Typology and distribution of small farms in Europe: Towards a better picture

The contribution of small farms to local food supply, food security and food sovereignty is widely acknowledged at a global level. In the particular case of Europe, they often are seen as an alternative to large and specialised farms. Assessing the real role of small farms has been limited by a lack of information, as small farms are frequently omitted from agricultural censuses and national statistics. It is also well acknowledged that small farms differ widely, and are distributed according to different spatial patterns across Europe, fulfilling different roles according to the agriculture and territorial characteristics of each region. This paper presents the result of a novel classification of small farms at NUTS-3 level in Europe, according to the relevance of small farms in the agricultural and territorial context of each region, and based on a typology of small farms considering different dimensions of farm size. The maps presented result from an extensive data collection and variables selected according to European wide expert judgement, analysed with advanced cluster procedures. The results provide a fine grained picture of the role of small farms at the regional level in Europe today, and are expected to support further data analysis and targeted policy intervention

Architectural Issues of a Location-Aware System Applied in Fruit Fly E-Monitoring and Spraying Control

In the present paper we describe an e-monitoring location-aware system, based on a real-time Wireless Multimedia Sensor Network (WMSN), integrated with a semi-automatic trapping and insect counting, based on existing traps, able to acquire and transmit data to a remote server, and a Decision Support System (DSS) that will perform the final optimization of the control treatments. In spite the tremendous technological advances in recent years, WSNs cannot meet all the requirements of ubiquitous intelligent environment mainly because scalar data such as temperature, air humidity, air pressure, etc., are not able to detect all environmental events, like insect detection. For this reasons the efforts are concentrated on the design issues of a WMSN platform, able to collect and integrate multimedia data from the field. Further, a flexible architecture needs to be adopted for integration of a WMSN to the cloud for multimedia sensor data collection and sharing using Web services

Electronic traps for detection and population monitoring of adult fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

During the last decades, the economic importance of tephritid fruit flies (FF) has increased worldwide because of recurrent invasions and expansions into new areas, and reduced control capabilities of current control systems. Efficient monitoring systems, thus, are required to provide fast information to act promptly. With this aim in mind, we developed two electronic trap (e-trap) versions for adult FF: one with specific volatiles for male and female adult Ceratitis capitata, and the second, based on the attraction of adult FF to yellow colour, targeting Dacus ciliatus, Rhagoletis cerasi and Bactrocera oleae. In the case of B. oleae, the female pheromone and ammonium bicarbonate were added as synergists. In the two versions, attracted FF were retained in the trap on glued surfaces. Real-time images of the surfaces were automatically taken and transmitted to a server. We tested the two e-trap versions in insect-proof cages, where flies were released and recaptured, and in commercial orchards throughout the Mediterranean: C. capitata in peach orchards in Italy; R. cerasi in cherry orchards in Greece; B. oleae in olive orchards in Spain and in Greece; and D. ciliatus in melons in plastic tunnels in Israel. The e-trap showed excellent abilities to transmit real-time images of trapped FF and a high specificity for trapping different FF species. The ability of the entomologist to correctly classify FF from images in the office was >88%. In addition, average number of flies/trap in e-trap grids did not differ from numbers reported on grids of conventional traps that were operating simultaneously. The e-traps developed and tested in this study provide the basis for the real-time monitoring of FF were no olfactory attractants are available, and for the surveillance of alien FF incursions where generic, but not specific, olfactory attractants exists. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag Gmb