Research & reports

A. L. Echemendía, Surey Valdés, Sugey Magdalena Castillo Jiménez, Gloria González, Juan Miguel Zarandona Femández · Redalyc (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) · Mexico

A survey of pests and diseases in crops associated with hydroponic systems, organopónicos, and urban gardens in Mexico identified three viral symptomatologies in lettuce (Lactuca sativa), celery (Apium graveolens), and Castilla melon (Cucumis melo), linked to aphid vectors. Using indicator plants, optical and electron microscopy, and ELISA (DAS and indirect variants), the causal agents were identified: Lettuce Mosaic Virus (LMV) in lettuce and a race of Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) in celery, both first reports for the country, and Papaya Ringspot Virus race W (PRSV) in melon, never previously found in that crop. An aphid species colonizing lettuce was also identified for the first time as an LMV vector.

Altieri M.A., Companioni N., Cañizares K., Murphy C., Rosset P., Bourque M., Nicholls C.I. · Agriculture and Human Values · Cuba (Havana)

This study analyzes Cuba's grassroots urban agriculture movement that emerged after the 1989 Soviet collapse, showing how ~8,000 gardens nationwide operated on agroecological principles without synthetic inputs, providing Havana with thousands of tonnes of produce by 1996.

· TSpace (University of Toronto) · Uganda

The determinants and impact of integrating forage legumes into intensive smallholder crop/livestock systems in peri-urban areas of central Uganda were investigated using an interview schedule with 90 smallholder milk producers and an econometric model. Findings showed that integration is more likely among farmers with less farmland or proximity to milk and input markets. Farmers integrating legumes into elephant grass obtain more herbage that remains greener into the dry season, spend less on artificial insemination services, and their animals have a lower incidence of disease.

J.B. van Lier, G. Lettinga · Water Science & Technology · Global

This paper discusses integrated environmental protection and resource conservation (EP&RC) concepts for managing industrial and domestic wastewaters, particularly in water-scarce regions. EP&RC aims for minimal consumption of energy, chemicals, and water, and maximal reuse of treated wastewater and residues, transforming wastes into resources for water, fertilizers, and soil conditioners. Anaerobic treatment is presented as a core technology for mineralizing organic compounds, stimulating urban agriculture near large cities by linking environmental protection and agricultural practices.

Richard K. Olson, L. Bauer · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · United States

This is a two-part compilation on small-scale Midwest farming (Part I) and reintegrating agriculture and community in the Midwest (Part II), gathering contributed chapters covering topics such as small and family-sized farms, market gardening, diversified crop/livestock systems, Amish farming agroecosystems, direct marketing, community-supported agriculture, farmers' markets, farmland preservation, and local food-system strengthening in Nebraska, Iowa and the broader Midwest region of the United States.

Laura Stocker, Kate Barnett · Local Environment · Australia (Western Australia)

This paper reviews the types and roles of community gardens, which are managed by community members and contribute to Local Agenda 21 planning and sustainable communities. It presents a case study of a community garden in Western Australia, analyzing lessons learned and the potential contributions of such gardens to physical, ecological, sociocultural, and economic sustainability. Community gardens produce fresh organic food, create community spaces, and disseminate community science.

Koji ITONAGA · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Global

This paper describes alternative urban designs, including permaculture, eco-village movements, cohousing, community gardens, and city farms. Based on data gathered from international conferences and research in Australia, America, and Europe, the author proposes "Permaculture-City" as a restructured city model. This model integrates habitation with food production areas and eco-villages.

LiYuan LiYuan, Y Zu · Yunnan Nongye Daxue xuebao · China

This study tracked six years of dynamic change in agricultural structure, function, and diversity in Xiaodiantou Village, Gejiu City, Yunnan Province, China, as an example of suburban eco-agriculture. Results showed: (1) the structure shifted from a conventional, single food-production type to a commercial economic type combining hog raising, biogas, food crops, forestry, fruit, and vegetables; (2) economic benefit and the output-input value ratio increased gradually; (3) output of matter and energy increased with input, but the output-input ratio of energy and matter decreased when input became excessive; and (4) system diversity was closely related to structure and function, increasing as structure and function improved. Based on these findings, a measure for sustainable development was proposed.

C. C. Weir, James R. Allen · Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A Environmental Science and Engineering and Toxicology · United States (New York City)

In the District of Columbia, tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) and mustard (Brassica juncea) grown on a low-pH, compacted silt-loam soil were compared under plots treated with composted sewage sludge and composted yard waste versus plots receiving commercial N-P-K fertilizer. Yields were generally significantly higher in the compost-treated plots than in the commercial fertilizer plots. Chemical and physical soil analyses showed the composted organic amendments not only improved the compacted soil's poor physical properties but also significantly increased soil pH, organic matter content, and available phosphate and magnesium. Chemical analysis of the edible plant portions for heavy trace metals such as lead and cadmium found levels not high enough to raise health concerns, remaining within ranges established as acceptable by other researchers.

