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.
2019
Abstract
Cherries (Prunus avium L. and Prunus cerasus L.) are economically important fruit species in the temperate region. Both are entomophilous fruit species, thus need pollinators to give high yields. Since cherry’s flower is easy-to-reach, bees and other pollinators can smoothly collect nectar as a reward for doing transfer of pollen to receptive stigma. Nectar in cherry is usually attractive for insects, especially to honey bee (Apis melifera) who is the most common pollinator. Nectar is predominantly an aqueous solution of sugars, proteins, and free amino acids among which sugars are the most dominant. Trace amounts of lipids, organic acids, iridoid glycosides, minerals, vitamins, alkaloids, plant hormones, non-protein amino, terpenoids, glucosinolates, and cardenolides can be found in nectar too. Cherry flower may secrete nectar for 2–4 days and, depending on the cultivar, produces up to 10 mg nectar with sugar concentration from 28% to 55%. Detailed chemical analysis of cherry nectar described in this chapter is focused on sugar and phenolic profile in sour cherry. The most abounded sugars in cherry nectar was fructose, glucose, and sucrose, while arabinose, rhamnose, maltose, isomaltose, trehalose, gentiobiose, turanose, panose, melezitose, maltotriose, isomaltotriose, as well as the sugar alcohols glycerol, erythritol, arabitol, galactitol, and mannitol are present as minor constituents. Regarding polyphenolics, rutin was the most abundant phenolic compound followed by naringenin and chrysin. Cherry cultivars showed different chemical composition of nectar which implies that its content is cultivar dependent.
Abstract
Sweet cherry production worldwide is grown in the open land. Production technique is more or less similar with scions grafted on dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstock and trees arranged in single rows. Sweet cherries can be grown in Norway in areas with suitable local climatic conditions up to 60°N. All orchards have high-density planting systems and are rain covered. Rain-induced fruit cracking in cherries remains a problem at an international level. The most common systems in Norway are multibay high tunnel systems and retractable rain covers. Covered orchard tunnel systems offer not only the advantage of rain exclusion but also allow additional manipulation of the environment, tree growth and fruiting. In general, sweet cherry high tunnel production gives increased yields of larger fruit than in the open land, but investment costs are higher. One more advanced way of producing sweet cherries is to grow the trees in small pots in greenhouses. A greenhouse gives opportunity to control the temperature regime and in that way program the maturity of the fruits. Research is conducted to test different cultivars, rootstocks, training methods in high-density production systems (1 tree m-2) with different fertigation levels. Preliminary results show that the yield potential is much higher than in the open land with larger fruits. Challenges are to optimize the water and nutrition supply and adjust the temperatures to obtain large yields of high quality fruits during different periods of the season.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Green-sprouting potato seed tubers in light and elevated temperatures are vital for production in short-season climates. Using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to inhibit sprout elongation during pre-sprouting may represent an energy-efficient alternative to traditional indoor light sources. Sprout growth inhibition and some photomorphogenic responses were therefore examined in potato cultivars exposed to LEDs of different wavelength maxima and irradiance rates. Red LED (660 nm) produced the strongest inhibition of sprout elongation at very low irradiances 10–100 nmol m−2 s−1, while far-red LED (735 nm) produced the strongest inhibition at higher irradiances. This inhibitory pattern was similar in all cultivars, although the degree of inhibition varied. The colour of sprouts and tuber skin remained etiolated under far-red LED, in contrast to LEDs between 380 and 660 nm which developed green colour intensity in an irradiance-dependent manner. Mixtures of red and far-red light, and pulses including red/far-red reversals did not produce stronger inhibition, except in some instances where total fluence was increased. Furthermore, green-sprouting under different LED colours did not seem to affect subsequent emergence and growth after planting. The current results suggest an involvement of multiple phytochromes in de-etiolation and sprout growth inhibition in seed potato tubers, which may be selectively utilised in LED-based green-sprouting in red and far-red wavelengths.
Authors
Francisco Javier Ancin Murguzur Gregory Taff Corine Davids Hans Tømmervik Jørgen A.B. Mølmann Marit JørgensenAbstract
Ruminant fodder production in agricultural lands in latitudes above the Arctic Circle is constrained by short and hectic growing seasons with a 24-hour photoperiod and low growth temperatures. The use of remote sensing to measure crop production at high latitudes is hindered by intrinsic challenges, such as a low sun elevation angle and a coastal climate with high humidity, which influences the spectral signatures of the sampled vegetation. We used a portable spectrometer (ASD FieldSpec 3) to assess spectra of grass crops and found that when applying multivariate models to the hyperspectral datasets, results show significant predictability of yields (R2 > 0.55, root mean squared error (RMSE) < 180), even when captured under sub-optimal conditions. These results are consistent both in the full spectral range of the spectrometer (350–2500 nm) and in the 350–900 nm spectral range, which is a region more robust against air moisture. Sentinel-2A simulations resulted in moderately robust models that could be used in qualitative assessments of field productivity. In addition, simulation of the upcoming hyperspectral EnMap satellite bands showed its potential applicability to measure yields in northern latitudes both in the full spectral range of the satellite (420–2450 nm) with similar performance as the Sentinel-2A satellite and in the 420–900 nm range with a comparable reliability to the portable spectrometer. The combination of EnMap and Sentinel-2A to detect fields with low productivity and portable spectrometers to identify the fields or specific regions of fields with the lowest production can help optimize the management of fodder production in high latitudes.
Authors
Mette Thomsen Trude Wicklund Rune Andreassen Peter Martin Hilde Halland Magnus Göransson Morten Rasmussen Olafur ReykdalAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
In organic plant production, nitrogen (N) availability is often a growth-limiting factor. Under such conditions, off-farm waste-derived nutrient resources may be an alternative to meet the N demand. In this study, we described a production method for a shrimp shell (SS) pellet Product and evaluated the N fertiliser effect and N recovery efficiency (NRE) in a controlled climate pot experiment with potatoes. The experiment was set up with low, medium and high N levels of SS pellets in comparison with a standard mineral fertiliser (MF) at 9°C, 15°C and 21°C. In a separate study, we examined the loss of N as N2O from SS pellets in comparison with SS powder in a 100 days incubation experiment. The results documented the possibility to formulate a fertiliser pellet product from SS, and that SS pellets were an effective N fertiliser in potato at all Growth temperatures. Nevertheless, a slightly slower development and lower tuber yields than for MF indicated a delayed N-availability from SS pellet fertiliser. NRE after use of MF was around 90%, and about 70% for the different levels of SS pellets. The incubation experiment showed a higher rate of available N for SS powder than for pellets (67% and 39%, respectively) after 100 days of incubation at constant humidity and temperature. This difference was attributed to a lower degree of dissolved materials and a higher rate of denitrification and N2O emissions for pellets than for powder, probably caused by differences in physical properties, occurrence of anoxic hotspots and higher microbial activity around and inside the SS pellets.