A key element of sustainable land management is maintenance of soil quality. We designed this study to compare the impact of land use and landform on soil quality attributes that vary at the plot level, or fine scale, using a framework that can be applied in many settings. The research site for this case study was a small catchment in the hillsides of central Honduras where farmers manage a variety of land uses. Fourteen biological, physical, and chemical attributes that affect the ability of a soil to perform key functions related to supporting plant growth were measured and scored. Samples from 20 sites represented different combinations of landform and land use. Quantitative analysis revealed that land use had a greater influence on soil quality than did landform. Soil organic carbon, texture, A horizon thickness, pH, structure, and bulk density accounted for the greatest differences among landform and land use units. Using weighted and additive combinations of the scored attributes to approximate soil quality functions, irrigated agriculture was judged to be the least sustainable land use, and coffee groves and forest patches were the most sustainable. The final soil quality values were sensitive to the weights and attributes chosen for a given function, and additional testing and evaluation were recommended.

Intercropping is an agricultural system widely practiced in the tropics and becoming more widespread in temperate regions. The vast majority of varieties currently grown in intercrop have been developed in and for monoculture, although some breeding programs specifically focused on intercrop systems have been initiated. It is not clear if selection in monoculture is adequate to identify varieties adapted to intercrop, nor is it clear if varieties selected for intercrop performance with one companion will be adapted to another crop combination. The aims of this study were to determine the extent to which selection of corn in monoculture would identify types adapted to growth in corn—bean or corn—clover intercrop, and to determine how selection in one of the intercrops (corn—bean or corn—clover) would compare with selection in the other. The corn used consisted of two groups that had been selected in monoculture, and two that had been selected in corn—bean intercrop. All groups were evaluated in monoculture, corn-bean intercrop, and corn—clover intercrop. Analysis of variance showed that the ranking of the four selection groups was not significantly different when the two intercrops were compared, but was significantly different (P < 0.05 for comparison of clover intercrop and monoculture, and P = 0.07 for comparison of bean intercrop and monoculture) when either of the two intercrops was compared with monoculture. Correlation analysis of corn traits and corn yield in the three cropping systems revealed more similarities between the intercrops than between either intercrop and monoculture. Plant height and leaf area index were more strongly negatively correlated with days to flower in both intercrops than in monoculture. Correlation analysis also revealed some differences between the intercrops, particularly with bean and clover yields. Clover yields were not adversely affected by early growth and maturity of corn, but bean yields were. We conclude that selection of corn in monoculture is not ideal when lines adapted to cornclover intercrop or corn—bean intercrop are desired. Furthermore, selection in either intercrop will identify corn types adapted to the other, as early vigor and maturity allow best corn performance in both crop combinations. Thus, individualized breeding programs may not be required to adapt a crop to growth in association with relatively different companions.

This paper examines the effects of irrigation practices and related activities on the environment and human health in the West Bank. Irrigated agriculture in the West Bank covers an area of 9,473 ha and utilizes 93 million cubic meters of irrigation water annually. The current annual use of fertilizers in the irrigated areas is 18,980 tons of chemical fertilizers and 198,900 to 265,200 tons of organic fertilizers. The total annual use of pesticides (excluding methyl bromide) in irrigated agriculture is 153 tons, of which 27 tons are internationally banned products. Methyl bromide is a dominant soil fumigant in the West Bank with a total estimated annual use of 400 tons, 44% of which is used on vegetables planted in plastic houses and high plastic tunnels. The soil solarization method to control soil-borne diseases is used by only 0.5% of the surveyed farmers. This study indicates that some farmers have suffered health problems due to exposure to pesticides, from the lack of protective clothing. Of the surveyed farmers, 19% suffer from poisoning symptoms and 1% are affected by methyl bromide fumigants. The total quantity of plastic sheets was estimated at 4,750 tons, at least 50% of which becomes waste. Eighty-eight percent of the surveyed farmers collect and burn the plastic wastes on the field, which could harm both the environment and human health through toxic fumes. Some water-related diseases occurred in the study area. Seventy-nine people were affected by leishmaniasis and 14 others by dysentery. Despite the heavy use of fertilizers, water quality analysis did not show high concentrations of nitrate.

Although consumers have a high opinion of locally grown produce, they do not consider origin as important as other factors in produce selection. Inconvenience is a major barrier to purchasing local produce. In a rural community in Maine, the Farm Fresh Project tested an intervention designed to exploit consumers' high regard for locally grown produce and also overcome the inconvenience of buying it. Each week for six weeks in the summer of 1997, employees at three worksites were offered tastings of locally grown produce, information about the produce, and an opportunity to order it at their workplaces. Changes in purchases of locally grown produce were compared with changes among employees at three matched control worksites. More than a quarter of workers at intervention worksites ordered produce through the project. Significant numbers of employees at intervention worksites who had not bought locally grown produce earlier in the summer bought it at outlets in the community during the four weeks following the intervention. Visits to the community farmers' market, purchases at roadside stands, pick-your-own purchases, and purchases of locally grown produce, both overall and at locations other than at the farmers' market, increased significantly in the intervention group. Among workers at control sites, only roadside stand purchases increased significantly. It appears that the opportunity to taste and purchase locally grown produce at a convenient venue, the workplace, motivated consumers to overcome barriers to purchasing locally grown produce at less convenient venues outside of the workplace. Temporary farm stands at workplaces may offer a promising new direct market for farmers.

Nearly 32% of consumers surveyed at four supermarkets and one private direct market in New Jersey reported having prior awareness of integrated pest management (IPM). However, knowledge of IPM does not appear homogeneous across all demographic segments. This study empirically evaluates which socioeconomic characteristics suggest that a consumer will be more likely to have existing knowledge of IPM. Results indicate that those who had higher levels of education, had visited a farmers' market within the previous five years, had no children, grew fruits and vegetables at home, were female, or had regularly used media reports about food safety were more likely to claim awareness of IPM.

Farming systems are often complex elaborations of the human societies to which they belong, with many traditional and social implications. Untangling the main social and structural constraints may improve productivity without an increase in environmental costs. Integration of cereal and sheep farming throughout the Mediterranean basin has been traditional. Mutually beneficial relationships between the sheep industry and cereal farming, and the vital role of forage legumes in meeting the modest needs of sheep for nitrogen, are stressed. This agropastoral system, however, is endangered in central Spain mainly because the pastoralist (sheep owner) is land-less, while the cultivator (land owner) has little interest in enforcing the law; fees for grazing rights are very low. Farmers, particularly young farmers, reject the current sheep operation because of the harsh working conditions. Restructuring of the grazing system would require a new policy scenario that would link European Union farm subsidies to structural reforms and would stress cooperative behavior.