Native bees are essential pollinators of wild and crop plants providing high ecological and economical benefits. However, half of the 600 native bee species of Switzerland are endangered. Ongoing soil sealing and intensification of agricultural land use result in fewer suitable nesting sites and foraging habitats, which is expected to force female bees to cover…
From 2007 through 2009 the Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART and Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil ACW research stations tested in total 29 varieties of hybrid ryegrass and 8 varieties of meadow foxtail in comparative variety trials at five locations. All varieties were grown in pure stands and in mixture with clover. The parameters assessed were forage yield, juvenile development,…
Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are the most important group of plant-parasitic nematodes in Switzerland causing significant problems in vegetable production areas. The most common root-knot nematode species is Meloidogyne hapla, followed by the tropical and subtropical species M. incognita, M. arenaria and M. javanica, which are found in greenhouses only. In surveys conducted in the…
Two focus group discussions were conducted with milk producers about their motives and attitudes to both “high output” and “full-time grazing” feeding strategies and analyzed through grounded theory qualitative method. The study was designed to determine the factors which guide farm managers in their choice of feeding strategy. Although the analysis gives an insight of…
Climate change will affect the agrometeorological conditions for crop and forage farming also in Switzerland. This can improve conditions for agricultural production but also increase weather-related risks. In this context, agrometeorological indices can help to better understand the interactions between crops and climate and thus serve as a basis for the development of adaptation strategies.…
Since some years, hay in horse diets has been partly replaced by silage with high dry matter contents, also known as haylage. There remain still some questions concerning the stability of haylage as well as the conditions during storage. In this context, the influence of dry matter (DM)-content and the addition of (oder a) silage…
Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux Research Station ALP investigated the efficacy of the silage additives Fireguard and Sil-EM for the improvement of aerobic stability in maize silages. Beside a negative control without additives, a positive control with Luprosil was also tested. The trials were conducted with maize cv. Amadeo, harvested at 32 % and 40 % dry matter…
Die internetgestützte Informationsplattform EuroWheat (http://www.eurowheat.org) ist eine europäische Initiative zur Förderung des integrierten Plfanzenschutzes im Weizen. EuroWheat erlaubt den Zugriff auf die Erkenntnisse der Forschung aus den verschiedenen Ländern Europas. Solche Informationen sind häufig schwierig zu finden und befinden sich verstreut über verschiedene Quellen. Die Internetseite von EuroWheat wurde als Unterstützung für Produzenten, landwirtschaftliche Berater,…
Der Erdölpreis scheint bei einigen landwirtschaftlichen Produkten einen Einfluss auf den Preis zu haben. Dafür gibt es zum Teil gute Argumente: Pflanzenöle und deren Derivate können Erdölprodukte ersetzen. Aus Mais kann Ethanol produziert werden, welcher als Ersatz von Treibstoffen auf Erdölbasis dient. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird der Zusammenhang zwischen den Weltmarktpreisen landwirtschaftlicher Produkte und dem…
The suitability of microwave technology to provide an alternative to conventional Rumex control in grassland was investigated. For this, two self-propelled microwave devices with respectively 4.8 and 18 kW heat output were tested at different sites and under different weather conditions. The optimal heating times required to obtain a maximal shoot regrowth rate of 20…
From 2007 through 2009 the Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART und Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil ACW research stations tested in total 39 varieties of Italian ryegrass, including 29 new breeds, in comparative variety trials at five locations. The evaluation of the varieties was based on systematic observations of yield, vigour, juvenile development, competitive ability, winter hardiness, resistance to leaf…
The use of an electronic labelling system for livestock enables the animals to be automatically identified with stationary antenna systems. In the present study, the recognition system for reading individual transponders from a group (bulk reading), already in use in other industrial sectors, was tested with fattening pigs. To evaluate different antenna systems, transponders mounted…
In 2009, average temperatures above the norm, and in particular the extremely warm months of April, May and August, significantly influenced the development of vegetation in Switzerland. In contrast, the drought that prevailed temporarily did not influence this development. The growing season began in normal or time or slightly delayed with hazel flowering in March…
The reaction of Ambrosia artimisiifolia L. was studied in recent years using field and greenhouse trials in Geneva and in Changins and 2009 in ring tests in various European countries within a EUPHRESCO project. The results showed that Ambrosia reacts on a non-lethal control with re-sprouting and is able to produce – even in reduced…
Organic farming recorded significant growth in Switzerland, especially between 1990 and 2005, and won the support of both farmers and consumers. Despite this, organic farms are noticeably underrepresented in the arable farm regions; this situation is certainly due to the usually greater demands placed on farm conversion in these regions than in grassland. A survey…
In 2008, yellow rust of wheat was observed in two experimental sites in the cantons of Thurgau and Aargau. After isolation and purification, the virulence spectrum was determined based on wheat differentials. By this, both virulences Yr4 and Yr32 were identified for the first time in Switzerland. These virulences have already been described in the…
The new Mattstetten-Rothrist rail line builded in the frame of “Railway 2000“ was one of the first large-scale construction projects to strictly implement soil protection regulations introduced about 10 years ago. Supervised by a pedological consultation team, this was realised from the planning of the project to subsequent soil management. The objective of this study…
The efficacy of the silage additive Silostar Protect in improving the aerobic stability of wilted grass silages was investigated. Forage of a mixture containing mainly grasses from the first and second cuts was pre-wilted to 40 % DM and ensiled in laboratory scale silos. Besides the variant with Silostar Protect, a variant without additive and…
As part of a bachelor thesis at the ETH Zurich, data of a four-year experiment of Agroscope ALP Project «Typo» was evaluated. From cows of the suckler cow breeds Angus, Limousin, Eringer and the crossbred type Limousin x Red Holstein, feed intake and live weight performance was measured during the winter feeding periods. With feed…
The use of high altitude pastures with sheep is delicate. A bad management is a threat to the vegetation and the diversity of the flora diminishes. The goal of the study was to assess the effect of a strict pasture rotation on the diversity of vegetation. Botanical analyses have been carried out in 2002 and…