Wendy Marie Waalen

Head of Department/Head of Research

(+47) 412 62 361
wendy.waalen@nibio.no

Place
Apelsvoll

Visiting address
Nylinna 226, 2849 Kapp

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Abstract

The aim was to explore the impact of temperature during seed development on yield performance and seed quality in faba bean when grown at cool temperatures representative for high latitude regions. Two varieties, an early and a medium late maturing, were grown in climate chambers with three temperature regimes (day/night temperatures of 14°C/12°C, 19°C/12°C, and 24°C/12°C) from onset of flowering to maturation. Yield components were recorded, and the accumulation of protein, starch, and low molecular weight carbohydrates including the raffinose family oligosaccharides was followed during the accumulation phase until physiological maturity. The lower temperature regimes strongly delayed pod and seed development compared with 24°C/12°C. Temperature affected the number of pods per plant for the upper node group. Plants grown at 19°C had the highest total dry seed weight compared with plants grown at 14°C and 24°C. Temperature per se did not influence the content of starch, protein, and low molecular weight carbohydrates, while their accumulation followed the moisture content in the seed, and thus the seed development stage. The content of raffinose family oligosaccharides increased sharply when the seed moisture dropped below 70% and leveled off at about 40% and 50% moisture for verbascose and stachyose, respectively, coinciding with physiological maturity. The results provide more knowledge about the seed maturation and accumulation in faba bean under low temperatures, important for cultivation under high latitude regions.

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Abstract

Norwegian-grown peas and faba beans are a healthier alternative to meat and dairy products, which are over-consumed in Norway, hence these legumes represent an interesting alternative as food protein source in Norway. However, the environmental impact of these legumes compared to other protein sources has not been studied, in detail. Hence this study, where the environmental impact of this plant protein was analysed and compared to other main protein sources in the Norwegian diet, covers a research gap. The method used was Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and a large range of impacts was covered. The climate impact for dried grain legumes were 0.55–0.57 kg CO2-eq/kg, The climate impact for dried grain legumes were 0.55–0.57 kg CO2-eq/kg, which is much lower than ruminant meat (19–38 kg CO2-eq/kg), other meat (3.6–4.2 kg CO2-eq/kg), seafood (0.8–22 kg CO2-eq/kg), dairy products (1.2–22 kg CO2-eq/kg products) and cereals (0.66–0.72 kg CO2-eq/kg product). The same trend was found for all impact categories studied. The same pattern was found when comparing the environmental impacts of grain legumes in intermediate and finished products. An evaluation of the nutrient content showed that there is no trade-off between health and environment but the effect of lower protein digestibility and anti-nutritional compounds in legumes remains to be investigated quantitatively. The study indicates that legumes are a more sustainable source of dietary protein than animal protein sources. It is recommended that more research should be done on social and economic sustainability should be done to get at more complete picture of the sustainability of these grain legumes.

Abstract

Increased interest in plant-based food in Norway is creating a demand for more locally produced raw material. In addition, the feed industry has the goal to reduce its dependency on imported protein and use more nationally produced plant proteins. In a preliminary research project funded by the Research funding for the Agriculture and the Food industry (FFL/JA) we are investigating the potential for cultivating quinoa, buckwheat, lentils, chickpea, lupin and soya in Southern Norway. While some of these crops have been grown on a very small scale, we lack knowledge about cultivation under Norwegian conditions. These six crops can be cultivated with the same equipment as cereals; thus, they represent interesting candidates to be included in a cereal rotation. Two fields were established in Agder and Innlandet in spring 2021. Two cultivars of each crop, selected for their earliness, were sowed at two different sowing dates between 24th April and 21st May. Soya was sown only once. Pesticides and herbicides were not applied in the trials. Growth stages were recorded every week. A demonstration field was sown in Vestfold with one sowing date per crop between 23rd April and 1st June. All of the crops were harvested between 25th August and 4th November in Agder. The trial in Innlandet was harvested between 15th September and 27th October. However, chickpeas and one cultivar of soya were not ripe in November and were not harvested. The field in Vestfold was harvested between 1st September and 2nd December (after swathing for the latest). Weeds and length of the growing season were the two main challenging parameters impacting yields in 2021. Quinoa was most affected by weeds while chickpeas and soya could not be harvested in all three locations. Both lentils, buckwheat and lupin showed a potential in the three regions in 2021, while soya could be a candidate in the most southern area. Similar field trials are repeated in 2022.

