State Support of Plant Protection (by the Example of Novosibirsk Region)

Modern crop production in the conditions of total reduction of tilled area is one of the priorities in effective farming. The adaptive intensification of crop production, which provides sustainable growth of yield, resource conservation and ecological safety, requires increase of financing and involvement of plant protection measures in the mechanism of state support, the use of genetic selection potential of plants, the use of agrotechnical measures, technical and technological upgrade, for the purpose of adjustment of arable crops growth conditions, improvement of grain quality, as well as soil conservation and enrichment. Scientifically proven measures regarding plant protection against hazardous organisms play a special role in the mechanism of state support and stimulation of agricultural goods producers. This approach will make it possible to abandon abusive application of chemical agents and replace them with biological ones against the same variety of pathogens; it will facilitate increase in arable crops yield, improve of quality of goods produced, cost saving and growth of net profit, in comparison with traditional technologies, as well as mitigate risks related to the influence of chemical agents on the environment. It will increase the field competitiveness both at internal and external market. The offered measures were developed with provision for the WTO requirements which make it bin­ding to implement the methods of state support without distorting influence of activities of companies, i.e. implement the support within the «green box». The «green box» includes the costs of plant protection measures and productive infrastructure formation.

Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies of Arable Crop Farmers In Abia State, Nigeria

This study was set up to examine climate change and adaptation strategies of arable crop farmers in Abia State. The study adopted the cross-sectional research design with a sample population of 392 farmers across the seventeen Local Government Areas of Abia State. Chi Square statistics was used to test the study hypothesis. The study revealed that Climate change impact on arable crops is affecting farmer’s economy in Abia State. Evidences of climate change in the area, could be seen in the form of increase in temperature, change in rainfall pattern and intensity which has brought about a change in planting seasons, the study further revealed that The techniques/strategies adopted by arable crop famers in Abia State include cultivation of early maturing breeds of arable crop, crop diversification, changes in time of farm operation, change of farm location, rain water harvesting, diversification of income-generating activities and planting of drought-resistant varieties. The most predominant adaptation strategies practiced by arable crop farmers in Abia State are cultivation of early maturing breeds of arable crops, crop diversification and changes in time of farm operation and that there was seasonal variation in the choice of adaptation strategy adopted by farmers. The study however recommends that climate change impacts on arable crops as such agricultural activities that enhance climate change such as bush burning, total forest clearing should be discouraged. There is a need to adopt agro based environmental friendly techniques in crop production such as alley farming and that farmers should be encouraged to adopt the identified effective adaptation technique that are practicable for their location.

Assessment of status and distribution of available micronutrients in soils under different land uses of savannah North Central Region of Nigeria

This study examines the availability of micronutrients under different land uses: natural vegetation, tree plantations (orange and cashew) and arable crops (maize and guinea corn). Available zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) were analysed in one hundred and fifty (150) randomly selected soil samples. Iron at the topsoil and subsoil under tree plantations and natural vegetation was rated marginal, under arable crops it was marginal at topsoil and deficient at subsoil. Available Mn and Zn at the topsoil and subsoil was adequate under all the land uses, with the exception of maize which fell under marginal ranking at topsoil. Copper was rated deficient under arable crops and orange, marginal under cashew, while natural vegetation was marginal at subsoil and adequate at topsoil. The results revealed that arable crops unlike tree plantations statistically differed on all occasions when their mean scores were compared with those of the natural vegetation. Copper-enriched inorganic fertilizers should be used by farmers. Monitoring of soil nutrients should be carried out regularly, in order to improve upon sustainable farming.

Intercrop practices in cashew production

Cashew is an important economic tree crop cultivated for its wood, apple and most especially the nut. The large plant spacing involved in its cultivation encourages intercropping. Intercropping cashew during the early phase of establishment with arable and sometimes tree crops is usually practiced which serves as food security, cultural weed control and means of additional income to farmers. The aim of this study is to look into some experimented cashew intercrop and gaps in the intercrop patterns. Review of past literatures was used in discovering cashew intercrop patterns in Nigeria and some major cashew producing countries. Intercropping cashew with arable crops is more popular and profitable than with tree crop except in Sri-lanka where intercropping with coconut seems profitable than cashew sole cropping. Intercropping of cashew with arable crops, legumes and vegetables did not affect the growth of young cashew except millet, sorghum and pigeon-pea. Cashew/maize and cashew/cassava/yam had high returns respectively. Intercrop combinations with more than two crops affected the growth of cashew. Cashew/rice and cashew/plantain intercrop suppressed the growth of weeds with no negative effect on cashew growth. More concise and implementable research can be done where information on weed control, growth parameters, nutrient demands, yield and economic returns can be gotten from an experiment on the various cashew intercrop patterns as this will make the findings more adoptable by the farmers. Intercropping cashew with more than 2 crops should be discouraged.

