Agricultural intensification can help protect the Amazon Forest and reduce global warming / Protecting the Amazon forest and reducing global warming via agricultural intensification

The Amazon basin includes 550 M ha covered with rainforests, with 60% of this area being in Brazil. Conversion of rainforest for soybean production raises concerns about the degree to which Brazil can reconcile production and environmental goals. Here we investigated the degree to which intensification could help Brazil produce more soybean without further encroachment of the Amazon Forest. Our analysis shows that continuation of current trends in soybean yield and area would lead to conversion of additional 5.7 M ha of forests and savannas during the next 15 years, with an associated 2550 Mt of CO2eq released into the atmosphere. In contrast, acceleration of yield improvement, coupled with expansion of soybean area only in areas currently used for livestock production, would allow Brazil to achieve similar economic benefits without deforestation and with substantially lower global climate warming

Shortening harvest interval, reaping benefits? A study on harvest practices in oil palm smallholder farming systems in Indonesia

CONTEXT: Smallholders are responsible for a large share of global palm oil production. Yet, in Indonesia, the main palm oil producing country, smallholders’ yields remain low. Better management practices, including short harvest interval (HI, the number of days between two harvest rounds), could help to raise smallholder yields. However, at present, HI is long in smallholder fields and the drivers underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: We explored agronomic, socio-economic, and institutional factors that underlie harvesting practices in independent oil palm smallholder farming systems in Indonesia to assess scope for sustainable intensification through shorter HI and reduced harvest losses. METHODS: Combining methods from agronomy and anthropology, we followed harvest interval of 950 farmers in six representative locations across Indonesia via farmer diaries over a period of two years to establish a correlation with yield. To quantify this relationship, we conducted post-harvest field measurements, and to explain which underlying factors impact HI we did qualitative interviews and surveys. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The HI of smallholders in our study ranged from 10 to 39 days (average: 17-d). Half of the farmers followed long HI (\u3e16-d). Key factors impacting HI include annual fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield, total palm area per farmer, trusted labor availability, plantation accessibility, and FFB price. Farmers responded to low yield by prolonging HI to increase labor productivity and optimize labor and transportation costs. SIGNIFICANCE: This study contributes to a better understanding of the relation between HI and yield in smallholder farming systems, by uncovering how socio-economic and institutional factors sometimes override agronomic considerations. Long HI can potentially lead to harvest loss from loose fruits and missed bunches, and reduce oil quality from overripe bunches. However, to obtain the benefits of shorter HI requires collective action and incentives along the supply chain to streamline the harvest and sale process

Influence of weather and endogenous cycles on spatiotemporal yield variation in oil palm

Oil palm is the major source of vegetable oil in the world and Indonesia is the main palm oil producing country. There is limited knowledge on the factors accounting for spatial and temporal variation in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield. Here we investigated relationships between weather and endogenous factors with FFB yield and its components (bunch number and individual bunch weight) using data collected from well-managed plantations in Indonesia. The database included many sites and years (total of 136 block-years observations), portraying a wide range of FFB yield and environmental conditions. We used average annual values to detect spatial variations in yield associated with weather, and monthly values to detect temporal yield variations in yield associated with weather and endogenous cycles. We found that water stress was the key factor accounting for the spatial and/or temporal variation in FFB yield. Our analysis also highlights the importance of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) as a stress factor in oil palm, with this study being the first to demonstrate the negative relationship between yield and VPD and yield and water-use efficiency at the block level. Meteorological anomalies during the bunch failure, anthesis, and sex differentiation periods had the largest impact on yield. Besides climate factors, we confirmed the existence of endogenous yield cycles, with high-yield cycles typically followed by low-yield cycles and vice versa. Our findings extend current knowledge about sources of variation in oil palm yield, providing useful information to describe oil palm production environments and improve oil palm modeling and yield forecasting

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Precision agriculture based on crop physiological principles improves whole-farm yield and profit: A case study

