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A study conducted by Agroscope's Swiss National Stud Farm (SNSF) in collaboration with the University of Neuchâtel refuted the assumption that cribbing horses perform less well in complicated learning situations than other horses. All horses in the study were able to recognise symbols as well as solve inverse conclusion exercises, which are difficult for horses.

Bern, 30. Agroscope, the Swiss federal centre of excellence for agricultural research, is launching the first multiresistant white grape variety, Divona. The fruit of twenty years of research, Divona is resistant to fungal diseases, and well-suited for the production of high-quality wines - two characteristics that make it a popular variety for viticulture and winemaking.

Bern, 10. Do you remember what and how much you ate three days ago? This question, which people often struggle to answer accurately, must be addressed by researchers studying the influence of diet on our health. Agroscope has recently identified molecules indicative of dairy and soy product consumption in the blood and urine samples of volunteers taking part in nutritional studies.

Zurich-Reckenholz, 14. Agroscope researchers investigated the risks and environmental impacts of plant-protection products (PPPs) in Switzerland's main agricultural crops. They found that a targeted selection of active substances and systematic adherence to the principles of integrated plant protection can significantly reduce the risks and undesirable environmental impacts of PPPs.

Zurich-Reckenholz, 05. In June of this year, the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) was detected for the first time in Switzerland, in the canton of Ticino. Considered to be a quarantine pest, it is subject to obligatory control. Agroscope researchers are testing whether this quarantine pest can be controlled with fungi that are effective against May and June beetles.

Bern, 06. Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies are complex societies, in which work is not distributed by a central power. How tasks are allocated among workers is still poorly understood. A research team from the Swiss Bee Research Center at Agroscope and the Institute of Bee Health at the University of Bern (both Switzerland), discovered that young adults influence this process by promoting older individuals to perform duties outside the hive, which shortens their life expectancy.