Kemink subsoiling before and after planting

The Kemink exact soil management system is a non-inversion soil management system based on subsoiling, ridges and controlled traffic. Previous studies have documented benefits of the Kemink system used in its entirety, but the isolated effect of Kemink subsoiling has not been investigated before. To determine the isolated effect of Kemink subsoiling before and after planting two field experiments in sugar beet and barley were conducted in 1999 and 2000 under low nutrient input conditions in a conventional soil management system without recognized compaction problems. Kemink subsoiling after planting generally showed a negative effect on the growth and yield of both crops, whereas subsoiling before planting increased sugar beet yield from 8.4 to 9.5 t ha⁻¹ and sugar beet nitrogen uptake from 48.5 to 57.4 kg ha⁻¹. There was no effect of subsoiling before planting on the grain yield of barley. The negative effect of subsoiling after planting was more pronounced in 1999 than in 2000, and more pronounced in spring barley. The study shows that Kemink subsoiling after planting involves a significant risk of crop damage and cannot be expected to improve crop performance in conventional soil management systems in its current form, whereas Kemink subsoiling before planting may have potential as a measure to increase yield of sugar beet and possibly other row crops too, under low nutrient input conditions.     

Economic and environmental evaluation of three goal-vision based scenarios for organic dairy farming in Denmark

The objective of this study was to explore the sustainability of future organic dairy farming systems in Denmark, by evaluating the economic and environmental consequences of three scenarios at the farm level based on different visions of future sustainability leading to different farm-based goals. The future sustainable organic dairy farming systems were deduced from participative sessions with stakeholders, and used to define specific scenarios and related key parameters. Parameterization of the scenarios was based on model simulations and the invoking of expert knowledge. Each scenario was designed to fulfil different aspects of sustainability. The business as usual scenario (BAU) was driven by economic incentives and implemented new technologies and measures to enhance productivity and efficiency. This scenario was expected to be the mainstream strategy of future organic dairy production in Denmark. In the animal welfare scenario (ANW), economic efficiency was subordinate to animal welfare, and measures to improve animal welfare, such as lower milk yield, extra grazing area and a deep-litter barn, were incorporated. The environmental scenario (ENV) was designed to minimize N losses into the environment, reduce emission of greenhouse gases and the use of fossil energy, and was based on self-sufficiency regarding nutrients and feed. The economic evaluation of the scenarios was based on quantification of farm profitability (i.e. net profit), whereas environmental evaluation was based on the quantification of the N-surplus per ha, emission of greenhouse gases, and use of fossil energy per kg energy-corrected milk (ECM).Compared to prolonging the current main stream strategy (BAU), the evaluation of scenarios revealed that investing in animal welfare comprised trade-offs regarding farm profitability, climate change and the use of fossil energy. In ANW, net profit per farm was almost 39 k€ lower than in BAU, whereas emission of greenhouse gases and energy per kg ECM was 8% and 3% higher, respectively. Minimizing environmental impact in ENV reduced local as well as global environmental impact without an economic trade-off. Greenhouse gas emission per kg ECM was 5% lower and fossil energy use was 11% lower than in BAU. The N-surplus of ENV was 80 kg per ha, whereas the N-surplus was approximately 116 in both BAU and ANW. Prolonging the current main stream strategy (BAU) resulted in a high local environmental impact, a moderate global environmental impact and a high economic risk related to changes in milk price or costs.     

Purulent dacryocystitis (nasolacrimal duct drainage) secondary to periapical tooth root infection in a donkey

Periapical tooth disease in the equid has been extensively described. Rostral cheek tooth abscessation usually leads to external facial swelling, and in some cases, nasal drainage. Periapical infection of the caudal cheek teeth usually results in maxillary empyema and sinusitis. This case report describes a donkey with periapical tooth root infection of the left 3rd maxillary premolar (207) diagnosed with computed tomography, which drained exclusively into the adjacent/collateral nasolacrimal duct.     

Clinical management of superficial complicated corneal ulcerations infected with newly identified fastidious bacteria with unknown antibiotic sensitivity in three horses

This case series addresses a clinical approach to a specific type of infected corneal ulceration in horses; the slow-healing superficial complicated corneal ulceration involving a fastidious or possibly newly identified bacteria for which no antibiotic sensitivity can be determined. These corneal ulcerations present as superficial, nonhealing lesions that appear infected based on cellular infiltration of the cornea. Because they are superficial, they do not appear to be as serious to the referral veterinarian as deep stromal corneal ulcerations. However, superficial corneal ulcerations are complicated and slow healing, ultimately frustrating both owners and primary care clinicians. Culture results are often negative, or implicate a newly identified bacteria with no known antimicrobial sensitivity in horses.     

Repeated use of green-manure catch crops in organic cereal production – grain yields and nitrogen supply

Abstract

By restricted access to manure, nitrogen (N) supply in organic agriculture relies on biological N-fixation. This study compares grain yields after one full-season green manure (FSGM) to yields with repeated use of a green-manure catch crop. At two sites in south-eastern Norway, in a simple 4-year rotation (oats/wheat/oats/wheat), the repeated use of ryegrass, clover, or a mixture of ryegrass and clover as catch crops was compared with an FSGM established as a catch crop in year 1. The FSGM treatments had no subsequent catch crops. In year 5, the final residual effects were measured in barley.

