Potential for organic Chilean wine

Abstract

The potential for extending organic wine production in Chile is discussed in relation to its history and present situation. The main objective is to present an overview of the production of organic wine in Chile, its certification, and national and international markets. During the wine harvesting season in March and April 2006, the authors visited and interviewed staff at four Chilean organic wineries. The wineries were all situated in the wine-producing centre of the country and were of variable sizes. One of the certification bodies in Chile was also interviewed. In addition to the field studies and interviews in Chile, various written information has been used. Second to Argentina, Chile is the country that produces most wine in Latin America. Vineyards cover a total of 110 000 hectares of the country's two million hectares of arable land. A study carried out in 2005 showed that 2000 hectares (almost 2%) of vineyards are organically cultivated. The organic production is operated by 32 different companies, which produce organic wine mainly for exportation to the international market. In Chile, the number of certified organic wine producers has increased in recent years in a trend directed by international demand and possible competitive advantages for Chilean wines. In order for a wine to be called ‘organic’ or ‘wine made from organically grown grapes’, the cultivation and final product must be approved by a certification company. In Chile there are three main active certification bodies; one national (Certificadora Chile Orgánico, CCO) and two international (the Swiss company IMO and the German company BCS). The study reveals a country with innovation and energy but facing strong pressures from the international market and its jungle of laws and directives, and the differing prestige of different certifications and labels. Chile as a wine-producing country has many competitors, and the production of organic wine could be a way to find diversity and exploit new market ground where environmental consideration concerns and sustainability are important targets.     

Effect of tillage and crop on arbuscular mycorrhiza colonization of winter wheat and triticale under Mediterranean conditions

Large‐scale inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is generally impractical in most regions and we have little understanding of the factors that determine inoculation success. Nevertheless, the ability to take full advantage of indigenous AMF for sustainable production needs to be developed within cropping systems. We used part of a long‐term field experiment to understand the influence of tillage and the preceding crop on AMF colonization over the growing season. Arbuscular mycorrhiza colonization rate was more affected by treatment (tillage or the combination of crop and preceding crop) than by the total number of AMF spores in the soil. Conventional tillage (CT) had a statistically significant negative effect (P ≤ 0.05) on spore numbers isolated from the soil, but only in the first year of study. However, the AMF colonization rate was significantly reduced by CT, and the roots of wheat, Triticum aestivum, L, cv. Coa after sunflower, Helianthus annuus L., were less well colonized than were those of triticale, X Triticosecale Wittmack, cv. Alter after wheat, but the affect of tillage was more pronounced than was the effect of crop combination. Under no‐till there was a significant increase in AMF colonization rate throughout the sampling period in both wheat and triticale, indicating that the extraradical mycelium previously produced acted as a source of inoculum. In general, triticale showed greater AMF colonization than wheat, despite the preceding crop being less mycotrophic. Under these experimental conditions, typical of Mediterranean agricultural systems, AMF colonization responded more strongly to tillage practices than to the combination of crop and preceding crop.     

基于SALUS与WebGIS整合的作物生长模拟

SALUS是较为著名的土地可持续使用系统模型，实现了一种基于WebGIS整合SALUS的作物生长仿真系统。详细阐述了数据库和相关功能模块的整合方法，改善了SALUS模型在空间数据处理与仿真结果视觉化的能力。可以让使用者清晰的掌握土壤、天气、灌溉量、施肥量等多种因素对农作物产量的影响，为农作物实施相关的增收管理措施提供了一定的科学依据。并提出了相应的整合方案为实际构建基于WebGIS的作物生长仿真系统提供了一定的技术支撑。     

我国热带作物机械的发展现状与对策

热带作物机械化是农业机械化和农业工程学科的一个主要组成部分,发展热带作物机械化对全国热区农垦乃至新农村建设都具有现实意义。为此,依据历年统计数据,阐述了热带作物机械的发展现状及存在的问题,并结合当前热带作物机械行业发展形势,提出针对热带作物机械发展的建议与对策。     

Effect of Water and Rice Straw Management Practices on Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in a Double-Cropped Paddy Field

ABSTRACT

Water and rice straw (RS) management practices can potentially affect the accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils. Field experiments were conducted in two consecutive rice-growing seasons (wet and dry) to evaluate SOC stocks under different water (continuous flooding [CF], alternate wetting and drying [AWD]) and RS management practices (RS incorporation [RS-I], RS burning [RS-B], without RS incorporation and burning [WRS]) in a double-cropped paddy field. RS-I under AWD had higher volumetric water content than the same RS management under CF at tillering in both growing seasons. Total SOC was significantly higher under AWD at tillering in both wet and dry seasons and after harvesting in the dry season compared with CF. The same trend was also observed for C:N ratio at tillering and after harvesting in the dry season. RS-B plots had lower SOC stocks than RS-I and WRS plots across most of the measuring periods regardless of the growing seasons. SOC stocks were 33.09 and 39.31 Mg/ha at RS-B and RS-I plots, respectively, in the wet season, whereas the respective values were 21.45 and 24.55 Mg/ha in the dry season. Incorporation of RS enhanced SOC stocks under AWD irrigation, especially in the dry season before planting. Soil incorporation of RS in combination with AWD could be a viable option to increase SOC stocks in the double-cropped rice production region as it is strongly linked with soil fertility and productivity. However, the environmental consequences of RS incorporation in irrigated lowland rice production system should be taken into consideration before its recommendation for paddy field on a large scale.     

