New WHITE GRAPE variety would allow great reductions of pesticide applications - Nueva variedad de UVA BLANCA permitiría grandes reducciones de las aplicaciones de pesticidas

Itasca grape clusters weigh from 95 to 145 grams, can be winged or shouldered and show a golden hue at harvest (Courtesy John Thull).

The University of Minnesota has announced its newest cold-hardy wine grape variety, and it’s one for which north country grape growers have been waiting. Called the Itasca for the lake in northern Minnesota identified as the source of the Mississippi River, the white grape has a lower acidity than other cold-hardy varieties and high sugar, potentially making it an ideal candidate for a dry white wine. The variety also shows resistance to downy and powdery mildew, as well as phylloxera, and it is hardy to USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone 4.

Provenance

The Itasca has been in development since 2002. Originally tagged as MN 1285, it was created from a cross pollination of Frontenac Gris and MN 1234, a Seyval Blanc offspring known for its resistance to powdery mildew. Two of its ancestors are accessions of Vitis riparia, from which it acquired its high sugar — and its cold-hardiness.

In 2014, the winter of the Polar Vortex, Frontenac Gris had a 25 percent bud survival rate, while Itasca endured the same weather and emerged with 65 percent primary bud survival, said Matt Clark, a University of Minnesota assistant professor and grape breeder.

Though not certified yet, the variety has been submitted to the Clean Plant Center Northwest in Prosser, Washington. To date, they’ve done a few performance evaluations with some growers but no large-scale vineyard or winery trials.

The university has licensed three nurseries to sell its new variety for the 2017 season: Winterhaven Vineyard and Nursery in Janesville, Minnesota; Double A Vineyards in Fredonia, New York; and Northeastern Vine Supply in West Pawlet, Vermont. Knight Hollow Nursery of Middleton, Wisconsin, uses a tissue culture for micropropagation.

Grower friendly

Vines can be vigorous, depending on the soil. The breeders have found vine spacing should be 6 feet apart when organic matter is 2.5 percent or less and 8 feet apart for 3 percent or more. “Irrigation is important for establishment,” Clark said. Its growth habit is open and manageable. Shoots can either grow upright or procumbent. “Fruit exposure is good with minor adjustments,” he said.

The university vines hang on high-wire, double cordon systems. Clark said he thinks they can be trained to vertical shoot positioning, though it’s not been tested yet. Kicker shoots on the trunk can reduce vine growth, and should be pruned off or back to short spurs, he said.

Clark said they don’t have very good data on when bud break occurs. “It didn’t seem to be as early as Marquette, but may be in the same time frame as Frontenac,” he said. The fruit ripens earlier than Frontenac, by mid- to late September. Cluster structure is moderately compact, weighing in at 95 to 145 grams, is cylindrical and can be  shouldered or winged. Berries take on a golden hue when ripe, with some clusters showing one or two pronounced rosy berries. The fruit has flavors of pear, gooseberries, honeydew melon and star fruit.

The juice

So far, the university has only produced about eight gallons of wine this year, fermented in glass or plastic. Grape berries were harvested, destemmed and pressed in one day and inoculated with yeast on the second day to dry, Clark said. With a pH of 3.05 to 3.35, Itasca has 30 percent less acid than Minnesota’s other cold-hardy varieties, a gift from its European parents. “It has lots of French in its background,” Clark said. He said they try to pick the grapes at 26 Brix, but depending on where they are planted, the variety can deliver up to 28 Brix.

The titratable acidity (TA) of Itasca’s juice is much lower than the other Minnesota cold-hardy varieties, such as Frontenac, which sports 15 to 16 grams per liter. “It has titratible acidity in the 9 to 10 grams per liter range, putting it more in line with other vinifera varietal dry table wines like Sauvignon Blanc or even Riesling,” said Bryan Forbes, the University of Minnesota’s cold-hardy wine grape breeding program interim winemaker.

Itasca can make a crisp, white wine but it is also very versatile, Forbes said. Using malolactic fermentation, for example, a winemaker could make a wine similar to that of a typical Chardonnay, with a richer, potentially buttery character.

