Effect of organic agronomic techniques and packaging on the quality of lamb's lettuce.

BACKGROUND: This research focused on the effect of organic production systems on initial quality and postharvest performance of lamb's lettuce leaves stored in air or under modified atmosphere at refrigerated temperature. Different strategies of organic soil fertility management were compared under the same environmental conditions: (i) a simplified organic production system based on organic commercial fertilizers to recover crop uptake (SB); (ii) an organic production system based on organic matter amendment mainly supplied by animal manure (AM); and (iii) an organic production system based on organic matter amendment supplied by green waste compost (AC). Fully developed lamb's lettuce leaves were harvested and then packed into perforated bags (control in AIR) or in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and stored at 4 °C. RESULTS: At harvest, the yield of lamb's lettuce in the AM and AC systems was higher than that in SB. Phenol and dehydroascorbic acid accumulation was observed in the system with the lowest initial supply of organic amendment (SB). Regarding the effect of packaging, AIR conditions maintained the initial quality attributes for a longer period than MAP, which developed off-odours above the threshold of acceptability at 11 days, irrespective of the production system used. CONCLUSION: In general, the initial differences among the production systems were minimal during the postharvest storage. As for the tested packaging systems, AIR successfully maintained the initial quality attributes for a longer period than the MAP. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

A comparative analysis of vehicle-related greenhouse gas emissions between organic and conventional dairy production.

Agricultural industrialisation and globalisation have steadily increased the transportation of food across the world. In efforts to promote sustainability and self-sufficiency, organic milk producers in Sweden are required to produce a higher level of cattle feed on-farm in the hope that increased self-sufficiency will reduce reliance on external inputs and reduce transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. Using data collected from 20 conventional and 20 organic milk producers in Sweden this paper aims to assess the global warming impact of farmyard vehicles and the transportation of feed produced 'off-farm' in order to compare the impact of vehicle-related emissions from the different production methods. The findings show organic and conventional production methods have different vehicle-related emission outputs that vary according to a reliance on either road transportation or increased farmyard machinery use. Mechanical weeding is more fuel demanding than conventional agrichemical sprayers. However, artificial fertilising is one of the highest farmyard vehicle-related emitters. The general findings show organic milk production emits higher levels of farm vehicle-related emissions that fail to be offset by reduced emissions occurring from international transport emissions. This paper does not propose to cover a comprehensive supply chain carbon footprint for milk production or attempt to determine which method of production has the largest climatic impact. However, it does demonstrate that Sweden's legal requirements for organic producers to produce more feed on-farm to reduce transport emissions have brought emissions back within Sweden's greenhouse gas inventory and raises questions around the effectiveness of policies to reduce vehicle-related emissions. Further research is needed into the effectiveness of climate change mitigation on food production policies, in particular looking at various trade-offs that affects the entire food supply chain.

Validation of automated detection of physical and mental stress during work in a Hühnermobil 225.

Introduction. The effects of the use of mobile henhouses and their equipment on the physical and mental stress of farmers in the organic egg production, and the reliability of the sensor-based detection of these in work processes are insufficiently known. There are neither measurement results nor key figures, according to operation and gender especially, available in the literature. Objective. The aim of this case study is to quantify the physical and mental stress of work processes on the basis of heart rate and the Baevsky Stress Index, as measured by the ECG- and activity sensor Movisens®, which is used mainly in the sports and rehabilitation sectors. To analyse the impact, daily routine work was divided into operations and the data collected for this purpose analysed descriptively and analytically. Conclusions. In summary, it can be concluded that measurement technology has the potential to capture the activity-related exceedances of the endurance limit of the work severity by means of the heart rate reliably, to identify risk areas of employment and to quantify stress situations. The accuracy and reliability of data acquisition with Movisens® should be validated by a larger sample size and further measurements. In particular, the algorithm for calculating the data to quantify the mental and physical stress without movement needs to be improved significantly through further development.

Microwave enhanced oxidation treatment of organic fertilizers.

