Process-based models remain the gold standard in crop modeling as one is able to study the relationship between weather and all phases of crop growth in a range of weather possibilities, even those lying outside the historical record . California field crops have been modeled using DAYCENT . Both studies highlight resilience of alfalfa yield…

Supplementary Fig. 6 also shows similar diurnal cycles of PBLH in polluted and less polluted areas. Therefore, despite local aerosol-PBL interactions, a shifted burning cycle on an hourly basis is not likely to significantly affect the broad patterns of PBLH and the timing effects of emissions. However, further investigation will be needed to evaluate how…

Econometric approaches illustrate that California agricultural land value may be particularly vulnerable to changes in surface water supply and nonlinear temperature effects . Deschenes and Kolstad also illustrate that farm profits may be more responsive to climate than annual fluctuations in temperature and precipitation. Several analyses illuminate our understanding of adaptive capacity. The overarching focus for many…

AGRA and Monsanto attempts at export-led solutions are not comprehensive. Post harvest technologies must be a part of the broader food security agenda. Production-driven initiatives display a disproportionate concern for yields and less concern for food as it travels through the food chain. These partially planned initiatives contribute to delayed success and continued hunger. Rather than investments…

ESEM micrographs of UW5-inoculated biochar depict many regions comprised of globular matrices with refraction indices that differed from biochar surfaces . These regions were typical of all inoculated biochar particles and were not on non-inoculated biochar surfaces . Additionally, igures 2.1 c-d show images indicating the presence of viable GFP expressing cells adhering to the biochar.…

However, there is no simple relationship between yields and amounts of land used for production—often, yield intensification leads to agricultural expansion and conversion of natural habitats in a phenomenon known as the Jevon’s paradox. Further, alternative systems are not always less productive or profitable. In fact, our results suggest that further investment in research into…

To quantify the efficiency of pesticide delivery at the root level, I solved the model for the Cy5 dispersion constant Dp and the rate constant of Cy5 absorption to soil kPS . I then used the average values of DNP, kNPS, Dp and kPS to optimally estimate kPF, . Again, the model output matched the…

Increasing the concentration of unsaturated phospholipids ensures that the lipid bilayer is permeable, whereas saturated phospholipids make the barrier impermeable. By controlling the lipid composition and length of the fatty acid chains, liposomal nanocarriers can be engineered to respond to temperature and/or pH, allowing the controlled release of the active ingredient under physiological conditions that are specific…

However evidence elsewhere in the literature exists that suggest possible mechanisms. Using data from Zimbabwe Hoddinott and Kinsey find that children exposed to the 1995 drought while they were one to three years are shorter. Alderman et al. find that short run height deficits from exposure to civil war or drought in Zimbabwe during childhood are…

Because pyrethroids tightly bind to the soil, the most common transport mechanism off-farms and into nearby waterways is on suspended solids . While pyrethroids have a short half-life in aqueous solutions, one California study found that bifenthrin, a pyrethriod commonly applied to strawberries in the Central Coast and one of the pesticides that showed to…