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Contingency for drought should be part of every grower’s business plan in California. This publication outlines a range of strategies to consider for growing vegetables under a limited water supply: Evaluate Options for Maximizing Production and ProfitabilityIncrease Irrigation EfficiencyReduce Evaporation and Transpiration LossesTake Advantage of Winter Rainfall InfiltrationDevelop and Use Alternate Water Supplies

Esta publicación provee las pautas sobre la tolerancia a la sal que tiene una variedad de cultivos, basada en el uso del agua de cierta calidad a largo plazo y no incluye el agua de lluvia u otras fuentes de agua que pudieran ser usadas para filtrar las sales de la zona de raíces. También se aborda el tema de la tolerancia del boro.

Before you can evaluate the suitability of a compost for a particular application, you need to have an understanding of several compost properties. This publication describes these properties and proposes reasonable limits for five common types of compost

Soil salinity is an important stressor affecting irrigated crops in many areas of California; and is often exacerbated during drought.

Some irrigated regions of California accumulate saline drain water as a result of the leaching needed to maintain crop production, but they have limited options for disposal of this saline water. Reusing saline drain water for irrigation as a means of disposal and augmentation of water supplies has been of interest for decades, especially when other water supplies become scarce during droughts.

Salt-affected soils cause poor plant growth, affect crop production, and reduce water use efficiency. The reclamation of salt-affected soils can lead to better water management, water use efficiency, and crop production.

A hedgerow is a border of trees, shrubs, grasses, forbs, rushes, or sedges that surrounds a farm field and can reduce the effects of wind and water erosion, provide habitat for beneficial insects, and more. Find out if a hedgerow is right for your farm.

Serpentine and related rocks sometimes contain naturally occurring asbestos (NOA). When these rocks break down into soil, the NOA comes with them, and that creates a health hazard. Learn to recognize serpentine soils and keep health risks to a minimum.

Conservation tillage farming systems protect water and soil resources while still letting the grower produce a commercially viable crop. Less tillage also means less labor and equipment time, and that translates into lower overall production costs.

Strip-tillage, a form of conservation tillage, limits soil disruption to a narrow strip down each planting line, thus helping maintain soil structure and minimize dust. Read about new equipment and techniques, as well as the many benefits of this method.

Since the 1950s, the Storie Index has been used to rate California soils for land use and productivity. Now UC researchers have developed a revised Storie Index that generates ratings automatically from digital soils data available from USDA.

Organic soil fertility management is guided by the philosophy of “feed the soil to feed the plant.” This basic precept is implemented through a series of practices designed to increase soil organic matter, biological activity, and nutrient availability.

Conservation tillage is an approach to soil management that balances the short-term need for a profitable crop with the long-term need for sustainably healthy ground. This publication looks at ways to control weeds while practicing conservation tillage.

A soil's physical and chemical properties determine whether it is vulnerable to erosion, which can reduce soil quality and cause other problems besides. Learn the basics of identifying what type of erosion is affecting your land and what's causing it.

Soil erosion is a major cause of water quality degradation. Included is an introduction to the properties of soil that influence its erodibility and an explanation of soil properties that you can manage to minimize erosion.

Irrigated orchards, vineyards, and row crops have high erosion rates. The vegetative filter strip (VFS) offers one way to control erosion rates and keep soil in the field rather than letting it be carried off site in drainage water.

This easy-to-use worksheet and photographic record method gives any landowner a simple way to monitor streamside erosion and waterway sediment data for use in land management decisions or to demonstrate compliance with water quality standards.

Guide to a standardized method for assessing the condition of riparian areas, for landowners, managers, and resource professionals. Color photos.

Sustaining and improving soil quality over the long term are frequently identified by organic farmers as their primary management goals.

Chapter 7 of the book "Complete Guide to Organic Lawn Care: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply," by Sandy Baker is presented. It focuses on the rehabilitation of the lawn which include the preparation of the soil, improvement of soil quality, and replacement of grasses. It offers tips on patching the lawn including the need to determine the necessity to patch, patching with seed, and patching with sod.

Chapter 6 of the book "Complete Guide to Organic Lawn Care: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply," by Sandy Baker is presented. It provides information on creating an organic lawn from scratch which include the need to wait for the right timing, prepare the soil, and make a permanent edging. Details including on selecting of grass suitable for the environment, grass application methods, and watering the lawn after installation are discussed.

The article offers information on the seasonal care and maintenance chores to perform in a medicinal herb garden to keep it at its peak performance and optimal health. It explains the seasonal chores that help maintain the health of the garden and enhance the growth potential of plants based on the weather and soil conditions. It also notes the ideal time to grow herb plants, water the garden, and winterizing perennial plants to survive the harsh weather conditions.