It is not hyper-aromatic like a Muscat nor is it bracing on the tongue. “It’s pretty zippy but it is not an assault,” he said. Clark deferred to Forbes for a more expert opinion, but allowed the wine would do best on its own. “It would also be nice to blend with high-acid wines to improve mouth feel and flavor,” he said.

Source: Dave Weinstock (http://www.goodfruit.com)

Evaluación online de riesgo de ecotoxicidad de PLAGUICIDAS - Online evaluation of PESTICIDE ecotoxicity risk

Foto: Salud pública Méx vol.53 n.3 Cuernavaca 

La Facultad de Agronomía de la UBA (FAUBA), Argentina, desarrolló un modelo de simulación disponible en Internet que permite a los productores estimar las dosis de herbicidas, insecticidas o fungicidas que aplican a sus cultivos, extensivos o intensivos, en función del riesgo toxicológico y su impacto ambiental. El sistema ya es utilizado por agricultores de todo el país y empresas que manejan grandes volúmenes de datos, como las que realizan monitoreos de rendimiento a gran escala. Puede accederse online en http://malezas.agro.uba.ar/ripest/

“Actualmente el productor elige su paleta de fitosanitarios por la eficiencia agronómica y económica. Nosotros proponemos un tercer eje, que es el ambiental. La idea es que, frente a igual eficiencia agronómica y económica, pueda elegirse la alternativa que tiene menor riesgo potencial sobre el ambiente”, dijo Diego Ferraro, docente de la cátedra de Cereales de la FAUBA e investigador del Conicet. Y adelantó que próximamente se sumará al modelo una serie de pronósticos climáticos para que también se puedan planificar mejor las aplicaciones en función de las condiciones ambientales y disminuir los niveles de deriva de agroquímicos hacia los centros urbanos.

El sistema de evaluación de riesgo de ecotoxicidad de pesticidas (Ripest) ya cuenta con unos 700 usuarios registrados. Se trata de productores y técnicos que utilizan este “calculador” de manera frecuente para saber cuál es el riesgo de contaminación, en términos de toxicidad hacia los insectos o los mamíferos, de los aproximadamente 3000 formulados que están aprobados por el Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (Senasa) en la Argentina. La información que los agricultores suben a la web también permite hacer un historial del riesgo en un lote y conocer su evolución en cada campaña.

“Esto significa que cualquier productor, que produce desde una pastura, cultivos de grano o hasta un frutal, puede utilizar el calculador de riesgo. Y puede hacerlo de un modo muy sencillo. El único conocimiento que tiene que tener en cuenta es la marca comercial del principio activo que utiliza”, explicó Ferraro. Además, anticipó que, para llegar al medio del campo, están trabajando en el desarrollo de una aplicación para dispositivos móviles.

Versión 2.0

La primera versión de Ripest se implementó hace poco menos de dos años. Hasta entonces era una herramienta casi inexplorada por el medio rural, y sus desarrolladores se sorprendieron por el éxito que obtuvieron en poco tiempo. Desde ese momento, el intercambio con los usuarios los impulsó a ampliar las prestaciones del sistema en conjunto con la Unidad de Tecnologías de la Información de la FAUBA. Así llegaron a una nueva versión que se está anunciando hoy, Ripest 2.0, que permite trabajar con grandes volúmenes de datos.

Sucede que en la producción agrícola viene aumentando fuertemente cada año la cantidad de información digital que se genera sobre la evolución de los cultivos, y es necesario desarrollar nuevas herramientas informáticas capaces de contenerlos e interpretarlos. “Hoy pueden utilizarla, por ejemplo, las empresas que hacen monitoreo a gran escala, que están muy interesadas implementar el calculador de riesgo con los enormes volúmenes de datos que manejan”, aseguró Ferraro.

El factor del clima

Según el investigador de la FAUBA, aún quedan varias innovaciones por desarrollar que podrían mejorar el alcance de Ripest y significar una herramienta útil para el cuidado del ambiente y de la salud de las poblaciones cercanas a los campos, que pueden ser afectadas por la exposición a pesticidas que se utilizan sobre los cultivos.

