Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre

In the era of smart agriculture and digital farming, quality inspection of pesticide products is a crucial step in the production process. The reliability and consistency of pesticide products directly impact the effectiveness of precision farming and intelligent pest management systems. However, traditional manual inspection methods face significant challenges due to their low efficiency and inconsistent standards. This paper presents an innovative defect detection system based on an improved YOLOv5 architecture, incorporating attention mechanisms and feature pyramid networks to enhance feature extraction capabilities. The system was tested on a comprehensive dataset of 52,000 images, including 38,000 normal samples and 14,000 defective samples. Experimental results demonstrate remarkable performance, with the system achieving a detection rate exceeding 90% for various defect types including damage, deformation, and bubbles. Operating at 60 frames per second, the system maintains high accuracy while meeting real-time production requirements. In actual production line applications, the system showed excellent stability across different environmental conditions, with performance degradation not exceeding 3% even under extreme conditions. This research provides an effective solution for automated quality control in pesticide production, contributing to the advancement of smart agriculture and sustainable farming practices.

The results of agroecological monitoring of arable soils of the municipal formation "Chernyansky district" of the Belgorod region for 2010-2022 are presented. Soil sampling was carried out according to generally accepted methods, and analyzes were carried out in an accredited laboratory. It was established that in 2018-2022 the maximum application of mineral fertilizers was achieved (103.3 kg/ha), the volume of organic fertilizers amounted to 3.5 t/ha. In the XI cycle of agrochemical survey, compared with IX, the weighted average content of organic matter increased by 0.38%, alkali hydrolyzable nitrogen – by 14 mg/kg, mobile forms of potassium – by 3 mg/kg, sulfur – by 0.87 mg/kg, phosphorus content decreased by 14 mg/kg. The area of acidic soils decreased by 2.2 times, of which moderately acidic soils decreased by 8.1 times, the pH value increased by 0.26 units, and the value of hydrolytic acidity decreased by 0.78 mmol/100 g. The weighted average content of exchangeable forms of calcium (22.5 mmol/100 g) and magnesium (2.95 mmol/100 g) is assessed as very high and increased. In the XI survey cycle, an increase in copper content was noted by 0.020 mg/kg, and the content of zinc, manganese and cobalt decreased by 0.24, 0.06 and 0.002 mg/kg, respectively. The weighted average content of mobile forms of molybdenum was 0.13 mg/kg, boron – 0.81 mg/kg. The proportion of soils low in mobile forms of copper, zinc, cobalt, manganese and molybdenum was 97.9, 97.7, 99.1, 62.9 and 22.1%, respectively. It is advisable to use microfertilizers on these soils. The yield of the main agricultural crops reached a historical maximum: winter wheat – 5.05 t/ha, sunflower – 3.10, grain corn – 7.57 and soybeans – 2.14 t/ha.

ABSTRACT Agroforestry (AF) and mixed farming (MF) are two multifunctional land use systems that harbor an untapped potential for future climate mitigation, however, they remain outside of the norm. This review collected and analyzed the policy landscape for AF and MF in 19 European countries. The results show that while the policy landscape in Europe has been growing for AF, with support found within the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and Green Deal, as well as European state polices, direct MF support is largely missing. No country assessed supports AF in its entirety (traditional, establishment, yearly maintenance) although, there are countries like Portugal, which show robust policies for at least one of these aspects. This paper also assessed the degree to which policies found can be considered agroecological, or contributing to an agroecological transition. Our analysis indicates that while agroecological elements do exist in some of the policies, it is currently primarily on plot, field, and farm level, involving input substitution or the change of one practice for another. We conclude that policies are currently not designed in a cohesive manner, and at times work against one another. We therefore recommend that all future policies center themselves on the High-Level Panel of Expert’s 13 Principles of Agroecology, as well as on transformative and inclusive policy design frameworks.

