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.
2020
Abstract
After harvest, vegetables go from storing assimilates to break down of assimilates and it is of crucial importance to slow down this process. Controlling the pre-storage period may contribute to maintain high quality in root vegetables during long-term storage. The aim of this 2-years study was to investigate the effect of seven different pre-storage strategies (direct to 0°C vs. down 1°C per day vs. 0.2°C temperature reduction per day and wound healing at 10°C with low/high humidity) on root storability in four cultivars of carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) stored in 2016/2017/2018, swede (Brassica napus) in 2017/2018 and celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum) in 2017/2018. Mass loss and disease incidences were determined during and after long-term storage (6-7 month) in small-scale stores. Wound healing with low humidity resulted in larger mass loss than the other preharvest strategies in carrot and celeriac. In carrot, slow temperature reduction (0.2°C per day) also resulted in larger mass loss than the other strategies. Significantly higher numbers of infected roots, dominated by licorice rot (Mycocentrospora acerina), tip rot and gray mold (Botrytis cinerea), occurred in carrots stored at 0°C immediately compared to roots with a period of wound healing and slow temperature decline. In celeriac, the incidence of gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) and licorice rot (Mycocentrospora acerina) were significantly reduced with wound healing at low humidity. Storage quality of swede was not affected by pre-storage strategies. This study shows that prestorage strategies affect mass loss and disease incidence in celeriac and carrot during and after long-term storage.
Abstract
Meat demand is likely influenced by the birth cohort and age of the individual. In this study, we examine the demand for beef, pork, poultry, and other meat in the United States using the 1984–2012 Consumer Expenditure Survey and the almost ideal demand system with the incorporation of age, period, and cohort (APC) effects. We find that the model with APC effects performs better than the models without APC effects. The results indicate that cohorts born in earlier time periods are expected to purchase significantly less poultry compared to cohorts born in later time periods, when they are measured at the same age. Over the life cycle, purchase of poultry is expected to increase with age while the opposite is true for red meat. We also find that the own‐price elasticity for beef is highest among the products examined, while the own‐price elasticity for other meat is lowest and the inclusion of APC effects increases the absolute value of the own‐price elasticities for beef, pork, and poultry, but reduces the own‐price elasticity for other meat. Our forecasts indicate that the aggregate poultry purchase will continue to increase until 2022, while the aggregate purchase of red meat will slightly increase until 2017, but will either decrease or stay at same level from year 2017 to 2022.
Authors
Miren del Río Marta Vergarechea Torben Hilmers Josu G. Alday Admir Avdagić Franz Binderh Michal Bošeľa Laura Dobor David I. Forrester Velid Halilović Aida Ibrahimspahic Matija Klopcic Mathieu Lévesque Thomas A. Nagel Zuzana Sitková Gerhard Schütze Branko Stajic Dejan Stojanovic Enno Uhl Tzvetan Zlatanov Roberto Tognetti Hans PretzschAbstract
Spruce-fir-beech mixed forests cover a large area in European mountain regions, with high ecological and socio-economic importance. As elevation-zone systems they are highly affected by climate change, which is modifying species growth patterns and productivity shifts among species. The extent to which associated tree species can access resources and grow asynchronously may affect their resistance and persistence under climate change. Intra-specific synchrony in annual tree growth is a good indicator of species specific dependence on environmental conditions variability. However, little attention has been paid to explore the role of the inter-specific growth asynchrony in the adaptation of mixed forests to climate change. Here we used a database of 1790 tree-ring series collected from 28 experimental plots in spruce-fir-beech mixed forests across Europe to explore how spatio-temporal patterns of the intra- and inter-specific growth synchrony relate to climate variation during the past century. We further examined whether synchrony in growth response to inter-annual environmental fluctuations depended on site conditions. We found that the inter-specific growth synchrony was always lower than the intra-specific synchrony, for both high (inter-annual fluctuations) and low frequency (mid- to long-term) growth variation, suggesting between species niche complementarity at both temporal levels. Intra- and inter-specific synchronies in inter-annual growth fluctuations significantly changed along elevation, being greater at higher elevations. Moreover, the climate warming likely induced temporal changes in synchrony, but the effect varied along the elevation gradient. The synchrony strongly intensified at lower elevations likely due to climate warming and drying conditions. Our results suggest that intra- and inter-specific growth synchrony can be used as an indicator of temporal niche complementarity among species. We conclude that spruce-fir-beech mixtures should be preferred against mono-specific forests to buffer climate change impacts in mountain regions.