Precision agriculture has under delivered partially because it has been based on technologies focused on increasing the resolution of spatial variation in soil and yield and more recently automation, with less effort in incorporating the physiological principles of crop responses to environmental variation. Here we show how a whole-farm precision agriculture approach accounting for the physiological processes underlying the relationship between environment and crop development, growth and yield (“zone management”), bridge yield gaps, increased farmer profit and reduced risk, on San Lorenzo, a 5000 ha dryland farm in the southern Pampas. The farm grows wheat and barley in winter, and soybean, maize, and sunflower in summer; winter grain cereal/double-cropped soybean is a main activity. Four management zones were defined: i) Zone 1, shallow soils ( 3 m below surface); ii) Zone 2, intermediate soil depth (0.8 to 1.8 m) with low frost risk and deep water table; iii) Zone 3, deep soils (> 1.8 m) with low frost risk and deep water table; and iv) Zone 4, deep soils (> 1.8 m) with high frost risk and water table < 3 m from surface. Crop choice and practices were tailored to each zone based on ecophysiological principles including the relative sensitivity of crop growth and yield to soil depth, frost and water supply during the species-specific critical window for yield determination; for example, maize is the most sensitive crop to stress during its critical window, therefore it was excluded from Zone 1 and 2, with a substantial reduction of risk and improvement of farm output (amount of grains that can be produced in a hectare) and profit. In comparison with neighboring farms, San Lorenzo had a 54% higher farm output, and 46% higher gross margin (or 112 US$ha−1 year−1); this was driven by a higher net income (244 US$ ha−1) despite increased total costs (132 US$ ha−1).Fil: Monzon, Juan Pablo. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Calviño, P. A.. Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Sadras, Victor Oscar. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; Argentina. South Australian Research And Development Institute; AustraliaFil: Zubiaurre, J. B.. San Lorenzo Farmer; ArgentinaFil: Andrade, Fernando Héctor. Unidad Integrada Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; Argentin

First things first: Widespread nutrient deficiencies limit yields in smallholder oil palm fields

CONTEXT: Indonesia is the most important oil palm producing country. Nearly 40% of planted area is managed by smallholders, with yields well below the potential. Efforts to increase productivity have focused on the source of planting material, with little attention paid to plant nutrition. OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree to which current productivity in smallholder oil palm fields is limited by nutrients in scenarios with distinct sources of planting material. METHODS: We collected detailed data on leaf nutrient concentration from 30 fields to derive minimum sampling size needed to diagnose nutrient status. Subsequently, we collected data on yield and palm type from 973 smallholder fields to assess the importance of nutrient status and planting material in the determination of yield. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Potassium (K) deficiency was widespread (88% of fields) and often severe. Nearly two thirds of fields were also deficient for nitrogen (N) and boron (B), half were phosphorous (P) deficient, and one third were magnesium (Mg) deficient. Nutrient imbalances, especially between K and N, were also common. Fields with sufficient N, P, and K levels yielded 47% more (equivalent to 1.2 t oil ha-1) than deficient fields across the entire range of planting materials. We conclude that improved plant nutrition increases fresh fruit yields in smallholder fields irrespective of the source of planting material. The advantage of certified planting material is reflected in the higher oil extraction rates. SIGNIFICANCE: Increased smallholder oil palm yields on existing plantations through improved plant nutrition offers the opportunity to improve smallholder profits and livelihoods, whilst at the same time increasing total oil production without bringing new areas into cultivation

Fostering a climate-smart intensification for oil palm

Oil palm production in Indonesia illustrates the intense pressure that exists worldwide to convert natural ecosystems to agricultural production. Oil palm production has increased because of expansion of cultivated area rather than due to average-yield increases. We used a data-rich modelling approach to investigate how intensification on existing plantations could help Indonesia meet palm oil demand while preserving fragile ecosystems. We found that average current yield represents 62% and 53% of the attainable yield in large and smallholder plantations, respectively. Narrowing yield gaps via improved agronomic management, together with a limited expansion that excludes fragile ecosystems, would save 2.6 million hectares of forests and peatlands and avoid 732 MtCO2e compared with following historical trends in yield and land use. Fine-tuning policy to promote intensification, along with investments in agricultural research and development, can help reconcile economic and environmental goals.</p

Intraoperative transfusion practices in Europe

Transfusion of allogeneic blood influences outcome after surgery. Despite widespread availability of transfusion guidelines, transfusion practices might vary among physicians, departments, hospitals and countries. Our aim was to determine the amount of packed red blood cells (pRBC) and blood products transfused intraoperatively, and to describe factors determining transfusion throughout Europe. We did a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 5803 patients in 126 European centres that received at least one pRBC unit intraoperatively, during a continuous three month period in 2013. The overall intraoperative transfusion rate was 1.8%; 59% of transfusions were at least partially initiated as a result of a physiological transfusion trigger- mostly because of hypotension (55.4%) and/or tachycardia (30.7%). Haemoglobin (Hb)- based transfusion trigger alone initiated only 8.5% of transfusions. The Hb concentration [mean (sd)] just before transfusion was 8.1 (1.7) g dl and increased to 9.8 (1.8) g dl after transfusion. The mean number of intraoperatively transfused pRBC units was 2.5 (2.7) units (median 2). Although European Society of Anaesthesiology transfusion guidelines are moderately implemented in Europe with respect to Hb threshold for transfusion (7-9 g dl), there is still an urgent need for further educational efforts that focus on the number of pRBC units to be transfused at this threshold