Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2026
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Sustainable intensification technologies (SITs) are widely promoted across sub-Saharan Africa to improve productivity and reduce land degradation. However, their relationship with land use efficiency remains insufficiently understood. This study uses a translog stochastic frontier model and farm-level data from 372 smallholder maize farmers in northern Ghana to examine how SIT adoption is associated with technical land use efficiency (TLUE). On average, SIT adopters are 21% more land efficient than non-adopters, requiring approximately 24% less land to achieve the same output. Since land is treated as a fixed input in the frontier, the TLUE score directly reflects the effective land needed to produce observed yields. Adoption of improved seed, balanced fertilizer use, and agroecological practices is linked to better resource use, with the largest gains among farmers who initially operate furthest from the frontier. These efficiency improvements may reduce pressure for cropland expansion and support sustainable land management, especially when combined with enabling conditions such as credit access, extension support, and secure tenure. This study provides novel empirical evidence on how productivity improvements through SIT can enhance land use efficiency and contribute to land sparing outcomes. The findings offer insights for policies targeting land degradation neutrality and inclusive agricultural transformation in Ghana and similar contexts.
Authors
Gabriela WagnerAbstract
A talk about biological clocks to celebrate soldag in Tromsø
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Therese With BergeAbstract
Presentasjon på oppstartsmøte 13.2.2026
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The study presents the results of nine years of field observations of ascospore release of Venturia inaequalis in the Skierniewice area in central Poland. In total, spores were trapped 221 times during 2005–2008 and 2010– 2014. Of these, 142 episodes lasted for less than 8 hours, 69 lasted from 8 to 29 hours, and 10 episodes lasted from 30 to 93 hours. Spore releases started in spring from 25 March to 28 April and ended from 27 May to 17 June, and the season for ascospore release lasted from 43 to 76 days, with an average of 58 days. During 139 ascospore releases, less than 1 000 spores per cubic meter of air were collected and during 25 discharges more than 10 000 spores were trapped. Releases of ascospores were highly related to rainfall and daylight. Two-thirds (67%) of the spores were trapped during rain. Only 12% of the discharges occurred without any registered rain, accounting for 7% of all trapped spores. Nearly three fourth (73%) of all ascospore release hours occurred in daylight, and 91% of the spores were trapped in daytime. Rainy nights with constant leaf wetness were observed, during which no spore releases occurred despite the rainfall. Ascospore releases were also less prominent at the beginning and end of the season and after weak rains. Rain was most effective as the trigger of discharges at temperature between 5 and 13 °C and when global radiation coinciding with rainfall was below 700 W/m2. In conclusion, the study confirms the dominant role of daytime rainfall in the release of ascospores by Venturia inaequalis.
Authors
Cornelya KlutschAbstract
A presentation on environmental monitoring and research in the border regions of Norway, Finland, and Russia
Abstract
Disease symptoms, sources of inoculum, and patterns of spore release of Mycosphaerella ribis, the cause of Mycosphaerella leaf spot, were studied over three years in an organic blackcurrant planting receiving no fungicide applications. In addition to typical foliar symptoms, also fruit lesions were observed on the cultivars included in the study. Ascospores from leaf litter on the ground were trapped from bud break in April to mid-to-late July, but 99% were released by one month before. Conidia formed in old fruit cluster stalks overwintering on the blackcurrant shrubs were present from bud break to early August, but 99% were trapped from late May to mid-July. Conidia were found in leaf litter but were never captured in the spore trap, and ascospores were observed in old fruit cluster stalks. Degree-day models (base = 0˚C) were used to estimate the proportion of mature spores. Extended periods of dry conditions slowed spore maturation in the field. Models halting degree-day accumulation after 4 or 7 days with no rain (< 0.2 mm) or leaf wetness of < 12 h per day, gave the best performance for release of conidia or ascospores, respectively, if validated by data from controlled conditions in the laboratory. Ascospore release was suppressed during night, and if rain and wetness started during night and continued the following day, very few spores were released before sunrise. The present investigation provides new information that may be used when planning sanitary measures to reduce primary inoculum and predict spore release patterns for Mycosphaerella leaf spot.
Authors
Jennifer Duringer Gene Pirelli Nicole Anderson Carolyn YoungAbstract
Many varieties of tall fescue and perennial ryegrass are infected with a fungal endophyte that can be toxic to livestock. Learn how they affect livestock and how to provide safe forage.