Limited availability of individual standards is a bottleneck for quality control of functional foods and natural medicines. The use of standard mixtures or secondary standards is a possible alternative in this case. Earlier, an approach known as standardised reference extract (RE) strategy was introduced for HPLC-UV analysis of different plant materials; however, its application in HPLC-MS analysis has not been investigated. To establish an HPLC-MS-based RE method for determination of ginsenoside content in ginseng infusions using commercially available extract reference material of Panax quinquefolius L. The developed HPLC-MS method was validated as precise (1.1%-9.4% intra-day variation; 1.6%-12.8% inter-day variation) and highly sensitive [limit of detection (LOD): 1-40 ng/mL; limit of quantification (LOQ): 4-120 ng/mL]. The stability of samples was satisfactory (5.7%-16.3%). The RE quantification method was compared with the external standard method, and the obtained difference was not significant, mostly in the range of 5%-10%. Matrix effects for the diluted samples of RE and ginseng infusions, determined via the standard addition method, were in the range of 85%-115% and 80%-126%, respectively, and were also positively correlated with the ginsenoside concentration. Eleven batches of ginseng infusions from different manufacturers were analysed using the established method. The method for HPLC-MS-based ginsenoside quantification using RE as a secondary standard was established for the first time. The results of this study demonstrate that the application of the standardised RE strategy in HPLC-MS can minimise the matrix effect-related error in addition to the cost-effective quality control of herbal products, foods, and traditional medicines.

While high risk of failure is an inherent part of developing innovative therapies, it can be reduced by adherence to evidence-based rigorous research practices. Supported through the European Union's Innovative Medicines Initiative, the EQIPD consortium has developed a novel preclinical research quality system that can be applied in both public and private sectors and is free for anyone to use. The EQIPD Quality System was designed to be suited to boost innovation by ensuring the generation of robust and reliable preclinical data while being lean, effective and not becoming a burden that could negatively impact the freedom to explore scientific questions. EQIPD defines research quality as the extent to which research data are fit for their intended use. Fitness, in this context, is defined by the stakeholders, who are the scientists directly involved in the research, but also their funders, sponsors, publishers, research tool manufacturers, and collaboration partners such as peers in a multi-site research project. The essence of the EQIPD Quality System is the set of 18 core requirements that can be addressed flexibly, according to user-specific needs and following a user-defined trajectory. The EQIPD Quality System proposes guidance on expectations for quality-related measures, defines criteria for adequate processes (i.e. performance standards) and provides examples of how such measures can be developed and implemented. However, it does not prescribe any pre-determined solutions. EQIPD has also developed tools (for optional use) to support users in implementing the system and assessment services for those research units that successfully implement the quality system and seek formal accreditation. Building upon the feedback from users and continuous improvement, a sustainable EQIPD Quality System will ultimately serve the entire community of scientists conducting non-regulated preclinical research, by helping them generate reliable data that are fit for their intended use.

Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most important diseases in poultry worldwide and causes devastating losses to the poultry industry, while impacting food security in many regions of the world. The agency of humans has a central role in the spread of Newcastle disease virus (NDV), mainly through the movement of live birds, fomites, personnel, and poultry products from infected premises to susceptible birds. There are a large number of vaccines against ND available worldwide. Both live and inactivated vaccines are available. Live vaccines may be further divided into “traditionally attenuated” and “vector vaccines.” Cell-mediated immunity responses to NDV may be detected shortly after vaccination with a live NDV vaccine. There are many aspects to vaccine specification that should be considered in the context of the epidemiological situation where it will be used. Adverse reactions to ND vaccines may occur in both birds and humans under certain circumstances.

