Archive
84 posts
Seasonal variation of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) in Alpine butter
Various studies have shown the nutritional importance of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) as well as an increase in their concentration in dairy products as a function of the pasture altitude. The present study complements our knowledge on the influence of the summer season on the concentration of CLA in alpine dairy products. It was found…
Silage additives and aerobic stability – test results 2003
The efficacy of the silage additives Bonsilage Mais Granulat and NH 708 uroSIL on aerobic stability was investigated in maize silage in comparison to a treatment without additive and a treatment with propionic acid. In addition two further treatments with urea (granular form and liquid application) were investigated. The maize was harvested at two different…
Onion (Allium cepa L.), cultivars, production, storage
The production of onions, worldwide and in Switzerland ranks at the forth position of all vegetable produced. In Europe cultivars are mainly available from breeders from France, Netherlands, Germany and Japan. Onions are of high nutrional value. The development of onion leaves is highly correlated to the sum of daily maxima Temperatures, independent of the…
Element balaces of sites of the Swiss Soil Monitoring Network (NABO)
We calculated balances for cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) on basis of field-specific data for agricultural land use for 48 sites of the Swiss Soil Monitoring Network (NABO) for the period 1996 to 2001. The balance approach used considered inputs by animal manure, mineral and waste fertilizer, pesticides and atmospheric deposition…
Organic initiatives in Switzerland
This paper examines the relevance, environment, key-characteristics and success factors of organic marketing initiatives in Switzerland. Although most initiatives have a similar principal business idea (bundling, processing and/or collective marketing of organic primary products), they can be highly diverse with regard to their objectives, their business strategies and philosophy, as well as their size and…
Design of land use in the Greifensee region
This present article investigates the importance of the role played by ecological direct payments in ensuring ecologically compatible land use, taking anticipated developments in agriculture in the Greifensee region as a point of departure. Calculations carried out using an economic land use optimisation model for the year 2011 show that today’s ecological contributions are both…
Valuation of landscape changes: an experimental approach
Managed land, i.e. mainly agricultural land and forest, provides several services for the general public, such as making the landscape aesthetic and providing food. In contrast to private goods, the demand for public goods cannot be monitored in the markets. Thus, surveys are one of the few ways of learning about the public’s preferences for…
Landscape types and accessibility of near nature habitats
The aim of the interdisciplinary research project «Greifensee» was the development of agri-environmental measures for the sustainable development of the agriculture. Therefore landscape development was simulated for the year 2011 and for different scenarios.The delineation and classification of landscape types by means of geomorphologic units, soil characteristics and land use was done to characterise the…
Site-specific conditions and application of herbicides from the view of the water protection
This article investigates from the perspectives of water protection and economy whether arable cropping is adapted to site conditions in the catchment of Lake Greifensee. Field studies demonstrate that herbicide losses to surface waters can vary very strongly for different areas. Large losses can be expected from poorly drained fields with a direct hydrological connection…
Inputs from diffuse sources in the Greifensee area: phosphorus and nitrogen
The phosphorus concentration in the Greifensee continues to exceed the target value, due to excessive phosphorus inputs. No relevant water pollution by nitrogen is currently evident. Phosphorus and nitrogen inputs from diffuse sources have been estimated with the aid of the Modiffus model. High phosphorus inputs are principally due to leaching of drained arable land,…
Development of agriculture in the Greifensee region
An agricultural sector model was developed as an integral element of the Greifensee project. It was designed to assess medium and long-term developments in agriculture and land use and to evaluate policy measures. The model exhibits a high degree of spatial detail which aids the assessment of ecological effects. This article presents the optimisation model…
Greifensee project: interdisciplinary research for agriculture
The interdisciplinary Greifensee research project deals with the utilisation of land and landscapes in the densely settled Swiss midlands (see http://www.ito.umnw.eth.ch/SoilPhys/greifensee/). Using the Greifensee region as an example, fundamental scientific principles for the organisation and management of sustainable agriculture and forestry are developed, together with the policy measures required for their implementation. Various aspects of…
Agriculture and the heatwave of summer 2003
During August 2003, the highest temperatures were recorded since the beginning of the measurement period in Switzerland in 1753. Together with the hot July they made up an extremely rare summer heatwave. Already in February, precipitation amounts were very low and remained low during the rest of the summer. As a result, soils were drying…
Availability of phosphorus in intensive used grassland soils
We investigated the sorption capacity and availability of phosphorus (P) in soils of the Lippenrütibach catchment (Canton Luzern, Switzerland) to assess the risk of P-losses from agricultural land in the long-term. The different available P-forms in soil were characterised using six P extraction methods. The soils in the study area revealed a high P-sorption capacity…
Maize grain and a mixture for four cereals in calf feeding
Two experiments involving a total of 80 bull calves were conducted by Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux (ALP) at the Posieux research station, in order to evaluate possibilities of substituting cereals for a part of the liquid feed. A control group was compared to an experimental group in both trials. The animals of the control groups received an…
Less fusarium toxins by choosing the right varieties?
In field experiments in 1999 to 2002, using 20 winter wheat varieties, the effects of artificial inoculations (application of spore suspensions at flowering) and semi-natural inoculations (spreading of Fusarium graminearum-colonised maize straw after sowing in autumn) on Fusarium head blight incidence and DON contamination were investigated. The maize straw method was used to mimic direct…
Project Opti-Milk: Collaboration in learning groups
Active cooperation among researchers, advisers and farmers has been promoted and practised for over sixty years. In Swiss agriculture, however, participatory research and extension activities are still lacking. Therefore, the Swiss College of Agriculture has been taken up this topic as part of its Opti-Milch research project. It has studied the available literature, analyzed past…
Renewable raw materials in Switzerland
Besides food, agriculture can produce renewable raw materials as well. These vegetable products such as fibres, oil, carbohydrates or special components can be used in a wide range of industrial applications. Within the EU-project IENICA, the European countries analysed their use of renewable raw material at present. The project focused on the industrial application in…
Obtaining sugar syrup from milk serum
The Swiss dairy industry needs to find new solutions for the economical and ecological use of by-products such as whey and ultrafiltration-permeates (UF-permeate). A possible key solution is the use of nanofiltration. Nanofiltration of hydrolysed whey or UF-permeate yields various sugar solutions.The Swiss Federal Research Station for Animal Production and Dairy Products (ALP) and the…
Linseed (Linum usitatissimum): this crop is ready to be grown by Swiss farmers
Winter or spring sown linseed can now benefit of a state financial support, as well as other oil crops. Its use will be mainly as an animal feed to improve the Omega-3 fatty acids content of animal products. Based on a series of experiments carried out at the Swiss agronomic research Station Agroscope RAC Changins…
Variety Trials with Timothy and Crested Dogstail
From 2000 to 2003 and 2001 to 2003, the federal research stations Agroscope FAL Reckenholz and RAC Changins, tested 6 varieties of crested dogstail (two series) and 27 varieties of timothy, respectively. All the varieties were compared for yield, juvenile development, vigour, persistence, disease resistance, competitive ability and adaptation to higher altitudes. The digestibility of…
Project Opti-Milk: Performence of the milk production based on grazed grassland
On a typical site in the Swiss plains the productivity of a dairy production system with maximum proportion of grazing was studied over three years (April2001 to March 2004) The experimental herd consisted of 14 Simmental/red Holstein and two Jersey cows with an average life weight of 592 kg cow-1. After an average calving date…
