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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.

2023

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Abstract

The aim of the project is to evaluate and assess measures in lawn care management and at the same time to combine new techniques and alternative products to control diseases such as snow mold (Microdochium nivale) and dollar spots (Sclerotinia homoeocarpa) without or with a greatly reduced use of pesticides. Therefore, the lawn research group of the NIBIO (Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research) started a project on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) with a focus on the most important fungal diseases and insect pests on golf turf. The project is supported by STERF (Scandinavian Turf and Environmental Research Foundation) and the R&A (The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews) as main sponsors, as well as by the German Golf Association, the Netherlands Golf Federation sponsor, the Botaniska Analysgruppen Sweden and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. The current project aims is to develop new findings with regard to the increasing challenges in dealing with the above-mentioned pests. The two questions to check are: (1) the effectiveness of the “rolling” of greens (dollar spot treatment) and the effectivity of UV-C exposure (snow mold prevention). For this reason, two different attempts were made on a putting green at the golf course Osnabrueck (Bissendorf-Jeggen).

Abstract

Increasing the protein value in grass silages for dairy cows is of interest to increase use of homegrown protein sources and reduce nitrogen (N) losses to the environment. Studies have shown that wilting of grass silage can improve the metabolizable protein (MP) value by increasing the rumen microbial protein yield (MCP) and rumen escaped feed protein. We hypothesised that feeding wilted grass silage can improve milk and milk protein production in dairy cows and reduce the need for MP, estimated as amino acids absorbed in the small intestine (AAT), in concentrate. To test this, a continuous feeding experiment with 48 early to mid-lactation Norwegian Red dairy cows, kept in a loose housing system was conducted. Treatments were first cut grass silages from round bales, harvested at early booting from a sward of timothy (Phleum pratense), perennial rye grass (Lolium perenne) and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis), wilted to 260 and 417 g dry matter (DM)/kg fresh matter. The grass silage was fed ad libitum and supplied with 8.3 kg/d of concentrate, either low (108 g AAT/kg DM) or high (125 g AAT/kg DM) in MP concentration, in a 2×2 factorial arrangement. The experiment lasted for 11 weeks, with the 2 first weeks, where cows received same feeding, used as covariate, and the last 4 weeks were used as data collection period. Wilting reduced fermentation products, ammonia and soluble N in the grass silage, while increased residual water-soluble carbohydrates, like expected. However, there was no difference between treatments in daily silage DM intake (13.1 kg) and milk yield (30.2 kg) or milk content, but feeding high MP concentrate increased urea and uric acid in urine. No major differences were found for rumen pH, amino acids in blood plasma or purine derivatives over creatinine index, as indirect estimate for MCP. In conclusion, high silage DM and high MP in concentrate did not increase the milk production in this study.

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Abstract

Wastewater (WW) has been identified as a major hotspot of microbial emerging contaminants (MECs), such as antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Currently used WW treatment methods cannot efficiently eliminate these pollutants, resulting in passive contamination of adjacent environments receiving undertreated discharge. More effective WW treatment strategies are therefore urgently required. In this study, newly developed and well-characterised semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) hydrogels derived from the valorisation of marine wastes (e.g., shrimp shells) were investigated for their ARG removal potential. The results indicated that multiple ARGs prevalent in WW, such as ermB, qrnS, sul1 and tetO, were removed by up to 100% after being treated by novel hydrogels. In terms of horizontal gene transfer-associated genetic elements, such as integron-1 intl1, transposons tnpA1 (IS4 group) and tnpA2 (IS6 group), substantial reduction approaching 99.9% was also achieved. Moreover, up to 97% of efflux pump-associated qacE∆1 conferring multidrug resistance (MR) was successfully attenuated. To conclude, the semi-INP hydrogels developed exhibited great potential for ARG mitigation towards strengthening WW decontamination, which provides a viable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly novel treatment approach.

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Abstract

Drought-induced mortality is a major direct effect of climate change on tree health, but drought can also affect trees indirectly by altering their susceptibility to pathogens. Here, we report how a combination of mild or severe drought and pathogen infection affected the growth, pathogen resistance and gene expression in potted 5-year-old Norway spruce trees [Picea abies (L.) Karst.]. After 5 weeks of drought, trees were inoculated with the fungal pathogen Endoconidiophora polonica. Combined drought–pathogen stress over the next 8 weeks led to significant reductions in the growth of drought-treated trees relative to well-watered trees and more so in trees subjected to severe drought. Belowground, growth of the smallest fine roots was most affected. Aboveground, shoot diameter change was most sensitive to the combined stress, followed by shoot length growth and twig biomass. Both drought-related and some resistance-related genes were upregulated in bark samples collected after 5 weeks of drought (but before pathogen infection), and gene expression levels scaled with the intensity of drought stress. Trees subjected to severe drought were much more susceptible to pathogen infection than well-watered trees or trees subjected to mild drought. Overall, our results show that mild drought stress may increase the tree resistance to pathogen infection by upregulating resistance-related genes. Severe drought stress, on the other hand, decreased tree resistance. Because drought episodes are expected to become more frequent with climate change, combined effects of drought and pathogen stress should be studied in more detail to understand how these stressors interactively influence tree susceptibility to pests and pathogens.

