From 2016 to 2018 inclusive, Agroscope tested 54 varieties of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) at six locations. Of these, 25 were new varieties and 29 were already-recommended varieties that were being retested. Yield, vigour, juvenile development, resistance to leaf diseases and anthracnose, winter-hardiness and persistence were all evaluated. For the persistent “mattenklee” type, the…
As part of a farm survey, data on the solid feed intake and liveweight development of suckler calves from birth to the age of 305 days were collected and analysed. The data were used to derive estimation formula on weight development and solid feed intake of suckler calves in Switzerland. The analysis showed that weight…
Coupled dairy-beef systems are of major significance in Switzerland’s cattle sector. Using Swiss reference data, the present study modelled greenhouse gas emissions per cow and year for a range of different milk and meat yield levels. The study also determined the impact on greenhouse gas emissions of using a combination of sexed semen and beef…
In order to understand the diversity of insects colonizing oilseed rape, a survey focusing on beetles was conducted in a plot of winter rape in Agroscope Changins (Prangins VD). Beetles were captured with yellow water bowls over the whole cultivation period from August 2017 to June 2018. In total, 11,856 individuals were caught from exactly…
Recent studies show a decline in the abundance and diversity of wild pollinators, as well as an increase in honeybee mortality. These pollinators are an integral part of biodiversity and play an essential role in the growing of certain crops and in wild plant reproduction. In the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Jura, and in…
Plastic products are omnipresent in our everyday lives and are so versatile and efficient that it is difficult to imagine modern agriculture without them. However, in combination with littering and as foreign materials in digestate and compost fertilisers, they are also the main source of plastic inputs on agricultural land. Using material flow analysis, this…
Für Filippo Lechthaler ist es wichtig, dass seine Forschung
auch einen Praxisbezug hat. «Daten direkt im
Feld erheben und Berechnungen machen, die das Leben
von Menschen verbessern können – das motiviert mich»,
sagt der 37-Jährige.
Die Digitalisierung betrifft inzwischen alle Lebensbereiche
und wird häufig als Megatrend bezeichnet. Auch der Wissenstransfer
im LIWIS1 läuft vermehrt digital ab. Die von der
AGRIDEA durchgeführte Online-Befragung gibt einen Einblick
in die Art und Weise der Benutzung verschiedener Medien und
zeigt Unterschiede zwischen Akteursgruppen.
Während des grossen Ausbaus der Mechanisierung in
der Landwirtschaft in den 1960er-Jahren wurde die FAT,
die Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Betriebswirtschaft
und Landtechnik gegründet. Eine Auswertung
der Publikationsreihen zeigt, wie sich die Schwerpunkte
der Forschung verschoben haben.
Drosophila suzukii is an invasive species recently introduced in Europe and causing damages to fruit production. Trichopria drosophilae is considered one of the most suitable indigenous parasitoid to be used in biocontrol programs against D. suzukii. To characterize genetic variability and the spatial genetic structure of populations of T. drosophilae, we developed 21 species-specific molecular…
As part of a milk processor’s annual winter campaign for monitoring the contamination of raw milk with anaerobic spores harmful to cheese – also called butyric acid spores – the analysis methods currently used in Switzerland (MPN method according to CNERNA and filtration method according to Bourgeois) are compared with a new method (SY-LAB). To…
The third beef tenderness survey campaign was carried out during the final trimester of 2018. One hundred sixty-eight samples of beef were purchased in retail outlets, as well as 38 pork fillets for purposes of comparison. Some of the samples were also analysed as part of the beef origin verification program set up by the…
The development of modern technologies now allows thousands of genetic markers in an animal’s genome to be revealed by means of DNA genotyping. This information can be used to deduce genomic inbreeding. This is valuable for populations that have no, or only incomplete, pedigree information. Furthermore, differences in the inbreeding of full siblings can be…
Saprophage insects convert diverse biowaste streams into protein- and fat-rich insect biomass generated independently of arable land. Since 2017, 7 insect species have been approved for fish feed in the EU so far. The most promising species are: black soldier fly (SF; Hermetia illucens), house fly (HF; Musca domestica), mealworm (MW; Tenebrio molitor), and house…
Blue lupin can be grown under the conditions prevailing in Switzerland, and its seeds are rich in protein. It could therefore be used as a local alternative to soy imports to meet the protein requirements of ruminants. The aim of this experiment was to determine the in vivo digestibility of organic matter (OMd), crude protein…
