Archive
2,595 posts
New table potato varieties
In 1998 and 1999 respectively a selection of mid-early to mid-late table potato varieties have been assessed within the main trials (7 locations) throughout Switzerland. The experiments were conducted within the framework of the swisspatat working group for potato cultivars, by the two Swiss Federal Agricultural Research Stations Zurich-Reckenholz and Changins. For the varieties Victoria…
Access to litter for 1-day old chicks and laying hens
In a trial with 4 × 500 growing pullets of Bovans brown hybrid, the effect of access to litter material (wood shavings) from day 1 on (E1) in comparison to offering litter from day 10 on (E10) was compared up to week of age 16. Pullets were kept in an aviary system of Harmony 3A-type.…
Silage quality of forage of an extensively used meadow
In Switzerland, the landscape is to be enriched and the diversity of species shall be promoted with the preservation of meadows, which are managed extensively. The forage of such meadows, particularly that of the first cut, has a low nutritional value. Different trials enabled us to test the silage quality of such forage. Over a…
Milk and dairy products – from birth to death
Depending on age, human beings have different needs for nutrients which can be supplied only through a varied diet. Milk and dairy products play a very important part in the human diet thanks to their composition in different nutritive elements. Among the most important elements are the proteins, linoleic acids, short chain fatty acids, sphingolipids…
Are increasing nutritional requirements of dairy cows consistent with sustainability?
Until now, the milk yield of dairy cows has steadily been increasing. Consequently, their nutritional requirements are also increasing. This requires a higher proportion of concentrates in their ration. It is a trend which leads to intensive production systems with high needs for energy and nitrogen. This may not be brought in line with an…
Natural antibiotic properties of honey
In honey there are different natural antibacterial substances, or so called inhibines. One of them, hydrogen peroxide, was thought to be the most important one. However, our studies show, that there are different non-peroxide antibacterial substances. Contrary to the peroxide inhibines, they are not sensitive towards heat , light and storage. The antibacterial effect of…
Influences of soil management on nitrogen dynamics in the soil solution
“Time course of mineral nitrogen content in soil is very dynamic: The combination of several processes leads to quickly succeeding situations of surplusses and shortages for plants and soil organisms. By means of so called “”mineral nitrogen-profiles”” it is possible to identify the course of events and to get a rough idea of the interdependencies…
Principles of research in natural science
Science aims at putting facts into context. Science attempts to define laws that underlie these facts and to clear its purview. Scientific work requires good techniques and methods. A real scientist is prepared to discard a hypothesis if it is in contradiction to the facts. A good scientist not only examines the results of an…
Comparison of laboratory methods for determining forage digestibility
Digestibility of the organic matter of forage can be estimated by different laboratory methods (in vitro): digestion with rumen fluid or with cell-free fungal cellulase, development of regression equations to predict digestibility from chemical composition. The objective of this article was to compare the in vitro digestibility of four different laboratory methods with the digestibility,…
Nutritive value of grassland plants: Digestibility
Digestibility of the organic matter of 10 main grassland species were compared for two years. Samples were collected in field trials during the first growth and during two to three regrowths at three locations at different altitudes. During the first growth cycle, the digestibility of the grass species and of red clover decreased, while white…
Sulfate leaching in a crop rotation – lysimeter results from 1991 to 2000
Sulfate leaching was determined with following crops: winter wheat, spring wheat, winter oak, rape, corn, potato, sugar beet and grass-clover mixture. Under the conditions of the lysimeter experiment at Zurich-Reckenholz (1000 mm annual precipitation, 400 mm from October to March), green manure before potato, corn and sugar beet – mineral sulphur fertilization and the crop…
Influence of the location and the management on the yield of clover-grass mixtures – Presentation of a calculation model
“The fodder quality of meadows can be estimated quite precisely owing to the AGFF-leaflet number 3 “”Bewertung von Wiesenfutter, Nährstoffgehalt und Milchleistung””. Though a similar method which could allow the calculation of the yield potential is not available, we have an extensive set of data originating from numerous experimental sites at our disposal. We therefore…
Crossbreds beef x dairy breed as suckler cows
In foreign beef production herds F1-crossbred cows between beef x dairy breed are common. The goal of this investigation, carried out on the ETH research stations, was to compare different production parameters of 20 F1 crossbreed cows Angus x Holstein and 22 pure-bred Angus cows. All of the 42 animals, mated with Angus, were calving…
DOC-trial: Phosphorus budget and availability over 21 years
The aim of this work was to assess the long term effect of organic and conventional farming on concentrations of total and available phosphorus (P) in cropped soils. Soil samples were taken from a field trial comparing a non-fertilised control (N), two organically cultivated treatments (D2, O2) and two conventionally cultivated treatments (M2, K2). Samples…
Influence of different crop rotations on nitrate leaching
The difference in the effects of six crop rotations, grass-clover ley, Miscanthus, and bare fallow on the amount of drainage runoff, nitrate concentration, and the amount of nitrate leached to groundwater was investigated during seven years (1993-1999) using lysimeters (1 m2 surface and 1.4 m usable depth, filled in 1982 with a low humus, loamy…
Influence of mowing and seed mixture composition on the vegetation of wildflower strips and rotational fallows
Wildflower strips and rotational fallows are areas planted with indigenous wildflowers and are intended for ecological enrichment of cultivated areas. They promote diversity of plant and animal species. Within the scope of a long term experiment in the vicinity of Frauenfeld (Switzerland), we examined the influence of six seed mixtures differing in species composition on…
Silage additives and aerobic stability – test results 2000
The efficacy of the three silage additives Conservit liquid, Kofa Grain pH5 and Lupro-Grain on aerobic stability during unloading and feed out was investigated in grass and also maize silage in comparison to a treatment without additives and a treatment with propionic acid (Luprosil). All three silage additives are chemical products. The trials with grass…
