Integrated nutrient management, soil fertility, and sustainable agriculture: current issues and future challenges

The challenge for agriculture over the coming decades will be to meet the world's increasing demand for food in a sustainable way. Declining soil fertility and mismanagement of plant nutrients have made this task more difficult. In this brief, Peter Gruhn, Francesco Goletti, and Montague Yudelman point out that as long as agriculture remains a soil-based industry, major increases in productivity are unlikely to be attained without ensuring that plants have an adequate and balanced supply of nutrients. They call for an Integrated Nutrient Management approach to the management of plant nutrients for maintaining and enhancing soil, where both natural and man-made sources of plant nutrients are used. The key components of this approach are described; the roles and responsibilities of various actors, including farmers and institutions, are delineated; and recommendations for improving the management of plant nutrients and soil fertility are presented.Plant nutrients., Soil fertility., Crops Nutrition., Sustainable agriculture.,

Integrated nutrient management, soil fertility, and sustainable agriculture

The challenge for agriculture over the coming decades will be to meet the world's increasing demand for food in a sustainable way. Declining soil fertility and mismanagement of plant nutrients have made this task more difficult. In this brief, Peter Gruhn, Francesco Goletti, and Montague Yudelman point out that as long as agriculture remains a soil-based industry, major increases in productivity are unlikely to be attained without ensuring that plants have an adequate and balanced supply of nutrients. They call for an Integrated Nutrient Management approach to the management of plant nutrients for maintaining and enhancing soil, where both natural and man-made sources of plant nutrients are used. The key components of this approach are described; the roles and responsibilities of various actors, including farmers and institutions, are delineated; and recommendations for improving the management of plant nutrients and soil fertility are presented.Plant nutrients. ,Soil fertility. ,Agriculture Research Economic aspects ,Agriculture Research Evaluation ,Sustainable agriculture. ,

Adjustment of wheat production to market reform in Egypt

In response to slow growth in the agricultural sector and as part of a general shift towards a more market-oriented economy, the Government of Egypt started liberalizing the agricultural sector in 1987. Controls over wheat production and marketing were eliminated and wheat producer prices were brought closer to international levels. As a result, there has been remarkable increases in wheat crop area and yields, causing wheat production to triple from 1986 to 1998. This study analyzes the results of a survey of 800 Egyptian wheat farmers in order to address three issues that are of interest to agricultural reform policy in Egypt. First, what are the patterns in wheat production and marketing that have emerged following the economic reforms? Second, why is the government unable to purchase more than a small portion of national wheat production? Third, how does wheat supply and input demand respond to wheat and input prices? The survey indicates that Egyptian wheat production is based on small-scale farms, yet these farms are highly commercialized and the use of inputs such as labor, fertilizer and irrigation, is intensive. The government has problems reaching its wheat procurement target because most of the wheat produced is consumed in the rural areas and farmers prefer to sell to traders because of better prices and location. Econometric analysis of the survey data suggests that wheat farmers respond significantly to crop and input prices. The estimated own-price supply elasticity is 0.3, implying that the use of price policy alone to pursue wheat self-sufficiency would be costly and ill-advised.Small farmers. ,Wheat Yields Egypt. ,Econometrics. ,Agricultural policy Egypt. ,

Wheat policy reform in Egypt: adjustment of local markets and options for future reforms

Many developing countries are in transition from a state-dominated to a more market-oriented economy. Because agriculture is of primary importance in most developing countries,the state is usually heavily involved in both input and output markets and in controlling prices and trade. However, concerns that market liberalization will result in higher consumer food prices and hurt the poor means that many countries, such as Egypt, have, at best, undertaken only partial agricultural sector reforms. It has been argued that such concerns are unwarranted and that further market liberalization is not only needed, but achievable without increasing impoverishment. IFPRI Research Report 115 sheds light on these critical issues through an analysis of wheat policy reform in Egypt.Consumers Egypt., Wheat trade Government policy Egypt., Food supply Government policy Egypt., Agricultural policies, Markets Prices., Developing countries. ,

Indium-Gallium Segregation in CuInx_{x}Ga1−x_{1-x}Se2_2: An ab initio based Monte Carlo Study

