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Title: NEED FOR LOW-PRODUCTION COST ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS FOR FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE VEGETABLE GROWERS IN THE U.S.

Author
item Abdul Baki, Aref
item Carrera, Lidia
item Teasdale, John
item RICE, PAMELA - UNIV MINNESOTA

Submitted to: Horticultural International Congress Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/2001
Publication Date: 8/1/2002
Citation: ABDUL BAKI, A.A., CARRERA, L.M., TEASDALE, J.R., RICE, P.K. NEED FOR LOW-PRODUCTION COST ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS FOR FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE VEGETABLE GROWERS IN THE U.S.. HORTICULTURAL INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS. 2002. P. 297.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Future sustainability of the vegetable growers in the U.S. will depend upon their ability to cope with regulations imposed by the global market as well as their adoption of production practices that maintain soil fertility and high yields while conserving natural resources and protecting the environment. Two major international events that adversely affected the U.S. vegetable growers by offering advantages to their competitors are the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which eliminated tariffs, liberalized the transportation sector, and removed barriers to trade with Mexico and other neighboring countries, and the Montreal Protocol which aimed at controlling the production and trade of ozone-depleting substances including methyl bromide on a global basis. Additional production restrictions that are essential to sustainability include elimination of soil and nutrient losses by erosion, conservation of the limited natural resources, and protection of the environment. The conventional vegetable production system that has been used in the U.S. is a high input system that depends on tillage, a major inducer of soil erosion, and on chemicals such as commercial fertilizers, pesticides and non-degradable plastic mulches. These production components increase the production cost, deplete the natural resources, and contaminate the environment. Several alternative production systems with many specific advantages have been introduced. The most widely accepted are those that use no-tillage to reduce soil erosion in conjunction with cover crops to improve soil fertility by adding organic matter, fixing nitrogen, and recycling nutrients.