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Abstract

Seed mixtures with a nurse grass that germinates quickly at low soil temperatures can be an option for faster establishment of Agrostis stolonifera (AS) putting greens after winter damage. From 2015 to 2018 Poa trivialis (PT) ‘Dark Horse’ and Lolium perenne (LP) ‘Chardin’ were evaluated as nurse grasses in comparison with pure AS ‘Independence’ at two experimental sites in each of the two major climatic zones of the Nordic countries. Poa annua (PA) ‘Two‐Putt’ was also included as a nurse grass in the northern zone. As an overall trend, establishment was faster with AS+LP than with AS+PT and AS+PA, which in turn had faster establishment than pure AS. In the northern zone, AS+PT produced better turf quality than pure AS in the seeding year and year after and tended to be superior even on average for the entire trial period (mean value 6.0 vs. 5.8 for pure AS, 5.3 for AS+LP, and 4.6 for AS+PA; scale 1–9 where 9 is the highest quality). In the same zone, AS+PT also suffered less overall winter damage than the other combinations and was less infected with microdochium patch than pure AS. In the southern zone, PT and especially LP were far more persistent than in the northern zone and compromised turfgrass quality compared with pure AS. In conclusion, we recommend PT as a nurse grass for faster establishment of AS putting in the northern zone, but not in the southern zone where AS should rather be seeded in a pure stand.

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Abstract

Many Norwegian consumers eat more red meat than is recommended by the Government. Of the protein currently consumed, 75% is of animal origin. Natural conditions in Norway favour the production of meat, dairy and seafood but high-protein plants can also be grown in the country. This study analysed the environmental impact of growing turnip rapeseed (Brassica rapa) and rapeseed (Brassica napus) and the processing of rapeseed into dietary oil and press cake. The results were then compared with some common animal protein food sources. Impacts were calculated for 24 impact indicators. The climate impact of dried seeds was 1.19 kg CO2-eq/kg, for rape oil—3.0 kg CO2-eq/kg and for rapeseed press cake—0.72 kg CO2-eq/kg. The environmental impact of rapeseed production is higher than in most other countries, predominantly due to lower yields. Press cake from rapeseed could be a valuable source of protein in foods. In Norway, the environmental impacts of this material (climate impact—2.5 kg CO2-eq/kg protein) are at the same level as other plant protein sources, but far lower than some of the most common animal protein sources (climate impact—16–35 kg CO2-eq/kg protein). When comparing the impacts while taking nutrient content into account, these differences remained the same. Improvements in the environmental performance of oilseed and its products can be achieved both by improving yields through better agronomic practices and increasing the proportion of winter rapeseed.

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Abstract

Improved waterlogging tolerance of wheat and barley varieties may alleviate yield constraints caused by heavy or long-lasting precipitation. The waterlogging tolerance of 181 wheat and 210 barley genotypes was investigated in field trials between 2013 and 2014. A subset of wheat genotypes were selected for yield trials in 2015 and 2016. Our aim was to: (1) characterize the waterlogging tolerance of genotypes with importance for Norwegian wheat and barley breeding, and (2) identify which phenotypic traits that most accurately determine the waterlogging tolerance of wheat in our field trials. Waterlogging tolerance was determined by principal component analysis (PCA) where best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) of the traits chlorosis, relative plant height, heading delay, relative spike number, relative biomass and an overall condition score were used as input variables. Six wheat and five barley genotypes were identified as consistently more tolerant in 2013 and 2014. This included the waterlogging tolerant CIMMYT line CETA/Ae. tauschii (895). Chlorosis and the overall condition score were the traits that best explained the yield response of the genotypes selected for the yield trials. Our results show that early stress symptoms did not necessarily reflect the ability to recover post treatment. Thus, records from full crop cycles appear as fundamental when screening populations with unknown tolerance properties.

Abstract

A number of factors such as low soil temperature, desiccation and thatch can be serious limiting factors for the successful reestablishment of golf greens following winter damages. The rate of germination and seedling root growth have important implications for competition between species on a golf green. This research project has shown that P. annua is a very competitive species, due to quicker germination at lower temperatures, especially compared to A. stolonifera and F. rubra ssp communtata. Root growth of P.annua was also significantly quicker than of the Agrostis species tested. Seedlings of Agrostis species and F.rubra ssp commutata that germinate in close proximity to P. annua seedlings stand a large chance of being choked out. In order to reduce competition with P.annua, early seeding should be avoided. In this study, no difference in turfgrass establishment wasobserved when seedlings were grown using soil water extracts or soil from an ice-encased green,compared to a control. However, further investigations regarding reestablishment following iceencasement are warrant, and should be investigated on older greens with a higher organic mattercontent. The results from the demonstration trials emphasize the importance of using a sowingtechnique that ensures proper seed – soil contact. This is of particular importance for theestablishment of turfgrass species on golf greens, due to the high risk of desiccation.

