Includes bibliographical references and index.

Conservation Agriculture: Concepts, Brief History, and Impacts on Agricultural Systems /Muhammad Farooq, Kadambot H. M. Siddique -- Crop Rotations and Residue Management in Conservation Agriculture /Leonard Rusinamhodzi -- Weed Management in Conservation Agriculture Systems / V.P. Singh, K.K. Barman, Raghwendra Singh, A.R. Sharma -- Nutrient Management Perspectives in Conservation Agriculture / Christos Dordas -- Farm Machinery for Conservation Agriculture / S. Mkomwa, P. Kaumbutho, P. Makungu -- Insect Pest Management in Conservation Agriculture / Ahmad Nawaz, Jam Nazeer Ahmad -- Crop Breeding for Conservation Agriculture / Tariq Mahmood, Richard Trethowan -- Modeling Conservation Agriculture / Bruno Basso, Ryan Nagelkirk, Luigi Sartori --Evolution and Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in the Middle East / Stephen Loss, Atef Haddad, Yaseen Khalil, Abdulsattar Alrijabo, David Feindel, Colin Piggin -- Explaining Adoption and Measuring Impacts of Conservation Agriculture on Productive Efficiency, Income, Poverty, and Food Security in Syria / Y. A. Yigezu, A. Mugera, T. El-Shater, Colin Piggin, Atef Haddad, Yaseen Khalil et al. -- Conservation Agriculture in South Asia / Hafeez-ur- Rehman, Ahmad Nawaz, Abdul Wakeel, Yashpal Singh Saharawat, Muhammad Farooq -- Conservation Agriculture in Southeast Asia / Jean-Claude Legoupil, Pascal Lienhard, Anonh Khamhoung -- Conservation Agriculture in Rainfed Areas of China / Lingling Li, Bill Bellotti, Renzhi Zhang, Hailin Zhang -- Conservation Agriculture in Australia and New Zealand / P. R. Ward, Kadambot H. M. Siddique -- Conservation Agriculture in Europe / G. Basch, T. Friedrich, A. Kassam, E. Gonzalez-Sanchez -- Conservation Agriculture in Latin America / A. Speratti, M.-S. Turmel, A. Calegari, C.F. Araujo-Junior, A. Violic, P. Wall et al. -- Conservation Agriculture in North America / N. C. Hansen, S. Tubbs, F. Fernandez, S. Green, N. E. Hansen, W. B. Stevens -- Conservation Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa / Marc Corbeels, Christian Thierfelder, Leonard Rusinamhodzi -- Conservation Agriculture and Soil Carbon Sequestration / Ch. Srinivasarao, Rattan Lal, Sumanta Kundu, Pravin B Thakur -- Application of Microbiology in Conservation Agriculture / J. Habig, A. I. Hassen, A. Swart -- Conservation Agriculture in Organic Farming: Experiences, Challenges and Opportunities in Europe / J. Peigné, V. Lefevre, J.F. Vian, Ph. Fleury -- Conservation Agriculture and Climate Change / M. Pisante, F. Stagnari, M. Acutis, M. Bindi, L. Brilli, V. Di Stefano et al. -- Farmer Adoption of Conservation Agriculture: A Review and Update / Duncan Knowler.

Conservation agriculture—consisting of four components including permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance, diversified crop rotations and integrated weed management—is considered the principal pathway to sustainable agriculture and the conservation of natural resources and the environment. Leading researchers in the field describe the basic principles of conservation agriculture, and synthesize recent advances and developments in conservation agriculture research. This book is a ready reference on conservation agriculture and reinforces the understanding for its utilization to develop environmentally sustainable and profitable food production systems. The book describes various elements of conservation agriculture; highlights the associated breeding and modeling efforts; analyses the experiences and challenges in conservation agriculture in different regions of the world; and proposes some pragmatic options and new areas of research in this very important area of agriculture. (Book back cover)