The Importance of Agricultural Land Used in the Production of Agricultural Products in Greece

In Greece, agriculture plays a key role in supporting the socio-economic sustainability of rural areas, as this sector is the main user of agricultural land. In Greece, agriculture covers a large part of its territory. It accounts for about 30% of the total area. The total cultivated agricultural land (arable crops, horticultural land, permanent crops) amounts to 3,221,680 hectares compared to the 171,603,000 hectares of the EU-27. In 2018 the main crop groups per year were distributed as follows: 53.4% of cultivated area (1,719,600 hectares) was used for arable crops, 1.9% (61,890 hectares) for horticultural, 33.7% (1,085,100 hectares) for permanent crops and 11.0% (354,760 hectares) of arable land was under set-aside. 56% of arable land is located in lowland areas, while the rest is in mountainous or semi-mountainous areas. An important parameter for crop efficiency is the irrigated agricultural area. One-third of the arable land is irrigated. The highest irrigation rates (97%) are occupied by horticultural crops, 43% by arable land, 38% by tree crops and 36% by viticulture. The average size of agricultural holdings is less than 5.0 hectares and the number of large farms has increased. Thus, 76.0% of rural households have a size of less than 5 hectares, while less than 1% have a size of more than 50 hectares. It is worth noting that agriculture must take care of soil protection, water quality, natural resources because these are vital factors in ensuring the sustainability of humanity. Keywords: Soil resources, Sustainable agriculture, Agricultural production.

Species Identification of Wireworms (Agriotes spp.; Coleoptera: Elateridae) of Agricultural Importance in Europe: A New “Horizontal Identification Table”

Wireworms are yellowish soil-dwelling larvae that damage a wide range of arable crops. The most common wireworms found in European cultivated fields (except for the Caucasus) belong to the genus Agriotes (Coleoptera: Elateridae). In several European countries, environment-impacting insecticides are applied on a prophylactic basis to control them. However, before any treatment can be applied, European legislation requires that an assessment is done when pest population levels exceed a damage threshold. The threshold substantially depends on wireworm species, thus quick reliable larval identification is needed to implement the appropriate integrated pest management practices. Furthermore, research into non-chemical strategies involves carrying out tests with live and identified wireworms. Thus, thousands of wireworms were observed in a bid to identify live larvae so that larval density could be assessed and compared with species-specific thresholds before sowing, and laboratory experiments were carried out. This work led to a horizontal identification table that allows for quick and accurate identification of live larvae. This key, unlike traditional dichotomous keys, simultaneously considers a set of multiple discriminating morphological characters in order of stability. The key can be reliably used by less experienced users and, once minimum familiarity is acquired, most larvae can be identified rapidly, with high precision.

Effect of Vegetable Oils Feed Additives on Endoparasites Associated with Dewormed Racing Horses

The effectiveness of commonly used parasiticides decreases due to the drug resistance developed by many organisms. Therefore, the application of feed additives possessing antiparasitic properties may be helpful in limiting the burden of parasites. The aim of this research was to evaluate parasitological coefficients for endoparasites of regularly dewormed Arabian horses and Thoroughbreds, fed on a basal diet of oat and muesli with vegetable oils and/or without vitamin E. The observations revealed parasitic invasion in 25 of 27 examined horses. The most frequent in both breeds were Strongylidae—accounting for 86% of Thoroughbreds and 100% of Arabian horses. Strongyloididae were observed in 33% of individuals representing both breeds while botflies were found in one Arabian horse and one Thoroughbred. Mean EPG coefficients for strongylids and strongyloidids were higher in Thoroughbreds (530 vs. 529 and 43 vs. 29, respectively), although the differences were not statistically significant. The addition of pure linseed oil significantly reduced the number of Strongylidae in fecal samples. The results indicate that properly selected plant additives obtained from arable crops may be helpful in limiting the numbers of drug-resistant strongylids.

Climate risk services for cereal farming

Agricultural production is largely determined by weather conditions during the crop growing season. An important aspect of crop yield estimation concerns crop growth development. The occurrence of meteorological events such as frosts, droughts or heat stress during the crop life cycle or during certain phenological stages helps explain yield fluctuations of common arable crops. We developed a methodology and visualisation tool for risk assessment, and tested the workflow for drought and frost risk for winter wheat, winter barley and grain maize in Belgium. The methodology has the potential to be extended to other extreme weather events and their impacts on crop growth in different regions of the world.