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.
2016
Authors
Thiago Castro Samuel Roggia Vitalis Wekesa Rafael de Andrade Moral Clarice GB Demétrio Italo Jr. Delalibera Ingeborg KlingenAbstract
Background. The beneficial fungus Neozygites floridana kills the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae, which is a serious polyphagous plant pest worldwide. Outbreaks of spider mites in strawberry and soybean have been associated with pesticide applications. Pesticides may affect N. floridana and consequently the natural control of T. urticae. N. floridana is a fungus difficult to grow in artificial media, and for this reason, very few studies have been conducted with this fungus, especially regarding the impact of pesticides. The aim of this study was to conduct a laboratory experiment to evaluate the effect of pesticides used in strawberry and soybean crops on N. floridana. Results. Among the pesticides used in strawberry, the fungicides sulfur and cyprodinil + fludioxonil completely inhibited both the sporulation and conidial germination of N. floridana. The fungicide fluazinam affected N. floridana drastically. The application of the fungicide tebuconazole and the insecticides fenpropathrin and abamectin resulted in a less pronounced negative effect on N. floridana. Except for epoxiconazole and cyproconazole, all tested fungicides used in soybean resulted in a complete inhibition of N. floridana. Among the three insecticides used in soybean, lambda-cyhalothrin and deltamethrin resulted in a significant inhibition of N. floridana. Conclusion. The insecticides/ acaricides abamectin and lambda-cyhalothrin at half concentrations and fenpropathrin and permethrin and the fungicide tebuconazole at the recommended concentrations resulted in the lowest impact on N. floridana. The fungicides with the active ingredients sulfur, cyprodinil + fludioxonil, azoxystrobin, azoxystrobin + cyproconazole, trifloxystrobin + tebuconazole and pyraclostrobin + epoxiconazole negatively affected N. floridana. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Callum Aidan Stephen Hill Janka DibdiakovaAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Heidi Udnes Aamot Ingeborg Klingen SG Edwards May Bente Brurberg Guro Brodal Toril Eklo Hege Særvold Steen Jafar Razzaghian Elisa B. Gauslå Ingerd Skow HofgaardAbstract
The plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium langsethiae produces the highly potent mycotoxins HT-2 and T-2. Since these toxins are frequently detected at high levels in oat grain lots, they pose a considerable risk for food and feed safety in Norway, as well as in other north European countries. To reduce the risk of HT-2/T- 2-contaminated grain lots to enter the food and feed chain, it is important to identify factors that influence F. langsethiae infection and mycotoxin development in oats. However, the epidemiology of F. langsethiae is unclear. A three-year survey was performed to reveal more of the life cycle of F. langsethiae and its interactions with oats, other Fusarium species, as well as insects, mites and weeds. We searched for inoculum sources by quantifying the amount of F. langsethiae DNA in weeds, crop residues, and soil, sampled from a predetermined selection of oat-fields. To be able to define the onset of infection, we analysed the amount of F. langsethiae DNA in oat plant material sampled at selected growth stages (between booting and maturation), as well as the amount of F. langsethiae DNA and HT-2 and T-2 toxins in the mature grain. We also studied the presence of possible insect- and mite vectors sampled at the selected growth stages using Berlese funnel traps. All the different types of materials were also analysed for the presence F. graminearum DNA, the most important deoxynivalenol producer observed in Norwegian cereals, and which presence has shown a striking lack of correlation with the presence F. langsethiae in oat. Preliminary results show that F. langsethiae DNA may occur in the oat plant before heading and flowering. Some F. langsethiae DNA was observed in crop residues and weeds, though at relatively low levels. More results from this work will be presented at the meeting.
