Life Sciences Commons^™

Biological Control Of Three Major Cucumber And Pepper Pests: Whiteflies, Thrips, And Spider Mites, In High Plastic Tunnels Using Two Local Phytoseiid Mites, Yusuf Abou Jawdah, Nour Ezzedine, Aya Fardoun, Samer Kharroubi, Hana Sobh, Hagop S. Atamian, Margaret S. Skinner, Bruce Parker

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

To enhance food security, food safety, and environmental health, a bio-based integrated pest management (BIPM) strategy was evaluated at two coastal locations in Lebanon as an alternative to toxic pesticide sprays in commercial high-arched plastic tunnels common in many countries. The evaluation occurred during two cucumber and pepper cropping seasons: spring and fall. At each site, two commercial tunnels were used; farmers’ conventional practices were applied in one tunnel, while the BIPM approach was followed in the second tunnel. In the farmers’ practices, a total of 14 sprays of insecticide/acaricide mixtures were applied during the spring growing season, and 6 …

Fencing Lands To Enhanced Climate Change Resilience, Promoting Biodiversity Regeneration And Improved Livelihoods Of Climate Change In Makueni County, Frank Wesonga, Francis Keya

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Kenya is a food insecure country, weather patterns are drastically changing and people are losing livelihoods and earnings when their lands dry, water for domestic supply lacks and livestock die further frustrating livelihoods of the poor. This paper briefly discusses Fencing of lands as prerequisite to biodiversity protection and faster water retention mechanism, through tree planting, enhancing CO2 sequestration as trees, shrubs and vegetation’s find suitable environment to grow. Baringo and Makueni County are characterized by unsustainable agriculture, environmental degradation resulting from soil erosion, high poverty levels and food insecurity due to unpredictable dry spells and climate change. The present …

Challenges And Opportunities For Sustainable Livestock Production In The Context Of Socioeconomic And Food Security In Northern Areas Of Pakistan, Muhammad Tariq

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Due to a variety of biophysical and socioeconomic variables, food insecurity in Pakistan is noticeably higher in the mountainous areas than in the plains. In the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region, the issue of food insecurity made worse by rapid socio-economic and environmental changes as well as topographical constraints. In northern areas of Pakistan livestock is raised for many purposes, including milk, meat, wool, leather, and draft. The livestock not only contributes significantly to the region's food security but also a sizable portion of what local families eat on a daily basis at their food table. Livestock are raised using nomadic and …

A Vision For A Food-Secure Future Through Permaculture, Jim Gale

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

In response to the pressing challenges of food security, sustainability, and resilience, Food Forest Abundance, led by visionary CEO Jim Gale, emerges as a beacon for permaculture-based agriculture and community development. This editorial explores the organization's pivotal role in advocating for a future where individuals, families, and communities thrive through sustainable practices and localized food systems. Central to Food Forest Abundance mission is the conviction that permaculture principles can revolutionize our approach to food security, health, and wellness by uniting agricultural and community leaders.

The catalyst for this movement was the World Farmers Market Coalition report, revealing the tangible economic, …

Analysis Of The Potential Of Rice And Corn In Supporting Food Availability, Luh Pastiniasih, Ketut Sumantra, Ni Putu Pandawani, Putu Edi Yastika

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

A region’s agricultural sector plays a strategic role in fulfilling its food needs with ideal nutrition. The potential of cereal commodities, specifically rice and corn, was identified based on the production level and competitiveness by district in Buleleng Regency, Indonesia. The regency’s potential to provide and support food security was also determined through a quantitative descriptive analysis of the Location Quotient (LQ), Shift Share Analysis (SSA), Localization Coefficients, and Levels of Food Availability by utilizing secondary data on cereal commodity production and population numbers over the course of 10 yr (2012–2021). Results showed that Sawan, Seririt, and Sukasada districts were …

Degraded Rangeland: Can The Balance Be Restored In The Absence Of Satisfactory Range Management Practices?, F. J. Mitchell, R. G. Bennett, B. D. Forbes, R. N. Reynolds

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The rangelands of KwaZulu-Natal play a fundamental role in the wealth and security of communal populations who are dependent on these forage-producing lands for their livelihoods. In most communal areas of the Province, there is an absence of satisfactory range management practices and the utilization of resources is generally non-sustainable. A major threat to the productivity of rangeland is inappropriate land use, such as overgrazing and incorrect burning practices, leading to extensive degradation of both the vegetative and soil components. Range vegetation and soil reserves show vastly reduced productivity. Degradation also results in increased susceptibility to erosion, loss of vegetative …

Plant Breeding Advancements With “Crispr-Cas” Genome Editing Technologies Will Assist Future Food Security, M. Ahmad

