-
On-farm strategies for preventing pig diseases: improving biosecurity
Pigs are susceptible to a wide range of diseases that can affect health, welfare and productivity. The implementation of biosecurity measures along the production chain is one of the major solutions to minimize the risk of introduction of diseases into a farm (external biosecurity), as well as th...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Optimizing the health of gilts and sows during pregnancy and parturition
Pregnancy and parturition are sensitive phases of the production cycle in the sow. Indeed, production diseases such as post partum dysgalactia syndrome (PDS) and vaginal discharge syndrome (VDS) appear in the peri- or postpartum period. Social stress and seasonal disruption of pregnancy in group ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Improving disease surveillance and monitoring systems in pig herds
Disease monitoring and surveillance are valuable tools which are commonly used today in pig production in order to better monitor and manage the health of the pig herds. Developing the proper disease monitoring program requires a general understanding of all factors which could significantly imp...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding the development of immune function in pigs
Medicine preventive programs in swine medicine are focused on minimising the negative effects of diseases on pig production. In the case of neonatal diseases, the acquisition of maternally derived acquired immunity , through colostrum ingestion, is critical to providing enough humoral and cellula...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Managing feed to optimize pig health
Pigs face challenges to their health and well-being throughout their lifetimes. Proper nutrition may increase their resilience and prevent disease. In this chapter, we first discuss the essential contribution of balanced energy and protein levels to achieving optimal health and performance. We th...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Assessing the effects of crop residue retention on soil health
Crop residues are the most accessible form of plant residues. Conventional agricultural cropping systems rely on synthetic fertilizer; however, these systems also require regular organic inputs from crop residue, root biomass, and rhizodeposition to maintain soil organic matter (SOM), improve soi...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
The role of liming in improving soil health
Soil acidity is a threat to a healthy soil with far-reaching consequences, both direct and indirect, on soil chemical and physical properties, impacting the growth, health and composition of organisms growing in a soil and with potential for negative off-site impacts. All agricultural production ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Assessing the effects of no-till cultivation practices on soil health
The goal of this chapter is to assess the effect of no-till (NT) practices on soil health. NT is a long-established method for controlling erosion, and has been increasingly recognized as improving soil physical, chemical, and biological health without compromising yield. This chapter explores t...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £0.00Unit price per -
Biofertilizers: assessing the effects of plant growth-promoting bacteria (pgpb) or rhizobacteria (pgpr) on soil and plant health
Modern agriculture relies on the extensive use of chemicals to combat plant diseases and increase agricultural productivity which leads to health and environmental hazards. In the recent past, soil microorganisms, such as the plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) or rhizobacteria (PGPR), have em...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Mycorrhizae and soil health
Mycorrhizal fungi establish symbiotic associations with roots of ~80% of plant families and have an important role in sustaining plant growth and soil health. This chapter explores the diverse roles of mycorrhizal fungi in mediating soil ecosystem services and improving soil health, including agg...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Assessing the effect of biosolids on soil health
This chapter reviews the evidence for both the beneficial and potentially harmful effects of biosolids application on soil health, and highlights areas where further research is still required.
Regular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Soil health: towards a sustainable world
Soil health is one of the most popular research agendas in current agriculture science. It has been addressed to some extent for centuries, but today we have the scientific tools to examine and quantify chemical, physical and biological aspects of soil. The link of soil health to human and anima...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Understanding biological processes in soil
Soil health fundamentally reflects biological processes in the soil ecosystem. The development of soil health frameworks and associated indicators have increasingly prioritized biologically relevant characteristics of soil. Some of these properties, like soil organic carbon, reflect resources ava...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Biofertilizers: assessing the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on soil health
This chapter discusses the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi biofertilizers on soil health. It begins by addressing the key issues of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil health, specifically focusing on improved soil structure and stability, soil contamination, carbon sequestration and nu...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Cover crops for soil health
Cover crops are accessory plants integrated in production agriculture as means to enhance organic inputs and diversification, both above and belowground. The living cover provides a bundle of environmental services including soil conservation and healthy function. This chapter reviews the literat...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Assessing the effects of compost on soil health
As agricultural producers embrace the principles of the circular economy and regenerative practices, the use of organic fertilizers is becoming increasingly common. Composting is a robust, low-cost technology that stabilizes organic waste materials into organic fertilizers that can be safely appl...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Agricultural traffic management systems and soil health
This chapter examines the relationship between agricultural traffic and soil compaction. It begins by reviewing research on how agricultural traffic affects soil compaction as well as ways of measuring soil compaction and its effects. It then discusses a range of potential techniques to avoid soi...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Assessing the effects of using animal manure on soil health
This chapter reviews the impacts associated with the application of livestock and poultry manure on the ability of soil to deliver a range of ecosystem services that sustain plants, animals, people and the environment in which they live.