This study investigated the potential of Lemna minor to valorise agricultural wastewater in protein-rich feed material in order to meet the growing demand for animal feed protein and reduce the excess of nutrients in certain European regions. For this purpose, three pilot-scale systems were monitored for 175 days under outdoor conditions in Flanders. The systems were fed with the effluent of aquaculture (pikeperch production—PP), a mixture of diluted pig manure wastewater (PM), and a synthetic medium (SM). PM showed the highest productivity (6.1 ± 2.5 g DW m−2 d−1) and N uptake (327 ± 107 mg N m−2 d−1). PP yielded a similar productivity and both wastewaters resulted in higher productivities than SM. Furthermore, all media showed similar P uptake rates (65–70 P m−2 d−1). Finally, duckweed had a beneficial amino acid composition for humans (essential amino acid index = 1.1), broilers and pigs. This study also showed that the growing medium had more influence on the productivity of duckweed than on its amino acid composition or protein content, with the latter being only slightly affected by the different media studied. Overall, these results demonstrate that duckweed can effectively remove nutrients from agriculture wastewaters while producing quality protein.

Simple SummaryIn dairy cows, the management of the dry period should optimize milk production and limit impact on metabolic health. In early lactation, there is little information on the effect of the dry-period diet composition on the production and composition of milk and the blood metabolites. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different dry-period diets on the blood metabolites of dairy cows during the peripartum period and the milk yield and fatty acid profile at onset of lactation. This study showed that different dry-period diets can be used without impact on milk production and composition when these diets cover the needs of dairy cows. However, blood metabolites were more sensitive to the diet offered during the dry period. In early lactation, a dry-period diet based on corn and grass silages allowed a smooth transition with better rumen and liver function parameters.The objective of this work was to observe the effect of three different dry-period diets on blood metabolites (p = 9) and the production and fatty acid (FA) profile of milk (p = 19) in the peripartum period. In this study, 32 Holstein dairy cows, during their dry period, were divided in 3 different diet groups, as follows: the CONC diet (n = 11) was based on concentrate meal and straw, the CORN diet (n = 11) was based on corn silage, and the MIXED diet (n = 10) was based on corn and grass silages. According to our results, the variations of C18:2n-6, C18:3n-3, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), NEFA/cholesterol ratio, and albumin were significantly (p < 0.05) different, according to the dry diet. The dry-period diet also had a significant effect on the concentrations of urea and vitamin B12 in the blood. In early lactation, this work showed that blood metabolites were more sensitive to changes in the dry diet than the production and FA profile of milk.

An efficient 2-furyl gold–carbene promoted synthetic method was developed for the formation of dihydroquinazolinones from enynones by dual insertion of anthranilamides. In this organic transformation a new C–O and two C–N bond formations occurred and dihydroquinazolinones were obtained with a quaternary centre in moderate to very good yields in one-pot synthesis.

Development and optimization of nutrient recovery technologies for agricultural waste is on the rise. The full scale adoption of these technologies is however hindered by complex legal aspects that result from lack of science-based knowledge on characterization and fertilizer performance of recovered end-products. Ammonium sulfate (AS) and ammonium nitrate (AN), end-products of (stripping-)scrubbing technology, are currently listed by the European Commission as high priority products with the potential of replacing synthetic N fertilizers. The legal acceptance of AS and AN will be highly dependent on critical mass of scientific evidence.This study describes four different (stripping-)scrubbing pathways to recover ammonia with an aim to (i) assess product characteristics of ammonium nitrate (AN) and ammonium sulfate (AS) produced from different installations, (ii) evaluate fertilizer performance of recovered end-products in greenhouse (Lactuca sativa L.) and full field (Zea mays L.) scale settings and (iii) compare the observed performances with other published studies. Results have indicated that the recovered products might have a different legal status, as either mineral N fertilizer or yet as animal manure, depending on the used (stripping-)scrubbing process pathway. Nevertheless, no significant differences in respect to product characterization and fertilizer performance of AN and AS have been identified in this study as compared to the conventional use of synthetic N fertilizers. This indicates that recovered AS and AN are valuable N sources and therefore might be used as N fertilizers in crop cultivation.