The agricultural industry is dealing with enormous challenges across the globe, including the limited availability of arable lands and fresh water, as well as the effect of climate change. Machinery plays a crucial role in agriculture and farming systems, in order to feed the world's growing population. In the last decade, we have witnessed major advances in agricultural machinery and technologies, particularly as manufacturers and researchers develop and apply various novel ways of automation as well as the data and information gathering and analyzing capabilities of their machinery. This book presents the state-of-the-art information on the important innovations in the agricultural and horticultural industry. It reviews and presents different novel technologies and implementation of these technologies to optimize farming processes and food production. There are four sections, each addressing a specific area of development. Section I discusses the recent development of farm machinery and technology. Section II focuses on water and irrigation engineering. Section III covers harvesting and post-harvest technology. Section IV describes computer modelling and simulation. Each section highlights current industry trends and latest research progress. This book is ideal for those working in or are associated with the fields of agriculture, agri-food chain and technology development and promotion.

Effective irrigation and drainage systems are essential if growing demands for water resources are to be met. For the use of water for irrigation to be improved we must understand current levels of performance. This book draws together the growing body of knowledge on irrigation and drainage performance assessment that has been gained over the last twenty years. It provides guidelines for practitioners to enable them to design and carry out performance assessment and implement performance-based management. Developed by a working group of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) it provides a generic framework for performance assessment with guidance on the theory and practice of how to audit and assess the performance of irrigation and drainage schemes.

Humans generate millions of tons of waste every day. This waste is rich in water, nutrients, energy and organic compounds. Yet waste is not being managed in a way that permits us to derive value from its reuse, whilst millions of farmers struggle with depleted soils and lack of water. This book shows how Resource Recovery and Reuse (RRR) could create livelihoods, enhance food security, support green economies, reduce waste and contribute to cost recovery in the sanitation chain. While many RRR projects fully depend on subsidies and hardly survive their pilot phase, hopeful signs of viable approaches to RRR are emerging around the globe including low- and middle-income countries. These enterprises or projects are tapping into entrepreneurial initiatives and public private partnerships, leveraging private capital to help realize commercial or social value, shifting the focus from treatment for waste disposal to treatment of waste as a valuable resource for safe reuse. The book provides a compendium of business options for energy, nutrients and water recovery via 24 innovative business models based on an in-depth analysis of over 60 empirical cases, of which 47 from around the world are described and evaluated in a systematic way. The focus is on organic municipal, agro-industrial and food waste, including fecal sludge, supporting a diverse range of business models with potential for large-scale out-and up-scaling.

The aim of the book is to introduce the state-of-the-art technologies in the field of robotics, mechatronics and automation in agriculture in order to summarize and review the improvements in the methodologies in agricultural robotics. Advances made in the past decades are described, including robotics for agriculture, mechatronics for agriculture, kinematics, dynamics and control analysis of agricultural robotics, and a wide range of topics in the field of robotics, mechatronics and automation for agricultural applications.

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on biodiversity management practices in agriculture. The first chapter reviews biodiversity management practices and benefits in Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems. After looking at the importance of soil microorganisms, the chapter looks at how CA systems contribute to soil biological activity, particularly the way cover crops and rotations, with a no-till regime, can enrich soil and the multitude or organisms living in it. The second chapter synthesizes and reviews the published information on grass hedges and their soil benefits, to better understand the potential of grass hedges for managing water erosion as well as improving soil health in agricultural lands. The third chapter reviews research on ways of modifying the agricultural landscape to reverse the decline in a range of fauna and flora. The chapter also reviews the characteristics and types of field margins, as well as their role in agroecosystems. The chapter concludes with a discussion on managing field margins to promote insect biodiversity and rare arable plant populations. The final chapter considers the impact of agricultural intensification on agricultural landscapes, farming systems and biodiversity. The chapter highlights how hedgerows can contribute to the multifunctionality of agroecosystems in intensively-managed agricultural landscapes, focussing on improved pest regulation and enhanced pollination services.