Together with institutionalised further and higher education courses, exchanges between professional colleagues have an important role to play when it comes to introducing new ideas and technologies into farming practice. Accordingly, demonstration events have a long tradition in Switzerland. Until now there has been virtually no research into the factors influencing the impacts of farming…
Direct marketing in the agricultural sector is becoming increasingly important in Switzerland. Between 2010 and 2016, this business sector recorded an increase of 60 % across Switzerland, measured as the number of farms adopting this form of marketing. A cross-sectional comparison of the Canton of Bern was used to investigate the extent to which the…
With an agricultural policy that is largely shaped by the Confederation, Switzerland’s federalist structures are only marginally noticeable. Even so, depending on their location, farms can take part in certain cantonal programmes whilst making use of the direct-payment instruments of the Confederation. With the aim of promoting and steering regional agriculture according to local needs,…
The Swiss Federal Government’s agricultural policy aims inter alia to provide agricultural ecosystem services, reduce environmental impacts, and increase the resilience of the agricultural sector. Combining the cultivation of trees with crops or grass – termed «agroforestry » – can contribute to achieving these goals without substantially limiting agricultural production. We identified the regions where…
The microbial strains that Agroscope uses for practical trials and which, if successful, subsequently become part of a defined mixed culture, must demonstrate a high level of safety. With this end in view, 186 strains of lactic acid bacteria from the Agroscope Culture Collection were tested for transferable antibiotic resistances, the formation of biogenic amines,…
Nowadays, the term «sustainability» is ubiquitous – in politics, in science, and in everyday speech. What it means, however, and what ideas are associated with it, varies significantly. Thus, for example, the social dimension is largely neglected in the discourse on sustainability. Perception of sustainability is influenced inter alia by the media, political programmes or…
From 2016 to 2018, Agroscope tested a total of 23 varieties of meadow fescue, including 16 new varieties, in comparative variety trials at six locations. The varieties were assessed on the basis of systematic examinations and observations of forage yield, vigour, juvenile development, competitive ability, persistence, tolerance to winter influences, resistance to leaf diseases, digestibility…
The protein-rich, solvent-extracted meals and press cakes of oilseeds are among the most important protein sources used in compound feed worldwide. In Switzerland, 85 % of oil seed by-products have to be imported. Rapeseed and sunflowers are the most important indigenous oilseeds. Domestic production is bound to contractually negotiated quantities and has thus limited expansion…
As part of a «by farmers to farmers» project, authentic films have been produced and used in the networks in collaboration with a support group from research, administration and practice. In making these films, the «social learning video» method was applied. The purpose of these films is to motivate farmers to implement new regional marketing…
Communal alpine pastures are a popular subject for the study of collective economic activity, despite the fact that there is very little empirical material available on which to base this study. In order to create a broader empirical foundation, five alpine pastures were visited whose organisation and economic processes were tracked by means of participatory…
The use of dung-removal robots on perforated flooring has not been widespread to date. Moreover, scientifically substantiated recommendations for their operation are lacking. In an experiment involving different cleaning frequencies with the Lely Discovery Mobile Barn Cleaner, floor soiling and the behaviour of the cows on perforated flooring were ascertained. The variant with an optimised…
There is a lack of information on how calves are dealt with in mountain regions. Livestock production is important in this agricultural zone and predominantly takes the form of Alpine transhumance. As part of this study, eleven managers of dairy and beef rearing enterprises in the Canton Grisons were interviewed on the issue of calf…
Mastitis is the most common disease of cows, and also leads to very high costs in the Swiss dairy industry. A significant percentage of cases can be traced back to the Staphylococcus aureus genotype B (GTB) pathogen. Unlike all other Staphylococcus aureus genotypes, this one is infectious, and thus leads to problems in herds, particularly…
The intensification of agricultural practices has led to an alarming decline in farmland biodiversity. With the aim of stopping and even reversing this trend, biodiversity promotion areas (BPA – formerly named «ecological compensation areas») were introduced in the 1990s. In this study, the influence of BPA on the biodiversity of butterflies and breeding birds was…