BACKGROUND: Liquid organic fertilizers (LOFs) are relatively easier to degrade than those of solid organic fertilizers, and the nutrients are readily available for plant uptake. Microwave enhanced advanced oxidation treatment (MW/H2 O2 -AOP) was used to convert solid organic fertilizers (insoluble blood meal, bone meal, feather meal, sunflower ash and a mixture) into LOF. RESULTS: After the MW/H2 O2 -AOP treatment, high soluble nitrogen (11-29%), soluble phosphorus (64%) and potassium (92%), as well as low total suspended solids content could be obtained. The resulting LOF would make the nutrients more bioavailable, and would provide some of them for the plant uptake immediately. Temperature and hydrogen peroxide dosage were found to be significant factors affecting nitrogen release from blood meal and feather meal, while temperature and pH were found to be significant factors for solubilizing phosphorus and potassium from bone meal and ash, respectively. CONCLUSION: The MW/H2 O2 -AOP reduced suspended solids, and released nutrients into solution; therefore, it was an effective treatment method to make LOFs. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Yield, Quality, and Nutrient Concentrations of Strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch. cv. 'Sonata') Grown with Different Organic Fertilizer Strategies.

Four combinations of two solid organic fertilizers (Monterra Malt and chicken manure) applied before planting and two liquid organic fertilizers (broad bean and Pioner Hi-Fruit/K-Max) given through drip irrigation (fertigation) were compared with inorganic fertilization regarding growth, yield, nutrient concentration, and fruit quality of strawberries. Broad bean fertigation combined with Monterra Malt resulted in a similar fruit yield as inorganic fertilizer and a higher yield than Monterra Malt combined with Pioner; however, total soluble solids, firmness, and titratable acid were improved with Pioner fertigation, although these parameters were more affected by harvest time than the applied fertilizers. The concentrations of most nutrients in fruits and leaves were higher in inorganically fertigated plants. The reductions in fruit yield in three of four treatments and fruit weight in all organic treatments may be due to a combination of the following conditions in the root zone: (1) high pH and high NH4(+)/NO3(-) ratio; (2) high EC and/or high NaCl concentration; (3) cation imbalance; and (4) nutrient deficiency.

Organic amendments to avocado crops induce suppressiveness and influence the composition and activity of soil microbial communities.

One of the main avocado diseases in southern Spain is white root rot caused by the fungus Rosellinia necatrix Prill. The use of organic soil amendments to enhance the suppressiveness of natural soil is an inviting approach that has successfully controlled other soilborne pathogens. This study tested the suppressive capacity of different organic amendments against R. necatrix and analyzed their effects on soil microbial communities and enzymatic activities. Two-year-old avocado trees were grown in soil treated with composted organic amendments and then used for inoculation assays. All of the organic treatments reduced disease development in comparison to unamended control soil, especially yard waste (YW) and almond shells (AS). The YW had a strong effect on microbial communities in bulk soil and produced larger population levels and diversity, higher hydrolytic activity and strong changes in the bacterial community composition of bulk soil, suggesting a mechanism of general suppression. Amendment with AS induced more subtle changes in bacterial community composition and specific enzymatic activities, with the strongest effects observed in the rhizosphere. Even if the effect was not strong, the changes caused by AS in bulk soil microbiota were related to the direct inhibition of R. necatrix by this amendment, most likely being connected to specific populations able to recolonize conducive soil after pasteurization. All of the organic amendments assayed in this study were able to suppress white root rot, although their suppressiveness appears to be mediated differentially.

The impact of management strategies in apple orchards on the structural and functional diversity of epigeal spiders.

Apple orchards are agro-ecosystems managed with high levels of inputs and especially pesticides. Epigeal spider communities were sampled in three seasons using pitfall traps in 19 apple orchards with four different management strategies (abandoned, under organic, Integrated Pest Management or conventional protection) and thus significantly different pesticide usage. The abundance and diversity of the spider communities was the highest in abandoned orchards. Higher diversity and evenness values were the only difference in spider communities from the organic orchards compared to the other commercial orchards. The analysis of five ecological traits (proportion of aeronauts, type of diet, overwintering stages, body size and maternal care), however, clearly showed differences in the spiders from the organic orchards. The spider species in the other commercial orchards were smaller and have higher dispersal abilities. Seven bioindicator species were identified in abandoned orchards, two species in organic ones (only Lycosidae) and one species in conventional orchards (Linyphiidae).