A comprehensive how-to manual of Polyface Farm's signature designs--with tips, tricks, and a half century of lessons learned through trial and error Have you wondered how to build the Polyface broiler shelter, or the dolly to move it, or an Eggmobile, Gobbledygo or Shademobile? For folks getting started, folks adding enterprises, or folks wanting a cheaper bootstrap way to build portable livestock infrastructure, Polyface Designs has all the diagrams and do-it-yourself building specifications. Joel Salatin wrote the text and Polyface former apprentice and engineer extraordinaire Chris Slattery did the drawings. Ultimately practical, the book includes how to build a corral, a home-made head gate and even how to select the right axle for your project. Square footage requirements for the deep bedding hay shed and area advice for pig pastures make this the definitive repository for a lifetime of Polyface experimentation. A massive volume, its 568 pages are in full color and beautiful enough to be a coffee table book even though you'll use it in your shop. Don't let the cover price scare you; one building tip can more than save the price of the book.

Service procedures for yard and garden tractors manufactured through 1990.

This book provides a comprehensive review of key advances in the use of robots in agriculture. Chapters summarise developments in location and guidance systems, GPS technologies, machine vision, navigation, actuation, communication and control technologies. The second part of the book discusses deploying these techniques to save labour, improve precision, speed and efficiency in agricultural operations. Chapters review the state of the art on the use of agricultural robots in planting, crop monitoring, spraying, irrigation and weed management. There are also reviews of orchard management and harvesting, harvesting of soft fruit and in-field grading of harvested produce. Other chapters cover the application of robotics in the livestock sector.

This book introduces state-of-the-art approaches, methods and research, focusing on smart management of rainwater. In addition, it provides an overview of projects from across the world, illustrating how rainwater-smart management has been implemented in drylands. Focusing on the scientific perspective it demonstrates how rural dryland agriculture can be improved. It also documents the wealth of rainwater-smart know-how available today, and replicates and transfers results to other countries and regions, to encourage cross-sector interactions among various stakeholders, such as practitioners from governmental and public organisations, policy- and decision-makers, and teaching staff from academic scientific institutions. The contributors showcase vital lessons learned from research, field projects and best-practice examples. They address the integrated use of rainwater harvesting management with landscape restoration practices and water-, and climate-smart agriculture for food security and poverty alleviation in arid and semi-arid areas. Original research, combined with the contributors' synthetic approach, lays a foundation for new concepts and ideas. Through case studies and research reports, the book discusses all the relevant issues necessary for the comprehensive analysis and successful implementation of the technologies in rainwater management. Highlighting the working principles and technical recommendations with regard to cost-efficient rainwater-smart solutions, it is of interest to practitioners. It is also a valuable resource for academic specialists, professionals and students, since many development agencies are funding rainwater harvesting for irrigation purposes.

Written for a one-semester course in hydraulics, this concise textbook is rooted in the fundamental principles of fluid mechanics and aims to promote sound hydraulic engineering practice. Basic methods are presented to underline the theory and engineering applications, and examples and problems build in complexity as students work their way through the textbook. Abundant worked examples and calculations, real-world case studies, and revision exercises, as well as precisely crafted end-of-chapter exercises ensure students learn exactly what they need in order to consolidate their knowledge and progress in their career. Students learn to solve pipe networks, optimize pumping systems, design pumps and turbines, solve differential equations for gradually-varied flow and unsteady flow, and gain knowledge of hydraulic structures like spillways, gates, valves, and culverts. An essential textbook for intermediate to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in civil and environmental engineering.

Initially associated with hi-tech irrigated agriculture, drip irrigation is now being used by a much wider range of farmers in emerging and developing countries. This book documents the enthusiasm, spread and use of drip irrigation systems by smallholders but also some disappointments and disillusion faced in the global South. It explores and explains under which conditions it works, for whom and with what effects. The book deals with drip irrigation 'behind the scenes', showcasing what largely remain 'untold stories'. Most research on drip irrigation use plot-level studies to demonstrate the technology's ability to save water or improve efficiencies and use a narrow and rather prescriptive engineering or economic language. They tend to be grounded in a firm belief in the technology and focus on the identification of ways to improve or better realize its potential. The technology also figures prominently in poverty alleviation or agricultural modernization narratives, figuring as a tool to help smallholders become more innovative, entrepreneurial and business minded. Instead of focusing on its potential, this book looks at drip irrigation-in-use, making sense of what it does from the perspectives of the farmers who use it, and of the development workers and agencies, policymakers, private companies, local craftsmen, engineers, extension agents or researchers who engage with it for a diversity of reasons and to realize a multiplicity of objectives. While anchored in a sound engineering understanding of the design and operating principles of the technology, the book extends the analysis beyond engineering and hydraulics to understand drip irrigation as a sociotechnical phenomenon that not only changes the way water is supplied to crops but also transforms agricultural farming systems and even how society is organized. The book provides field evidence from a diversity of interdisciplinary case studies in sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America, and South Asia, thus revealing some of the untold stories of drip irrigation.