“Hacia delante queremos mostrar de manera anticipada no sólo la toxicidad potencial que tienen los fitosanitarios, sino la presencia de estos agroquímicos en el agua, en el suelo y en el aire, que son aspectos críticos en la Argentina”, detalló Ferraro. Al respecto, explicó que el objetivo es sumar al calculador de riesgo una serie de pronósticos climáticos que permitan prever el movimiento de los productos fitosanitarios en al ambiente según las condiciones del viento, la lluvia o el contenido de agua en el suelo, entre otras.

“Si de acá a cinco días conocemos cómo pueden ser las condiciones ambientales en términos de lluvia y de temperatura, por ejemplo, podríamos ofrecer a los productores un mapa de riesgo potencial con el cual podrían inferir la potencialidad de que, frente a una aplicación planificada para los próximos días, su principio activo alcance determinada concentración en el aire, en el agua o en el suelo”, detalló, y agregó: “Si el productor va a hacer una aplicación aérea, por ejemplo, con esa información puede prever cuáles son las condiciones en los próximos días para calcular la deriva y eventualmente planear cuándo aplica”.

Políticas públicas

La herramienta desarrollada en la FAUBA también podría convertirse en una valiosa fuente de información para determinar políticas agropecuarias: “Hoy se está legislando en todo el país sobre las zonas buffer, o de amortiguamiento, en relación la aplicación de agroquímicos en áreas periurbanas. No obstante esas normativas se hacen de manera empírica. No existe una herramienta fuerte en términos teóricos que permita a las autoridades determinar la distancia mínima que debe haber entre una aplicación y un núcleo urbano”. “La idea es que Ripest intente tapar esos baches de conocimiento. Por ejemplo, podemos identificar en cada región, en función de la dinámica del clima y de las condiciones de suelo, cuáles son los lugares donde hay más riesgo de que suceda una deriva de herbicidas”, concluyó Ferraro.

Fuente: http://www.todoagro.com.ar

A year in the lives of smallholder families: Insights from Mozambique, Tanzania, and Pakistan. Un día en la vida de pequeños agricultores familiares

Join CGAP for an event on February 25 to learn and discuss the results of a year-long financial diaries study with smallholder households.

How do the estimated 500 million smallholder households worldwide manage their money and what kind of financial services would better serve this important group?

Until now, very little was known about how financial services could effectively respond to the varied needs of smallholder families around the world. In CGAP's year-long financial diaries study, researchers tracked the financial lives of 270 total smallholder households in Mozambique, Pakistan and Tanzania and came away with unique insights into how these families manage their income, plan for expenses and cope with the unpredictable nature of lives rooted in agriculture.

It is the first time the financial diaries methodology has been used to research the financial lives of smallholders.

Join CGAP on February 25 for an event featuring a panel of experts who will highlight key findings from the Smallholder Diaries and discuss opportunities to design and improve financial solutions for smallholder households.

Speakers:

Jamie Anderson, Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP
Daryl Collins, Managing Director, Bankable Frontier Associates
Wajiha Ahmed, Senior Associate, Bankable Frontier Associates
Henriqueta Hunguana, CEO, ICC Mozambique
Mwombeki Baregu, Head of Agriculture and Rural Finance, Financial Sector Deepening Trust Tanzania
Raheel Rasool, Deputy Director, Development Finance Support Department, State Bank of Pakistan

Event Details:
Date: February 25, 2016
Time: 10 AM - 12 PM EST
Location: World Bank "J" Building
Address: 701 18th Street, NW
Room: 1-050
Washington, DC

For more information visit, http://www.cgap.org/events/year-lives-smallholder-families

- See more at: http://agriprofocus.com/post/56b6321ca93f2577bb3a886e#sthash.19hyYBqf.dpuf

How helping "SOIL life" can boost farm profits - Cómo ayudando a la "vida del SUELO" se puede aumentar las ganancias de una explotación agrícola

The self-regulating ecological balance in nature’s soils is what keeps them so sustainably productive. Graeme Sait, CEO of Nutri-Tech Solutions in Australia, says that farmers need to learn more from nature and encourage a similar productive balance in their soils.

