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.
2023
Authors
Matthias KoeslingAbstract
Updating the LCA-model FARMnor (Flow Analysis and Resource Management for Norway) to version 09 allowing to conduct environmental assessment for pigs. FARMnor runs on the LCA-software Umberto and allows to use information from the database ecoinvent.
Authors
Cristina Micheloni Frank Willem Oudshoorn María Isabel Blanco Penedo Sari Autio Andrea Beste Jacopo Goracci Matthias Koesling Ursula Kretzschmar Eligio Malusá Bernhard Speiser Jan van der Blom Felix WäckersAbstract
The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances with plant protection effects in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances and methods is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production, and whether they should be included in Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to Annex I to Reg. (EU) 2021/1165, the Group recommends the following: • Entry ‘Pheromones and other semiochemicals’: The present restriction ‘only in traps and dispensers’ should be complemented with the following text: ‘microcapsules shall be biodegradable and shall not be applied to edible parts of the crop’. • The introductions to Annex I and to the sub-chapters of Annex I refer to the authorization of pesticides pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. The Group recommends minor editorial amendments to clarify that these references apply only when pesticides are used within the EU.
Authors
Cristina Micheloni Frank Willem Oudshoorn María Isabel Blanco Penedo Sari Autio Andrea Beste Jacopo Goracci Matthias Koesling Ursula Kretzschmar Eligio Malusá Bernhard Speiser Jan van der Blom Felix WäckersAbstract
The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances with plant protection or fertilising effects in organic production, and to advise on aspects of organic production of yams. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances and methods is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production, and whether they should be included in Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With
Abstract
Pandora neoaphidis is a common entomopathogenic fungus on Sitobion avenae, which is an important aphid pest on cereals in Europe. Pandora neoaphidis is known to cause epizootics (i.e. an unusually high prevalence of infected hosts) and the rapid collapse of aphid populations. We developed a weather-driven mechanistic model of the winter wheat-S. avenae-P. neoaphidis system to simulate the dynamics from spring to harvest. Aphid immigration was fixed at a rate that would lead to a pest outbreak, if not controlled by the fungus. We estimated the biocontrol efficacy by running pair-wise simulations, one with and one without the fungus. Uncertainty in model parameters and variation in weather was included, resulting in a range of simulation outcomes, and a global sensitivity analysis was performed. We identified two key understudied parameters that require more extensive experimental data collection to better assess the fungus biocontrol, namely the fungus transmission efficiency and the decay of cadaver, which defines the time window for possible disease transmission. The parameters with the largest influence on the improvement in yield were the weather, the lethal time of exposed aphids, the fungus transmission efficiency, and the humidity threshold for fungus development, while the fungus inoculum in the chosen range (between 10 and 70% of immigrant aphids carrying the fungus) was less influential. The model suggests that epizootics occurring early, around Zadoks growth stage (GS) 61, would lead to successful biocontrol, while later epizootics (GS 73) were a necessary but insufficient condition for success. These model predictions were based on the prevalence of cadavers only, not of exposed (i.e. infected but yet non-symptomatic) aphids, which in practice would be costly to monitor. The model suggests that practical Integrated Pest Management could thus benefit from including the cadavers prevalence in a monitoring program. We argue for further research to experimentally estimate these cadaver thresholds.
