Statistics on the use of pesticides for FRUIT and VEGETABLES production in Latvia - Estadísticas sobre el uso de pesticidas para la producción FRUTIHORTÍCOLA en Latvia

For the first time Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSB) has carried out a survey on the use of pesticides in orchards, vegetable and potato areas, greenhouse crops, as well as in maize areas. Using data obtained in 2014, as well as results from the survey on the use of pesticides for cereals and rape carried out in 2012, information is obtained to estimate possible risk to environment and health caused by pesticides.

Provisional data compiled by the CSB show that in 2014, 7 tonnes or almost 1% of total amount of pesticides on average used in Latvian agriculture annually were used in orchards, vegetable areas and greenhouses, but for treatment of maize areas and potato areas, 3 and 21 tonne of pesticides were used, respectively.

Use of pesticides for horticultural crops surveyed for harvest of 2014 (kg of active ingredient of pesticide on average per hectare). Data source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.

Taking into account high occurrence of pests and diseases in Latvia in 2014, due to climatic conditions, the amount of active ingredient of pesticides used in crops and plantations surveyed by the CSB, is evaluated as suitable for compliance with optimal agrotechnology, considers State Plant Protection Service. Data are commensurable with the latest information published by Eurostat on the amount of active substances of pesticides sold to end users, which still is one of lowest among the European Union member states both in absolute numbers and per unit of agricultural area.

Farms treated with pesticides were: pear 69%, raspberry 52%, cherry 44%, apple 36%, plum 29%, strawberry 17%, cabbage 92%, onion 89%, beetroot 77% and potato 64%. Of the total pesticides used, fungicides were 80% in apple and pear, 86% in cherry, 67% in plum, 76% in raspberry, 89% in potatoes and 60% in onions. Out of total volume of pesticides used, herbicides were 98% in beetroot, 87% in carrot, 69% in cabbage, 59% in strawberry and 98% in corn. Insecticides were used in a very small amount, which can be explained with small application rates per hectare.

Structure of pesticides used for agricultural crops surveyed. Data source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.

In open field vegetable areas, the most used herbicides were aclonifen and metazachlor. Aclonifen accounted for 42% and 82% of the herbicides used in carrot and onion fields, respectively. 76% of herbicides used in cabbage areas were metazachlor. High share of fungicides used in onion can be explained with the use of active substance mancozeb (79% of fungicide amount used), which is a wide spread active substance of fungicides used for limiting blight.

Active substance of fungicides mancozeb is widely used for limiting late blight and dark spots of potato, share of which in the total amount of pesticides comprised 66% and in the amount of fungicides 74%. For the protection of vegetables grown in greenhouses (tomato and cucumber) against various root and steam disease agents, fungicide plant protection products with the share of active substances of 98% were used mainly. Survey on the use of pesticides for agricultural crops is organized once in five years. Comparison with other European Union countries will be available in the Eurostat database in section "Agriculture" in 2016.

Source: www.baltic-course.com, www.freshplaza.com

Bees loss increases over the previous year - Aumenta la pérdida de abejas con respecto al año anterior -

(Courtesy Doug Walsh)

Twenty-three percent of managed honeybee colonies were lost during the past winter, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s slightly down from the last couple of years.
However, summer losses (27 percent) exceeded winter losses for the first time. Total losses for the year were 42 percent, up from 34 percent the previous year, according to a survey conducted by the Bee Informed Partnership, the USDA, and the Apiary Inspectors of America. About two-thirds of 6,100 beekeepers who responded to the survey reported losses beyond economically acceptable levels. Those beekeepers managed almost 400,000 colonies across the country.
Dennis vanEngelsdorp, entomologist at the University of Maryland and project director for the Bee Informed Partnership, said winter losses used to be thought of as the most important indicator of bee colony health, but commercial beekeepers are now losing more colonies in summer than in winter. “Years ago, this was unheard of,” he said. Jeff Pettis, a co-author of the survey and senior entomologist at the USDA’s Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, said such high summer and year-round losses are very troubling. “If beekeepers are going to meet the growing demand for pollination services, researchers need to find better answers to the host of stresses that lead to both winter and summer colony losses,” he said.
Source: http://www.goodfruit.com

Instituciones promueven la siembra de ESPÁRRAGO en Argentina - Institutions promote ASPARAGUS cultivation in Argentina

Foto de http://www.todohuertoyjardin.es

El espárrago es una hortaliza no tradicional cuya producción y consumo viene impulsando la Facultad de Agronomía de la UNICEN desde hace dos décadas. Se trata de un cultivo que normalmente produce en primavera, entre los meses de septiembre a noviembre; que vegeta en verano y reposa en invierno. Es una especie dioica cuyas plantas femeninas producen semillas, las cuales son cosechadas en invierno. Esta hortaliza ha mostrado un buen comportamiento en la zona con rendimientos de hasta 10.000 kg/ha totales, promedio anuales (con una producción por planta aproximada de 500 g) en plantaciones adultas. 

El Centro Regional de Estudio Sistémico de Cadenas Agroalimentarias (CRESCA) de la Facultad de Agronomía, UNICEN cuenta con un Programa de Investigación y transferencia tecnológica “Cadena Espárrago bajo un enfoque sistémico”, en el marco del cual se cuenta con diversos ensayos en curso de esta especie, de los que este año se ha comenzado a cosechar semillas, para entregar en forma gratuita, como estímulo para los interesados en este cultivo. En 2014, el mencionado grupo de investigación, generó un proyecto de Extensión “Promoción de la producción y Consumo de Espárragos”, a fin de impulsar su producción e intensificar el consumo de esta hortaliza no tradicional en la zona. En este proyecto participa la Escuela Especial Nº 502 de Azul, con quien se cuenta con un convenio de colaboración generado, en el marco del perfil social y abierto de ambas instituciones. 

