How Ringspot Develops

From my observations, when you first spot the signs of ringspot on a plant, it’s a big clue that the plants nearby could be affected too. This usually gives us a tight window of about five to seven days from its first appearance to act. So, spraying a preventative fungicide quickly can help curb its spread. If ignored, these spots can spread quickly to neighbouring plants. A good practice is to use Amistar Top at the first hint of trouble, as it not only protects the healthy leaves but also supports the growth of the crop. Just so you know, if older leaves are infected, they might turn brown and fall off.

The White Blister Challenge

Now, white blister is a tricky one. It doesn’t need as much wetness as ringspot to cause trouble. I’ve seen several warnings about it this season. Amistar Top can be a trusty ally against it and other diseases like alternaria. Starting your prevention early in the season can help you keep your crops healthy till harvest. From my experience, Amistar Top is particularly good for sprouts and white cabbage crops around early autumn.

Current Market Situation

There’s some good news. Retailers are currently looking for more brassicas, especially with folks cooking more at home and the rise in demand for frozen products. This not only offers value but also helps in cutting down wastage for shoppers.

Broccoli’s Special Concern

Broccoli, especially for freezing, is in high demand. But, there’s an issue of systemic downy mildew which leaves a nasty black mark when broccoli florets are prepared for freezing. I always advise farmers to go for a two-spray strategy with Revus about five weeks after planting to tackle this. Many of our fellow farmers have mentioned that tackling downy mildew early can keep other problems at bay, like spear rot, ensuring our broccoli remains top-notch. A follow-up with Amistar plus SL567A can also help in keeping white blister in check.

White Blister Alert

A final word on white blister. Although it’s slow to start, given the number of brassicas we’ve planted and the current environment, it won’t be long before it becomes a major concern. Preparing with Amistar Top strategies early on can shield our crops.

Main Conclusions: The Farmer’s Manifesto

• Stay Vigilant: Morning dews can heighten the risk of diseases like ringspot and white blister.
• Act Fast on Ringspot: At the first signs, act swiftly. Use preventative fungicides within five to seven days to manage its spread.
• Tackle White Blister Early: Employ Amistar Top as a reliable defence mechanism.
• Boost for Brassica: Market demand is high. Maintain quality to leverage this.
• Special Care for Broccoli: Implement a two-spray strategy to combat systemic downy mildew.
• Preparedness: With white blister potentially on the rise, preparation and early prevention are key.

Stay informed, act promptly, and ensure a bountiful your harvest!

The scientists presented their findings at the annual conference of the British Ecological Society, which showed that at least a third, between 33% and 41%, of earthworms have disappeared from UK soils in the last 25 years, based on data from around 100 previous studies.

Professor James Pearce-Higgins, the scientific director of the British Trust for Ornithology, who conducted the research, expressed concern about the evidence of a long-term decline in earthworms. He even referred to it as a “large-scale decline in soil biodiversity” in his remarks to the British media.

The disappearance of earthworms, which could affect the entire soil ecosystem, is a cause of concern. The loss of these creatures can have consequences on soil fertility, where they play a crucial role in making nutrients available for plants, whether cultivated or wild. Additionally, earthworms are essential links in the interconnected food chains of trophic networks, serving as prey for birds such as thrushes, starlings, and various waders.

What makes earthworms disappear?

While hotter and drier summers in the south-east of the UK are being blamed for the decline in earthworms, the main culprit is conventional agriculture, according to the study. The researchers observed a greater decline in earthworms in agricultural land and deciduous forests, whereas wilder lands at higher altitudes, further from human activity, appeared to be less affected.

According to Dr. Ailidh Barnes, a researcher at the British Trust for Ornithology, the decline in earthworm populations in the UK is likely due to changes in the countryside over the last century. These changes include large-scale drainage, the use of pesticides, and the application of synthetic fertilizers, which have negatively impacted earthworm populations. Dr. Barnes also mentioned the negative effects of plowing, a tillage technique that involves turning and loosening the soil.

While conventional agriculture practices are the main cause of the decline in earthworm populations in the UK, there are other factors at play. Dr. Matt Shardlow, a spokesperson for the NGO Buglife, notes that the decline within hardwood forests and rangelands suggests that climate change and soil pollution from livestock wormers are also contributing to the loss of biodiversity. This comes as Buglife’s latest report reveals that two-thirds of flying insects have vanished in the UK.

Better document the decline of earthworms

The researchers behind the study intend to initiate a scientific surveillance scheme focused on earthworms to gather more accurate data on their reduction.

