Browsing by master's degree program "Master 's Programme in Agricultural Sciences"
Now showing items 81-93 of 93
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(2023)The Finnhorse is the only native horse breed in Finland. Finnhorse has faced several genetic bottlenecks that have reduced the breed’s genetic diversity. The aim of this study was to analyse breed’s genetic diversity using pedigree data, focusing on the level of genetic variation and relatedness of the current population (individuals born between 2000 and 2021). In addition to the changes in the inbreeding rate, relatedness, effective population size and generation interval, the study investigated the individuals that have had the greatest genetic impact on the current population, as well as the relationship coefficients of currently used breeding stallions to the current population. Data, including 88 782 animals, was received from Suomen Hippos ry. The average inbreeding coefficient of the horses born between 2000 and 2021 was 4,5 %. The average inbreeding coefficients have increased during the last decades, but the annual growth has been moderate. The mean generation interval was 12,5 years. The growth of the inbreeding coefficient over the past 13 years was 0,97 %. The average relationship of the latest age group to each other was 10,5 %. Relationship between stallions and mares has been increasing throughout the 21st century. After 2013, the average coefficient of relationship between sexes has remained above 11 %. In this study, the effective population size was 93,5 for those born between 2000 and 2021. The effective population size has decreased from 108,6 individuals of the age group born in 2000 to 94,6 individuals born in 2021. However, the effective population size has remained above 50 individuals, which is considered the limit for the occurrence of problems caused by inbreeding at the population level. Current Finnhorse population can be traced back to five founder stallions: Murto, Eri-Aaroni, Suikku, Vokker and Vieteri. Out of those, Murto has the most remarkable contribution on the population born between 2000 and 2021: around 14,2 %. The five founder stallions are all connected by their lineage. The most used breeding stallions of the 21st century were all from trotter breeding direction and their relationship to the mares of the current population ranged from 10,1 to 18,4 %. The lowest relatedness of all breeding stallions to the mares of the current population was 4,0 %. Eight stallions had less than 6,0 % relatedness. None of them were from trotter breeding direction. The genetic diversity of the Finnhorse has remained at a reasonable level, but it is worth noting that the close relationship of breeding stallions in the trotting direction will probably increase rate of relationship in the future. A wider use of genetically divers stallions and a more even number of mares per stallion could slow down the rate of relationship of the breed and increase the effective population size.
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(2021)The breeding of dairy cattle has changed due to genomic evaluation. Breeding values can be evaluated for young animals who don’t yet have phenotypic data or offspring. However, achieving a high reliability for genomic breeding values requires a large reference population. In the case of rarer breeds, such as Finncattle, acquiring a large reference population can be difficult. In a small population genomic evaluation can thus lead to results with poor reliabilities. The aim of this study was to find out if adding genomic data to the breeding evaluation of Western Finncattle would increase the reliability of the breeding values. The phenotype used in this study was the energy corrected 305-day milk yield of the first lactation and the observations were fixed to the environment factors. Phenotypic data had observations for 26 258 Finncattle cows. Genomic data had the imputed genotypes of 728 Western Finncattle. Estimated breeding values (EBV) were obtained using a single trait BLUP-animal model and genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) were obtained using a single trait genomic ssGBLUP animal model. The results were standardised, and a validation was carried out. The milk yield of Western Finncattle was better than the yield of the other Finncattle breeds and the yield had also steadily