Response of climate-growth relationships and water use efficiency to thinning in a Pinus nigra afforestation

Thinning is the main forestry measure to increase tree growth by reducing stand tree density and competition for resources. A thinning experiment was established in 1993 on a 32-year-old Pinus nigra Arn. stand in central Spain. The response of growth, climate-growth relationships and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi) to a stand density reduction were compared between moderate thinned plots and a control plot by a combined analysis of basal area increments (BAI), and C and O stable isotope ratios (δ¹³C_c and δ¹⁸O_c). BAI in the control plot showed a decreasing trend that was avoided by thinning in the thinned plot. Thinning also partially buffered tree-ring response to climate and trees were less sensitive to precipitation although more sensitive to temperature. Δ¹³C_c in the thinned plot was not modified indicating that stomatal conductance (g) and photosynthetic capacity (A) did not change or change in the same direction. However, δ¹⁸O_c decreased in the control plot (unrelated to δ¹⁸O of precipitation) but not in the thinned plot, suggesting a relative increase of temperature and irradiance and/or a decrease of air humidity after reducing the density consistent with an increase in A, g and BAI. As WUEi did not increase in the thinned plot, faster growth in this plot was caused by higher abundance of resources per tree. The trend of WUEi in both plots indicated low-moderate CO₂-induced improvements. Thinning might be a useful adaptation measure against climate change in these plantations reducing their vulnerability to droughts. However, because WUEi was not affected, the positive growth response might be limited if droughts and warming continue and certain thresholds are exceeded.     

Sulfur in soils

Sulfur (S) deficiency of crops, which has been reported with increasing frequency over the past two decades on a worldwide scale, is a factor that reduces yield and affects the quality of harvested products. Especially in Western European countries, incidence of S deficiency has increasingly been reported in Brassicaceae. For this reason, more attention should be paid to the optimization of S‐fertilizer application, in order to cover plant S requirements whilst minimizing environmental impacts. In soils, S exists in inorganic and organic forms. While sulfate (SO ), which is a direct S source for plants, contributes up to 5% of total soil S, generally more than 95% of soil S are organically bound. Organic S is divided into sulfate ester and carbon‐bonded S. Although not directly plant‐available, organically bound S may potentially contribute to the S supply of plants, especially in deficiency situations. Sulfur turnover involves both biochemical and biological mineralization. Biochemical mineralization, which is the release of SO from the ester sulfate pool through enzymatic hydrolysis, is controlled by S supply, while the biological mineralization is driven by the microbial need for organic C to provide energy.     

Strategy of statistical model selection for precision farming on-farm experiments

Nitrogen (N) fertilization implies two important issues: N enhances grain yields and quality, but applied in excess, nitrous oxide emissions and nitrate leaching may be induced. To reduce environmental impacts, spatial N variability in agricultural fields can be adapted using crop sensors. In on-farm experiments, sensor-based variable rate N application is compared to uniform N application, which is common agricultural practice. On-farm experiments (OFE) provide special considerations as opposed to on-station trials. In OFE, the experimental units in farmer-managed fields are considerably larger, which raises the question if soil heterogeneity may be fully controlled by the experimental design (random treatment allocation and blocking). Grain yield monitoring systems are used increasingly in OFE and provide spatially correlated data. As a consequence, classical analysis of variance is not a valid option. An alternative four-step strategy of statistical model selection is presented, generalizing the assumptions of classical analysis of variance within the framework of linear mixed models. Soil heterogeneity is preliminary identified in step 1 and finalized in step 2 using covariate combinations (analysis of covariance). Yield data correlations are handled in step 3 using geo-statistical models. The last step estimates treatment effects and derives the statistical inference. Analyses of three OFE revealed that different covariate combinations and geo-statistical models were needed for each trial, which involves higher analytical efforts than for on-station trials. These efforts can be minimized by following the steps provided in this study to find a best model approximation. Nevertheless, model selection in precision farming OFE will always accompany some uncertainty.     

Fate of Cry1Ab protein in agricultural systems under slurry management of cows fed genetically modified maize (Zea mays L.) MON810: a quantitative assessment

The objective of the study was to track the fate of recombinant Cry1Ab protein in a liquid manure field trial when feeding GM maize MON810 to dairy cows. A validated ELISA was applied for quantification of Cry1Ab in the agricultural chain from GM maize plants, feed, liquid manure and soil to crops grown on manured fields. Starting with 23.7 μg of Cry1Ab g(-1) dry weight GM maize material, a rapid decline of Cry1Ab levels was observed as 2.6% and 0.9% of Cry1Ab from the GM plant were detected in feed and liquid manure, respectively. Half of this residual Cry1Ab persisted during slurry storage for 25 weeks. After application to experimental fields, final degradation of Cry1Ab to below detectable levels in soil was reported. Cry1Ab exhibited a higher rate of degradation compared to total protein in the agricultural processes. Immunoblotting revealed a degradation of the 65 kDa Cry1Ab into immunoreactive fragments of lower size in all analyzed materials.     