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty and Staff Publications

Genome editing techniques are being used to modify plant breeding, which might increase food production sustainably by 2050. A product made feasible by genome editing is becoming better known, because of looser regulation and widespread acceptance. The world’s population and food supply would never have increased proportionally under current farming practices. The development of plants and food production has been greatly impacted by global warming and climate change. Therefore, minimizing these effects is crucial for agricultural production that is sustainable. Crops are becoming more resilient to abiotic stress because of sophisticated agricultural practices and a better understanding of the abiotic …

The Biggest Grower: A Youth Gardening Competition For Growing Specialty Crops And Urban Farmers, Stacy A. Adams, Terri James

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Abstract

Youth today have tendencies for unhealthy lifestyles, being sedentary, consuming high fat diets low in fruits and vegetables, all contributing to child obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and precedence for life-long health concerns. For rural and economically disadvantaged urban households, poor diet is directly attributed to the inaccessibility of fresh produce, affordability and understanding of preparation of various specialty crops. Through a grant from the NE Specialty Crop Block Funding Program, The Biggest Grower Competition (BGC) was developed as a summer extension education program for youth in 8^th through 12^th grade. Project goals included; provide educational materials …

Bridging The Gap Between Research And Smallholder Farmers Through Community-Based Development Organizations, Nathan D. Fortner

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Food demand is expected to increase 30% to 62% by 2050 according to recent estimates. Yet, annual increases in agricultural productivity have slowed and plateaued since the green revolution increases of the 1960’s. Two strategies to help address future food demand are reducing post-harvest loss and consumer waste, and closing the yield gap between potential and farmer realized yields. Some of the largest yield gaps are those of smallholder farmers. While solutions may exist to close these gaps, delivering and integrating solutions into smallholder production systems is a complex process involving research, extension, cultural factors, government policy, NGOs, private industry, …

Ruminant Livestock Production Systems And Imperatives For Sustainable Development, J. W. Smith

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Climate Change Threats To Semi-Arid Transhumance Grazing Systems: Proposals For Adaptation In Cabo Verde, J. F. Castro, S. Tavares, M. Castro

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Global warming has changed the rainfall regime in the Sahelian region, endangering and widespread poverty and chronic famines in Cape Verde, where rural communities' well-being and food security depend on rainy agriculture. Local responses to rainfall new patterns and scarcity have been livestock reduction with significant revenue losses. Together with dry mist occurrences, these environmental constraints demand to define priority actions to adapt and mitigate climate change's direct impacts. According to fifty household inquiries, this work explains the transhumant grazing practices on a semi-arid plateau in Tarrafal (Santiago, Cabo Verde), prospecting adaptation alternatives for sustainability. We related grazing patterns and …

Large Scale Land Investments And Food Security In Agro-Pastoral Areas Of Ethiopia, Adugna Eneyew Bekele, Liesbeth Dries, Wim Heijman, Dusan Drabik

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

There is an ongoing debate about the impact of large scale land investments on the livelihoods of rural households in developing countries. This study investigates the impact of large scale land investments on households' food security in Ethiopia. The findings show proximity to large scale land investments is associated with higher food intake with an average treatment effect of 744.71 kcal per day per adult. This is mainly because of the availability relatively good natural capitals near to large scale land investments. Large scale land investments should make sure that the local community has access to grazing to improve food …

Food Security In Crop, Livestock And Mixed Farming Systems In Mali, C. Reiber, A. Carbajal, S. Traoré, R. Birner, M. Chagunda

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

This study evaluates the food security status, its determinants and the coping strategies in crop, livestock and mixed crop-livestock systems in southern Mali. Interviews were conducted with 258 households that were categorized into the three farming systems based on the revenue from livestock and crop production. A linear mixed model was used to analyse the effects of household characteristics on food security using the food consumption score (FCS), household dietary diversity score (HDDS), a modified household food insecurity access scale (mHFIAS) and coping strategies as indicators. Food consumption score was significantly influenced by the farming system with highest FCS for …

Short-Term Dry Season Forage Monitoring In Rangelands And Savannas Of West Africa, J. Y. Anchang, C. W. Ross, W. Ji, Q. Yu, B. Lind, L. Prihodko, N. P. Hanan

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Dry season plant biomass is critical for livestock production and hence livelihoods in rangeland communities. We have developed a cloud-based application that employs remote sensing data to provide weekly spatially explicit information on plant vegetation cover in West Africa during the dry season (typically October-June). In this paper, we discuss the data analysis steps and results that drive the application. Linear spectral mixture analysis is used to derive endmember samples of basic landcover primitives (active/green vegetation, non-active vegetation, and bare soil) from very high-resolution imagery that spans the spatiotemporal spectrum from wet/peak-green to dry/dormant conditions in Senegal. These samples are …