Thin-film solar cells with CuIn$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$Se$_2$ (CIGS) absorber are still far below their efficiency limit, although lab cells reach already 19.9%. One important aspect is the homogeneity of the alloy. Large-scale simulations combining Monte Carlo and density functional calculations show that two phases coexist in thermal equilibrium below room temperature. Only at higher temperatures, CIGS becomes more and more a homogeneous alloy. A larger degree of inhomogeneity for Ga-rich CIGS persists over a wide temperature range, which may contribute to the low observed efficiency of Ga-rich CIGS solar cells

Agricultural growth linkages in Sub-Saharan Africa:

How much extra net income growth can be had in rural areas of Africa by increasing the spending power of local households? The answer depends on how rural households spend increments to income, whether the items desired can be imported to the local area in response to increased demand, and, if not, whether increased demand will lead to new local production or simply to price rises. For every dollar in new farm income earned, at least one additional dollar could be realized from growth multipliers, according to Agricultural Growth Linkages in Sub-Saharan Africa.Income Rural areas Africa., Agricultural development Africa., Agricultural policy Economic aspects., Households Zimbabwe., Social accounting., Africa sub-Saharan,

Defibrotide for Prophylaxis of Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease in Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Subanalysis Data from an Open-Label, Phase III, Randomized Trial

Introduction Hepatic veno-occlusive disease, also called sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS), is a potentially life-threatening complication of conditioning for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and is associated with patient and transplant-related risk factors, such as prior therapies, underlying diagnoses, and conditioning regimen. Unpredictable in its occurrence and severity, VOD/SOS is clinically characterized by painful hepatomegaly, hyperbilirubinemia, ascites, and weight gain. Overall estimated prevalence is 14% post-HSCT, while rates in some high-risk populations (eg, osteopetrosis or prior gemtuzumab ozogamicin) are >60% (Wadleigh M et al. Blood . 2003;102:1578-82; Corbacioglu S et al. Bone Marrow Transplant . 2006;38:547-53). Evidence suggests that defibrotide stabilizes endothelial cells, with direct and endothelial-cell mediated restoration of the thrombo-fibrinolytic balance. Defibrotide is approved in the European Union for the treatment of severe hepatic VOD/SOS in patients receiving HSCT, and is available in the United States through an expanded-access study. In a previously reported randomized clinical trial, defibrotide prophylaxis for VOD/SOS in high-risk pediatric patients undergoing HSCT reduced the overall incidence of VOD/SOS by day +30 post-HSCT. Here we report novel subgroup analyses of VOD/SOS incidence from this trial in patients with specific VOD/SOS risk factors at baseline. Methods This was a phase 3, multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled trial in patients aged 5% weight gain. Patients were randomized to standard care with or without defibrotide prophylaxis dosed at 25 mg/kg/day in 4 divided infusions of 6.25 mg/kg. Osteopetrosis was a stratification variable. Defibrotide began the same day as HSCT conditioning and continued for 30 days post-HSCT, or ≥14 days for patients discharged from hospital before day +30 post-HSCT. Control patients who developed VOD/SOS received defibrotide treatment. The primary endpoint was incidence of VOD/SOS at day +30 post-HSCT. Results The intent-to-treat population included 356 patients: 180 randomized to defibrotide prophylaxis and 176 in the control group. Mean (SD) age was 6.6 (5.3) years, and 40.7% of patients were female. Demographic and clinical characteristics, including VOD/SOS risk factors (Table), were well-matched in the defibrotide and control groups. The most common risk factors among all patients were conditioning with busulfan and melphalan (58%), preexisting liver disease (27%), and second myeloablative transplantation (13%). VOD/SOS occurred by day +30 post-HSCT in 22 (12%) patients in the defibrotide prophylaxis group vs 35 (20%) patients in the control group. For the stratification variable, osteopetrosis, rates of VOD/SOS were 14% in the defibrotide prophylaxis arm and 67% in the control arm (Table). Differences in rates of VOD/SOS were lowest for adrenoleukodystrophy (no cases) and prior abdominal irradiation (11% vs 13%, respectively) (Table). Conclusions Across risk-factor subgroups, the rate of VOD/SOS was lower in patients receiving defibrotide compared with controls (except adrenoleukodystrophy: no VOD/SOS in either group). In particular, rates of VOD/SOS by day +30 were reduced by ≥50% in the defibrotide arm vs the control arm among patients with osteopetrosis, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, second myeloablative transplantation, and prior gemtuzumab treatment. Although the total numbers of patients with these risk factors were small, these between-group differences are of clinical interest and should be further explored. | Risk Factor | Defibrotide (n=180) | Control (n=176) | | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | Total n | VOD/SOS incidence (n=22; 12.2%) n (%*) | Total n | VOD/SOS incidence (n=35; 20.0%) n (%*) | | Adrenoleukodystrophy | 1 | 0 (0) | 1 | 0 (0) | | Osteopetrosis | 7 | 1 (14) | 6 | 4 (67) | | Prior abdominal irradiation | 9 | 1 (11) | 8 | 1 (13) | | Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis | 10 | 0 (0) | 15 | 6 (40) | | Prior gemtuzumab | 11 | 2 (18) | 5 | 2 (40) | | Allogeneic HSCT for leukemia | 17 | 2 (12) | 11 | 2 (18) | | Second myeloablative transplantation | 25 | 2 (8) | 23 | 4 (17) | | Pre-existing liver disease | 41 | 6 (15) | 54 | 12 (22) | | Busulfan/melphalan conditioning | 106 | 15 (14) | 99 | 17 (17) | * *Percent of patients with VOD/SOS. Table. Support: Jazz Pharmaceuticals Disclosures Corbacioglu: Gentium S.p.A.: Consultancy, Honoraria. Off Label Use: Defibrotide is an investigational treatment for hepatic veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in the United States.. Bader: Amgen: Consultancy; Medac: Other: Institutional grants; Neovii: Other: Institutional grants; Riemser: Other: Institutional grants; Novartis: Consultancy; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy

Keimlinge als neuartige multifunktionelle Zutat in ökologischen Backwaren - Optimierung der Herstellung und Verwendung

Im Rahmen des Projektes „Keimlinge als neuartige multifunktionelle Zutat in ökologischen Backwaren - Optimierung der Herstellung und Verwendung“ wurde die sichere betriebseigene Herstellung von Keimlingen, der Einsatz von Keimlingen in Sprossenbroten und der Einsatz zu technologischen Zwecken entwickelt und optimiert. Diese allgemeinen Handlungsempfehlungen wurden in einem Leitfaden für handwerkliche Bäckereien festgehalten. Um gleichmäßige Backergebnisse zu erhalten, werden Keimlinge mit konstanter Qualität benötigt. Qualitätsbestimmende Faktoren sind die mikrobiologische Belastung, die wertgebenden Inhaltsstoffe und die Enzymatik. Das Keimergebnis lässt sich im Keimprozess durch die Keimtemperatur, die Schichthöhe und die Keimdauer beeinflussen und steuern. Die Einflüsse dieser Faktoren auf die qualitätsbestimmenden Eigenschaften wurden im Projekt untersucht. Aus den Ergebnissen konnte die Faustzahl „15:15:30“ abgeleitet werden. Bei einer Schichthöhe von 15 cm, einer Keimtemperatur von maximal 15 °C und einer Keimdauer von 30 Stunden lassen sich gute Keimlingsergebnisse erzielen. Die Herstellung von Essener Broten stellt besondere Anforderungen an die Teigführung. Durch die Keimung kommt es zu einer deutlichen Vermehrung der Enzymaktivität im Keimgut. Diese Enzymaktivität ist insbesondere für Roggenteige technologisch hoch relevant. Es empfiehlt sich, die Keimlinge möglichst spät und eher grob zerkleinert dem gut gesäuerten Teig hinzu zu geben. Unter Einhaltung der im Leitfaden beschriebenen Bedingungen gelingt es, ein Essener Brot ausschließlich aus Keimlingen herzustellen. Je niedriger die Keimtemperatur, desto fester die Krumenbeschaffenheit und desto weniger klebrig ist die Krume. Die Backergebnisse sind durch die Temperatur bei der Keimung beeinflussbar und die Krumenfestigkeit bzw. die Krumenklebrigkeit kann gesteuert werden. Das so genannte Essener Brot wird typischerweise eher bei niedrigeren Temperaturen über eine verlängerte Backzeit gebacken. Die Keimlinge oder auch das so gewonnene aktive Malz kann zu Steuerung der Enzymatik bei der Teigführung eingesetzt werden. Der Einsatz von Roggenkeimlingen als Zutat bei Weizenbrot kann sehr positive Ergebnisse zeigen. Der Zerkleinerungsgrad der Keimlinge hat entscheidenden Einfluss auf die Qualität der hergestellten Weizengebäcke. Insgesamt konnten das Volumen, die Krumenelastizität und die Krumenfestigkeit verbessert werden