New evidence that the ancient Mayas practiced intensive, often irrigated, agriculture on a massive scale has forced revision in current thinking about that civilization. Yet, little study has focused on the heirs of this agricultural tradition; in areas of highland Guatemala, Mayan farmers today carry on forms of intensive, irrigated horticulture t

1 Markets, Sources, and the Marketing System.- 1. The United States Market for Food.- 2. The United States Market for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.- 3. Sources of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.- 4. Major Sources of Supply: California, Florida, and Mexico.- 5. The Marketing System and Firms Involved: An Overview.- 6. Marketing Systems for Three Major Fruits and Vegetables: Oranges, Apples, and Tomatoes.- 2 The Marketing Environment.- 7. Market Information: Agricultural Statistics, Grading and Inspection, Market News, and Other Information Sources.- 8. Market Prices and Price Analysis.- 9. Trade Practices, Credit Ratings, and Regulation of Trading (Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act).- 10. Cooperative Marketing.- 11. Marketing Orders.- 12. Pesticide Use and Food Safety.- 13. Nutritional Quality and Nutrition Marketing.- 14. Generic, Brand, and Private Label Advertising and Promotion.- 3 Marketing Operations and Firms.- 15. International Trade.- 16. Shipping Point Operations and Firms.- 17. Long Distance Transportation.- 18. Wholesaling at Destination and Terminal Market Facilities.- 19. Food Retailers and Retailing.- 20. The Foodservice Industry.- 21. Direct Marketing by Farmers to Consumers.- 4 Epilogue.- 22. Future Prospects.

Swathes of the human world are covered in ornamental grass lawns; they are the single most commonly encountered horticultural feature on the planet. Unfortunately, they are now often viewed as resource-draining green deserts due to the lack of plant and animal diversity, the need for frequent mowing and watering, and addition of lawn greening products to keep them looking at their best. It is a venerable horticultural feature that is essentially frozen in time, and with few alternatives to whet the appetite, the lawn has languished in its current grass-only format for decades. Until now. Tapestry lawns are a new, practically researched and timely development of the ornamental lawn format that integrates both horticultural practice and ecological science and re-determines the potential of a lawn. Mown barely a handful of times a year and with no need for fertilisers or scarifying, tapestry lawns are substantially richer in their diversity of plant and animal life compared to traditional grass-only lawns and see the return of flowers and colour to a format from which they are usually purposefully excluded. Tapestry Lawns: Freed from Grass and Full of Flowers traces the changes in the lawn format from its origins to the modern day and offers information on how and why the tapestry lawn construct is now achievable. It provides guidance on how to create and maintain a tapestry lawn of your own and champions the potential benefits for wildlife that can follow. Features Accessible and informative to all types of readers from academic to amateur Includes a refined and tested set of useful tapestry lawn plants Contains step-by-step instructions for creation and management methods of grass-free lawns Illustrated in full colour If you have ever thought about mowing your lawn much less, making it much more colourful and wildlife friendly, then this book will inform and guide you to create a perfect, grass-free lawn.

The essential resource for managing turfgrasses in the Transition Zone In the Transition Zone, where temperature and precipitation vary greatly from season to season, maintaining healthy, high-quality turfgrass requires year-round focus. Turfgrass managers must practice intensive maintenance of cool-season grasses or use warm-season grasses, which become dormant in the cool days of fall and winter. Turf Management in the Transition Zone covers all the fundamental principles of maintaining turfgrass in this complex growing area. It helps turfgrass managers in transition areas develop a deeper understanding of: The growth cycles of cool- and warm-season grasses Turfgrass physiology, nutrition, and soil science Cultural practices, including mowing and irrigation Management of climate-specific diseases and insects Complete with more than 100 illustrations and tables,Turf Management in the Transition Zone offers expert advice for everyday turf-maintenance issues faced by golf course superintendents, sports turf managers, greenkeepers, lawn care specialists, and golf course architects and builders.

