Editorial

Editorial Gysi
Michael Gysi, Head of Agroscope

Innovations for Practice

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler” Nobel prize winner Albert Einstein was meant to have said. Much the same applies for solutions to current challenges in the agriculture and food sector: what is needed here are methods that are as simple and practical as possible, which make a positive impact whilst respecting the environment, going easy on the wallet and staying within the time budget. But an innovative method is worthless if it is not put into practice.

The cover story, ‘Stopping Pathogens at the Terminal’, describes the successful implementation of just such a method. In the perishable goods hall at Zurich airport, fruit, cut flowers and much more piles up. These goods can harbour harmful insects that have not yet been detected in Switzerland, and which could cause major harvest losses. Previously, identifying these pests would take two days – too long for perishable goods. Agroscope experts have developed a method enabling the on-site plant-protection inspector to achieve the same result within two hours.

The article ‘The Road to Digital Farming’ shows how modern information technologies are used to control agricultural machinery more precisely, to improve pest forecasting, and to set robots on the hunt for weeds.

Read how Agroscope researchers help prevent antibiotic-resistant bacteria on food in the article ‘Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria on Salad Plants?’.

Nowadays, soya is imported inter alia to fatten pigs. The article ‘Fattening Pigs without Soya’ demonstrates how a simple discovery can blossom into a major innovation.

Thus, when innovations for practice are needed that are simple, fit-for-purpose and effective, Agroscope is the right port of call – because we are already dealing with tomorrow’s issues, today.

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Published by
Agroscope 

Editorial Board
Carole Enz (Leitung), Ania Biasio, Régis Nyffeler, Ariane Sotoudeh

Contributing Authors
 
Christian Ahrens, Thomas Anken, Iris Bachmann, Catherine Baroffio, Robert Baur, Sandrine Belcher, Thomas Berger, Lukas Bertschinger, Simon Blaser, Susanne Brunner, Andreas Bühlmann, Joan-Bryce Burla, Jean-Daniel Charrière, Benjamin Dainat, Simone de Montmollin, Hanspeter Diem, Frigga Dohme-Meier, David Drissner, Brice Dupuis, Nadja El Benni, Jürg Frey, Marie-Therese Fröhlich, Andreas Gubler, Christoph Haldemann, Matthias Hatt, Anna Hug, Patrik Kehrli, Willy Kessler, Markus Lips, Matthias Lutz, Andreas Lüscher, Reto Meuli, Thomas Poiger, Walter Richner, Cornelia Sauer, Olivier Schumpp, Sokrat Sinaj, Maria Theresia Stergiou, Peter Stoll, Fredi Strasser, Daniel Suter, Ute Vogler, Andreas von Felten, Beat Wechsler, Daniel Wechsler, Michael Winzeler, Anja Zollinger.

Realisation
Jost Brunner

Pictures 
Gaby Brändle, Cornelia Heusser, Olivier Bloch, Ursus Kaufmann

Translation
Regula Wolz (Leitung), Evelyne Fasnacht, Anne Maisonhaute, Debbie Nicol