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.
2024
Authors
Edward Richard ForbesAbstract
Faba bean production in Norway is increasingly important for securing protein self-sufficiency for both food and feed, while improving soil quality and reducing reliance on nitrogen fertiliser. In recent years, damage from the Broad Bean Weevil, Bruchus rufimanus, has threatened Norwegian faba bean quality, and is expected to increase as the cultivation of faba bean grows nationally year on year. As faba bean varieties differ in their phenological, chemical and morphological properties, it is expected that some are more attractive to B. rufimanus adults in search of feeding and egg laying opportunities upon emerging from winter diapause than others, and therefore that the number of adults found per plot during flowering and the seed infestation rate will vary across varieties. Heat treatments, effective against storage insects in other crops, are proposed as a potential control method for B. rufimanus. In addition to direct damage, fungal pathogens have been shown to enter seeds via holes from B. rufimanus infestation causing further damage to germination rates and quality for food and feed. The findings in this study aim to test methods and conclusions already found in the literature using varieties grown commonly in Norway and in Norwegian conditions. Four sub studies were done as part of this study: a) field counts of adult B. rufimanus in 15 faba bean varietiesduring flowering in 2024 at Vollebekk research farm in Ås, Norway, b) assessment of seed infestation rates in the same varieties by counting seeds with and without insect exit holes with data from 2022 and 2024 and comparison with yield component data and tannin and vicin/convicin content, c) evaluation of heat treatments (40 °C for 16.5 hours vs. room temperature on B. rufimanus mortality, and (d) analysis of fungal infestation rates and species in seeds with and without B. rufimanus entrance holes by plating seeds onto agar and observing growth of mycelia visually and with light microscopy. Results showed significantly more adults were observed in early varieties than late varieties, with an average of 0.4 adults and 0.1 adults respectively per plot across the whole season, with the highest number in early varieties observed on the first sampling date, June 6th. The number of adults found in the field plots did not correlate with the infestation rate. B. rufimanus mortality rates, all ranging from 80-100%, did not significantly differ between drying at 40 °C for 16.5 hours compared with room temperature. Fusarium avenaceum and Botrytis fabae were found in respectively of faba bean seeds containing entrance holes of B. rufimanus but not in uninfested seeds, though not at a statistically significant level. However, seeds without an entrance hole showed a significantly higher rate of infection with unidentified mould fungi compared to those with. These findings suggest that growing early together with late varietiesleads to a significantly higher infestation in early varieties, though it is unclear there would be differences in infestation rate of fields with only an early or late variety. The inconclusive heat treatment results highlight the need for further experiments with varying temperatures and a larger sample size. More Fusarium avenaceum and Botrytis fabae in seeds with entrance holes fits with the literature, and the higher rate of unidentified mould infection in seeds without entrance holes may be due to induced resistance. Theconclusions may be useful as a basis for further research into strategies for control of B. rufimanus in Norwegian conditions, as well as further research into the specific fungal species that can follow seed infestation in Norway. Follow up studies could focus on comparing additional seed antinutrient levels and yield components measured during the growing season to B. rufimanus infestation rates based on exit holes.
