Public perception and technological approaches to crop protection in the south-eastern USA

摘要

Like agricultural producers across the globe, farmers throughout the south-eastern USA are constantly dealing with the negative impacts of weeds, pathogens, and arthropod pests. Economic concerns and market issues, environmental safety, and human health are all factors that contribute to the decisions that growers make in how to deal with these pests.In Arkansas, rice and soybeans dominate as the two largest food crops in terms of area and total monetary value. In 2005, rice was grown on 1.6 million acres in Arkansas, representing almost one-half of all the rice grown in the USA. Soybeans were planted on 3.1 million acres in Arkansas during that same year. However, Arkansas is like most southeastern US states having variable landscapes and growing conditions across the state. Therefore, other row crops such as wheat, corn, and sorghum are grown, asare important fruit and vegetable crops like tomatoes, tree fruits, grapes, blackberries, spinach, and others. In addition, cotton is produced throughout the region.