Regular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Fair-trade coffee: how fair is fair?
An important aspect of sustainability that needs discussion is a fair income for producers and laborers involved in agriculture. This chapter discusses what ‘fair’ means and the approach used by some major Voluntary Sustainability Standards to calculate ‘fair’ prices for producers. This is follow...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in arabica coffee breeding: developing and selecting the right varieties
This chapter presents the main components and achievements of the world effort for breeding Arabica coffee and the perspectives for present and future initiatives.
Regular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Ecological perspectives on the coffee leaf rust
This chapter provides an ecological approach to the problem of coffee leaf rust. It first provides a brief overview of the research which has stemmed from a more technocentric approach to understanding and subsequently control CLR. The authors intentionally keep this section brief, but try to hig...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Integrated management of soil-borne insect and fungal pests of coffee
This chapter reviews the main soil-borne insect pests and fungal diseases affecting coffee plants. It begins by assessing insect pests such as termites, leaf-cutting ants, mealybugs, cicadas, root flies and White grubs. In each case, the chapter includes an overview, discussión of pest life cycle...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Insect pests affecting coffee: understanding agroecosystems and alternative methods of control
This chapter reviews some of the most important insect pests affecting coffee plantations worldwide. In each case the chapter discusses the damage they cause, insect biology and ecology, and how this understanding can be used to develop alternative more environmentally-friendly and sustainable me...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Assessing and managing the environmental and social impact of coffee production
This chapter reviews ways of measuring and improving the sustainability of coffee production systems, including good agricultural practices (GAP), life cycle assessment (LCA), ways of calculating the carbon footprint of coffee as well as methods for assessing social impacts. It also discusses way...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
The coffee sector and smallholder farmers
This chapter reviews the role of smallholders in coffee cultivation and the challenges they face. It reviews definitions, size and distribution of this group. The chapter then looks at structure and price volatility in the coffee market and its impact on smallholders, including the effects of the...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Diseases affecting coffee: an overview
Among the various diseases of coffee, leaf rust, black rot, anthracnose, root diseases and nursery diseases are of particular importance, causing considerable damage every year in most coffee regions. Control measures are based on integrated disease management (IDM) techniques which include growi...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Optimizing post-harvest practices in coffee cultivation
The objective of this chapter is to describe how coffee is processed, from picking coffee cherries to green coffee ready to be exported or roasted, and how to optimize each step in the processing chain.