"All three volumes of Achieving sustainable production of milk should be considered as a whole...Over more than 1200 pages, the authors review all fields of milk production, beginning with milk composition, genetics and breeding, safety and milk quality, sustainability of milk production as well as dairy herd management, health, welfare and nutrition of dairy. All three volumes could be considered a standard reference for graduate students in the fields of dairy science and veterinary medicine, animal and dairy scientists at universities and other research centres, and also those in governments and companies involved or working in the field of milk production." Animal Feed Science and Technology In meeting rising demand, more intensive dairying systems face a range of challenges such as maintaining high standards of safety in the face of the continuing threat from zoonoses entering the food chain, whilst sustaining nutritional and sensory quality. At the same time farms need to become more efficient and sustainable. Finally, farming must also meet higher standards of animal health and welfare. Drawing on an international range of expertise, this book reviews research addressing the welfare, nutrition and health of dairy cattle. Part 1 begins by discussing key issues in welfare followed by topics such as genetic selection and welfare, housing and transportation. Part 2 looks at nutrition with chapters on rumen microbiology, feed evaluation and formulation, feed supplements and feed safety. The final part of the book covers aspects of health such as control of diseases and other disorders such as lameness as well as dairy herd health management. Achieving sustainable production of milk Volume 3: Dairy herd management and welfare will be a standard reference for animal and dairy scientists in universities, government and other research centres and companies involved in beef production. It is accompanied by two other volumes which review milk composition, genetics and breeding as well as safety, quality and sustainability.

This book examines and evaluates the performance of four standard chisel plough tines: heavy duty, double heart, double heart with wings and duck foot, which were connected with a rigid shank. Experiments were conducted in a soil bin filled with sandy loamy soil, and the experimental factors included varying operation conditions (speed and depth) and their dependency upon a draft force and their components (horizontal and vertical force), specific force (force per unit area), specific power (power per unit area), soil loosening percentage (above and below the original soil surface) and soil profile parameters (e.g. furrow height, furrow width, ridge height, area of ridge and furrow etc.). The evaluation involved developing regression equations based on Glancey and Upadhyaya's model by adding new terms related to the tine geometric parameters or by adding a dummy term variable. These two techniques made up the general study parameters and had the same trend effect on operation conditions to compare between tines. Lab results such as force components and the width of furrow were verified in a field test. Furthermore, a model to predict the draft force by using principles of soil mechanics and soil profile evaluation was designed.

The book provides a comprehensive insight into watersheds and modeling of the hydrological processes in the watersheds. It covers the concepts of watershed hydrology and watershed management in depth. The basic types, of soil erosion and its measurement and estimation of runoff and soil loss from the small and large watersheds are discussed. Recent advances in the watershed management like the application of remote sensing and GIS and hydrological models are a part of the book. The book serve as a guide for professional and competitive examinations for undergraduate students of Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering and graduate students of Soil Science, Soil and Water Engineering, Agricultural Physics, Hydrology and Watershed Management.

This book develops and presents a conceptual model for sustainable-groundwater irrigated agriculture. The model is based on the general principles of the economic theories of cost-benefit relations and behavioral models of resource use. The study has evaluated the advances in tubewell farming and the aquifer potential in arid Balochistan over a period of three decades. It has analyzed the booms and busts of the farming over time taking into consideration the local aquifer limitations and the socio-political considerations and policy framework. Three data sets - farmers, expert officials and satellite images - have been used to aid validation. By observing the most vital parameters, the study has concluded that the local aquifer has been falling at a rate directly proportional to the growth rate of irrigated farming, suggesting the current development process is unsustainable. For instance, the research finds that tubewell bores have reached down to depths where the term "aquifer mining" applies; as a result, irrigation costs have become too high to allow farming to be economically viable. In addition, desertification is steadily encroaching and the cropping pattern being changed from high-value horticulture to subsistence cropping. The study has also set parameters for assessing the willingness of farmers to accept modern, sustainable strategies and interventions.

