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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.

2017

Abstract

Optimization of produce quality and storage conditions to reduce loss during long-term storage of root vegetables in Norway (OPTIROOT, 2016-2019) Authors: Thomsen, M.G., Indergaard, E., Asalf, B., Heltoft, P., Wold, A.B., Nordskog, B., Guren, G, Dyste, J. & Larsen, H. Author’s affiliation: Key words: carrot, swede, celeriac, storage technology, diseases, physiological disorder, packaging, nutrition Reducing yield loss along the supply chains is important for resource sustainability in vegetable production. Norwegian root vegetables are typically stored 6 to 8 months before consumption, often resulting in 20-30% loss post harvest. In OptiRoot 26 producers, refrigeration-technology companies, sensor developer, grower’s organisation, agricultural advisory service, and four research institutes are cooperating and conducting research to improve storage quality of carrot, swede and celeriac. The research focuses on: i) Fertilizer/Boron deficiency affects the storage quality of root vegetables and amount, methods of application, and timing of boron are studied in swede and celeriac. ii) Interaction between storage conditions/functions and produce quality of the root vegetables through mapping of technical features of 27 storages. The storage conditions recorded are relative humidity, air movement, temperature in boxes and storages, and physical features of storages. In addition, the physiological and health status of the produces are assessed one week before harvest, postharvest and post-storage. The prevalence of fungal diseases or disorders varied from region to region and between storages. iii) Effects of pre-storage wound healing are tested using seven different temperature strategies (direct to 0° C vs. down 0.2° C per day vs. 1° C per day) and low/high humidity in carrot (2016/17/18), celeriac and swede (2017/18/19). Preliminary results show that wound healing reduced loss due to fungal infections in carrot iv) CO2 concentration, temperature and relative humidity were recorded over time inside carrot storage bin liners with different numbers of perforations. An initial screening indicated a positive correlation between number of holes and number of fresh roots. As a post storage method, coating of swede with chitosan oligomers will be tested to inhibit growth of post-harvest pathogens. In conclusion, OptiRoot have gained good progress and promising preliminary results by connecting data on biology and technology for reduction of loss during long-term storage.

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Abstract

The effects of a commercial seaweed (SW) product and extracts collected from wild SWs in the Northern Norway on cultivable commensal intestinal bacterial groups isolated from Norwegian White sheep ewes were studied in vivo and in vitro. Bacterial counts from faeces from the ewes fed with supplement which contained SW meal throughout the entire indoor winter period had significantly lower lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts (P ≈ .05). The screening of extracts from red and brown SWs showed that a number of the organic extracts had an inhibitory effect on the growth of the two Enterococcus sp. isolates. The results indicate that Ascophyllum nodosum supplementation reduces LAB counts in the ewes and the lambs, and that extracts from this SW have an inhibitory effect on the growth of Enterococcus sp. isolates.

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Abstract

The quality requirements of wood biofuels are regulated by a series of harmonized international standards. These standards define the technical parameter limits that influence the quality of solid biomass as a fuel. In 2014 the European reference standard for solid biofuel was replaced by the International ISO standard. In the case of wood chips, the main difference between the European and International standards is the definition of particle size distribution classes. In this context, this study analyses the quality of wood chips and its variation over the years according to the “former” (EN 14691-4) and “in force” (ISO 17225-4) standards. A Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) model was built to predict the best quality of wood chips and to clarify the relationship between quality and standard parameters, time and changes in the standard regulations. The results show that, compared to the EN standards, classification with the ISO standards increases the samples belonging to the best quality classes and decreases the not classified samples. Furthermore, all the SIMCA models have a high sensitivity (>90%), reflect the differences introduced to the quality standards and are therefore suitable for monitoring the quality of wood chips and their changes.