Regular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Integrated weed management in coffee production
Coffee plants show very low initial growth rates and are usually grown in large-spacing inter-rows, which makes the crop highly sensitive to weed species competition. Therefore, the weeds must be efficiently managed. Considering that coffee is grown in many different production-systems worldwide,...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Integrated management of nematodes of coffee
This chapter reviews the main soil-based nematodes affecting coffee plants. In each case, the chapter discusses pest distribution and range, symptoms and damage caused, diagnosis, life cycle and control measures. These include preventative measures to limit movement of infected material, use of r...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Global coffee production and sustainability
This chapter discusses trends in coffee production, particularly factors affecting the low share of global revenue received by smallholders responsible for a large share of production. This situation has profound consequences for the economic and environmental sustainability of smallholder coffee...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Specialty coffees as drivers of change
This chapter reviews the role and importance of specialty coffees. It looks at the emergence of the sector and issues of definition, whether in terms of sensory quality attributes such as a unique flavor, geographical origin or methods of production. As well as factors affecting pricing, it revie...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Incubation and chick health
Artificial incubation is an important part of the poultry production chain, both for broilers and layers. Not only because the success of incubation influences the costs of a day old chick, but it also has an influence on the quality of that chick. This quality is a crucial factor for obtaining o...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Optimizing the health of poultry layers
Commercial egg production is an important part of poultry production worldwide. Table egg production is facing times of change and transition with focus on animal well-being. Several major global trends have impacted egg production in many ways: 1) housing systems, 2) ban on beak treatments, 3) i...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding parasite infections of poultry: protozoa and the red mite
This chapter reviews research on understanding and controlling three of the most widespread and economically-relevant parasites of poultry and the infections they cause: Eimeria species (coccidiosis), Histomonas meleagridis (histomonosis) and Dermanyssus gallinae (the poultry red mite (PRM)). In ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in vaccines to protect poultry against diseases
As one of the fastest growing sectors of livestock farming, poultry industry plays a crucial role in global food security and poverty alleviation. One of the major challenges in sustainable growth of the sector comes from a plethora of diseases, including those caused by diverse set of viruses. W...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Optimizing the health of broiler breeder birds
The main objective in broiler breeder production is to produce fertilized eggs resulting in healthy and robust day-old broiler chicks. Due to the continuing increase in the genetic potential of the offspring and the improved reproduction performance, there is a high need for professional manageme...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding bacterial diseases in poultry: challenges and perspectives
Bacterial diseases in poultry are well known for their negative consequences on animal health, welfare and public health. Recent advancement in scientific research has substantially improved our understanding of pathogen attributes and disease mechanism, thus progress has been made in identificat...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Improving biosecurity in poultry flocks
The last few decades have seen the emergence and re-emergence of several infectious pathogens of importance in poultry. Large production sites have benefitted from biosecurity measures to minimize the impact of these pathogens. Efforts have focused on reducing sources of contamination through cle...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Understanding the molecular biology of avian viruses and their role in poultry health
Different molecular aspects of avian viruses are presented such as the role and importance of capsid proteins and viral glycoproteins in viral pathogenesis, in development of diagnostic methods and the creation of recombinant vaccines is discussed. Mechanisms of viral evolution such as mutation, ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Nutritional strategies to boost immune response in poultry
In this chapter nutritional modulation of immune function, with specific focus on research work from the year 2000 to present, is outlined with respect to immune responsiveness and disease resistance. In order to assess immune enhancement, suppression, and balance, independent sections for vitam...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Modifying photorespiration to optimize crop performance
The initial reaction of CO2 fixation has a shared specificity with oxygen, resulting in the formation of 2-phosphoglycolate, an inhibitory sugar. 2-phosphoglycolate is detoxified by photorespiration, but this recycling requires energy and releases carbon, substantially reducing rates of net CO2 f...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding and improving the nutraceutical properties of cranberries
American cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) are commonly consumed as juice, dried fruit or dietary supplement and a rich source of phytochemicals, particularly A-type proanthocyanidins and anthocyanins. Cranberries are perhaps best known for their protection against urinary tract infections, a b...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding the nutraceutical properties of phenolic compounds in fruits and vegetables