First published in 1938, this remains the leading work on agricultural engineering and farm mechanism for students, farmers, advisers and the agricultural engineering industry. This new edition is the most extensive revision undertaken and incorporates the rapid new developments that have occurred in recent years. Numerous new illustrations are included.

Agricultural Internet of Things and Decision Support for Smart Farming reveals how a set of key enabling technologies (KET) related to agronomic management, remote and proximal sensing, data mining, decision-making and automation can be efficiently integrated in one system. Chapters cover how KETs enable real-time monitoring of soil conditions, determine real-time, site-specific requirements of crop systems, help develop a decision support system (DSS) aimed at maximizing the efficient use of resources, and provide planning for agronomic inputs differentiated in time and space. This book is ideal for researchers, academics, post-graduate students and practitioners who want to embrace new agricultural technologies.

The comprehensive and compact presentation in this book is the perfect format for a resource/textbook for undergraduate students in the areas of Agricultural Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, Bio-Science Engineering, Water Resource Engineering, and Civil & Environmental Engineering. This book will also serve as a reference manual for researchers and extension workers in such diverse fields as agricultural engineering, agronomy, ecology, hydrology, and meteorology.

The world is on the verge of receiving new life forms that will profoundly and irrevocably change the global economy: the "gene hunters" who first cloned the gene in 1973 are now not only modifying existing species but also creating new plants and animals. Ready or not for such awesome power, the human race has put itself in a position to govern evolution. What will we do with the abilities we now command? asks this broad and stimulating book on the role of plant material in economic development. Writing in a style that is easily understandable even to those with no background in biotechnology, Calestous Juma begins by showing how the importation of plants strengthened the British Empire and brought the United States to global agricultural superiority. He goes on to explore the current international competition for genetic material and the potential impact of biotechnology on the relationship of the developed and developing world. Juma points out that biotechnology poses real dangers to the third world. Often one of the few exportable resources that a developing country possesses is an unusual or rare crop, but biotechnological techniques make possible the cultivation of many such crops outside their natural habitats, potentially eliminating the need to import the crops from the countries in which they grow indigenously. After discussing the threat of biotechnology, Juma comes full circle and points out that it does not have to be a threat. Actually, tremendous benefits could accrue to the third world from biotechnology--if and only if that new technology is adapted to its needs.

Originally published in 1989.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This new book, Principles and Practices of Sustainable Micro Irrigation, is the first in the new series on micro irrigation, which offers a vast amount of knowledge and techniques necessary to develop and manage a drip/trickle or micro irrigation system. Written by experienced scientists from various parts of the world, the chapters in this book offer basic principles, knowledge, and techniques of micro irrigation management, which are essential in designing, developing, and evaluating an agricultural irrigation management system. The methods and techniques have worldwide applicability to irrigation management in agriculture. The book includes coverage of many important topics in the field, including: * An historical review of micro irrigation * The current global status of the field and its potential * Basic principles and applications * New research on chemigation and fertigation * Technologies for specific crops, such as sugar cane * Irrigation software for micro irrigation design * Affordable and low-cost micro irrigation solutions for small farms and farms in developing countries * Micro irrigation design using Hydrocalc software This book is a must for those interested in irrigation planning and management, namely, researchers, scientists, educators, and students.

An increased understanding of the developmental physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology during early growth, maturation, ripening, and postharvest conditions has improved technologies to maintain the shelf life and quality of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. "Postharvest Biology and Technology of Fruits, Vegetables, and Flowers" provides a comprehensive introduction to this subject, offering a firm grounding in the basic science and branching out into the technology and practical applications. An authoritative resource on the science and technology of the postharvest sector, this book surveys the body of knowledge with an emphasis on the recent advances in the field.

