Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-bslzr Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2025-03-16T06:15:18.547Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Organic Fertilisation, Soil Quality and Human Health. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 9. Edited by E. Lichtfouse. New York: Springer (2012), pp. 352, £135.00. ISBN 978-94-007-4113-3.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2012

Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Type
Book Review
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

This book is an eclectic collection of 11 scientific reviews in crop production and soil science. It follows previous books in the series by covering a range of themes related to sustainable agriculture. Topics range from conservation tillage, to tomato production for human health, to jute biology and cultivation, to organic and mineral fertilisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. For two of the chapters, including one on mineral fertilisation and the use of plant growth retardants in cotton, it is difficult to see any connection with the theme of sustainable agriculture, however broadly defined sustainability may be. Each of the review papers stands alone and there are no summarising or introductory chapters that would link various contributions. The reviews vary in their scope, length and quality. Some suffer from several spelling and grammatical errors, and include a number of relatively low-quality reproductions of black and white photographs. Generally, the reviews provide an up-to-date picture of the state of the art, but mostly remain limited in the extent to which they present novel concepts, critical assessments of current developments in sustainable agriculture and alternative strategies for future development. However, the book also contains excellent contributions, including a concise review of no-till agriculture in the United States and a comprehensive overview of recent research on the use of by-products from biofuel production as organic soil amendments.