Low rate copper products to control Phytophthora infestans in potatoes in 2009

Between Dutch organic growers the late blight problems lead to discussions in which a temporary registration of copper products is also suggested. Some growers do not want any pesticides at all, while others see that biological potatoes from abroad are sold in the super markets in years when Dutch organic potatoes are scarce. Those potatoes come from countries, where copper products are allowed. They speak about competition falsification. In the research program to stimulate organic production the choice is made to also investigate the efficacy of copper and other products that are allowed in surrounding countries in organic farming. In the experiment of 2008 different copper containing products are tested. In 2009 this was repeated with the same products, but also other doses and combination

Comparing low rate copper formulations against Phythophthora infestans in potatoes

Between Dutch organic growers the late blight problems lead to discussions in which a temporary registration of copper products is also suggested. Some growers do not want any pesticides at all, while others see that biological potatoes from abroad are sold in the super markets in years when Dutch organic potatoes are scarce. Those potatoes come from countries, where copper products are allowed. They speak about competition falsification. In the research program to stimulate organic production the choice is made to also investigate the efficacy of copper and other products that are allowed in surrounding countries in organic farming. In the experiment of 2008 6 different copper containing products are tested

Control of Phytophthora infestans with low copper amounts in potatoes in 2010

Between Dutch organic growers the late blight problems led to discussions in which a temporary registration of copper products is also suggested. In the research program to stimulate organic production the choice was made also to investigate the efficacy of copper and other products that are allowed in neighbouring countries in organic farming. In the experiment of 2008 different copper containing products were tested. In 2009 this was repeated with the same products, but also other doses and combinations. In 2010 the most important objective of the experiment was to investigate the possibilities of a maximum of 300 gram copper per hectare, divided in different parts, in combination with a decision support system. 300 gram copper was based on the amount different crops need in a six year organic rotation. Except a standard copper product also a copper product used in organic farming in the Netherlands as a leaf fertilizer was used and some products financed by the industry

PlantyOrganic: Design and results 2012

Increasingly strict legislation about fertilizer inputs and developing organic regulations are a strong stimulation to optimize the internal nutrient dynamics of organic arable farms. In the project “PlantyOrganic” , initialized by Biowad and realized at SPNA location Kollumerwaard, a challenging arable system is developed and tested: 100% internal nitrogen supply without input of nutrients from outside. In this report the design of the rotation and fertilizer scheme is presented and discussed, and the starting conditions in spring 2012 are documented. The NDICEA nitrogen model is used to explore the nitrogen dynamics. It is concluded that a 100% farm-own nitrogen supply can be achieved with good production levels. The 2012 results gave no reason to reconsider the rotation and fertilizer design, but since this was the first year of this experiment none of the crops had the precrop as foreseen in the design and the fertilizer used was only partly cut-and-carry fertilizer

Development of Bus-Stop Time Models in Dense Urban Areas: A Case Study in Washington DC

Bus transit reliability depends on several factors including the route of travel, traffic conditions, time of day, and conditions at the bus stops along the route. The number of passengers alighting or boarding, fare payment method, dwell time (DT), and the location of the bus stop also affect the overall reliability of bus transit service. This study defines a new variable, Total Bus Stop Time (TBST) which includes DT and the time it takes a bus to safely maneuver into a bus stop and the re-entering the main traffic stream. It is thought that, if the TBST is minimized at bus stops, the overall reliability of bus transit along routes could be improved. This study focused on developing a TBST model for bus stops located near intersections and at mid-blocks using ordinary least squares method based on data collection at 60 bus stops, 30 of which were near intersections while the remaining were at mid-blocks in Washington DC. The field data collection was conducted during the morning, mid-day, and evening peak hours. The following variables were observed at each bus stop: bus stop type, number of passengers alighting or boarding, DT, TBST, number of lanes on approach to the bus stop, presence of parking, and bus pad length. The data was analyzed and all statistical inferences were conducted based on 95% confidence interval. The results show that the TBST could be used to aid in improving planning and scheduling of transit bus systems in an urban area

A Crowd-Assisted Real-time Public Transport Information Service: No More Endless Wait

Many passengers have expressed frustration in waiting for public bus endlessly without knowing the estimated ar- rival time. In many developing countries, requiring bus operators to invest in the installation of a GPS unit on every bus in order to track the bus location and subsequently predicting the bus arrival time can be costly. This paper proposes passenger-assisted sharing of bus location to provide an estimation of bus arrival time. Our scheme aims to exploit the availability and capability of passenger mobile phones to share location information of the travelling buses in order to collect transportation data, at the same time provide an estimation of bus arrival time to the general public. A mobile app is developed to periodically report bus location to the cloud service, and it can detect location spoofing by malicious users. The preliminary results of the field tests suggest that the proposed system is viable and the predicated ETA falls within three minutes of the bus actual arrival time

Investigating the Operational Issue and Potential Demand of Airport Bus Service at Minangkabau International Airport

Minangkabau International Airport (BIM) has been operating almost a decade and currently BIM can be visited using the airport bus provided by the City Government of Padang. Although the airport bus service is available, BIM visitors generally tend to choose private vehicles, such as cars or motorcycles. Considering the energy crisis and the negative impact of traffic, visitors are expected to shift to the airport bus, because the bus is more sustainable mode of transportation. However, this policy needs to be supported with sufficient information so that the target to be achieved can be realized. This study aimed to investigate factors that prevent visitors to use the airport bus and try to predict the potential demands. The results obtained from this study show that only 19 % of BIM visitors choose an airport bus as a mode of transportation. Other modes are selected because of some uncertainty on the airport bus service, which involves schedules and bus stop locations. In addition, a number of respondents did not even know of the existence of the airport bus service. If these problems can be solved, the potential airport bus users are predicted to reach 58 % of the total number of BIM visitors