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A Landscape Perspective In Managing Vegetation For Beneficial Plant-Pestnatural Enemy Interactions: A Foundation For Areawide Pest Management, Michael J. Brewer, Takuji Noma, Norman C. Elliott Jan 2008

A Landscape Perspective In Managing Vegetation For Beneficial Plant-Pestnatural Enemy Interactions: A Foundation For Areawide Pest Management, Michael J. Brewer, Takuji Noma, Norman C. Elliott

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

In the USA, Europe and increasingly in other regions, cropping systems designed for high production output are significant features of the landscape. Deployment of mechanized and high-input cropping systems over the last 50 years has resulted in substantial transformation and fragmentation of major grassland, shrubland and woodland systems throughout the world. These cropping systems are typically less diverse in species composition, structure and ecological functioning than those found in the original plant community (Altieri, 2004). Decreases in plant diversity of agroecosystems (i.e. the crops themselves and surrounding remnants of the original plant system) have negatively affected ecosystem functions (Freemark, 2005). …


Corn Rootworm Areawide Pest Management In The Midwestern Usa, Laurence D. Chandler, James R. Coppedge, C. Richard Edwards, Jon J. Tollefson, Gerald R. Wilde, Robert M. Faust Jan 2008

Corn Rootworm Areawide Pest Management In The Midwestern Usa, Laurence D. Chandler, James R. Coppedge, C. Richard Edwards, Jon J. Tollefson, Gerald R. Wilde, Robert M. Faust

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

For many maize (Zea mays) producers across the Midwestern USA, as well as in parts of the northern and southern plains, the corn rootworm complex (Diabrotica spp.; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) has represented one of the greatest challenges to efficient, quality maize-grain production over the past 50-60 years. Three species of corn rootworm are particularly troublesome: the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, the northern corn rootworm, D. barberi and the Mexican corn rootworm, D. virgifera zeae; all have consistently been important economic pests of maize (Metcalf, 1986b). Prior to the introduction of transgenic maize varieties designed …


Effects Of Agricultural Conservation Practices On Fish And Wildlife, Stuart R. Gagnon, Joseph R. Makuch, Cassandra Y. Harper Jan 2008

Effects Of Agricultural Conservation Practices On Fish And Wildlife, Stuart R. Gagnon, Joseph R. Makuch, Cassandra Y. Harper

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

This bibliography, in two volumes, is part of a multi-volume set developed by the Water Quality Information Center at the National Agricultural Library in support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). The bibliography is a guide to recent scientific literature covering effects of agricultural conservation practices on fish and wildlife. The citations listed here provide information on how conservation programs and practices designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as those intended for other purposes, e.g., water quality improvement, affect various aquatic and terrestrial fauna.


Chapter 15. Proven Practices And Innovative Technologies For On-Farm Crop Nitrogen Management, N. R. Kitchen, K. W. T. Goulding, J.F. Shanahan Jan 2008

Chapter 15. Proven Practices And Innovative Technologies For On-Farm Crop Nitrogen Management, N. R. Kitchen, K. W. T. Goulding, J.F. Shanahan

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Nitrogen (N) from soil, fertilizer, and manure sources is generally inefficiently used (30-60%) in most crop production systems. As a consequence, unused inorganic N can move off crop fields and contaminate surface and groundwater resources. Local and national governments have responded with guidelines, standards, regulations, and in some cases fines when off-field losses of N have not been reduced. Along with these environmental pressures, soaring energy costs have resulted in commensurate increased costs for N fertilizers. These factors are real for crop producers and are compelling them to scrutinize their crop N management more closely than in previous decades. Numerous …