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Healthy soil has the ‘fresh earth’ smell so appealing to farmers and gardeners. Photo: Lloyd Phillips

The key workforce in the soil consists of some of the smallest plants and animals on earth. These includes bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, nematodes and earthworms. A core principle in any farming operation should be to care for this workforce so that it, in turn, can care for the farm. “The main paradigm shift required to head down this path involves a recognition that the soil is a living organism and that we stand to earn a better living if we nurture that system,” says Graeme Sait, CEO of Australian firm Nutri-Tech Solutions. 

The weight of the biomass linked to this subterranean ‘livestock’ in our soils, he says, often physically outweighs the livestock above ground. However, this diverse soil life features organisms that are both beneficial and toxic to animals and people. For example, anaerobic bacteria, which thrive in compacted soils and release hydrogen sulphide that smells like rotten eggs, and butyric acid, which smells like vomit, are both toxic to plant growth. Another group of soil organisms, facultative anaerobes, are also harmful. 

Two well-known types are Escherichia coli and Enterococcus, which can cause severe health problems in people and animals. One of the many potential sources of Enterococcus is vermicompost, if the food source for the composting worms has not been subjected to the heat produced in the initial stages of conventional composting. “Then there are the pathogenic organisms that cause massive crop losses and which demand chemical intervention,” says Sait. “Thankfully, all of these less desirable organisms can be managed if we understand soil balance.” 

Smells as signposts

One of the many beneficial bacteria in soil is Actinomycetes, which emits volatile chemicals that provide the ‘fresh earth’ smell that farmers and gardeners find so appealing. According to Sait, Actinomycetes is a ‘signpost’ organism indicating good soil health. A soil without a fresh earth smell contains little or no beneficial soil life. These deprived soils inevitably require more chemical interventions, which increases production costs and reduces profitability. “There can be as many as 2,5t/ha of bacteria in healthy soil,” explains Sait. “These organisms retain nutrients in their bodies, reduce leaching and remove most toxins from the soil. They produce a sticky biofilm that acts like water crystals to retain moisture. This can help to significantly reduce irrigation requirements.

“Soil bacteria are also key recyclers of nitrogen. They have the tightest carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) ratio of any creature on the planet. Their C:N ratio of 5:1 means that their bodies effectively contain 17% nitrogen. This means that the bacterial biomass in your soil can be storing the equivalent of almost a ton of urea. “Farmers can easily, and very cheaply, improve their soil’s beneficial bacteria by brewing up their own populations in a drum or vat and then applying this new workforce via the irrigation system.”

Soil algae are plant-like organisms that contain chlorophyll and can photosynthesise. They also exude sticky substances that contribute towards binding and aggregating soil particles into a desirable crumb structure. According to Sait, healthy soils can contain up to 600kg/ha of algae in just the top 15cm of the soil profile, and it is now believed that they produce 20% of the nutrients required by other beneficial soil life. If these beneficial soil organisms are well-fed and in abundance, it is more difficult for soil-borne pathogens and damage-causing animals to compete and survive. Sait cautions that herbicides can kill soil algae on contact, resulting in less food for beneficial soil life. This reduction in beneficials can provide harmful soil life the opportunity to flourish. 

Balance: the key

“Soil fungi convert hard-to-digest organic matter, like crop residues, into forms that other soil organisms can utilise,” Sait continues. “While soil bacteria can release an alkalising slime that tends to raise soil pH, soil fungi release acids into the soil which reduce soil pH and solubilise locked-up phosphate. “A single fungus specimen can cover the area of a football field. When soil fungi die, their decomposed hyphae leave an extensive system of tiny tunnels in the soil. These tunnels are perfect for allowing water and air to penetrate into the soil. Soil fungi’s hyphal masses (mycelium) also retain nutrients, which helps to reduce leaching.”

