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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.

2011

Abstract

Timber constructions are often built in combination with other materials such as concrete. These materials can influence the timber construction. Moist concrete can e.g. lead to development of molds which creates an unhealthy living area for people. Furthermore, moisture in wood buildings can negatively affect the wood material, which can lead to negative biological activity in timber and possible reduction of strength properties of timber constructions. The present paper introduces a new innovative method of timber protection and describes the influence of moisture on wood and concrete. The new environmental friendly system for protection of timber has been tested on wood destroying fungi and termites. It can be shown that wood protection by means of electro osmotic pulsing technology can preserve wood in laboratory trials. The wood moisture content is reduced when the protection system is installed. Trials on protected wood against subterranean termites showed lower wood moisture content after test of protected samples compared to untreated samples. However, termite activity could not be reduced to a larger extend as the termite living surroundings were not included. It could be shown that humidity in pores of concrete in cellar walls is reduced using electro osmotic pulsing. The drying of concrete when combined with timber constructions can additionally help to reduce timber degradation as all protection measures that lead to a drier building are positive for fungi and subterranean termite control.

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Abstract

Bioforsk had the pleasure of hosting the Nordic Baltic Potato Tuber-Disease Workshop 2011 (PTDW 2011) at Hamar, Norway 16-18 November 2011. The workshop was mainly aimed at potato advisors, including the potato industry, and scientists from the Nordic and Baltic countries. In addition, we also had participants that are plant breeders, students, and and other people interested in potato quality. In total there were about 60 participants at the workshop from the Nordic countries, UK, Switzerland, USA and China. This Workshop was an activity in Bioforsk project: “Improved potato quality by reduced skin blemish diseases (scab and scurf) in Norwegian potato production” (2008-2012). This project was financed by grants from the Research Council of Norway, the Foundation for Research Levy on Agricultural Products, the Agricultural Agreement Research Fund, and Norwegian potato growers and food industries; Gartnerhallen, Bama, ICA-Norge, NF-Grønt, KiMs and Maarud. The foreign experts attached to this project, Alison Lees (UK), Leslie Wanner (USA) and Jari Valkonen (Finland), were contributors in the workshop. In addition invited speakers were Lv Dianqiu from China and Ueli Merz from Switzerland. The workshop had 5 different sections, in which the 3 first had presentations from the project: 1. Occurrence of skin blemish diseases in the Nordic and Baltic countries 2. Diagnosis and biology of different skin blemish pathogens 3. Control of skin blemish diseases 4. Research activities on other potato tuber diseases in Nordic and Baltic countries 5. Future challenges In the table of contents, the abstracts are presented in the same order as found in the program. The scientific workshop committee consisted of Jari Valkonen (Finland), Björn Andersson (Sweden), Bent J. Nielsen (Denmark) and Arne Hermansen (Norway).

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Abstract

Molecular methods are emerging also as useful tools for wood protection studies. The aim of the present study was to evaluate quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) as a tool for investigating details of the colonization pattern of basidiomycete decay fungi in wood samples after 6 years of soil exposure. Samples of Pinus sylvestris L. (heartwood without treatment), furfurylated P. sylvestris sapwood and Cu-HDO treated P. sylvestris sapwood was in focus. The qPCR method based on basidiomycete DNA content in the wood had the highest sensitivity, while the ergosterol assay was more sensitive than the chitin assay. Visual rating was compared with laboratory analyses and was found to be correlating well with qPCR. This study demonstrates that qPCR in combination with microscopy provides relevant data about basidiomycete colonization in wooden material.

Abstract

Coated wooden claddings in building facades are widely used in the Scandinavian countries, and are often preferred to other materials. Wood is facing increasing competition from other materials that are less labor intensive at the construction site and materials with less demand for maintenance thru service life, and makes further development of wooden claddings essential. Growth of discoloring moulds on exposed coated wooden claddings is mainly of aesthetic concern, and is especially disfiguring for light-colored surfaces. Growth of surface fungi often initiates repeated cleaning and shorter maintenance intervals, which in turn increase the total cost of ownership for wooden claddings. Cost and effort of ownership are often important factors considered when choosing a product, and the traditionally good market situation for wooden claddings is therefore threatened. The development of real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and taxon-specific primers has provided new possibilities for specific detection and quantification of fungi in their natural substrates. In qPCR (quantitative real-time PCR), the accumulation of the PCR product is detected for each amplification cycle. An efficient and reproducible sampling and extraction of DNA is required for a high-throughput qPCR based quantification of discoloring fungi. The authors have now adjusted DNA isolation protocols and optimized real-time PCR assays for species specific detection of fungi frequently found on painted surfaces (Aureobasidium pullulans, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporides, Ulocladium atrum).