Search results for "farming"

Identification of weed community traits response to conservation agriculture

2013

International audience; Conservation agriculture is designed to deliver more sustainable cropping systems by preserving agricultural soils with tillage abandonment. However, knowledge on the impacts of Conservation agriculture adoption on weed infestation level and potential shifts in the composition of weed communities appears low and contradictory. We used a trait-based approach to investigate whether there are shifts in values of a set of traits within weed communities following the adoption of Direct Drilling with cover-crop (DD) which is one of the Conservation Agriculture practices. Weed surveys were conducted across a range of times since conversion to DD in 52 winter wheat fields lo…

Tillage intensity and pasture in rotation effectively shape soil microbial communities at a landscape scale

2018

International audience; Soil microorganisms are essential to agroecosystem functioning and services. Yet, we still lack information on which farming practices can effectively shape the soil microbial communities. The aim of this study was to identify the farming practices, which are most effective at positively or negatively modifying bacterial and fungal diversity while considering the soil environmental variation at a landscape scale. A long-term research study catchment (12 km2 ) representative of intensive mixed farming (livestock and crop) in Western Europe was investigated using a regular grid for soil sampling (n = 186). Farming systems on this landscape scale were described in terms…

In vitro effects of Origanum vulgare leaf extracts on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) leucocytes, cytotoxic, bactericidal and antioxidant activi…

2018

Abstract Origanum vulgare is a well-known medicinal plant that has been used since ancient times as an additive in foods and cosmetic preparations. The possible application of O. vulgare extracts in fish was assessed by using gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) as a marine fish model due to its importance in aquaculture. The in vitro effects of aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of O. vulgare were tested in order to observe any immunostimulant, cytotoxic, bactericidal or antioxidant properties. The results showed that medium or high concentration of aqueous extracts and low concentrations of ethanolic extract, increased head kidney leucocyte activities as well as the number of SAF-1 cells. H…

Intensive aquaculture selects for increased virulence and interference competition in bacteria

2016

Although increased disease severity driven by intensive farming practices is problematic in food production, the role of evolutionary change in disease is not well understood in these environments. Experiments on parasite evolution are traditionally conducted using laboratory models, often unrelated to economically important systems. We compared how the virulence, growth and competitive ability of a globally important fish pathogen, Flavobacterium columnare , change under intensive aquaculture. We characterized bacterial isolates from disease outbreaks at fish farms during 2003–2010, and compared F. columnare populations in inlet water and outlet water of a fish farm during the 2010 outbre…

Henneguya zschokkei (Myxozoa) infection in cultured whitefish: Age-dependence, seasonality and distribution within host

2017

Abstract Whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) is an important species for European fisheries and aquaculture. Recently, the myxosporean Henneguya zschokkei has been observed to infect the muscles of whitefish in fish farms. Plasmodia of H. zschokkei prevent marketing of the fillet and cause economic losses. The factors associated with occurrence of the parasite in fish farms have not been investigated previously. We studied age-dependence, seasonality, and within-host distribution of H. zschokkei plasmodia in farmed whitefish by examining a total of 1599 fish. Distribution of plasmodia within the fish was not uniform. When the fillet was divided into parts, the number of plasmodia was positive…

Eighteen-Year Farming Management Moderately Shapes the Soil Microbial Community Structure but Promotes Habitat-Specific Taxa

2018

Soil microbes have critical influence on the productivity and sustainability of agricultural ecosystems, yet the magnitude and direction to which management practices affect the soil microbial community remain unclear. This work aimed to examine the impacts of three farming systems, conventional grain cropping (CON), organic grain cropping (ORG), and grain cropping-pasture rotation (ICL), on the soil microbial community structure and putative gene abundances of N transformations using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene and ITS sequencing approaches. Two additional systems, a forest plantation (PF) and an abandoned agricultural field subject to natural succession (SUC), were also included for bet…

2019

Aquaculture production has increased tremendously during the last decades, and new techniques have been developed, e.g., recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). In RAS, the majority of water volume is circulated via mechanical and biological filters and reused in the tanks. However, the prevention and treatment of diseases in these systems are challenging, as the pathogens spread throughout the system, and the addition of chemicals and antibiotics disrupts the microbiome of the biofilters. The increasing antibiotic resistance has made phage therapy a relevant alternative for antibiotics in food production. Indeed, as host-specific and self-replicating agent they might be optimal for target…

Under control: how a dietary additive can restore the gut microbiome and proteomic profile, and improve disease resilience in a marine teleostean fis…

2017

[Background]: The constant increase of aquaculture production and wealthy seafood consumption has forced the industry to explore alternative and more sustainable raw aquafeed materials, and plant ingredients have been used to replace marine feedstuffs in many farmed fish. The objective of the present study was to assess whether plant-based diets can induce changes in the intestinal mucus proteome, gut autochthonous microbiota and disease susceptibility of fish, and whether these changes could be reversed by the addition of sodium butyrate to the diets. Three different trials were performed using the teleostean gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) as model. In a first preliminary short-term tr…

Vitamin D3 affects innate immune status of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.)

2017

The effects of vitamin D3 dietary administration on certain innate immune parameters on the expression of immune-related genes in head-kidney (HK) and gut were investigated in European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax. Vitamin D3 (vD3) was orally administered to fish in a commercial pellet food supplemented with 0 (control); 3750; 18,750; or 37,500 U kg−1. Furthermore, gut histology was considered. This study showed a modulation in the activities examined in fish fed with the addition of vD3. After just 2 weeks of administration, diet supplementation with the vitamin resulted in increased phagocytic ability, while serum peroxidase content was increased in fish fed with all experimental diets a…

Motives for buying local, organic food through English box schemes

2018

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain the growing interest of English consumers in local organic food sold through box schemes, by providing insights into the motives of customers of such schemes and examining the relationship with their awareness about problems of the agro-food system. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods approach combined in-depth interviews with 22 box scheme customers with a quantitative survey of 416 consumers, analysed by means of principal component analysis and an ordered logit model. Findings Consumers of small local organic box schemes in England are both altruistically and hedonistically motivated. This includes a strong political motivation to …