Assessing the ecological soundness of organic and conventional agriculture by means of life cycle assessment (LCA) - a case study of leek production

Purpose – Sustainable agriculture implies the ability of agro-ecosystems to remain productive in the long-term. It is not easy to point out unambiguously whether or not current production systems meet this sustainability demand. A priori thinking would suggest that organic crops are environmentally favourable, but may ignore the effect of reduced productivity, which shifts the potential impact to other parts of the food provision system. The purpose of this paper is to assess the ecological sustainability of conventional and organic leek production by means of life cycle assessment (LCA). Design/methodology/approach – A cradle-to-farm gate LCA is applied, based on real farm data from two research centres. For a consistent comparison, two functional units (FU) were defined: 1ha and 1?kg of leek production. Findings – Assessed on an area basis, organic farming shows a more favourable environmental profile. These overall benefits are strongly reduced when the lower yields are taken into account. Related to organic farming it is therefore important that solutions are found to substantially increase the yields without increasing the environmental burden. Related to conventional farming, important potential for environmental improvements are in optimising the farm nutrient flows, reducing pesticide use and increasing its self-supporting capacity. Research limitations/implications – The research is a cradle-to-farm gate LCA, future research can be expanded to comprise all phases from cradle-to-grave to get an idea of the total sustainability of our present food consumption patterns. The research is also limited to the case of leek production. Future research can apply the methodology to other crops. Originality/value – To date, there is still lack of clear evidence of the added value of organic farming compared to conventional farming on environmental basis. Few studies have compared organic and conventional food production by means of LCA. This paper addresses these issues

The Hanle and Zeeman Effects in Solar Spicules: A Novel Diagnostic Window on Chromospheric Magnetism

An attractive diagnostic tool for investigating the magnetism of the solar chromosphere is the observation and theoretical modeling of the Hanle and Zeeman effects in spicules, as shown in this letter for the first time. Here we report on spectropolarimetric observations of solar chromospheric spicules in the He I 10830 \AA multiplet and on their theoretical modeling accounting for radiative transfer effects. We find that the magnetic field in the observed (quiet Sun) spicular material at a height of about 2000 km above the visible solar surface has a strength of the order of 10 G and is inclined by approximately $35^{\circ}$ with respect to the local vertical direction. Our empirical finding based on full Stokes-vector spectropolarimetry should be taken into account in future magnetohydrodynamical simulations of spicules.Comment: 12 pages and 2 figure

Recent Advances in Chromospheric and Coronal Polarization Diagnostics

I review some recent advances in methods to diagnose polarized radiation with which we may hope to explore the magnetism of the solar chromosphere and corona. These methods are based on the remarkable signatures that the radiatively induced quantum coherences produce in the emergent spectral line polarization and on the joint action of the Hanle and Zeeman effects. Some applications to spicules, prominences, active region filaments, emerging flux regions and the quiet chromosphere are discussed.Comment: Review paper to appear in "Magnetic Coupling between the Interior and the Atmosphere of the Sun", eds. S. S. Hasan and R. J. Rutten, Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, Springer-Verlag, 200

Seletividade de produtos fitossanitários utilizados na cultura da soja para pupas de Trichogramma pretiosum Riley, 1879 (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae).

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de produtos fitossanitários sobre pupas de Trichogramma pretiosum. Foram conduzidos três bioensaios em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com 11 tratamentos e cinco repetições. Em cada repetição, ovos de Anagasta kuehniella (Zeller, 1879) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) foram utilizados como hospedeiro alternativo, sendo aderidos em cartelas de cartolina de 1 cm2 com solução de goma arábica à 40% e oferecidos para o parasitismo por 24h. Após 168-192h do parasitismo, quando os parasitoides estavam na fase de pupa, as cartelas foram mergulhadas por cinco segundos nos tratamentos testados. Avaliou-se a sobrevivência dos indivíduos tratados e a redução na emergência dos parasitoides foi classificada segundo as normas da IOBC. Os inseticidas flufenoxurom (Cascade®) 10, diflubenzurom (Dimilin®) 20 e metoxifenozide (Intrepid 240SC®) 21,6 e 36 g i.a. ha-1 foram classificados como inócuos. Permetrina (Valon 384 CE®) 49,92; betaciflutrina 12,5 + imidacloprido 100 (Connect®) e gama-cialotrina (Stallion 150SC®) 3,75 g i.a. ha-1 foram levemente nocivos. Clorpirifós (Lorban 480BR®) 384 e espinosade (Tracer®) 24 g i.a. ha-1 foram moderadamente nocivos. Os herbicidas glifosato 720 + imazetapir 90 (Alteza®); s-metolacloro (Dual Gold®) 1920; flumioxazina (Flumyzin 500®) 60; clomazona (Gamit®) 1000; glifosato 2880 (Gliz 480SL®); dicloreto de paraquate 600 + diurom 300 (Gramocil®); glifosato 1200 (Roundup Ready®); foram classificados como inócuos e os herbicidas 2,4-D (DMA 806BR®) 1209; dicloreto de paraquate (Gramoxone®) 600; glifosato (Roundup Transorb®) 2592 g i.a. ha-1 classificados como levemente nocivos. Os fungicidas tiofanato-metílico (Cercobin 500 SC®) 400; flutriafol 60 + tiofanato-metílico 300 (Celeiro®); carbendazin (Derosal 500SC®) 250; tebuconazole (Folicur EC®) 150; flutriafol (Impact®) 125; tebuconazole 120 + trifloxistrobina 60 (Nativo®); epoxiconazole 30 + piraclostrobina 79,8 (Opera®); epoxiconazole (Opus SC®) 12,5; azoxistrobina (Priori®) 50; azoxistrobina 60 + ciproconazole 24 (Priori Xtra®) g i.a. ha-1 foram classificados como inócuos a T. pretiosum na fase de desenvolvimento avaliada (pupa). Dentre os produtos avaliados, aqueles classificados como inócuos devem ser priorizados no manejo integrado de pragas (MIP) por compatibilizar o uso do controle químico sem prejudicar o controle biológico. Do mesmo modo, os produtos classificados como moderadamente nocivos devem ser evitados sempre que possível ou substituídos por outro de menor impacto