Management of Biological Nitrogen Fixation for the Development of More Productive and Sustainable Agricultural Systems - Extended versions of papers presented at the Symposium on Biological Nitrogen Fixation for Sustainable Agriculture at the 15th Congress of Soil Science, Acapulco, Mexico, 1994 (Hardcover, Reprinted from PLANT AND SOIL; 174:1-2, 1995)

The subsistence agriculture of the pre-chemical era efficiently sustained the nitrogen status of soils by maintaining a balance between N loss and N gain from biological nitrogen fixation (BNF): the microbial conversion of atmospheric N to a form usable by plants. This was possible with less intensive cropping, adaptation of rational crop rotations and intercropping schemes, and the use of legumes as green manure. Modern agriculture concentrates on maximum output, however, overlooking input efficiency; It is not sustainable. Intensive monocropping, with no or inadequate crop rotations or green manuring, together with the excessive use of chemical N fertilizers, results in an imbalance between N gain and N loss. The losses are often larger than the gains, and soil N status declines. The challenge is to sustain soil N fertility in many different tropical and temperate farming systems operating at high productivity levels. This requires judicious integration of BNF components, maintaining a good balance between N losses and gains. In this book, papers on BNF in crop forage and tree legumes are augmented with discussions of integrated farming systems involving BNF, soil and N management, and recycling of legume residues. BNF by non-legumes are discussed, and attempts to transform cereals into nodulating plants are critically reviewed. Advances in the development of novel methodologies to understand symbiotic relations and to assess N2 fixation in the field are described, and means are presented to enhance BNF through plant and soil management or breeding and selection. Problems encountered in exploiting BNF under field conditions are examined, as are promising approaches to improving BNFexploitation.

General

Imprint:	Springer
Country of origin:	Netherlands
Series:	Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, 65
Release date:	September 1995
First published:	1995
Editors:	J.K. Ladha • M.B. Peoples
Dimensions:	279 x 210 x 17mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	291
Edition:	Reprinted from PLANT AND SOIL; 174:1-2, 1995
ISBN-13:	978-0-7923-3413-2
Categories:	Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Microbiology (non-medical) > Bacteriology Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > Geology & the lithosphere > Soil science, sedimentology
LSN:	0-7923-3413-2
Barcode:	9780792334132

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!