| |
| Web URL(s): | http://turf.rutgers.edu/research/abstracts/symposium2005.pdf#page=40
Last checked: 11/26/2007
Requires: PDF Reader |
|---|
| Publication Type:
| Report |
|---|
| Author(s): | Funk, Reed;
Molnar, Thomas;
Zhang, Gengyun;
Baxer, Sara |
|---|
| Author Affiliation: | Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers University |
|---|
| Title: | A new green revolution - (Food, energy, environmental enhancement, and mitigation of global warming) |
|---|
| Section: | Poster presentations
Other records with the "Poster presentations" Section
|
|---|
| Meeting Info.: | Cook College, Rutgers, NJ: January 13-14, 2005 |
|---|
| Source: | Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Rutgers Turfgrass Symposium. 2005, p. 39-40. |
|---|
| Publishing Information: | New Brunswick, NJ: Center for Turfgrass Science, Cook College, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |
|---|
| # of Pages: | 2 |
|---|
| Keywords: | TIC Keywords: Biomass; Breeding improvement; Cultivar improvement; Trees; Planting; Habitat improvement; Agriculture; Conservation; Foods
|
|---|
| Abstract/Contents: | "Agricultural scientists and practitioners throughout human history and especially during the past 65 years have made dramatic contributions to our well-being and prosperity. Even greater contributions are urgently needed during future decades and centuries. We have the ability to dramatically improve our environment, lifestyles, health and prosperity by doubling world biomass production to harvest excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This would ensure adequate supplies of more nutritious and health promoting food, reduce our addiction to dependance on fossil fuels, enhace our environment, and mitigate many of the causes of global warming and its disastrous effects. The greatest opportunity for increasing biomass production involves planting trillions of genetically improved trees along with harvesting and replacing dead, dying and mature trees with adapted, productive cultivars to obtain a high percentage of trees in their rapid growth phase. Perennial trees, shrubs, grasses, legumes and forbs adapted to land not suitable for sustainable production of cultivated annual crops will produce much of the added food, timber, fuel, and fiber needed to feed, house and supply energy to the current world's poor and hungry as well as projected population increases of the future. Perennial crops, trees, and turfgrasses will preserve our precious soil and water resources. Genetic improvements of our annual food and fiber crops have been responsible for much of the added food production and prosperity of the past 65 years. Most was due to conventional plant breeding aided by advances in supporting agricultural sciences including pathology, entomology, agronomy, genetics, horticulture, physiology, ecology, biometrics, soil science, etc. These sciences abetted by innovations of agricultural practitioners and advances in molecular sciences and techniques will be the foundation of plant improvement programs of the forseeable future. Land grant colleges with their Agricultural Experiment Stations, teaching, and extension programs, the United States Department of Agriculture and similar research, service, and educational institutions throughout the world will have the opportunity and responsibility to implement these programs. They will require the participation and support of all nations and people. Continued advances in the production of annual food crops will be limited as biological limits to increased yield and feed utilization efficiency are reached and decreasing amounts of fertile soil and other resources become available for production. The greatest current and future opportunities exist in the genetic improvement and culture of hundreds of species of underutilized perennial plants capable of sustainable growth and production on the vast areas of lands unsuitable for cultivated annuals. This will take a gigantic effort and must be started immediately. Genetically improved grasses, legumes and forbs for turf, erosion control, and soil improvement are and will become increasingly important. Many of the world's best soils were formed under grasslands. Properly managed turfs increase soil organic matter and soil structure. Clippings can be used for feed, mulches, biofuels or returned to add fertility. Many hills and mountains throughout the world have suffered deforestation, overgrazing, and unwise tillage. In most instances, conservation plantings of grasses, forbs, and legumes will be needed along with possible soil amendments, to stabilize remaining soild, prevent further erosion, enhance fertility, and add soil organic matter prior to and in addition to the establishment of desirable trees. These extensive turfs will harvest considerable carbon dioxide and furnish biomass for forage and other uses. US exports of turfgrass seed to rapidly developing countries such as China are increasing at a rapid rate. Turf-type tall fescues and other grasses tracing to the Rutgers breeding program are an important part of these exports." |
|---|
| Language: | English |
|---|
| References: | 0 |
|---|
| ASA/CSSA/SSSA Citation (Crop Science-Like - may be incomplete):
Funk, R., T. Molnar, G. Zhang, and S. Baxer. 2005. A new green revolution - (Food, energy, environmental enhancement, and mitigation of global warming). Proc. Annu. Rutgers Turfgrass Symp. p. 39-40. |
| Fastlink to access this record outside TGIF: https://tic.msu.edu/tgif/flink?recno=100741 |
| If there are problems with this record, send us feedback about record 100741. |
| Choices for finding the above item: |
|---|
| Web URL(s):
http://turf.rutgers.edu/research/abstracts/symposium2005.pdf#page=40
Last checked: 11/26/2007
Requires: PDF Reader |
| 
MSU catalog number: SB 433 .R88 |
| Find from within TIC:
Digitally in TIC by file name: rutsy2005 |
| Request through your local library's inter-library loan service (bring or send a copy of this TGIF record) |
