sustainable agriculture

• pest control - sustainability problem


  • a reliance on chemical pesticides may be unsustainable
  • use of some pesticides has been banned or restricted due to their impacts on non-target species
  • many pests have developed resistance to pesticides
• pest control - selected sustainability strategies

  • cultural pest control: weeding, mulching, crop rotation, barrier crops, culling, biological control, predator habitats, polyculture/companion crops,
  • integrated control
  • reduced use of antibiotics
• nutrient supplies - sustainability problem

  • current supplies of rock phosphates to produce phosphate fertilisers are non-renewable
• nutrient supplies - selected sustainability strategies

  • increased use of natural processes to supply nutrients
  • recycling of organic matter
  • crop rotation
  • cultivation of legumes
  • conservation of soil biota
• energy inputs - sustainability problem 


  • manufacture of nitrate fertilisers requires large energy inputs from fossil fuels
• energy inputs - selected sustainability strategies

  • reduced use of artificial fertilisers, especially nitrates
  • low tillage techniques
  • low food miles
• gene pool for breeding programmes - sustainability problem

  • gene pools of Crop Wild Relative (CWR) plants include genes that will be important in future breeding programmes
• gene pool for breeding programmes - selected sustainability strategies

  • conservation of habitats that protect CWRs
  • seed banks to conserve biodiversity
• water supplies - sustainability problem

  • over-exploitation of rivers and groundwater reserves
  • soil salinisation caused by using saline irrigation water
• water supplies - selected sustainability strategies


  • cultivation of low water-use crops
  • maintenance of soil and soil organic matter
  • use of reservoirs and aquifer recharge
  • drip irrigation rather than overhead sprays
• carbon dioxide emissions - sustainability problem

  • loss of soil organic matter increases atmospheric CO2 levels
  • CO2 released by fossil fuel use
• carbon dioxide emissions - selected sustainability strategies

  • low-tillage farming to reduce the decomposition of soil organic matter
  • maintain or increase soil organic matter
  • reduced use of machinery
  • use of renewable energy resources
• methane releases - sustainability problem

  • methane produced by anaerobic microbes in rice padi fields and the digestive systems of livestock
• methane releases - selected sustainability strategies

  • cultivation of rice varieties that can tolerate drier conditions so fields can be drained earlier
  • feeding cattle a high carbohydrate diet and grinding their food first reduces methane production
• wildlife biodiversity - sustainability problem

  • loss of species that provide important ecosystem-services such as pest control, nutrient provision and pollination
• wildlife biodiversity - selected sustainability strategies 


  • retain natural and semi-natural ecosystems such as hedgerows, ditches, ponds, woodlands
  • maintenance of soil biota