Modern Land Drainage 2nd edition is a fully revised and updated edition of the 2004 edition. Modern Land Drainage describes traditional drainage formulas (Hooghoudt, Kirkham, Donnan, Ernst, Glover-Dumm) for rainfed agriculture in the humid temperature zone. Significant parts are devoted to drainage for salinity control of irrigated land in (semi-) arid zones, and to drainage of rice land in the humid tropics. Institutional, management and maintenance aspects are extensively covered, as well as the mitigation of adverse impacts of drainage interventions on the environment. The latest computer applications for drainage design in the context of integrated water management are described (DRAINMOD, HEC, SWAP, etc.). Field surveys are executed by governments, with the aid of consultants, but rarely are the end stakeholders (i.e., farmers and general public) involved from inception to planning to execution of a drainage system. Yet, during the Operation, Management and Maintenance (OMM) phase of a water management system, they are expected to takeover, run, bear and be responsible for the costs of OMM. The book describes successful methodologies and processes to be followed for engagement of stakeholders at all levels, from government to farm, from minister to farmer, and, from beginning to end. The book covers all aspects needed for sustainable drainage. The latest survey methodologies with satellites and drones are suggested to assess cause and effect. Waterlogging and salinity are the effect of something caused most likely upstream of the drainage problem location. Hence treating the cause may be more cost-effective. Triple Bottom Line (social, environmental and financial considerations) and the water-food-energy nexus are an integral part of the drainage design process. Controlled drainage, i.e. the balance of removal and conservation of drainage water and minimising solute transport as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA principle) is extensively described. This work is intended for use both as a university level textbook and as a professional handbook; it is of particular value to professionals engaged in drainage development in the context of integrated water resources and river basin management, civil and agricultural engineers, government officials, university students and libraries.

At last, integrated management of drought on farms is dealt with in one comprehensive book. Although drought is a highly variable, near-universal natural phenomenon which has repercussions on a country's water and food supplies and many other sectors of the economy, there are many ways of avoiding, resisting and mitigating the effects of drought. Pro-active preparedness entails using the principles of risk management to upgrade the drought resistance of a farm systematically, and to have auxiliary contingency plans at the ready for use during unusually long droughts. The book provides tools for these strategies as it covers the management of water, soils, crops, rangeland, fodder and livestock, and many other drought-related topics. Audience: This book will be an important source of information for university and college staff and students in agricultural sciences, water and land use, environmental management, geography and risk management, and also farmers, agricultural advisors and policy makers.

The book provides a comprehensive insight into watersheds and modeling of the hydrological processes in the watersheds. It covers the concepts of watershed hydrology and watershed management in depth. The basic types, of soil erosion and its measurement and estimation of runoff and soil loss from the small and large watersheds are discussed. Recent advances in the watershed management like the application of remote sensing and GIS and hydrological models are a part of the book. The book serve as a guide for professional and competitive examinations for undergraduate students of Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering and graduate students of Soil Science, Soil and Water Engineering, Agricultural Physics, Hydrology and Watershed Management.

In many ways this book tells a familiar story in British industry: of innovation and enterprise in the early decades ...of worldwide dominance at a time when Britain was the workshop of the world ...of wars and economic downturns ...of foreign competition ...and of relative and absolute decline on the path of de-industrialisation in the latter part of the twentieth century. For most of this period the farm machine industry grew and matured. It is an inspiring story of technological achievement and of industrial success, as farmers and engineers brought iron and steel to fields which had previously been the domain of locally made timber implements and power provided by horses.Agricultural technology moved on, inexorably, from broad-cast seed and the sound of the threshing flail, via the portable steam engine and the threshing machine, right through to the modern world of giant tractors - each with the power of 200 horses - combine harvesters and impressively efficient farming methods.This book traces the broad sweep of the whole industry over 200 years, looking at many individual companies and products to explain how and why the farm machinery industry developed in the way it did. Important individual machines are described and illustrated in detail. The British farm machine industry is unlikely ever again to be large by world standards, nor to dominate the world stage as once it did. Yet the author traces a rich vein of innovation, enterprise and technological inspiration, often taking place within the large number of relatively small-scale, craft-based workshops which were so prevalent in the early decades. Rather than mere manufacturing, therefore, perhaps it is this tradition of technical innovation and invention which marked out the British farm machinery industry for historical greatness, and perhaps it is this tradition which will continue to mark it out in the future.