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    Agronomy expert helps edit latest edition of crops textbook

    Posted 23 February 2023

    “It was a new experience for me and although very hard work, I have really enjoyed the process and learnt a lot - and it is very rewarding to actually see it in print!”

    Leading in her field - Louisa Dines teaching in a crop field on the Harper Adams campus

    An Agronomy expert has seen the latest edition of a textbook which she helped to edit published.

    Principal Lecturer in Agronomy, Louisa Dines, helped to edit the work, Lockhart and Wiseman’s Crop Husbandry Including Grassland, after being approached by her co-editor, Alison Samuel.

    Louisa explained: “The book delivers the latest information on the most widely grown UK crops, highlighting developments in varieties, crop protection techniques, crop nutrition and relevant legislation and environmental schemes - with an increased focus throughout on sustainable crop management.

    “Reflecting the increasing threat from climate change, coverage of climate and weather has been expanded to include the latest information.

    “Developments in technology which will be needed to address some of the challenges that agriculture faces - such as increasing costs and limited availability of labour are covered in detail throughout this new edition and in the expanded chapter on precision farming.

    “As there is a global market for agricultural commodities, it is important that agricultural students have some understanding of world agricultural systems and a new chapter on this subject is now included.”

    The editing team worked with academics from across England and Wales on the book – and the level of knowledge at Harper Adams saw Louisa working alongside a host of colleagues to produce the work.

    She added: “With the wide range of specialisms covered by crops lecturers at Harper Adams University, we were lucky to be able to pick up the huge majority of chapters.

    “Every academic who worked with us, from Harper and beyond, provided extensive updates to the previous edition which was edited almost 10 years ago - and a couple of new chapters as well.”

    The latest edition of the book is likely to be used across a range of courses – from agricultural diplomas to Masters level study – and is set to become a useful reference work for Harper students.

    Louisa added: “This tenth edition of Lockhart and Wiseman’s crop husbandry including grassland is relevant for students throughout the UK and Europe as well as for those entering agriculture from other areas of expertise who need strong understanding of the general principles of crop production.

    “Its development was a long process, which started at the end of 2019, so it is great to see everyone’s hard work actually come to fruition at last.

    “It was a new experience for me and although very hard work, I have really enjoyed the process and learnt a lot - and it is very rewarding to actually see it in print!”

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