This chapter reviews the range of phenolic compounds in fruits and vegetables. It assesses the effects on phenolic content of factors such as cultivar, stage of growth (ripening), cultivation practices such as use of bio-effectors, and post-harvest stages such as mechanical and thermal processing...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Nutraceutical potential of glucosinolates
Glucosinolates (GLs) are secondary metabolites of plants that are primarily synthesized in the Brassica genus. They are classified into three categories: aliphatics, aromatics or indoles. Isothiocyanates are organosulfur compounds which are typically formed by the enzymatic conversion of indole G...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding and improving the nutraceutical properties of apples
The fruits of Malus domestica are consumed in their own right and also undergo industrial procedures to form different products such as juice, cider, and vinegar. Industrialization creates apple pomace, a residue that can be used for the generation of bioactives, adding value to the raw material,...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Understanding processing of phytochemical compounds in fruits and vegetables in the gut
Phytochemicals are compounds synthesized in plants that result from secondary metabolism. As a part of plant-rich diets, phytochemicals are associated with wide ranging health benefits including antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, anticlotting, anti-inflammatory effects. There are a wide vari...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding the role of plant phytochemicals in preventing cancer
Increased incidences of cancer caused by dysregulated gene expression or dysfunctional genes, in addition to the side effects of chemo- and radio-therapies, have led to studies featuring more natural treatments. Various natural compounds, also called cancer-preventive, and/or phytochemicals posse...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in screening/analysis of phytochemical compounds in fruits and vegetables
Phytochemical compounds have been associated with possible beneficial health effects. Therefore, many studies have been conducted in order to identify and quantify these compounds of interest. Given the characteristics of different methods, it is critical to choose the suitable one to attain high...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Understanding the health benefits and nutraceutical properties of organosulphur compounds in vegetables
Organosulphur compounds are typically identified by their unpleasant odours and comprise a wide variety of sulphur-containing organic molecules, abundant both in nature and in the body, which are found in a variety of vegetables such as garlic, onions, chives and leeks. There are a number of heal...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Understanding the nutraceutical properties of flavonoids in fruits and vegetables: chemical structure and groups
This chapter reviews the nutraceutical properties of flavonoids in fruits and vegetables, focusing specifically on chemical structure and the different groups flavonoids can be catagorised into. The chapter draws attention to flavones, flavonols, flavanones, flavanonols, isoflavones, neoflavonoid...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding the role of plant phytochemicals in preventing cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of illness and death globally. Its incidence has been closely linked to diet. This chapter reviews the complex nature of CVD and its comorbidities. It then assesses the current state of research on the protective and therapeutic effects of a range of ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding the nutraceutical properties of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are considered an excellent source of antioxidants as they contain a considerable amount of biologically active compounds that transmit health benefits that surpass basic nutrition. Common dietary antioxidants which are found in fruits and vegetables include polyphenols, glu...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Health-promoting effects of glucosinolates and their breakdown products
Glucosinolates (GLs) are a large group of secondary metabolites which are found in cruciferous plants such as broccoli, cabbage, and kale and contain nutritional and physiological active properties. Several factors affect composition levels of glucosinolates such as storage conditions, methods of...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding and improving the nutraceutical properties of broccoli and other brassicas
The increasing consumption and popularity of Brassica vegetables can be linked to its nutrient composition and consequent health benefits. This review discusses the available evidence demonstrating the benefits of the Brassica family, particularly broccoli, and offers information to help ensure t...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Understanding the nutraceutical properties of flavonoids in fruits and vegetables: mechanisms of action
The chapter first looks at the antioxidant properties of flavonoids and their role in preventing auto-immune diseases. It then looks at the anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-viral activity of flavonoids and their role in treatment of diabetes. The chapter goes on to discuss the anti-cancer pro...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Agronomic factors affecting phytochemical compounds in fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables significantly benefit human health as they contain a large number of phytochemical compounds. Several strategies can be applied to effectively improve these health-promoting compounds by manipulating various agronomic factors. This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive und...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in testing seed health
Many different plant pathogens can be seed transmitted. In a world of global trade seeds infected with different plant pests are a potential risk. Seed health testing is important to prevent the spread of diseases. For the detection of these seed transmitted pests many methods are available e.g. ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in understanding the genetic and environmental factors determining seed longevity