Authors
Heidi Udnes Aamot Ingeborg Klingen S.G. Edwards May Bente Brurberg Guro Brodal Toril Eklo Hege Særvold Steen Jafar Razzaghian Elisa B. Gauslå Ingerd Skow HofgaardAbstract
The plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium langsethiae produces the highly potent mycotoxins HT-2 and T-2. Since these toxins are frequently detected at high levels in oat grain lots, they pose a considerable risk for food and feed safety in Norway, as well as in other north European countries. To reduce the risk of HT-2/T- 2-contaminated grain lots to enter the food and feed chain, it is important to identify factors that influence F. langsethiae infection and mycotoxin development in oats. However, the epidemiology of F. langsethiae is unclear. A three-year survey was performed to reveal more of the life cycle of F. langsethiae and its interactions with oats, other Fusarium species, as well as insects, mites and weeds. We searched for inoculum sources by quantifying the amount of F. langsethiae DNA in weeds, crop residues, and soil, sampled from a predetermined selection of oat-fields. To be able to define the onset of infection, we analysed the amount of F. langsethiae DNA in oat plant material sampled at selected growth stages (between booting and maturation), as well as the amount of F. langsethiae DNA and HT-2 and T-2 toxins in the mature grain. We also studied the presence of possible insect- and mite vectors sampled at the selected growth stages using Berlese funnel traps. All the different types of materials were also analysed for the presence F. graminearum DNA, the most important deoxynivalenol producer observed in Norwegian cereals, and which presence has shown a striking lack of correlation with the presence F. langsethiae in oat. Preliminary results show that F. langsethiae DNA may occur in the oat plant before heading and flowering. Some F. langsethiae DNA was observed in crop residues and weeds, though at relatively low levels. More results from this work will be presented at the meeting.
Authors
Yoshiaki Tsuda Jun Chen Michael Stocks Thomas Källman Jørn Henrik Sønstebø Laura Parducci Vladimir Semerikov Christoph Sperisen Dmitry Politov Tiina Ronkainen Minna Väliranta Giovanni Giuseppe Vendramin Mari Mette Tollefsrud Martin LascouxAbstract
Boreal species were repeatedly exposed to ice ages and went through cycles of contraction and expansion while sister species alternated periods of contact and isolation. The resulting genetic structure is consequently complex, and demographic inferences are intrinsically challenging. The range of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata) covers most of northern Eurasia; yet their geographical limits and histories remain poorly understood. To delineate the hybrid zone between the two species and reconstruct their joint demographic history, we analysed variation at nuclear SSR and mitochondrial DNA in 102 and 88 populations, respectively. The dynamics of the hybrid zone was analysed with approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) followed by posterior predictive structure plot reconstruction and the presence of barriers across the range tested with estimated effective migration surfaces. To estimate the divergence time between the two species, nuclear sequences from two well-separated populations of each species were analysed with ABC. Two main barriers divide the range of the two species: one corresponds to the hybrid zone between them, and the other separates the southern and northern domains of Norway spruce. The hybrid zone is centred on the Urals, but the genetic impact of Siberian spruce extends further west. The joint distribution of mitochondrial and nuclear variation indicates an introgression of mitochondrial DNA from Norway spruce into Siberian spruce. Overall, our data reveal a demographic history where the two species interacted frequently and where migrants originating from the Urals and the West Siberian Plain recolonized northern Russia and Scandinavia using scattered refugial populations of Norway spruce as stepping stones towards the west.
Abstract
Plantations of genetically improved forest trees are critical for economic sustainability in forestry. This review summarizes gains in objective traits and the resulting economic impact of tree breeding programmes in Scandinavia and Finland. Genetic improvement of forest trees in these countries began in the late 1940s, when the first phenotypically superior plus-trees were selected from natural environments. The main findings from this review are that (i) tree breeding can increase volume growth in the range 10–25%, and (ii) the bare land value associated with genetically improved trees gives a better return on investment and a shorter rotation period compared to the unimproved forests. As some Nordic countries are quite dependent on the forest industry, breeding programmes that have resulted in economic gains have been beneficial for society. Growth and wood quality traits are often adversely correlated, and the weighting of traits from an economic perspective could provide an index for determining maximum profit from breeding. Tree breeding faces an array of challenges in the future, such as changes in silviculture, climate, new pests and diseases, and demand for wood-based products.
