Outlook on Agriculture

Fruit growing in Alto Adige has steadily increased in importance since the post-World War II introduction of anti-hoar-frost overhead irrigation systems. An early awareness of constraints due to the scarcity and high cost of labour has led to the adoption of close-planting systems and older varieties are rapidly being supplanted by more commercially acceptable ones. But the undoubted success of the area depends largely upon the widespread and effective official Advisory Service.

The European Economic Community is practically self-sufficient for vegetables and for fruit other than citrus and tropical fruit. British entry to the Community has brought trade advantages to the horticultural sector of Continental EEC countries and a greater choice of European produce to the British consumer, but the policy of market intervention needs reviewing. A return to free competition backed by a market guidance system could result in more stable prices and less waste.

Plantio Direto is the name for direct-drilling in Brasil. With a continuous and highly profitable wheat/soya bean rotation giving two crops a year sowing dates are highly critical. Plantio Direto, by materially reducing seed-bed preparation time, permits optimum sowing with resulting increased yields. In the long term, by maintaining crop residues on the soil surface and reducing the need for heavy equipment cultivations, soil structure is improved and erosion is controlled.

Integrated control of pests in the context of small-farm peasant agriculture in the under-developed tropics is not an option which may be adopted at some future date when long-term studies have been completed. The urgency of the problem, particularly in disaster areas such as the Sahel region of West Africa, demands more immediate remedial action. Since new methods must be carefully grafted on to the old, a greatly expanded technically educated extension service is called for.

It is often necessary to re-examine terms whose meaning has become obscured by constant use. Integrated control of pests, diseases and weeds implies the balanced use of such measures, cultural, biological and chemical, as are most appropriate to a particular situation in the light of careful study of all the factors involved. For the foreseeable future it is as likely to imply an increased use of pesticides in peasant agriculture as it is a reduced use in more intensive cultivations.

The termites that attack crops have a wide variety of life-styles ranging from small simple colonies living inside their food source, to large societies with complex highly-organised nest systems. The tendency to think of termites and their damage collectively may lead to unnecessary or ineffective control measures. Assessment of hazard-levels, and the economics of termite control must be based upon accurate identification supported by a detailed knowledge of their biology and ecology.

Nitrification and the leaching of nitrate in soil greatly influence the amount of nitrogen available for crop growth. Simple equations derived from a study of the mechanisms of these processes may be used for making rapid field estimates of both the release of nitrate from ammonium and the leaching of nitrate through the soil. Their use may also suggest ways of modifying the amount and timing of applications in order to make better use of nitrogenous fertilizers.