This book addresses herbicides and their use as an important aspect of modern weed management and strives to place them in an ecological framework. Many weed scientists believe agriculture is a continuing struggle with weeds--without good weed control, good and profitable agriculture is impossible. Each agricultural discipline sees itself as central to agriculture's success and continued progress, and weed science is no exception. While not denying the importance of weed management to successful agriculture, this book places it in a larger ecological context. The roles of culture, economics, and politics in weed management are also discussed, enabling scientists and students to understand the larger effects on society.
Volume 56 contains six reviews covering key contemporary topics on crop and soil sciences. Three chapters focus on soils: heath and sustainability, phytoremediation of contaminated soils, and sorption by soils. The other three chapters focus upon the control of weeds, the improvement of drought tolerance in plants, and corn and aflatoxins. With this latest volume, Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a prolific and first-rate reference by the scientific community. In 1993 Advances in Agronomy increased its publication frequency to three volumes per year, and will continue this trend as the breadth of agronomic inquiry and knowledge continues to grow.