Authors
Helen E Roy Peter M J Brown Tim Adriaens Nick Berkvens Isabel Borges Susana Clusella-Trullas Richard F Comont Patrick De Clercq Rene Eschen Arnaud Estoup Edward W Evans Benoit Facon Mary M Gardiner Artur Gil Audrey A Grez Thomas Guillemaud Danny Haelewaters Annette Herz Alois Honek Andy G Howe Cang Hui William D Hutchison Marc Kenis Robert L Koch Jan Kulfan Lori Lawson Handley Eric Lombaert Antoon Loomans John Losey Alexander O Lukashuk Dirk Maes Alexandra Magro Katie M Murray Gilles San Martin Zdenka Martinkova Ingrid A Minnaar Oldrich Nedved Marina J Orlova-Bienkowskaja Naoya Osawa Wolfgang Rabitsch Hans Peter Ravn Gabriele Rondoni Steph L Rorke Sergey K Ryndevich May Sæthre John J Sloggett Antonio Onofre Soares Riaan Stals Matthew C Tinsley Axel Vandereycken Paul van Wielink Sandra Viglasova Peter Zach Ilya A Zakharov Tania Zaviezo Zihua ZhaoAbstract
The harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), is native to Asia but has been intentionally introduced to many countries as a biological control agent of pest insects. In numerous countries, however, it has been introduced unintentionally. The dramatic spread of H. axyridis within many countries has been met with considerable trepidation. It is a generalist top predator, able to thrive in many habitats and across wide climatic conditions. It poses a threat to biodiversity, particularly aphidophagous insects, through competition and predation, and in many countries adverse effects have been reported on other species, particularly coccinellids. However, the patterns are not consistent around the world and seem to be affected by many factors including landscape and climate. Research on H. axyridis has provided detailed insights into invasion biology from broad patterns and processes to approaches in surveillance and monitoring. An impressive number of studies on this alien species have provided mechanistic evidence alongside models explaining large-scale patterns and processes. The involvement of citizens in monitoring this species in a number of countries around the world is inspiring and has provided data on scales that would be otherwise unachievable. Harmonia axyridis has successfully been used as a model invasive alien species and has been the inspiration for global collaborations at various scales. There is considerable scope to expand the research and associated collaborations, particularly to increase the breadth of parallel studies conducted in the native and invaded regions. Indeed a qualitative comparison of biological traits across the native and invaded range suggests that there are differences which ultimately could influence the population dynamics of this invader. Here we provide an overview of the invasion history and ecology of H. axyridis globally with consideration of future research perspectives. We reflect broadly on the contributions of such research to our understanding of invasion biology while also informing policy and people.
Authors
Frans-Jan W. Parmentier Daniel Rasse Georg Heinrich Hansen Jarle W. Bjerke Simon Weldon Magnus LundAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Karen E Lewis Carola Grebitus Rodolfo M. Jr. NaygaAbstract
A majority of purchases that consumers make are classified as repeat purchases. One of the main reasons why consumers make repeat food purchases is the food's taste. Therefore, we examined the importance of including taste testing in nonhypothetical experimental auctions. Specifically, we used two experiments to determine consumers’ willingness to pay for soft drinks labeled with different calorie and sweetener information. In Experiment 1, participants tasted the soft drinks prior to the bidding rounds. In Experiment 2, participants did not taste the soft drinks prior to the bidding rounds. Bidding behavior for the soft drinks was significantly different between Experiment 1 and Experiment 2. Results suggest that including taste testing in the design of experimental auctions is important to accurately capture consumers’ willingness to pay for foods that are purchased repeatedly. Results also imply that policies aimed at combating obesity by making the calorie content of foods more visible may not produce desired outcomes.