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New Crops (new + crop)
Selected AbstractsA semimechanistic model predicting the growth and production of the bioenergy crop Miscanthus×giganteus: description, parameterization and validationGCB BIOENERGY, Issue 4 2009FERNANDO E. MIGUEZ Abstract Biomass based bioenergy is promoted as a major sustainable energy source which can simultaneously decrease net greenhouse gas emissions. Miscanthus×giganteus (M.×giganteus), a C4 perennial grass with high nitrogen, water, and light use efficiencies, is regarded as a promising energy crop for biomass production. Mathematical models which can accurately predict M.×giganteus biomass production potential under different conditions are critical to evaluate the feasibility of its production in different environments. Although previous models based on light-conversion efficiency have been shown to provide good predictions of yield, they cannot easily be used in assessing the value of physiological trait improvement or ecosystem processes. Here, we described in detail the physical and physiological processes of a previously published generic mechanistic eco-physiological model, WIMOVAC, adapted and parameterized for M.×giganteus. Parameterized for one location in England, the model was able to realistically predict daily field diurnal photosynthesis and seasonal biomass at a range of other sites from European studies. The model provides a framework that will allow incorporation of further mechanistic information as it is developed for this new crop. [source] Social Networks and Technology Adoption in Northern Mozambique,THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 514 2006Oriana Bandiera We present evidence on how farmers' decisions to adopt a new crop relate to the adoption choices of their network of family and friends. We find the relationship to be inverse-U shaped, suggesting social effects are positive when there are few adopters in the network, and negative when there are many. We also find the adoption decisions of farmers who have better information about the new crop are less sensitive to the adoption choices of others. Finally, we find that adoption decisions are more correlated within family and friends than religion-based networks, and uncorrelated among individuals of different religions. [source] The Need to Look Beyond the Production and Provision of Relief Seed: Experiences from Southern SudanDISASTERS, Issue 4 2002Richard B. Jones Free distribution of seeds in selected areas of southern Sudan has been widespread as a way of increasing food security. Field research in areas targeted for seed relief found that farmer seed systems continue to meet the crop and varietal needs of farmers even following the 1998 famine. Donor investments in seed multiplication of improved sorghum have not been sustained due to a lack of effective demand for the improved seed beyond that created by the relief agencies. The article argues that rather than imposing outside solutions, whether through seed provisioning or seed production enterprises, greater attention needs to be given to building on the strengths of existing farmer systems and designing interventions to alleviate the weaknesses. The case is made to support dynamically the process of farmer experimentation through the informed introduction of new crops and varieties that can potentially reinforce the strength and diversity of local cropping systems. [source] Forests, marketization, livelihoods and the poor in the Lao PDRLAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2006J. D. Rigg Abstract The Lao PDR is making the transition from subsistence to cash, and command to market. Rural communities are being drawn ever more tightly into the embrace of the market economy and of the central state. The construction of roads, schools and health centres, the provision of credit and new crops and technologies, and the arrival of traders and the panoply of the consumer economy are all, in their different ways, remoulding rural economy and society. This paper looks at one aspect of this multi-stranded process of agrarian transformation: the role and place of forests and, in particular, non-timber forest products, in rural people's lives and livelihoods. The paper highlights the contradictory and uneven livelihood-eroding/enhancing effects of these transformations. In many upland areas of Laos livelihoods are being squeezed from ,below' by environmental degradation and from ,above' by the operation of government policies and, more generally, by evolving market relations. While market pessimists see market integration as a largely destructive process, the paper highlights the opportunities that market integration can provide through diversification and livelihood reorientation. The challenge is that these opportunities are unequally available and are likely to promote social differentiation. Some households find themselves in a position to embrace new opportunities while others are forced to continue to rely on a declining and degrading forest resource. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The direct and indirect impacts of population growth and economic development on maize (Zea mays L.) diversity in highland GuatemalaAREA, Issue 1 2009Michael K Steinberg This paper discusses the impacts of population growth and economic development on maize diversity in highland Guatemala. In the context of this discussion, economic development specifically refers to the recent expansion of the non-traditional agricultural exports (NTAEs). Population growth and economic development (i.e. NTAEs) are linked because as land has become scarce in highland Guatemala, due to the poor distribution of land resources and rapid population growth over the past 50 years, many farmers have turned to non-traditional economic strategies such as new crops that produce more income per unit of land. These new crops have improved the economic conditions of many farming families, but it has come at a cost regarding the maintenance of local maize varieties and household food security. [source] | ||||||||||