. Alternative Irrigation introduces the techniques and strategies, as well as the challenges and the potential of this crucial approach, which can contribute so much to reducing land degradation and improving conservation and sustainability. ... Read more

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Earthworm's vermicompost is a nutritive organic fertiliser rich in NKP, micronutrients, and beneficial soil microbes. They are scientifically proven to be excellent growth promoters and protectors for crop plants. In experiments with corn and wheat crops it displayed excellent growth performances in terms of height of plants, colour and texture of leaves, as well as the appearance of fruiting structures. There is also less incidences of pest and disease attack and reduced demand of water for irrigation. This book discusses and presents data which suggest that the vermicompost of earthworms contributes to an increase in the yield of crops when used as a fertiliser. ... Read more

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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 neglected crops suitable for growth in temperate climates, each chapter covers the botany, climate conditions, cultivars, production and yield, growth and ecology, organic cultivation, harvesting, handling and storage, and utilization where the information is available and applicable to the crop under discussion. Other topics include organic production systems, the nutritional and health benefits of products, food processing, and suggestions for some homemade foods.

The authors have a wide range of experience in the growing and processing of alternative crops, the management of the processing projects, and the marketing of organic products. They have worked in close cooperation with many small scale processing activities on farms and in the food industry. Drawing on their combined experience, they provide a summary of the major problems and the knowledge base for utilization of alternative crops in new products. The broad range of coverage and interdisciplinary approach make this book a comprehensive reference and useful tool not only for the production of alternative crops but also for the development of new niche market products. ... Read more

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With depleted soils and reduced ground water levels from intensive agriculture, India’s rice and wheat crops are in crisis. Yet the nation’s population will rise from today’s 1.18 billion people to as many as 1.5 billion by 2020, with 25 per cent more mouths to feed. The ‘Green Revolution’ of the 1970s saw India’s rice production keep pace with population growth, but only up to the late 1990s when soil fertility and ground water problems worsened. Coupled with the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the neglect of organics, soil damage was compounded by health hazards to humans and animals. This trend, recognized elsewhere in Asia, led to the concept of the ‘Integrated Nutrient Management (INM)’ system in sustainable rice-wheat cropping. INM advocates the use of both inorganic and organic plant nutrients and is gaining growing recognition. Here, the authors analyze the rice-wheat cropping crisis and its remedies together with the importance of the INM system in modern Indian agriculture.

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The CRC Handbook of Alternative Cash Crops describes 128 crop plants that can be grown as alternatives to cultivated crops, such as tobacco, and narcotic crops, such as opium poppy. Material is presented in alphabetical order by genus and species and includes information on ecology, cultivation, harvesting, economics, and biotic factors. This book will be valuable to AID agents, domestic agricultural extension agents, and soil and crop professionals worldwide. ... Read more

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Biodynamic agriculture, which has increased consistently in popularity over the years, was born in June 1924 from a single course of eight lectures by Rudolf Steiner in Koberwitz (now in Poland). In The Agriculture Course, Koberwitz, Whitsun 1924, Peter Selg presents a remarkable study of the context of Steiner's lectures, conveying a tangible sense of the celebratory mood and atmosphere of those events at Pentecost. He highlights Steiner's intentions for the course--and parallel lectures in Breslau--by drawing widely on the available literature and numerous archival sources.

Recognizing that chemical manipulation of agriculture was neither desirable nor sustainable, Steiner helped launch an agricultural movement whose outlook is truly pioneering in spirit. As Selg describes, Steiner saw that "what was needed instead was new, conscious insight into life forces and laws, into the nature of organisms, into the diverse realms of nature, and the determining factors of both Earth and cosmos that influence them." The vivid picture painted here reveals the importance that Steiner placed on launching this work, as well as the extent to which his initiative offered an answer to the emerging forces of cultural and political destruction that would lead to World War II. ... Read more

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For the past 50 years, the main goal of agriculture has been to increase production at any price, using high amounts of fertilizers and pesticides and intensive industrial methods. This has caused damage to the environment and widespread rural depopulation. This study shows that there is a viable alternative - a form of agriculture which conserves resources, maintains rural employment and minimizes the external costs, without loss of productivity. Using case studies from industrialized and developing countries, the author describes the new technical, institutional and policy options available. ... Read more

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Over one hundred of the world's most important species of nuts are systematically accounted for in this informative handbook. The text defines nuts and discusses their economic and nutritional value. For easy reference, there is an illustrated account of each nut by species, arranged alphabetically by scientific name. Each account includes the family name, several colloquial names, and paragraphs on uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors.Chapters Describe:· Uses· Folk medicine· Chemistry· Germplasm· Distribution· Ecology· Cultivation· Harvesting· Yields and economics· Energy· Biotic factors ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great resource
This is a fantastic addition to a book shelf related to survival preparation or general "self reliance." In fact it's a volume I think anyone interested in these subjects should have.

Information from Chelsea Green Publishing Company's website
"A daring and entertaining book full of 'recipes' in the broadest sense; from getting out and staying out of debt and becoming financially independent, to tried and tested recipes for household items and life sustaining meals made from the simplest (and often free) ingredients. Some are highly unusual! Packed with essential information for anyone wanting to live a more independent, self reliant lifestyle. This book is genuinely radical in very beguiling ways; more than a mild-mannered 'green consumer' guide, John Yeoman questions very basic habits and assumptions, and does so in a way that is thought-provoking and audacious."

John Yeoman writes:

"This is not a 'black book' of survival. It is intended as an introduction to self reliance, showing tested, practical and often entertaining ways to escape the mindset of helplessness and the chains of habit forged for all of us by the consumer society. It guarantees not only an improvement in the odds but also, if you follow its suggestions and experiments, a vast improvement on your own self-confidence. Because in the worst scenario, you will endure - and endure well." ... Read more