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Biodegradable stretch films for silage bales: basically possible
Films made of Ecoflex copolyester (BASF AG) offer good mechanical properties as well as a sufficiently low oxygen permeability in order to satisfy the requirements of stretch films used for silage bales. Films which are stabilised by carbon black also fulfil practically all these criteria. These two types of film were used to wrap silage…
Planting transgenic pest resistant crops in Switzerland?
Transgenic insect-resistant crops have been commercially cultivated on a surface of around 9 mio. hectares worldwide in 1999. The main target of growing pest-resistant plants is to reduce crop losses due to insect pests and to reduce insecticide applications and thus to minimize negative impacts on the environment. Potentially negative effects are discussed for Bacillus…
PE colour stretch films for silage bales
Within the scope of an investigation, we examined the suitability of colour PE stretch films for wrapping silage bales. Four types of films (white, black, olive green and brown) of two different manufacturers (Silotite and Teno-Spin) were used. We investigated the temperature rise beneath the film at a depth of 10 cm, the films’ influence…
Phenological retrospective for the year 1999
L’anno 1999 è stato caratterzzato da eventi meteorologici estremi. Accanto a quantitativi record di precipitazioni, valanghe e allagamenti, bisogna pure annoverare violente tempeste invernali. In generale, l’anno è nuovamente risultato troppo caldo e a intervalli sono cadute precipitazioni molto forti. Lo sviluppo della egetazione si è però perlopiù svolto con le scadenza normali, anche se…
Testing silage additives 1999
In 1999, we investigated the efficacy of six silage additives, containing lactic acid bacteria, which should promote the main fermentation. The trials were carried out in small-scale silos with a mixture of lucerne and cocksfoot. Forage of the first and also second cut was ensiled at two different dry matter levels (about 20 and 30…
Evaluation of ecological measures: the landscape of three regions in Switzerland
Biodiversity, the diversity of life at all scales, is a characteristic feature of our planet and a precondition for human life. However, only during the last two decades biodiversity has become an important research topic. Scientific projects deal with the measurement of biodiversity, the factors that affect biodiversity and with effects biodiversity itself has on…
Evaluation of ecological measures: changes in ecological compensation areas
The increase of the share of ecological compensation areas from 5 % to 7% of the agricultural area in 1998 had different effects in the Rafzerfeld and at Ruswil/Buttisholz. While in the Rafzerfeld the area of the extensively managed meadows increased by 30 % it doubled at Ruswil/Buttisholz and the area of the few intensively…
Evaluation of ecological measures: botanical diversity of meadows in three regions
In the framework of the evaluation of ecological measures promoted by the Swiss Government, a botanical survey was undertaken in three regions in 1997 or 1998. Plant species per 100 m2 were investigated in 88 meadows under different cultivation regimes (from extensively to intensively cultivated).<br>With mean of 15 to 27 spexies per region and type…
Evaluation of ecological measures: spiders and butterflies
To evaluate the impact of set aside land (ecological compensation areas) on biodiversity, spiders and butterflies were used as indicators in two regions in 1997 and 1998. The first results show that the impact of ecological compensation areas depend on the indicator and the type of area. In a typical region of arable crops, wildflower…
Yeast products as feed additives in weaning piglets
In a five week long trial with a total of 128 Large White piglets weighing 10 to 30 kg, the effect of the feed additive Diamond V XP Yeast Culture, a yeast-fermented cereal mixture, on growth rate, feed intake, feed conversion and medical treatment was examined. The 2-factorial design comprised two control treatments, a negative…
Effect of beak trimming on brown growing pullets and laying hens
1968 one-day old chicks of Isa brown hybrid were kept in an aviary system (Natura Typ AZ-187), which was divided in four groups of 492 animals each. At day 1, half of the animals were beak-trimmed by hot cut, whereas the beaks of the other chicks remained intact. At the beginning of week 16, 1500…
Piglets diet supplemented with amino acid valine
The goals of these trials were to investigate the effects of different dietary amino acid concentrations and valine:lysine ratios on piglet performance and health. Two 4-week trials with 90 weaned piglets each were conducted. Both trials were set up as a block design with 3 treatments and 6 replicates per treatment (a total of 18…
Wheat in feed for broilers
“No two cows are alike in their behavioural characteristics. These individual differences become evident in the reactions and the sensitivity of cows towards environmental changes already in daily life situations. There is evidence that such behavioural characteristics predispose an animal’s stress responsiveness. We assessed two methods in order to quantify individual characteristics: (1) we asked…
Field inspections 1999
The field inspections for seed certification of cereals, hybrid maize, grain legumes, red clover and forage grasses were carried out on 8‘945 ha in 2000. In cereals 92,5% of the registered area was admitted during field inspection, 2,1% was refused and 5.4% was withdrawn from field inspection. Hail damage, presence of other cereals, and varietal…
Cereals instead of milk substitute in the diet of veal calves
The possibility to replace the milk substitute in the diet of the veal calf by cereals was studied in three feeding trials with 224 calves. The aim of the study was to reduce the production costs and to improve the image of veal production. The animals of the experimental group received either rolled barley or…
