Since spring 2016, the flight curves of the main pests in orchards and vineyards are available free of charge at www.agrometeo.ch. Developed by Agroscope, ‘Insect Monitoring’ allows users to view the activity of an observed pest in space and time, facilitating an overview of the pest situation within a region, canton, or part of the country. This new tool enables an even more targeted and sustainable approach to pest control.
Subacute ruminal acidosis is a common disease of high-performance cows. Recording pH profile in the rumen would be helpful for the early detection of incipient ruminal acidosis. According to an Agroscope study, the reticulum measurements of the available sensors deviate significantly from the pH in the rumen. Moreover, the useful life of these sensors – also called ‘pH boli‘ – is just 150 days, and hence does not cover a full lactation, or the productive life of a cow.
FOODPLUS is an evolving network promoting innovation in the areas of food, plants, environment and health, based on the left shore of Lake Zurich in the region of Zimmerberg. Agroscope and ZHAW are key players in FOODPLUS; the Economic Development Agency Zimmerberg-Sihltal runs the network's office. The competence of top institutions in education and research and the innovative strength of businesses in the regions of Zurich, Glarus and Schwyz encourage joint projects.
