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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.

2020

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Abstract

It is commonly known that the pretreatment of complex substrates yields higher biogas production in anaerobic digestion (AD) by improving hydrolysis. However, it is still questioned whether all solubilized fractions after pretreatment can be used for CH4 production during AD. In this study, the relationship between increased solubilization and AD efficiency in response to different pretreatment conditions of lipid-extracted microalgae waste (LEMW) was investigated. The individual pretreatment (acid and ultrasonic) and combined pretreatment were applied to assess the solubilization of LEMW. A biochemical methane potential (BMP) test was subsequently performed to determine the AD efficiency. Combined pretreatment of LEMW (60 min of irradiation + pH 1) showed the highest performance, achieving CH4 production of 1245 ± 28 mL CH4/L with increased solubilization of 50.4%. However, it was found that increased solubilization did not proportionally increase CH4 productivity. The assessment of the origin of produced CH4 through biomass fractionation supports this finding in that the soluble fraction that does not contribute to CH4 production increased at more severe pretreatment conditions.

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Abstract

Wheat disease management in Europe is mainly based on the use of fungicides and the cultivation of resistant cultivars. Improving disease management implies the formal comparison of disease management methods in terms of both crop health and yield levels (attainable yield, actual yield), thus enabling an assessment of yield losses and yield gains. Such an assessment is not available for wheat in Europe. The objective of the analysis reported here is to provide an overview of wheat health and yield performance in field experiments in Europe. Data from field experiments in six European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Sweden) conducted between 2013 and 2017 were analysed to that aim. Relationships between multiple disease levels, yield, level of cultivar resistance, level of fungicide protection, and weather patterns were assessed. The analyses included 73 field experiments, corresponding to a total of 447 [fungicide protection level x cultivar] combinations. Analyses across the six countries led to ranking the importance of foliar wheat diseases as follows, in decreasing order: leaf blotch (septoria tritici blotch, septoria nodorum blotch, and tan spot), leaf rust, yellow rust, and powdery mildew. Fusarium head blight was observed in France and Italy, and stem rust was sporadically observed in Italy. Disease patterns, crop inputs (fertiliser, fungicides), and yields widely varied within and across countries. Disease levels were affected by the level of fungicide use, by cultivar resistance, as well as by weather patterns. While this analysis enables a better documentation of the status of wheat health in Europe, it also highlights the critical need for policies in Europe enabling a more judicious use of pesticides. First, common standards for field experiments are needed (experimental designs and protocols; disease assessment procedures and scales; references, including reference-susceptible cultivars); second, assessments in farmers’ fields – and not in research stations – are necessary; and third, there is a need to use available process-based crop models to estimate attainable yields, and so, yield losses.

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Abstract

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