Abstract

Ice encasement (IE) is the most economically important winter stress in Scandinavia; however, little is known about the IE tolerance of different turfgrass species and subspecies except that creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) is more tolerant than annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.). The objective of this study was to assess the impact of IE and two protective covers (plastic and plastic over a 10-mm woven mat) on the winter survival of six cool-season turfgrasses commonly used on golf greens. The experiment was conducted on a sand-based green at Apelsvoll, Norway (60°42′ N, 10°51′ E) during the winters of 2011–2012 and 2012–2013. Turfgrass samples (8 cm in diameter, 10 cm deep) were removed from the plots at the time of cover installation and throughout the winter. The samples were potted and percent live turfgrass cover assessed after 21 d of regrowth in a growth chamber. Percent turfgrass cover, percent disease, and turfgrass quality were also registered in the field plots in spring. Results indicated that velvet bentgrass (Agrostis canina L.) had superior tolerance to IE, surviving for 98 and 119 d of IE during the winters of 2011–2012 and 2012–2013, respectively. The order of IE tolerance in 2012–2013 was: velvet bentgrass > creeping bentgrass > Chewing’s fescue (Festuca. rubra L. ssp. commutata), slender creeping red fescue (F. rubra L. ssp. litoralis) ≥ colonial bentgrass (A. capillaris) > annual bluegrass. Colonial bentgrass responded negatively to both protective covers in 2012 due to the development of Microdocium nivale. None of the species benefited from the plastic cover alone, compared with natural snow conditions. Annual bluegrass was the only species that benefited from plastic over a woven mat.

Abstract

Ice encasement (IE) is the most economically important winter stress in Scandinavia; however, little is known about the IE tolerance of different turfgrass species and subspecies except that creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) is more tolerant than annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.). The objective of this study was to assess the impact of IE and two protective covers (plastic and plastic over a 10-mm woven mat) on the winter survival of six cool-season turfgrasses commonly used on golf greens. The experiment was conducted on a sand-based green at Apelsvoll, Norway (60°42′ N, 10°51′ E) during the winters of 2011–2012 and 2012–2013. Turfgrass samples (8 cm in diameter, 10 cm deep) were removed from the plots at the time of cover installation and throughout the winter. The samples were potted and percent live turfgrass cover assessed after 21 d of regrowth in a growth chamber. Percent turfgrass cover, percent disease, and turfgrass quality were also registered in the field plots in spring. Results indicated that velvet bentgrass (Agrostis canina L.) had superior tolerance to IE, surviving for 98 and 119 d of IE during the winters of 2011–2012 and 2012–2013, respectively. The order of IE tolerance in 2012–2013 was: velvet bentgrass > creeping bentgrass > Chewing’s fescue (Festuca. rubra L. ssp. commutata), slender creeping red fescue (F. rubra L. ssp. litoralis) ≥ colonial bentgrass (A. capillaris) > annual bluegrass. Colonial bentgrass responded negatively to both protective covers in 2012 due to the development of Microdocium nivale. None of the species benefited from the plastic cover alone, compared with natural snow conditions. Annual bluegrass was the only species that benefited from plastic over a woven mat.

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Abstract

There has long been a claim that winter injuries of grass are a significant economic burden for golf courses in the Nordic countries. To confirm this claim, in 2015 the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research and the Norwegian Golf Federation, with support of the Scandinavian Turfgrass and Environment Research Foundation, conducted a net-based survey about winter injury in the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). This comprehensive survey showed that total costs of repair of winter-injured greens and fairways together with lost revenue on golf courses in the Nordic countries can be at least €14 million. In a year with significant winter injuries, the average cost to repair the turf was between €3000 and €12,000 on 88% of the courses. The revenue loss after a winter with considerable injuries was less than €6000 at 50% of the courses, and 25% of the courses reported a loss between €6000 and €12,000 for these years. The causes of winter injuries varied depending on geography and grass species used on the greens. Biotic factors played a major role in the southern part of Scandinavia, and ice and water injuries were most devastating north of 60°N. This paper summarizes some of the answers from the respondents, including information about the dominating grass species on Nordic golf greens.

Abstract

This report presents results from two experimental series in 2012/13 testing the effect of new and already labeled fungicides for the control of Microdochium nivale and Typhula incarnata on golf courses in Norway, Finland and Sweden.