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Farming: closing the cycle

The natural cycle of plant and animal life involves recycling materials through the open environment. Thus carbon dioxide and many waste substances are released to the soil or atmosphere and returned to be taken up by plants. Modern agriculture has intensified the production of many substances, with unwanted effects on the atmosphere (including global warming and acid rain), water and soil. Moreover, because most drops are grown as monoculture, competing plants, and pests and diseases, are controlled through a wide range of agrochemicals which also affect the environment; herbicides remain a major case of drinking water failing to meet the required standards. A ‘clean technology’ approach is urgently needed, and current research is showing the way. Research on the nitrogen cycle indicates, for example, that nitrogen losses from intensive dairy production can be reduced by up to 70% however, changes to the whole farm system are needed to achieve results. Both engineering and biological approaches offer ways of reducing pesticide use; we can use computer control and decision support to improve the precision with which chemicals are applied; we can seek new understanding of chemical–insect–plant interactions which allow new control techniques (such as semiochemicals, which influence insect behaviour) to be derived. Agriculture can also provide a sustainable source of clean energy and could also supply industrial products such as oils and fibres, reducing our dependence on petrochemicals.