Author
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Hellmich Ii, Richard |
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Submitted to: National IPM Symposium
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 4/11/2003 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Modern agriculture relies on high inputs, including fuel-powered tractors, chemical fertilizers, and chemical pesticides. Today production from a single grower can support about 100 people, a fourteen-fold increase in the last hundred years. Such advances, however, have had high environmental costs and by and large are not sustainable. Sustainable agriculture from a grower's perspective entails the full use of the natural biological cycles, reducing as much as possible the use of purchased inputs, and reducing the frantic work schedules of many farm families. Developing sustainable approaches to agriculture is one of the most difficult challenges facing growers and scientists today. Since 1996 transgenic plants, especially corn, soybean, and cotton, have become popular with growers in the U.S. In general, insect-resistant crops can lead to reduced chemical input, less polluted water, and maintenance or increase of biodiversity. Herbicide-tolerant crops can lead to the use of safer chemicals, less tillage, reduced soil erosion, and less polluted water. By these measures, biotech crops are important tools for sustainable agriculture. |
