Urban and Regional Agriculture: Building Resilient Food Systems explores the sustainable integration of food provision, distribution and consumption through urban farms, agricultural systems, user communities and structural facilities designed to optimize food production and consumption. The book addresses the fundamental and pressing challenges of urban planning problems, waste minimization, food sourcing, access and equity issues, and multiple land use optimization. Sections cover the need and opportunities of urban agriculture, discuss tradition and transition, space and regulatory topics, explore the range of urban agriculture options (aquaculture to urban permaculture), discuss support structures and constructs of physically creating urban agricultural areas, and much more. Edited and authored by leading experts in the field, this volume will be valuable for those working to address issues of food security in urban environments.

Nano-Enabled Agrochemicals in Agriculture presents a targeted overview of the safe implementation of nanotechnologies within agricultural and horticultural settings, with the purpose of achieving enhanced production while maintaining ecological integrity. The growing global request for agricultural crops and products requires high standards of quality and safety, which has stimulated the search for new technologies that preserve their quality and delay their decomposition. Nanotechnology may boost plant production by improving nutrient uptake/use efficiency with nanoformulations of fertilizers and agrochemicals for plant enhancement, detection and treatment of diseases, and host-parasite interactions at the molecular level using nanosensors. It also may improve plant disease diagnostics, removal of contaminants from soil and water, postharvest management of vegetables and flowers, and reclamation of salt-affected soils. Although the markets for nanoproducts and nanoformulations continue to increase, there are also growing concerns regarding the fate and behavior of nanomaterials in environmental systems. Exploring important topics related to nanotechnology and nanomaterials, the book includes the use of nanochemicals in insect pest management, as nanofungicides, nanoherbicides, micronutrient supply, and nanosensors to monitor crop and soil health conditions, from detection of agrochemicals to their slow release of agrochemicals, and their impact on related environs. This book will serve as an excellent resource for a wide range of plant scientists who have concerns about nanomaterial interactions with terrestrial and aquatic plants.

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on soil health indicators. The first chapter describes indicators and frameworks for soil health currently in use. It evaluates the principles underpinning current approaches to monitoring soil quality/health and shows these principles have been applied in the development of a practical soil health toolkit for use by UK farmers. The second chapter reviews the range of physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil health and how they can be used in practice. It focusses on measuring soil health in organic vegetable cultivation and, in particular, ways of measuring the effects of adding organic amendments to improve soil health. The third chapter discusses key issues in soil organic carbon (SOM) modelling and the development of increasingly sophisticated, dynamic SOM models. It looks at the role of SOM models in improving soil health monitoring and developing decision support tools for farmers The final chapter reviews current challenges in collecting more systematic and reliable data on earthworm communities, including issues in identifying different earthworm groups. It includes a case study on developing a robust method for accurate measurement of earthworm communities in soil in assessing and improving soil health.

The increasing demand for food as well as changes in consumption habits have led to the greater availability and variety of food with a longer shelf life. However, these items, when not properly preserved, can lead to severe food-borne illnesses that can be fatal. Thus, countless studies are now geared towards the processing, distributing, and safe storage of foods. Novel Technologies and Systems for Food Preservation is an essential reference source that discusses novel and emerging cooling and heating technologies, processes, and systems for food preservation, as well as improvements for control and monitoring systems that aim to foster energy efficiency, equipment safety, and performance. Additionally, it looks at concepts that may be useful for the development of new policies and legislation concerning food preservation. Featuring research on topics such as energy efficiency, food quality, and legislation policies, this book is ideally designed for government officials, policymakers, food and service industry professionals, food safety inspectors, researchers, academicians, and students.

The Impact of Nanoparticles on Agriculture and Soil, part of the Nanomaterials-Plant Interaction series, contributes the most recent insights into understanding the cellular interactions of nanoparticles in an agricultural setting, focusing on current applications and means of evaluating future prospects. In order to ensure and improve the biosafety of nanoparticles, it is a primary concern to understand cellular bioprocess like nanomaterial's cellular uptake and their influence on cellular structural, functional and genetic components. This book addresses these and other important aspects in detail along with showcasing their applications in the area of agriculture. With an international team of authors, and experienced editors, this book will be valuable to those working to understand and advance nanoscience to benefit agricultural production and human and environmental welfare. In-depth knowledge of these bioprocess will enable researchers to engineer nanomaterials for enhanced biosafety.