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This study compared animal performance and enteric methane (CH4) emissions from dairy cows in a part-time grazing (PTG) system in northern Sweden. Twenty-four Nordic Red dairy cows were allocated to one of two treatments: DAY (10 h daytime pasture access) or NIGHT (12 h night-time pasture access). The cows in each treatment received the same ad libitum partial mixed ration (PMR) indoors and ad libitum herbage allowance. Methane was recorded using two linked GreenFeedTM emissions monitoring (GEM) units, on pasture and indoors. Day or night grazing showed no statistical differences in estimated grass or PMR intake, milk production or daily enteric CH4 emissions. There was a rapid decrease in diurnal CH4 emissions (28%) when the cows were moved from indoors to pasture in both grazing treatments. Using two GEM units (indoor, outdoor) in combination improved the diurnal assessment of enteric CH4 emissions during PTG conditions in the mixed feeding system.

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Abstract

Lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) have received much positive attention due to their exotic taste and high phenolic content. These small red fruits grow across Norway, a country with large variations in abiotic and biotic growth conditions. The large variations in abiotic and biotic growth conditions have potential to influence quality and availability of lingonberries. A three-year study (2019-2021) with 64 field plots across Norway have therefore been set up, with the aim of studying the effect of climate and growth conditions on lingonberries. Here, anthocyanin content in berries from the first growth season is presented. Eight locations across Norway (58 to 69°N) with supposed high production potential of lingonberries were selected. Within each location, eight stands (250 m2) with different biotic conditions were chosen. Berries from each sector were lyophilised and extracted with 70% methanol. Phenolic compounds were analysed by HPLC-DAD-MSn, with quantification of anthocyanin at 520 nm and MS used for identification. The three major anthocyanins in Norwegian lingonberries were cyanidin-3-galactoside (69-90%), -arabinoside (6-23%) and 
-glucoside (2-10%). Additionally, small quantities of three other cyanidin glycosides were preliminarily identified. The total content of anthocyanins in lingonberries ranged from approximately 320 to 790 mg 100 g‑1 dw. There appears to be a variation in anthocyanin concentration linked to latitude. However, as the variation was as large within the stands of each location as they were between the locations, different growth factors would also play key parts in synthesis of anthocyanins in lingonberries. Results from analysis of berries collected in 2020 and 2021 are necessary to have the basis to draw a conclusion on how biotic and abiotic factors influence anthocyanin content of lingonberries.

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Abstract

A continuous production experiment was conducted in Norway with 48 Norwegian Red dairy cows in early- to mid-lactation, to investigate the effect of grass silage with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) or formic acid (FA) additives, on milk yield (MY) and milk protein yield (MPY). Grass wilted to 250 g dry matter (DM)/kg was inoculated with homofermentative LAB to obtain LAB silage, whilst FA silage was produced adding a FA-based additive. The two silages were fed ad libitum and supplemented with an average 10.3 kg of either high (H) or low (L) metabolizable protein (MP) concentrates, in a 2 ✗ 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. The treatments were LAB silage and L concentrate, LAB silage and H concentrate, FA silage and L concentrate and FA silage and H concentrate. The use of FA resulted in lower levels of residual water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), and higher levels of ammonia nitrogen (NH3single bondN), compared to LAB. In situ results for FA silage showed lower rumen degradability of crude protein (CP), while gas in vitro results showed lower utilizable CP (uCP), compared to LAB silage (782 vs. 750 g/kg DM and 128 vs. 119 g/kg DM, respectively). The purine over creatinine (PDC) index did not indicate any effects on the microbial protein synthesis (MPS) from any of the treatments. The higher daily intake of FA silage (12.5 vs.13.7 kg DM for LAB and FA, respectively, P < 0.001), did not result in significant differences in daily MY (31.0 vs. 30.2 kg, P = 0.208), nor MPY (1.08 vs.1.07 kg/day, P = 0.878) for LAB and FA, respectively. Feeding H concentrate gave higher MPY (P = 0.036), higher urea in milk (P < 0.001), plasma (P < 0.001) and urine (P = 0.008) and tended to give higher MY (P = 0.063) for both silages. For amino acids (AA) in plasma, alanine was higher for FA silage than for LAB silage (P = 0.030), while histidine (P = 0.001), leucine (P = 0.015) and glutamine (P = 0.007) were higher for both silages when cows were fed H concentrate. In conclusion, the FA and LAB additives did not affect MY or MPY any differently. Feeding H concentrate resulted in higher MPY for both silages, but reduced nitrogen (N) efficiency.