Authors
Ralf RautenbergerAbstract
The commercial cultivation of marine macroalgae is a young and rapidly growing industry sector in Norway. Although it is currently limited to a few brown macroalgae, other species such as the green marine macroalga Ulva fenestrata (formerly Ulva lactuca) has also a high potential for an industrial biomass production, for example to be used for the food marked. However, this process is strongly affected by the presence of marine diatoms transported along with the seawater into the cultivation system of U. fenestrata. These diatoms not only proliferate in the water tanks, they also colonise the green macroalgal biomass with many brown spots, which reduces its value for the food marked significantly. This presentation shows the results of a project that studied the use of germanium dioxide (GeO2) as a known growth inhibitor of diatoms to control their contamination during the biomass production process of U. fenestrata. First, the co-occurring diatom was morphologically identified as Fragilaria sp. using light microscopy. Thereafter, a dose-response experiment was conducted to reveal the concentrations of GeO2, resulting in an effective growth inhibition of Fragilaria sp. Based on this knowledge, the impact of different GeO2 concentrations was studied on how the photophysiolgy (photosynthetic characteristics, pigment patterns) and growth of U. fenestrata are affected in both small-scale (2 L) and large-scale (100 L) cultivation systems. An effective control of the proliferation of Fragilaria sp. during the cultivation process of U. fenestrata may result in the production a high-quality biomass with a high value for the food marked.
Authors
Nobertas Uselis Jonas Viškelis Juozas Lanauskas Mindaugas Liaudanskas Valdimaras Janulis Darius KviklysAbstract
The effect of tree growth-control technologies on apple tree vegetative development, productivity and fruit quality was investigated with apple cultivar ‘Rubin’ on dwarf rootstock P 60 at the Institute of Horticulture, Lithuanian Re-search Centre for Agriculture and Forestry in 2015–2018. Eight treatments were established combining tree trunk incision by chainsaw before flowering, application of prohexadione-calcium in different dose and time, summer pruning in August and root pruning before flowering. Root pruning from both sides of the tree significantly reduced tree trunk diameter, shoot length and pruning weights but at the same time reduced fruit weight. It increased tree productivity and enhanced fruit colouring. Two applications of prohexadione-calcium significantly reduced mean shoot length and increased average fruit weight. Summer pruning had a positive impact on fruit colouring. Trunk incisions enhanced leaf P, K and Fe content. Pro-Ca increased leaf Ca content. Trees root pruned from both sides had one of the lowest contents of all tested minerals. All tree growth-control technologies had a positive impact on tree productivity , fruit quality and bearing stability comparing with control treatment.
Abstract
Horse owners may lack knowledge about natural thermoregulation mechanisms in horses. Horses are managed intensively; usually stabled at night and turned out during the day. Some are clipped and many wear a blanket, practices which reduce the horse's ability to regulate heat dissipation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between hair coat characteristics, body condition and infrared surface temperatures from different body parts of horses. Under standard conditions, the body surface temperature of 21 adult horses were investigated using infrared thermography. From several readings on the same body part, a mean temperature was calculated for each body part per horse. Detailed information on horse breed, age, management and body condition was collected. Hair coat samples were also taken for analyses. A mixed statistical model was applied. Warmblood horse types (WB) had lower hair coat sample weights and shorter hair length than coldblood horse types (CB). The highest radiant surface temperatures were found at the chest 22.5 ± 0.9 °C and shoulders 20.4 ± 1.1 °C and WB horses had significantly higher surface temperatures than CB horses on the rump (P < 0.05). Horses with a higher hair coat sample weight had a lower surface temperature (P < 0.001) and hind hooves with iron shoes had a significant lower surface temperature than unshod hind hooves (P = 0.03). In conclusion, individual assessment of radiant surface temperature using infrared thermography might be a promising tool to gather data on heat loss from the horses' body. Such data may be important for management advice, as the results showed individual differences in hair coat characteristics and body condition in horses of similar breeds.