The yield levels were about equal for grains with no catch crop and a ryegrass catch crop. On average, the green-manure catch crops increased subsequent cereal yields close to 30%. The FSGM increased subsequent cereal yields significantly in two years, but across the rotation the yields were comparable to those of the treatments without green-manure catch crop. To achieve acceptable yields under Norwegian conditions, more than 25% of the land should be used for full-season green manure, or this method combined with green-manure catch crops. The accumulated amount of N in aboveground biomass in late autumn did not compensate for the N removed by cereal yields. To account for the deficiency, the roots of the green-manure catch crops would have to contain about 60% of the total N (tot-N) required to balance the cereal yields. Such high average values for root N are likely not realistic to achieve. However, measurement of biomass in late autumn may not reflect all N made available to concurrent or subsequent main crops.     

Critical loads of acidity for surface waters

The critical load of acidity for surface waters is based on the concept that the inputs of acids to a catchment do not exceed the weathering less a given amount of ANC. The Steady State Water Chemistry (SSWC) Method is used to calculate critical loads, using present water chemistry. To ensure no damage to biological indicators such as fish species a value for ANC_limit of 20 μeq/l has been used to date for calculating critical loads. The SSWC-method is sensitive to the choice of the ANC_limit. In areas with little acid deposition the probability of acid episodes leading to fish kills is small even if the ANC_limit is set to zero, while in areas with high acidic deposition fish kills may occur at this value. Thus, the ANC_limit can be a function of the acidifying deposition to the lake, nearing zero at low deposition and increasing to higher values at higher deposition. A formulation for such an ANC_limit has been worked out, and we have tested the effect of the ANC_limit as a linear function of the deposition, assuming ANC_limit = 0 at zero deposition with a linear increase to 50 ueq/l at a deposition of 200 meq.m^?2.yr^?1. For areas with high deposition the effect of a variable ANC_limit is small, while in areas with low deposition the effect is significant. For Norway the exceeded area decreases from 36 to 30% using a variable ANC_limit instead of a fixed value of 20 μeq/l.     

Are hybrids between Atlantic salmon and brown trout suitable long‐term hosts of Gyrodactylus salaris during winter?

The monogenean parasite Gyrodactylus salaris poses serious threats to many Atlantic salmon populations and presents many conservation and management questions/foci and challenges. It is therefore critical to identify potential vectors for infection. To test whether hybrids of native Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) × brown trout (Salmo trutta) are suitable as reservoir hosts for G. salaris during winter, infected hybrid parr were released into a natural subarctic brook in the autumn. Six months later, 23.9% of the pit‐tagged fish were recaptured. During the experimental period, the hybrids had a sixfold increase in mean intensity of G. salaris, while the prevalence decreased from 81% to 35%. There was high interindividual hybrid variability in susceptibility to infections. The maximum infrapopulation growth rate (0.018 day^?1) of G. salaris throughout the winter was comparable to earlier laboratory experiments at similar temperatures. The results confirm that infrapopulations of G. salaris may reproduce on a hybrid population for several generations at low water temperatures (~1 °C). Wild salmon–trout hybrids are undoubtedly susceptible to G. salaris and represent an important reservoir host for the parasite independent of other co‐occurring susceptible hosts. Consequently, these hybrids may pose a serious risk for G. salaris transmission to nearby, uninfected rivers by migratory individuals.     

Carbon mineralization, fungal and bacterial growth, and enzyme activities as affected by contact between crop residues and soil

The degree of contact between crop residues and the soil matrix, as determined by the method of residue incorporation, affects decomposition dynamics both under natural and experimental conditions. In microcosm experiments we tested the hypothesis that poor residue-soil contact reduces the decomposition of structural plant constituents through delayed colonization by microorganisms degrading cellulose and hemicellulose. Barley straw or red clover foliage was either confined in buried mesh bags or homogeneously mixed into a loamy topsoil or a silty subsoil to create poor or intimate residue-soil contact in microbiologically rich and less rich environments, respectively. Soil type had no effect on decomposition of the easily degradable clover residues, but cumulative mineralization of barley straw C after 52 days at 15°C was less in the subsoil than in the topsoil by 12% of initial C. For clover material, poor soil contact increased cumulative C mineralization by 5% of initial C in the loamy topsoil but had no effect in the silty subsoil. For the more slowly degradable, cellulose- and hemicellulose-rich straw, on the other hand, poor soil contact reduced C mineralization by 6% of initial C. The results from the loamy topsoil were confirmed in a second experiment in a sandy topsoil. The reduced decomposition of straw with poor soil contact could not be explained by less favourable abiotic conditions, N deficiency nor exclusion of larger animals by mesh bags. Reduced straw-soil contact delayed measured increases in fungal ergosterol concentration, ratio of fungal to bacterial substrate-induced respiration, number of cellulase-producing, colony-forming bacterial units and activity of cellulases and hemicellulase on the residues. Thus, the results supported our hypothesis and underscore the importance of ensuring representative conditions for the soil microflora when decomposition dynamics are studied in microcosms experiments designed to mimic field conditions.