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Plant production

Kellerhals M., Schütz S., Baumgartner I.O., Schaad J., Kost T., Broggini G., Patocchi A.

Breeding fire blight resistant apple varieties

215 apple selections and cultivars were screened in a glasshouse shoot infection test for their susceptibility to fire blight in the frame of projects that were financed by the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture. Selected varieties were also examined for their flower susceptibility towards fire blight in an open air protected orchard. Moreover, a fire…
Environment

Graf R., Korner P., Birrer S.

Sprinkler systems as a cause of intensification of grassland use in the Swiss Engadin

During a long-term monitoring from 1987 to 2010, changes in vegetation and land-use intensity at irrigated versus non-irrigated study sites were investigated in the Swiss Engadin. Specifically, vegetation surveys were compared between the years 1987/88 and 2009/10 to identify whether and how proportions of extensively used (no-input) hay meadows to low-intensity meadows changed (including a…
Environment

Maurer C., Rüdy M., Chervet A., Sturny W.G., Flisch R., Oehl F.

Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in field crops using no-till and conventional tillage practices

Since 1994, a comparison of no-till and conventional tillage systems has been underway on the Oberacker long-term field trial site at the Inforama Rütti education and extension centre in Zollikofen, Berne canton. The present paper investigates the influence of the two cropping systems and various field crops, including catch crop mixtures, on the diversity of…
Environment

Heinzelmann R., Lüscher G., Walter T.

Butterfly and moth diversity in lower-mountain region grassland habitats

Around one third of the 226 butterfly and moth species in Switzerland are threatened owing to the loss of suitable habitats caused by agricultural intensification. Organic farming aims to contribute to the conservation of species diversity in farmland. This case study investigates the impact of organic farming on butterfly species richness and abundance. The study…
Plant production

Walter A., Grieder Ch., Last L., Keller B., Hund A., Studer B.

The Swiss plant breeding sector – a spatial, temporal and thematic analysis

The spectrum of crop species grown within Switzerland as well as their agricultural performance is changing over time. Traditionally, cereal, horticultural and forage production play a major role in Swiss agriculture, and it is crucial to maintain the productivity of these crops under future socio-economic and environmental conditions. However, to focus on only these economically…
Plant production

Frick R., Mosimann E., Aebi P., Suter D., Hirschi H.U.

Alfalfa variety trials (2011-2013)

From 2011 through 2013, 36 varieties of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) were examined in comparative variety trials at five experimental sites. All varieties were grown in pure stands and in mixture with gramineous plants. The parameters assessed were dry matter yield, juvenile development, regrowth speed, general impression, stem thickness, competitive ability, persistence, digestibility of organic…
Agricultural economics

Hoop D., Schwarz A., Lips M.

Full-Cost calculations for contract work

Based on eight farms and 30 observations of farm enterprises, the revenues for seven categories of contract employment in the outdoor-work sector such as Plant Production, Transport/Logistics and Winter Road Clearance are compared to the full costs in order to determine their cost-efficiency. Except for bale-pressing, labour utilisation (i.e. the resultant hourly wage) significantly exceeding…
Agricultural economics

Götze F., Ferjani A.

Who buys organic foods in Switzerland?

Over the past years, the Swiss market for organic foods has grown considerably. However, little is known about the factors that motivate consumers to purchase organic food products. Within the framework of this analysis, data from Swiss households on the consumption of organic foods were analysed descriptively and econometrically. The evaluation of these household data…
Animal production

Gutzwiller A., Reichenbach M., Hillmann E.

The presence of experienced piglets does not promote the growth of newl weaned piglets

In a feeding trial the hypothesis was tested that the presence of experienced piglets facilitates the adaptation of newly weaned piglets to solid food. The 72 four-week-old piglets in the experimental group were mixed at weaning with 12 piglets which had been weaned one week earlier, whereas their 72 siblings in the control group were…
Environment

Walsh F., Pelludat C., Duffy B., Smith D.P., Owens S. M., Frey J. E., Holliger E.

Impact of streptomycin applications on antibiotic resistance in apple orchards

The Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) authorized the use of streptomycin to fight fire blight under controlled conditions in 2008 with the provison that the development of antibiotic resistance in the treated plots is monitored. Agroscope in Wädenswil thus performed the first study to quantitatively analyze the influence of streptomycin use in agriculture on the…
Plant production

Tschuy F., Gfeller A., Azevedo R., Khamissé C., Henriet L., Wirth J.

Weed suppression by cover crops: analyzing different factors

Cover crops represent an increasingly widespread agricultural technique in Switzerland as they provide different ecosystem services. One important role of cover crops is weed control, which can be explained by resource competition (for water, nutrients and light) and allelopathic effects (biochemical interactions between plants). To better understand the phenomenon of weed suppression by cover crops,…
Plant production

Stamp P., Fossati D., Mascher F., Hund A.

The future of wheat breeding

Unlike the situation in the European Union, where wheat breeding is almost exclusively in the hands of the private sector, public breeding of disease-resistant wheat with high baking quality has a long-standing tradition in Switzerland. Important increases in yield potential are still possible here. After World War I, wheat yield in other European countries increased…
Plant production

Suter D., Frick, Hirschi H., Aebi P.

Substantial progress in variety testing with red clover

Agroscope noted significant breeding progress in the variety tests with 30 new cultivars and 24 already recommended varieties of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) conducted at six locations from 2011 to 2013. Yield, vigour, juvenile development, resistance to leaf diseases, winter-hardiness and persistence were all evaluated. For the persistent varieties («Mattenklee» type), results allowing for…
Environment

Fuhrer J., Calanca P.

Irrigation requirement and available water supply under changing climatic conditions: a regional deficit analysis

As the climate changes, the water requirement of agricultural crops tends to increase. This leads to a higher irrigation requirement. At the same time, water availability falls, since water levels in many catchment areas of the Swiss Central Plateau decline in the summer. In order to identify areas with an increased risk of water shortage,…
Agricultural economics

Gazzarin Ch., Kohler M., Flaten O.

Dairy farms: why does Switzerland spend more on production than Norway?

Dairy production in Switzerland and Norway has a lot in common: a high price- and wage environment, difficult natural conditions and similar farm structures. A cost comparison using data from the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) shows that Swiss farms have higher production costs, however. Analysis of the cost positions pinpoints the differences mainly in…
Agricultural economics

Sandrini F., Durgiai B., Aubert S., Meier H.

How to optimize agricultural extension for a successful farm management?

Production costs play a key role in the competitiveness of agricultural enterprises. In the past, various actors in agricultural consultancy and education offered advanced training, but the number of participants remained below expectations. To investigate the reasons for this low participation and determine measures for improvement, the Opticost working group conducted semi-structured interviews with experts…

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