We need to be concerned about the fate of subterranean biodiversity to preserve what we see above ground. Let’s prioritize the protection of earthworms, emphasized Professor Pearce-Higgins.

A new citizen science program called “QUBS” has been launched in France, in partnership with various institutions such as the Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University, Sorbonne University, the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, the University of Lorraine/INRAE, and the Plante & Cité association in Angers.

Focused exclusively on soil biodiversity, including earthworms, ants, and other small creatures, this ambitious project, known as “QUBS,” aims to gather valuable information on the rich, but endangered, life that lurks beneath our feet.

After shortages of eggs, tomatoes and pears could run out: hit by soaring costs, the United Kingdom is heading straight for a food supply crisis, the main British agricultural union warned on Tuesday. Ultimately, “the danger is that we produce ever less of our food here and that we depend ever more on imports”, affirmed during a press conference in London Minette Batters, president of the NFU (National Farmers’ Union).

UK farmers are in ‘an emergency’ according to the union, hit by soaring costs for fertiliser, feed, fuel and energy as linked supply chains are disrupted to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Eggs have already become more rare and expensive with these additional costs, to which was added a local epidemic of avian flu. Many British supermarkets are reduced to rationing the purchase.

Faced with this situation, the costs must be shared, according to the union, which is asking intermediary companies, in particular responsible for packaging or distributors, “more equity” in the supply chain, added Ms. Batters.

According to the union, there are 7,000 fewer agricultural companies in the country than in 2019 – a drop of almost 5% – while nitrogen fertilizers, for example, increased by 240% and gas sold in bulk suffered a drop. massive increase of 650% over this three-year period. But beyond the issues of costs, which are soaring all over the world, farmers across the Channel are also suffering from the consequences of Brexit, which has notably complicated the hiring of European workers on whom the agricultural sector relied.

The NFU is calling on the government to grant more seasonal worker visas, as some growers have seen some of their crops rot on the vine this year for lack of hands to harvest them.

The country has “a high degree of food security”, the government said in a statement sent to AFP, ensuring that it is in contact with the food and agricultural sectors “to ensure that they are well prepared for a range of scenarios. “

Food and Agriculture Minister Mark Spencer is due to meet representatives of egg producers on Tuesday. “The UK has an extensive and highly resilient food supply chain” which relies on “strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes,” the executive added.

The reserve became a place of armed conflict. Both wildlife and vegetation suffered. Civilians also accelerated the destruction of forests. They cut down trees to make way for cornfields.

For the past four decades, Gorongosa has lost 100 hectares of forest annually. But now the reserve is being revived. The so-called coffee injection helps to restore the green cover.

Park ranger Pedro Muagara suggested planting coffee trees in the clearings. This became an incentive for the locals to protect the rainforests.

Pedro Muagara, caretaker of the Gorongosa National Park:

“We realized that if we simply call for the restoration of forests, without promising people any benefits, then things will move forward, but very slowly. That is, very few trees are planted per year. Therefore, we propose to participate in a project that brings both environmental and socio-economic benefits.”

National park specialists study varieties of coffee trees and choose for planting resistant to pests, diseases, drought and long rainy seasons.

This is important as the weather in Mozambique is getting erratic. Droughts, floods, storm winds destroy agriculture and put people on the brink of survival.

But now more than 800 small farmers make a living participating in coffee production. Almost half of them are women.

Fatiansa Paulina, farmer:

“My children can go to school. And although sometimes there is a drought, there is always a coffee harvest. I have enough money to take care of the children and not starve, because coffee is a stable income.”

Last year, people living near the reserve planted over 260,000 coffee trees and 20,000 native trees.

Now a total of 815,000 coffee trees grow on 250 hectares of land.

Krone is installing a V12 engine under the bonnet of two forage harvesters in the Big X range, the 980 and the 1080. The German manufacturer is thus meeting the growing worldwide demand in the segment of machines from 900 to 1,100 hp.

The Big X 1180, with its 1,156 hp, is currently the most powerful conventional forage harvester in the world. Like the Big X 1180, the two new Big X 980 and 1080 models are driven by an original Liebherr V12 engine. Maintenance intervals for oil changes, filters and valves are longer: they are increased to 1,000 hours. Of course, like their big brother, both machines meet the requirements of the Stage V emission standard.

