Contribution of pollinators to delivering fruit quality in commercial sweet cherry orchards

Background: Pollinators provide an essential ecosystem service to many crops, includingsweet cherry (Prunus avium), which can be quantified in terms of fruit number and/orquality. Most studies in sweet cherry have explored the extent to which fruit set relieson pollinators but have neglected pollinators’ contribution to fruit quality. We investi-gated the impact of pollinators on fruit set (2018–2019) and fruit quality (2017–2019).In 10 commercial sweet cherry orchards under polytunnels, we conducted insect-exclusion experiments comparing insect-excluded blossoms (mesh-bagged blossoms) toblossoms exposed to floral visitors (open blossoms). We then investigated relationshipsbetween fruit set and fruit quality.Results: Pollinators were key to underpinning commercial fruit set (15.4% fruit set fromopen blossoms compared to 1.1% with bagged blossoms), equivalent to a contribution of92.8%. Pollinators were also essential to achieving higher cherry fruit quality. With openblossoms, fresh mass, width, dry matter, and flesh/pit ratio of cherries increased by19.8%, 7.9%, 19.8%, and 10.5%, respectively, compared to cherries from bagged blos-soms. In contrast, firmness was similar between both pollination treatments. We did notfind a significant relationship between fruit set and quality, suggesting trees did not carryan excessive fruit burden.Conclusion: Our results highlight the importance of pollinators, not only for underpin-ning commercial yields in terms of fruit set, but also for higher fruit quality. We recom-mend growers adopt effective pollinator management practices to help underpincommercially viable yields consisting of fruit with a higher marketable potential

A Simulation Study of How Chinese Farmer Cooperatives Can Drive Effective Low-Carbon Production Systems Through a Carbon Transaction Incentive

This article aims to investigate the mechanisms of farmer professional cooperative (FPC) operations and to understand their role in promoting low-carbon production among small-scale farmers in China. Agricultural carbon emissions account for 17% of the total carbon emission in China; therefore, reducing agricultural carbon emissions is important for China to achieve carbon neutrality. Small-scale farmers face many obstacles in achieving the low-carbon transition of agriculture, which therefore makes them a priority target for the implementation of low-carbon production systems in China. Participating in FPCs is an effective support mechanism for them to conduct low-carbon production. In this paper, a system dynamics model is used to simulate the methods of how FPCs assist small-scale farmers to adopt low-carbon production practices within the framework of China’s carbon trading system, through the year 2030. After attending the carbon transaction system, the agricultural carbon emissions are anticipated to decline by 10.21%, and FPCs’ net income could increase by 11.85%. In a scenario where the price of their agricultural products increases, the reduction of carbon emissions and the increase of FPCs’ net income will be beneficial. Under the operation of FPCs, the greatest profits will be generated from trading, and these will be distributed to small-scale farmers, thereby creating a positive feedback loop between carbon transactions and FPC operations. This article seeks determine the potential outcomes that can serve as a basis for informed decision-making within relevant policy-making agencies regarding agricultural carbon transactions by simulating the potential benefits to both small-scale farmers and FPCs from the integration of a carbon trading system

A Review of CABI Digital Tools for Plant Health and Pest Risk Management

The contribution of CABI digital tools in enhancing plant health and pest risk management is examined. Six key digital tools are reviewed to draw themes on their benefits and challenges to users and assessed using the Principles for Digital Development as a guiding framework. CABI digital tools provide quick access to relevant information, support informed decision-making, and are open access and scalable. Enhancing user accessibility and considering diverse local contexts, especially in remote areas with poor internet connectivity, can extend their impact. Addressing financial and social sustainability, including gender barriers to mobile ownership, can also increase their contribution

Global soil pollution by toxic metals threatens agriculture and human health

Toxic metal pollution is ubiquitous in soils, yet its worldwide distribution is unknown. Here we analyze a global database of soil pollution by arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead at 796,084 sampling points from 1493 regional studies and used machine learning techniques to map areas with exceedance of agricultural and human health thresholds. We reveal a previously unrecognized high risk, metal-enriched zone in low-latitude Eurasia, which is attributed to influential climatic, topographic, and anthropogenic conditions. This feature can be regarded as a signpost for the Anthropocene era. We show that 14% to 17% of cropland is affected by toxic metal pollution globally and estimate that between 0.9 and 1.4 billion people live in regions of heightened public health and ecological risk

Influence of lighting on sleep behaviour, circadian rhythm and spontaneous blink rate in stabled riding school horses (Equus caballus)

Modern horse husbandry involves significant time spent indoors, often in suboptimal lighting conditions and with frequent night-time disturbances by humans for management purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a customised light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system and a standard fluorescent lighting fixture on equine sleep behaviours, circadian rhythmicity and spontaneous blink rates in horses. Ten riding school horses experienced two stable lighting conditions for four weeks each in a cross-over study running from January to March, 2023. The treatment lighting consisted of an LED system that provided timed, blue-enriched white polychromatic light by day and dim red light at night, and control lighting was a fluorescent tube that was turned on and off manually morning and evening. During week 4 of each experimental period, spontaneous blink rate was recorded twice for 30 min, behaviour of horses in their stables was recorded continuously for 72 h, and hair samples for circadian clock gene analysis were collected at 4-h intervals for 52 h. No differences were detected for total sleep, lateral or sternal recumbency, wakefulness, standing, standing sleep, or spontaneous blink rate (P > 0.05), between lighting conditions. The lighting period (Day versus Night) influenced total sleep (P < 0.01), total recumbency (P < 0.01), wakefulness (P < 0.01), and standing sleep (P < 0.05) in both conditions. For the treatment condition only, higher wakefulness was recorded during Day (P < 0.05). An overall effect of time for clock genes PER2 and DBP was detected (P < 0.01), but there was no effect of treatment, or time by treatment interaction. Cosinor analysis detected significant 24-h rhythmicity for PER2 and DBP (P < 0.01) in both lighting conditions. Results imply that dim red light at night does not negatively impact normal sleep patterns or circadian rhythmicity, and provide evidence supporting further research to better understand the role of blue-enriched LED light at promoting increased wakefulness during daytime in stabled horses

