Scientific Journals of INIA (Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria)
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The multi-objective Spanish National Forest Inventory
Get PDFAim of study: To present the evolution of the current multi-objective Spanish National Forest Inventory (SNFI) through the assessment of different key indicators on challenging areas of the forestry sector.Area of study: Using information from the Second, Third and Fourth SNFI, this work provides case studies in Navarra, La Rioja, Galicia and Balearic Island regions and at national Spanish scale.Material and methods: These case studies present an estimation of reference values for dead wood by forest types, diameter-age modeling for Populus alba and Populus nigra in riparian forest, the invasiveness of alien species and the invasibility of forest types, herbivore preferences and effects on trees and shrub species, the methodology for estimating cork production , and the combination of SNFI4 information and Airborne Laser Scanning datasets with the aim of updating forest-fire behavior assessment information with a high degree of accuracy.Main results: The results show the suitability and feasibility of the proposed methodologies to estimate the indicators using SNFI data with the exception of the estimation of cork production. In this case, additional field variables were suggested in order to obtain robust estimates.Research highlights: By broadening the variables recorded, the SNFI has become an even more important source of forest information for the development of support tools for decision-making and assessment in diverse strategic fields such as those analyzed in this study
Assessing diversity among traditional Greek and foreign eggplant cultivars using molecular markers and morphometrical descriptors
Get PDFEggplant is a widely cultivated vegetable crop of great economic importance. Its long lasting history of domestication, selection and breeding has led to the development of numerous cultivars with variable traits. In the present study, we assessed the diversity levels within and among eleven Greek and foreign cultivars, using 22 morphological descriptors and two different classes of molecular markers (retrotransposon microsatellite amplified polymorphism-REMAP markers and nuclear microsatellites). Our results, in accordance with other studies in the field showed: a) the limited levels of genetic polymorphism within the cultivars; b) the high morphological and genetic divergence existing among them as indicated by the genetic distance values calculated, which could be attributed to selection, inbreeding and bottleneck effects; and c) the lack of concordance among morphological descriptors and molecular markers. Despite these, our analysis showed that the utilization of combinations of markers is an effective method for the characterization of plant material providing also useful diagnostic tools for the identification and authentication of the selected Greek cultivars
Agronomic and molecular evaluation of maize inbred lines for drought tolerance
Get PDFDrought is a severe threat to maize yield stability in Serbia and other temperate Southeast European countries occurring occasionally but with significant yield losses. The development of resilient genotypes that perform well under drought is one of the main focuses of maize breeding programmes. To test the tolerance of newly developed elite maize inbred lines to drought stress, field trials for grain yield performance and anthesis silk interval (ASI) were set in drought stressed environments in 2011 and 2012. Inbred lines performing well under drought, clustered into a group with short ASI and a smaller group with long ASI, were considered as a potential source for tolerance. The former contained inbreds from different heterotic groups and with a proportion of local germplasm. The latter consisted of genotypes with mixed exotic and Lancaster germplasm, which performed better in more drought-affected environments. Three inbreds were selected for their potential drought tolerance, showing an above-average yield and small ASI in all environments. Association analysis indicated significant correlations between ASI and grain yield and three microsatellites (bnlg1525, bnlg238 and umc1025). Eight alleles were selected for their favourable concurrent effect on yield increase and ASI decrease. The proportion of phenotypic variation explained by the markers varied across environments from 5.7% to 22.4% and from 4.6% to 8.1% for ASI and yield, respectively. The alleles with strongest effect on performance of particular genotypes and their interactions in specific environments were identified by the mean of partial least square interactions analysis indicating potential suitability of the makers for tolerant genotype selection
Risk factors associated with honey bee colony loss in apiaries in Galicia, NW Spain
Get PDFA cross-sectional study was carried out in Galicia, NW Spain, in order to estimate the magnitude of honey bee colony losses and to identify potential risk factors involved. A total of 99 samples from 99 apiaries were collected in spring using simple random sampling. According to international guidelines, the apiaries were classified as affected by colony loss or asymptomatic. Each sample consisted of worker bees, brood and comb-stored pollen. All worker bees and brood samples were analysed individually in order to detect the main honey bee pathogens. Moreover, the presence of residues of the most prevalent agrotoxic insecticides and acaricides was assessed in comb-stored pollen. The general characteristics of the apiaries and sanitary information regarding previous years was evaluated through questionnaires, while the vegetation surrounding the apiaries sampled was assessed by palynological analysis of comb-stored pollen. The colony loss prevalence was 53.5% (CI95%=43.2-63.9) and Nosema ceranae was found to be the only risk factor strongly associated with colony loss. The decision tree also pointed out the impact of the Varroa mite presence while variables such as apiary size, the incorrect application of Varroa mite treatments, and the presence of Acarapis woodi and Kashmir bee virus (KBV) were identified as possible co-factors
