Book Description

Pruning keeps plants healthy, and to do the job properly, you must understand how they grow, bear fruit and flowers, become active, and lie dormant. “I’ve reviewed lots of pruning books over the years, and this one is a winner. The text is simple, interesting and informative. The colored drawings and photos illustrate how to properly prune shrubs, climbers, hedges and trees.”—Rocky Mountain News.
... Read more

Book Description

"This book is a valuable addition to the relatively limited information available on the subject"-- International Agricultural Development on the first edition.

Food processing is a valuable way of preserving food to increase food security, minimize waste and generate extra income.

This guide provides development workers and small-scale entrepreneurs with the basic information and advice that they need to set up a small-scale food processing enterprise. Part one considers the food processes that are suitable for different crops including fruit and vegetable products; cereal and pulse-based products; milk and milk products, and meat and fish products. Part two is an annotated directory giving the appropriate equipment needed to process a particular food, an index of manufacturers, the approximate costs and the names and addresses of manufacturers. The potential uses of various equipment is examined and much of the equipment is clearly illustrated.

In this new edition the main text which guides the reader through the stages of food processing activities has been reorganized and clarified, and the catalog section, listing suppliers in approximately 50 countries, has been completely updated. ... Read more

Book Description

“Learning how to sow seed, root cuttings, and divide perennials is only the beginning of Bradley’s encyclopedic guide. The more complicated techniques of layering and grafting are also covered and, with the assistance of detailed, step-by-step illustrations, explained in a fashion that make them easily mastered. An essential source for anyone interested in practical pointers for plant propagation.”—Booklist.
... Read more

Book Description

This work examines the issue of accelerated soil erosion, which has become an increasingly serious concern in the twentieth century. Aspects considered include on-site impact of erosion; application of soil science to problems of non-agricultural uses of soil, such as mineland restoration, urban uses and disposal of urban wastes; soil contamination and pollution by industrial activities; and athletic and recreational uses of soil. Soil Quality and Soil Erosion will be a useful text for soil scientists, agronomists, foresters, and environmental scientists as we enter the next century. ... Read more

Book Description

Sometime around 1500 AD, an African farmer planted a maize seed imported from the New World. That act set in motion the remarkable saga of one of the world's most influential crops--one that would transform the future of Africa and of the Atlantic world. Africa's experience with maize is distinctive but also instructive from a global perspective: experts predict that by 2020 maize will become the world's most cultivated crop.

James McCann moves easily from the village level to the continental scale, from the medieval to the modern, as he explains the science of maize production and explores how the crop has imprinted itself on Africa's agrarian and urban landscapes. Today, maize accounts for more than half the calories people consume in many African countries. During the twentieth century, a tidal wave of maize engulfed the continent, and supplanted Africa's own historical grain crops--sorghum, millet, and rice. In the metamorphosis of maize from an exotic visitor into a quintessentially African crop, in its transformation from vegetable to grain, and from curiosity to staple, lies a revealing story of cultural adaptation. As it unfolds, we see how this sixteenth-century stranger has become indispensable to Africa's fields, storehouses, and diets, and has embedded itself in Africa's political, economic, and social relations.

The recent spread of maize has been alarmingly fast, with implications largely overlooked by the media and policymakers. McCann's compelling history offers insight into the profound influence of a single crop on African culture, health, technological innovation, and the future of the world's food supply.

Book Description

A Dyer's Garden touches on the history and nature of dye plants and walks you through a garden season from design to planting to harvesting for the dyepot. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great for re-enactors
I particularly recommend this book as a visual source for historical re-enactors.

Too often there are descriptions of what dye-plants were used to color garments, but, no examples of what those colors would look like. This book provides clear, vivid color photos on a whole range of dye-plants grown during pre-medieval, medieval, Colonial, and later times. Additionally, it shows the same dye used on different fibers, sometimes with different mordants (fixers). Fiber samples include linen, wool, silk, and cotton.

I recommend this book to people interested in making clothing from "modern" material...it gives them the best opprotunity possible to try to find close color-matches. Alternately, it provides solid information to dye cloth by hand.

Also, the low price can't be beat!

Terrific -- and "For Real"
Beautifully researched, solid data, and great color illustrations and presentation AND amazingly enough, her information is ACCURATE. No theoretical blather based on other references or wishful thinking. She has clearly tested, cross-checked, and validated all of her information first-hand. That in itself is remarkable, greatly appreciated, enormously valuable. Thank you Ms. Buchanan!

