Hygienic and ecological risks connected with utilization of animal manures and biosolids in agriculture

In recent years the fate of human and animal pathogen microorganisms as a potential pollutant of the environment has been paid increased attention. Substantial quantities of these compounds and their metabolites are excreted, flushed down the drain, discarded as waste, or left over in animal feedlots. After passing to the sewer, several of these compounds are not adequately eliminated by the methods that are currently used in sewage treatment. Substantial quantities of biosolids and livestock manure end up on agricultural land. Effective sanitation of the environment, particularly of some of its special parts, which can be a source of spreading of diseases, plays an important role in prevention of infectious diseases. In this respect special attention should be paid to the disinfection of infected farm animal excrements. Sanitation of excrements should, on the one hand, ensure effective inhibition of infectious agents and, on the other hand, comply with the requirement of preserving the composition of the manure so it can be used in agricultural production.     

The fermentative capacity of growing pigs and adult sows fed diets with contrasting type and level of dietary fibre

Adult sows have a more developed gastro-intestinal system than young growing pigs resulting in a superior capacity to digest fibrous components. The main objective of this study was to describe the capacity of sows and growing pigs to digest the fibre components in concentrated low dietary fibre (DF) diet and two high DF diets similar in DF but with contrasting DF solubility. Six sows and four growing pigs were fitted with a simple T-cannula at the terminal ileum. Each balance experiment consisted of a 7-day initial period followed by a 3-day collection of faeces and a 2 or 3-day collection of ileal digesta for growing pigs and adult sows, respectively. When feeding diets with high proportions of soluble non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), the difference in fermentation capacity between growing pigs and adult sows was small. The adult sows showed a higher fermentative capacity, evidenced by a higher fermentation and a higher methane production, when high fibre diet with high amount of insoluble fibre was fed.     

减少肉种鸡场窝外蛋的方法

窝外蛋是许多肉种鸡场都可见到的问题,仅靠集蛋是无法得到解决的,其解决需要在饲养管理方式上作出改变。在理想生产条件下,窝外蛋有可能降低至1%以内。     

Urban forests as compensation measures for infrastructure development

Sustainable development requires, among other things, that development projects not result in the degradation of natural resources for outdoor recreation. There has been a rapid increase in knowledge regarding the importance of the external environment to our health and well-being. Stress is reduced significantly when people are exposed to health-promoting nature and landscape values. Many people are actively choosing to reduce their stress. Doctors today prescribe outdoor walks in peaceful environments for the same purpose. A high level of traffic noise increases stress. This paper discusses the application of silent values in an infrastructure development project, the extension of Sturup Airport, east of Malmö, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark. Through estimating the change in noise resulting from the development, it is possible to integrate mitigating and compensating measures in the planning process discussions. Such measures can be negotiated as conditions for authorization of the project. The airport is situated in an area rich in nature values for recreation. The airport expansion will mean both new noise impacting "silent" areas and increasing noise levels in already noise-affected areas. In this study, we have taken a positive stand on the silent areas, mostly agriculture land, where compensation measures could be taken, thus balancing the loss of silent nature values for recreation. Silent areas that will not be affected are suitable and feassible for compensation measures thus can be called compensation areas. In this way the development of new recreational areas, preferably designed as urban forests, are critical preconditions for the negotiations for the airport extension. The conclusion is that urban forest investments for health and well-being can be an important part of strategic decisions in spatial planning. As preconditions for a permit, the development and financing of new urban forests and green areas can be part of the total development plan. This is an issue of global interest, as many countries are in a process of rapid urbanization, and urban greening and urban forestry have an important role to play in the process of promoting quality of life and improving environmental quality.     

Genetic analysis of an attenuated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Papaya ringspot virus</Emphasis> strain applied for cross-protection

Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) HA 5-1, a nitrous acid-induced mild mutant of severe strain HA, widely applied for control of PRSV by cross-protection, was used to study the genetic basis of attenuation. Using infectious clones, a series of recombinants was generated between HA 5-1 and HA and their infectivity was analyzed on the systemic host papaya and the local lesion host Chenopodium quinoa. The recombinants that contained mutations in P1 and HC-Pro genes caused attenuated infection on papaya without conspicuous symptoms, similar to HA 5-1. The recombination and sequence analyses strongly implicated two amino acid changes in the C-terminal region of P1 and two in HC-Pro of HA 5-1 involved in the attenuated infection on papaya. The recombinants that infected C. quinoa plants without local lesions contained the same mutations in the C-terminal region of HC-Pro for attenuated infection on papaya. We conclude that both P1 and HC-Pro bear important pathogenicity determinants for the infection on the systemic host papaya and that the mutations in HC-Pro affecting pathogenicity on papaya are also responsible for the inability to induce hypersensitive reaction on C. quinoa.     