Longevity is defined as the extent to which seeds can remain alive during storage. It is an essential seed trait that serves to bridge the time between seed abscission until germination, and underpins global agriculture and plant species conservation. Over the past decade, the research field in l...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in seed priming techniques
Seed priming is a technique involving seed hydration and drying which aims to increase germination speed and to synchronize germination to ensure a more uniform crop stand and yield. This chapter focusses on recent developments in priming from the point of view of the seed industry. It assesses t...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in preservation of seed vigour during storage
Anyone acquiring a sample of seeds for growing, would be hopeful that most of the seeds would germinate in a timely manner and regardless of the normal stressors that are apparent in agricultural / horticultural environments, i.e., that the acquired seed lot has high viability and vigour. For see...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Seed dormancy and germination: a critical update
Seeds are the prime source of food in the world, not only from a nutritional point of view but also as the basis of crop production. A key requirement for farmers is vigorous and fast-germinating seed to guarantee a uniform crop of high yield. This is quite opposite to the natural behaviour of se...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Understanding the effects of maternal environment in controlling seed dormancy
The maternal environment explored by the developing seed has decisive importance in shaping the seed dormancy phenotype. Although these effects have started to be recognized several decades ago, only in recent years we began to understand the underlying mechanisms through which the environmental ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Biotic sources of seed losses influencing germination and emergence success in crop plants and agricultural weeds
Yield loss of crop plants to pests, pathogens, and competitors has remained largely undiminished over the last 50 years, representing a significant cost to farmers and a continuing threat to food security. We review the contribution of pathogens and predators to seed losses, distinguishing events...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in seed phenotyping using x-ray imaging
In this chapter, we propose a panel of the imaging techniques dedicated to seed phenotyping. While review articles exist for most of these imaging techniques, X-Ray imaging, which can be considered as the most important one, still lacks of a synthetic overview. This is the focus on X-Ray imaging ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Enhancing seed defence mechanisms against pathogens
Defence priming is defined as the enhanced sensitivity and responsiveness to stress that results from a prior experience and leads to increased resistance and/or stress tolerance. For plants, priming agents may be microorganisms or chemicals. This chapter reviews defense priming against plant pat...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in automatic milking systems
Technology is becoming embedded in different aspects of agriculture. Specifically, automation of the milking process within dairy production systems represents fundamental change for the operator, the cow herd and indeed the whole farm operation. Adoption of automatic milking requires new thinkin...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in acoustic techniques to assess livestock health
In this chapter we give an overview of sound monitoring and the applications for different livestock applications (pigs, poultry, cattle) and perform a critical review on the status of the current technological developments.
Regular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Automated assessment of plant diseases and traits by sensors: how can digital technologies support smart farming and plant breeding?
Plant diseases pose a significant threat to agriculture. Precise and appropriately timed detection and identification of plant diseases is crucial for disease management, and for the selection of resistant and tolerant varieties. The detection of plant diseases by the human eye is dependent on th...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in the use of x-ray computed tomography in crop phenotyping
This chapter addresses the technological parts of a CT system used for crop phenotyping. First, all of the hardware components are described and explained. Thus, it is shown how they are utilized for phenotyping purposes. After that, different system setups and ways of acquiring a CT dataset are ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in monitoring grazing behaviour and automated grazing management in extensive systems
This chapter provides an overview of the development and use of information technology to improve the management and welfare of grazing livestock under extensive systems. It discusses the evolution of grazing management through the animal/pasture interface, and the development and application of ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in on-animal sensors for monitoring livestock
This chapter introduces the concept and history of development of on-animal sensors. It explores the different components that make up these systems and the various challenges and limitations that are faced by developers seeking to operationalize these on commercial livestock farms. The specific ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in automated monitoring of livestock fertility/pregnancy
Livestock production has been characterized by the intensification and specialization of production leading to larger farms and, hence, to more animals per farm worker. Detecting cows in estrus and getting cows pregnant are two of the major challenges in dairy herd management. In addition to the ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in individual-animal feed efficiency monitoring systems for livestock
Feed remains a major cost in livestock farming. Accurate measurement of feed intake by individual animals offers the possibility of significant savings and more efficient production. The use of advanced low-cost cameras and innovative computer vision algorithms is changing feed-intake monitoring ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Using phenotyping techniques to predict and model grain yield: translating phenotyping into genetic gain
