The Statistics of Canada

Many definitions of food security exist, and these have been the subject of much debate. As early as 1992, Maxwell and Smith (1992) reviewed more than 180 items discussing concepts and definitions, and more definitions have been formulated since (DEFRA, 2006). Whereas many earlier definitions centered on food production, more recent definitions highlight access to food, in keeping with the 1996 World Food Summit definition (FAO, 1996) that food security is met when “all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” Worldwide attention on food access was given impetus by the food “price spike” in 2007–2008, triggered by a complex set of long- and short-term factors (FAO, 2009b; von Braun and Torero, 2009). FAO concluded, “provisional estimates show that, in 2007, 75 million more people were added to the total number of undernourished relative to 2003–05” (FAO, 2008); this is arguably a low-end estimate (Headey and Fan, 2010). More than enough food is currently produced per capita to feed the global population, yet about 870 million people remained hungry in the period from 2010 to 2012 (FAO et al., 2012). The questions for this chapter are how far climate and its change affect current food production systems and food security and the extent to which they will do so in the future (Figure 7-1).

Food security and food production systems

Introduction, Allen V. Barker and David J. Pilbeam Essential Elements-Macronutrients Nitrogen, Allen V. Barker and Gretchen M. Bryson Phosphorus, Charles A. Sanchez Potassium, Konrad Mengel Calcium, David J. Pilbeam and Philip S. Morley Magnesium, Donald J. Merhaut Sulfur, Silvia Haneklaus, Elke Bloem, Ewald Schnug, Luit J. de Kok and Ineke Stulen Essential Elements-Micronutrients Boron, Umesh C. Gupta Chlorine, Joseph R. Heckman Copper, David E. Kopsel and Dean A. Kopsell Iron, Volker Roemheld and Miroslav Nikolic Manganese, Julia M. Humphries, James C.R. Stangoulis, and Robin D. Graham Molybdenum, Russell L. Hamlin Nickel, Patrick H. Brown Zinc, J. Benton Storey Beneficial Elements Aluminum, Susan C. Miyasaka, N.V. Hue, and Michael A. Dunn Cobalt, Geeta Talukder and Archana Sharmaz Selenium, Dean A. Kopsell and David E. Kopsell Silicon, George H. Snyder, Vladimir V. Matichenkov and Lawrence E. Datnoff Sodium, John Gorham Vanadium, David J Pilbeam and K Drihem Conclusion, Allen V. Barker and David J Pilbeam

Handbook of plant nutrition

Intensive soil fertilization with mineral fertilizers has led to several issues such as high cost, nitrate pollution and loss of soil carbon. Fertilization with organic matter such as compost therefore represents an alternative for sustainable agriculture. Traditional organic amendments such as manures, composts and sewage sludge have been extensively studied in the past. However, applications of biogas digestates and their impacts on the environment and human health are still unexplored. Recent articles report the agricultural potential and conflicting results of digestate performances. As a consequence, the effectiveness of digestate as organic amendment and fertilizer is still under debate. Here we review the legislative, chemical, agronomic and environmental literature on anaerobic digestates. We found that digestates can be considered as organic amendments or organic fertilizers, when properly handled and managed. Indeed we further show that anaerobic digestates have a higher potential to harm the environment and human health than undigested animal manures and slurries. The main points are the following: (1) Most solid digestates comply with the European organic matter minimal requirement for an organic amendment; (2) the fertilizer values of liquid digestates lie between those of livestock manures and inorganic fertilizers; (3) anaerobic digestates have higher NH3 emission potential than undigested animal manures and slurries and, consequently, pose a greater risk to the broad environment; (4) high Cu and Zn concentrations in digestates from co-digestion of pig and cattle slurry feedstock could jeopardize the sustainability of agricultural soils and (5) high Mn concentrations in digestates can induce Mn toxicity in agricultural soils, upon repeated applications.

/pdf/agricultural-benefits-and-environmental-risks-of-soil-tchjm9ygqa.pdf

Agricultural benefits and environmental risks of soil fertilization with anaerobic digestates: a review.

Control of soil-borne plant pests using glucosinolate-containing plants

Fall-planted rapeseed and sudangrass were evaluated for weed control in potato during a two-year study. Rapeseed incorporated in the spring in a loamy sand soil reduced weed density 85 and 73% in 1992 and 1993, respectively, and reduced weed biomass 96 and 50% in 1992 and 1993, respectively, in following potato crops compared to potato after fallow. Potato following rapeseed yielded 25% and 17% more total tuber weight than potato following sudangrass in 1992 and fallow in 1993, respectively. In greenhouse trials, rapeseed tissue added to a loamy sand soil at 20 g fresh weight per 400 g dry soil reduced biomass of hairy nightshade and longspine sandbur by 90 and 83%, respectively. Similarly, white mustard tissue added at 20 g fresh weight per 400 g dry soil reduced biomass of hairy nightshade and green foxtail by 83 and 70%, respectively.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3988342.pdf