Plasticidade fenotípica de Baccharis genistelloides subsp. crispa (Spreng. ) Joch. Müll. (2006) - Asteraceae - sob manejo orgânico / Phenotypic plasticity of Baccharis genistelloides subsp. crispa (Spreng. ) Joch. Müll. (2006) - Asteraceae - under organic management

O objetivo deste trabalho, relacionado a produção orgânica, utilizou preparados homeopáticos visando incremento na biomassa e no teor de flavonóides em plantas dióicas de carqueja. Os tratamentos foram: controle com água, controle com álcool 70%, Phosphorus 12CH, Sulphur 6CH, e a combinação destas homeopatias. Variações fenotípicas foram registradas a partir da análise de crescimento, realizada quinzenalmente durante 60 dias e dos caracteres morfológicos, tais como: como altura, número de ramificações, comprimento do ramo principal, diâmetro do caule e ala caulinar mediana. Na colheita foram medidos: a fitomassa fresca/seca e o volume de raiz. Posteriormente, foi quantificado o teor de flavonóides totais conforme as análises prescritas pela Farmacopéia Brasileira. O experimento foi avaliado em delineamento de blocos casualizados (2x5x2), sendo suas médias avaliadas pelo teste Tukey e o coeficiente de variação ambiental para estimar a plasticidade. Quanto ao estudo do crescimento da planta ao longo do tempo, verificou-se aumento linear simples para a maioria das variáveis nos dois sexos. Foram detectadas respostas plásticas na maioria dos caracteres avaliados. De acordo com os resultados, em ambos os sexos, 60 dias de cultivo são suficientes para obtenção de matéria prima com teor aceitável de flavonóides, bem como para verificação dos efeitos de patogenesia e similitude na aplicação de preparados homeopáticos Phosphorus 12CH, Sulphur 6CH e sua combinação Phosphorus 12CH + Sulphur 6CH. A fitomassa e o teor de flavonóides totais foram semelhantes entre plantas dióicas durante o período de estudo.

This study looked at organic production, in addition to the use of homeopathic preparations, in order to increase biomass and flavonoid content in dioecious plants of Baccharis genistelloides. The adopted treatments were: water control, control with 70% alcohol, Phosphorus 12CH, Sulphur 6CH and a combination of them. Phenotypic changes were recorded for the growth analysis, performed biweekly for 60 days, of the morphological features, such as height, number of branches, length of the main branch, diameter of the stem and median stem wing. At harvest, we measured the fresh/dry phytomass and root volume. Subsequently, we quantified the content of total flavonoids according to the analyses required by the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia. The experiment was evaluated in a randomized block design, and its averages were evaluated by the Tukey's test and environmental variation coefficient to estimate plasticity. As for the study of plant growth over time, there was a simple linear increase for most of the variables in both genders. We could detect phenotypic plasticity traits in most features analyzed. According to these results in both genders, 60 days after inoculation are sufficient to obtain raw material with acceptable level of flavonoids, as well as pathogenesis and similar effects in the application of homeopathic preparations of Phosphorus 12CH, Sulphur 6CH and their combination. Phytomass and content of total flavonoids were similar between the dioecious plants during the study period.

Caracterização da produtividade do funcho (Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ) no sertão de Sergipe / Characterization of the of fennel's (Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ) yield semi-arid areas of Sergipe state

Com o objetivo de avaliar a produtividade e qualidade do funcho (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) produzido nas condições edafoclimáticas de Sergipe, foi conduzido cultivo orgânico de funcho em Frei Paulo-SE. Em junho de 2008 e de 2009, início do período de chuvas, foram instalados plantios por meio de mudas. Adicionalmente, em dezembro de 2010 foi realizada colheita de frutos a partir de plantas obtidas após poda drástica e rebrota. Foi realizada colheita de frutos e determinação da produtividade de dezembro a janeiro de 2008, 2009 e em dezembro de 2010. Verificou-se produtividade de 720 Kg.ha-1, no primeiro plantio e de 349 Kg.ha-1 no plantio de 2009. As plantas obtidas por rebrota em 2010 resultaram em produtividade de 589 Kg.ha-1. Sugere-se que a maior produtividade verificada no primeiro ano seja decorrente da maior precipitação média e conseqüente maior disponibilidade de água. A produtividade verificada nas plantas que rebrotaram em 2010 foi também superior a verificada em 2009, o que pode ser explicado tanto em função da maior precipitação, quanto em função do provável maior desenvolvimento das raízes e maior número de ramos após poda, devido à quebra da dominância apical. Esses dados sugerem importância da disponibilidade hídrica na determinação da produtividade na região e explicam a variação na produtividade verificada. A massa seca dos frutos (5, 29 g para 1000 frutos) e o alto teor de óleo essencial verificado (3,2 por cento), assim como a composição do óleo, revelam a alta qualidade dos frutos produzidos na região.