Perhaps the least appreciated dramatis personae in human history are plants. Humans, like all other animals, cannot produce their own food as plants do through photosynthesis, and must therefore acquire organic material for survival and growth by eating plants or by eating other animals that eat plants. Humans depend on plants not only as a food source, but also as building and clothing materials and as sources of medicines, psychoactive substances, spices, pigments, and more. With plants being such valuable resources, it is therefore not surprising that plants have been involved in practically all violent conflicts among different human societies. Ironically, plants have also been the source of materials to construct weapons or weapon parts. Wars have always constituted a large part of human history, and the overall theme of this book is that to understand the history of violent human conflict, we need to understand what specific materials plants make that people find so useful and worth fighting over, and what roles such plant products have played in specific conflicts. To do so, Plants and Human Conflict begins with a chapter explaining the basic biological facts of the interdependence between plants and humans, and the subsequent seven chapters describe the physical and chemical properties of specific plant products demonstrating how the human need for these products has led to wars as well as contributed to the prosecution of wars. These chapters recount some well-known (and some lesser known) historical events in which plants have played a central role. This book uniquely combines the modern scientific knowledge of plants with the human history of war, introducing readers to a new paradigm that will make them reconsider their understanding of human history, as well as to bring about a greater appreciation of plant biology.

This full-colour photographic guide describes and illustrates over 350 different species of widely used cut flowers and foliage plants. Cut Flowers of the World is a user-friendly but scientifically accurate, quick reference guide to the most important commercial cut flowers, foliage greens and potted flowers that are sold in florist shops all over the world. This second edition has been expanded to include updated cultivar photos, and a new section on the practical aspects of cut flower production. For each flower, the following information is given: description of the plant; geographical origin; historical overview; cultivation; properties such as colours, scent and vase life; quality criteria (how to select for quality); and the proper care and handling of the flowers. Also included are introductory chapters on basic aspects such as cultivation methods, harvesting and shipping techniques, cultivar development, and modern trends in marketing.

A Produce Reference Guide to Fruits and Vegetables from Around the World: Nature's Harvest answers the many questions consumers have about various fruits and vegetables. Providing basic, clear, and understandable information for each produce item, this reference guide gives you a synopsis of the fruit or vegetable, a short history of the item, the common and uncommon name, what it looks and tastes like, how it is used, and the time of year it is available. Information on nutrition, serving sizes, yields, and optimal storage conditions is also provided. From potatoes to shepherd's purse and from grapes to the Clementine tangor, A Produce Reference Guide to Fruits and Vegetables from Around the World covers both the familiar and the exotic. Other than the obvious fruits and vegetables (such as 12 varieties of cherries and 10 different kinds of squash) you?ll also read about herbs, mushrooms, sprouts, and nuts. A Produce Reference Guide to Fruits and Vegetables from Around the World is packed with useful information. From practical advice to interesting trivia, some of the things you?ll learn include: You should not eat any green parts of potatoes--it will make you sick.How to classify a peach--clingstone vs. freestone and white vs. yellow.The Texas 1015 Supersweet onion is named after its recommended planting date, October 15.Kiwis (originally from China, not Australia) contain an enzyme that tenderizes meat.Women in China once made a dye from the skin of eggplants to stain their teeth black.The famous mutiny by Captain Bligh's crew was caused by breadfruit.Gourds may have spread between continents by floating in the ocean, as they can float in sea water for 220 days without losing seed viability.The two nuts mentioned in the Bible--almonds and pistachios.As new methods in farming, storing, and shipping are allowing exotic fruits and vegetables unheard of a few years ago to become available, consumers are coming up with more and more questions that many professionals are unable to answer. A Produce Reference Guide to Fruits and Vegetables from Around the World is the tool you can use to find answers. The guide is especially useful for specialty produce outlets and wholesalers, importers/exporters of fruits and vegetables, produce brokers and buyers, supermarket and independent food store produce departments, military commissaries, and the general public.

Sepp Holzer farms steep mountainsides in Austria 1,500 meters above sea level. His farm is an intricate network of terraces, raised beds, ponds, waterways and tracks, well covered with productive fruit trees and other vegetation, with the farmhouse neatly nestling amongst them. This is in dramatic contrast to his neighbors' spruce monocultures.In this book, Holzer shares the skill and knowledge acquired over his lifetime. He covers every aspect of his farming methods, not just how to create a holistic system on the farm itself, but how to make a living from it. Holzer writes about everything from the overall concepts, down to the practical details.In Sepp Holzer's Permaculturereaders will learn:

How he sets up a permaculture system

The fruit varieties he has found best for permaculture growing

How to construct terraces, ponds, and waterways

How to build shelters for animals and how to work with them on the land

How to cultivate edible mushrooms in the garden and on the farm

and much more

Holzer offers a wealth of information for the gardener, smallholder or alternative farmer yet the book's greatest value is the attitudes it teaches. He reveals the thinking processes based on principles found in nature that create his productive systems. These can be applied anywhere.

