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.
2011
Authors
Merete Wiken Dees Arild Sletten Ricardo Holgado Eldrid Lein Molteberg Tor J. Johansen May Bente Brurberg Vinh Hong Le Ragnhild Nærstad Arne HermansenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
May Bente Brurberg Abdelhameed Elameen Vinh Hong Le Ragnhild Nærstad Arne Hermansen Ari Lehtinen Asko Hannukkala Bent Nielsen Jens Hansen Björn Andersson Jonathan YuenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
A rapid increase in the frequency of Dutch elm disease (DED), a wilting disease of elm trees caused by bark-beetle vectored fungi, was observed in the early 1990s on several wych elm stands around Oslofjord, southern Norway. To examine the current status of the disease and its impacts on elm population, disease frequency and size distribution of elms were recorded at four locations. Northern parts of Lier, a municipality most affected by DED in Norway 15 years ago, showed in the survey season 4% disease frequency, whereas 13.8% of trees were dead, the dead trees having accumulated over several years in the unmanaged stands. In southern parts of the municipality the mean disease and death percentages were 1.9 and 2.4%. Compatible with their low disease incidence in early 1990s, the other two areas now examined, municipality of Larvik and district of Grenland, showed comparably low frequency of DED. Northern part of Lier showed significantly higher overall density of elm trees per hectare than the other examined areas, and also the small elms below 5 cm in d.b.h. were most frequent in this region. In contrast, the density of large trees was lower in northern Lier than in the other examined areas. These data suggest that regeneration of the tree is not prohibited owing to the disease but that the large trees have been locally reduced in frequency as a result of DED. The superior general density of elm trees in northern Lier, owing to the exceptionally rich soil in the warm southern slopes of the region,> may have contributed to the rapid increase of DED in the area 15 years ago and to the subsequent settlement of the disease outbreak as a chronic stage.
Abstract
Molecular methods are emerging also as useful tools for wood protection studies. The aim of the present study was to evaluate quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) as a tool for investigating details of the colonization pattern of basidiomycete decay fungi in wood samples after 6 years of soil exposure. Samples of Pinus sylvestris L. (heartwood without treatment), furfurylated P. sylvestris sapwood and Cu-HDO treated P. sylvestris sapwood was in focus. The qPCR method based on basidiomycete DNA content in the wood had the highest sensitivity, while the ergosterol assay was more sensitive than the chitin assay. Visual rating was compared with laboratory analyses and was found to be correlating well with qPCR. This study demonstrates that qPCR in combination with microscopy provides relevant data about basidiomycete colonization in wooden material.
Abstract
Logging residues, branches and treetops after logging, were considered in the past as unsalable portions of the felled trees and remained on the landing. Currently, logging residues are harvested, stored in piles for variable time periods prior to being utilized as a bioenergy source. However, it is still unclear to what extent the colonization by decay fungi during outdoor storage impairs the fuel quality. Our objective was to find out whether the storage method influenced the amount of basidiomycetous fungi, the main wood degraders in logging residues....
Abstract
This study is a part of a larger project designed to find out the causes of top dieback symptoms in Norway spruce in SE Norway. Because sapwood tracheids constitute a water transport system while parenchyma serves as a reserve tissue (Sellin, 1991), the separation and quantification of the sapwood and heartwood may contribute to understanding of the healthy tree functioning. As the extent of sapwood is related to tree vitality, it reflects the tree growth, health and effect of environmental factors (Sandberg & Sterley, 2009). Therefore, the sapwood cross-sectional area is widely used as a biometric parameter indicating the tree vitality, although its estimation and evaluation is prone to scaling errors....
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
2010
Abstract
In Norway, Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana) and subalpine fir (A. lasiocarpa) are the dominant Christmas tree species, and noble fir (A. procera) the dominant bough plant species. To determine if fungi found to cause diseases on fir in Norway might be seed borne, samples from twelve seed lots, including Nordmann fir from Austria, Georgia and Russia, subalpine fir from Canada and Norway and noble fir from Norway were tested using agar plate methods (PDA and WA). The most important finding was that Sydowia polyspora was present on seed from all firs from all countries (nine samples infected, 0.5 - 85 % infected seeds). Recently, it has been demonstrated in Norway that this fungus is the cause of current season needle necrosis (CSNN), which is considered a major disease in the Christmas tree and bough production both in Europe and USA. Sirococcus coniguenus was found in a Norwegian A. procera seed lot (31% infected seeds), which to our knowledge is the first report of this pathogen on fir seeds. Caloscypha fulgens was detected on subalpine fir seed from Canada. In addition the following fungal genera were detected: Acremoniella, Acremonium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Botrytis, Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Diaphorte, Dictyopolyschema, Epicoccum, Fusarium, Genicularia, Mucor, Neonectria, Penicillium, Phoma, Rhizopus, Sordaria, Trichoderma, Trichothecium, and an unidentified fungus.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Development of ontogenic resistance to powdery mildew (Podosphaera aphanis) on strawberry leaves has been reported, however, the components of resistance have not been elucidated. Five developmental stages of strawberry leaves were identified and assigned numerical values from newly emerged and unexpanded (S1) to fully expanded and dark green (S5) of cvs. Korona and Senga Sengana. The upper and lower surface of the leaves were inoculated from each of the five leaf developmental stages and incubated under controlled conditions. The effect of leaf age on germination, infection efficiency, latency period, and sporulation were later evaluated. All responses were significantly (p = 0.05) affected by leaf age. Germination percentage, infection efficiency, and sporulation were highest, and latent periods were shortest on S1 leaves of both cultivars. On Senga Sengana, germinating conidia produced fewer secondary hyphae during infection. Conidia produced very few secondary hyphae and did not sporulate on S3 leaves, and no infections established on S4 or S5 leaves. The high success of infection and colonization of P. aphanis on S1 leaves indicates that disease is established preferentially on emergent and expanding leaves and these should be the target of management strategies.