Factors underlying the investment decision in energy-saving systems in Dutch horticulture

In the Netherlands the greenhouse sector is a major user of energy. It accounts for 7% of the total national energy use and for 79% of the total energy use in agriculture. In order to sustain this sector on the long term, it is important that its use of energy is lowered. One way of reducing energy use by horticultural producers is investing in energy-saving systems. The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the investment behavior of firm operators in the adoption of energy-saving systems. Research objectives of the paper are (1) to analyze factors underlying the decision to invest, (2) to explore factors underlying the optimal size of investments. Three investment theories were used to construct an empirical model of investment. Consequently, this model was estimated in a two-stage procedure to analyze the factors influencing the decision of farmers to invest and the level of investments. The paper ends with policy implications.     

N-(pyrid-3-yl)thioureas and derivatives as acaricides. II. Quantitative structure-activity relationships and chemodynamic behaviour

The biological activity of a series of N-(pyrid-3-yl)thioureas and -carbodiimides, analogues of the insecticide/acaricide diafenthiuron, towards the carmine spider mite (Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisd.) and the two-spotted spider mite (T. urticae Koch) was analysed using QSAR methodology. A canonical correlation analysis allowed for the establishment of a prediction model and the identification of outliers within that model. The chemodynamic behaviour of certain compounds in the two series, including these outliers, determined by using photochemical experiments in the laboratory as well as in the glasshouse, was shown to be responsible for anomalous results obtained in the biological tests. It was found from the above study that the biological activity towards both spider mite species is extremely sensitive to the kinetics of formation of the carbodiimides from the corresponding thioureas and to the photostability of the former. The results obtained with a thiourea which underwent no appreciable photochemical transformation into the corresponding carbodiimide supported the hypothesis that the thioureas are also in-vivo propesticides of the acaricidal carbodiimides.     

Kann eine weitere Ausbreitung des Kartoffelnematoden verhindert werden?

Zusammenfassung Fassen wir die vorliegenden Ergebnisse kurz zusammen, so lassen sich folgende Schlußfolgerungen ziehen:1. Eine direkte Bekämpfung des Kartoffelnematoden ist zur Zeit noch nicht möglich. Eine weitgestellte Fruchtfolge vermag ebenfalls nicht in allen Fällen das Auftreten von Nematodenschäden zu verhindern.2. Die leichten Sandböden sind am stärksten verseucht. Dies zeigt sich besonders deutlich in dem Betrieb I, wo ein großer Teil des Ackerlandes aus Lehm- und schwerem Boden besteht. Hier wird auf den leichteren Böden besonders intensiver Kartoffelanbau betrieben, was zu einer besonders schnellen Verseuchung dieser Flächen führt.3. Bei zentraler Lage des ursprünglichen Verseuchungsherdes innerhalb eines stark arrondierten Betriebes (Betrieb I) ist die Verschleppung von Nematodenzysten von der verseuchten Fläche auf die übrigen Ländereien bedeutend intensiver als in Betrieben mit getrennt liegenden Einzelparzellen, wo der Verseuchungsherd weit vom Hof und dem übrigen betriebseigenen Ackerland entfernt liegt (Betrieb II). Im Betrieb I konnten auf zwei Flächen, die noch nie oder nach Umbruch der Grasnarbe erstmalig mit Kartoffeln bestellt waren, Nematodenzysten festgestellt werden.4. Die Gefahr der Verschleppung von Nematodenzysten durch die an Ackergeräten anhaftende Erde ist durch den verstärkten Einsatz genossenschaftlicher Maschinen, besonders des Kartoffel-Vorratsroders, erheblich größer geworden.5. Betriebe in stark mit Nematoden verseuchten Gebieten sind besonders der Gefahr ausgesetzt, durch den Einsatz genossenschaftlicher Maschinen im eigenen Betrieb oder durch Benutzung betriebseigener Maschinen zu Bestellungs-und Erntearbeiten in Nachbarbetrieben Nematoden von außerhalb in den Betrieb einzuschleppen.6. Auch in Abwässern, Stallmist und Kompost wurden verschiedentlich Kartoffelnematodenzysten gefunden, so daß auch auf diesem Wege eine Weiterverbreitung der Nematoden erfolgen kann. Während der Inhalt der im Kompost vorhandenen Zysten auch nach längerer Lagerzeit der Komposterde noch voll lebensfähig ist, werden durch längere Lagerung im Innern des Stallmiststapels die Nematodenlarven in den Zystenhüllen abgetötet. Den Darmtraktus der Tiere können dagegen die Larven im Schutze der Zystenhülle ungeschädigt passieren.7. Durch Wirtschafts- und Pflanzkartoffeln sowie durch alle übrigen mit Erde behafteten Pflanzen und Pflanzenteile, die in den Handel gelangen, können Nematodenzysten oft über weite Strecken verschleppt werden.8. Durch Beachtung der erwähnten Vorsichtsmaßnahmen kann eine weitere Ausbreitung des Kartoffelnematoden weitgehend verhindert werden.     