Effects of regulated deficit irrigation on physiology, yield and fruit quality in apricot trees under Mediterranean conditions
Get PDFScarce water resources mainly in arid and semi-arid areas have caused an increasing interest for applying irrigation protocols aiming to reduce water spends. The effects of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) on the performance of apricot trees (Prunus armeniaca L. cv. “Búlida”) were assessed in Murcia (SE Spain), during three consecutive growing seasons (2008-2010). The hypothesis was that RDI would not restrict yield but increase fruit quality while saving water. Two irrigation treatments were established: i) control, irrigated to fully satisfy crop water requirements (100% ETc) and ii) RDI, that reduced the amount of applied water to: a) 40% of ETc at flowering and stage I of fruit growth; b) 60% of ETc during the stage II of fruit growth and c) 50% and 25% of ETc during the late postharvest period (from 60 days after harvest). Stem water potential, gas exchanges, trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA), fruit diameter, yield and fruit quality traits were determined. Vegetative growth was decreased by the use of RDI (12% less TCSA on average for the three years), whereas yield was unaffected. In addition, some qualitative characteristics of the fruits, such as the level of soluble solids, sweetness/acidity relation and fruit colour, were improved by the use of RDI. These results and average water savings of approximately 30%, lead us to conclude that RDI strategies are a possible solution for irrigation management in areas with water shortages, such as arid and semi-arid environments
A Real Option Analysis applied to the production of Arabica and Robusta Coffee in Ecuador
Get PDFThe coffee market is distinguished for being volatile and uncertain in terms of domestic and international prices. Arabica and Robusta coffee are produced in 23 provinces of Ecuador. A decade-long decline of coffee production prompted the Ecuadorian government to launch a public program for replanting coffee trees towards the end of 2011. A grower’s decision to enter, remain in or exit the coffee sector is based on fluctuating profits from each year’s harvest sale. We analyzed the hypothesis whereby the coffee grower’s decision to leave the sector is explained by volatile and uncertain prices. This paper aimed to evaluate the coffee sector with an application of Real Option Analysis for the period 2002-2012. We also defined entry (H) and exit (L) prices for Arabica and Robusta coffee for the analyzed period. Our findings revealed high H and L prices encourage growers to leave the sector for the most part of the analyzed period. High H and L prices resulted from high variable cost due to increasing wages for farm workers. The Ecuadorian government is developing a policy to help growers make production more efficient, encouraging them to remain in the sector in the long run
Mode of inheritance of low-N tolerance adaptive traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under contrasting nitrogen environments
Get PDFBecause of essential economic and ecological concerns, there is increased interest worldwide in developing wheat cultivars that are more efficient in utilizing nitrogen (N) and better suited to N limitations. The objective of the present investigation was to get information on the type of gene action controlling the inheritance of wheat low-N tolerance traits in order to start a breeding program for improving such traits. Six parents of contrasting low-N tolerance were crossed in a diallel fashion. Evaluation of 6 parents, 15 F1crosses and 15 F2 crosses was done using a randomized complete block design with three replications under two levels of soil N, i.e. low-N (0 kg N/ha) and high-N (180 kg N/ha).The magnitude of dominance variance inF2's for all studied traits was much greater than that of additive variance under both high N and low N, suggesting that selection should be postponed to later segregating generations in order to eliminate masking effects of dominance variance and take advantage of the additive variance for the improvement of nitrogen use efficiency and grain yield traits. Narrow-sense heritability (h2n) in F2's was generally of higher magnitude under low-N than high-N, suggesting that it is better to practice selection for studied nitrogen efficiency and grain yield traits under low-N conditions to obtain higher values of selection gain
Comparison of how different feed phosphates affect performance, bone mineralization and phosphorus retention in broilers
Get PDFThe objective of this work was to evaluate the comparative P bio-avalability of different sources of phosphate based on their effects on animal performance, bones mineralization and mineral retention in broilers. To achieve this goal, two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, twenty diets were prepared including five different phosphorus sources, either mono-calcium phosphate (MCP) or 4 different batches of di-calcium phosphate, to supplement non phytic P (NPP) levels at 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 g/kg in the diets. In Experiment 2, three treatments were used: the low MCP diet was deficient in NPP (3.1 g/kg for the starter phase and 2.8 g/kg for the grower phase); the high MCP diet and the high TCP (tri-calcium phosphate) diet included adequate levels of NPP (4.4-4.7 g/kg for the starter phase and 4.2-4.3 g/kg for the grower phase). Phytase was not added to experimental diets. Results of Exp. 1 indicated that an increase of NPP in the diet from 3.0 to 4.0 g/kg increased weight gain and feed intake between d 1 and d 21 (Trial 1). Alternatively, tibia weight and ash percentage at d 21 responded up to the level of 4.5 g/kg and showed significant difference with birds of the 4.0 g/kg NPP group. In Trial 2, chickens fed with the high MCP and TCP had improved growth performances and bone mineralization. No differences were observed on the P availability among different mineral P sources. A level of 4.5 g/kg, NPP is recommended when phytase is not included to maximize both performance and bone mineralization in broiler chickens up to d 21