Recent models predict population to peak in 2064 at around 9.7 billion, and then will likely decline to about 8.8 billion by 2100. This requires to increase crop production significantly. Precise phenotyping of the large breeding populations under diverse environments is required to harness the f...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Field robots for plant phenotyping
The technology developed within the domain of plant phenotyping provides excellent data-driven tools for plant breeders to use in the collection and description of the relationship between genotyping and environmental factors. Field robots are emerging as sensor-mounted phenotyping platforms, whi...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in the use of thermography in crop phenotyping
Thermography is a powerful crop phenotyping tool because it enables contactless temperature measurement of the plant or crop canopy. The plant canopy temperature (CT) reflects transpiration and this can be related to yield, as shown in numerous studies on wheat. There are various CT sensing metho...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in automated systems for monitoring livestock health: lameness
Lameness is a key issue for commercially managed livestock species such as dairy cattle. Lameness can lead to significant economic impacts for farmers and to ongoing health and welfare problems for animals. However, lameness detection remains a difficult and time-consuming task and there is a nee...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in optical analysis for crop phenotyping
Plant phenotyping technologies have been developing rapidly in the last decades. Among various phenotyping technologies, optical sensing such as RGB, multi-spectral and hyperspectral imaging have become popular and widely applied in different applications. In this chapter, these optical sensors a...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Machine vision techniques to monitor behaviour and health in precision livestock farming
This chapter reviews advances in computer vision-based technologies for precision livestock farming. It also reviews how automation in image analysis can promote smart management of livestock to improve health and welfare. The chapter discusses the main devices for data acquisition in computer-vi...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Meeting computer vision and machine learning challenges in crop phenotyping
Use of imaging data has become more profound with the advent of digital cameras, the internet, and automation. With advances of computer vision, actionable information can now be extracted from images to advance the study of plants and their phenotype. In this chapter we document the experience o...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in automated systems for monitoring livestock health: mastitis
Dairy farmers need on-site, real-time information regarding mastitis occurrence in order to implement appropriate management actions. Technological progress has enabled the use of sensor systems as the basis for mastitis management. In this chapter, we describe the current state of automated mast...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Monitoring and control of livestock housing conditions using precision livestock farming techniques
This chapter discusses the use of precision livestock farming (PLF) techniques to monitor the housing environment in intensive livestock production systems. It discusses the effects of variables such as temperature and humidity on animal productivity, health and welfare. It also shows how environ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £0.00Unit price per -
The role of crop growth models in crop improvement: integrating phenomics, envirotyping and genomic prediction
The chapter highlights the interplay of high throughput phenotyping with crop growth models (CGMs). The chapter shows how crop models can be used to explore knowledge of phenotype, environment and genotype to better understand and predict their complex interrelationships. It describes how CGMs ha...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Using phenotyping techniques to analyse crop functionality and photosynthesis
With climate change the occurrence of extreme weather events will increase, making stress resilience an essential trait for future crop breeding. Whilst we have a good understanding of the effect of single stress factors on photosynthesis, there is a knowledge gap on how combined stresses affect ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
The evolution of trait selection in breeding: from seeing to remote sensing
As the global population moves towards 10 billion people, record high temperatures are being set on an annual basis, while agricultural soils and water resources are experiencing serious attrition. Clearly the challenge of food security is ever more urgent. Increasing genetic gains of staple food...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Advances in high-throughput crop phenotyping using unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs)
The objective of this chapter is to introduce the agronomic community to remote sensing terms and technologies and show how remote sensing methods can be used in field phenotyping. This chapter discusses approaches to UAV remote sensing and data analysis for high-throughput field phenotyping and ...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in activity and location technologies for monitoring cattle movement and behaviour
This chapter reviews the range of options for monitoring cattle location and activity, and highlight the application of these technologies rather than the technical aspects or algorithms behind them. Additionally, the focus will be placed on the research, development and adoption of these technol...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Risk-based measures for prevention and control of african swine fever (asf) in pigs
This chapter highlights the tools currently available for early detection of the presence of African swine fever (ASF) and biosecurity measures to prevent its spread, including adequate cleaning and disinfection (C&D) procedures.
