Most scientists and many of the world's farmers have abandoned traditional farming practices and systems in an effort to increase production and to improve the efficiency of land and labor use. The resulting "modern" systems largely ignore many of the sustainable pest management practices that have evolved among farmers over centuries. In this book
In this book, H. David Thurston catalogs and reviews valuable pest management practices that are in danger of being lost in the modernization process. Thurston evaluates the sustainability, labor requirements, and external inputs needed for these diverse systems and their management.
Preface -- Introduction -- Application of Chemicals -- Pesticides -- Biological Control -- Biological Control -- Cultural Practices -- Planting -- Adjusting Density and Spacing -- Adjusting Depth of Planting -- Adjusting Time of Planting -- Site Selection -- Using Clean Seed -- Land Preparation Practices -- Fallow and Disease Management -- Fire and Slash and Burn -- Flooding and Plant Disease Management -- Mulching -- Organic Soil Amendments -- Raised Beds -- Rotations -- Terraces -- Tillage -- Crop Manipulations -- Harvesting and Post-Harvest Storage -- Multiple Cropping -- Multistory Cropping and Traditional Household Gardens -- Sanitation -- Shade -- Weeds and Wild Plants -- Host Plant Resistance -- Selection, Diversity, and Resistance -- Recommendations
H. David Thurston is professor of international agriculture and plant pathology at Cornell University.
