Organic Agricultural Practices
Alternatives to Conventional Agricultural Systems

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.

Organic practices are quickly redefining how agriculture is done around the world, as we come to realize how detrimental conventional agriculture is to local and global environments and economies. This book serves as an overview of some of the important topics in organic agriculture. The volume is broken into several sections which explore the effects of organic practices on crop productivity, the use of biofertilizers, plant cultivars, and compare the environmental impact with conventional agriculture. Also covered are the following topics:

?Organic agriculture as a strategy to combat many of the negative effects of conventional agriculture, such as pollution and loss of soil fertility

?How practices, such as the use of biofertilizers, can enhance plant growth over the use of chemical fertilizers

?Vermicompost and the high potential to benefit land in agricultural use

?Organic practices? associations with increased soil fertility, increased biodiversity, and greenhouse gas sequestration

?The negative effects of organic agriculture practices, such as an increase in nitrogen pollution or pests

This easily accessible reference volume offers a comprehensive guide to this rapidly expanding field. Edited by an experienced writer with experience in both food systems and agricultural sociology, Organic Agricultural Practices: Alternatives to Conventional Agricultural Systems is an authoritative and easy-to-use reference, ideal for both researchers in the field and students who wish to gain an overview to this important field of study.

Part I: Organic Agricultural Results Compared with Conventional Agriculture. Evaluating the Sustainability of a Small-Scale Low-Input Organic Vegetable Supply System in the United Kingdom. Soil Organisms in Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems. Localizing the Nitrogen Imprint of the Paris Food Supply: The Potential of Organic Farming and Changes in Human Diet. Comparative Growth Analysis of Callistephus Chinensis L. Using Vermicompost and Chemical Fertilizer. Comparison of the Farming System and Carbon Sequestration between Conventional and Organic Rice Production in West Java, Indonesia.Part II: Biofertilizers. Residual Influence of Organic Materials, Crop Residues, and Biofertilizers on Performance of Succeeding Mung Bean in an Organic Rice-Based Cropping System. Evaluation of Biofertilizers in Irrigated Rice: Effects on Grain Yield at Different Fertilizer Rate. Effects of Fertilizer and Plant Density on Yield and Quality of Anise (Pimpinella Anisum L.). Microbial Diversity of Vermicompost Bacteria that Exhibit Useful Agricultural Traits and Waste Management Potential.Part III: Plant Cultivars in Organic Agriculture. Characteristics Important for Organic Breeding of Vegetable Crops. Collaborative Plant Breeding for Organic Agricultural Systems in Developed Countries. Phenotypic Changes in Different Spinach Varieties Grown and Selected under Organic Conditions.Part IV: Environmental Effects of Organic Agriculture. Soil Enzyme Activities, Microbial Communities, and Carbon and Nitrogen Availability in Organic Agroecosystems Across an Intensively-Managed Agricultural Landscape. Nitrate Leaching from Intensive Organic Farms to Groundwater. Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Crops for Sustainable Agriculture.

Kimberly Etingoff's background includes city and regional planning, farming, food systems programming, sociology, and urban geography. She studied at the University of Rochester, New York, and Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, and has done extensive field work with food systems and agricultural sociology. She has been writing and editing academic and educational books on topics such as nutrition, farming, and aspects of sociology for more than ten years.