Author
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Anderson, James |
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Teasdale, John |
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Coffman, Charles |
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Mills, Douglas |
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 6/12/1999 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Sustainable agriculture conjures up different view points by scientists working in the agricultural community, but it has gained wide spread support since it was incorporated into the Farm Bill. Much of the concern by the public has resulted from recent press coverage of the Pfesteria scare in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed as well as reports concerning pesticide content of our foods as it relates to children. To be sustainable, the system must require few off-farm inputs, be economically sound, preserve or enhance soil quality, be environmentally friendly and enhance the rural community. Plant Physiologists can help support the research agenda of sustainable agriculture by emphasizing and discussing research needs. Many of these needs currently are being investigated by Plant Physiologists: nitrogen fixation, nutrient uptake and recycling, water use efficiency, carbon partitioning into plant components that eventually are responsible for introducing and sequestering carbon in soil, enhancing host resistance to pests so that fewer pesticides are needed, enhancing mycorrhizal-root interactions which promote nutrient uptake and plant growth, etc. New and fashionable research in areas of molecular biology and cell signaling can be brought to bear on solving questions concerning the physiological and structural limitations on productivity and improved efficiency of production systems. Sustainable agricultural offers Plant Physiologists many challenges and opportunities for fundamental research and to work with scientists from other disciplines. |