Abstract
Dollar spot was officially documented in Scandinavia in 2013 and the spread and damage from this disease has increased during last years. In summer 2017, on the golf greens with red fescue (Vallda GC, Sweden) and with the mixture of red fescue, colonial bentgrass and annual bluegrass (Roskilde GC, Denmark) rolling 2 times per week reduced dollar spot 61% and 37% and rolling 4 times per week reduced dollar spot 95% and 54%, respectively. Thus, rolling 3-4 times per week can be recommended on golf greens with dollar spot pressure. In the experiment 2018 dollar spot was reduced 24% with increase in nitrogen from 150 to 240 kg ha-1 yr-1 on creeping bentgrass/annual bluegrass golf green (Kävlinge GK, Sweden). However, the increased N-rate lead to a higher degree Microdochium patch from 14% to 30%.
Abstract
The major part of Norwegian apples is marketed within 3-4 months after harvest. ‘Summerred’ is a popular medium early cultivar in Norway, however, it is known to soften quickly during storage and marketing. Storing apples in low temperature and low oxygen atmosphere will slow down the ripening and the fruit will keep green and firm. Delayed cooling has been reported to reduce susceptibility to develop physiological disorders like scald. The experiment included different strategies in delaying cooling (5 days at 7°C) and allowing the apples to reach 1 kPa oxygen storage after an intermediate period (5 days) at 3 kPa oxygen. The main focus was on changes in firmness, degreening, scald and fruit rots. The apples were stored for 3, 6 or 9 weeks in 1 or 4°C and analyzed for standard fruit quality factors (color, firmness, IAD-index, starch, soluble solids content and titratable acidity) as the samples were removed from low temperature and low oxygen storage and after a week at 20°C in regular atmosphere (shelf life). Physiological disorders and fruit rots were registered. In these experiments the fruit quality changes were greater (poorer quality) in apples kept at 7°C for 5 days before storage at 1 or 4°C compared to apples stored immediately at low temperature. The intermediate storage in 3 kPa oxygen tended to make the apples keep firmer during storage. The stepwise reduction in oxygen content reduced the negative effect of delayed cooling. Delayed cooling slowed the starch degradation. The incidences of soft scald and fruit rots were low, and the effects of delayed cooling and/or delayed low oxygen storage were weak.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Low growth temperatures and the special light qualities of midnight sun in northern Scandinavia, have both been shown to improve eating quality of swede root bulbs. To study the combined effect of these factors on root development and sensory‐related compounds, plants were grown in phytotron under different 24 h supplemental light‐emitting diode (LED) light colours, at constant 15 °C, or reduced end‐of‐season temperature at 9 °C. RESULTS Far‐red LED (740 nm) light induced longer leaves and produced more roundly shaped bulbs, than the other light quality treatments. At constant 15 °C, supplemental light of far‐red LED also produced a stronger purple crown skin colour than the other LED treatments. This difference between light quality treatments disappeared at 9 °C, as all bulb crowns developed a purple colour. There were no significant effects of LED‐supplements on sugar concentrations, while the reduced temperature on average did increase concentrations of d‐fructose and d‐glucose. Total glucosinolate concentrations were not different among treatments, although the most abundant glucosinolate, progoitrin, on average was present in highest concentration under LEDs containing far‐red light, and in lower concentration at 9 °C compared to 15 °C. CONCLUSION The light quality of 24 h photoperiods in combination with temperature appears primarily important for growth and morphological traits in swede root bulbs. Influence of light quality and low temperature on appearance and sensory‐related compounds may be utilized in marketing of root vegetables with special quality related to growth conditions of high latitude origin. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Abstract
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