Assessment of soil cover chemical pollution using satellite data: A case study of Kharkiv region, Ukraine

Chemical contamination of soils due to military activity has become an urgent global concern, particularly in conflict-affected regions such as Ukraine. This study presents a methodology for the rapid identification and assessment of contaminated agricultural land using an integrated approach that combines open-source intelligence, geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensing. The authors focused on military debris as a primary vector of soil contamination (by Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) and utilized publicly available digital resources to geolocate fragments of destroyed equipment across farmlands in Kharkiv Oblast. To compensate for the limited availability of high-resolution, time-specific satellite imagery, the study employed free datasets from the European Space Agency. The emergence of soil tracks and field roads was used as a proxy indicator of ground disturbance and potential chemical impact. These signals guided field sampling campaigns, during which soil samples were collected in proximity to identified debris and analyzed in laboratory conditions for chemical pollutants. Analytical studies revealed that heavy metals at the impact site exceed maximum permissible concentrations and exhibit an increasing trend, particularly for cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc, with exceedances reaching up to 62 times the regulatory limits. All findings were systematically documented using a custom-designed GIS database, allowing the classification of contamination severity and spatial distribution. The resulting maps aim to support local authorities and farmers in decision-making and prioritising remediation measures. This approach provides a replicable framework for post-conflict environmental assessment and contributes to strengthening soil resilience in war-affected agricultural zones

The Appetite for Risk: Submission to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s call on ‘Animal and Plant Health

A submission on biosecurity harmonization

An Evolutionary Game Analysis of Carbon Trading Mechanisms for Governments, Farmer Professional Cooperatives and Farmers

Farmer professional cooperatives are the focus objects of agricultural carbon emission reduction; with the use of the advantages of scale economy and technology, one can promote the development of low-carbon agriculture. In order to study the influencing factors of agricultural carbon emission reduction on farmer professional cooperatives, we explore the interaction effects of carbon emission reduction behavior between farmer professional cooperatives and farmers under government interventions. This paper introduces a carbon transaction mechanism as well as reward and punishment polices into a tripartite evolutionary game model between farmer professional cooperatives, governments, and farmers. Based on the model, we identify a stable evolution strategy and perform simulation analysis. The results indicate that the carbon transaction mechanism can effectively suppress the negative effect of increased costs through higher revenues of the carbon transaction, and carbon prices above 60 CNY/ton enable cooperatives to reduce regional emissions. Higher revenues can promote positive carbon emission reduction behaviors of farmer professional cooperatives and farmers. The sharing ratio increases from 20% to 80%, and farmers gain additional benefits by cooperating in the farmer professional cooperative practices to reduce emissions. Rational regulation of carbon transaction price and quota can promote the participation of farmer professional cooperatives in carbon emission reduction practices and promote the farmers’ inclusion into farmer professional cooperatives

Beyond Positionalities – Engaging with academic and willful resistance through complex communication

Dominant framings of development research often focus on limited notions of responsibility as part of research and may fail to recognise the agency and willfulness of the marginalised. This paper conceptualises a deconstruction of responsibility through Sara Ahmed’s ‘Willful Subject’ and María Lugones’s ‘Complex Communication’. Willfulness is a diagnosis of the failure to comply with the authority of the dominant. Complex communication contributes to practices of self-construction, including resistances to dominance. Through a reflexive re-examination of field encounters and deep conversations with community members impacted by large-scale land investment schemes in southwest Tanzania, the paper achieves two objectives. First, it highlights moments that require researchers to interrogate how they may fail to represent resistances if they are not open to self construction. Second, it demonstrates that being responsible (for) is about co-determining the specific ways in which researchers willfully align their actions with the struggles of the marginalised Other

The Evaluation of the Sustainable Development Capacity of Bay Cities in China：Under the Background of Blue Bay Remediation Action

In response to the urgent need for sustainable development of the marine environment, the Chinese government initiated the Blue Bay Remediation Action (BBRA) in 2016, piloting efforts in 16 bay cities. Recognizing that these areas function as integrated ecosystems, it is clear that solely addressing issues within the bays will not completely resolve the ecological challenges. Guided by the principles of comprehensive treatment and sustainable development inherent in the BBRA policy, this paper incorporates ecological indicators of bays and the surrounding sea into a sustainable development framework for 52 bay cities. To identify a balanced approach for the development of the economy, ecology and society, a three-component evaluation system with 40 indicators is established to assess the sustainable development levels of bay cities from 2015 to 2019 in China. According to the result of the principal component and coupling coordination degree analysis, it indicates that after BBRA, the change of sustainable development levels of the pilot bay cities is not obvious. Significant disparities exist in the levels of sustainable development among the majority of pilot cities, with imbalances observed across economic, ecological, and social dimensions. Consequently, in researching the balanced sustainable development of bay cities, it is essential to consider the unique development characteristics of each city during the implementation process of the BBRA