Constructed shallow zones along navigation canals: vegetation establishment and change in relation to environmental characteristics

An Erratum has been published for this article in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 12(2), 2002, 251

• 1. In recent decades shallow zones have been constructed along navigation canals in the Netherlands which form a potential new habitat for aquatic macrophytes and helophytes absent from traditional canals.
• 2. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between the aquatic plant vegetation that becomes established and the physical and chemical characteristics of water and sediment, in order to find the determinants of species composition and the changes therein. Data were collected in 1998 and 1999 from 80 plots in bank zones at varying stages of development since construction along two navigation canals.
• 3. Plots 3–5 years old were partly dominated by rooting submerged macrophytes such as Potamogeton pectinatus, Elodea nuttallii and Potamogeton pusillus; locally non‐rooting species occurred such as Ceratophyllum demersum, Lemna minor and Spirodela polyrhiza. Older plots contained Phragmites australis, locally mixed with free‐floating species. Hydrological isolation from the eutrophic canals was indicated by the presence of Chara vulgaris.
• 4. Characteristics of both water layer and sediment could explain the variation in vegetation composition. Rooting submerged macrophytes predominantly occurred in sites with a thin (<2 cm) layer of sediment with relatively low concentrations of organic matter; moreover, ammonium concentrations in the water layer and sediment pore water were relatively low. Stands of non‐rooting macrophytes and of Phragmites australis were characterized by a relatively thick sediment layer and high ammonium levels in the pore water. Light limitation in turbid water, associated with navigation and eutrophication, may also play a role.
• 5. Although submerged aquatic macrophytes persist for a relatively short time, shallow zones nevertheless function as a habitat for helophyte communities and contribute to a higher aquatic biodiversity than is associated with traditional banks along navigation canals.

Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Classification of Ilex species based on metabolomic fingerprinting using nuclear magnetic resonance and multivariate data analysis

The metabolomic analysis of 11 Ilex species, I. argentina, I. brasiliensis, I. brevicuspis, I. dumosavar. dumosa, I. dumosa var. guaranina, I. integerrima, I. microdonta, I. paraguariensis var. paraguariensis, I. pseudobuxus, I. taubertiana, and I. theezans, was carried out by NMR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis. The analysis using principal component analysis and classification of the (1)H NMR spectra showed a clear discrimination of those samples based on the metabolites present in the organic and aqueous fractions. The major metabolites that contribute to the discrimination are arbutin, caffeine, phenylpropanoids, and theobromine. Among those metabolites, arbutin, which has not been reported yet as a constituent of Ilex species, was found to be a biomarker for I. argentina,I. brasiliensis, I. brevicuspis, I. integerrima, I. microdonta, I. pseudobuxus, I. taubertiana, and I. theezans. This reliable method based on the determination of a large number of metabolites makes the chemotaxonomical analysis of Ilex species possible.     

