Robodog on the go

A RATHER unusual dog has begun working in Spanish vineyards, although its owners will never have to worry about feeding it or taking it to the vet.

Agrhound is a four-legged robot being tested by Spain’s National Agri-Food Technology Centre to inspect vineyards and berry crops.

Its particular advantage is the ability to negotiate steep or uneven ground that can defeat conventional wheeled agricultural robots.

The machine uses cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence to examine crops and collect information that would otherwise require workers to walk through the paddocks.

Kiwi pigs put to work 

FRENCH winegrowers have discovered that pigs can be quite useful employees, provided they are the right sort of pigs.

In the Jura wine region, some growers are using Kunekune pigs, a small breed originating in New Zealand, to control weeds between vines.

The animals use their snouts to work through unwanted vegetation, reducing the need for mechanical cultivation or chemical weed control.

The pigs are reported to leave the grapes alone, which is obviously a considerable advantage when their workplace contains the makings of a valuable vintage.

It’s all bananas

THE world’s favourite supermarket banana has a problem. Almost every Cavendish banana is genetically very similar to the next, leaving the crop vulnerable to devastating diseases.

Now researchers working with banana company Chiquita and crop improvement business KeyGene say they have developed a fertile Cavendish line that could be crossed with other banana varieties.

That is significant because conventional Cavendish bananas are effectively sterile, making traditional breeding extremely difficult.

The new development could eventually help breeders produce bananas resistant to Tropical Race 4, a particularly destructive form of Panama disease.

Australian scientists have taken another approach, developing a genetically modified Cavendish with resistance to the disease.

Appetite for insects

FARMERS in Uganda are finding that insects can be more valuable alive than dead, at least until they are ready to be processed into animal feed.

Black soldier flies, crickets and mealworms are being raised by small-scale farmers and refugee communities as sources of protein for poultry and fish.

The insects can be grown in relatively confined spaces, while some species convert organic waste into useful animal feed.

Their waste, known as frass, can also be used as fertiliser.

About 500 people are participating in 32 insect-farming groups associated with the project.

It is an interesting agricultural proposition: produce protein from waste, use the protein to feed livestock and return the remaining nutrients to the soil.

Ewe better believe it

A FRENCH shepherd has developed an interesting business in which selling lamb is only a small part of the income.

Jérôme Tropini runs about 60 ewes near the coastal town of Fouras, where the animals are used to maintain grasslands and environmentally sensitive areas.

According to a recent report, meat sales account for only about 15 per cent of his income.

The remainder comes largely from managing vegetation, an increasingly valuable service in places where scrub and unwanted growth can become expensive problems.

Sometimes the most valuable thing a sheep can do is eat the grass.