Paris, 23 August 2004
EFITA newsletter / 172 / European Federation for Information
Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment
EWDA-04 Decision Problems in Agriculture and Natural Resources
27-28 September 2004 - Silsoe Research Institute (UK)
The workshop is organised under the recently established EURO (Association of
European Operational Research Societies) Working Group for Operations Research
in Agriculture and Forest Management and continues a series begun at the EFITA
conference in 2001:
- Symposium at EFITA 2001 on Sequential Decisions under Uncertainty in Agriculture
and Natural Resources, Montpellier, France, June 2001
- First European Workshop on Sequential Decisions under Uncertainty in Agriculture
and Natural Resources, Toulouse, France, September 2002
- Symposium at EFITA 2003 on Model Based Decision Support Systems, Debrecen,
Hungary, June, 2003
See: http://www.sri.bbsrc.ac.uk/science/bmag/EWDA-04.html
Contact: David PARSONS
E-mail: ewda04.sri(a)bbsrc.ac.uk
Diploma in Agriculture Information Technology - Distance Learning…
…to obtain an invaluable specialisation in Agriculture Information Technology
while you study or work…
Bioinformatics Institute of India conducts Distance Learning Programs and Workshops
in latest areas pertaining to Agriculture Industry.
See: http://www.bioinformaticscentre.org/agri
E-mail: agri(a)bioinformaticscentre.org
FRelECTRA : Use of Innovative technologies and improved vocational training
for the production and marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables
Five countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy and the UK) have been selected
to implement the "FRELECTRA PROJECT" aimed at developing innovative
technologies and improved vocational training for improving the production and
marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables.
This project is being funded through the EU Leonardo programme that supports
trans-national projects that further encourage innovative research and training
across Europe.
The FRELECTRA project has three main objectives:
- To assist in improving the production, post harvest technologies and marketing
of fresh fruits and vegetables
- To improve the skills, competencies and provision of vocational training to
the sector
- To encourage throughout the sector the wider use of electronic technologies
Project outputs will include a thorough review of marketing of fresh fruits
and vegetables throughout the 5 countries, a number of vocational training packages,
the training of specialist trainers and a pilot project on the use of electronic
technologies for fresh fruit and vegetable marketing
See: http://www.frelectra.gr
PlantGroTM: a new software programme for exploring plant / soil /climate
relationships
A new software programme “PlantGroTM” has been developed by Dr. Clive Hackett
(CSIRO, Canberra, Australia) to assist farmers, foresters, agronomists, consultants,
horticulturalists, aid agencies, teachers and students to meet the challenge
of matching plants to soils and climates.
>> How PlantGroTM was developed?
Being able to identify where particular plants will grow is useful, but many
people need to know how well they will grow on particular sites. Generally they
do not require highly precise predictions of yield, but they do need to know
whether growth will be good, fair, poor or useless.
Detailed process-based models are available for the dozen or so major crop plants,
such as wheat and rice, which dominate world agricultural production. These
simulate complex processes such as light interception, photosynthesis and translocation
and in many cases provide quite reliable estimates of yield.
A few process-based models have also been developed for trees, but there is
no prospect of such detailed models being developed for the hundreds of plant
and tree species which are important in agriculture and forestry around the
world.
Dr Clive Hackett (CSIRO) faced a similar problem in 1984 when he was asked to
take part in a study of village-based subsistence agriculture and small-holder
cash cropping in Papua New Guinea. There were numerous plant species involved
and relatively little was known about their environmental requirements.
Hackett devised a new software programme for providing coarse predictions of
the growth of lesser-known plants. To assess the suitability of particular climatic
or soil factors he used 'notional relationships', which are simply two-dimensional
graphs made up of linear segments indicating conditions which are most suitable
for growth and those which are less suitable. These are used along with more
complex calculations of the effects of light, temperature and moisture.