increased. Likewise, the genetic trend of Western Finncattle had been increasing. The breeding values of bulls were lower than those of the cows and the genetic trend of bulls was uneven due to the small number of bulls in the study. In addition, the correlation between EBV and GEBV was lower in bulls than in cows. The correlations were higher in older animals than in younger ones. Cows with an observation had a higher correlation than those without an observation. Similarly, the non-genotyped animals had higher correlations than the genotyped individuals. For genotyped bulls, the correlation increased with the number of offspring. The addition of genomic data to the evaluation increased the reliability of the values in the validation. Despite the small population of Western Finncattle, the reliability of breeding values can be increased by adding genomic data to the evaluation. This reliability can be further increased by increasing the size of the reference population. The limited number of bulls in the population of Western Finncattle resulted in unreliable results in this study and acquiring enough genomic data from bulls can prove to be difficult. Therefore, it could be reasonable to focus on cows in the genomic evaluation of Western Finncattle
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(2022)Suomenlampaalle on kartoitettu alun perin 73 eri isälinjaa, mutta pässejä on tällä hetkellä elossa 44 eri linjasta. Hollolassa on 1980–1990-luvuilla pakastettu vanhoja siemenannoksia, joiden rodut ja polveutumistiedot ovat vajavaiset eivätkä niiden isälinjat ole tiedossa, minkä takia niitä ei ole käytetty. Tavoitteena oli selvittää genotyypityksen avulla, eroavatko nykyiset suomenlampaan isä-linjojen edustajat geneettisesti toisistaan sekä ovatko vanhat pakastetut siemenannokset mahdollisesti suomenlampaita ja voisiko niitä käyttää vanhojen kadonneiden isälinjojen palauttamiseen tai uusien isälinjojen luomiseen suomenlampaalle. Käytettävä aineisto koostui 80 genotyypistä, joista 43 oli kerätty eläviltä suomenlammaspässeiltä ja 37 vanhoista siemennäytteistä. Näytteet genotyypitettiin NeoGen GGp Ovine 50K -sirulla ja niiden genotyypitys onnistui hyvin. Moniulotteisen skaalauksen (MDS) perusteella osa vanhoista siemennäytteistä osoittautui olevan muita kuin suomenlampaita. Eri isälinjoja edustavat pässit painottuivat löyhästi kolmeen eri ryhmään, mutta kokonaisuudessaan eri isälinjojen pässit eivät geneettisesti eronneet paljoa toisistaan. Pässien välillä havaitut geneettiset erot johtuivat isälinjojen sijaan todennäköisesti eniten siitä, kuinka paljon yhteisiä esivanhempia tutkielmaan mukaan valituilla pässeillä oli. Vanhojen siemennäytepässien yhdistäminen luotettavasti elossa oleviin tai jo kadonneisiin isälinjoihin genomiaineiston perusteella osoittautui mahdottomaksi, koska pässeihin sekoittuu emien kautta kaikkia muita isälinjoja. Siemennäytepässit ovat kuitenkin pääasiassa geneettisesti etäisempiä suurimpaan osaan yleisimmistä isälinjoista, minkä takia niitä voitaisiin hyödyntää siemennyksen kautta lisäämään nykyisen suomenlammaspopulaation geneettistä monimuotoisuutta. Pässien genomiaineistoon perustuvien sukulaisuuksien (G-matriisi) ja sukupuuaineistoon perustuvien sukulaisuuksien (A-matriisi) väliset korrelaatiot olivat pääasiassa korkeita. Neljällä pässillä korrelaatio oli matala. Muilla pässeillä korrelaatiot vaihtelivat 0,35 ja 0,95 välillä keskiarvon ollessa 0,71. Matala korrelaatio kertoo todennäköisesti siitä, että näiden neljän pässin sukupuutiedoissa on virheitä, näytteet on otettu vääristä eläimistä tai näytteet ovat menneet sekaisin genotyypityksessä. Tämän perusteella suomenlampailla genotyypitystä kannattaisi aluksi hyödyntää ainakin sukulaisuuksien tarkistamisessa, sillä kirjaamisvirheitä voi tulla helposti korkean sikiävyyden takia. Samalla saataisiin kerättyä genomiaineistoa, mitä voitaisiin tulevaisuudessa hyödyntää, jos suomenlampaalle halutaan alkaa tekemään genomista valintaa. Isälinjojen alkuperäinen tarkoitus paritusvalintojen tekemisen helpottamiseksi on menettänyt merkitystään, kun lampaiden tuotosseurantaohjelma mahdollistaa sukulaisuuksien tarkistamisen kuuden sukupolven perusteella. Tutkielman tulosten perusteella suomenlampaan jalostuksessa tärkeintä olisi eri isälinjojen säilyttämisen sijaan pyrkiä ylläpitämään mahdollisimman monipuolisesti eri sukuja ja hillitsemään sukusiitosasteen kasvua populaatiotasolla.
