The legitimacy of the agricultural extension service

Traditionally, the Swedish Agricultural Extension Service has delivered technical information to farmers with the aim of increasing productivity and efficiency in farming. Present problems with overproduction of food and the negative social and environmental consequences of present farm practices has brought this traditional mission in question. In a situation of budgetary constraints it has been suggested that the funding of the governmental Agricultural Extension Service should be cut down or even discontinued altogether The article argues that this would be a mistake. The various negative consequences of modern agriculture indicate that we are far from an ideal mode of agricultural production. Instead, public opinion and new guidelines for agricultural and environmental policies call for substantial changes in Swedish agriculture with respect to pollution, preservation of non-renewable resources, maintaining an open rural landscape, ethical aspects of animal production, rural development etc. This reorientation of Swedish agriculture presumes that decision-makers, farmers, and the public at large get an opportunity to learn more about the complexities of agricultural production. In contributing to this learning process the Agricultural Extension Service would have an important mission. To be able to fulfill this mission, extension professionals must be provided an opportunity to learn a broader concept of productivity and efficiency in agriculture, for instance, how to extend cost-benefit analyses and technical criteria of efficiency to include social, environmental, and ethical aspects. Our present extension staff has not received adequate training for this task. It is suggested that all agricultural colleges need to create departments of Rural Sociology and Agricultural Humanities to provide agricultural students and professionals an opportunity to develop a better understanding of agriculture and make them prepared to take on the challenges and responsibilities they confront in developing our future agriculture.     

Analytical models integrated with satellite images for optimized pest management

The global field protection (GFP) was developed to protect and optimize pest management resources integrating satellite images for precise field demarcation with physical models of controlled release devices of pesticides to protect large fields. The GFP was implemented using a graphical user interface to aid the end-user to select location and define an arbitrary perimeter for protection. The system provides coordinates of drop points for the controlled release devices which can be delivered using drone technology, e.g. unmanned air vehicles. In this work, we present the first proof of concept of this technology. A vast number of pest management applications can benefit from this work, including prevention against vector-borne diseases as well as protection of large agriculture fields.     

Crop biomass and humidity related factors reflect the spatial distribution of phytopathogenic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium</Emphasis> fungi and their mycotoxins in heterogeneous fields and landscapes

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a global problem in small-grains agriculture that results in yield losses and, more seriously, produces harmful toxins that enter the food chain. This study builds on previous research identifying within-field humidity as an important factor in infection processes by Fusarium species and its mycotoxin production. Environmental variables describing topographic control of humidity (TWI), soil texture and related moisture by electrical conductivity (ECa), and canopy humidity by density (NDVI) were explored in their relationship to the fungal infection rates, the abundance of trichothecene-producing Fusarium spp. as determined by TRI 6 gene copies and mycotoxin accumulation. Field studies were performed at four field sites in northeastern Germany in 2009 and 2011. In the wet year 2011, a high Fusarium infection rate resulted in a high abundance of trichothecene-producing fungi as well as high concentrations of mycotoxins. Simultaneously, Fusarium spp. inhibited the development of other filamentous fungi. Overall, a very heterogeneous distribution of pathogen infections and mycotoxin concentrations were displayed in each field in each landscape. The NDVI serves as an important predictor of the occurrence of phytopathogenic Fusarium fungi and their mycotoxins in a field and landscape scale. In addition, the ECa reflects the distribution of the most frequently occurring mycotoxin deoxynivalenol within the fields and landscapes. In all cases, TWI was not found to be a significant variable in the models. All in all, the results extend our knowledge about suitable indicators of FHB infection and mycotoxin production within the field.     

A method for growing potatoes by combining water culture and pot culture techniques

A combined water culture and pot culture technique was developed for the study of the K nutrition of potatoes. The water culture technique permitted control of the K nutrient supply while the pot culture technique provided support for plant growth and for tuber development in a low K medium. Both plant growth and tuber quality reflected the K supply of the culture solution.     

Climate‐driven winter variations of Calanus sinicus abundance in the East China Sea

Global environmental changes threaten the sustainable use of resources and raise uncertainties regarding marine populations' responses in a changing Ocean. The pelagic copepods of the genus Calanus play a central role in shelf ecosystems transferring phytoplankton carbon to harvested populations, from boreal to temperate regions. Here we examined a 15‐yr time series of Calanus sinicus abundance in regards to climate forcing in the East China Sea. We identified a compound effect of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) on environmental conditions in the East China Sea. Such climate influences not only a southward transport of C. sinicus from its population centres into the Taiwan area, but favours advantageous thermal conditions for the species as well. On the interannual scale, our results show that the population size of C. sinicus echoes climate‐driven temperature changes. Hence, the possibility of using the PDO and EAWM variability for assessing and predicting interannual abundance changes of C. sinicus in the East China Sea is considered. The observed close relationship between climate and C. sinicus may promote bottom‐up controls in the pelagic food web, further influencing the southern edge of the species' geographic distribution. Owing to the prominent role this species plays in food web dynamics these results might help integrative fisheries management policies in the heavily exploited East China Sea.     

新疆喀什地区的杏及其栽培技术要点

新疆喀什地区目前有杏树13.3万hm2,占全区果园面积的80%以上.大佳娜丽、冰佳娜丽、乔丽番、阿克木克牙格勒克等11个品种栽培较多.本文着重介绍11个杏品种并指出其栽培技术要点.     

免耕覆盖对春小麦灌浆期干物质积累特性及最终产量的影响

以常规耕作处理作对照,研究了免耕覆盖下春小麦灌浆期间干物质积累分配特性和产量变化,结果表明,高、低秸秆覆盖量下春小麦灌浆期间干物质积累量比常规耕作分别高16.1%、9.8%,免耕秸秆覆盖为春小麦籽粒和产量形成提供了更充足的物质来源;与常规耕作比,免耕覆盖处理的春小麦在花后21-28 d时干物质积累量有个快速增加阶段;在干物质的运转分配中,免耕覆盖对春小麦灌浆期积累的干物质在各个器官间的分配比例影响较小。相对于常规耕作而言,免耕秸秆覆盖处理提高了春小麦产量,其产量的增加主要依赖于花前光合产物的积累,对花后光合产物调用较少。低覆盖量下春小麦较常规耕作增产11.68%,高量覆盖较常规增产18.52%。     

全球开放获取学术交流联盟平台政策、资源与服务研究

[目的/意义]随着开放获取运动的不断开展,书目多样性正被纳入全球开放科学战略框架内进行分析和讨论。全球开放获取学术交流联盟（GLOALL）各平台的政策、资源与服务等体现了对地域、语言以及学术评价等多样性的重视,同时有利于实现书目多样性所强调的多种文化和思想的碰撞与兼容。[方法/过程]本文主要以书目多样性研究为理论基础,与当今开放获取实践相结合,对GLOALL各成员平台的政策、资源和服务进行阐释、对比和分析。[结果/结论]GLOALL的建设经验对国内推进开放获取实践、构建高端学术交流平台具有一定的借鉴意义。对其平台模式的研究有利于国内更好地把握开放获取运动中的机遇,弥补当前服务机制存在的缺口,探索更适合国内的OA模式。