Participatory Plant Breeding for Organic Farming in France, the cauliflower experience at the PAIS

The availability of organic seeds is a great problem for organic farmers. The private sector of plant breeding meets difficulties to answer to the organic farming (OF) demand, characterized by small quantities and a great diversity of criteria and by breeding methods which respect the natural species characteristics (see IFOAM Draft Standard on organic seeds and plant breeding). So, the organic sector is organizing breeding and seed production by itself In France, since 2001, a Brittany regional organic umbrella (IBB, Inter Bio Bretagne), and some researchers from the national institute for agronomical research (INRA) have initiated a breeding program for organic production and a participatory plant breeding (PPB) program for organic cabbages and cauliflowers in Brittany, from the evaluation of genetic resources of several European gene Banks. In the PPB, the farmers are taking in charge breeding and seed production of open pollinated varieties. Several types were kept and bred, depending on the way of production and commercialization for each farmer. In the northern Brittany, farmers have not forgotten the traditional production of cauliflower seeds. PAIS, the agrobiological experimental station of IBB on the organic site of an agricultural school (Suscinio, Morlaix), is the meeting point for all the involved actors (farmers, traders, trainers, researchers…). There, the farmers and traders can find technical and scientific information, and they can share their experiences from the plant selection to seed production. Today, other French PPB initiatives involve several species and organic farmers groups, to promote biodiversity and a best adaptation to a local production: durum wheat in the Mediterranean area, bread wheat with the “paysan-boulangers”, maize and sunflower in the South-West of the country, tomato in the South-East, radishes, parsnip and summer cauliflower, in Pays de Loire. From these experiences, the PPB for organic farming consists in the constitution of the organic farmers group with the creation of exchange space for researchers and others organic actors, the definition of the priority in matters of crops, the discovering and selection of genetic resources in the farmers fields, the exchange of experiences and genetic resources through formal and informal, regional, national or international, farmer and organic professional meetings (accompanied by researchers and often enlarged to gardeners and trainers). The seed distribution has been depending on the French legislative evolution. By nature, the varieties issued from PPB could not fill the DUS (Distinction, Uniformity, Stability) characteristics for registration. And mainly, by ethics, the organic way of development should enhance the ancestral link between the plant and the farmers, link which needs exchanges to allow the evolution of the crops and the conservation of a living biodiversity

Development of an avocado rapid library tray system for Hass

The Australian avocado industry currently produces 49,500 tonnes of fruit annually worth AU$180M at farm gate and AU$420M at retail level. The industry is growing by 8% per year. In order to accommodate the escalating fruit production, consumption of avocado in Australia will have to increase and/or alternative markets will have to be sought. Consumer surveys have shown that avocado fruit sales continues to be seriously hindered by variable and poor fruit quality. Consumers have indicated that they would be more inclined to purchase avocados if the quality was guarantied. Library tray systems are used in many fruit industries throughout the world to monitor fruit quality through the cold chain. These systems are most commonly used for export lines and involve long cold storage periods mimicking commercial reality. Since the Australian avocado industry is domestic market based and the cold chain is highly variable, a simple rapid ripening regime was developed which accurately reflects commercial out-turn fruit quality

Development and commercial application of an avocado fruit robustness test

Fruit quality is one of the major factors limiting growth in avocado retail sales. Avocado growers are often unaware of their end-use fruit quality since quality problems only manifest upon fruit ripening and growers receive limited feedback from the supply chain. If growers were aware of their expected fruit quality they would be equipped to make better marketing decisions and if necessary to take remedial actions to improve their fruit quality. Avotest is being developed as a quick and easy method of determining expected end-use fruit quality before the start of the commercial fruit harvest. The test aims at distinguishing between blocks with robust fruit and those with less robust fruit. The test could also be used to predict the resulting fruit quality after the implementation of new farming practices

Can the productivity of mango orchards be increased by using high-density plantings?

