Search results for "farming"
showing 10 items of 302 documents
Cultivating cultural sustainability in farming practices
2018
The aim of this chapter is to explore agricultural practices and their sustainability, in order to analyse the essence and dynamics of culture in relation to sustainable development. We ask, what should sustain in culture and what does culturally sustainable development entail? We identified three core qualities of sustainability in farming: fertility, diversity and continuity. They are bound together and shaped by rationalization related to the feasible functioning of the farming system and appreciation judging the desirability and quality of the practices. We discuss the ways the model explaining the sustainability of agricultural practices can be used to inform the essence of culture in …
Seroepidemiology of porcine enteric sapovirus in pig farms in Venezuela
2010
Porcine enteric sapovirus (PES) has been shown to cause diarrhea under experimental conditions in gnotobiotic piglets. However, the role of PES as enteric pathogens in porcine farms remains unclear. To further understand the PES-host interactions under field conditions, a serological survey was carried out. To this end the capsid gene of a PES isolate was cloned in the baculovirus expression system and an ELISA was developed based on virus-like particles from the baculovirus-expressed PES capsid protein. A total of 85 serum samples collected from pigs ranging from 8 weeks to over 54 weeks of age were analyzed. An overall seroprevalence to PESs of 62% was found, with significant differences …
Soil Erosion Induced by the Introduction of New Pasture Species in a Faxinal Farm of Southern Brazil
2018
The faxinal management system is an endangered agro-silvopastoral system which forms part of the local traditional management in the Paraná federal state (Brazil). Significant changes in land management since the 1970s caused farmers to look for alternatives to increase the productivity of their farms. The introduction of new pasture species is causing land degradation problems, of which soil erosion is the most important challenge. Therefore, in this study, we assessed the environmental consequences of introducing exotic pasture species, such as Brachiaria decumbens. To achieve this goal, ten erosion plots were installed with exotic and native pastures (Paspalum notatum Flügg&e…
Soil Physical Quality of Citrus Orchards Under Tillage, Herbicide, and Organic Managements
2018
Abstract Soil capacity to support life and to produce economic goods and services is strongly linked to the maintenance of good soil physical quality (SPQ). In this study, the SPQ of citrus orchards was assessed under three different soil managements, namely no-tillage using herbicides, tillage under chemical farming, and no-tillage under organic farming. Commonly used indicators, such as soil bulk density, organic carbon content, and structural stability index, were considered in conjunction with capacitive indicators estimated by the Beerkan estimation of soil transfer parameter (BEST) method. The measurements taken at the L'Alcoleja Experimental Station in Spain yielded optimal values fo…
Natural occurrence of emerging Fusarium mycotoxins in feed and fish from aquaculture.
2014
A new analytical method for the simultaneous determination of enniatins (ENs) and beauvericin (BEA) in fish feed and fish tissues by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry with linear ion trap (LC-MS/MS-LIT) was developed. Results showed that the developed method is precise and sensitive. The presence of emerging Fusarium mycotoxins, ENs and BEA, was determined in samples of aquaculture fish and feed for farmed fish, showing that all feed samples analyzed were contaminated with mycotoxins, with 100% coexistence. In aquacultured fish samples, the highest incidence was found in edible muscle and liver. As for the exposure assessment calculated, it was found that average consumer i…
Impacts of oak deforestation and rainfed cultivation on soil redistribution processes across hillslopes using 137Cs techniques
2021
Abstract Background As one of the main components of land-use change, deforestation is considered the greatest threat to global environmental diversity with possible irreversible environmental consequences. Specifically, one example could be the impacts of land-use changes from oak forests into agricultural ecosystems, which may have detrimental impacts on soil mobilization across hillslopes. However, to date, scarce studies are assessing these impacts at different slope positions and soil depths, shedding light on key geomorphological processes. Methods In this research, the Caesium-137 (137Cs) technique was applied to evaluate soil redistribution and soil erosion rates due to the effects …
Long-Term Tillage and Cropping System Effects on Chemical and Biochemical Characteristics of Soil Organic Matter in a Mediterranean Semiarid Environm…
2014
Several studies have reported how tillage and cropping systems affect quantity, quality, and distribution of soil organic matter (SOM) along the profile. However, the effect of soil management on the chemical structure of SOM and on its hydrophobic and hydrophilic components has been little investigated. In this work, the long-term (19 years) effects of two cropping systems (wheat monoculture and wheat/faba bean rotation) and three tillage managements (conventional, reduced, and no tillage) on some chemical characteristics of SOM and their relationships with labile carbon (C) pools were evaluated. Soil samples were taken from the topsoil (0–15 cm) of a Chromic Haploxerert (central Sicily, I…
Food and Environment: Trace Element Content of Hen Eggs from Different Housing Types
2013
AbstractEleven trace elements (Ba, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Sr, V, Zn) were quantitatively determined in hen egg samples collected from different poultry housing types (large-scale poultry farms, organic farms and domestic farms) over the territory of Latvia. Samples were wet digested and quantitatively analysed by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (TXRF). The accuracy of analytical method was verified with analysis of certified reference material NCS ZC73017 (GSB-10)-Apple. The most variable range of concentrations and the highest content of elements were determined for hen egg samples derived from organic farms, while egg samples from domestic farms and poultry farms mos…
Epizootiology of protozoans in farmed salmonids at northern latitudes
1997
Abstract Protozoan ectoparasites were examined in a northern salmonid fish farm over a 10-year period, June 1984–May 1994, by the same researcher, with similar catching and sampling procedures throughout. Husbandry procedures remained constant during the study, e.g., fingerlings were kept in steel tanks and yearlings in both steel tanks and earth ponds. Ichthyobodo necator, Chilodonella hexasticha and Ichthyophthirius multifilurs infections were treated with formalin, salt and malachite green-formalin baths, respectively, whenever any parasites were found. Altogether 10 790 randomly sampled salmon (Salmo solar), sea trout (S. trutta m. trutta) and brown trout (S. trutta m. lacustris) were s…
Soil erosion assessment on tillage and alternative soil managements in a Sicilian vineyard
2011
Mediterranean crops favour high erosion rates. Vineyards use to reach the highest soil and water losses due to the lack of vegetation cover. A topographical approach by means of the use of vineyards poles as fixed reference point as erosion markers allowed to quantify high and non-sustainable soil erosion rates on the Sicilian vineyards during 9 years. In order to develop strategies to control the soil losses, seven land management were selected and applied in a typical blanc wine grape vineyard located in southwestern Sicily. Comparable plots were managed traditionally using conventional tillage and alternatively using various cover crops: 1) Vicia faba; 2) Vicia faba and Vicia sativa; 3) …