Seasoned Sprat Products’ Acceptance in Estonia and in Thailand

The aim of the study was to describe and evaluate competitiveness of Estonian spice-cured sprat products in Estonia and Thailand. Sample A was saltiest, Sample B had lowest overall spiciness, and Sample C had highest pepper flavor and sour taste intensity. The main drivers of consumer acceptance for the spice-cured sprat products were different: flavor and appearance in Estonia and appearance and odor in Thailand. In Estonia, one cluster of consumers liked the traditional (Sample A) and lightly spiced (Sample B) sprat products, while the other cluster liked the traditional (Sample A) and the marinated (Sample C) sprat products. In Thailand, all samples scored low, but manual clustering indicated that marinated (Sample C) sprat products are most acceptable. The current study showed that spice-cured sprat products in general can be accepted by Thai consumers, especially as part of meals, if further flavor development is carried out with the products.     

Evaluation of foliar resistance in potato to Phytophthora infestans based on an international field trial network

During the period 2000–03, local potato cultivars in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Denmark were tested for foliar resistance to Phytophthora infestans (late blight) in an international field trial network. Four standard cultivars were included in the trials: Sava, Oleva, Danva and Kuras. Primary disease-assessment data were entered into a common database, and parameters from the disease progress curves were calculated and made available on interactive web pages. A regression model, using relative area under disease progress curve (RAUDPC) values for cv. Oleva as a reference, was developed for the estimation of 1–9 scale values, where 1 = most susceptible. Standard deviations for the estimated 1–9 scale values and a nonparametric rank stability analysis of RAUDPC were used to evaluate the stability of resistance of the cultivars. Overall, the results showed stability of resistance for cvs Sava, Oleva and Danva, but not for Kuras. Use of the Internet-based Web-Blight service in this study facilitated comparison of results among countries for the level and stability of resistance. The estimated 1–9 scale values were similar to, or slightly lower than, those from official cultivar lists or from the European Cultivated Potato Database, especially for the more resistant cultivars. Possible reasons for discrepancies from different sources and locations are discussed. It is concluded that RAUPDC and the derived 1–9 scale values are useful for ranking cultivars for resistance to P. infestans , but this information is not detailed enough for use in a decision support system for late blight control.     

Regulation of milk intake in young ruminants

We studied the influence of the three main nutritive components of milk - saccharides, fat and amino acids - on milk intake in suckling lambs and on the role of insulin as a key metabolic hormone for the regulation of milk intake. The intake was slowed down after p.o. administration of milk fat (p less than 0.05), after i. v. administration of methionine (p less than 0.001) and after p. o. administration of glucose, lactose (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.001) and sorbitol (p less than 0.001). After i. v. administration of glycerol, lysine, threonine, arginine, glucose, and i. v. and p. o. administration of galactose the intake of milk did not change significantly (p greater than 0.05). The findings indicate that the short-time regulation of milk intake in suckling ruminant animals is not subjected to the specific effect of some of the milk components. Regarding the metabolic effects, the problem concerns the speed of resorption of easily metabolizable sources of energy from the digestive system to the liver and to the whole body. Neutral Zn-insulin administered intraperitoneally at a dose of 4 U X kg-1 increased the milk intake (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.001), in 8 to 22 hours after the administration only when the animals were on the low-fat milk diet (5.9%-11% fat in dry matter). We assume that the long-range hyperphagy can be related mainly with the fast metabolizing of energy-rich substances (glucose) into the body stores (glycogen, fat) accompanied by subsequent hormonal changes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Food intake in suckling rats after glycerol administration

The influence of administered glycerol on the food intake was followed in suckling rats in five age periods (on the 5th, 9th, 13th, 17th and 23rd day of life). Glycerol significantly reduced the food intake (P less than 0.01) in the last three age categories. This finding indicates that from the 13th day of life glycerol becomes one of the limiting factors of food intake for suckling rats in connection with a gradual functional maturing of their control mechanism, regulating the food intake.     

The structure of mating type,virulence, metalaxyl resistance of Phytophthora infestans in a long-term phenotypic study in distinct location in Eastern Estonia

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans was collected from a region of Eastern Estonia during a period of seven years (2001–07). In...     

Different leguminous pre-crops increased yield of succeeding cereals in two consecutive years

Leguminous pre-crops are an important source of green manure in organic crop rotations for improving soil fertility and achieving high yields of cereals. We aimed to study the potential of various leguminous species, other than the traditionally cultivated red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), as green manure pre-crops for subsequent cereals. The use of different legume species enables to exploit advantages of specific legumes in organic cereal production. In order to test the legumes as pre-crops for cereals, we carried out trials located in the temperate climate zone of northeast Europe (58°44′59.41″ N, 26°24′54.02″ E). We sowed the following perennial legumes as pre-crops: red clover, alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum L.) and Washington lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl.), biennial white sweet clover (Melilotus albus Medik.) and annual Alexandria clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.). Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) was used as a control. The leguminous pre-crops were followed by three spring cereals (barley, oat and spring wheat) and two winter cereals (rye and winter wheat). We tested the first-year after-effect (all cereals) and second-year after-effect (only barley and oat) of pre-crops on the grain yield of cereals. Perennial and biennial legume species produced the highest dry matter yield and contained the highest amount of nutrients, especially nitrogen, compared to annual species. All subsequent cereals produced significant extra yields after each leguminous pre-crop in the following two years, although the effect was smaller in the second year. The most suitable pre-crops for spring cereals were red and alsike clover followed by lupine, whereas the best pre-crops for winter cereals were sweet clover and annual clovers. Our results show the potential of various leguminous pre-crop species as valuable sources of green manure in organic crop rotation.     

The etiology of foul brood]

Five hundred and thirty-six samples of honeycombs were examined in a laboratory in the years 1971-1974. In all the samples clinically determined as the foul brood, B. alvei was isolated as a pure culture, and enterococci, or both microorganisms were isolated in mixed form. Twenty-five strains of the isolated streptococci were analyzed microbiologically and biochemically; on the basis of their culture and biochemical characteristics five strains were designated as Streptococcus faecalis, 14 strains as Streptococcus faecalis var. liquefaciens, five strains as Streptococcus faecium and one strain as Streptococcus durans. After checking the used taxonomic key of the culture and biochemical classification of B. alvei it may be stated that the culture and biochemical characteristics are stable. The strains of B. alvei (very dried strains), which persisted in the dried slant meat-peptone agar, were viable under the laboratory conditions, which proves the high resistance of the spores to the environment.     

Drought, snails, and large-scale die-off of southern U.S. salt marshes

Salt marshes in the southeastern United States have recently experienced massive die-off, one of many examples of widespread degradation in marine and coastal ecosystems. Although intense drought is thought to be the primary cause of this die-off, we found snail grazing to be a major contributing factor. Survey of marsh die-off areas in three states revealed high-density fronts of snails on die-off edges at 11 of 12 sites. Exclusion experiments demonstrated that snails actively converted marshes to exposed mudflats. Salt addition and comparative field studies suggest that drought-induced stress and grazers acted synergistically and to varying degrees to cause initial plant death. After these disturbances, snail fronts formed on die-off edges and subsequently propagated through healthy marsh, leading to cascading vegetation loss. These results, combined with model analyses, reveal strong interactions between increasing climatic stress and grazer pressure, both potentially related to human environmental impacts, which amplify the likelihood and intensity of runaway collapse in these coastal systems.