Archive
2,595 posts
Behaviour of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus gasseri K7 in ripend semi-hard cheese
Two strains of Lactobacillus gasseri were tested for their suitability as probiotic additives to cheese. They werde added seperately along the processing of semi-hard cheese (Tilsit type and Swiss type cheese ) together with the starter cultures. Samples were drawn from the center region in defined intervals during the ripening phase to determine the survival…
Pratice survey on electronics and information technology in agriculture
In Summer 2006, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART and the Swiss College of Agriculture (SHL) carried out a practices survey in order to obtain more information on the use of electronics and information technology (IT) in agriculture. The aim of the survey was to investigate the current state of the use of electronics and IT in plant,…
What influences the loss of agricultural land through ground sealing?-
Today, an average of over 400 square metres of land per person are devoted to residential and road use. This land has been and will continue to be taken almost exclusively from agricultural uses. This paper deals with the factors influencing ground sealing and compares different categories of land protection. Findings clearly indicate that the…
Fattening pigs: influence of housing systems on the pH-value of the musculus long. dorsi (M.l.d)
In a survey, the effect of alternative (ALT) compared to conventional (KON) housing systems on the post mortem pH of the M.l.d. of fattening pigs was investigated. ALT housing systems corresponded to the Swiss BTS and RAUS regulations providing for e.g. larger and enriched pens with a straw bed as well as limited outdoor access.…
Applied Research on the Behaviour of horses
The behaviour of a horse, a typical flight and herd animal, can significantly influence its use, regardless of the discipline in which it is engaged. To an average rider or driver a horse’s temperament plays a decisive role, more important even than its conformation, size or price of purchase. Despite the indisputably high significance of…
Mycotoxin contaminated bedding straw and sow fertility
The effects of bedding straw contaminated on average with 1.4 mg/kg deoxynivalenol (DON) and 0.9 mg/kg zearalenone on the fertility of group housed sows with daily access to pasture was tested using 48 sows kept on contaminated and 48 control sows kept on uncontaminated straw from mating until farrowing. No abortions were observed during the…
Tent-roof ventilation reduces emissions effect in slurry containers
Ammonia emissions mean a loss of nitrogen fertilisers for agriculture. They also pollute the environment. Part of the losses occur during slurry storage. In order to reduce these losses, artificial covers are required for new slurry containers. Tent roofs and floating foils in particular have caught on as artificial covers. The less permeable the cover,…
Maintenance of meadows by selfreseesiding of grass species
Four intensively managed permanent meadows were cut during several years either at seed maturity of the forage grass species or at heading stage. This last cutting regime prevented the self-reseeding of the forage grass species and brought about a deterioration of the botanical composition of the cocksfoot meadow and the foxtail meadow. The populations of…
The Swiss agricultural sector model CH-FARMIS
Future agricultural policy reforms will be a new challenge for Swiss agriculture. As a result of differences in competitiveness, it is expected that agriculture will be differently affected by a further agricultural liberalisation. In order to be able to conduct a highly differentiated policy impact analysis for specific groups of farms, the Research Institute of…
Can agroforestry be economic? The analysis of a farm with longtime experience
In agriculture there is an increasing area of conflict between ecological and economical demands. An innovative approach that can fulfill requirements in a sustainable husbandry as well as in a competitive production is the agroforestry. On the basis of a case study conducted in Germany, we analysed how the profitability of an agroforestry system can…
Developing an automatic guidance system for tractors in fruit farming
Dans les cultures fruitières, vingt à trente opérations d’entretien doivent être effectuées chaque saison à l’aide de machines. Elles concernent par exemple le mulching ou la protection phytosanitaire. En vue de décharger le conducteur et d’automatiser totalement ou partiellement les différentes opérations, les systèmes de guidage automatique jouent un rôle-clé. Jusqu’à présent, il n’existait aucun…
Incidence of paratuberculosis pathogens in Swiss raw milk
