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Enhancing multifunctional benefits of living mulch in organic vegetable cropping systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2017

S. Canali ,
M. Diacono ,
F. Montemurro  and
K. Delate
S. Canali*
Affiliation:
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria—Centro di ricerca Agricoltura e Ambiente, Via della Navicella, 2 00184 Rome, Italy.
M. Diacono
Affiliation:
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria—Centro di ricerca Agricoltura e Ambiente, Via Celso Ulpiani 5, 70125—Bari, Italy.
F. Montemurro
Affiliation:
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria—Centro di ricerca Agricoltura e Ambiente, Via Celso Ulpiani 5, 70125—Bari, Italy.
K. Delate
Affiliation:
Departments of Agronomy and Horticulture, Iowa State University, IA 50011, USA.
*
*Corresponding author: stefano.canali@crea.gov.it
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Extract

Over the last several decades, agriculture in industrialized countries experienced a significant intensification as a result of the diffusion of mechanization, the widespread use of genetically improved genotypes, and the large-scale use of off-farm inputs, mainly in the form of fossil fuel energy and synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Under the pressure of the growing agro-industrial sector, which has been oriented to promote models based on large volumes and long-distance supply chains, intensification was accompanied by progressive specialization of farms and cropping systems (Ratnadass et al., 2012). Indeed, the reduction of diversity at the field, farm, and territory level, a result of a low number of crops, the shortening of crop rotations, and a decrease in the number of cultivated genotypes, is becoming evident in many agro-environments in developed countries.

Type
Introduction: Themed Content: Living Mulch
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 32 , Special Issue 3: Living Mulch , June 2017 , pp. 197 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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