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Forests play a major role in the mitigation of avalanche risk in Norway, but the regulations surrounding the management of “protection forests” are still being worked out. To promote protection forest management, avalanche hazard indication maps for Norway have been produced with the automated mapping tool NAKSIN in a way that makes it possible to quantity the effects of the current forests in a spatially explicit way. NAKSIN makes use of published relations for forest effects on snow properties and uses national models of forest characteristics to estimate the effects on release probability and runout given local climate and topography. The forest properties contain parameters that are directly measured (canopy cover), and properties that are predicted (tree diameter, number of trees) with approximately 70% precision according to ground truth data. NAKSIN uses these forest properties in long chains of models, comprising of both mechanistic and empirical elements, some of which are iterated over timesteps during avalanche flow. This means that errors could be propagated throughout those model chains in unexpected ways. The aim of this study was to conduct a sensitivity analysis to examine the effects of errors in the forest data for hazard mapping in a relevant case study region in fjordic western Norway. We examined hazard maps produced using 95% prediction errors for tree diameter and the number of trees per hectare to determine if these would dramatically affect the hazard zones. These hazard maps focused on runout properties as common release areas were implied for avalanches through a common forest canopy cover percentage applied across the two extreme scenarios. Across the entire region, the hazard zones were generally stable with respect to potential errors in the forest data, suggesting the approach is robust and the braking effect of forest is not overstated. There was one exception, where the prediction errors could reduce the forest braking function to negligible. This exception was easy to identify from the difference in hazard zones and the process allows us to consider where more precise measurements of forests could be required in areas with high consequences. The implications of various approaches to estimate forest leaf area index, and how this might impact on release probability are illustrated to further consider this in the next steps of this research.
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The presentation introduced the MARCHES project approach in modelling the nitrogen transport within the Želivka catchment using the SWAT+ model during the 1st stakeholder meeting.
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Step-by-step introduction of the SWAT+ model setup, data sources and soft-calibration results for Zelivka (Czech Republic) and Himmerland (Denmark) catchments
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Black scurf and stem canker on potatoes, caused by the destructive soil-borne pathogen Rhizoctonia solani Kühn are a major problem for potato growers worldwide. Biological control agents such as plant leaf extracts can influence the severity of R. solani infection and help to reduce the risks to human health and the environment associated with the use of hemical fungicides. In this study, the inhibitory effect of the secondary plant metabolites aucubin, catalpol (iridoid glucosides) and acteoside (phenylethanoid glycoside) from methanolic extracts of Plantago lanceolata (Ribwort plantain (en), Smalkjempe (no)), a native plant in the Nordic countries, on the growth of R. solani mycelium on potato dextrose agar growth medium will be tested for the first time. Plant extracts will be obtained from plants of different age classes and metabolic profiling will be performed with LC-(HR)MS analyses and the concentrations of identified metabolites will be determined. To analyse whether the inhibitory interactions on fungal growth originate from the known secondary metabolites or are caused by the bulk plant extract, we will first expose the fungus to different concentrations of extracts, redissolved in aqueous solution and added to the growth medium, and in a further step we will carry out the same approach with the isolated secondary metabolites as pure substances. The fugus will be incubated for 5 days and the mycelium growth radius will be measured every 24 hours during incubation. Thereafter a suppression index will be calculated and compared to the untreated control. The results are pending at the time of submission of the abstract but will provide a good initial understanding to determine whether extracts of P. lanceolata can be used as a natural biological control agent as an additional component of a more sustainable strategy to manage the risk of infection of potato with R.solani and to reduce the severity of the disease caused by this pathogen.
Authors
Maurine Oluchukwu OkolieAbstract
This study examines the potential of large-scale urine recycling as a sustainable solution to address sanitation challenges, enhance agricultural productivity, and improve food security in Bahir-Dar, Ethiopia. The approach involves establishing urine recycling systems (URS) that collect urine from onsite sanitation facilities and convert it to dry urine-based fertilizer (UBF) near collection sites for local farmers. Using a combination of primary and secondary data sources, this study performs a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to evaluate the financial viability of implementing URS in Bahir Dar, focusing on direct monetary costs and benefits. The assessment includes metrics such as net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and payback period (PBP) and is supplemented by sensitivity and scenario analyses to account for varying assumptions. The findings reveal that, under the set assumptions of this study, implementing urine recycling systems is not financially viable in Bahir Dar. The financial feasibility is highly dependent on the capacity of the urine recycling technology and the fees charged for using the toilet facilities. Higher dehydration capacity significantly improves financial outcomes, as does charging users for each use of the facilities. Charging higher fees per use enhances the economic viability of the system. Based on these findings, the study recommends further research on integrating indirect benefits, which include social and environmental benefits. This will provide a comprehensive understanding of the value of the urine recycling system.