The three-volume set IFIP AICT 368-370 constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 5th IFIP TC 5, SIG 5.1 International Conference on Computer and Computing Technologies in Agriculture, CCTA 2011, held in Beijing, China, in October 2011. The 189 revised papers presented were carefully selected from numerous submissions. They cover a wide range of interesting theories and applications of information technology in agriculture, including simulation models and decision-support systems for agricultural production, agricultural product quality testing, traceability and e-commerce technology, the application of information and communication technology in agriculture, and universal information service technology and service systems development in rural areas. The 62 papers included in the first volume focus on decision support systems, intelligent systems, and artificial intelligence applications.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the large number of diseases, disorders and injuries that can cause severe economic losses to banana, abaca and enset crops, and the fungi, bacteria, phytoplasmas, viruses, nematodes and abiotic factors involved. The monoculture of certain banana cultivars in large plantations make the crop particularly susceptible to catastrophic losses from disease and smallholders can also experience major problems. New approaches to breeding, crop management and handling are being developed to meet challenges posed by emerging threats. Handbook of Diseases of Banana, Abaca and Enset both describes and illustrates diseases and is printed in full colour throughout, creating a valuable diagnostic tool. It covers: - The origin and classification of banana, the safe movement of Musa germplasm and banana breeding for disease resistance. - Recent areas of growing research on the most important diseases of banana, such as black leaf streak, Fusarium wilt, Xanthomonas bacterial wilt and bunchy top. - Significant advances relating to pathogens causing less serious and widespread diseases. Authored by an international team of experts, this is an essential reference for all 'banana doctors' around the world. It serves as a useful field and laboratory guide, as well as a source of information for all those investigating diseases of banana, abaca and enset crops.

Bramble Production provides growers with a basic understanding of how raspberry and blackberry plants grow and respond to changes in their environment. Author Perry Crandall includes management practices used by successful growers, making this book a helpful production guide that you can use for making rational decisions. This knowledge of successful production can be used to recommend or adopt management programs specially designed to produce optimum yields with maximum profits.Students and professionals will find Bramble Production to be a scientifically based, easy-to-understand, comprehensive discussion of all facets of berry production. The principle emphasis is on American production, but grower practices in other parts of the world are included, which makes this a valuable guide book for growers all around the world.To provide you with a thorough understanding of how to produce maximum yields, Crandall covers raspberries and blackberries individually. Each fruit has chapters on its: genetic derivation botany physiology site selection and preparation most popular varieties soil management and cultural practices insect and disease identification and control nutrient deficiency symptoms irrigation harvesting, handling, and marketing worldwide distribution Bramble Production is a valuable supplemental reference text for university, junior college, and high school instructors. Cooperative extension specialists, farm advisors, industry representatives, and research personnel can use it as a basis for diagnoses and recommendations, as can commercial growers, master gardeners, and more sophisticated or curious home gardeners.

Bramble Production provides growers with a basic understanding of how raspberry and blackberry plants grow and respond to changes in their environment. Author Perry Crandall includes management practices used by successful growers, making this book a helpful production guide that you can use for making rational decisions. This knowledge of successful production can be used to recommend or adopt management programs specially designed to produce optimum yields with maximum profits. Students and professionals will find Bramble Production to be a scientifically based, easy-to-understand, comprehensive discussion of all facets of berry production. The principle emphasis is on American production, but grower practices in other parts of the world are included, which makes this a valuable guide book for growers all around the world. To provide you with a thorough understanding of how to produce maximum yields, Crandall covers raspberries and blackberries individually.Each fruit has chapters on its: genetic derivation botany physiology site selection and preparation most popular varieties soil management and cultural practices insect and disease identification and control nutrient deficiency symptoms irrigation harvesting, handling, and marketing worldwide distributionBramble Production is a valuable supplemental reference text for university, junior college, and high school instructors. Cooperative extension specialists, farm advisors, industry representatives, and research personnel can use it as a basis for diagnoses and recommendations, as can commercial growers, master gardeners, and more sophisticated or curious home gardeners.