Best book around for plant dyes
Rita gives CLEAR instructions on WHAT part of the plant to harvest for which color; which mordants and which fibers produce which colors; and what time of the year to harvest the plant. In addition, her color photos of the color outcome are neatly stacked along the right edge, enabling the reader to flip through the book to see the colors. There is also an appendix listing where the reader can get seeds for the plants in the book. Anyone interested in trying GOOD dye plants (almost any plant will give you at least tan) should have this small, well-written and beautifully illustrated book. Rita is one of the best. ... Read more

Book Description

Soil Fertility Evaluation and Control describes the theoretical background for practical applications of scientific work on the subject. The book emphasizes the use of response curves as the basic biological standard for both evaluation and control, and it discusses soil testing and plant analysis as secondary standards. The principal applications covered include fertilizer requirements, fertilizer evaluation, residual effects, fertilizer placement, liming, and economics of fertilization. Environmental aspects of plant nutrients and soil nutrient supplies as they pertain to crop production are also addressed. Most of the information in Soil Fertility Evaluation and Control is drawn from recent world literature, which makes it a timely reference for soil scientists, agronomists, agriculturalists, foresters, and others interested in the evaluation and control of soil fertility. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Different focus on soil fertility!
In my opinion, this book is an outstanding work on Soil Fertility because of its extensive revision on the pertinent literature. The professor C. A. Black came out with a brilliant book wich covers this issue in completelydifferent way. This book is indispensable to researchers in soil fertilityand plant nutrition. ... Read more

Book Description

Since carbon sequestration in soils reduces the amount of carbon available to the atmosphere, the Kyoto Protocols have heightened interest in soil carbon pools and their effect on carbon fluxes. Assessment Methods for Soil Carbon addresses many of the questions related to the measurement, monitoring, and verification of organic and inorganic carbon in soils. The major topics covered are: carbon pools; soil samplingand preparation, analytical techniques for soil carbon; soil erosion and sedimentation; remote sensing, GIS and modeling; procedures for scaling carbon data from point and local measurements to regional and even national scales; and economic and policy issues. In Assessment Methods for Soil Carbon, leading researchers show that we now have the ability to measure, monitor, and verify changes to soil carbon. The book establishes the need for standardized methods that can be used by anyone, and helps us better understand the link between the pedosphere (soils) and the atmosphere. It also shows the importance of developing links between the economics of carbon sequestration and the amounts sequestered, and highlights the need for scientists and policy makers to interact to ensure that policies fit within the scope of present technologies. ... Read more

Book Description

A user-friendly operational manual for seashore paspalum, an exciting new grass perfect for use on golf courses, lawns, sports fields, and in sod production! Seashore Paspalum provides an exciting alternative grass of comparable texture and quality to hybrid bermudagrasses that can tolerate effluent, brackish, and seawater blends. Salt-sensitive species can lead to huge management costs, while salt-tolerant seashore paspalum can significantly reduce management efforts saving your time and money—without sacrificing turf quality! ... Read more

Book Description

Destructive Turfgrass Insects has the answers you need to control white grubs, mole crickets, fire ants and other pests. Stinging and biting insects such as yellow-jackets and ticks are included, as well as nuisance wildlife—moles, raccoons and much more! It covers the biology, diagnosis, and control of virtually all of the insects and mites that attack warm- and cool-season turfgrasses—over 250 color photos. No other source gives you as many practical and comprehensive management guidelines for use on golf courses, lawns, and sports field. ... Read more

Book Description

The completely revised and updated edition of the classic guide to soil physics
The revised edition of an environmental soil science classic, Soil Physics, Sixth Edition presents updated and expanded material on the latest developments in the industry, providing the best preparation for students and a state-of-the-art reference for professionals.
Through a systemic use of physical principles, Soil Physics, Sixth Edition demonstrates how to simplify the general theory used in transport processes for specific applications. With broad coverage of the role soil plays in the environment, this Sixth Edition offers more than seventy worked problems illustrating specific lessons in the book, and features:
* New material on soil's influence on the health of an ecosystem
* Expanded coverage of modern in-site and noninvasive field-scale subsurface measurement techniques
* Discussions on the latest advances in regional and watershed hydrology
* Up-to-date information on the use of algorithms and computers in the study and modeling of soil processes
* New coverage of preferential flow
Soil Physics, Sixth Edition is an essential volume for students and professionals in soil science, natural resource management, forestry, agriculture, hydrology, and civil and environmental engineering. ... Read more

Book Description

Similar to other books in this series, this volume provides a broad scientific review of strawberries and their production methods. Written for growers and home gardeners, it covers all aspects, from taxonomy, distribution, and morphology to fruit ripening, storage, and processing. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A storehouse of both history and horicultural practices
I am affiliated with a large strawberry grower and have had more than a passing acquaintance with Victor Voth. Mr. Handcock's work is so rich in strawberry history, horticulture and other useful information that I have been unable to put it down. I recommend it to Grower and shipper/packers alike for facinating reading...

