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for a stable, diversified, and, economical agriculture in each of the American Republics,

The Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture

Resolves:

To recommend to the governments and institutes of the American countries:

1. That they make available the necessary resources for continuation and intensification of the selection or development of improved plant types, including forest plants;

2. That improved varieties be made available to other American nations interested in the production of a given crop;

3. That information regarding new methods in crop improvement and information concerning new uses for crop products be exchanged readily by all American republics;

4. That services should be established under the Ministries of Agriculture in all the American countries for the selection, improvement, exploration, and introduction of plants;

5. That the reciprocal advance in knowledge of these organizations be promoted by the exchange of their publications, correspondence, and like material.

XXV. STORAGE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

WHEREAS:

1. In order to realize the maximum benefits from agricultural production, and to assure a dependable and uniform food supply at reasonable cost, farm products should be stored for use between harvest seasons, and production in favorable years should be stored for use in years of scarcity; and

2. Since the facilities required for storing and preserving farm products differ in various sections of the Hemisphere because of differences in climate, kinds of crops produced, and methods of crop production,

The Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture

Resolves:

1. To recommend that the American governments make facilities mutually available in order to conduct research for determining the most economical storage methods from the standpoint of the various agricultural products, the different climatic regions, and the types of farming;

2. That satisfactory experimental storage facilities be erected to serve as pilot and demonstration units; and

3. That information gained from operation of these experimental facilities be made available promptly to all agencies engaged in the designing and construction of storage facilities in areas having similar climatic and farming conditions.

XXVI. STANDARDIZATION

OF RESEARCH METHODS IN CONNECTION WITH THE PRODUCTION OF WHEAT AND ITS BY-PRODUCTS

The Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture

Resolves: To recommend the desirability of organizing, by means of specialized institutes, the study of the most adequate methods of a physical, chemical and biologic character, in order that the American countries may standardize research methods in connection with the production of wheat and its by-products.

XXVII. GARDENS OF MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS PLANTS WHEREAS:

1. The rational cultivation of plants of tropical flora having medicinal properties might constitute an important item in the economies of the American nations;

2. The present knowledge of such plants and of their indicated medicinal properties, as well as knowledge of the poisonous ones, is limited to mere folklore inherited from the aborigines, and these plants in general have not been scientifically studied,

The Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture

Resolves:

1. To recommend to the American countries the creation of gardens of medicinal and poisonous plants, which shall function with the following chief aims in view:

(a) Investigation and study of those plants and the establishment of an interchange of plants and seeds with other interested countries. (b) Distribution of seeds of such plants as promise to have real agricultural value for persons interested in their cultivation.

(c) Standardization of research methods and procedures in the said gardens to facilitate the comparison of results.

XXVIII. COOPERATION IN THE PREVENTION OF AND FIGHT AGAINST AGRICULTURAL DISEASES AND PLAGUES

WHEREAS:

1. To increase, improve, and cheapen agricultural production, there is needed effective prevention and fight against diseases and plagues of plants and animals and to that end close international collaboration is of the greatest importance;

2. At the present time, for an evaluation of the extent and intensity of attack of the various plagues, arbitrary criteria are applied which do not permit setting up comparisons between damage caused to crops of the same species in different zones or countries,

The Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture

Resolves:

1. To recommend that the Governments of the American countries undertake to safeguard the fine sanitary conditions of their respective plants and animals and of the export products thereof, entering into such international agreements and treaties as may be necessary for that purpose;

2. To suggest to the American countries that preferential attention be given to a study of the possibilities of creating a standard for the evaluation, in the field, of the extent, intensity, and damage caused by each pest and disease in order that the resulting data may be compared with a single criterion;

3. That the important migratory plagues that may be controlled in the country of their origin be investigated and effective measures be taken to fight them through international cooperation.

