Pea–wheat intercrops in low-input conditions combine high economic performances and low environmental impacts

Intensive agriculture ensures high yields but can cause serious environmental damages. The optimal use of soil and atmospheric sources of nitrogen in cereal–legume mixtures may allow farmers to maintain high production levels and good quality with low external N inputs, and could potentially decrease environmental impacts, particularly through a more efficient energy use. These potential advantages are presented in an overall assessment of cereal–legume systems, accounting for the agronomic, environmental, energetic, and economic performances. Based on a low-input experimental field network including 16 site-years, we found that yields of pea–wheat intercrops (about 4.5 Mg ha−1 whatever the amount of applied fertiliser) were higher than sole pea and close to conventionally managed wheat yields (5.4 Mg ha−1 on average), the intercrop requiring less than half of the nitrogen fertiliser per ton of grain compared to the sole wheat. The land equivalent ratio and a statistical analysis based on the Price\u27s equation showed that the crop mixture was more efficient than sole crops particularly under unfertilised situations. The estimated amount of energy consumed per ton of harvested grains was two to three times higher with conventionally managed wheat than with pea–wheat mixtures (fertilised or not). The intercrops allowed (i) maintaining wheat grain protein concentration and gross margin compared to wheat sole crop and (ii) increased the contribution of N2 fixation to total N accumulation of pea crop in the mixture compared to pea sole crop. They also led to a reduction of (i) pesticide use compared to sole crops and (ii) soil mineral nitrogen after harvest compared to pea sole crop. Our results demonstrate that pea–wheat intercropping is a promising way to produce cereal grains in an efficient, economically sustainable and environmentally friendly way

Aphanomyces : quand le froid protège le pois

National audienceLa date des semis du pois d'hiver limite fortement les risques de pertes de rendement dus à Aphanomyces euteiches. Toutefois, l'inoculum peut se multiplier. Il convient donc de rester vigilant sur l'évolution du potentiel infectieux du so

Agrophysiologie du pois protéagineux - Applications à la production agricole

National audienc

Performances comparées de systèmes de culture destinés à l’alimentation animale en France et aux États-Unis

The combination of corn, peas and rapeseed, three crops well adapted to soil and climatic European conditions, can form the basis of balanced rations for pig farms. Despite production costs significantly higher, from the farm than those permitted by cropping systems based on corn and soybeans in the US, local supplies of protein-rich materials (PRM) is competitive economically, because of transportation costs and tariff protection on cereals in Europe. However, the supply of local origin PRM is far from meeting the needs of industry feed since nearly half of those needs is imported. This deficit ultimately returns to the question of the balance of French and European crop rotations, showing a surplus of grain and a protein déficit. Various case studies suggest that rebalancing rotations would be possible to improve the local supply and the economic and environmental performance of cropping systems corresponding. This would occur even in areas with already a large enough diversification of crops as Picardy and the Ile de France, analyzed in this article

The multiple ways of recycling Archaean crust: A case study from the ca. 3.1 Ga granitoids from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa

International audienc

Multi-scale spatial distribution of K, Th and U in an Archaean potassic granite: a case study from the Heerenveen batholith, Barberton Granite-Greenstone Terrain, South Africa

International audienceAbstract We describe the multi-scale distribution of K, Th and U in the ca. 3.1 Ga Heerenveen batholith of the Barberton Granite-Greenstone Terrain. Data were obtained with a combination of tools, including a portable gamma-ray spectrometer from the scale of the whole batholith to the scale of outcrops, and autoradiography for the thin section scale. U is concentrated preferentially in minor phases in the border shear zones of the batholith and, within these shear zones, in late pegmatites as well as fractures. The processes responsible for the concentration of U in the Heerenveen batholith is discussed in terms of magmatism, hydrothermalism (redistribution of U in fissures associated with magmato-hydrothermal fluids), and supergene alteration. The statistical properties of K, Th and U concentrations are different. K shows spatial correlation over large distance, largely mirroring mappable rock types, with increased variability at larger scales. In contrast, U is dominated by small-scale variations (“nugget effect”) and its variability is, averaged and smoothed by large-scale integration. Spatial and statistical features thus offer useful and complementary insights on petrogenetic and metallogenic processes in granitoids in addition to standard approaches (petrography, geochemistry)

Antiviral effect of N-butyldeoxynojirimycin against bovine viral diarrhea virus correlates with misfolding of E2 envelope proteins and impairment of their association into E1-E2 heterodimers.

The iminosugar N-butyldeoxynojirimycin (NB-DNJ), an endoplasmic reticulum alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, has an antiviral effect against bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). In this report, we investigate the molecular mechanism of this inhibition by studying the folding pathway of BVDV envelope glycoproteins in the presence and absence of NB-DNJ. Our results show that, while the disulfide-dependent folding of E2 glycoprotein occurs rapidly (2.5 min), the folding of E1 occurs slowly (30 min). Both BVDV envelope glycoproteins associate rapidly with calnexin and dissociate with different kinetics. The release of E1 from the interaction with calnexin coincides with the beginning of E1 and E2 association into disulfide-linked heterodimers. In the presence of NB-DNJ, the interaction of E1 and E2 with calnexin is prevented, leading to misfolding of the envelope glycoproteins and inefficient formation of E1-E2 heterodimers. The degree of misfolding and the lack of association of E1 and E2 into disulfide-linked complexes in the presence of NB-DNJ correlate with the dose-dependent antiviral effect observed for this iminosugar