Associations between use of electric cow-trainers and clinical diseases, reproductive performance and culling in Swedish dairy cattle

The aims of this follow-up study were: (a) to evaluate the role of ECT technology as a risk factor for several diseases; and (b) to determine if the effects of these diseases on cows' reproductive performance and as risk factors for culling are influenced by exposure to ECTs. Diseases considered were retained placenta, metritis, ketosis, cystic ovaries, silent heat, milk fever, clinical mastitis, and foot and leg problems. We used historical and contemporary controls (with control herds selected to match the experimental herds for size and location). Data consisted of 10264 Swedish Red and White (SRB) and 5461 Swedish Friesian (SLB) lactation records in 150 herds of which 33 used cow-trainers. Logistic regression was used to estimate the effects of parity and exposure to electric cow-trainers on the risks of diseases and the effects of diseases and exposure to electric cow-trainers on risk of culling. The least-squares procedure was used to estimate the effects of diseases on reproductive performance.

The dominant effects associated with use of electric cow-trainers were an increased risk for silent heat, clinical mastitis, ketosis and culling relative to cows in herds not using cow-trainers. Diseases had negative effects on reproductive performance and the effects were larger for cows in herds using cow-trainers. In herds using electric cow-trainers, the largest increase in the interval from first service to conception (58 days) was caused by the occurrences of silent heat, cystic ovaries and the combination of two or more diseases. Retained placenta, metritis, cystic ovaries, clinical mastitis and a combination of two or more diseases increased the risk of culling about two times relative to healthy primiparous cows with the increase being greater for cows in herds using cow-trainers. Silent heat did not increase risk of culling in control groups, but was the largest risk factor for culling in the exposed group. We concluded that exposure to electric cow-trainers increased the incidence risk of silent heat, clinical mastitis, and ketosis and changed silent heat from a neutral disease with respect to culling to a major risk factor. Finally, exposure to cow-trainers increased the general negative effect of diseases on the cows' reproductive performance and risk for culling.     

Einfluss assoziativer rhizosphärenbakterien auf die äHrstoffaufnahme und den Ertrag von Mais

In mehrjährigen Feldversuchen (1990–1995) in Nordostdeutschland wurde der Einfluß selektierter assoziativer Rhizosphärenbakterien auf den Ertrag und die Nährstoffaufnahme bei Mais untersucht.

Der Trockenmasse‐ und Kolbenertrag zur Siloreife bzw. der Samenertrag wurde durch die Bakterienstämme Pseudomonas fluorescens (PsIA12), Agrobacterium rhizogenes (A1A4), Rhizobium trifolii (R39) und z.T. durch Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (PsIB2) in den Jahren 1990 bis 1995 auf lehmigen Sandböden wiederholt signifikant, auf sandigem Lehm zum Teil signifikant erhöht. Maissorten können unterschiedlich auf die Bakterieninokulation reagieren. Die Bakterien stimulierten insbesondere bei Jungpflanzen die Wurzelentwicklung und die Nährstoffaufnahme (N, P, K) aus dem Boden. Sie bildeten Phytohormone (Auxine und z.T. Cytokinine) und überlebten, auch unter Feldbedingungen, im Rhizosphärenraum von Mais während der gesamten Vegetation.     

Yields nutrient intake and soil fertilizing in 40 years fertilizer trials

The set of twenty long‐term field nutrition trials starting from 1957 at five sites. The sites differed by their altitude (from 180 m to 620 m) with average daily temperatures (from 6,8°C m to 9°C m) and soil type (from chernozem to brown podsolic soil) Provided mainly the following results:

? The geonomic division to the fertile sugarbeet region and less fertile potato region did not strictly differentiate the influence of fertilizer and climatic effects to the crop yields.

? The effect of fertilizing was dependent on the nutrient content and on the conditions of releasing and binding of the nutrients in soil.

? The precipitation regime has a strong influence on the effect of the nitrogen escalated doses.

? The facts concerning the nutrient intake are very precious knowledge. These facts have not been examined yet during the long‐term trials.

? The site effect, particularly its climatic conditions, on the nutrient intake is often more obvious compared to the fertilizing effect.

? Very interesting impulses for further research monitoring during the long‐term trials was contributed by “mapping”; of soil capacity to provide nutrients to plants at various sites and under different climate.