Synopses & Reviews
With the expanding world population, the major concern just a few years ago was whether the world could produce enough food. Now in many countries agricultural productivity has risen to the point of providing chronic food surpluses while in other areas, notably Africa, food production lags far behind need. In either situation there is a growing concern over managing the soil resource. Concerns range from inappropriate deforestation to depletion to erosion. These concerns are resulting in a shift in research objectives. The need to optimize crop production while conserving the resource base has never been greater. This series of volumes provides a forum for leading scientists to analyze critically the information on a particular subject. Most importantly, contributors develop and identify principles that have practical applications to both developing and developed agricultures.
Synopsis
The world population in 1950 was 2. 5 billion and is more than 5 billion today. The agriculture community, however, has responded remarkably well to meeting the increased need for food and fiber. While the population growth during this period averaged almost 2% annually, the production of grain increased at an even faster rate. From 1950 to 1973, grain production increased 3. 1% annually, but slowed to about 2% from 1973 to 1984. There- fore, as a whole, the world has more grain per capita available today than ever before. Several countries that were food importers just a few years ago are food exporters today. The world carry-over stocks today are the highest in years. While the major concern just a few years ago was whether the world could produce adequate food, the problem for many countries today is how to export their surpluses. Although the world as a whole has surplus food supplies, there are millions of people without adequate food to exist, and there are additional millions who have a bare subsistence diet at best. The average daily calorie supply for the developed countries is more than 3,300 per person, while the average for the developing countries is only about 2,200. The major global food produc- tion problems have shifted from Asia to Africa, where malnutrition, poverty, and starvation are attracting world attention.
Table of Contents
Contents: Modeling of Flow, Transport, and Crop Yield in Spatially Variable Fields.- Pedogenesis in the Grassland and Adjacent Forests of the Great Plains.- Legume Winter Cover Crops.- Influence of Sludge Organic Matter on Soil Physical Properties.- Efficient Resource Management Systems for Drylands of India.- Index.