Fasciola hepatica - monitoring the milky way? The use of tank milk for liver fluke monitoring in dairy herds as base for treatment strategies

In this study 595 lactating cows originating from 31 carinthian farms were investigated in accordance of liver fluke infection using individual and tank milk as well as individual blood and faecal samples. Two commercial ELISAs were used to test the milk and blood serum, and the results were compared with coproscopy and a commercial copro-antigen ELISA. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and two-graph operating characteristics (TG ROC) of tank milk results were conducted based on the individual milk to determine the minimum reliable in-herd antibody prevalence for the predominant condition in the investigation area. In 17.8% of the examined individuals located in 64.5% of the farms eggs were detected by coproscopy. The copro-antigen ELISA delivered 13.4% positive individuals from 54.8% of the farms. The milk ELISAs showed 42.7% (Euroclone) and 44.2% (Pourquier) positive cows on 90.3% of the farms. The blood samples were positive in 43% (Euroclone) and 45.2% (Pourquier) of the individuals from 90.3% to 96.8% of the herds, respectively. Based on the milk and the blood an average in-herd prevalence of 30-45% can be assumed. The serum and milk samples delivered correlating results with kappa values between 0.94 and 0.97, whereas the coproscopy and copro-antigen ELISA did not correlate well with the ELISA results. The two different ELISA tests highly correlated on individual and on herd level. Both showed a reliable minimum in-herd prevalence of ～20%, meaning that one fifth of the individuals in a herd have to be positive to obtain a positive bulk tank milk result. In the investigated area a higher in-herd prevalence is expected, therefore the tank milk is useful as a monitoring tool and can be used as a basis for intervention strategies.     

Metabolomic analysis of Ranunculus spp. as potential agents involved in the etiology of equine grass sickness

Identification of toxic or harmful agents continues to be a key goal in agricultural chemistry. This paper reports a metabolomic analysis of Ranunculus repens and related species, which were recently postulated to be cocausative agents in the etiology of equine grass sickness (EGS). Specifically, samples collected at EGS sites were compared with those from non-EGS sites. Furthermore, interspecific and seasonal variations and the species' response to edaphic and climatic factors were investigated. (1)H NMR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analysis was applied to the crude methanol extracts of the Ranunculus samples, as well as their chloroform fractions. Samples from EGS sites were significantly different from control samples. The metabolite composition varied greatly between different Ranunculus species. No significant changes could be observed between samples collected in different seasons. This work provides strong evidence that Ranunculus is involved in the etiology of EGS and has implications for agricultural management of pastures.     

Estimating the level of fruit scarring by citrus thrips from temperature conditions prior to the end of bloom

In this study, we develop and validate multiple regression models to estimate the degree of fruit scarring by citrus thrips, Scirtothrips citri (Moulton), from heat and chill degree days. Regression coefficients indicate that cool weather during early March (2 March–16 March) and warm weather during bloom are associated with high levels of thrips scarring. The biological mechanisms leading to the temperature-fruit scarring relationships are unknown. An economic analysis suggests that using model predictions may increase the average financial return per hectare and reduce the number of insecticide treatments applied against citrus thrips.     

Breeding objectives and the relative importance of traits in plant and animal breeding: a comparative review

Breeding objectives always involve consideration of multiple traits, even in situations where output of a single trait is dominant. We review literature dealing with formal definition of breeding objectives. Involvement of farmers in the process of setting up breeding objectives is also considered. In the optimal selection index, the relative importance of a trait is scaled by its economic value, derived as marginal profit related to a change in expression of defined size. Normative approaches to derive economic values use partial derivatives of a profit equation with respect to the traits involved or model the bio-economic system with various techniques. The theory is well developed and includes consideration of non-linear profit functions and traits with an intermediate optimum. It is frequently applied in animal breeding. In dairy cattle breeding, a major change of focus from traits related to output (i.e., milk yield) to traits related to cost of input (health, fertility, feed efficiency) has taken place recently. Plant breeders find the concept of deriving relative economic weights of traits difficult to apply and often replace the optimal index by restricted or desired gains indices. A change of paradigms similar to that in cattle breeding seems advisable. Participatory approaches to evaluate the relative importance of traits are more frequently applied in plant breeding than in animal breeding. We review two studies, dealing with methods of acquiring information about selection criteria of farmers planting maize in the Ethiopian highlands and of pastoralists keeping cattle in Uganda, in detail.