Archive
2,471 posts
Hay or haylage production from two grass mixtures
For some time now, special grass mixtures have been available for the production of hay and haylage for horses. Field-dried hay is widely produced because many horse owners prefer this roughage to haylage. The aim of the trial was to study the nutrient contents – in particular, the sugar and fructan contents – of two…
Drought in fruit-growing. Survey among farmers in Northeast and Northwest Switzerland
According to current climate scenarios, drought could become a major challenge for agriculture in Switzerland. To better understand the practitioner’s perspective, we surveyed fruit-growers in Northeast and Northwest Switzerland to investigate the previous impact of drought and the countermeasures taken, as well as the information requirements and the willingness to act on the part of…
Use of plant-protection products in Switzerland from 2009 to 2012
Since 2009, the use of plant-protection products (PPP’s) in Switzerland has been recorded annually with the help of the field records of around 300 farms. From these records, we have calculated which PPP’s are applied and in what frequency and quantity. In the period of the study, 2009 to 2012, more PPP’s were used more…
Identifying ideal beef and dairy crossbreeds to optimise slaughter yields
Not every beef and dairy breed cross results in equally high slaughter yields. In Switzerland, however, no recommendations on the ideal pairings of beef and dairy breeds are available. This study aims to demonstrate which crossbreeds produce the best returns in terms of carcass weight, conformation and fat cover. The data set consisted of 601…
The decline of Arrhenatherum meadows in the Swiss lowland and its consequences for biodiversity
A comparison of historic and current vegetation surveys of intensively managed meadows reveals a dramatic decline of species diversity in Swiss lowland grassland. In the 1950s, the most intensively managed meadows were Arrhenatherum meadows. Over 85 % of these achieved the QII standard defining meadows with «high biodiversity value», and more than a third significantly…
Challenges of the residue-free apple production
Crop protection in general and apple crop protection in particular rely on pesticides, but consumers demand a reduction of pesticide use and ideally an elimination of pesticide residues in order to minimize the impact on the environment and the risk for human health. Producers need information and advice to establish sustainable production systems that reduce…
The search for robust varieties for sustainable fireblight management
Robust apple and pear varieties are an important tool in sustainable fireblight management. Two artificial inoculation methods are used for assessing a pome-fruit cultivar’s susceptibility to fireblight: shoot inoculation and blossom inoculation. Since 2013, Agroscope has for the first time been in a position to conduct artificial blossom inoculation tests on an outdoor trial plot…
Support Obst Arbo: results for the professional arboriculture
In 1947 today’s date Agroscope started the collection of on farm data to draft extension information and indices for grower prices. Agridea and Agroscope lead the project Support Obst Arbo (SOA), which gives detailed basics for growers, extension and research. 20–25 references fruit farms deliver their data to the project to evaluate the on farm…
Reduction of yellow nutsedge infestation levels in highly infested fields: Continuous maize cropping as potential control strategy
Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) is among the most dreaded weeds worldwide. In Switzerland, it has increasingly become a problem for vegetable growers and arable farmers. This weed propagates and disperses via vegetative tubers in the soil. Producers are facing an important challenge: They have not only to stop the weed’s further dispersal but also…
Control of Fusarium fungi and mycotoxins in wheat with rhubarb, alder buckthorn and tannins
During the past few years, the importance of Fusarium fungi and their toxins in wheat has increased significantly. This study demonstrated that fusaria can be controlled organically with medicinal plants: Suspensions of Galla chinensis and tannic acid inhibited spore germination and mycelial growth of Fusarium graminearum in vitro by 75 to 100 %. In climate…
Development of greenhouse gas emissions in the Swiss agriculture and food sector
The agriculture and food sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Emission inventories serve as a basis for reduction strategies and the respective impact assessments. To date however, efforts at assessment have frequently been characterized by limited sector perspectives. Adopting an integral approach, the present study reviews emissions from the Swiss agriculture and…
Effect of preservatives in moist hay
Field-dried hay must be sufficiently dry at harvest for problem-free storage. Alternatively, preservatives that prevent heating and spoilage may be added to the hay. In a trial, the efficacy of various microorganisms (lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and enzymes) as well as of a product containing various acids was tested in moist hay with a DM…
Intake of a dry or a moist ration by suckler cows
The effect of type of ration on feed intake was studied in a trial with 36 lactating cows of the Angus (AN), Limousin (LM) and Limousin x Red Holstein cross breeds (F1) during the first four months of lactation. Two iso-energetic rations fed ad libitum were compared: a dry ration (D) composed of hay and…
Forecasting crop load in apple trees
Crop-load management is a vital cultural measure in apple-growing. Only when the number of fruits per tree corresponds to target crop-load levels do yield and quality match over the years. Crop load is influenced by various factors, and is deliberately reduced through thinning measures. The necessary intensity of thinning, however, is difficult to gauge, since…