Mango (Mangifera indica) trees are traditionally established at about 100–200 trees per ha and eventually grow into large specimens 10 m tall or more, making spraying and harvesting difficult. It also takes a long time to recover the initial costs of establishing and maintaining the orchard. There has been considerable interest in planting orchards up to 4000 trees per ha to take advantage of early production and to increase economic returns. However, trees planted at high density soon begin to crowd and shade each other and production falls. We reviewed the performance of high-density orchards in different growing areas, and the role of dwarfing cultivars and rootstocks, tree canopy management and the growth regulator, paclobutrazol to control tree growth. There has been no general agreement on the optimum planting density for commercial orchards which vary from 200–4000 trees per ha in different experiments. Some potential dwarfing material has been developed in India and elsewhere, but these cultivars and rootstocks have not been widely integrated into high-density orchards. Canopy management needs to take into account the effect of pruning on the regrowth of the shoots and branches, light distribution through the canopy and the loss of the leaves that support the developing crop. Pruning must also take into account the effect of vegetative growth on flower initiation. Annual light pruning usually provides better fruit production than more severe pruning conducted less regularly. There have only been a few cases where it has been demonstrated that paclobutrazol can counteract the negative effect of pruning on flowering and fruit production. There are also concerns with residues of this chemical in export markets and contamination of ground waters. The future development of high-density plantings in this crop is dependent on the use of dwarfing cultivars and/or rootstocks and better canopy management strategies. Dwarfing cultivars and rootstocks should provide small- to medium-sized trees with medium to large yields. This can readily be identified in experiments by examining the relationship between yield and tree growth. Research on canopy management should assess the impact of pruning on flowering, light distribution within the canopy and the leaf area supporting the developing crop. The productivity of mango is not likely to be increased by the use of high-density plantings without extensive efforts in plant breeding and canopy management

Μέτρα ασφαλείας κατά τη διαδικασία προσέγγισης,φορτοεκφότωσης και αναχώρησης πλοίων μεταφοράς καυσίμων υδρογονανθράκων

Le Lagadec, MD ORCiD: 0000-0003-0114-8552'Abnormal vertical growth' (AVG) was recognised in Australia as a dysfunction of macadamia (Macadamia spp.) in the mid-1990s. Affected trees displayed unusually erect branching, and poor flowering and yield. Since 2002, the commercial significance of AVG, its cause, and strategies to alleviate its affects, has been studied. The cause is still unknown, and AVG remains a serious threat to orchard viability. AVG affects both commercial and urban macadamia. It occurs predominantly in the warmer-drier production regions of Queensland and New South Wales. An estimated 100,000 orchard trees are affected, equating to an annual loss of $ 10.5 M. In orchards, AVG occurs as aggregations of affected trees, affected tree number can increase by 4.5% per year, and yield reduction can exceed 30%. The more upright cultivars 'HAES 344' and '741' are highly susceptible, while the more spreading cultivars 'A4', 'A16' and 'A268' show tolerance. Incidence is higher (p<0.05) in soils of high permeability and good drainage. No soil chemical anomaly has been found. Fine root dry weight of AVG trees (0-15 cm depth) was found lower (p<0.05) than non-AVG. Next generation sequencing has led to the discovery of a new Bacillus sp. and a bipartite Geminivirus, which may have a role in the disease. Trunk cinctures will increase (p<0.05) yield of moderately affected trees. Further research is needed to clarify whether a pathogen is the cause, the role of soil moisture in AVG, and develop a varietal solution