Aiming to evaluate the productivity and quality of fennel fruits produced in the countryside of Sergipe, with no irrigation, they were evaluated organic crops in Frei Paulo-SE. They were installed crops in 2008 and 2009 from seeds, on beginning rainy time. Seedlings obtained from seeds were transplanted in June 2008 and 2009. Besides, after the last harvest of the plants, grown in 2009, it was done a drastic pruning on plants, on May, 2010. The plants were held on the area until their fruits harvest, on december and January of 2008, 2009 and December 2010. The fennel fruits yield was 720 Kg ha -1 in the first crop (2008) and 349 Kg ha -1 at following crop (2009), while the fruits yield obtained from pruned plants was 589 Kg.ha-1. It is suggested that the higher yield at the first year has been due to the higher average rainfall and its greater availability of water. The observed yield in sprouted plants was higher (at 2010) than fennel yield of 2009. It can be explained as a function of precipitation, likely as a function of greater root development and increased number of branches and umbels after pruning and breaking of apical. These results reveal water availability importance to fennel yield. The dried mass of fruits (5.29 g to 1000 fruits), high content of essential oil in fruits (3.2 percent) and the essential oil composition reveal good quality of fennel fruits of Sergipe.

Bioatividade de óleos essenciais no controle de Botrytis cinerea isolado de morangueiro / Essential oils bioactivity in strawberry grey mould control

Objetivou-se avaliar o uso de óleos essenciais sobre isolados de Botrytis cinerea, causador do mofo cinzento em morangueiro. Foram testados óleos essenciais de capim-limão, palmarosa, citronela, cravo, canela, menta, lavanda, tangerina, eucalipto, melaleuca, alecrim e laranja, todos estes analisados em cromatógrafo a gás acoplado a detector de massas, para identificação dos principais componentes dos óleos. Foram avaliados o crescimento micelial, produção e germinação de conídios de B. cinerea, com a incorporação do óleo no meio de cultura. Realizou-se ainda uma avaliação de voláteis e a eficiência de óleos em isolado resistente a fungicida. Para cada teste, diferentes óleos apresentaram eficiência, contudo capim limão, palmarosa, canela e menta demonstraram os melhores efeitos em todos os testes realizados. Todos os tratamentos a base de óleos demonstraram efeito semelhante a um fungicida recomendado para a cultura, a base de tiofanato metílico. Dois tratamentos mostraram-se efetivos no caso de isolado resistente (óleo de capim limão e de canela). Óleos essenciais mostram-se como opção promissora para o desenvolvimento de possíveis produtos fitossanitários para o manejo de doenças em plantas.

This study aimed evaluates essential oils in Botrytis cinerea isolates growth, which causes gray mould on strawberry. Were tested essential oils of lemon grass, palmrose, citronella, clove, cinnamon, mint, lavender, tangerine, eucalyptus, tea tree, rosemary and orange. The oils were analyzed in gas chromatograph attached to mass detector for identifying the mainly oils components. Were evaluated mycelial growth, conidia production and conidia germination of B. cinerea, with oil incorporation in culture medium. Were conducted an evaluation of oils volatile components and the efficiency of oils in fungicide-resistant isolate. For each test, different oils showed efficiency, however lemongrass, palmarosa, cinnamon and mint showed the best effects in all tests. All treatments demonstrated similar effects to recommended fungicide for the culture, which had methyl thiophanate. Two treatments (lemon grass and cinnamon oils), were effective against resistant isolate. Essential oils are shown as promising option for development of possible product for plant disease management.