Drought Effect on Grain Number and Grain Weight at Spike and Spikelet Level in Six‐Row Spring Barley

Water is the primary regulator of yield formation in cereals. The effect of water limitation and its timing on development of yield components were studied in detail at spike and spikelet level in spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). An experiment with three watering treatments (control watering, CONT; drought prior to pollination, DR1 and terminal drought, DR2) was set up in a large greenhouse (20 × 30 m). In addition to watering treatments, two NPK fertilizer application rates (0 and 120 kg N ha^?1) were used to investigate the fertilizer effect. The drought effect exceeded the effect of fertilizer application for grain number and single grain weight (SGW). DR1 reduced the number of grains, whereas DR2 reduced both SGW and the number of grains. Resuming the watering at pollination (DR1) restored photosynthesis and enhanced grain filling, resulting in almost similar SGW in DR1 and CONT plants. Spikelets in the upper mid‐section of the spike dominated yield formation in all treatments. This was particularly emphasised in DR1 plants as 58 % of the grain yield was produced in spikelets 3–5, whereas in DR2 and CONT plants it was 39 % and 36 %, respectively. Hence, drought prior pollination strongly reduced yielding capacity (=grain number) in apical and basal spikelets. DR1 and DR2 reduced substantially grain yield and grain N yield resulting in low nitrogen use efficiency.     

Experimental infection of the deer ked (Lipoptena cervi) has no negative effects on the physiology of the captive reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus)

The deer ked (Lipoptena cervi) is a haematophagous parasitic fly of cervids that spread to Finland in the early 1960's. Presently its northern distribution limit lies at approximately 65°N and it is gradually spreading northwards. In Finland the principal host species has been the moose (Alces alces), but the deer ked is about to establish contact with another potential host, the semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) causing possible threats to reindeer health and management. The aim of this study was to investigate if the deer ked would have an influence on the welfare of the reindeer. Eighteen adult reindeer were divided into three experimental groups: the control group and two infected groups with 300 deer keds per reindeer introduced in August-September. One of the infected groups was treated with subcutaneous ivermectin in November. To gather comprehensive data on potential health hazards caused by the deer ked a wide array of physiological variables was measured during and at the end of the experiment in December. The keds caused no clear changes in the complete blood count, plasma clinical chemistry, amino acids, endocrinology, energy stores, enzyme activities or tissue fatty acid profiles of the host. The haematological, clinical chemical and endocrinological values displayed changes that could be related to the seasonal physiological adaptations of the species. In conclusion, at the duration and intensity of infection that were employed, the effects of the deer ked on the measured physiological variables of the reindeer were insignificant.     

Tree species classification from fused active hyperspectral reflectance and LIDAR measurements

A new terrestrial laser system was tested for tree species classification. A dataset consisting of shape parameters of three boreal tree species was collected with Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) and integrated with an actively measured reflectance hyperspectra. Tree species were classified using parameters derived from reflectance spectra and point cloud shape distribution. Classification performance was tested with individual, paired, and mixed combinations of both reflectance and shape parameters. The best classification results were obtained with combined datasets consisting of two reflectance and two shape parameters. Of all tested classification parameter combinations, 67.5% were able to classify all trees with over 90% accuracy. The best reflectance spectrum bands for the examined species were located around 550 and 700 nm. The best shape parameters described the upper midsection or the tops of the trees. This study was a successful step in developing classification algorithms for integrated LIDAR and hyperspectral data.     

Cutin composition of five finnish berries

The raw cutin (i.e., extractive-free isolated cuticular membrane) fraction from Finnish berries, sea buckthorn (Hippopha? rhamnoides), black currant (Ribes nigrum), cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), was depolymerized by NaOMe-catalyzed methanolysis. The composition of cutin monomers was determined by GC-(EI)MS analysis either as methyl esters or as TMSi esters, with OH groups derivatized to TMSi ethers. There was a notable difference in the degree of depolymerization, ranging from 6 to 47%. The extractive-free berry cuticle, that is, raw cutin, thus contains <50% polyester polymer cutin. The predominant cutin monomers were C(16) and C(18) omega-hydroxy acids with midchain functionalities, mainly epoxy and hydroxyl groups. Typically, the major compounds were 9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid, 10,16-dihydroxyhexadecanoic acid, 9,10,18-trihydroxyoctadecanoic acid, 9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadec-12-enoic acid, and 18-hydroxyoctadec-9-enoic acid. The amount of epoxyacids was rather high in sea buckthorn ( approximately 70%) and cranberry ( approximately 60%), compared with the other berries. The black currant cutin differed from that of the other berries with a significant portion of hydroxyoxohexadecanoic acid ( approximately 12% of total monomers). This investigation of the cuticular hydroxy acids of five Finnish berries is part of the exploitation of the northern natural resources related to the chemical composition, nutritional value, and sensory properties.     

