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Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 04.09.2023 
First Experimental Release of Parasitic Asian Wasp to Control Spotted-Wing Drosophila
The invasive spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) is a devastating pest in berry, stone fruit and grape crops. A natural antagonist from the fruit fly-s area of origin in East Asia is now due to be released in Switzerland for the first time by Agroscope and CABI. The experimental releases in the Cantons of Jura and Ticino aim to clarify whether this parasitic wasp can become established in Switzerland to regulate the SWD population and reduce production losses.
Agronomy / Food Science - Life Sciences - 10.08.2023 
Substances from corn roots influence wheat yields
Corn roots secrete certain substances that affect the quality of the soil. In certain fields, this effect increases the yield of wheat planted after corn in the same soil by more than 4%. This has been demonstrated by researchers at the University of Bern. Although the findings from several field experiments show that such effects are highly variable, they could nevertheless contribute in the long term to making the cultivation of cereals more sustainable without additional fertilizers or pesticides.
Agronomy / Food Science - Chemistry - 10.08.2023 
Chemicals from maize roots influence wheat yield
Maize roots secrete certain chemicals that affect the quality of soil. In some fields, this effect increases yields of wheat planted subsequent to maize in the same soil by more than 4%. This was proven by researchers from the University of Bern. While the findings from several field experiments show that these effects are highly variable, in the long term they may yet help to make the cultivation of grains more sustainable, without the need for additional fertilizers or pesticides.
Agronomy / Food Science - Innovation - 16.02.2023 
Agroscope obtains a patent for its new cheese maturing process
The European Patent Office has granted Agroscope a patent for its new cheese maturing process. This patent was published - and thus became effective - on January 25, 2023 in the European Patent Bulletin. It will now be registered in some countries. In 2020, Agroscope applied for a patent for its new maturing process, which works as follows: after leaving the salt bath, the cheeses are wrapped in a biodegradable cloth.
Agronomy / Food Science - Environment - 19.12.2022 
Producing fertiliser without carbon emissions
Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Carnegie Institution for Science have shown how nitrogen fertiliser could be produced more sustainably. This is necessary not only to protect the climate, but also to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and to increase food security. Intensive agriculture is possible only if the soil is fertilised with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 08.11.2022 
Motivation is affected by oxidative stress, nutrition can help
Motivation is affected by oxidative stress in the brain, a study by EPFL and Nestlé shows. The findings also suggest motivation can be improved through nutritional interventions. In life, motivation can be the difference between success and failure, goal-setting and aimlessness, well-being and unhappiness.
Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 04.11.2022 
Measuring Protein Digestibility in the Laboratory while Reducing Animal Testing
How much of the proteins present in foods can the human body absorb and how high is the quality of these proteins? These are the key questions in discussions about a healthy and sustainable diet. Agroscope has developed a method that can reliably measure the protein digestibility of different foods in the laboratory.
Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 02.11.2022 
A comprehensive view of the world food system
Agriculture practices that preserve resources? Enough food to make sure that everyone can enjoy a healthy and balanced diet? We still are a long way from that, finds Robert Finger - and outlines the most important fields of action to make the food system more sustainable. Today, the global system that supplies us with food is facing major challenges.
Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 10.10.2022 
Non-native species are also beneficial to the ecosystem
A team of scientists makes the case for reevaluating maligned non-native species. Awareness of non-native species - often called ''invasive'' - has vastly increased over the past fifty years, to the point where anyone with green conscience has heard of them and their negative effects, whether it is the zebra mussel or ragweed.
Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 29.09.2022 
Turtle studies help trace evolutionary changes
Since Darwin, we have known that evolutionary adaptation is reflected in the appearance and function of species' bodies under environmental changes. One of the questions commonly asked by evolutionary biologists is how body shape relates to a specific ecological feature, such as diet. In a recent study published in the journal Evolution , Guilherme Hermanson and his team at the University of Freiburg looked at the environmental factors that affect the shape of turtle skulls.
Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 08.09.2022 
With these trends, Europe’s agriculture must reckon
Climate change, environmental and animal welfare policies, ageing farmers: Europe's agriculture is facing enormous challenges, which vary diametrically depending on the region. Where will farming soon become unprofitable? Where are laws forcing them to change their practices? A study co-led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL has now investigated this for all of Europe.
History / Archeology - Agronomy / Food Science - 28.06.2022 
An Age-Old Story: Farmers against Pests
As early as the Neolithic period, pests posed a threat to agricultural yields, as shown by the remains of mice and insects found in prehistoric wells by a Basel-led archaeological research team. However, there are also indications that people knew how to defend against these pests - for example, by switching to less vulnerable kinds of grain.
Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 16.06.2022 
Responses to climate change: Carefully weigh up the consequences for water bodies
It is no secret that climate change has a serious impact on the quality and ecology of aquatic environments. Researchers at Eawag have revealed that human responses to climate change are just as impactful on our water systems - for example, in the areas of agriculture and hydropower. When thermometers in California recorded scorching temperatures in the summer of 2000, even the salmon in Klamath River felt the effects.
Agronomy / Food Science - Materials Science - 02.06.2022 
Avatar against food waste
Around one third of all food worldwide ends up in the trash bin instead of on our plate. With the help of digital twins, researchers at Empa and Stellenbosch University are now aiming to reduce food waste, for example in the case of citrus fruits, along the production and supply chains. The hygrothermal measurement data needed to improve the shelf life of oranges and the like would actually be available.
Agronomy / Food Science - Environment - 24.05.2022 
Tracking Down the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus
Changins/Wädenswil, 24. The tomato brown rugose fruit virus poses a new threat to Swiss agriculture - especially to tomatoes and peppers. Agroscope is playing a key role in controlling this quarantine organism in Switzerland. A newly created research group diagnoses submitted plant samples in the quarantine laboratory via a PCR test.
Agronomy / Food Science - Environment - 24.05.2022 
On the trail of the Jordan virus
Changins/Wädenswil, 24. Jordan virus is a new threat to Swiss agriculture - especially to tomatoes and peppers. Agroscope is playing a key role in combating this quarantine organism in Switzerland. A newly created research group diagnoses submitted plant samples in the quarantine laboratory using PCR testing.
Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 12.05.2022 
The genetic origins of the world’s first farmers clarified
The genetic origins of the first agriculturalists in the Neolithic period long seemed to lie in the Near East. A new study published in the journal Cell shows that the first farmers actually represented a mixture of Ice Age hunter-gatherer groups, spread from the Near East all the way to south-eastern Europe.
Agronomy / Food Science - Environment - 05.04.2022 
Hardy Grazing Livestock: Protectors of the Mountain Landscape
Biodiverse mountain pastures are being overgrown by green alder shrubs. A study conducted by Agroscope and ETHZ shows that hardy sheep and goats can stop shrub encroachment. In particular, the traditional Engadine sheep has a taste for green alder. By debarking the shrub it damages it, thus preventing its spread and protecting valuable alpine pastures.
Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 14.10.2021 
Sustainable farming: There’s no one solution
Sustainable agriculture will not be achieved by one universal solution. A meta-analysis by the University of Basel shows that the current focus on no-till farming does not achieve the desired results. A sustainable system of agriculture must be designed for local needs and in dialog with local farmers.
Economics - Agronomy / Food Science - 11.10.2021 
An efficient and low-cost approach to detecting food fraud
Fraudulent practices in food production, especially false claims of geographical origin, cause billions of dollars in economic damage every year. Botanists at the University of Basel have now developed a model that can be used to determine the origin of food in an efficient and low-cost manner. Strawberries from Switzerland or olive oil from Italy can be sold at much higher prices than the same products from other countries.
Agronomy/Food Science
Results 1 - 20 of 67.
The invasive spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) is a devastating pest in berry, stone fruit and grape crops. A natural antagonist from the fruit fly-s area of origin in East Asia is now due to be released in Switzerland for the first time by Agroscope and CABI. The experimental releases in the Cantons of Jura and Ticino aim to clarify whether this parasitic wasp can become established in Switzerland to regulate the SWD population and reduce production losses.
Corn roots secrete certain substances that affect the quality of the soil. In certain fields, this effect increases the yield of wheat planted after corn in the same soil by more than 4%. This has been demonstrated by researchers at the University of Bern. Although the findings from several field experiments show that such effects are highly variable, they could nevertheless contribute in the long term to making the cultivation of cereals more sustainable without additional fertilizers or pesticides.
Maize roots secrete certain chemicals that affect the quality of soil. In some fields, this effect increases yields of wheat planted subsequent to maize in the same soil by more than 4%. This was proven by researchers from the University of Bern. While the findings from several field experiments show that these effects are highly variable, in the long term they may yet help to make the cultivation of grains more sustainable, without the need for additional fertilizers or pesticides.
The European Patent Office has granted Agroscope a patent for its new cheese maturing process. This patent was published - and thus became effective - on January 25, 2023 in the European Patent Bulletin. It will now be registered in some countries. In 2020, Agroscope applied for a patent for its new maturing process, which works as follows: after leaving the salt bath, the cheeses are wrapped in a biodegradable cloth.
Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Carnegie Institution for Science have shown how nitrogen fertiliser could be produced more sustainably. This is necessary not only to protect the climate, but also to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and to increase food security. Intensive agriculture is possible only if the soil is fertilised with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Motivation is affected by oxidative stress in the brain, a study by EPFL and Nestlé shows. The findings also suggest motivation can be improved through nutritional interventions. In life, motivation can be the difference between success and failure, goal-setting and aimlessness, well-being and unhappiness.
How much of the proteins present in foods can the human body absorb and how high is the quality of these proteins? These are the key questions in discussions about a healthy and sustainable diet. Agroscope has developed a method that can reliably measure the protein digestibility of different foods in the laboratory.
Agriculture practices that preserve resources? Enough food to make sure that everyone can enjoy a healthy and balanced diet? We still are a long way from that, finds Robert Finger - and outlines the most important fields of action to make the food system more sustainable. Today, the global system that supplies us with food is facing major challenges.
A team of scientists makes the case for reevaluating maligned non-native species. Awareness of non-native species - often called ''invasive'' - has vastly increased over the past fifty years, to the point where anyone with green conscience has heard of them and their negative effects, whether it is the zebra mussel or ragweed.
Since Darwin, we have known that evolutionary adaptation is reflected in the appearance and function of species' bodies under environmental changes. One of the questions commonly asked by evolutionary biologists is how body shape relates to a specific ecological feature, such as diet. In a recent study published in the journal Evolution , Guilherme Hermanson and his team at the University of Freiburg looked at the environmental factors that affect the shape of turtle skulls.
Climate change, environmental and animal welfare policies, ageing farmers: Europe's agriculture is facing enormous challenges, which vary diametrically depending on the region. Where will farming soon become unprofitable? Where are laws forcing them to change their practices? A study co-led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL has now investigated this for all of Europe.
As early as the Neolithic period, pests posed a threat to agricultural yields, as shown by the remains of mice and insects found in prehistoric wells by a Basel-led archaeological research team. However, there are also indications that people knew how to defend against these pests - for example, by switching to less vulnerable kinds of grain.
It is no secret that climate change has a serious impact on the quality and ecology of aquatic environments. Researchers at Eawag have revealed that human responses to climate change are just as impactful on our water systems - for example, in the areas of agriculture and hydropower. When thermometers in California recorded scorching temperatures in the summer of 2000, even the salmon in Klamath River felt the effects.
Around one third of all food worldwide ends up in the trash bin instead of on our plate. With the help of digital twins, researchers at Empa and Stellenbosch University are now aiming to reduce food waste, for example in the case of citrus fruits, along the production and supply chains. The hygrothermal measurement data needed to improve the shelf life of oranges and the like would actually be available.
Changins/Wädenswil, 24. The tomato brown rugose fruit virus poses a new threat to Swiss agriculture - especially to tomatoes and peppers. Agroscope is playing a key role in controlling this quarantine organism in Switzerland. A newly created research group diagnoses submitted plant samples in the quarantine laboratory via a PCR test.
Changins/Wädenswil, 24. Jordan virus is a new threat to Swiss agriculture - especially to tomatoes and peppers. Agroscope is playing a key role in combating this quarantine organism in Switzerland. A newly created research group diagnoses submitted plant samples in the quarantine laboratory using PCR testing.
The genetic origins of the first agriculturalists in the Neolithic period long seemed to lie in the Near East. A new study published in the journal Cell shows that the first farmers actually represented a mixture of Ice Age hunter-gatherer groups, spread from the Near East all the way to south-eastern Europe.
Biodiverse mountain pastures are being overgrown by green alder shrubs. A study conducted by Agroscope and ETHZ shows that hardy sheep and goats can stop shrub encroachment. In particular, the traditional Engadine sheep has a taste for green alder. By debarking the shrub it damages it, thus preventing its spread and protecting valuable alpine pastures.
Sustainable agriculture will not be achieved by one universal solution. A meta-analysis by the University of Basel shows that the current focus on no-till farming does not achieve the desired results. A sustainable system of agriculture must be designed for local needs and in dialog with local farmers.
Fraudulent practices in food production, especially false claims of geographical origin, cause billions of dollars in economic damage every year. Botanists at the University of Basel have now developed a model that can be used to determine the origin of food in an efficient and low-cost manner. Strawberries from Switzerland or olive oil from Italy can be sold at much higher prices than the same products from other countries.