PowerSplit function to adapt the power automatically

Worthy of note is the PowerSplit function, which adapts engine power to working conditions by simply pressing a button in the cab. As soon as the machine does not require full power, the Eco-Power economy mode is engaged. What limit the fuel bill, a strong argument given the price of GNR. Not to mention the possibility of adjusting different power ranges so that the forage harvester reacts to working conditions independently. When conditions get tough, the engine delivers more power with X-Power mode without operator intervention. More comfort for the latter. When it comes to engine speed, automatic management is another feature appreciated by drivers. It is available as an option and again reduces fuel consumption thanks to the automatic speed reduction system (when changing buckets, for example).

The manufacturer has developed innovations such as the crop flow concept with six pre-compression rollers, the generously dimensioned cutting rotor and the OptiMaxx 305 cracker. This has a large friction surface, guaranteeing the intensive spraying of grains and stems. The VariStream device is also available: the bottoms mounted on springs under the cutting rotor and behind the ejection accelerator guarantee continuous work without the risk of clogging, even if the feed is less regular.

Extra power to order online

The VariLoc system is a gearbox integrated into the rotor pulley. By changing its speed from 1,250 to 800 rpm, the cutting length range of the latter is increased by up to an additional 50%. The operator saves time and can easily adapt his cutting length to the site. Also noteworthy is the height-adjustable lifting cabin, an installation appreciated by operators. Ditto with the XtraPower system, which allows the driver of the machine to order online, for a fixed period, more engine power to meet his needs. The choice is possible between XtraPower 100 hp (BiG X 980 and 1080) and XtraPower 200 hp (BiG X 980).

Still on the technology side, the Nir Control dual sensor is able to measure and trace the composition of grass, corn and whole plant silage. It is installed on the BiG X and can also be used for spreading slurry with the Zunhammer technique. Finally, as standard, the machines can take advantage of Krone SmartConnect, the telemetry box that records and transmits all tool data in real time. The data is exported by the SmartTelematics application or transmitted via the agrirouter platform. Finally, in terms of availability, we will have to wait until the 2024 season to see the Big X V12s land in the fields!

Italian agriculture is experiencing, as often happens, a time of great contradictions. On the one hand, fortunately, the statistics show the resumption of agritourism activities; on the other hand, the whole sector continues to be subjected not only to the repercussions of the costs of the means of production, but also to the consequences of bad weather.

According to what was announced by Coldiretti, with the latest departures, the Italians who decided to go on vacation in August would have risen to 22 million, an increase of 4% compared to last year. With particular attention, it is pointed out to agritourism activities or in any case related to the environment and nature. This, at least, is what emerges from a Coldiretti / Ixè analysis whose results underline that at least in the second part of the summer together with the sea, the alternative choices to get to know a so-called “minor” Italy from parks to countryside, from mountains up to the small villages that as many as 70% of Italians on vacation declare to visit them, even if only with a day trip. An attention that sees the farmhouses in the foreground. Destinations that, according to the Terranostra association, would be “very popular”. In the first row, therefore, are the approximately 25 thousand farmhouses in Italy. Everything appears to be the result of a renewed attention to long forgotten aspects of our country, but it is certainly also the result of attention to the economic aspects of the holidays to which Italian families must pay.

But everything has to deal, as mentioned, with the almost daily storms of rain, wind and hail that hit the Peninsula and therefore its countryside. Growers also speak of damages that exceed six billion euros. And that could still increase.

To suffer from the violent weather change – underlines Coldiretti – were mainly the seasonal crops at a time when the harvest and the harvest of summer fruit and vegetables are in progress and in autumn that of olives will begin. The harvests of the main Italian summer crops are thus jeopardized, after a similar fate has already occurred to the winter ones. At the base of everything there is also a technical motivation with strong economic implications. However, the rain that was expected to combat drought in the countryside must last a long time, falling steadily and not too intense, while strong storms, especially if accompanied by hail, increase the damage caused by dryness and heat.

From a statistical point of view, that of 2022 seems to be, it is pointed out, the worst summer of the decade with an increase of + 1300% between gusts of wind, water bombs, hailstorms and tornadoes with an impressive impact of changes. climatic. Hence, in fact, the billionaire damage bill. A situation that, Confagricoltura points out, certainly does not concern only Italy but all of Europe and must therefore be resolved with extraordinary measures. And it is in fact what has already been done on several occasions but which, by many, is still considered insufficient.

In the meantime, the contradiction that agriculture lives out of which we said at the beginning remains: a sector that produces environmental and economic wealth, productive diversification and a different culture of production, which finds itself having to deal with great results and as many great disasters.