Characteristics of Predation and Losses in the New York Sheep Industry

A questionnaire survey was used in 1985 to obtain data on predation and losses from New York sheep growers. Surveys were returned by 685 growers which was a 40% return rate. The average grower managed 160 acres, including 24 acres of pasture, kept 106 sheep and received 12% of the total family income from sheep farming. Sheep predation occurred on 44% of the farms and dogs were considered the most harmful predator by 88% of the growers with losses. Growers with sheep losses had significantly larger flocks, more acreage in pasture, larger farms and depended more heavily on sheep farming for income than growers without losses (p \u3c 0.05). Growers who had reduced their pasture acreage and were planning further reductions had significantly higher losses than growers whose acreage had remained constant or increased and were planning to add more pasture (p \u3c 0.001). Growers who had reduced their flock size also had significantly higher losses than those who had increased their flocks (p \u3c 0.05). Finally, individuals who would reduce or sell their flock if predation continued had significantly higher losses than growers who planned to use lethal predator control methods to combat future predation (p \u3e 0.05)

“Do You Spray?” Apple IPM Poster

A poster addressing the question of whether or not fruit has been sprayed was developed to inform the general public. Apple growers across New York requested this poster to help them inform people who visit their farm markets to purchase fruit and also to inform their farm workers about how this question can be answered proactively. In its first release in the Hudson Valley region, over half of the 150 apple growers attending the Winter Fruit School purchased a copy of the poster for their farm. To date the poster has been displayed in a variety of locations from farm markets to grower business offices

ASSESSING DEER DAMAGE IN YOUNG FRUIT ORCHARDS

Evaluations of systematic damage assessments of 5, 10 and 20 percent of all apple trees in 12 orchards were compared. The 10% assessment technique was selected as the most accurate and efficient in estimating summer and fall damage. Analysis of several parameters of tree vigor found significant differences between browsed and unbrowsed trees for tree basal diameter and central leader diameter over 2 successive years. These subtle yet important differences in tree development were felt to severely limit the possibilities of relating browsing to growth and. later, yields. Methods and considerations for making control decisions on a per acre basis are discussed

Long-term Performance of ‘Delicious’ Apple Trees Grafted on Geneva® Rootstocks and Trained to Four High-density Systems under New York State Climatic Conditions

We conducted a large (0.8 ha) field experiment of system × rootstock, using Super Chief Delicious apple as cultivar at Yonder farm in Hudson, NY, between 2007 and 2017. In this study, we compared six Geneva® rootstocks (‘G.11’, ‘G.16’, ‘G.210’, ‘G.30’, ‘G.41’, and ‘G.935’) with one Budagovsky (‘B.118’) and three Malling rootstocks (‘M.7EMLA’, ‘M.9T337’ and ‘M.26EMLA’). Trees on each rootstock were trained to four high-density systems: Super Spindle (SS) (5382 apple trees/ha), Tall Spindle (TS) (3262 apple trees/ha), Triple Axis Spindle (TAS) (2243 apple trees/ha), and Vertical Axis (VA) (1656 apple trees/ha). Rootstock and training system interacted to influence growth, production, and fruit quality. When comparing systems, SS trees were the least vigorous but much more productive on a per hectare basis. Among the rootstocks we evaluated, ‘B.118’ had the largest trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA), followed by ‘G.30’ and ‘M.7EMLA’, which were similar in size but they did not differ statistically from ‘G.935’. ‘M.9T337’ was the smallest and was significantly smaller than most of the other rootstocks but it did not differ statistically from ‘G.11’, ‘G.16’, ‘G.210’, ‘G.41’, and ‘M.26EMLA’. Although ‘B.118’ trees were the largest, they had low productivity, whereas the second largest rootstock ‘G.30’ was the most productive on a per hectare basis. ‘M.9’ was the smallest rootstock and failed to adequately fill the space in all systems except the SS, and had low cumulative yield. The highest values for cumulative yield efficiency (CYE) were with ‘G.210’ for all training systems except for VA, where ‘M.9T337’ had the highest value. The lowest values were for all training systems with ‘B.118’ and ‘M.7EMLA’. Regardless of the training system, ‘M.7EMLA’ trees had the highest number of root suckers. Some fruit quality traits were affected by training system, rootstock or system × rootstock combination.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of tree type and rootstock on the long-term performance of ‘Gala’, ‘Fuji’ and ‘Honeycrisp’ apple trees trained to Tall Spindle under New York State climatic conditions

