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.
2018
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The effect of controlled nutrient feeding during the period of short day (SD) induction of flowering has been studied in three SD berry crops. An experimental system with standardized plant material grown with trickle fertigation in controlled environments was used. In strawberry, flowering was advanced and increased when an additional N pulse was given 1-2 weeks after commencement of a 4-week SD induction period, while the opposite resulted when the treatment was applied 2 weeks before start of SD. In blackcurrant, the highest flowering and yield were obtained when fertilization was applied shortly after the natural photoperiod had declined to the inductive length in September. While generous nutrient supply during spring and summer reduced berry soluble solids in blackcurrant, this was not observed with autumn fertilization. Autumn fertilization did not adversely affect plant winter survival or growth vigour in spring. Withdrawal of fertilization prior to, or at various stages during floral induction, did not significantly affect flowering and yield in raspberry, but marginally advanced flowering and fruit ripening.
Abstract
A large proportion of global agricultural soils contain suboptimal available phosphorus (P) for the growth of many plant species. Boron (B) plays important roles in plant growth and development, but limited research has been conducted to study B uptake under low P availability. This study comprised a hydroponic and a mini-rhizobox experiment with canola (Brassica napus L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under P sufficient and deficient conditions. Boron concentrations, rhizosphere soil pH, and gene expression of BnBOR1 in canola were determined. Shoot B concentrations were found significantly increased (11–149%) by low P availability in potato and canola but not in wheat. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) indicated that BnBOR1;2a, BnBOR1;2c, and BnBOR1;3c were up-regulated after seven days of low P treatment in canola roots. Our results indicate that plant shoot B concentration was dramatically influenced by P availability, and dicots and monocots showed a contrasting B concentration response to low P availability.
Authors
Daniel R. Hirmas Daniel Gimenez Attila Nemes Ruth Kerry Nathaniel A. Brunsell Cassandra J. WilsonAbstract
Soil macroporosity affects field-scale water-cycle processes, such as infiltration, nutrient transport and runoff1,2, that are important for the development of successful global strategies that address challenges of food security, water scarcity, human health and loss of biodiversity3. Macropores—large pores that freely drain water under the influence of gravity—often represent less than 1 per cent of the soil volume, but can contribute more than 70 per cent of the total soil water infiltration4, which greatly magnifies their influence on the regional and global water cycle. Although climate influences the development of macropores through soil-forming processes, the extent and rate of such development and its effect on the water cycle are currently unknown. Here we show that drier climates induce the formation of greater soil macroporosity than do more humid ones, and that such climate-induced changes occur over shorter timescales than have previously been considered—probably years to decades. Furthermore, we find that changes in the effective porosity, a proxy for macroporosity, predicted from mean annual precipitation at the end of the century would result in changes in saturated soil hydraulic conductivity ranging from −55 to 34 per cent for five physiographic regions in the USA. Our results indicate that soil macroporosity may be altered rapidly in response to climate change and that associated continental-scale changes in soil hydraulic properties may set up unexplored feedbacks between climate and the land surface and thus intensify the water cycle.
Authors
Katharina Strobl Claudia Schmidt Johannes KollmannAbstract
Phytometers are indicator transplants that provide information on site conditions based on plant survival,growth and reproduction. Since this is a relatively new approach, standards for its implementation remain to bedefined, for example, during peatland restoration. Peatland restoration frequently aims at recovering char-acteristic communities, and a key attribute of successfully restored ecosystems is their capacity to sustain viablepopulations of target species. When not actively introduced, these species are expected to establish on their ownafter improving site conditions, for example by rewetting. Assessments to determine whether this goal is metrequire the long-term monitoring of species’ presence, whereas the underlying causes of these observations, i.e.site or dispersal limitation, often remain unknown. Using phytometers within ecological restoration helps ad-dressing this question. The goal of this study is to compare the responses of several species and traits to en-vironmental conditions in restored peatlands. Three target species (Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum vaginatum,Vaccinium oxycoccos) were planted in restored montane peatlands in central Germany, while in a greenhouseexperiment, the same species were grown on peat from the field sites and exposed to two water levels. Severalplant traits were measured and compared with variation in light, water and soil conditions. The response tohabitat conditions was species-specific, indicating that the use of different phytometers increases the reliabilityof monitoring. Survival and growth traits were suitable to assess a wide range of abiotic conditions, whiledifferences in reproductive output were more time-consuming to measure. Survival provided the most conclusiveresults for species sensitive to stressful habitat conditions. Biomass and other size metrics of the phytometers, aswell as growth and reproductive traits were partly redundant. Thus, we suggest recording survival and biomassand use non-destructive growth measurements for repeated assessments, while the choice of the most suitablesize trait should depend on the growth form. Our study stresses the potential of phytometers for monitoring therestoration outcome, while highlighting the importance of species and trait selection.