Sait explains that some soil fungi trap destructive root-eating nematodes and feed on them. Soil fungi are also particularly important for the storage, availability and delivery of plant-beneficial calcium (Ca). When soils with high Ca levels produce plants with low Ca levels in their leaves, this may indicate low fungal activity in that soil. Soil fungi populations can be boosted by feeding them complex carbohydrates. These complex carbohydrates can be found in humic acid, kelp and aloe vera. Commercially available water-soluble derivatives of these products can be applied through irrigation systems or through tractor-drawn spray rigs.

“Mycorrhizal fungi are the greatest soil savers among beneficial fungi species. They attach themselves to plant roots in a mutually beneficial relationship. These remarkable creatures are responsible for over 30% of the planet’s humus, “ says Sait. 

Plant root system: there can be as much as 2,5t/ ha of bacteria in healthy soil. These organisms retain nutrients in their bodies, reduce leaching and remove most toxins.

Destructive practices

Soil life analysis reveals that up to 90% of mycorrhizal fungi have been destroyed by modern farming techniques. “The loss of two-thirds of the world’s soil humus to the atmosphere can be directly linked to the decline in myccorhizal fungi,” says Sait. “They offer so many benefits and can provide solutions to many of our problems. For example, myccorhizal fungi improve the plant roots’ efficiency for absorbing soil nutrients, they boost plants’ immunity to attacks from pests and diseases, and they offer primary protection against damage-causing soil nematodes.”

Protozoa

Another class of soil organisms are single-celled creatures called protozoa. Sait points out that a loss of soil protozoa not only requires a farmer to add more chemical N to the soil, but beneficial earthworm populations will decline because they feed on protozoa. “One strategy for restoring soil protozoa numbers, thereby increasing earthworm numbers and soil nitrogen recycling, is to make and apply lucerne tea,” he explains. “Chemical-free lucerne hay harbours huge numbers of protozoa because the hay is high in protein. Place the lucerne hay in a drawstring bag made of shade-cloth. Take some liquidised fish and molasses and mix them into a large tank of water. Submerge the bag of lucerne hay in the tank. Aerate the tank with a pump, venturi or aquarium bubbler and after 24 hours apply the liquid to your soils.”

Sait says he has seen significant reductions in chemical nitrogen requirements following applications of lucerne tea. Explaining the mechanics of this phenomenon, he says that protozoa have a C:N ratio of 30:1, which means that they must consume six bacteria (at C:N 5:1) to obtain sufficient C for their own survival. Protozoa need only one unit of N from the bodies of every six bacteria, so they excrete the remaining five units of N. Plant roots readily absorb this. In the absence of protozoa, the N stays in the bodies of the bacteria, leaving a large quantity of urea in the soils that cannot be utilised by plants.

According to Sait, 80% of soil nematodes are beneficial to the soil. They disappear, however, from compacted soils and, following this, N recycling disappears too. This is because nematodes have a C:N ration of 100:1. Like protozoa, they need to consume bacteria to access life-sustaining C. They need to eat twenty bacteria (C:N 5:1) to achieve the hundred units of C they require. However, they have no need for the bacteria’s N component, and so they excrete this into the soil, thereby recycling the N for crops and other plants. 

Sait explains that, due to ignorance of the importance of soil life, farmers mistakenly use nematicides, which kill all nematodes good and bad, thereby creating an opportunity for damage-causing soil nematodes to begin increasing in number. The primary natural control of root-eating nematodes are the predatory nematodes that constantly feed on them. Ironically, the first nematode to breed back after nematicide application is the notorious root-knot nematode because it no longer has any predators or competition. “The best way to control damage-causing nematodes is to encourage populations of beneficial soil nematode species that will either feed on damage-causing nematodes or simply out-compete them,” he says.

Earthworms

One of the most beneficial soil creatures, according to Sait, is “the mighty earthworm”. The 7,000 known species shred soil organic matter and compost it four times faster than conventional composting. They also aerate soil, increase its water-infiltration and water-holding capacity, aggregate soil particles, move minerals from deeper in the soil profile up to the plant root zone, and introduce beneficial microbes. A number of additional facts about earthworms should motivate farmers to encourage these animals to their soils, Sait says. The worms’ castings contain seven times more phosphorous (P), 10 times more potassium (K), five times more N, three times more magnesium (Mg), and one-and-a-half times more Ca, than the surrounding soil. They are, in effect, a living fertiliser factory.

