This website provides over 100,000 bibliographical references and abstracts to research based documents and journal articles on aspects of tropical horticulture. There is a special interest in bamboo cultivation. Links to the work of the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, and other organisations in the field of tropical agriculture are also available.

Studies of the local climate of the mid-Holocene in Elk Lake, in North-Central Minnesota show that 7800-6700 yr BP the climate was colder and much drier than today and already between 6700 to 4000 yr BP the mean air temperatures approached the current mean. Those data indicate also that modern "global change" is nothing more than a short episode of warming which has repeatedly occured in the past.

According to a German study, agricultural fields are only affected by air pollutants when located within 3 km from factories and urban areas, and within 50 m from streets. Consequently, only 7% of agricultural land in Germany is directly affected by the associated pollutants including SO2.

Aflatoxins are highly toxic and carcinogenic mycotoxins found in many foods and feeds. The constant battle of primary producers against these poisons is intentionally left unmentioned by so-called "green" organisations. Besides the many fungicides which are directly aimed at controlling these diseases, several insecticides have an inhibiting effect on production of aflatoxins as well.

Traditional Medicine prescribed by practitioners in Myanmar (Burma) contains extracts of more than 20 plants. The individual ingredients are active on at least one of over 30 strains of bacteria including Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella and Bacillus.

Trees can alleviate air pollution in cities. This study from Harbin City in China shows that arbor tree and shrub species vary substantially in their absorption capacities to the heavy metal pollutants Pb, Cd, Cr, and Hg. Consequently, urban afforestation species can be selected based on the mix of heavy metals present in towns.

Molasses is a by-product from processing of sugarcane into sugar. Molasses production in Thailand grew by over 50% during this decade. Due to its domestic importance, i.e., its fermentation to ethanol for use as biofuel in cars, another 40%-increase is forecasted for the next few years.

Data collected during studies on Lake Ontario indicate that almost all reported measurements for total Cd exceed the recommended limit by at least 5 times. Values for Cu also showed a high percentage of measurements from all regions of the lake greater than the recommended water quality objective. Other metals equalled or exceeded these limits. The concentrations of PCB, dieldrin and other pollutants in Lake Ontario water and fish exceeded the upper limits as well.

The concentration changes of the oceanic fields change with sources, advection and mixing. Detergent and phosphate concentrations in the Atlantic Ocean change with horizontal advection. The detergent map reveals a powerful center of this pollutant south of New York and another significant accumulation north of the Bermuda Islands.