Case-control study of factors associated with arthritis detected at slaughter in pigs from 49 farms

Data were collected on the housing, management and disease factors in the weaning and finishing units of 49 integrated pig herds, 24 of them with a high incidence of arthritis at slaughter (case herds) and 25 with a low incidence (control herds). A median of 5.2 per cent (range 3.7 to 12.4 per cent) of the slaughtered pigs in the case herds had arthritis at meat inspection, compared with 2.2 per cent (range 0.3 to 2.8 per cent) in the control herds. In the farrowing units, high clinical sign scores for the lactating sows and piglets less than one week old and a low age at castration were associated with the case herds. In the weaning units, the herds with open partitions between the pens were 5.6 times more likely to be a case herd than the herds with solid walls. A higher age at weaning and moving the piglets at weaning from the farrowing pen instead of the sows decreased the likelihood of being a case herd. In the finishing units, a higher score for clinical signs, using a proper hospital pen, disinfecting the pens between the groups and using a feeding plan increased the likelihood of being a case herd. In total, 145 condemned joints, a median of four (up to six per herd), were collected at the slaughterhouse. In the case herds, 71 of 76 joints (93.4 per cent) had lesions related to osteochondrosis and in the control herds 66 of 69 joints (95.6 per cent) had such lesions. Only two of 11 joints from the case herds and one of 12 joints from the control herds that were examined bacteriologically were positive for Stapylococcus aureus and/or Streptococcus species.     

International influences in the revision of Finnish Forest Act

Major revisions of the Finnish Forest Act were carried out in 1994–1996 and 2010–2013. The need for revision emerged from societal changes and changes in the forest sector’s operational environment that related to the globalisation of markets and influences of international policies. This study analysed the influences of global and European Union forest and environmental policies on the revision of the Forest Act by combining advocacy coalition framework with the four pathways of influence framework introduced by Bernstein and Cashore. The results show that the three identified advocacy coalitions, namely Forestry administration, Private forestry and Environmental coalition remained rather stable over the two revision processes from 1990s to 2010s. The importance of the different pathways of international influence differed between the coalitions. Private forestry and Forestry administration coalitions, which represented forestry paradigm, stressed market-related arguments, whereas Environmental coalition representing environmental paradigm mainly referred to international legally binding rules and non-legally binding initiatives. The argumentation of the actors indicated that international rules and international norms and discourse were regarded to be as equally important.     

Transgenic barley by particle bombardment. Inheritance of the transferred gene and characteristics of transgenic barley plants

Summary Transgenic barley plants (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Kymppi) were obtained by particle bombardment of various tissues. Immature embryos and microspore-derived cultures were bombarded with gold particles coated with plasmid DNA carrying the gene coding for neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTII), together with plasmid DNA containing the gene for -glucuronidase (GUS).Bombarded immature embryos were grown to plants without selection and NPTII activity was screened in small plantlets. One plant proved to be transgenic (T₀). This chimeric plant passed the transferred nptII gene to its T₁ progeny. The presence of the nptII gene was demonstrated by the PCR technique and enzyme activity was analyzed by an NPTII gel assay. Four T₀ spikes and 15 T₁ offspring were transgenic. The integration and inheritance was confirmed by Southern blot hybridization. Transgenic T₂ and T₃ plants were produced by isolating embryos from green grains of transgenic T₁ and T₂ plants, respectively and growing them to plants. After selfing, the ratio of transgenic to non-transgenic T₂ offspring was shown to follow the rule of Mendelian inheritance. The general performance of transgenic plants was normal and no reduction in fertility was observed.Microspore-derived cultures were bombarded one and four weeks after microspore isolation. After bombardment, cultures were grown either with or without antibiotic selection (geneticin ^R or kanamycin). When cultures were grown without selection and regenerated plants were transferred to kanamycin selection in rooting phase, one out of a total of about 1500 plants survived. This plant both carried and expressed the transferred nptII gene. The integration was confirmed by Southern blot hybridization. This plant was not fertile.