Regular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Optimising the health of weaned piglets
The weaning period is a very stressful event for the piglet that can impact the health, welfare and performance. This period of transition is characterized by the adaptation of newly weaned piglets to their new environment, diet, changing in their immunological status and pathogens circulation th...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Developments in agrivoltaics: achieving synergies by combining plants with solar photovoltaic power systems
Agrivoltaics are renewable energy systems that combine food production with electricity generation from solar photovoltaics (PV). Research and development on agrivoltaics has increased steadily in recent years to address the questions: "How is crop production affected under PV panels?" and "How c...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Energy-smart pig farming
Pig farming plays an important role in providing protein-rich food for consumers worldwide. Consumers increasingly are demanding food with diminishing negative impacts on the environment which encourages pig farmers to adopt renewable energy and more energy-efficient systems to reduce fossil fue...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £0.00Unit price per -
Advances in energy-efficient lighting and ventilation for food production systems
Estimates are that 15 percent of agricultural production costs are energy related. The best way to lower these costs and cut energy consumption is by becoming energy smart. This chapter highlights energy-efficient lighting, considers potential of novel UV technology, acknowledges ventilation adva...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £0.00Unit price per -
Tools and technologies to reduce fossil energy use on dairy farms
With a growing demand for milk and dairy products coupled with concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions, the sustainable use of on-farm energy resources is essential. Milk production requires electrical energy for powering plant equipment, liquid fuels for powering machinery, indirect energy f...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Assessing and modelling the costs of on-farm distributed renewable energy systems
This chapter describes the most relevant costs assessment methodologies and the state-of-the-art research lines regarding the cost of on-farm distributed renewable energy systems (on-farm DG-RES). The analysis of the costs of on-farm DG-RES can be looked at from the perspective of “private” or “p...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Efficient water management and irrigation on farms
The way forward for irrigated agriculture in a warming and water-constrained world lies in integrated policy development and practice, including ‘sustainable intensification’, that considers the ‘food-water-energy nexus’. Such policy should incorporate both climate adaptation and climate mitigati...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £0.00Unit price per -
On-farm biomass technologies for heat and power
Biomass in its various forms, has long been combusted to provide useful heat on farms. Applications include heating of water, crop drying, animal housing, and heated greenhouses for protected vegetable and flower production. Biomass resources are often available on the farm including from crop re...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £0.00Unit price per -
Improving farm machinery operation and maintenance to optimise fuel use efficiency
This chapter discusses energy use and emissions from direct fossil fuel combustion on farms to power farm machinery. It first reviews techniques for optimising tractor fuel consumption as well as developments in fuel-efficient tractor designs. The chapter also discusses energy savings and other b...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Energy-smart innovation and renewable energy systems on farms: an overview
To save costs, increase productivity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy-smart farming is gaining momentum. Direct energy inputs essential for all food production systems, both on farms as well as along the food supply chain, have conventionally been supplied by oil, coal and natural gas...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Measuring and auditing on-farm energy use
Food systems have been divided into several categories; cropping, livestock and fisheries, food processing, packaging, trade, and households. Agricultural operations include all farming operations that occur after the land is cleared and developed, such as tillage, planting, fertilizing, pest con...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per -
Energy-smart poultry farming
This chapter describes how energy is used in poultry production buildings today and discusses the factors that have driven the growth of energy use. It then identifies opportunities toward energy-smart production including existing technologies and management practices that can lead to significan...
Read MoreRegular price £25.00Sale price £25.00 Regular price £25.00Unit price per
We're sorry. An error has occurred
Please cancel or retry.