In 2006, two 0.3 ha orchard trials were established at two sites (Dressel farm in Southeastern New York State and VandeWalle farm in Western New York State) to compare two tree types (feathered trees and bench-grafted trees) on five rootstocks [three Geneva® rootstocks (G.11, G.16, G.41) with one Budagovsky rootstock (B.9) and one Malling rootstock (M.9T337)] as controls. ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ were used as scion cultivars at Dressel farm and ‘Gala’ and ‘Honeycrisp’ as the scions cultivars at VandeWalle farm. At each location, trees were planted at 3,262 trees ha−1and trained to a Tall Spindle (TS) system. Location, tree type and rootstock interacted to affect tree growth, production and fruit quality of each scion cultivar. ‘Gala’ trees from VandeWalle (Western NY State) were more productive (33% more production) than those from Dressel Farm (Southern NY State), because they produced more fruits per cm−2 and fruit size was bigger. When comparing the two tree types (feathered and bench-grafted) at both locations and across all rootstocks (B.9, G.11, G.16, G.41, and M.9T337), feathered trees were similar in tree size after 11 seasons as bench-grafted ones, except for ‘Fuji’ at Dressel farm where bench-grafted trees were 27% smaller than feathered trees. The bench-grafted trees had lower cumulative yield per hectare, cumulative yield efficiency, and cumulative crop load than the fully feathered trees. Finally, when comparing all 10 tree type × rootstock combinations, for ‘Fuji’, feathered trees with G.11, for ‘Gala’, feathered trees with G.41, and for ‘Honeycrisp’, feathered trees with G.16 were the combinations with the highest cumulative yield, high yield efficiency and crop loads, low biennial bearing, and with slightly significant larger fruits.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

An attainable global vision for conservation and human well-being

A hopeful vision of the future is a world in which both people and nature thrive, but there is little evidence to support the feasibility of such a vision. We used a global, spatially explicit, systems modeling approach to explore the possibility of meeting the demands of increased populations and economic growth in 2050 while simultaneously advancing multiple conservation goals. Our results demonstrate that if, instead of “business as usual” practices, the world changes how and where food and energy are produced, this could help to meet projected increases in food (54%) and energy (56%) demand while achieving habitat protection (>50% of natural habitat remains unconverted in most biomes globally; 17% area of each ecoregion protected in each country), reducing atmospheric greenhouse-gas emissions consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement (≤1.6°C warming by 2100), ending overfishing, and reducing water stress and particulate air pollution. Achieving this hopeful vision for people and nature is attainable with existing technology and consumption patterns. However, success will require major shifts in production methods and an ability to overcome substantial economic, social, and political challenges

Functional Structure of Biological Communities Predicts Ecosystem Multifunctionality

The accelerating rate of change in biodiversity patterns, mediated by ever increasing human pressures and global warming, demands a better understanding of the relationship between the structure of biological communities and ecosystem functioning (BEF). Recent investigations suggest that the functional structure of communities, i.e. the composition and diversity of functional traits, is the main driver of ecological processes. However, the predictive power of BEF research is still low, the integration of all components of functional community structure as predictors is still lacking, and the multifunctionality of ecosystems (i.e. rates of multiple processes) must be considered. Here, using a multiple-processes framework from grassland biodiversity experiments, we show that functional identity of species and functional divergence among species, rather than species diversity per se, together promote the level of ecosystem multifunctionality with a predictive power of 80%. Our results suggest that primary productivity and decomposition rates, two key ecosystem processes upon which the global carbon cycle depends, are primarily sustained by specialist species, i.e. those that hold specialized combinations of traits and perform particular functions. Contrary to studies focusing on single ecosystem functions and considering species richness as the sole measure of biodiversity, we found a linear and non-saturating effect of the functional structure of communities on ecosystem multifunctionality. Thus, sustaining multiple ecological processes would require focusing on trait dominance and on the degree of community specialization, even in species-rich assemblages

Aquaponics: closing the cycle on limited water, land and nutrient resources

Hydroponics initially developed in arid regions in response to freshwater shortages, while in areas with poor soil, it was viewed as an opportunity to increase productivity with fewer fertilizer inputs. In the 1950s, recirculating aquaculture also emerged in response to similar water limitations in arid regions in order to make better use of available water resources and better contain wastes. However, disposal of sludge from such systems remained problematic, thus leading to the advent of aquaponics, wherein the recycling of nutrients produced by fish as fertilizer for plants proved to be an innovative solution to waste discharge that also had economic advantages by producing a second marketable product. Aquaponics was also shown to be an adaptable and cost-effective technology given that farms could be situated in areas that are otherwise unsuitable for agriculture, for instance, on rooftops and on unused, derelict factory sites. A wide range of cost savings could be achieved through strategic placement of aquaponics sites to reduce land acquisition costs, and by also allowing farming closer to suburban and urban areas, thus reducing transportation costs to markets and hence also the fossil fuel and CO2 footprints of production