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.
2012
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Authors
Romain Larbat Kristine Marie Olsen Rune Slimestad Trond Karsten Løvdal Camille Bénard Michel Verheul Frédéric Bourgaud Christophe Robin Cathrine LilloAbstract
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Authors
Jack D'Arcy Evgenia Dunaevskaya J.W. Treasurer Oddvar Ottesen Julie Maguire Nonna Zhuravleva Åsbjørn Karlsen Celine Rebours Richard FitzgeraldAbstract
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Abstract
The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effect of increasing the number of ewes per nipple drinker on water intake, feed intake and drinking behaviour of ewes. A group of 30 1¾ year old, pregnant ewes of the Norwegian Dala breed were exposed to three treatments, each treatment lasting one week: 7.5 ewes per nipple drinker (N7.5: four nipple drinkers), 15 ewes per nipple drinker (N15: two nipple drinkers) and 30 ewes peer nipple drinker (N30: one nipple drinker). The experiment was performed both in January (week 4–6, replicate 1) and replicated in April (week 13–15, replicate 2). The ewes were kept in insulated building and had free access to good quality hay. Water metres were connected to the pipeline for water supply and water wastage was collected and weighed. In addition, the daily intake of hay was recorded and the ewes were video recorded the three last days of each experimental period. Total drinking time per individual was calculated from observations of drinking behaviour from the video, as were also incidents of queuing and displacements. Both water and feed intake was higher in replicate 2 than in replicate 1. Increasing the number of individuals per nipple drinker had no effect on water intake in replicate 1, whereas in replicate 2 the water intake was (mean±SE) 3.5±0.3; 4.2±0.1 and 4.9±0.1 l/ewe and day in the treatments N7.5, N15 and N30, respectively (P<0.05). Regardless of replicate, the time spent drinking increased significantly when number of ewes per nipple drinker increased. Queuing was not affected by increasing the number of ewes per nipple drinker. In replicate 1 the number of displacements increased significantly when the number of individuals per nipple drinker increased (N7.5=7.6±1.7; N15=15.0±4.2 and N30=36.7±5.2; P<0.05) and the same trend could be seen in replicate 2, although not significant. In conclusion, one nipple drinker with an acceptable flow rate can serve up to 30 ewes without negatively affecting water and feed intake
Authors
Christian Schiebe Almuth Hammerbacher Göran Birgersson Johanna Witzell Peter E. Brodelius Jonathan Gershenzon Bill S. Hansson Paal Krokene Fredrik SchlyterAbstract
Secondary attraction to aggregation pheromones plays a central role in the host colonization behavior of the European spruce bark beetle Ips typographus. However, it is largely unknown how the beetles pioneering an attack locate suitable host trees, and eventually accept or reject them. To find possible biomarkers for host choice by I. typographus, we analyzed the chemistry of 58 Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees that were subsequently either (1) successfully attacked and killed, (2) unsuccessfully attacked, or (3) left unattacked. The trees were sampled before the main beetle flight in a natural Norway spruce-dominated forest. No pheromones were used to attract beetles to the experimental trees. To test the trees’ defense potential, each tree was treated in a local area with the defense hormone methyl jasmonate (MeJ), and treated and untreated bark were analyzed for 66 different compounds, including terpenes, phenolics and alkaloids. The chemistry of MeJ-treated bark correlated strongly with the success of I. typographus attack, revealing major chemical differences between killed trees and unsuccessfully attacked trees. Surviving trees produced significantly higher amounts of most of the 39 analyzed mono-, sesqui-, and diterpenes and of 4 of 20 phenolics. Alkaloids showed no clear pattern. Differences in untreated bark were less pronounced, where only 1,8-cineole and (−)-limonene were significantly higher in unsuccessfully attacked trees. Our results show that the potential of individual P. abies trees for inducing defense compounds upon I. typographus attack may partly determine tree resistance to this bark beetle by inhibiting its mass attack.