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), cause of paratuberculosis in cattle and other animals, is meant to be suspicious for being involved in Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease of humans. As the bacterium is able to partially survive the pasteurization of milk and the process of cheese ripening, it is important to know the presence…
Control of the critical oxygen level during dynamic CA storage of apples
The concept of dynamic CA storage (DCA) involves the reduction of the oxygen level in the storage atmosphere to near the lowest level tolerated by the fruit, the so-called anaerobic compensation point. Fruit quality loss during DCA storage is presumed to be slowed down compared to normal ULO storage. Storage conditions below the critical oxygen…
Molecular genetics for improving bacterial wilt resistance in ryegrass
Bacterial wilt caused by Xanthomonas translucens pv. graminis (Xtg) is a major disease of Italian ryegrass (L. multiflorum Lam.). Although targeted resistance breeding has resulted in cultivars with considerable levels of resistance, the mechanisms of inheritance of resistance are poorly understood and further breeding progress is difficult to obtain. In this study, molecular genetic diagnostic…
Virus elimination from ancient varieties of runner bean
In 2004, collected ancient varieties of runner bean were investigated in a cooperative project between the organic seed nursery Zollinger, the university of applied sciences Waedenswil, and the Agroscope Changins-Waedenswil Research Station ACW. The principal aim of this project, which is part of a national action plan of Swiss Confederation, was to preserve and promote…
A comparison of environmental regulations regarding agriculture
According to a study the requirements of the Swiss “Proof of Ecological Performance” are often higher than those of the European Union’s Cross Compliance. The results of a comparison of ecologically relevant laws and ordinances have revealed that there is not one country which consistently has the most stringent rules in all of the areas…
Click-beetle species and biological control of wireworms
Wireworms, the larval stages of click beetles, cause feeding damage to a number of crops. With potatoes the tuber quality is frequently impaired, leading to downgrading losses. In Switzerland damage north of the Alps is primarily caused by the Agriotes obscurus, A. lineatus and A. sputator species. All three species have a very similar cycle…
Economic aspects of seasonal outdoor pig production under current and future political conditions
The economic aspects of Swiss outdoor pig production integrated with crop rotation have been studied for the first time, including costs for rearing, breeding and fattening. The required working time per animal per day was 2,7, 15,6 and 2,3 man minutes during the rearing, the outdoor breeding and the fattening period, respectively. In the trial…
Pig production system with seasonal outdoor keeping
A production system with seasonal outdoor rearing of pigs can be designed to be environmentally compatible with properly planned crop rotation. An extended crop rotation of 6 – 7 years avoids damage to the soil, reduces parasite pressure and also permits the cultivation of grain legumes. It is possible to obtain an equalized nitrogen balance…
Two major lines of impact for the milk value chain in mountainous regions
There have always been special requirements for agriculture in mountainous regions. Compared to plain areas an unequal evolution due to different potentials in production and changing demands of society can be observed. Traditionally dairy production was the most important sector of agriculture in most mountainous areas. As a result of environmental changes and the along…
Seasonal variation of fatty acid composition in Swiss mountain `s milk
The influence of typical feeds in the five mountain regions Engadin, Rheinwald, Emmental, Luzerner Hinterland and Toggenburg on the fatty acid (FA) compostion of milkfat was investigated over one year from May 2004 till April 2005. The average altitude of grass-based feed (GBF) growth was 1247 ± 465 m for the summer feed and 1136 ±…
Strategies for dairy manufacturing plants in Swiss mountainous areas
Clear and consequent implemented strategies for commercial dairy manufacturing plants in Swiss mountainous areas in a deregulated cheese market will become more important in the future. Due to demand trends of the market there are sound perspectives for the sale of premium quality and authentic cheese products. The plants participating in the mountain dairy project…
The sustainability evaluation RISE of mountain farms
The Response-Inducing Sustainability Evaluation (RISE) summarizes, based on twelve indicators ecological, economical and social aspect of agricultural production at the farm level. Within the Mountain Dairy Project RISE was used to assess the overall goals of the individual farm strategies. Although an improvement on the economic indicators can be seen, an overall sustainable situation on…