Authors
John Koestel Annette Dathe Todd H. Skaggs Ove Mindor Klakegg Muhammad Arslan Ahmad Maryia Babko Daniel Giménez Csilla Farkas Attila Nemes Nicholas JarvisAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Roger Holten Frederik Bøe Marit Almvik Sheela Katuwal Marianne Stenrød Mats Larsbo Nicholas Jarvis Ole Martin EkloAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Mélanie Harzé Arnaud Monty Sylvain Boisson Carline Pitz Julia-Maria Hermann Johannes Kollmann Grégory MahyAbstract
Persistence of restored populations depends on growth, reproduction, dispersal, local adaptation, and a suitable landscape pattern to foster metapopulation dynamics. Although the negative effects of habitat fragmentation on plant population dynamics are well understood, particularly in grasslands, the population traits that control grassland restoration are less known. We reviewed the use of population traits for evaluating grassland restoration success based on 141 publications (1986–2015). The results demonstrated that population demography was relatively well‐assessed but detailed studies providing information on key stages of the life cycle were lacking despite their importance in determining population viability. Vegetative and generative performances have been thoroughly investigated, notably the components of plant fitness, such as reproductive output, while genetic and spatial population structures were largely ignored. More work on the population effects of ecological restoration would be welcomed, particularly with a focus on population genetics. Targeted species were principally common and dominant natives, or invasive plants while rare or threatened species were poorly considered. Evaluation of ecological restoration should be conducted at different scales of ecological complexity, but so far, communities and ecosystems are over represented, and more focus should be directed towards a population approach as population traits are essential indicators of restoration success.
Authors
Esther Bloem Annette Dathe Attila Nemes Perrine Marguerite Fernandez Helen French Matthew Patterson Daniel GiminezAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Zelalem Bekeko Chemeda Fininsa Shimelis Hussien Temam Hussien Dagne Wegari Belachew Asalf TadesseAbstract
Fourteen advanced maize inbred lines and locally adapted hybrid maize (BH-540) as a check were used to investigate their reaction to GLS disease. Field experiments were conducted at Bako National Maize Research Centre in 2015 and 2016 main plan ng seasons arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Artificial inoculation with Cercospora zeae-maydis was conducted by applying dry, ground, infected maize leaves into the whorls of younger maize plants. Data on agronomic and disease parameters (latent period, disease severity, disease incidence and lesion type) were recorded from the middle two rows. From the combined analysis of variance, maize genotypes showed significant differences with reaction to GLS indicating the existence of genetic variability among the selected genotypes. Highly significant differences were also observed among entries for all agronomic parameters in both seasons. Gray leaf spot incidence and severity varied among genotypes and between years. The mean GLS incidence and severity were higher in 2016 than 2015. GLS disease incidence in two years ranged from 35% on Sc22 to 95% on CML-387 and severity ranged from 15% on A-7016 to 75% on CKL05003. Significant differences in epidemic variability were also observed among genotypes and seasons. From the analysis of disease progress curves Logistic model (R2=94.55) better described the disease progress curves than the Gompertz model (R2=91.50). Parents; P6 and P8 had the most desirable quality for the most of agronomic traits whereas P2, P7 and P9 were the best parents for grain yield. Among all inbred lines, P6, P7 and P14 were iden fied as the most desirable sources of genes for GLS disease resistance. But P6, P7, P8 and P14 were iden fied as the best genotypes in yield, yield related traits and GLS disease parameters. Thus, these parents were recommended to be used in breeding programs with a purpose of developing high yielder and GLS disease resistant open pollinated varieties. In conclusion this study identified potential and promising high yielding and GLS resistant open pollinated genotypes (CKL05017-B-B, CML-395, CML-387, A-7016, Gu o and Sc22). Therefore, it is recommended that these OPVs can be used by resource poor farmers for direct production where this disease is the most prevalent and/or for further breeding programs in generating novel hybrids for future use.