Projects

Pollination in fruit orchards - effects of floral diversity and pesticides on pollinating insects

The EU directive 2009/128/EC makes integrated pest management mandatory for growers. This also includes conserving and facilitating important “beneficial organisms” by evaluating needs for actions against pests, limit the use of pesticides and facilitating habitats for these organisms. Pollinating insects is a very important group among these organisms, and in the latter years, more and more studies have shown a decline in pollinating insects.

Algae to Future (A2F) From Fundamental Algae Research to Applied Industrial Practices

LowImpact - ChiNor solutions for Low Impact climate smart vegetable production with reduced pesticide residues in food, soil and water resources

Current challenges in agricultural production practices include negative impacts on soil quality, environmental and food safety. Biochar technologies show promise as tools for climate smart and environmentally friendly agricultural production, both as tools to improve soil quality and impact greenhouse gas emission from soils and to reduce pesticide pollution to the environment and pesticide residues in food. However, there is a lack of studies integrating these concerns and designing joint solutions. The LowImpact project aims to develop such combined solutions for vegetable production in Chinese and Norwegian pedoclimates.

Beyond the genome: epigenetics of defense priming and climatic adaptation in plants

In this project we study epigenetic modifications involved in defenses priming against pests and pathogens and climatic adaptation in plants. These are novel research questions of great interest, both from a basic scientific perspective and from a climate change and crop protection perspective. Healthy, vigorous plants with flexible phenotypes that are well adapted to shifting environmental conditions provide better yield and more efficient carbon sequestration from the atmosphere, with less pesticide use. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of the epigenetic machinery will help inform how epigenetics may be exploited in plant breeding and crop management practices.