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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.

2022

Abstract

Harvest Weed Seed Control (HWSC) systems are used to collect and/or kill weed seeds in the chaff fraction during grain harvest. While collecting chaff reduces the weed infestation in the following years, a new biomass feedstock is created. Chaff mainly consists of husk and straw. There is a potential energetic utilization of chaff. It can also be used as a material for construction (e.g., insulating boards, cardboard, bedding), soil improvement (e.g., mulch, mushroom compost) and agricultural use (e.g., weed growth inhibitor, animal diet). Using chaff directly is unfavorable because of low bulk density; therefore, compressing chaff into pellets optimizes its handling. We have assessed how pelletizing would affect germination of weed seeds bearing in the chaff if the collected chaff is pelletized for further utilization. To test this, we mixed original wheat chaff and fine wheat chaff (pretreated by sieving) with each of the weed species Tripleurospermum inodorum and Centarea cyanus seeds separately. Approximately 2000 seeds of each weed species were added to 2500 g of chaff (20 % moisture). Samples were pelletized using the Kahl Pelleting Press 14-175. Each treatment was replicated four times. Afterwards pelletized samples were spread evenly on the soil surface in 14 × 16 cm boxes and covered by a thin layer of soil/sand. Unpelletized chaff samples were used as control. Boxes were placed in greenhouse and watered from the bottom and seed germination was followed for a month. While on average 22 and 59 % seed germination of T. inodorum and C. cyanus were observed in wheat chaff control samples respectively, no weed seed germination was observed in pelletized fine and original wheat chaff samples. Consequently, we find that the pelletizing process of collected chaff destroys the weed seeds in it.

Abstract

Harvest weed seed control takes advantage of seed retention at maturity by collecting weed seeds as they pass through the harvester. We assessed the seed production and shedding pattern of common weed species in two wheat and two oat fields in Denmark. The aim was to evaluate the possibility of harvesting retained seeds on weeds at crop harvest by a combine harvester based on estimation of weeds seed retention. Before flowering, ten plants of each weed species were selected and surrounded by a seed trap comprising of a porous net. When the plants started shedding seeds, the seeds were collected from the traps and counted weekly until crop harvest. Just before crop harvest, the retained seeds on the plants were counted and the ratio of harvestable seeds and shed seeds during the growing season were determined. The seed production and shedding patterns varied between the species. In oat, Anagallis arvensis L., Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik., Chenopodium album L., Fallopia convolvulus (L.) Á. Löve, Geranium molle L., Persicaria maculosa Gray, Polygonum aviculare L., Silene noctiflora L., Sinapis arvensis L., Sonchus arvensis L., Spergula arvensis L., Stellaria media (L.) Vill.,Veronica persica Poir., and Viola arvensis Murray retained on average 61, 52, 67, 44, 58, 32, 59, 95, 67, 23, 45, 56, 51, and 33%, respectively, of their produced seeds at crop harvest. In wheat, Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. and Apera spica-venti (L.) P. Beauv. retained on average 34 and 33%, respectively, of their seeds at harvest. Silene noctiflora was classified as a good target for harvest weed seed control; A. myosuroides, A. spica-venti, C. bursa-pastoris, C. album, F. convolvulus, G. molle, P.maculosa, Sinapis arvensis, Sonchus arvensis, Spergula arvensis and V. arvensis were classified as intermediate targets; and A. arvensis, P. aviculare, S. media and V. persica were classified as poor targets. The research shows that there is a great potential to reduce the input of weed seeds to the soil seed bank by harvest weed seed control. Keywords: Harvest weed seed control; Soil seed bank ; Weed seed retention

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Abstract

Tetraselmis chui is known to accumulate starch when subjected to stress. This phenomenon is widely studied for the purpose of industrial production and process development. Yet, knowledge about the metabolic pathways involved is still immature. Hence, in this study, transcription of 27 starch-related genes was monitored under nitrogen deprivation and resupply in 25 L tubular photobioreactors. T. chui proved to be an efficient starch producer under nitrogen deprivation, accumulating starch up to 56% of relative biomass content. The prolonged absence of nitrogen led to an overall down-regulation of the tested genes, in most instances maintained even after nitrogen replenishment when starch was actively degraded. These gene expression patterns suggest post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms play a key role in T. chui under nutrient stress. Finally, the high productivity combined with an efficient recovery after nitrogen restitution makes this species a suitable candidate for industrial production of high-starch biomass.