Functional agro biodiversity in Dutch arable farming: results of a three year pilot

A pilot on 400 ha of Dutch arable farms during 2004-2007 perennial grassy field margins and functional annual flower strips were created on potato and wheat fields. Monitoring information on pests and natural enemies was directly communicated to the farmers to support pest management decisions. Due to the increasing numbers of natural enemies and the gradually reducing peak densities of aphids, the farmers could refrain from insecticide applications against aphids in these crops. The pilot has yielded great public awareness on possibilities for functional agro biodiversity in arable crops

A cross-sectional study to determine the seroprevalence of bluetongue virus serotype 8 in sheep and goats in 2006 and 2007 in the Netherlands

Background: In August 2006 a major epidemic of bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV8) started off in North-West Europe. In the course of 2007 it became evident that BTV8 had survived the winter in North-West Europe, re-emerged and spread exponentially. Recently, the European Union decided to start vaccination against BTV8. In order to improve the understanding of the epidemiological situation, it was necessary to execute a cross-sectional serological study at the end of the BT vector season. Cattle were the target species for cross-sectional serological studies in Europe at the end of 2006 and 2007. However, there was no information on the BTV8- seroprevalence in sheep and goats. Results: On the basis of our cross-sectional study, the estimated seroprevalence of BTV8-exposed locations in the Netherlands in 2006 was 0% for goats (95% confidence interval: 0 ¿ 5.6%) and 7.0% for sheep (95% confidence interval: 3.5 ¿ 12.9%). The estimated seroprevalence of BTV-8 exposed locations in 2007 was 47% for goats (95% confidence interval: 36 ¿ 58%) and 70% for sheep (95% confidence interval: 63 ¿ 76%). There was a wide range in within-location seroprevalence in locations with goats and sheep (1 ¿ 100%). A gradient in seroprevalence was seen, with the highest level of seroprevalence in the southern Netherlands, the area where the epidemic started in 2006, and a decreasing seroprevalence when going in a northern direction. Conclusion: There is a much higher estimated seroprevalence of locations with goats exposed to BTV8 than can be inferred from the rather low number of reported clinical outbreaks in goats. This is probably due to the fact that clinical signs in infected goats are far less obvious than in sheep. The wide range in within-location seroprevalence observed means that the proportion of animals protected in 2008 by a natural infection in 2006 and/or 2007 can differ highly between flocks. This should be taken into account when vaccinating animals

Dry season rice varieties for the Ord River Valley

PREVIOUS experimental work at the Kimberley Research Station (Langfield 1961) showed that, in general, indica varieties of rice are best adapted for wet-season sowing and japonica varieties for dry-season sowing. This article gives the results of three rice variety and time of planting experiments carried out at Kimberley Research Station in the I960, 1961, and 1962 dry seasons. The recommendation is to sow the variety Caloro during May

Phosphate requirements of rice in the Ord River Valley

A three-year experiment on the initial and maintenance phosphate requirements of wet-season rice was carried out at Kimberley Research Station between 1960 and 1963. Application of 2 cwt. per acre superphosphate as the first application on new land, followed by annual application of 1J cwt. per acre is recommended