Preface

Agricultural production is in a period of rapid transformation involving an increase in the use of biotechnology, synthetic chemistry, biological chemicals and biopesticides. These disciplines are integrated with improvements in application technology, digital farming and the use of big data. Whilst offering unique opportunities to reduce potential environmental impacts, these advances also raise new environmental concerns.

This book provides an overview of the changes occurring in the agricultural industry, highlighting opportunities to address impacts and indicating potential barriers to adoption of new technology. This edition has been updated to include the very latest in agricultural developments, including organic farming and genetically modified crops. It will be of value to students and academics in agricultural colleges, as well as farmers and landowners and those working on agricultural legislation.

In the first chapter, Laura McConnell and her colleagues from Bayer CropScience have reviewed the ways in which agricultural technologies can be integrated in order to minimise their environmental impacts. Against a background of increasing world population, growing numbers of undernourished people, changes in climate that impact on agricultural productivity, including changes in rainfall patterns, and the urgent need for increased yields in food production, the role of the agrochemical industry and growth in the area of agricultural biologicals is discussed. Precision agriculture, enhanced by digital farming technologies, is of increasing importance in raising productivity levels and improving the sustainability of crop production. Improved synthetic pesticides lessen the risks to humans and wildlife and emerging technologies such as genetic engineering are of growing significance. Land management and regulatory controls also are addressed here.

Agricultural productivity is heavily dependent on the application of fertiliser nutrients to land, but inefficient use can cause environmental damage. Chapter 2, by Richard McDowell and his colleagues from New Zealand and Wales, outlines our current understanding of vital N and P use efficiencies by crops and the range and cost-effectiveness of strategies to mitigate fertiliser losses that result in contamination of freshwater. Equally important to agricultural productivity is the use of pesticides, including fungicides, insecticides, molluscicides and plant-growth regulators, herbicides. In addition to their treatment in Chapter 1, these are given special attention in Chapter 3 by Steven Bailey and colleagues from Natural England and Harper Adams University. Their wide-ranging treatment addresses in detail three current issues of concern: impacts on terrestrial wildlife and biodiversity, the development of resistance, and contamination of water by pesticides.

Chapter 4 is concerned with agroecology and organic farming as approaches to reducing the environmental impacts of agricultural chemicals. Nic Lampkin and his colleagues from the Organic Research Centre in Newbury, UK, describe how these approaches can be advantageous for biodiversity, resource use and emissions, but with potential trade-offs against productivity and profitability. These, however, can be mitigated through the use of specialist markets for organic products and through agri-environmental support or payment for ecosystem services. The chapter includes international comparisons and details the measures needed for financial viability. At the other end of the spectrum of agricultural practices, Chapter 5 deals with the subject of crop biotechnology for weed and insect control. Written by Huw Jones of Aberystwyth University, this describes the rapid uptake and widespread use of GM crop varieties with tolerance to herbicides and resistance to insect pests. However, this remains a highly controversial area, particularly for food crops such as soybean, maize and sugar beet. GM insect-resistant (Bt) cotton, on the other hand, has been widely adopted throughout the world, not only showing resistance to the traditional bollworm and budworm pests but also being associated with increases in beneficial arthropod predators, such as ladybirds and spiders, and a decrease in aphid pests. There are many regulatory hurdles to overcome for future growth of GM crop cultivation but the pressure for increased agricultural output and efficiency together with the development of new, highly specific gene-editing techniques are powerful drivers.

The final two chapters in the book are focused on the particular areas of aquaculture and horticulture. In Chapter 6, Colin Moffat, head of science at Marine Scotland, describes both the benefits and hazards of aquaculture for food production. Seafood is well known for being highly nutritious; seaweed is widely used in food around the world, but particularly in China and Japan; freshwater fish species such as trout and carp have been popular throughout history; shellfish similarly have been found to be a part of the human diet at least as far back as the Bronze Age. Aquaculture, the managed production of marine or freshwater animals and plants, is the world's fastest-growing system for food production, currently producing more than 70 million tonnes annually, the bulk of this in Asia. The chapter reviews the use of chemicals and pharmaceuticals in aquaculture for the control of pests, disease and parasites, and the environmental hazard that these present.

Chapter 7, written by Rosemary Collier of the University of Warwick and her colleagues from NIAB at East Malling, is concerned with the wide range of plant families encompassed by the term horticulture. These include fruit, vegetables and ornamentals grown to provide cut flowers, pot, garden or landscaping plants; both outdoor and protected crops in glasshouses and polytunnels are also referenced. Although these crops occupy a relatively small footprint in comparison with arable crops and grassland supporting livestock, they often require more intensive use of fertilisers and pesticides in order to achieve the appearance and quality criteria that determine market value. The chapter summarises crop production methods, focusing on the use of agricultural chemicals and potential approaches to reducing their environmental impact; case studies on carrot production and integrated pest and disease management in apple orchards are included.

Ronald E. Hester

Roy M. Harrison