Halophytes for Food Security in Dry Lands addresses the concerns surrounding global food scarcity, especially focusing on those living in arid and dry lands The book touches on food crises in dry regions of the world and proposes halophytes as an alternate source of consumption for such areas. Halophytes, those plants that thrive in saline soil and provide either food source options themselves, or positively enhance an eco-system's ability to produce food, and are thus an important and increasingly recognized option for addressing the needs of the nearly 1/6 of the world's population that lives in these arid and semi-arid climates. Including presentations from the 2014 International Conference on Halophytes for Food Security in Dry Lands, this book features insights from the leading researchers in the subject. It is a valuable resource that includes information on the nutritional value of halophytes, their genetic basis and potential enhancement, adaption of halophytes, and lessons learned thus far.

Dielectric Properties of Agricultural Materials and Their Applications provides an understanding of the fundamental principles governing dielectric properties of materials, describes methods for measuring such properties, and discusses many applications explored for solving industry problems. The information in this reference stimulates new research for solving problems associated with production, handling, and processing of agricultural and food products. Anyone seeking a better understanding of dielectric properties of materials and application of radio-frequency and microwave electromagnetic energy for solution of problems in agriculture and related fields will find this an essential resource.

Martha M. Ezzard and her physician husband John are among the pioneers in the movement of professionals trading busy city careers for a return to the land. While this story about saving a family farm is distinctly Southern, it typifies the national locally grown movement which has begun to sweep the US. Locally grown foods call for wines that are a taste of the local earth-what wine aficionados call the terroir, the soils and climate that give them unique flavours not found in California or Burgundy or anywhere other than, in this case, Tiger Mountain. What follows initially are long sweaty days of post hole digging, trellis wire stringing, and weed pulling mixed with a few chiggers and ticks-but also the thrill of sighting a giant blue heron in the dawn mist of the farm pond-of hearing the honking of geese at sunset. There are times when the city high rise still beckons, but what Martha and John learn after burning smudge pots all night in a late April freeze only to see their pink buds turn brown despite it all, is that wine grapes have a second bud -and so too, because of their shared venture, does their relationship. The Second Bud is a story that reflects today's agricultural evolution in the southeast, from tobacco, logging, and truck farming to agri-tourism, outdoor recreation, vineyards, and farm wineries. Filled with small town characters, unlikely obstacles and dirt based success, this memoir is a down home version of "Under a Tuscan Sun," a couple's risk taking to revive a fifth-generation family farm in the tiny North Georgia town of Tiger by cultivating fine wine grapes. It will appeal to romantics, wannabe winemakers, and all who covet the rural life.

The use of plastics in agriculture - to increase crop output, improve food quality and improve sustainability - has grown substantially in both quantity and the range of applications. Many of the early researchers that conducted field research in the use of plastics in agriculture have either retired or are deceased. These early pioneers in plasticulture research, the basis of plant production using plastics, were very creative and persistent in discovering uses of plastics in agricultural applications. A Guide to the Manufacture, Performance, and Potential of Plastics in Agriculture contains both references not only to their accomplishments but also their publications. The book discusses plasticulture-the basis of plant production using plastics - including topics such as plastic mulch, row covers, drip irrigation, and high/low tunnels. It covers the process of producing polyethylene and polypropylene plastics that are used in plant and animal production agriculture, and the many uses of plastics in all aspects of agriculture, including plastic greenhouses, rigid mold plastics, disposal of plastics, and plastics in animal production. This book introduces a range of academics and industrial practitioners to the impact of plastics in agriculture, both historically and in a range of current applications. It also provides new perspectives on future developments to enable further research and application. It is an invaluable reference on the use of polyethylene, polypropylene films, and such products in all aspects of agricultural production.

In recent years, there has been growing attention devoted to the implementation of information and communication technology in agriculture and rural development. While evidence has linked ICT to an increase in gross domestic product, it has prompted a global dedication to the research of the socio-economic benefits, trade-offs, and policy implications of ICT consumption in developing countries. E-Agriculture and Rural Development: Global Innovations and Future Prospects is a comprehensive collection of research on the emerging trends and advances in the global use of information and communication technology in agriculture and rural development. Consisting of case studies, implementation frameworks, and policies, this book provides a global perspective and understanding of the developments in e-agriculture and rural development.

This book provides a global review of the mechanisms, incidence and control measures related to the problems of soil compaction in agriculture, forestry and other cropping systems. Among the disciplines which relate to this subject are soil physics, soil mechanics, vehicle mechanics, agricultural engineering, plant physiology, agronomy, pedology, climatology and economics.

The volume will be of great value to soil scientists, agricultural engineers, and all those involved with irrigation, drainage and tillage. It will help to facilitate the exchange of information on current work throughout the world, as well as to promote scientific understanding and stimulate the development, evaluation and adoption of practical solutions to these widespread and urgent problems.