The mandate for PS research resides with the USDA in its Agricultural Research Service, Economic Research Service, Statistical Reporting Service, Soil Conservation Service, Forest Service, the Farm Credit Administration, and the Science and Education Administration, and with the state Agricultural Experiment Stations and state Cooperative Extension Services. The problems of agricultural production, handling, marketing and regulating fit neither the disciplinary structure of universities nor the subject-matter structure of departments in colleges of agriculture. Subject-Matter and Disciplinary Research for Agriculture In the section to follow, both SM and DISC research needs are considered using an outline that considers research in technological, institutional and human development areas and on the accumulation of capital. Because relevant DISC research is discussed immediately after SM research for each of the above categories, it is easy for the reader to see the important complemen- tarities between the two kinds of research. Research on Technology This section considers research priorities for the plant and soil sciences (including forestry), animal science, food science and agricultural engineering. Plant and Soil Science Subject-Matter Research SM research for the plant and soil sciences is discussed here under the headings of: field crops, genetic im- provements, resistance to environmental stress, farming systems, integrated pest management, horticulture and forestry. These five subsections are followed by an equivalent subsection on DISC research relevant for crop productivity. Field Crops SM research for field crops in the United States is focused on the breeding, protection and overall cultural practices for cereal grains (including corn, wheat, rice, sorghum, millet, oats and barley), legumes, oil and fiber crops (including soybeans, field beans, southern peas, peanuts, cotton, flax and sun- flowers), forage crops (primarily alfalfa), the tuber, sugar and root crops (including potatoes, sweet potatoes, sugar beets and sugarcane), and tobacco. Practical genetics and plant-breeding efforts are directed to higher yields, disease resistance, predictive modeling, efficiency of nutrient uptake and genetic differences, rates of dry- down for forages and grain, greater resistance to en- vironmental stress, and the filling periods of grain. At the beginning of this report, we saw a need to in- crease attainable crop yields between 50 and 100 per- cent in the next 50 years. To do this, crops will need to be grown in more intensive rotations on additional poorer soils. Plant breeders and field crop agronomists will have to practice traditional skills as well as take ad- vantage of breakthroughs in biology. As yields reach higher levels, more research will be needed to maintain yields against diseases, weeds, pests and environmental constraints, and each increment of increase will become more difficult. Subject-matter research on field crops is multidisciplinary, involving genetics, soil chemistry and physics, plant physiology, bacteriology, entomology, botany, biology and the social sciences. The economics of labor and energy conservation will be important in determining the sets of problems that need to be solved in part with agronomic knowledge. In the next 50 years, the advances that can be made in the biological/physical disciplines can greatly increase opportunities for field crop agronomists to improve plant production. SM areas addressed in a soil science department or subdepartment include: soil classification, soil conser- vation, soil management-including tillage-erosion control, waste management and disposal, soil chemistry, soil physics, soil microbiology, resistance to environmen- tal stress, and soil fertility, coupled with soil and plant tissue testing and economic analyses to determine profit- able fertilizer requirements for specific crops. In the area of cultural practices, weed science and plant protection are important subjects, along with tillage and irrigation. Such subjects as agricultural engineering, crop protection-entomology, plant pathology-and soil science overlap in important ways. Genetic Improvement Conventional plant- breeding techniques of selection based on the appearance of the plant, controlled hybridization and selection for better nutrition have given high-yielding, pest-resistant and superior quality strains of rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, millet, some legumes, and many new fruits and vegetables. Almost half of the yield increases in crops realized in the past four decades has come from tradi- tional techniques for genetic improvement. Much can yet be done with such techniques to increase the magnitude and stability of food, fiber and forest tree pro- duction. Among the major crops, commercial hybrid varieties of corn, sorghum, millet, sugar beets, coconut and sunflowers now exist. The potential is there for rice, wheat and barley. Hybridization of forage crops is just beginning. Many hybrid selections of vegetable crops have been created and others will come (Wittwer, 1983c). Further improvements will be sought in the development of F1 hybrids to achieve more dependable and higher yields, earliness, disease resistance and greater uniformity.