To combine the effects of all factors PlantGro uses Liebig's Law of the Minimum
(1885), which was originally devised to describe the effects of available plant
nutrients on plant performance. In simple terms this states that the most limiting
factor determines plant performance (i.e. favourable levels of other factors
do not compensate for the unfavourable level of the limiting factor). Overall
conditions are evaluated in PlantGro according to limitation ratings on a 0-9
scale where 0 indicates ideal conditions (i.e. no limitations) and 9 indicates
the greatest possible limitations.
The PC-based PlantGro programme evaluates 11 soil factors including pH, phosphorus,
potassium, nitrogen, slope and drainage. 14 different Climatic factors are used
including maximum temperature, minimum temperature, precipitation, evaporation
and solar radiation. The program evaluates the effects of temperature on development
as well as carrying out simple water balance calculations.
Separate plant, soil and climate files are required to run the program. The
program provides summary predictions of likely growth patterns as well as detailed
evaluations of limitations due to light, temperature, moisture and important
soil factors.
>> PLANTGROTM Version 3.0 for Windows
This programme is now available in a user-friendly Windows format where users
are encouraged to enter their own data on soils, and climates and test the suitability
of their environment for Plants or use the existing files supplied with the
programme.
>>The PlantGroTM Package includes:
- 1750 different Plant Files
- 182 different Climate Files for sites worldwide
- 43 different Soil Files
>> Where can you use PlantGro TM?
- Can be applied to any plant species, in any soil or any climatic zone
- Can be adapted to use in predicting pest presence (Insects or diseases)
- Can be applied to different phases of plant growth:
>> PLANTGRO users group
As a Bonus offer to purchasers, ownership of a registered copy of PlantGro will
entitle you to One Year’s Membership of the PlantGro Users Group.This Group
has been established by Topoclimate Services Pty Ltd to encourage PlantGro Users
to share their PlantGro plant, soil and climate files with others. Membership
of the Group will enable you to tap into specialist expertise in a number of
plants and environments and also make contact with others working in the same
areas.
See: http://www.topoclimate.com
Plant health and world trade: EU signs up to new international rules
The Agriculture Council has approved a revision of the International Plant Protection
Convention (IPPC) to strengthen its role in setting international standards.
Council also decided that the European Union should become a party to the IPPC
in its own right, alongside the 25 EU Member States. Both decisions recognise
the growing importance of the IPPC in the international trading system. The
World Trade Organisation (WTO) recognises the right of WTO members to impose
restrictions on imports if these are needed to protect their agriculture from
plant diseases or pests.
See: http://europa-eu-un.org/articles/lv/article_3691_lv.htm
Smart answers to stupid questions
BOY: May I hold your hand?
GIRL: No thanks, it isn't heavy.
GIRL: Say you love me! Say you love me!
BOY: You love me...
GIRL: If we become engaged will you give me a ring??
BOY: Sure, what's your phone number??
GIRL: I think the poorest people are the happiest.
BOY: Then marry me and we'll be the happiest couple
GIRL: Darling, I want to dance like this forever.
BOY: Don't you ever want to improve??
BOY: I love you and I could die for you!
GIRL: How soon??
BOY: I would go to the end of the world for you!
GIRL: Yes, but would you stay there??
SHARON: Have you ever had a hot passionate, burning kiss??
TRACY: I did once. He'd forgotten to take the cigarette out of his mouth.
WOMAN: You remind me of the sea.
MAN: Because I'm wild, romantic and exciting?
WOMAN: No, because you make me sick.
WIFE: You tell a man something, it goes in one ear and comes out of the other.
HUSBAND: You tell a woman something: It goes in both ears and comes out of the
mouth.
MARY: John says I'm pretty. Andy says I'm ugly. What do u think, Peter?
PETER: A bit of both. I think you're pretty ugly.
Girlfriend: "...And are you sure you love me and no one else?"
Boyfriend: "Dead Sure! I checked the whole list again yesterday".
Contact : Anne GOUYON
Mél : anne.gouyon(a)ideforce.com
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