James R. Preer, Ahmed N. Abdi, Harkewal S. Sekhon, George B. Murchison · Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A Environmental Science and Engineering and Toxicology · Global

This study investigated cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in vegetables grown in community gardens on different urban soils. Vegetables from a low-pH urban soil without contamination history showed higher Cd and Zn levels than those from a reclaimed landfill with digested sewage sludge, and also higher than a low-metal, neutral-pH site. Liming on the low-pH site reduced Cd and Zn concentrations in beet, lettuce, radish, and Swiss chard leaves, reaching background levels after four years. The findings indicate that soil pH is more important than total soil Cd and Zn in determining vegetable metal availability.

Lee M · PubMed · Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, urban agriculture faces significant challenges due to government disapproval of public land use for farming and difficulty in obtaining credit. A 1983 survey in Addis Ababa found that 17% of 1352 households produced their own food on less than 25 sq. meters, with 90% of non-farmers citing lack of land. Despite urban agricultural cooperatives demonstrating 70% higher member income, their lack of government legalization prevents access to loans for productivity improvement.

Jac Smit, Joe Nasr · Environment and Urbanization · Global

This article describes how urban agriculture can transform cities from mere consumers of food and agricultural products into sustainable generators of these products. It focuses on using wastes and idle land and water bodies as resources to achieve resource conservation and health improvement.

Christine Furedy · Water Science & Technology · India

This 1986 paper argues that sociocultural factors — the attitudes and behaviors of both planners/administrators and service recipients — need more attention in waste disposal and treatment policy in developing countries, drawing examples from Calcutta and Lucknow, India, and contending that more research on informal waste reuse practices, including in aquaculture and urban agriculture, could inform how reuse is integrated into community waste disposal systems, which would require changes in officials' attitudes toward established informal practices.

K. Bondari, E. D. Threadgill, J. Bender · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · United States

This study conducted two experiments on tilapia culture. Experiment I aimed to determine the potential of Tilapia aurea in an integrated irrigation system for algae removal and resource recovery. Experiment II investigated the potential use of blue tilapia in urban farming, utilizing a passive solar greenhouse, an indoor pond for overwintering, and an outdoor pond for summer growth.

Pauline Raphaely · Birkhäuser Basel eBooks · South Africa

Food Gardens Unlimited is an educational project in South Africa that teaches disadvantaged urban populations to grow food in small areas using limited resources. The project provides five-day training courses, step-by-step directions, and subsidized seeds through existing institutions. It aims to deliver physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits to participants.

Earle Barnhart · Birkhäuser Basel eBooks · United States

This paper argues that producing food within a forest ecosystem through careful cultivation of tree crops on hilly, marginal land is a successful and sustainable strategy for conserving soil and nutrients, and holds potential for the northeastern United States, where natural vegetation is predominantly steep, hilly forest unsuited to normal food production. Drawing on forest farming development at the New Alchemy Institute on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, it discusses concepts of ecology, energy use and erosion control in agricultural ecosystems.

Rodale Institute · Rodale Institute · United States

A long-running comparative farming trial launched by Rodale Institute in 1981, comparing conventional (synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides), organic legume, and organic manure systems across 72 plots for over 40 years. In drought years, organic corn yields are reported to be 31% higher than conventional, and water infiltration rates are significantly faster under organic management.

M. A. Latheef, R.D. Irwin · The Canadian Entomologist · United States

A paper on field experiments conducted in southside Virginia, United States, sought to quantify the effect of companion plants (repellent herbs) on major lepidopteran pests of cabbage. It cites an estimated 33 million home and community gardens grown in the United States during 1976 and 1977 as context, noting that claims about companionate planting's protective effects made by organic growers had little field evidence to substantiate them. The abstract does not report the experiment's specific results.

Sam Love · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · Global

This paper discusses contemporary industrial societies' reliance on extensive resource networks and proposes an alternative: moving towards self-sufficient small loop and flow systems. It describes examples of short loop arrangements in urban agriculture and solar energy housing, advocating for decentralization and diversity.

Rodale Institute · Rodale Institute · United States

The Rodale Institute's history page. J.I. Rodale and his wife Anna bought a 63-acre farm in Emmaus, Pennsylvania in 1940 to begin experimenting with organic agriculture, and founded the Soil and Health Foundation (later renamed Rodale Institute) in 1947. In 1948 the book 'Pay Dirt' argued that chemical agriculture was linked to declining public health.

BASF · BASF (corporate history chronology) · Germany

According to BASF's corporate history page, building on Fritz Haber's laboratory method, a BASF team led by Carl Bosch worked from 1908 to industrialize ammonia synthesis, and in 1913 the first ammonia synthesis plant went into operation at a newly built site in Oppau, north of Ludwigshafen. This made industrial fertilizer production possible, and the Haber-Bosch process is said to still secure food for billions of people today.

Diana Paola Betancurth Loaiza, Natalia Sánchez Palacio, Jorge Lino Moreno Aricapa · Repositorio Universidad de Caldas · Colombia

This report details the experience of implementing the Urban Community Garden in the Villa Juanita neighborhood. The project focused on fostering urban agriculture as a strategy to improve food security and promote sustainability within the community. The garden became a space for community participation where diverse sustainable agricultural practices were integrated. Through this project, social cohesion was strengthened, environmental education was promoted, and spaces for interaction and collective learning were generated.