Authors
Roman Gebauer Daniel Volařík Josef Urban Isabella Børja Nina Elisabeth Nagy Toril Eldhuset Paal KrokeneAbstract
Conifer needles are extraordinarily variable and much of this diversity is linked to the water transport capacity of the xylem and to xylem conduit properties. However, we still know little about how anatomical characteristics influence the hydraulic efficiency of needle xylem in different parts of the crown. In this study we evaluated needle function and anatomy in Norway spruce families exposed to different light conditions. We measured tracheid and needle characteristics of sun-exposed and shaded current-year needles in two experimental plots: a control plot and a thinned plot with 50% reduction in stand density. Sun-exposed needles had a larger tracheid lumen area than shaded needles, and this was caused by a larger maximum tracheid lumen diameter, while the minimum lumen diameter was less plastic. Sun-exposed needles had also higher theoretical hydraulic conductivity than shaded needles. Thinning leads to increased radiation to the lower branches, and presumably exposes the upper branches to stronger water stress than before thinning. Thinning affected several needle parameters both in sun-exposed and shaded needles; tracheid lumens were more circular and minimum tracheid lumen diameter was larger in the thinned plot, whereas maximum tracheid lumen diameter was less plastic on both plots. This study demonstrates that needle xylem structure in Norway spruce is clearly influenced by the light gradient within the tree crown.
Authors
M. Lindblad T. Börjesson V Hietaniemi Oleif ElenAbstract
The relationship between weather data and agronomical factors and deoxynivalenol (DON) levels in oats was examined with the aim of developing a predictive model. Data were collected from a total of 674 fields during periods of up to 10 years in Finland, Norway and Sweden, and included DON levels in the harvested oats crop, agronomical factors and weather data. The results show that there was a large regional variation in DON levels, with higher levels in one region in Norway compared with other regions in Norway, Finland and Sweden. In this region the median DON level was 1000 ng g–1 and the regulatory limit for human consumption (1750 ng g–1) was exceeded in 28% of the samples. In other regions the median DON levels ranged from 75 to 270 ng g–1, and DON levels exceeded 1750 ng g–1 in 3–8% of the samples. Including more variables than region in a multiple regression model only increased the adjusted coefficient of determination from 0.17 to 0.24, indicating that very little of the variation in DON levels could be explained by weather data or agronomical factors. Thus, it was not possible to predict DON levels based on the variables included in this study. Further studies are needed to solve this problem. Apparently the infection and/or growth of DON producing Fusarium species are promoted in certain regions. One possibility may be to study the species distribution of fungal communities and their changes during the oats cultivation period in more detail.
Authors
HJ Van der Fels-Klerx Sonja Klemsdal V Hietaniemi M. Lindblad E Ioannou-Kakouri ED Van AsseltAbstract
This study aimed to investigate mycotoxin contamination of cereal grain commodities for feed and food production in North Western Europe during the last two decades, including trends over time and co-occurrence between toxins, and to assess possible effects of climate on the presence of mycotoxins. For these aims, analytical results related to mycotoxin contamination of cereal grain commodities, collected in the course of national monitoring programmes in Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands during a 20-year period, were gathered. Historical observational weather data, including daily relative humidity, rainfall and temperature, were obtained from each of these four countries. In total 6382 records, referring to individual sample results for mycotoxin concentrations (one or more toxins) in cereal grains were available. Most records referred to wheat, barley, maize and oats. The most frequently analysed mycotoxins were deoxynivalenol, 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin and zearalenone. Deoxynivalenol had the highest overall incidence of 46%, and was mainly found in wheat, maize and oats. Mycotoxins that showed co-occurrence were: deoxynivalenol and 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol in oats; deoxynivalenol and zearalenone in maize and wheat; and T-2 toxin and HT-2 toxin in oats. The presence of both deoxynivalenol and zearalenone in wheat increased with higher temperatures, relative humidity and rainfall during cultivation, but the presence of nivalenol was negatively associated with most of these climatic factors. The same holds for both nivalenol and deoxynivalenol in oats. This implies that climatic conditions that are conducive for one toxin may have a decreasing effect on the other. The presence of HT-2 toxin in oats showed a slight decreasing trends over time, but significant trends for other toxins showed an increasing presence during the last two decades. It is therefore useful to continue monitoring of mycotoxins. Obtained results can be used for development of predictive models for presence of mycotoxins in cereal grains.