Detecting Recent Crop Phenology Dynamics In Corn And Soybean Cropping Systems Of Kentucky, Yanjun Yang, Bo Tao, Liang Liang, Yawen Huang, Christopher J. Matocha, Chad D. Lee, Michael Sama, Bassil El Masri, Wei Ren

Geography Faculty Publications

Accurate phenological information is essential for monitoring crop development, predicting crop yield, and enhancing resilience to cope with climate change. This study employed a curve-change-based dynamic threshold approach on NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index) time series to detect the planting and harvesting dates for corn and soybean in Kentucky, a typical climatic transition zone, from 2000 to 2018. We compared satellite-based estimates with ground observations and performed trend analyses of crop phenological stages over the study period to analyze their relationships with climate change and crop yields. Our results showed that corn and soybean planting dates were delayed by 0.01 …

Association Of Trees And Crops To Increase Seasonal Food Availability In The Republic Of Haity, F. Massolino, Andrea Pardini

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Special Issue Of Plant Virus Emergence, Michael M. Goodin, Jeanmarie Verchot

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Genetic Diversity: The Hub Of Plant Breeding, Foster Kangben

English Language Institute

Agriculture the world over is faced with the threat of food, fiber, and nutrition insecurity especially in the wake of climate change. However, employing two approaches to plant breeding, the molecular and phenotypic methods, can make use of genetic diversity in crop species in order to help surmount these challenges.

The Acacia Operation Project: A Pilot Activity For Combating Desertification And Improving The Livelihood Of Pastoralist In The Arid Rangelands Of Kenya, George A. Keya, M. Muga, B. Chikamai

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Adaptation To Climate Change In Mixed Crop-Livestock Farming Systems In Developing Countries, Philip K. Thornton, Mario Herrero

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Globally, crop-livestock systems produce over 90% of the world's milk supply and 80% of the meat from ruminants. Mixed crop-livestock systems are particularly important for livelihoods and food security, as they provide most of the staples consumed by poor people. These systems will be under considerable pressure in the coming decades to help satisfy the burgeoning demand for food from rapidly increasing populations, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where rural poverty and hunger are already concentrated. At the same time, the impacts of climate change will be increasingly heavily felt. Increases in temperatures and changes in the amounts …

Solar Dimming Decreased Maize Yield Potential On The North China Plain, Qingfeng Meng, Baohua Liu, Haishun Yang, Xinping Chen

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Solar dimming has been increasing in rapidly developing regions (China and India) and threatening food security. Although previous studies have summarized the ef- fects of climate change-associated increases in temperature on agriculture, few have examined the effects due to solar dimming. Here, we analyzed the effects of solar dimming on maize on the North China Plain (NCP). It is reported that solar dimming intensified and maize yield potential decreased since the 1960s. The total decrease in solar radiation for the whole maize growing season of this period was 17%, and solar dimming explained 87% of the decrease in yield potential. …

Feeding The World In 2050: Trade-Offs, Synergies And Tough Choices For The Livestock Sector, Jimmy Smith, Shirley Tarawali, Delia Grace, Keith Sones

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Feeding the World in 2050 is a major challenge at the forefront of the global development agenda. The importance of agriculture in addressing this challenge has re-emerged in recent years as food security issues are considered in a more holistic manner. The role of livestock as part of the solution is, however, often not considered. This article presents a brief overview of the global food security challenge, and considers the increased focus on holistic food systems. It contends that animal agriculture is relevant to this complex, multifaceted and dynamic global challenge. However, if livestock-based solutions are to become a reality …

Justice Served Fresh: Associations Between Food Insecurity, Community Gardening, And Property Value, Micajah Daniels, Courtney Coughenour Ph.D

McNair Poster Presentations

Numerous stakeholders in Nevada have used a variety of efforts to combat the growth of food insecurity facing Nevadans. The purpose of this research project is to understand the association between food insecurity, community gardens, and property value. Following the wealth of scholarship on these topics and data collected from community garden agencies in Southern Nevada, the research questions for this project include: (1) Where are community gardens located in SNV? (2) What efforts community gardens agencies are doing to address food insecurity (most interested in their efforts using community gardens)? (3) What are the perceptions of supports and barriers …

Application Of Crispr/Cas9 Genome Editing Technology For The Improvement Of Crops Cultivated In Tropical Climates: Recent Progress, Prospects, And Challenges, Effi Haque, Hiroaki Taniguchi, Md. Mahmudul Hassan, Pankaj Bhowmik, M. Rezaul Karim, Magdalena Śmiech, Kaijun Zhao, Mahfuzur Rahman, Tofazzal Islam