Dynamik verschiedener Schwefel-Fraktionen bei Abbauversuchen mit Brennesselblättern (Urtica dioica L.)

Dynamic of different sulfur fractions of decomposing leaves of the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) Decomposition studies with leaves of Urtica dioica L. by means of the litter bag technique (mesh sizes 0.05 and 1.5 and 5.0 mm respectively) were performed on four sites, differing in soil type and vegetation cover. The aim of the study is to find out differences in decomposition of sulfur fractions owing to sites and decomposer groups. The site affects the time course of decomposition, but not the qualitative changes of the fractions. Total S is decreasing by about 55% from 7548 to 3430 ppm by mean of all samples, C/S-relation is increasing from 48 to 84 within 4 to 34 weeks decomposition time. Distinct differences are found in the fractions Ester-S and carbon-bound S, depending on the various groups of decomposers. Ester-S, not detectable at the start of the experiments is increasing in the nets with 5.0 mm mesh size to 34 and in the nets with 1.5 mm to 19% of total S. In contrast, C-bound S is decreasing, but increasing in the nets with 0.05 mm mesh size. Water soluble S is decreasing during decomposition in all the samples from averaged 77% at the start to 3 up to 32% of total S at the end of the experiment and amino acid S is increasing from 12 to 27 up to 50%. The influence of the different decomposer groups on the change of the fractions of sulfur is discussed.     

Schwefelformen in Waldböden SO2-belasteter Standorte des Fichtelgebirges

Sulfur fractions in forest soils of the SO₂-polluted Fichtelgebirge The sulfur status of a soil sequence (two Dystric Cambisols, Haplic Podzol, Eutric Cambisol) in SO₂-polluted coniferous and hardwood forests of the Fichtelgebirge (North-East Bavaria) is investigated. In the mineral soil layers S_t fluctuates between 37 to 943 ppm; 11–84% of S_t is S_p. Layers rich in clay contain up to 79%-S_E, whereas in sandy to silty substrates organic bound C?S-S dominates. The organic surface layers show 1.0–2.9‰ S_t, maximum in the Oh. 69–90% of S_t are C?S-S. S_p is low with a maximum in the L-horizons (9–19% of S_t). S_E is vice versa, because values increase from L (0–8% of S_t) to Oh (7–22% of S_t). The characterization of the sulfur status in a forest ecosystem by investigation of organic layers presumably is more reliable than the results of needle and mineral soil analyses.     

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of the coronavirus-like agent and its antibodies in pigs with porcine epidemic diarrhea

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection of the coronavirus-like agent in feces of pigs naturally affected with porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) or experimentally infected with the CV777 isolate. The assay was specific and more sensitive than electron microscopy. An ELISA blocking assay is described for the detection and titration of antibodies. Specific antibody formation was demonstrated in pigs experimentally infected with CV777 and in swine naturally affected with PED.     

Fusarium temperatum, a mycotoxin-producing pathogen of maize

In a recent study, a population of Fusarium strains isolated from maize in Belgium was described as a new species, F. temperatum, that is morphologically similar and phylogenetically closely related to F. subglutinans, a species in the American clade of the Gibberella fujikuroi species complex. In fields, the F. temperatum:F. subglutinans ratio was very high, suggesting that F. temperatum outcompetes its sister species F. subglutinans. This raised the question whether this novel species contributes to the final rot symptoms observed on maize plants at harvest, as well as to the potential mycotoxin contamination. Results of the pathogenicity tests by soil and toothpick inoculation demonstrate the ability of F. temperatum to cause seedling malformation and stalk rot under greenhouse conditions. Screening of 15 Fusarium mycotoxins showed the ability of F. temperatum to produce moniliformin, beauvericin, enniatins and fumonisin B₁. The results indicate that F. temperatum can produce mycotoxins and cause maize diseases and, therefore, poses a potential risk to maize production and to the safety of human food and animal feed.