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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.

2009

Sammendrag

Control of dock species are a true bottleneck in the development of grassland based organic forage production in Norway. Rumex obtusifolius, Rumex crispus and Rumex longifolius are among the most important perennial weeds in grassland areas throughout the world. These dock- species are undesired in grasslands because they decrease yields and reduce forage feeding value. The experiment in our study is carried out as a full-factorial design, including key-factors, which may influence dock behaviour significantly. The first factor, (i) date of grassland establishment, may be important for preventing /decreasing the flush of seedlings from seeds as well as shoots from root fragments. The purpose of the second factor, (ii) black fallow, is both false seedbed preparation and decreasing food reserves in underground plant parts. The third factor, (iii) is the use of equipment for cutting the taproot either (a) before ploughing by using a tractor propelled rotovator, or (b) cutting the dock taproot in the same operation as ploughing by using a prototype ¿two layer dockplough¿. The biological background for cutting the taproot before ploughing is that many studies have shown that new shoots only come from the 5 upper cm of the taproot. Furthermore, our hypothesis is that shoots from highly fragmented regenerative parts (the neck) of the taproot placed deep will not reach the soil surface before their reserves are depleted. Experiments were carried out at 3 and 4 locations in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Weed development were assessed as number of emerging seedlings as well as number of sprouting plants from root fragments, both in the year when the treatments were carried out and the following year. The results are yet not completely analyzed, but preliminary results indicate that plants from seeds frequently are more numerous than plants from roots. At least at some locations and years both the use of rotovator and the ¿dock plough¿, has reduced the number of plants from root fragments with approx. 50%. However, our experiments have shown that ¿dock plough¿ prototype has to be improved, especially because it did not cut the taproot near the open furrow, and did not bury the green parts well enough.

Sammendrag

Continuous light is a promising method to reduce the problems with rose powderymildew in greenhouse rose production. The effects of such a light regime on the performance of insect pests on roses have so far not been investigated. In the present study, survival, developmental time, and reproduction during one generation of the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), were characterized on roses, Rosa x hybrida cv. Passion, grown in climate chambers with long-day conditions (L20:D4) or continuous light (L24:D0) at 21 oC and fluctuating relative humidity (mean 74%, range 47–96%). Whiteflies reared under continuous light had lower immature survival and fecundity and shorter female longevity than whiteflies reared under long-day conditions, but immature developmental time was only slightly affected. Life-table analysis showed that the net reproductive rate (Ro) and intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm) were reduced by 85 and 76%, respectively, and the time for the population to double its size (D) was 4.2 times longer under continuous light. Thismean that the whitefly population growth under continuous light was strongly reduced compared with the traditional light regime used in rose production.

Sammendrag

In this study we aimed at understanding the mechanisms that affects an epidemic development of Neozygites floridana in a Tetranychus urticae population. This was done by comparing how many spores a cadaver infected with a N. floridana isolate could produce and at what distance and in which directions they could be thrown on a coverslip at temperatures relevant to the northern hemisphere (13, 18 and 23oC). The highest number of spores were produced at 13oC at a number of 1886. Numbers of spores thrown at 18oC and 23oC were 1733 and 1302 respectively. Temperature had a significant effect on sporulation. Most of the spores were thrown at a distance of 0-0.6 mm from the cadaver. Cadavers placed on the underside of a coverslip were able to throw spores back up on the coverslip surface. A whole plant bioassay was also conducted to reveal where on a plant T. urticae infected with N. floridana die and sporulate. Cadavers showed a different verical distribution on the cucumber plant compared to healthy spider mites. Most of the cadavers were located at the lower to the middle part of the plant, while healthy spider mites were more evenly distributed on the whole plant.

Sammendrag

Neozygites floridana is a fungus in the order Entomophthorales that is a natural enemy of several spider mite species including the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae. When conditions are right, this fungus may cause epizootics in spider mite populations and kill high numbers of mites. The fungus is therefore promising for biological control of T. urticae in strawberry and can be used in combination with other pest management strategies. Our previous studies have shown that N. floridana is compatible with other biocontrol methods such as predatory mites. Phytoseiulus longipes fed on fungus-infected T. urticae laid equal number of eggs to those fed on healthy prey. This indicates that the fungus does not affect this predatory mite negatively. In a choice experiment (hosts with and without N. floridana), P. longipes fed indiscriminately irrespective of the presence of the fungus. The compatibility of biological control methods with pesticides is of great importance for an integrated pest management system to work well. Some acaricides and fungicides have the potential to affect both beneficial fungi and predatory mites and careful selection of pesticides that are not harmful to these beneficial organisms can promote their biocontrol potential. Our studies have shown that the fungicides captan, mancozeb, tolylfluanid, fenhexamid, cyprodinil + fludioxonil affect N. floridana in a way that may be detrimental to the biocontrol potential of this beneficial fungus in the field. Use of resistant varieties is also important in integrated pest management because pests are known to be more vulnerable to pathogens if they feed on poor or resistant plants and our studies on effects of host plants of spider mites confirms this.

Til dokument

Sammendrag

The relative effects of using light (2-3 Mg) versus heavier (5-7 Mg) tractors, shallow (15 cm) versus deeper (25 cm) ploughing and on-land versus in-furrow wheel placement during ploughing were investigated from 2003 to 2006 in organic rotations (wheat or barley, green manure, oats with peas) and conventionally fertilized barley. Trials were located on loam soil in south-eastern Norway and silty clay loam in central Norway. Ploughing was performed in spring, when the topsoil moisture content was at or below field capacity, using single furrow ploughs that allowed alternative wheel placement and resulted in complete coverage of the surface by wheels each year (ca. 3 times the normal coverage during ploughing). Low tyre inflation pressures (:<= 80 kPa) were used throughout. The use of a heavy tractor increased topsoil bulk density slightly in the loam soil, and, in combination with in-furrow wheeling, it reduced air-filled pore space and air permeability at 18-22 cm. On the silty clay loam, the use of a heavy tractor did not increase bulk density, but it reduced air-filled pore space throughout the topsoil. In-furrow wheeling reduced air-filled pore space in this soil also, compared to on-land wheeling. Penetration resistance was in this soil always greater at 15-25 cm depth after shallow than after deep ploughing, especially with in-furrow rather than on-land wheeling. Shallow ploughing led on both soils to marked increases in perennial weed biomass compared to deep ploughing. Earthworms were hardly affected by the treatments, but in the loam in 2006 a higher number of individuals were found where the light rather than the heavy tractor had been used. Few significant treatment effects were found on grain yield and quality. Deep ploughing with a light tractor gave the highest wheat yield and protein content in 2 years on the loam soil, and on the silty clay loam the yield of conventionally fertilized barley was higher after deep than after shallow ploughing. In summary, limited evidence was found to support the use of on-land rather than in-furrow wheeling when ploughing is performed at favourable soil moisture and with tractor weights < 5 Mg. There is, however, reason to be wary of using heavy tractors (> 5 Mg), even under such conditions. With regard to ploughing depth in organic rotations dominated by cereals, the need to combat perennial weeds by deep ploughing weighs probably more heavily than any possible beneficial effect of shallow ploughing on stimulating nutrient turnover. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.