Genetic Engineering, Biofertilisation, Soil Quality and Organic Farming

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vi

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2. Avidin and Plant Biotechnology to Control Pests

   • Harry Martin, Elisabeth P. J. Burgess, Michal Masarik, Karl J. Kramer, Miroslava Beklova, Vojtech Adam et al.

   Pages 1-21

3. Cover Crops for Sustainable Agrosystems in the Americas

   • Johannes M. S. Scholberg, Santiago Dogliotti, Carolina Leoni, Corey M. Cherr, Lincoln Zotarelli, Walter A. H. Rossing

   Pages 23-58

4. Cover Crops in Agrosystems: Innovations and Applications

   • Johannes M. S. Scholberg, Santiago Dogliotti, Lincoln Zotarelli, Corey M. Cherr, Carolina Leoni, Walter A. H. Rossing

   Pages 59-97

5. Improving Bioavailability of Phosphate Rock for Organic Farming

   • Anthony C. Edwards, Robin L. Walker, Phillip Maskell, Christine A. Watson, Robert M. Rees, Elizabeth A. Stockdale et al.

   Pages 99-117

6. Mixed Cropping and Suppression of Soilborne Diseases

   • Gerbert A. Hiddink, Aad J. Termorshuizen, Ariena H. C. van Bruggen

   Pages 119-146

7. Decreasing Nitrate Leaching in Vegetable Crops with Better N Management

   • F. Agostini, F. Tei, M. Silgram, M. Farneselli, P. Benincasa, M. F. Aller

   Pages 147-200

8. Manure Spills and Remediation Methods to Improve Water Quality

   • Shalamar D. Armstrong, Douglas R. Smith, Phillip R. Owens, Brad Joern, Candiss Williams

   Pages 201-215

9. Cropping Systems Management, Soil Microbial Communities, and Soil Biological Fertility

   • Alison G. Nelson, Dean Spaner

   Pages 217-242

10. Cyanobacterial Reclamation of Salt-Affected Soil

    • Nirbhay Kumar Singh, Dolly Wattal Dhar

    Pages 243-275

11. Measuring Environmental Sustainability of Intensive Poultry-Rearing System

    • Simone Bastianoni, Antonio Boggia, Cesare Castellini, Cinzia Di Stefano, Valentina Niccolucci, Emanuele Novelli et al.

    Pages 277-309

12. Compost Use in Organic Farming

    • Eva Erhart, Wilfried Hartl

    Pages 311-345

13. Beneficial Microorganisms for Sustainable Agriculture

    • Arshad Javaid

    Pages 347-369

14. Foliar Fertilization for Sustainable Crop Production

    • Seshadri Kannan

    Pages 371-402

15. Back Matter

    Pages 403-414

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Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. Sustainable agriculture is a discipline that addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control, and biodiversity depletion. Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, and social sciences. Indeed, sustainable agriculture decipher mechanisms of processes that occur from the molecular level to the farming system to the global level at time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. For that, scientists use the system approach that involves studying components and interactions of a whole system to address scientific, economic and social issues. In that respect, sustainable agriculture is not a classical, narrow science. Instead of solving problems using the classical painkiller approach that treats only negative impacts, sustainable agriculture treats problem sources. Because most actual society issues are now intertwined, global, and fast-developing, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then propose alternative solutions. It will therefore help all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians who wish to build a safe agriculture, energy and food system for future generations.

• Ecology
• Sustainability
• Sustainable Agriculture
• biodiversity
• biotechnology
• environment
• genetic engineering
• organic farming
• quality
• climate change

• INRA-CMSE-PME, Dijon CX, France

  Eric Lichtfouse

Dr. ERIC LICHTFOUSE, born April 2, 1960, completed his Ph.D. in organic geochemistry in 1989 at Strasbourg University. After post-doctoral fellowships at Indiana University, USA and the KFA research center in Jülich, Germany, he became engaged as a soil scientist at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) in 1992. His study on soil organic matter and pollutants led in particular to the first determination of the dynamics of soil organic molecules in long-term maize field experiments using ¹³C labeling at natural abundance. In 2000 he founded the European Association of Environmental Chemistry (ACE) and in 2003 the Journal Environmental Chemistry Letters. He has co-edited the book Environmental Chemistry (Springer, 2005). He is currently working in Dijon for the INRA Department of Environment and Agronomy as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development. He is growing fruit trees and vegetables in his home backyard and travelling from home to work by bicycle. Eric Lichtfouse is also finisher of 10 ironman competitions, including the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii in 2006.

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