Fuente: Ana María Castagnino y María Belén Rosini (http://www.lavozdetandil.com.ar)

Proximate composition of JAMUN fruit and seeds - Composición proximal de frutos y semillas del JAMBOL o JAMBULÁN

Photo from http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-130411620626509_2266_1008239

Jamun is a huge evergreen tropical tree that is well known in Ind-o-Pak. It is scientifically named as Eugenia jambolana or Syzygium cumini (Myrtaceae). It produces purple ovoid fleshy fruit. The ripe berries are sweetish dry to taste and are useful in preparation of health drinks, jellies, juices squashes and wine. Its seed has conventionally been used in India for the management of different diseases. Jambul, java plum, Indian blackberry and black plum are common names of jamun. Worldwide, total production of jamun is 13.5 million tonnes out of which India contributes about 15.4%, being a leading producer. The jamun fruit have significant amount of iron and consumed as potential drug against hyperglycemia, liver and heart diseases. A huge amount of anthocyanins also present in fruit that exhibits good antioxidant characteristics. 

Recently, researchers from Pakistani and German institutions carried out studies to understand the chemical composition of jamun fruit and seed. Jamun fruits were assessed for their chemical composition by analyzing various parameters such as moisture, protein, fat, fiber and ash. It was revealed that jamun seed consisted of moisture (16.34±0.49), crude protein (1.97±0.59), crude fat (0.65±0.01), crude fiber (4.19±0.12), ash 2.18±0.06 and nitrogen free extracts (NFE) (74.67±2.24%). Pulp had a moisture content of 82.19±2.46%, crude protein 2.15±0.06%, crude fat 0.83±0.02%, crude fiber 1.76±0.05%, ash 2.04±0.06% and NFE 11.03±0.33. Chemical composition of jamun indicated that there are low fat contents in both fruit and seeds.

Source: Raza et al. (2015). American-Eurasian J. Agric. & Environ. Sci., 15 (7): 1221-1223, 2015.http://idosi.org/aejaes/jaes15(7)15/3.pdf 

New long shelf life, high-yielding CANTALOUPE variety - Nueva variedad de MELÓN de larga vida poscosecha y alto rendimiento

“The melon is highly valued for its holding ability in the field, allowing more flexibility when it comes to harvest, long-distance transportation and prolonged freshness on the retailer’s shelf, in the professional chef’s kitchen and on the consumer’s counter. Infinite Gold LSL (Long Shelf Life) is the next big thing in cantaloupes, where strong performance meets great fruit quality,” stated Gattis Guffey, Senior Melon Product Development Manager at Sakata. “Infinite Gold delivers durability, yield and flavor, which means growers and suppliers no longer have to sacrifice one for the other.”

The long shelf life characteristics of Infinite Gold help to provide growers with some flexibility in harvest timing based on weather, market prices or the availability of labor. They can be harvested in as little as two to three trips. Fewer passes save money on fertilizer, use less water and require fewer people and machines, also reducing the risk of contamination and minimizing food safety hazards. Typically, developing an LSL melon had to come at the cost of overall flavor, but not anymore. Infinite Gold offers the rich flavor and deep coloring that consumers love, creating the perfect balance between melony, musky, sweet and floral. In fact, the flavor of Infinite Gold has ranked higher than the leading competition in flavor, texture, aroma and overall quality in two separate third party research studies.
“What we have done is develop a premium melon that provides benefits at all levels of the supply chain,” said Guffey. “Not only do growers experience the benefits, but packers, shippers, foodservice distributors, processors, retailers and consumers all reap the rewards."
Source: http://www.freshplaza.com

An herbicide that works in STRAWBERRY fruit production - Un herbicida que funciona en producción de FRUTILLA (FRESA)

Photo source: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

Hard seeded, broadleaf, winter annual weeds in strawberry plasticulture production in Florida emerge in the crop holes in the plastic mulch and reduce berry yield and quality. Clopyralid is registered for post-emergence control of broadleaf weeds but herbicide damage has been observed in commercial fields and preliminary observations suggest that effects vary with time of application. In order to address this issue Nathan S. Boyd and and Peter Dittmar with the University of Florida conducted an experiment in 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 to evaluate clopyralid rate (0, 140, 280 and 560 g ae ha-1) and application time on strawberry vegetative and reproductive growth. 
Clopyralid applications at 280 and 560 g ae ha-1 on January 2 and 16 in yr 1 reduced leaf number per plant by 33 to 44% and increased the number of deformed leaves per plant compared to the nontreated control. This pattern was not observed in yr 2. In yr 1 and 2, two times the label rate of clopyralid (560 g ae ha-1) tended to reduce the total number of floral buds compared to the nontreated control by 12 to 17%. None of the herbicide rates or application times reduced the number of flowers per plant, marketable berries per plant, yield over time, or total yield. They concluded that clopyralid applications at the rates and application times tested in this study may cause leaf damage, may reduce leaf number in some situations, but does not impact yield.
Source: Nathan S. Boyd and Peter Dittmar (2015) Impact of Application Time and Clopyralid Rate on Strawberry Growth and Yield. Weed Technology In-Press. http://www.wssajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1614/WT-D-15-00040.1 

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