“If you could consistently find 25 earthworms per shovelful of soil, those earthworms would be contributing 300t/ha of castings to your soil. This is the Holy Grail of biological farming, because earthworm castings cost at least AUS$100/ha (R947/ha) so you just scored AU$30,000 (R284,000) worth of free fertiliser. This means huge savings on chemical fertiliser. In fact, it’s not required,” Sait says. Earthworms also have a calciferous gland that adds calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to the soil. “They don’t just offer free fertiliser, they’re like having your own lime works,” he enthuses. 

“Modern agriculture has extracted a harsh toll on beneficial soil organisms. These organisms can, however, be regenerated in the soil. Humates, fish-based products and kelp-based products can be used to feed the existing soil workforce and it’s an inexpensive, repopulating strategy to brew up your own new recruits.”

Source:  Lloyd Phillips (http://www.farmersweekly.co.za)

Residuos de OLIVO contra la degradación del suelo - OLIVE residues against soil degradation

La reincorporación del alperujo al cultivo lo convierte en un insumo estratégico debido a que incrementa la concentración de nutrientes y los niveles de materia orgánica hasta en un 83%.

 

En San Juan (Argentina), los suelos en los que se desarrolla la actividad olivícola se caracterizan por ser susceptibles a procesos de degradación y por sus bajos índices de materia orgánica. La incorporación del residuo de su procesamiento industrial –conocido como alperujo– en la superficie implantada con este cultivo, incrementa la concentración de nutrientes y los niveles de materia orgánica hasta en un 83%. Además, mejora la presencia de microorganismos benéficos para resguardar un recurso, que no es renovable.

En esa provincia, las plantas elaboradoras de aceite de oliva procesan, en cada campaña, entre 40 y 60 mil toneladas de aceitunas. Cada 100 kg del fruto molido, se obtienen 15 de aceite y 85 de alperujo, un residuo semisólido que, por su alto costo de manejo y disposición final, se elimina o reutiliza para aplicar al suelo. Por el rol esencial de los agroecosistemas en la provisión de alimento, forraje y bioenergía, desde el Programa Nacional de Suelos, el instituto evalúa la potencialidad del uso de residuos agroindustriales para la recuperación de suelos degradados y como fuente de nutrientes para los cultivos.

En cuanto al alperujo, algunos antecedentes sugerían que su aplicación directa representaba una alternativa ecológica para aumentar los niveles de materia orgánica y nutrientes del suelo, sin afectar su calidad. Sin embargo, y a pesar de ser una práctica muy difundida en la región, Pablo Monetta, investigador del INTA San Juan, destacó que no existían datos locales de los efectos de estos desechos sobre el suelo, ni normativas o recomendaciones con respecto a la forma y dosis de aplicación, el manejo posterior del suelo enmendado o el tipo de cultivo en el cual podrían ser aplicados.

Un ensayo del INTA San Juan, realizado en suelo franco arenoso, con olivares de diez años y riego por goteo, determinó que la aplicación controlada incrementó los niveles de materia orgánica en un 83% y la concentración de nutrientes, como nitrógeno en 78%, fósforo en 70% y, principalmente, potasio en 124%, todos elementos movilizados mediante el agua de riego.

“Trabajamos en la reutilización de este residuo ya que representa una alternativa ecológica que, además, incrementa los niveles de materia orgánica y nutrientes del suelo, sin afectar su calidad”, expresó Monetta. “Aplicamos 40 t/ha de alperujo, en forma superficial sin posterior incorporación al suelo, para que los resultados obtenidos sean comparables”, afirmó. Asimismo, el especialista expresó que además del incremento observado con los nutrientes del suelo “aumentó el contenido total de microorganismos y la actividad de enzimas asociadas a los ciclos de carbono, nitrógeno y fosforo”.

