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2,595 posts
Disinfection of basil seeds is a challenge
Seeds of sweet basil are often infected by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. basilici or Peronospora lamii. The seeds of different varieties of sweet Basil could be disinfected from seed borne pathogenic fungi by aerated steam treatment. The seeds were treated and dried on a nylon net and successfully separated from each other after the process.…
Species loss has negative consequences in fodder production
In this study, the link between species loss, the functioning of a grassland ecosystem and the production of fodder is investigated. The study area is located on the slope of Monte Generoso in Ticino and consists of two adjacent meadows at Pree and Poma. In 1950 two smallholder dairy farms were still based on these…
Improving competitiveness in Swiss farming
As Swiss agriculture full product costs are considerably higher than those of neighbouring countries, the improvement of its competitiveness by cutting costs is very important. Three possible strategies are conceivable. Firstly, increasing the size of farms allows to achieve economies of scale, thus to reduce the cost per unit. Additional land is an important prerequisite…
Beef fattening on grazed grass-clover mixtures: interest of the tall fescue
Beef production from pasture leys is foreseen as a possible alternative to cropping and dairying in the Swiss lowlands. New varieties of tall fescue are described as adequate for grazing in dry conditions. Experiments were conducted in four sites from 2007 to 2009 comparing two grass-clover mixtures (dominant grass: SM 460 = perennial ryegrass; SM…
Effects of fertilisation on a mat-grass grassland
Mat-grass (Nardus stricta L.) produces poorly palatable forage. We assessed the effects of nine forms of fertilisation on yield and botanical composition of a mat-grass sward of the central Alps at 1950 m of altitude. Moderate fertilisation with stored solid manure, stored solid manure plus slurry, or mineral PK fertilizer combined with liming achieved a…
Fünf Jahre Netzwerk Pferdeforschung Schweiz
In nur fünf Jahren ist die vom Schweizerischen Nationalgestüt in Avenches ins Leben gerufene und organisierte, öffentliche Jahrestagung des Netzwerks Pferdeforschung Schweiz zur wichtigsten und international anerkannten interdisziplinären Plattform der Forschenden rund ums Pferd in der Schweiz geworden. In diesem Rahmen hat sie sich auch zu einer interaktiven und transparenten Brücke zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis…
The suitability for fattening of various strains of Holstein Friesian calves
To determine their suitability for fattening, 11 male New-Zealand Holstein Friesian calves and 26 Swiss Holstein Friesian calves underwent a comparative study within the framework of a Bachelor Thesis at the Swiss College of Agriculture SHL. Both test groups were held and fed under the same conditions for 100 days. The calves had free access…
Strenght and weaknesses of coldfogging for pesticides application in greenhouses
Cold-fogging crop protection products in greenhouses is an easy to handle and time and labour saving method. However measurements of depositions on commercial tomato and eggplant crops in two greenhouses in Switzerland revealed that active ingredients distribution in the greenhouses was very uneven. Furthermore there were spots where unacceptably high residues were found on harvested…
Organic farming in Switzerland: opting in and opting out
The Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART Research Station conducted a survey on 3425 Swiss farms in January 2009. Its aim was to examine the dropout rate from organic farming over the period 2005 – 2007, to determine the types of farms and regions primarily affected, and the reasons leading farms to opt out. In the present study,…
Does the convention on biological diversity impede biological control?
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was established in 1992 with three objectives: 1) conserve nature, 2) sustainably use biodiversity and 3) ensure access and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising form the use of biodiversity. It also ascertains that countries have sovereign rights over their genetic resources. Agreements governing the access to…
Birds affected by pesticides? Risk assessment and monitoring
Prior to authorization, the side-effects of pesticides on the environment must be evaluated. The Ecotoxicology group at ACW assesses by means of models the potential risks of pesticide uses to plants and animals, including birds. Since a model can never incorporate the whole complexity of reality, uncertainty remains. With the help of passive or active…
Assessment of risks of pesticides transfer by surface runoffs
This work presents a method for assessing pesticides transfer risks to the surface water by erosion and runoff. It was developed in a part of the watershed of the Boiron de Morges (Vaud, Switzerland). This method combines observations in the field with the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It considers timeless and timely factors.…
Simulation of future farm size structures
In the Swiss agricultural sector, the development towards larger farms and consequently towards more economically favourable cost structures is relatively slow. A dynamic simulation model is used to investigate where an extrapolation of the present development could lead in future and what form alternative development paths could take. The simulations indicate that, compared to a…
Effect of noise and vibration in milking parlour on dairy cow
The aim of this study was to record, through appropriate ethological and physiological parameters, the extent of the stress caused in animals by noise and vibration. Various intensities of noise and vibration were produced in an autotandem milking parlour by means of special loudspeaker systems (variant A: 70 dB(A) / 0.5 m/s2; variant B: 80…
Entry age of veal calves in a fattening unit and health status
In Switzerland, the entry of veal calves in the fattening unit at the age of 4-7 weeks coincides with the transition from passive to active immunity. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of the entry age in the fattening unit on the health status of veal calves. Three groups of…
Influence of an energy deficient diet on milk composition
An experiment was set up to study the effect of an energy deficit of approximately 15 MJ per day for two weeks on the composition of milk fat. Twenty-four cows at the beginning of full lactation, which were fed the same diet (hay, mixtures of silage of grass and corn, potatoes, concentrates of energy, protein…
Factors influencing the potential cultivation of transgenic crops
If the cultivation of transgenic crops is permitted after the Swiss moratorium on the commercial cultivation of GMPs expiration, it will be of interest to investigate the importance of this new technology and the factors influencing the decision to cultivate GM crops. Using a specific statistical method, interviews conducted with farmers of a research region…