Abstract
A process-based model was developed to predict dry matter yields and amounts of harvested nitrogen in conventionally cropped grassland fields, accounting for within-field variation by a node network design and utilizing remotely sensed information from a drone-borne system for increased accuracy. The model, named NORNE, was kept as simple as possible regarding required input variables, but with sufficient complexity to handle central processes and minimize prediction errors. The inputs comprised weather data, soil information, management data related to fertilization, and a visual estimate of clover proportion in the aboveground biomass. A sensitivity analysis was included to apportioning variation in dry matter yield outputs to variation in model parameter settings. Using default parameter values from the literature, the model was evaluated on data from a two-year study (2016–2017, 264 research plots in total each year) conducted at two locations in Norway (i.e. in South-East and in Central Norway) with contrasting climatic conditions and with internal variation in soil characteristics. The results showed that the model could estimate dry matter yields with a relatively high accuracy without any corrections based on remote sensing, compared with published results from comparable model studies. To further improve the results, the model was calibrated shortly before harvest, using predictions of above ground dry matter biomass obtained from a drone-borne remote sensing system. The only parameters which were hereby adjusted in the NORNE model were the starting values of nitrogen content in soil (first cut) and the plant available water capacity (second cut). The calibration based on the remotely sensed information improved the predictive performance of the model significantly. At first cut, the root mean square error (RMSE) of dry matter yield prediction was reduced by 20% to a mean value of 58 g m−2, corresponding to a relative value (rRMSE) of 0.12. For the second cut, the RMSE decreased by 13% to 66 g m−2 (rRMSE: 0.18). The model was also evaluated in terms of the predictions of amounts of nitrogen in the harvested crop. Here, the calibration reduced the RMSE of the first cut by 38%, obtaining a mean RMSE value of 2.1 g N m−2 (rRMSE: 0.28). For the second cut, the RMSE reduction for simulated harvested N was 16%, corresponding to a mean RMSE value of 2.3 g N m−2 (rRMSE: 0.33). The large improvements in model accuracy for simulated dry matter and nitrogen yields obtained through calibration by utilizing remotely sensed information, indicate the importance of considering spatial variability when applying models under Nordic conditions, both for yield predictions and for decision support for nitrogen application.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
2022
Authors
Cristina Micheloni Frank Willem Oudshoorn Paula Quintana Fernández Sari Autio Andrea Beste María Isabel Blanco Penedo Marie-Christine Bourin Jacopo Goracci Matthias Koesling Eligio Malusá Bernhard Speiser Jan van der Blom Felix WäckersAbstract
The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production and whether they should therefore be included in Annex III of Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to feed the Group recommends the following: - Leonardite should not be included in Annex III. - Sepiolitic clay should be included in Annex III, part B. - Peat should not be included in Annex III. With respect to pet food, the Group recommends the following: - Locust bean gum should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food and obtained only from the roasting process and from organic production, if available. - Acacia-Arabic gum should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food and from organic production, if available. - Carrageenan should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food. - Ammonium chloride should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food intended to be used for special nutritional purposes for cats. - (Ortho-)phosphoric acid should not be included in Annex III. - Taurine should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for cats and dogs, not from GMO origin and if possible not from synthetic origin. - Methionine should not be included in Annex III. - Disodium dihydrogen diphosphate (SAPP) should be included in Annex III, part A with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food. - Pentasodium triphosphate (STPP) should be included in Annex III, part A with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food.
Authors
Cristina Micheloni Frank Willem Oudshoorn Paula Quintana Fernández Sari Autio Andrea Beste María Isabel Blanco Penedo Marie-Christine Bourin Jacopo Goracci Matthias Koesling Eligio Malusá Bernhard Speiser Jan van der Blom Felix WäckersAbstract
The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production and whether they should therefore be included in Annex III of Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to feed the Group recommends the following: - Calcium hydroxide should not be included in Annex III. - Calcium pidolate should not be included in Annex III. - Algal oil should be included in Annex III, part A. - The trace elements; Copper (II) chelate of protein hydrolysates, Iron (II) chelate of protein hydrolysates, Manganese chelate of protein hydrolysates and Zinc chelate of protein hydrolysates should be included in Annex III, part B. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Propylene glycol should be included in Annex III, part A. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Calcium chloride should be included in Annex III, part A. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Calcium propionate should not be included in Annex III. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Iron dextran should be included in Annex III, part B. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Iron (II) fumarate should not be included in Annex III. - Vegetable charcoal should not be included in Annex III. - Selenised yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae cncm i-3060, inactivated, should be included in Annex III, part B. With respect to pet food, the Group recommends the following: - Algae flour should not be included in Annex III. - Papain should be included in Annex III, part B.