Impact of organic residues and mineral fertilizer application on soil–crop system: II soil attributes

The effects of crop residues alone (Cr⁺) or combined with inorganic fertilizer (FCr⁺) sewage sludge (SS) and humentos (H) on soil properties were studied in a five-season wheat–guar rotation. Incorporation of Cr⁺ and SS significantly decreased pH by 5–9%. Highest organic carbon (OC) was observed in SS plots, whereas Cr⁺ resulted in values threefold that of the control. The added effect of Cr⁺ (46%) combined with fertilizer on total nitrogen (TN) was greater than Cr⁺ by 28%. The fraction of total residue N mineralized was 71%, whereas net N mineralized in Cr⁺, SS, H and FCr⁺ plots at 0–20 and 20–40 cm depths were 39.8, 52.3, 11.4, 66.7 mg kg^?1 and 21.2, 27.9, 8.2, 41.2 mg kg^?1, respectively. Integrated application of Cr⁺ with fertilizer had a synergistic effect on P content (3.49–3.69 units), but soil levels has never exceeded 13 mg P kg ^?1. Sole Cr⁺ significantly increased topsoil cation-exchange capacity (CEC) compared with the control treatment (9.39–21.59%). Application of SS, FCr⁺ and Cr⁺ significantly increased water-holding capacity and decreased bulk density by 9–15% and 8–9%, respectively, suggesting that such practice can restore the productivity of degraded soils and improve crop yields.     

Quality versus quantity: spring wheat seed size and seeding rate effects on Avena fatua interference, economic returns and economic thresholds

A 3-year field experiment was conducted at Kalispell, Montana, USA, to investigate the effects of spring wheat seed size and seeding rate on wheat yield loss (YL), economic returns and economic thresholds (ETs), as a function of Avena fatua density. Crop competitive ability increased as wheat seeding rate and seed size increased, with the greatest differences among treatment factors being observed at low weed densities. Both treatment factors decreased spring wheat YL, increasing economic returns during all 3 years of the study despite the higher associated seed costs. Averaged over all other factors, adjusted gross returns (AGR) were 477 and 537$ ha⁻¹ for the low and high seeding rates, while values of 453, 521 and 547$ ha⁻¹ were obtained for the small, bulk and large seed size classes respectively. Weed-free yield potential varied yearly. As yield potential increased, A. fatua competitive effects were more evident and ETs decreased. Nonetheless, both treatment factors increased ETs in 2 of 3 years. These results demonstrate that the use of higher seeding rates and larger seed size classes both improve wheat competitive ability towards A. fatua while simultaneously increasing economic returns.     

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地建立农业生态体系的初步研究

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地生态条件恶劣 ,建立农业生态体系需采取特别的措施。两年试验表明 ,供试 71种作物大部分适应性较差 ,蔬菜产量相对较低 ;能量的产投比低 ,养分的利用率低。因此 ,在塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地建立农业生态体系时 ,应采取科学的田间管理措施 ,充分利用地力     

Epiphytic life is the main characteristic of the life cycle ofPseudomonas syringae pv.pisi,pea bacterial blight agent

Pseudomonas syringae pv.pisi, pea bacterial blight agent, is seed-transmitted. Some aspects of its life cycle and its biology were investigated. The colonization of pea plants obtained from naturally infected seeds was studied in natural conditions while high populations of bacteria developed on plants showing no symptoms. Two streptomycin-resistant mutants were used to study the epiphytic life of the pathogen. Populations were monitored in different host-parasite compatibilities. When race 2 or race 6 of the pathogen was surface-inoculated on susceptible cultivars, a decrease of population size was observed during the following one to three days but was followed by an increase to levels 1000 times greater than the initial number detected, without symptoms for most of the plants. When race 2 was surface-inoculated on resistant genotypes or race 6 on non-host plants, bacteria did not multiply but population levels slightly decreased.Pseudomonas syringae pv.pisi shows a resident phase and its development is race-specific. Weeds collected in naturally contaminated pea fields, diseased or not, often harboured the pathogen but with levels smaller than those observed on peas. Pea crop debris and volunteers kept high levels of bacteria for at least eight months after the harvest of a diseased crop. As long as two pea crops are not grown one after the other in the same field, it is unlikely that debris and volunteers will act as an important inoculum source. The development of this pathogen during the growing season is considered as an important parameter to take into account for controlling the disease through seed health testing.     

Cropping systems for the management of phytonematodes

Damage caused by nematodes is one of the limiting factors in crop production. Traditional nematode management is based on the use of crop rotations, resistant cultivars, nematicides, or combinations of these methods. For a crop like peanut (Arachis hypogaea), cultivars resistant to root-knot nematodes are not available. There are soybean (Glycine max) cultivars resistant to some of the species of root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.); however, most fields have nematode infestations composed of mixtures of species. Research at Auburn has shown that tropical crops can be used effectively in rotation to manage nematode problems. Rotations with American jointvetch (Aeschynomene americana), castor (Ricinus communis), hairy indigo (Indigofera hirsuta), partridge pea (Cassia fasciculata), sesame (Sesamum indicum), and velvetbean (Mucuna deeringiana) have resulted in good nematode control and increased yields of peanut and soybean. Some crops (castor, sesame) are considered ‘active’ in that they produce compounds that are nematicidal, whereas others (e.g. corn, sorghum) are simply non-host, that is, ‘passive’.