The organic seed regulations framework in Europe – current status and recommendations for future development

Organic agriculture regulations, in particular European regulation EC 889/2008, prescribe the use of organically produced seed. For many cultivated plants, however, organic seed is often not available. This is mainly because investment in organic plant breeding and seed production has been low in the past. To bridge the gap between organic seed supply and demand, national and European regulations define certain circumstances under which organic producers are permitted to use non-organically produced seed. While the organic sector currently depends on these concessions, they also threaten to impede a further increase in the demand for organic seed, thereby potentially restraining present and future investment in organic seed production and plant breeding. We review the current status of the organic seed regulations framework by analysing key issues such as the role of the national derogation regimes, the role of expert groups, databases and seed prices. Key points are that (a) the situation of the organic seed sector has improved over the last few years; however, (b) reporting on organic seed to the EU by different countries needs to be harmonised; (c) the success of the organic seed sector depends critically on the implementation and improvement of national expert groups; and (d) to protect genetic diversity, the use of local varieties and landraces should not be impeded by organic seed regulations

A robot for diagnostics of overhead power lines

W artykule przedstawiono strukturę sprzętu i programu komputerowego do sterowania i wizualizacji prototypu robota mobilnego poruszającego się wzdłuż linii napowietrznych średniego i wysokiego napięcia. Komunikacja z robotem poprzez protokół TCP / IP umożliwia sterowanie ruchem robota oraz oględziny przewodów linii na podstawie obrazu z kamery zamontowanej na robocie. Wykonane próby na poligonie doświadczalnym na odcinku linii 110 kV potwierdziły poprawną pracę robota w warunkach silnego pola elektrycznego. Konstrukcja robota ma charakter otwarty. Robot może być wyposażony w dodatkowe czujniki umożliwiające pomiar interesujących użytkownika parametrów np. zakłóceń radioelektrycznych lub temperatury przewodu.The article presents the structure of hardware and computer application to control and visualization of the prototype of a mobile robot moving along overhead lines of medium and high voltage. Before building, the robot was designed in the Autodesk Inventor Professional 2012 environment to eliminate potential errors in structure. The mechanical construction is divided into three parts: the base contained electrical parts, trolley drive and robot arms. All the main components are made of aluminum sheet with a thickness of 4 mm, so that the weight of the robot does not exceed 20 kg. Small size and low weight of the robot allows for handling by a single person. Robot contains over 300 parts including construction elements, screws, washers and nuts. The motor driving the robot is positioned above the wire, so dirt doesn’t pollute it. Belt transmit drive to the rollers. Robot arms are moved by helical gear. The electronic parts are placed in the base box (IP65). Microcontroller STM32F4 is a central control unit of the robot. Motors are powered by PWM signal. The robot has two sonar preventing collisions with any obstacle, and a camera that can be used for wire inspection or control of the robot work. The robot communicates with a host computer wirelessly via Ethernet. The control application allows connecting with the robot using TCP/IP protocol and: control device (starting and stopping robot, changing the speed of movement smoothly, changing direction of movement, raising and lowering arms of robot); viewing the status of the robot (battery status, travelled distance, the state of ultrasonic sensors). Operator can also view the video from the camera mounted on the robot. Robot presented in this article is a prototype that has been tested on the experimental field of Energa SA company in Straszyn near Gdansk. Unit placed on the air line moved properly. Communication and wireless control worked also fully properly. All tests were successful. In this regard it should be noted that the presented device can be a powerful tool for remote inspection of medium and high voltage power transmission lines (when will be equipped with a suitable set of sensors)

Comparing the performance of cereal varieties in organic and non-organic cropping systems in different European countries

International audienceTop ranking varieties are tested in multiple environments before and after registration in order to assess their value for cultivation and use (VCU testing). Recently, interest has increased in obtaining varieties specifically adapted to organic farming conditions. This raised the question if an independent system of trials may be required for this purpose. To help answering this question, through the exchange network of European cereal researchers SUSVAR (www.cost860.dk), a number of data sets of agronomic traits from barley, wheat and winter triticale, from trials performed in Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, UK and Germany, were made available and analysed using an approach based on mixed models involving parameters describing genetic correlation between the two types of experiments, i.e., organic and non-organic (high or low input). Estimated variance components and correlations were used to evaluate response to selection and index selection. The response to index selection was analysed as a function of the fraction of available trials assigned to the organic system. The genetic correlations were interpreted in terms of ranking agreement. We found high genetic correlations between both systems for most traits in all countries. Despite high genetic correlations, the chances of very good agreement in observed rankings were moderate. Combining information from both organic and non-organic systems is shown to be beneficial. Further, ignoring information from non-organic trials when making decisions regarding performance under organic conditions is a sub-optimal strategy