news from the lab 2017

Zurich-Reckenholz, 05. In June of this year, the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) was detected for the first time in Switzerland, in the canton of Ticino. Considered to be a quarantine pest, it is subject to obligatory control. Agroscope researchers are testing whether this quarantine pest can be controlled with fungi that are effective against May and June beetles.

'Naturalness' is a construct - but according to a new study from the ETH Consumer Behavior group, a product's success on the food market is primarily defined by whether or not consumers perceive it as natural. The increasingly artificial and virtual nature of everyday life has now achieved broad acceptance, and the benefits that technological development bring to everyone cannot be denied.

By planting pigeon peas alongside maize, African farmers can improve the soil and their own nutritional intake.