Hopp til hovedinnholdet

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

To document

Abstract

The objective of SCANGREEN 2019-22 was to find species, varieties and seed blends/mixtures of Agrostis, Festuca, Poa and Lolium that are suited for pesticide-free management of putting greens in the two major climatic zones of the Nordic countries and in the northern USA. The four test sites in the Nordic countries were Reykjavik GC, Iceland and NIBIO Apelsvoll in the the northern zone, and NIBIO Landvik, Norway and Smørum GC, Denmark in the southern zone. The two US test sites were located at Troll Turfgrass Research Facility in Massachusetts and at University of Minnesota. The trials included 30 candidate varieties representing eight different species and subspecies from 13 different seed companies/representatives, and three seed mixtures of red fescue and colonial and creeping bentgrass, a seed mixture of creeping bentgrass and perennial ryegrass and a seed blend of red fescue. Monthly evaluations of overall impression, tiller density, winter hardiness, disease and weed coverage etc., were done from three weeks after sowing in June-September 2019 until October 2022. The trial at Smørum GC was established in May 2021. The trials were established according to a split-plot design with three blocks (replicates), species on main plots and varieties on subplots. The experimental greens were mown three times per week – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and deficit-irrigated to 80% of field capacity three to four times per week in periods without sufficient natural rainfall. Fertilizer (mean N–P–K ratio, 100–22–74) was given as completely balanced compound fertilizers every second week. Each experimental green was divided in different management levels: High and low fertilizer rate and high and low mowing. The two fertilizer rates were 10 and 17 g N m−2 yr−1 and the two mowing heights were 3 and 5 mm. Mixtures were managed at both regimes. There was no use of pesticides or plant growth regulators in any of the trials.

2022

To document

Abstract

Tomato greenhouses at high latitudes (≥58°North) require supplemental light to enable high yields and year-round production. Supplemental light systems can differ in lamp type, high-pressure sodium (HPS) or light emitting diode (LED), and also vary in lamp capacity. Based on a combined greenhouse climate, tomato yield, and greenhouse economics model, a methodology was developed, for determining the optimal supplemental light system, dependent on local climate and economic conditions. Two optimisation objectives were considered separately, maximal energy use efficiency (EUE) and maximal net financial result (NFR). The developed methodology was applied to four different greenhouse locations in Norway. At each location, both optimisation objectives were reached with LEDs. The optimal lamp capacities range from 256 to 341 μmol m−2 s−1 (maximal EUE) and 302–323 μmol m−2 s−1 (maximal NFR). The economically optimal lamp capacity is little sensitive to climate conditions. At the lamp type respective NFR maxima, LEDs resulted, on average, in 10% higher tomato yield, 102.2 NOK m−2 year−1 higher NFR, and 35% higher EUE. Consequently, switching from HPS lamps to LEDs enables increasing productivity, energy efficiency and profitability of greenhouse tomato production. Furthermore, the difference between EUE and NFR optima was, on average, 24% lower in terms of EUE and 56% lower in terms of NFR, when using LEDs instead of HPS lamps. On farm-scale, the proposed methodology can be used as decision-support-tool for selecting an efficient and profitable supplemental light system for greenhouse tomato production, dependent on local climate and economic conditions.

Abstract

Environmental conditions during plant raising determine the yield potential of everbearing strawberries. We studied the effect of three rooting dates in the cultivars ‘Favori’ and ‘Murano’ in a greenhouse with 18 ℃ and 20-h long day and under outdoor conditions in Norway. The highest yield of 1.350 g/plant was obtained in ‘Favori’ plants rooted on 1 August and raised outdoors, being at level with ‘Favori’ plants produced in The Netherlands. High yields were mainly related to fruit size and less to fruit number, and determined by a complex three-factor interaction of rooting date, raising environment, and cultivar. The seasonal pattern of fruit flushes and off periods varied significantly between cultivars and treatments. The large first flush of high yielding ‘Favori’ plants was associated with a long off period, while the small first flush in ‘Murano’ resulted in a more even crop distribution. Earliness of ripening and berry harvest was superior in ‘Favori’, which had a larger share of its crop during the first half-season. We conclude that it is possible by choosing the right rooting date and raising environment to produce plants with the same high quality and yield potential under the cool Nordic conditions as those currently produced in Central Europe.

To document

Abstract

Cuticle is the first layer protecting plants against external biotic and abiotic factors and is responsive to climatic factors as well as determined by genetic adaptations. In this study, the chemical composition of bilberry fruit cuticular wax was investigated through a latitudinal gradient from Latvia (56°N 24°E) through Finland (65°N 25°E) to northern Norway (69°N 18°E) in two seasons 2018 and 2019. Changes in the major cuticular wax compounds, including triterpenoids, fatty acids, alkanes, aldehydes, ketones, and primary alcohols, were detected by GC-MS analysis. Generally, a decreasing trend in the proportion of triterpenoids from southern to northern latitudes, accompanied with an increase in proportion of fatty acids, aldehydes, and alkanes, in bilberry fruit cuticular wax was observed. A correlation analysis between climatic factors with proportion of wax compounds indicated that temperature was the main factor affecting the cuticular wax composition in bilberries. A controlled phytotron experiment with southern and northern bilberry ecotypes confirmed the major effect of temperature on bilberry fruit cuticular wax load and composition. Elevated temperature increased wax load most in berries of northern ecotypes. The level of triterpenoids was higher, while levels of fatty acids and alkanes were lower, in wax of bilberry fruits ripened at 18°C compared to 12°C in both northern and southern ecotypes. Based on our results, it can be postulated that the predicted increase in temperature due to climate change leads to alterations in fruit cuticular wax load and composition. In northern ecotypes, the alterations were especially evident.

To document

Abstract

The morphogenetic changes of the bud meristem during floral initiation in gooseberry were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Six floral stages, similar to those reported for black currants, were identified. We also studied the environmental control of shoot growth and floral initiation of cvs. Mucurines, Pax and Xenia in two experiments in daylight phytotron compartments at 12, 18 and 24°C. Under natural daylength conditions at Ås, Norway (69°40’N), shoot growth started to decline by mid-August and ceased in early September. Cessation of growth was associated with floral initiation at 18 and 12°C, while at 24°C, only ‘Mucurines’ initiated floral primordia. Floral Stage 2 was reached by 3 September in ‘Mucurines’ and ‘Xenia’ at 18 and 12°C and nearly 2 weeks later in ‘Pax’. In a second experiment with controlled photoperiods, all cultivars ceased growing and initiated flowering in 10-h SD within 2–3 weeks, while in 20-h LD, growth continued for 8 weeks without floral initiation. Under 10-h SD conditions, all cultivars initiated flowers also at 24°C. Flowering performance in the following spring verified these results. We conclude that gooseberry is an obligatory SD plant with a critical photoperiod of 15–16 h.