XXIX. IMMUNITY AGAINST CEREAL BLIGHTS

WHEREAS:

1. The cereal blights constitute, in all the American countries which cultivate these plants, one of the major obstacles to the safety of crops; 2. Of the known methods of combating these parasites, the only one that is economically applicable is that of obtaining the resistant varieties;

3. The selection of resistant plants, to be effective and to have foreseeable and lasting results, must be based upon an exact knowledge of the physiological classification of the blights which affect those plants and, in particular, of the evolution of parasitic life;

4. One of the most frequent causes of variation in the pathogenic potential of parasitic life, besides the formation of new races by hybridization and mutation, is that of the introduction of these organisms from other places;

5. Consequently it is necessary to know what species exist in the various regions, in order to take them into account in (plant-) growing operations, before their introduction changes the behavior of varieties under cultivation and brings to naught improvement efforts made so far;

6. Research investigations of this nature, although requiring local effort to increase their efficiency, must be united and interrelated, for only joint activity will permit combating such common enemies as the blights with a possibility of success;

7. Inasmuch as the pan-American spirit of collaboration is perfectly established on the continent even in this very field, as is shown by research in collaboration carried on between the countries of North America and between Argentina and neighboring countries, final success cannot be doubted,

The Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture

Resolves:

1. To recommend that in all the countries of America in which this problem is of interest, sections be created or research be intensified in those departments in which studies are being made concerning the physiological classifications of blights.

2. That these groups keep in close contact, and communicate to one another the results of research, both with respect to the characteristics of species existing in each region, their abundance and geographic distribution, the appearance and origin of new species, and also—and very especially-the sources of resistance that may be discovered with respect to these parasitic organisms.

3. That efforts not be spared in the study of the part played by intermediary hosts as a source of origin of new species and their importance and that of the spontaneous gramineous types as a primary source of infection.

4. That, in order to facilitate the exchange of material and information necessary for success in this work of cooperation one of the various centers of research in North America and Argentina serve as a center of correspondence and interchange and, in due course, as a place of study and training of experts who are beginning these investigations.

WHEREAS:

XXX. BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF PESTS

1. Insect plagues constitute one of the gravest problems confronting the farmer, the control of which concerns not only the producer but also the government and people, since they seriously hinder the normal development of the production and supply of plant products;

2. The fight against insect plagues brings advantages of a practical and economic nature when it is carried on by the use of their own natural enemies (biological control);

3. The efficiency reached and the economic benefit obtained in countries which have established biological control for combating their pests have repaid them with interest for the cost of establishing such control;

4. It is not only advisable but necessary to extend the use of these methods of control;

5. The lack of a survey of predatory insects, foreign and domestic parasites, et cetera, makes difficult wide use of this method of fighting the enemy insects of agriculture,

The Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture

Resolves: To recommend that the American countries intensify the studies proposed by the Second Inter-American Conference on Agriculture in its Resolution No. 32, referring to the establishment of a Plant Sanitation Section in the Pan American Union.

XXXI. WEED CONTROL AND ERADICATION

WHEREAS:

1. Infestations of weeds in crop and grazing lands reduce farm income by enormous amounts annually by:

(a) Reducing yields of crops;

(b) Increasing costs of cultivation;

(c) Lowering the quality of many crop products;

(d) Resulting in losses of livestock that graze lands infested with poisonous plants;

(e) Reducing the quality of livestock products as a result of plants that produce burs or other structures injurious to animals and animal products.

2. Problems of weed control and eradication are of paramount concern to all agricultural areas;

The Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture

Resolves:

1. To recommend that studies of cultural practices, time of planting, destructive or limiting action by weeds on cultivated plants, crop rotations, et cetera, be intensified to determine the most economical methods for controlling the presence of weeds in cultivated areas; 2. That the most effective methods for eliminating poisonous and other injurious plants be studied and developed;

3. That chemical compounds of potential herbicidal value be investigated fully;

4. That provisions of weed and seed laws in the American nations be observed carefully to prevent the introduction of troublesome weeds into new areas.

XXXII. REVIEW OF PLANT AND ANIMAL QUARANTINES WHEREAS:

1. It is in the best interests of American countries to maintain careful control, through inspection and suitable quarantine, of the insect pests and diseases inimical to crops and livestock, without for

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