Managing Energy, Nutrients, And Pests In Organic Field Crops

Description: The use of organic management practices in field cropping continues to rise globally, and these methods have proven to be a viable way to produce food with reduced resource use and environmental damage. Managing Energy, Nutrients, and Pests in Organic Field Crops challenges the popular misconception that organic systems are weak at managing energy, nutrients, and pests and shows how innovative farm designs can enhance organic performance. It provides information for assessing the current state of knowledge on organic field cropping and for making the systems more viable. Each chapter summarizes the latest data from a wide range of sources, creating a comprehensive and coherent picture of the issues and integrating agronomic, economic, and policy aspects. Many chapters also include recent research from the authors. Section I, Soil Health, examines the importance of phosphorus balance, soil fertility, and tillage reduction. Section II, Pest Management, focuses on integrated weed management and long-term approaches to insect management. Section III, Integrating Approaches, addresses multiple field cropping challenges. Chapters cover the oldest organic rotational trials in Canada, the issue of using cereals bred for conventional systems and more targeted organic cereal breeding strategies, and case studies of a broad spectrum of farming experiences that explore the broader social and ecological landscape. The final section, Economics, Energy, and Policy, examines environmental issues not previously addressed in the text as well as consumer, economic, and rural community matters. It also presents a reprint of an article that describes policies and programs (and their costs) needed to advance adoption of organic farming in Ontario. The text wraps up with key conclusions and a discussion of overarching themes for the book, summarizing the strengths of the available tool box for organic producers and the challenges that remain.

Contents: Introduction to Organic Research Rod MacRae, Andrew M. Hammermeister, and Ralph C. Martin Establishing Priorities for Organic Research in Canada Andrew M. Hammermeister, Ron Pidskalny, Karen Nelson, and Ralph C. Martin Section I Soil Health Arbuscular Mycorrhiza and the Phosphorus Nutrition of Organic Crops Mulan Dai, Kim Schneider, Barbara Cade-Menun, Ronald Ferrera-Cerrato, and Chantal Hamel Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertility Management in Organic Field Crop Production Alexander Lake Woodley, Yuki Audette, Tandra Fraser, Melissa M. Arcand, Paul Voroney, J. Diane Knight, and Derek H. Lynch Sustaining Soil Organic Carbon, Soil Quality, and Soil Health in Organic Field Crop Management Systems Derek H. Lynch Reduced Tillage in Organic Cropping Systems Martin H. Entz, Caroline Halde, Harun Cicek, Kristen Podolsky, Rachel L. Evans, Keith C. Bamford, and Robert E. Blackshaw Section II Pest Management Sometimes You Need a Big Hammer: Evaluating and Appraising Selected Non-herbicidal Weed Control Methods in an Integrated Weed Management System Steve J. Shirtliffe and Dilshan Benaragama Insect Pest Management in Organic Cropping Systems Based on Ecological Principles Gilles Boiteau, Tom Lowery, and Josee Boisclair Section III Integrating Approaches The Glenlea Organic Rotation: A Long-Term Systems Analysis Martin H. Entz, Cathy Welsh, Shauna Mellish, Yuying Shen, Sarah Braman, Mario Tenuta, Marie-Soleil Turmel, Katherine Buckley, Keith C. Bamford, and Neil Holliday Breeding Cereals for Organic Soil Properties, Plant Nutrition, and Weed Control Hakunawadi Alexander Pswarayi, Stephen Fox, Pierre Hucl, and Dean Spaner Organic Voices: Agronomy, Economics, and Knowledge on Ten Canadian Organic Farms James B. Frey and Martin H. Entz Section IV Economics, Energy, and Policy Economics of Energy Use in Organic Agriculture Emmanuel K. Yiridoe Will more organic food and farming solve food system problems? Part I: Environment Rod MacRae, Derek H. Lynch, and Ralph C. Martin Will more organic food and farming solve food system problems? Part II: Consumer, Economic, and Community Issues Rod MacRae, Derek H. Lynch, and Ralph C. Martin Ten Percent Organic within 15 Years: Policy and Program Initiatives to Advance Organic Food and Farming in Ontario, Canada Rod MacRae, Ralph C. Martin, Mark Juhasz, and Julia Langer General Discussion and Conclusions Ralph C. Martin and Rod MacRae

Author Biography: Rod MacRae, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His research focuses on creating a national food and agriculture policy for Canada and the set of coherent and comprehensive programs required to support such a policy. He has published extensively on this topic in the academic and popular press and has also conducted numerous policy analyses for the Canadian organic food sector. Ralph C. Martin, Ph.D., grew up on a beef and hog farm in Wallenstein, Ontario, Canada. His love of teaching grew unexpectedly when he began teaching at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, in 1990, and realized how students teach him too. In 2001, he founded the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada to coordinate university research and education pertaining to organic systems across Canada. In 2011, he was appointed professor and Loblaw Chair in Sustainable Food Production at the University of Guelph.