En relación a los efectos sobre el cultivo, Monetta destacó: “Observamos ligeros incrementos de nutrientes foliares, mayor crecimiento vegetativo y no existieron cambios en parámetros reproductivos”. A partir de estos resultados, el INTA junto con la Secretaría de Ambiente de San Juan, realizan acciones con el fin de generar una normativa para reglamentar la aplicación controlada de alperujo para el desarrollo sustentable de la olivicultura regional.

Fuente: http://www.todoagro.com.ar 

   

HORTICULTURE of the future with zero pesticides, zero food-miles, and zero soil consumption - HORTICULTURA del futuro con cero plaguicidas, cero huellas de alimentos y cero uso del suelo

In the future, how will salad be cultivated in a city without large areas of land being available? The various innovative solutions to meet the growing demand for food and fight against waste also includes the vertical farm, a greenhouse almost 5 meters high to test version 3.0 of the agriculture of the future with zero pesticides, zero food-miles, and zero soil consumption. Carried out by the Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Italy’s first vertical farm was inaugurated on Friday, 10 July. 

Plants (lettuce and basil) are grown on several layers in pressed peat cubes immersed in water continuously recycled with nutrient solutions (hydroponics). The structure is lighted using highly efficient LEDs that reproduce the photosynthesis cycle. ENEA states that production, “compared to traditional crops, is almost double, with salad greens, for example, increasing from 6 to 14 harvest cycles/year for each level, with a 95% savings of water (just 2 liters/kg of lettuce as compared to 40-45 liters/kg in a “traditional” field).” The Vertical Farm, Agency points out, “is a symbol of the future of agricultural technologies, on which the agency’s nine existing centers in Italy are working. 

Products, services, and processes designed for companies in the sector have been collected in an illustrated volume on technological innovation – a sort of online “catalog” at www.ENEA.it, which contains over 500 entries on various sectors.” A vertical farm does not produce any waste as all the products used in growing the plants are continuously recycled within the farm. There are not even any irritating noises, except for the slight hum of the fully recycled air conditioning inside.

The agricultural innovations include biological insecticides, sensors to detect food product adulteration, processes to recover useful substances from wastewater, food traceability technologies, the development of precision agriculture, also with drones and satellites, for less water-intensive cultivation using innovative climate models. ENEA also introduced a campaign against food waste whose first initiatives include an agreement with Caritas Ambrosiana and Coop Italia for the use of the vertical farm products in the new Milanese refectory and the launch of the “Smart Fork” project to raise awareness among primary school children on the link between food, the environment and energy. 

Source: http://www.georgofili.world

Crean maquinaria agrícola inspirada en INSECTOS - Agricultural machinery created inspired by INSECTS

Técnicos del Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria de Argentina (INTA) y de la Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN), decidieron desarrollar maquinarias más eficientes, basadas en la naturaleza. Y es que se inspiraron específicamente en la propiedad antiadherente del insecto cascarudo.

Cascarudo / Foto: INTA Informa

La iniciativa consistió en idear una superficie similar a la del insecto para herramientas de laboreo, lo que permitiría aumentar su rendimiento y ahorrar energía. Así, el logro actualmente tiene patente internacional, destaca INTA Informa.

“Los sistemas naturales trabajan con el principio de energía mínima que implica, básicamente, realizar el menor esfuerzo posible para mantenerse durante más tiempo y de un modo eficiente”, señaló Eduardo Favret, especialista en biomimetismo del Instituto de Suelos del INTA Castelar.

El cascarudo posee interesantes características topográficas en su superficie cuticular, que le permiten desplazarse sin que el suelo se le adhiera, con el consecuente ahorro de energía.

“Nuestro trabajo se basó en trasladar esta premisa a la labranza agrícola, donde la adhesión de tierra a la herramienta tiene un efecto negativo”, indicó Favret.

Así, considerando la propiedad antiadherente de la epidermis de la cabeza y del tórax de la hembra del bicho toro o cascarudo, los técnicos del Instituto de Suelos y de Ingeniería Rural (IIR) del INTA Castelar y de la UTN lograron modificar la superficie de una herramienta de laboreo de suelos, lo que sin duda beneficiará a los productores.