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) Green Manure Crop Suppresses Weeds in Potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Weed suppression in green pea was evaluated when green pea was planted after a fall planting of rapeseed, white mustard, rye, or wheat had been incorporated into the soil in spring. Tests were conducted at Mount Vernon, WA, in 1994 and 1995. Weed suppression in peas varied between different green manure crops. One month after planting, the highest weed population was in green pea following wheat, whereas the lowest was in green pea following rapeseed. Rye and white mustard suppressed early weeds relative to wheat by 25 and 30%, respectively. However, at harvest, weed density was similar in green pea planted after all green manure crops. Weed suppression improved when cultivation or metribuzin at 0.14 kg ha−1 was used in combination with white mustard, rapeseed, or rye. Pea population was not affected by green manure crops, except for rapeseed, which reduced pea population. In greenhouse experiments, white mustard added to the soil at 20 g per 400 g air dry soil reduced emergence of shepherd's-purse, kochia, and green foxtail by 97, 54, and 49%, respectively. Rapeseed suppressed emergence of shepherd's-purse, kochia, and green foxtail by 76, 25, and 25%, respectively.

Weed suppression with Brassica green manure crops in green pea.

Several members of the crucifer family (Brassicaceae), including white mustard (Brassica hirta Moench), brown mustard [B. juncea (L.) Coss], black mustard [B. nigra (L.) Koch], leafy turnip (B. campestris L.), rapeseed (B. napus L.), and garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.) were examined for their potential as allelopathic green manure crops. Hemp sesbania [Sesbania exaltata (Raf.) Rydb. Ex A. W. Hill] germination and fresh weight was inhibited by chopped leaf tissues of all green manures tested, including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), when added to a sandy loam soil. Wheat seed germination was inhibited only by B. nigra, B. hirta, and L. sativum, although none of the treatments reduced fresh weight of germinated seedlings. The major volatiles released by chopped plants were determined by solid-phase microextraction sampling and identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Volatiles included allyl isothiocyanate (allyl-ITC), 3-butenyl isothiocyanate, benzyl isothiocyanate (benzyl-ITC), cis-3-hexen-1-ol, and trans-2-hexenal. These compounds, together with methyl-ITC (methyl-ITC), β-phenylethyl-ITC, benzaldehyde, β-ocimene, and α-farnesene were tested for inhibition of seed germination of several crop and weed species when applied as volatiles. Of these, allyl-ITC and methyl-ITC were the most inhibitory, completely inhibiting the germination of all species at a headspace gas concentration of 1 ppm in airtight glass containers. Selecting mustard green manures that release high levels of allyl-ITC would appear to be optimal for allelopathic activity, and plants that produce high levels of benzyl-ITC also appear promising.

Volatile Allelochemicals Released by Crucifer Green Manures

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita L.) was transformed with various gene constructs to evaluate the utility of metabolic engineering for improving essential oil yield and composition. Oil yield increases were achieved by overexpressing genes involved in the supply of precursors through the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway. Two-gene combinations to enhance both oil yield and composition in a single transgenic line were assessed as well. The most promising results were obtained by transforming plants expressing an antisense version of (+)-menthofuran synthase, which is critical for adjusting the levels of specific undesirable oil constituents, with a construct for the overexpression of the MEP pathway gene 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (up to 61% oil yield increase over wild-type controls with low levels of the undesirable side-product (+)-menthofuran and its intermediate (+)-pulegone). Elite transgenic lines were advanced to multiyear field trials, which demonstrated consistent oil yield increases of up to 78% over wild-type controls and desirable effects on oil composition under commercial growth conditions. The transgenic expression of a gene encoding (+)-limonene synthase was used to accumulate elevated levels of (+)-limonene, which allows oil derived from transgenic plants to be recognized during the processing of commercial formulations containing peppermint oil. Our study illustrates the utility of metabolic engineering for the sustainable agricultural production of high quality essential oils at a competitive cost.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/108/41/16944.full.pdf

Improving peppermint essential oil yield and composition by metabolic engineering

An assessment of the potential impact of climate change and the concurrent increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration on eastern Washington State agriculture was conducted. Climate projections from four selected general circulation models (GCM) were chosen, and the assessment included the crops with larger economic value for the state (apples, potatoes, and wheat). To evaluate crop performance, a cropping system simulation model (CropSyst) was utilized using historical and future climate sequences. Crops were assumed to receive adequate water (irrigated crops), nutrients, and control of weeds, pests and diseases. Results project that the impact of climate change on eastern Washington agriculture will be generally mild in the short term (i.e., next two decades), but increasingly detrimental with time (potential yield losses reaching 25% for some crops by the end of the century). However, CO2 elevation is expected to provide significant mitigation, and in fact result in yield gains for some crops. The combination of increased CO2 and adaptive management may result in yield benefits for all crops. One limitation of the study is that water supply was assumed sufficient for irrigated crops, but other studies suggest that it may decrease in many locations due to climate change.

/pdf/assessment-of-climate-change-impact-on-eastern-washington-57rormaitp.pdf

Rick A. Boydston

Papers

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) Green Manure Crop Suppresses Weeds in Potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Weed suppression with Brassica green manure crops in green pea.

Volatile Allelochemicals Released by Crucifer Green Manures

Improving peppermint essential oil yield and composition by metabolic engineering

Assessment of climate change impact on Eastern Washington agriculture