Great Strawberry Book
Jim Hancock has done a great job with this book. Covers everything you need to know about strawberry production etc... ... Read more

Book Description

This is a well illustrated and fully-referenced introduction to the main contemporary agricultural pollution issues in the UK. It provides a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the environmental pollution caused by agriculture and offers a clear scientific and technical understanding of the most important sources of agricultural pollution. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is mainly directed towards postgraduate students andprofessionals in the field of research and implementation ofintegrated pest and disease management programmes in greenhouse crops.After presenting the major pests and diseases that affect greenhousevegetable and ornamental crops, several chapters deal with the toolsfor designing and implementing IP&DM in protected cultivation withparticular emphasis on biological control. Current implementation andthe future of IP&DM in the most important protected crops world-wideare presented in the concluding chapters. Protected cultivation is practised in many hundreds of thousands ofhectares throughout the world under quite different social, economicand technical conditions. Contributions to the book reflect such adiversity of situations: from the high-technology glasshouses ofnorthern Europe and America to the simple plastic tunnels of theMediterranean area and temperate eastern Asia. Furthermore, theeditors have entrusted each chapter to authors whose activity andperspectives could be complementary: pathologists and entomologists,from private and public sectors, and from differentiated geographicalregions. Probably no book published to date has offered such a diverseyet integrated approach to pest and disease control in greenhousecrops. The book originated from an international course taught at theInternational Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies inZaragoza, Spain. The authors are specialists from universities,research institutions and companies in Europe, America, Asia, Africaand Oceania. ... Read more

Book Description

Agroecology is defined as the application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems. This definitive book provides the theoretical and conceptual framework for the study and analysis of agroecosystems.The author builds upon the understanding of the complex factors of the environment as they affect agricultural crops and animals. It examines concepts at a systems level, focusing on interactions and interrelationships on the population, community, and ecosystem levels.Informative case studies demonstrate how ecology can be applied to agriculture. Each chapter concludes with questions to ensure a complete understanding of the information. Recommended readings are provided for those interested in advanced study.Features· ... Read more

Reviews (2)

BEST BOOK ON AGROECOLOGY
I highly recommend the Book Agroecology by Steve Gliessman. It reflects indepth knowledge of agricultural issues of today food production systems. Those of us interested in challenging thoughts and ideas to achieve sustainability must look at the contributions of this book. Some chapters demand basic knowledge of Ecology while other chapters demand higher level of ecology and Biology. The book provides examples from different parts of the world (tropical and temperate zones) so that it should be very useful to agronomists, and agroecologists from countries other than the US. As an agroecologist I highly recommend this book. I find it very useful to teach Agroecology and Ecology, in both agricultural schools and Biology students.

Take No-Doz if you're going to read this book!
My gosh, I've never fallen asleep faster! I pity all of you students who are required to read this pathetic work of literature. While Mr. Gliessman definitely knows his agroecology, he has difficulties conveying his thoughts to the reader. Also, you may be in a bit of trouble if you don't have a Ph.D in this field as the book takes off with a very complex vocabulary and may as well be Morse code: you can figure out what he's trying to say with the help of numerous other reference books. One suggestion to those students needing to buy this book for a class: DROP OUT! ... Read more

Book Description

Plant pathogenic fungi cause significant damage to the world's crops each year. Although now often used as part of a general integrated pest management strategy, chemical fungicides remain the prime method of control, and new fungicides continue to be developed by agrochemical companies, particularly as pathogens develop resistance to existing formulations. This book, accessible to undergraduate and graduate students, provides a concise and balanced review of fungicides and their application to crop protection. An unusual feature is the inclusion of ideas from the manufacturing industry, including discussions of the global market for fungicides and of the discovery and development process. The volume also considers the perspectives of the farmer and the consumer. Major topics addressed include fungicide mode of action, resistance, legislation governing fungicides, and the use of biotechnology and natural products. ... Read more