Authors
Cristina Micheloni Frank Willem Oudshoorn Paula Quintana Fernández Sari Autio Andrea Beste María Isabel Blanco Penedo Marie-Christine Bourin Jacopo Goracci Matthias Koesling Eligio Malusá Bernhard Speiser Jan van der Blom Felix WäckersAbstract
The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances with plant protection or fertilising effects in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production, and whether they should therefore be included in Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to Annex I to Reg. (EU) 2021/1165, the Group recommends the following: - Aqueous extract from the germinated seeds of sweet Lupinus albus should be included in Annex I, part 2 (low risk active substances). - Low risk active substances of plant or animal origin should be authorised generically in Annex I, part 2, provided that they are not of GMO origin. This would mean that they can be used in organic production as soon as they are approved under pesticide legislation, without the need for evaluation by EGTOP and without explicit mentioning in Annex I to Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. - Ferric pyrophosphate should be included in Annex I, part 2 (low risk active substances). - The entries for deltamethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin should be modified as follows: (i) for both substances, the authorisation should be limited until 2026; (ii) for the time period until 2026, deltamethrin should also be authorised against Rhagoletis completa with the same restrictions as for other uses, i.e. ‘only in traps with specific attractants’. With respect to Annex II to Reg. (EU) 2021/1165, the Group recommends the following: - The entry on ‘Composted or fermented household waste’ should be changed to ‘Composted or fermented bio-waste’. - Recovered struvite and precipitated phosphate salts should be included in Annex II with the following restrictions: (i) Products must meet the requirements defined by Reg. (EU) 2019/1009, for products derived from waste materials. (ii) Animal manure as source material cannot have factory farming origin. - Bone charcoal should not be included in Annex II. - Potassium chloride (muriate of potash) should be included in Annex II with the following restriction: Only of natural origin. - Phosphogypsum should not be included in Annex II. - Comment on widespread environmental contamination: In the Group’s opinion, circular economy is important and should be widely adopted also in organic production. However, recycled materials may be contaminated with undesirable substances such as microplastic, heavy metals, veterinary drugs or pesticides. The Group does not recommend any changes in the organic legislation at the moment. However, the Group highlights these risks and recommends that the European Commission and Member States take them into consideration within the framework of policies and regulations concerning organic farming development, circular economy and environmental protection. Moreover, these risks should be continuously monitored and preventively managed in the use of pesticides, veterinary drugs, plastic or any other potentially polluting materials and in the production of organic fertilizers from recycled materials. Finally, the organic sector should be aware that the proposed measures can reduce contaminations (in frequency and in amounts), but may not always completely eliminate them from the organic production chain. Under these circumstances, a certain level of contamination can be difficult to avoid in organic products. The issue of how to handle such residues is hotly debated at the moment. The Group would welcome harmonization among EU member states of control practises and on actions taken in case of detections of residues of non-allowed products on organic products and in organic farms.
Authors
Cristina Micheloni Frank Willem Oudshoorn Paula Quintana Fernández Sari Autio Andrea Beste María Isabel Blanco Penedo Marie-Christine Bourin Jacopo Goracci Matthias Koesling Eligio Malusá Bernhard Speiser Jan van der Blom Felix WäckersAbstract
The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production and whether they should therefore be included in Annex III of Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to food the Group recommends the following: - Magnesium carbonate should be included in Annex V B as processing aid. - Lecithin should be included in Annex III as a food additive in animal origin products. - Potassium sodium tartrate tetrahydrate (E337) should be included as a food additive. - The extension of the use of ascorbic acid (E300) should be included in ‘meat preparations’, but the EGTOP sub-group suggests a new mandate for a comprehensive assessment of the substance.