
Plant-Based Drinks – an Alternative to Milk?
Soya-, cereal-, seed- or nut-based plant drinks are consumed increasingly frequently as milk substitutes. Agroscope researchers have studied the macro- and micronutrients in these drinks and have identified major differences between the plant drinks themselves as well as in comparison with milk.

Culture and Policy Incentives Interact to Influence Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation
Different cultural backgrounds lead to different uptake of biodiversity agri-environmental schemes at the inner-Swiss French-German language border. Economic policy incentives could mitigate culture-driven behavioral differences.
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Cheese Varieties: Volatile Carboxylic Acids Contribute to their Unmistakeable Character
Cheese varieties from Switzerland are characterised according to various criteria. Agroscope analysed the free volatile carboxylic acids in ten cheese varieties and demonstrated that the latter are suitable for characterisation and differentiation.

How Much Nitrogen from the Air Enters the Soil through Legumes?
Symbiotic nitrogen fixation by bacteria in the soil coexisting with legumes leads to reduced fertiliser requirement. It is not easy to measure this variable on farms, however. Now researchers from Agroscope have developed a method for estimating nitrogen input via symbiotic fixation at farm level.

How Resilient Were Swiss Agri-Food Importing Firms to COVID-19?
The agricultural sector as an aggregate proved resilient to the COVID-19 shock. But how did it impact agribusiness firms within the sector? Using the Swiss case, we provide the first set of evidence on how agri-food importing firms survived the pandemic economically.

Variability and Clonal Selection of Muscats in the Valais
Safeguarding the clonal diversity of Muscats in the Valais has enabled the characterisation of 42 Muscat à petits grains and 36 Moscato Giallo clones. The characteristics of the two are quite distinct, particularly their aromatic potential. The best clones will be included in the Swiss certification scheme.

A New Tool to Help Practitioners in the Integrated Control of a Major Tomato Pest
Tuta absoluta is one of the most destructive pests of solanaceous crops. Agroscope has developed a statistical model to study the population dynamics of the pest and its parasitoids and allows interventions to be optimally planned.

Risks for Residues Caused by Spray Drift in Small Organic Vineyards in Switzerland
Swiss vineyards are often small and arranged in a mosaic of separate plots and management practices. Therefore, it can be assumed that spray drift from conventional to organic vineyards occurs regularly. Nevertheless, no pesticide residues are detected in most organic wines.

The Role of Agricultural Economics Research in Policymaking
Agricultural economics research uses a multitude of methods and approaches to assess existing and new policy measures. This is the basis for agricultural policy that demonstrably makes a difference, i.e. is evidence-based.

European Red Clover Exhibits High Diversity and Local Adaptation
Red clover is one of the most important legumes in European forage production. In a multi-year field trial, researchers tested Europe’s largest collection of different red clover accessions at five European locations.

Grapevine Nitrogen Nutrition: Measures and Interpretations
Grapevine nitrogen nutrition is a key parameter for achieving production targets in terms of yield and wine quality. Here we set out the current assessment methods and their interpretation thresholds for sustainable management.

The potential of fermented foods for a healthy and sustainable diet
Bread, sauerkraut, cheese, wine, beer, yoghurt, chocolate, coffee, kimchi, tempeh, soy sauce, miso, etc. – all these are fermented foods and are part of our daily diet. What exactly are fermented foods and what role do they play in a healthy and sustainable diet?

Mechanised Pre-flowering Grapevine Leaf Removal: Benefits and Risks
Pre-flowering leaf removal is a recent practice in viticulture. As well as reducing fungal disease pressure, it limits yield and improves grape composition. An Agroscope study shows that mechanising pre-flowering leaf removal saves effort but also involves risks.

Climate change leads to longer growing seasons and favours farmland at higher altitude
With increasing global and regional temperatures, even in Switzerland the growing season has lengthened considerably. Using data from the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, Agroscope has traced the development of the growing season since the start of the previous century.

Efficient Seed Extraction in Organic Tomato Cultivation
Tomato is a special case among vegetables, as its seeds can only be extracted from the pulp after a fermentation step. In order to optimise this working process, various harvesting frequencies and extraction timepoints were tested at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL.

How Do Grazing Dairy Cows Respond Physiologically to Heat Stress?
Even in temperate climate zones, an increase in the ambient temperature and solar radiation can cause heat stress in grazing dairy cows. Agroscope studied the physiological changes in cows caused by increasing heat load.