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The world population is expected to increase from 7.3 to 9.7 billion by 2050. Pest outbreak and increased abiotic stresses due to climate change pose a high risk to tropical crop production. Although conventional breeding techniques have significantly increased crop production and yield, new approaches are required to further improve crop production in order to meet the global growing demand for food. The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein9) genome editing technology has shown great promise for quickly addressing emerging challenges in agriculture. It can be used to precisely modify genome sequence of any organism including plants …

Can Bangladesh Produce Enough Cereals To Meet Future Demand?, J. Timsina, J. Wolf, N. Guilpart, L G. J. Van Bussel, P. Grassini, J. Van Wart, A. Hossain, H. Rashid, S. Islam, M. K. Van Ittersum

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Bangladesh faces huge challenges in achieving food security due to its high population, diet changes, and limited room for expanding cropland and cropping intensity. The objective of this study is to assess the degree to which Bangladesh can be self-sufficient in terms of domestic maize, rice and wheat production by the years 2030 and 2050 by closing the existing gap (Yg) between yield potential (Yp) and actual farm yield (Ya), accounting for possible changes in cropland area. Yield potential and yield gaps were calculated for the three crops using well-validated crop models and site-specific weather,management and soil data, and upscaled …

Can Bangladesh Produce Enough Cereals To Meet Future Demand?, J. Timsina, J. Wolf, N. Guilpart, L.G.J. Van Bussel, P. Grassini, J. Van Wart, A. Hossain, H. Rashid, S. Islam, M.K. Van Ittersum

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Bangladesh faces huge challenges in achieving food security due to its high population, diet changes, and limited room for expanding cropland and cropping intensity. The objective of this study is to assess the degree to which Bangladesh can be self-sufficient in terms of domestic maize, rice and wheat production by the years 2030 and 2050 by closing the existing gap (Yg) between yield potential (Yp) and actual farm yield (Ya), accounting for possible changes in cropland area. Yield potential and yield gaps were calculated for the three crops using well-validated crop models and site-specific weather,management and soil data, and upscaled …

The Costs Of Photorespiration To Food Production Now And In The Future, Berkley J. Walker, Andy Vanloocke, Carl J. Bernacchi, Donald R. Ort

Andy VanLoocke

Photorespiration is essential for C3 plants but operates at the massive expense of fixed carbon dioxide and energy. Photorespiration is initiated when the initial enzyme of photosynthesis, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/ oxygenase (Rubisco), reacts with oxygen instead of carbon dioxide and produces a toxic compound that is then recycled by photorespiration. Photorespiration can be modeled at the canopy and regional scales to determine its cost under current and future atmospheres. A regional-scale model reveals that photorespiration currently decreases US soybean and wheat yields by 36% and 20%, respectively, and a 5% decrease in the losses due to photorespiration would be worth approximately …

Effect Of The National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Subsidy Program On Fertilizer Usage And Food Production In Kakamega County, Western Kenya, Abednego Kiwia Mavuthu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite 25 years of concerted efforts by African governments to adopt consistent policies for increasing food production, hunger and poverty are still prevalent in the continent. Using Bernanke's conceptualization of the credit channel theory of monetary policy, the purpose of this correlational study was to investigate whether a subsidy program, the National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Program (NAAIAP), affected the rates of fertilizer usage and food production in Kakamega County, Western Kenya. Purposive stratified sampling was used to select 114 participants consisting of 72 farmers in each of the 2 groups: NAAIAP beneficiaries and nonbeneficiaries. Participants completed a survey on …

Rooting For Food Security In Sub-Saharan Africa, Nicolas Guilpart, Patricio Grassini, Justin Van Wart, Haishun Yang, Martin K. Van Ittersum, Lenny G.J. Van Bussel, Joost Wolf, Lieven Claessens, Johan G.B. Leenaars, Kenneth G. Cassman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

There is a persistent narrative about the potential of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to be a ‘grain breadbasket’ because of large gaps between current low yields and yield potential with good management, and vast land resources with adequate rainfall. However, rigorous evaluation of the extent to which soils can support high, stable yields has been limited by lack of data on rootable soil depth of sufficient quality and spatial resolution. Here we use location-specific climate data, a robust spatial upscaling approach, and crop simulation to assess sensitivity of rainfed maize yields to root-zone water holding capacity. We find that SSA could …

Can Yield Gap Analysis Be Used To Inform R & D Prioritisation?, P. A. J. Van Oort, K. Saito, I. Dieng, P. Grassini, K. G. Cassman, M. K. Van Ittersum

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The phrase “biggest bang for a buck” is associated with the policy making question that governments and development agencies face: “Where and which crops should receive highest priority for improving local and global food supply?”. A first step of prioritisation is to identify region x crop combinations for which high impact can be anticipated. We developed a new method for this prioritisation exercise and applied it to data from the Global Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas (GYGA). Our prioritisation distinguishes between two policy objectives (humanitarian and economic) and builds upon the relative yield gap and climate risk. Results of …