Agriculture of Moldova is at a crossroad. The technological approach to farm intensification based on increased inputs of nonrenewable sources of energy (mineral fertilizers, especially nitrogen, and pesticides) accompanied by reduced biodiversity in agroecosystems has led to many negative consequences in agriculture. Agriculture needs systemic changes at the level of the landscape and individual farms. Evidence is presented from long-term experiments carried out in Moldova since the 1960s at the Research Institute of Field Crops. ˵Selecţia″ These results show the energy intensive nature of our agroecosystems and their longterm impacts in depleting soil organic matter. The use of fertilizers has covered up negative effects associated with intensive rotations on the productivity of crops. Gains due to breeding intensive varieties winter wheat have been less than expected. The use of crop rotations that include perennial forages, organic + mineral fertilizers can reduce the need for intensive agrochemical inputs. Only such changes can help to prevent, but not to control pollution and degradation of the environment. The key for a new approach to an intensive agriculture on a sustainable basis is the recognition of the soil as being a living organism and the crucial role of enhanced rotations and soil organic matter management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chapter 18 of the book "Handbook of Precision Farming: Principles and Applications" is presented. It examined spatial and temporal variability found in the soils and cropping systems of the Asian region. It also discussed the potential for adopting precision farming (PF). PF is described as a holistic management strategy to make agronomic management compatible with varying soil and crop conditions within a field. A chart is presented which summarizes a SWOT analysis of Asian farming systems. Several factors that drive the adoption of PF in countries like Japan and South Korea include environmental threats to ecosystems, labor shortages due to aging populations and declining farm incomes.

Chapter 12 of the book "Handbook of Precision Farming: Principles and Applications" is presented. It offered an overview of the status of site-specific management in various cotton-producing regions of the U.S. Several factors considered in the grouping of major cotton-producing counties within the U.S. Cotton Belt include genotypes grown, planting dates, growing-season lengths, harvest methods, quality of fiber produced, and fiber end use. When evaluating the degree and distribution of soil spatial variability, an effective soil-sampling plan should be developed or adapted.

Chapter 3 of the book "Handbook of Precision Farming: Principles and Applications" is presented. It discussed several topics relating to the development of on-the-go soil sensing/scanning methodology. A diagram is presented that illustrates the three stages in the development of soil sensing/scanning methodology. The grid-sampling-and-mapping approach was the commonly used method to determine the variability of soil characteristics, however, it is a time-consuming approach. The two types of sensors for electric conductivity of bulk soil are described.

Chapter 2 of the book "Handbook of Precision Farming: Principles and Applications" is presented. It discussed the role of technology in the emergence and state of precision agriculture. The bases of precision farming are the spatial and temporal variability in soil and crop factors within a field. The availability of a location positioning system is considered essential to the application of precision agriculture. Several factors that influence the widespread uptake of precision farming include environmental legislation, traceability, public concern regarding farming practices and the public aversion to genetic modification of crops.

Chapter 8 of the book "Traditional American Farming Techniques: A Ready Reference on All Phases of Agriculture for Farmers of the United States and Canada," by Frank D. Gardner is presented. The chapter focuses on the art of soil management. It cites the main objectives of tillage which include improvement of the physical condition of the soil, control of weeds, and provision of a suitable seed-bed. It also discusses the appropriate time for and the depth of plowing.

The article focuses on the soil conservation and agrofrestry project in Zambia. It covered an area of about 520 kilometres in the Mazabuku region of southern Zambia. It started in 1986, when a decision was made to promote intercropping with Acacia albida to increase the ground cover and improve the fertility of the soil. One of the objectives of the project was to promote tree planting in windbreaks and on field boundaries.

Subsurface acidity is a major concern in agricultural soils. Surface application of lime is not effective and therefore alternative approaches are being tested to combat subsurface acidity. The supply of NO3− increases excess anion uptake and results in rhizosphere alkalisation which can use as a method of biological amelioration. A glasshouse study was conducted with wheat to examine the effect of localised supply of P and Ca alone or combination with NO3− on subsurface root proliferation and rhizosphere alkalisation in an acid soil. The results show that localised supply of NO3− plus P in the subsurface maximises root proliferation without extra Ca supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information about companion herb planting to prevent pest problems in a medicinal herb garden. It states that planting certain herbs that act as companion plants in a garden can help keep the pests from destroying other plants or the garden. It presents tips on pest control which include mixing different herbs in a single garden bed, transplanting the perennials to a separate location, and using compost matter to encourage beneficial pests.

The article focuses on the importance of soil to the landscape of a cemetery which comprised of four basic parts including water, air, organics, and minerals. It discusses the different kinds of soil such as clay, sandy, or loamy soil which will take considerations on the pH level that influences nutrient availability, soil texture, and other factors. Ecologist R. J. Laverne, says that species must be selected appropriately that would suit the conditions of the soil.

The article offers information about disease control and prevention measures to help maintain the health of a medicinal herb garden. It states that plant spacing and weeding can help reduce humidity levels in a garden and prevent diseases while a good quality and nutrient-rich soil can strengthen plants and increase their disease resistance. It also presents a table which lists plant diseases and their host plants and offers suggestions on disease control and solution.

The article offers information about weed control in a medicinal herb garden to prevent competition for nutrients necessary to grow and nourish herb plants and reduce pests and diseases in the garden. It presents several weeding tips which include weeding early during the season, weeding up lightly to avoid disturbing other roots, and mulching heavily to cut down weed growth. It suggests that pulling up weeds as soon as they come up is the best form of weed control to prevent them to re-seed.

Part Three of the book "The Operation, Care, and Repair of Farm Machinery," by John Deere is presented. It focuses on the purpose of cultivating row crops during the growing season. It states that cultivation aims to destroy the weeds in the field, because weeds are disturbance to the growth of the crops. It adds that cultivation creates a moisture-saving surface mulch and gives air and light to the soil that are essentials to plant growth.