Christer Magnusson
Research Professor (OAP Agreement)
Authors
Daniel Flø Johan A. Stenberg Kjetil Klaveness Melby Selamawit Tekle Gobena Beatrix Alsanius Jorunn Børve Paal Krokene Christer Magnusson Mogens Nicolaisen Line Nybakken May-Guri Sæthre Iben M. Thomsen Sandra WrightAbstract
VKM has assessed possible health hazards associated with the use of frozen eggs of Sitotroga cerealella as feed. Background The plant protection products CHRYSObio and CHRYSOcontrol contain Chrysoperla carnea and frozen eggs of Sitotroga cerealella. The eggs are used as feed for the larvae of C. carnea, the beneficial organism in the products. VKM has previously assessed environmental and health risks associated with C. carnea. Since the eggs of S. cerealella are frozen (dead), VKM has now assessed only human health hazard associated with the eggs in the products CHRYSObio and CHRYSOcontrol. Conclusion Insect eggs, frozen or not, can carry pathogens that may be harmful to humans. Freezing can kill some of these pathogens, but some hardy pathogens can survive low temperatures. Some people are allergic to insect proteins, and freezing does not eliminate such proteins. However, VKM found no reports identifying eggs of S. cerealella neither as carriers of pathogens nor as a cause of allergies in humans. The risk assessment is approved by VKM's Panel on Plant Health.
Authors
Marte Persdatter Tangvik May Bente Brurberg Christer Magnusson Arne Stensvand Simeon RossmannAbstract
Metabarcoding targeting nematodes, bacteria, fungi and oomycetes was used in combination with multispectral drone imagery and traditional soil extraction of nematodes to diagnose poor growth in patches of a potato field in Norway. Areas of good and poor growth as identified by the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) based on aerial photography were compared, and nematodes were identified as the likely drivers of poor growth. This was based on the presence of known plant-parasitic nematodes in the field and the significant association between low alpha diversity (total genus richness and abundance) for nematodes with areas of poor growth, while alpha diversity for other organism groups did not vary between patches with good and poor growth. Metabarcoding represented nematodes well compared to traditional soil extraction. The combination of aerial photography and metabarcoding used in this work offers a promising possibility to identify biological drivers of growth differences across organism groups at field scale.
Authors
Daniel Flø Johan A. Stenberg Lawrence Richard Kirkendall Kjetil Klaveness Melby Anders Nielsen Selamawit Tekle Gobena Beatrix Alsanius Jorunn Børve Paal Krokene Christer Magnusson Mogens Nicolaisen Line Nybakken May-Guri Sæthre Iben Margrete ThomsenAbstract
VKM has assessed the environmental and health risks associated with the use of the mites Acarus siro and Suidasia pontifica as feed for various predatory insects and mites. Background POWERFOOD 3.0 is used as feed for various predatory mites and predatory insects. Acarus siro, Suidasia pontifica, and Carpoglyphus lactis constitute the product. Carpoglyphus lactis has previously been assessed by VKM. VKM has now prepared an environmental and health risk assessment of A. siro and S. pontifica. Conclusions Acarus siro occurs naturally in Norway, and new introductions will most likely be able to establish and spread in Norway. Suidasia pontifica, on the other hand, has never been recorded in the wild in Norway, and its tropical origin suggests that it will not establish and spread in Norway. No records of negative effects of A. siro and S. pontifica on biodiversity were found. Several studies report allergies to mites, including the species in the product POWERFOOD 3.0. The likelihood of developing mite allergies after handling the product is therefore high. However, the likelihood of allergic reactions following consumption of plants treated with the product appears to be low. Regarding taxonomic challenges that may affect the risk assessment, VKM found out that A. siro can be mistaken for A. farris and A. immobilis. These species differ only slightly in development and ecology. From the limited available knowledge about their biology, these three species are expected to have similar effects on biodiversity and human health. There are no known problems with species identification for Suidasia pontifica. The taxonomic issue with this species is that much of the literature uses an invalid name; S. medanensis. The risk assessment is approved by VKM's Panel on Plant Health.