L’espace de l’État

Cette communication aborde le thème, peu étudié, des transformations de l’espace administratif entre 1800 et 1914, l’objectif étant ici de s’interroger sur son éventuelle rationalisation. Pour cela, deux administrations – la Gendarmerie et le Trésor Public – et un département – l’Ille-et-Vilaine – ont été choisis à titre de tests. Au vu des résultats, il apparaît que le territoire administratif se « cantonalise » progressivement au cours de la période, sous l’effet de deux logiques, en rien contradictoires : une volonté de rationalisation d’une part, un certain pragmatisme d’autre part.This paper deals with the nearly unstudied subject of the changes in the administrative areas between 1800 and 1914. Its main aim is to wonder about its possible rationalization. Two civil services (the Gendarmerie and the Treasury department) as well as a département have been chosen and studied. According to the results, it seems that the administrative area has gradually undertaken the role of cantons during the studied period because of two different but not conflicting hings: on the one hand a real will of rationalization and on the other hand a certain pragmatism

Les sous-préfets de Bretagne sous la monarchie de Juillet (1830-1848) : une génération d’administrateurs à part ?

Cet article, fondé sur l’exploitation systématique des dossiers de carrière, tente de cerner l’action jouée par les sous-préfets nommés en Bretagne sous la monarchie de Juillet. Leur action est à première vue contrariée par leur grande mobilité, la plupart d’entre eux étant étrangers à la région et changeant fréquemment de résidence. Mais elle n’est pas moins bien réelle : souci de stabiliser l’ordre socio-politique et volonté d’inaugurer une ère de progrès apparaissent comme les deux dimensions, sans cesse intriquées, d’une politique locale originale, qui reflète l’esprit du nouveau régime. L’exemple du sous-préfet Auguste Romieu, exceptionnellement documenté, montre enfin qu’au moins dans certains cas, cette action tire sa justification d’un libéralisme hérité des Lumières, qui identifie liberté politique et intégration nationale.This article, based on the systematic study of the career files, proposes an analysis of the role of the sub-prefects appointed in Bittany during the July monarchy period. At first sight their important mobility appears as a real handicap for the development of their action. Indeed, most of them came from other regions and keep moving from one place to the other. Yet, their action is real: the concern for a stabilized social political order and the wish to inaugurate an era of progress are the two main dimensions, linked together, of an original local policy, reflecting the spirit of the new political system. Finally, the example of the sub-prefect Auguste Romieu, on whom we have many documents, shows that, at least in some cases, the justification of this action rests on a liberalism inherited from the Enlightenment, which identifies political freedom with national integration

From Smalltalk to Silicon: Towards a methodology to turn Smalltalk code into FPGA

International audienceDue to their ability to combine high performances along with flexibility, FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) are used in robotic applications nowadays, especially in case of realtime applications. The FPGA circuits are often designed and configured using the Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) like VHDL or Verilog. However, although these languages provide abstractions up to the functionality level, they lack many features of todays modern languages that make them unsuited for high-level models and systems. In this paper, we present an overview of a methodology that uses a Dynamic Reflective Language, such as Smalltalk, for high level hardware/software co-design on FPGAs

Di-μ2-bromido-bis­[bromido(η6-1,2,4,5-tetra­methyl­benzene)ruthenium(II)]

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Ru2Br4(C10H14)2], contains one half of the centrosymmetric mol­ecule. Each Ru center is coordinated by tetra­methyl­benzene ring in a η6-coordination mode, and one terminal and two bridging bromine atoms. The aromatic rings and the Ru2Br2 four-membered ring form a dihedral angle of 55.99 (8)°. In the crystal structure, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯Br inter­actions link mol­ecules into chains propagated in [001]

Di-μ2-chlorido-bis­[chlorido(η6-hexa­methyl­benzene)ruthenium(II)]

Dimeric mol­ecules of the title compound, [Ru2Cl4(C12H18)2], are located on a crystallographic centre of inversion with one mol­ecule in the asymmetric unit. The hexa­methyl­benzene rings are in an η6-coordination to the ruthenium centres, which are bridged by two chloride ligands. In addition, the ruthenium centres are bonded to another chloride ligand. The aromatic rings and the Ru2Cl2 four-membered ring enclose a dihedral angle of 55.85 (6)°