“El rediseño de la púa escarificadora convencional lisa consistió en agregarle cavidades de 2 milímetros de diámetro distribuidas hexagonalmente”, detalló Favret quien, además, aseguró que “esta modificación aumentó su rendimiento entre un 5-7% con respecto a la (máquina) convencional”.

De este modo, la innovación permite un ahorro en la fuerza de tracción que, a su vez, repercute en la eficiencia energética y, consecuentemente, en el ahorro de combustible y horas de trabajo.

Rediseño de la púa escarificadora/INTA Informa

A raíz de lo anterior, el diseño biomimético de la superficie de la herramienta agrícola recibió la patente Modified Surface Topography for an Agricultural Tool de la Oficina de Patentes y Marcas Registradas del Departamento de Comercio de EE.UU.

“Si bien un ahorro del 5% parece menor, si se tienen en cuenta los millones de litros de combustible que se gastan en el sector agrícola, esta diferencia pasa a ser considerable”, comentó Omar Tesouro, responsable del Laboratorio de Terramecánica e Implantación de Cultivos del IIR, agregando que “esto abre un nuevo campo de acción”.

Además, Tesouro destacó que “se pueden trasladar estas modificaciones a otras herramientas que trabajen en contacto con el suelo, como las cuchillas labrasurco o surcadores, a fin de disminuir la adherencia del suelo y aumentar el rendimiento”.

De este modo, el INTA destaca el trabajo de Favret, quien estudia las propiedades funcionales de los sistemas biológicos para el desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías.

“Analizamos las estructuras microscópicas, mecanismos y reacciones químicas de diversas especies para poder trasladar estos conocimientos al desarrollo de soluciones e innovaciones tecnológicas”, explicó.

“Los problemas que nosotros enfrentamos, la naturaleza ya los resolvió, por eso es nuestra fuente de inspiración”, añadió.

“La naturaleza opera sin producir desperdicios. Es hacia allí donde debemos dirigir nuestros esfuerzos, emular al mundo natural, un sistema autocontenido que no afecte al medio ambiente”, concluyó.

http://www.portalfruticola.com

Industry must do more to battle global WATER crisis - El sector agro-industrial debe hacer más para combatir la crisis global del AGUA

Industry must do more to battle global water crisis

Land use planning for agriculture in Vietnam - Ordenamiento territorial para la agricultura en Vietnam

Vietnam approves master plan on hi-tech farming zones

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Map-of-Vietnam-Divisions.svg/2000px-Map-of-Vietnam-Divisions.svg.png

The Vietnamese government has approved a master plan for hi-tech agriculture zones through 2020, to put domestic farming on the sustainable development track and ensure national food security, Vietnam News Agency reported Thursday.

Besides previously-approved hi-tech farming parks in the southern province of Hau Giang and the central province of Phu Yen, another eight will be built in Ho Chi Minh City, the two northern provinces of Thai Nguyen and Quang Ninh, the central province of Thanh Hoa, the central province of Khanh Hoa, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, Ho Chi Minh City, the southern province of Binh Duong and the southern city of Can Tho.

Farming zones applying technological advances dedicated to coffee trees are mostly in the Central Highlands, northwest and north central regions.

Meanwhile, the plan designates areas for green tea in Thai Nguyen; oolong tea in Lam Dong; dragon fruit in Binh Thuan; and vegetables in Lao Cai, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City and Lam Dong.

Flowers will be grown in Lao Cai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Lam Dong and fruit for export will be grown in the southeast and Mekong Delta.

Son La, Hanoi, Nghe An and Lam Dong will gear towards dairy cow farming, and the Red River Delta, Mekong Delta, northeast and north central regions will adopt hi-tech innovations in fowl breeding. Hi-tech pig raising will be developed in the Red River Delta and the southeast.

Shrimp farming zones will be predominantly in the Red River Delta, Mekong Delta, north central, coastal south central and southeast regions.

By 2030, studies on zoning off hi-tech agriculture areas will be conducted in Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Son La, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nghe An, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Tien Giang, among others, to assess the impact of the program.

Source: http://www.globalpost.com, Xinhua News Agency, http://www.hortidaily.com