This Second Edition of Management of Turfgrass Diseases has been completely revised and updated to provide the latest information on maintaining a healthy turf and identifying turf diseases. Written by a leading international lecturer on turf grasses, the book covers cultural, genetic, biological, and chemical approaches to turf management and provides practical solutions to everyday problems. Fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases; black layer disease; and diseases caused by nematodes are addressed for all major grasses. You'll learn about cool and warm season grasses, growing conditions, new diseases, symptoms, and identification and management techniques. Valuable tips on irrigation, fertilization, and grass culture as well as 72 full-color photographs and more than 100 figures ensure this book will be dog-eared from use. It's almost like having your own private turfgrass consultant sitting right on your bookshelf.
What's New in the Second Edition?
This second edition features new grasses, new diseases, and the latest research findings and practices. You'll have the most up-to-date information available on these major grasses:

The grove, a grouping of trees, intentionally cultivated or found growing wild, has a long diverse history entwined with human settlement, rural practices and the culture and politics of cities. A grove can be a memorial, a place of learning, a site of poetic retreat and philosophy or political encampment, a public park or theatre, a place of hidden pleasures, a symbol of a vanished forest ecology, or a place of gods or other spirits. Yet groves are largely absent from our contemporary vocabulary and rarely included in today's landscape practice, whether urban or rural. Groves are both literal and metaphorical manifestations, ways of defining spaces and ecologies in our cultural life. Since they can add meaning to urban forms and ecologies and contribute meaningfully to the significance of place, critical examination is long overdue. The editors have taken care to ensure that the text is accessible to the general reader as well as specialists.

This multi-authored book provides a comprehensive review of citrus breeding, including relevant genetics, molecular biology and biotechnology. Topics discussed include origin and taxonomy, hybridization and see procedures, triploid breeding, mutation breeding, selection for fruit traits, tree characters and disease resistant, rootstock breeding, soil adaptation, nucellar embryony, cytogenetics, mapping, gene cloning, chromosome transfer technology, haploidy, flow cytometry and somaclonal variation.

This Trilogy explains What is Horticulture? . Volume three of Horticulture: Plants for People and Places presents readers with detailed accounts of the scientific and scholastic concepts which interact with the arts and humanities and which now underpins the rapidly evolving subject of Social Horticulture. This discipline transcends the barriers between science, medicine and the arts. This volume covers: - Horticulture and Society, Diet and Health, Psychological Health, Wildlife, Horticulture and Public Welfare, Education, Extension, Economics, Exports and Biosecurity, Scholarship and Art, Scholarship and Literature, Scholarship and History and the relationship between Horticulture and Gardening. This volume brings the evolution of the Discipline and Vocation of Horticulture firmly into the 21st Century. It covers new ground by providing a detailed analysis of the value of Horticulture as a force for enhancing society in the forms of social welfare, health and well-being, how knowledge is transferred within and between generations, and the place of Horticulture in the Arts and Humanities. Substantial emphasis is given to the relationships between health, well-being and plants by the internationally acclaimed authors who have contributed accounts of their work in this book."

An informative selection of papers presented at the Medical Workshop on Pesticide-Related Illnesses It is vital to understand the public health impact of pesticides used in modern day agriculture. Unfortunately, scientifically valid information is often scattered and hard to find. Proceedings from the Medical Workshop on Pesticide-Related Illness is the essential text that fills these two voids. The papers collected here make up a volume that is a timely review of key issues in both the acute and chronic health effects of pesticide exposure. Proceedings from the Medical Workshop on Pesticide-Related Illness offers work originally presented at the groundbreaking 2002 International Conference on Pesticide Exposure and Health in Washington, DC. However, in order to reflect recent developments in the field, all of the authors have revised, updated, and expanded their presentations to address the current status of knowledge in pesticide health effects upon the major body organ systems. This up-to-date reference not only provides a wealth of relevant information on pesticide intoxication, it also offers viable solutions to the challenges of understanding the effects exposure has on health. Papers featured in Proceedings from the Medical Workshop on Pesticide-Related Illness examine: potential mechanisms, examples for each, and an algorithm for etiologic diagnoses of contact dermatitis in agriculture the specific acute and chronic neurological effects of pesticides on both central and peripheral nervous systems in-depth examples of male and female reproductive disorders associated with pesticide exposure and timeframes of diagnosis from weeks to months to years anatomical site-based outlines for the role of pesticide exposures in the etiology of human cancer and evaluations of recent developments in exposure assessment and molecular epidemiology in adults and children goals, components, and