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(2023)Animal transport has been causing public debate during the last few years. Almost all production animals are transported at least once during their lifetime. It is well known that transport can be detrimental to animal welfare in many ways and cause increased morbidity and mortality. A longer transport time is often associated with decreased welfare more than a shorter transport time. However, shorter transport time does not necessarily guarantee better welfare of animals. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is common in cattle and a usual cause for antimicrobial treatment. It is often transmitted from one animal to another in situations where animals from different origins are commingled. Especially animals that are young or have poor immunity are likely to get ill. That is why calves, that often are collected from different farms and transported to rearing units or to abattoirs, are at risk of getting respiratory infections. The aim of this study was to find out how transport time affects average daily gain and the likelihood of getting a BRD diagnosis among calves that were transported. There were 334 bull calves that were transported to a rearing unit in Western Finland in 2017. Transport time, diagnoses and given antimicrobial treatments as well as daily gain of the calves were recorded. The age of the calves at transport varied between 10 and 45 days. According to the results, longer transport time shortened the time until the first antimicrobial treatment (p = 0.044, coeff. = -0.942). Transport time was not associated with BRD diagnosis at the first clinical examination (p = 0.529, OR = 1.029) but it was positively associated with increased daily gain (p = 0.024, coeff. 0.007). These results might partly be explained by which areas the calves originated from and indicate that transport time did not necessarily play a big role in welfare of the transported calves in this study.
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(2022)Biochars are produced from organic materials using pyrolysis and are used as a soil amendment to improve soil fertility and plant growth. Biochars are particularly beneficial to soils with high acidity, low carbon (C) content, nitrogen (N) content and other nutrient contents. However, it is not well-studied whether the beneficial effects of a biochar exist for the long-term. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of one-time application of spruce biochar on soil and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) properties in the long-term. For this purpose, soil and plant properties were measured from the biochar field experiment in a boreal nutrient deficient Umbrisol where spruce biochar was applied eight years earlier. The experiment had a split-plot design with biochar application rates (0, 5, 10, 20 and 30 t ha-1) as the main-plot factor. The effects of fertilisers alone and their interaction with biochar were studied with three treatments (control, mineral fertiliser and meat bone meal (MBM)) as the sub-plot factor. Soil moisture content at 0–15 cm depth, as well as pH, plant available nutrients, total C and N content and C/N ratio of the soil were measured. Barley growth was assessed indirectly by measuring leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD), leaf area index (LAI), plant stand density, biomass, C and N content, C/N ratio, grain yield and weight of 1000 grains (TGW). No consistent significant effects of biochar on soil moisture content or soil chemical properties were observed. Biochar application did not have significant effects on leaf chlorophyll, leaf area index, plant density or biomass of barley. The highest biochar application rate of 30 t ha-1 tended to increase grain yield and TGW but the increases were not statistically significant. Mineral and MBM fertilisers produced similar grain yields although N was likely less available from MBM earlier in the growing season. Biochar and fertiliser interaction did not have significant effects on any of the measured properties. The lack of effects of biochar may be explained by the high amount of initial soil organic matter as well as low liming effect and low nutrient content of the used biochar. In addition, the lack of significant effects of biochar also suggests loss of biochar from topsoil due to weathering and downward displacement of biochar over the period of eight years. In this study, biochar application did not have negative consequences on the measured soil and crop properties. Therefore, it should be safe to use. Biochars may provide a viable option to sequester carbon in boreal agriculture. Further research on this is still needed to investigate the long-term effects of different types of biochars on different types of soils.
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(2022)Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, voisiko tomaatin (Solanum lycopersicum) typpilannoitusta vähentämällä hidastaa ansarijauhiaisen (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) populaation kasvunopeutta ja siten parantaa biologisen torjunnan tehokkuutta. Ansarijauhiainen on merkittävä kasvihuonetuholainen, jota torjutaan yleisesti jauhiaiskiilukaisella (Encarsia formosa), mutta torjunnan tehokkuus ei aina ole riittävä, jos ansarijauhiaisen populaation kasvunopeus on suurempi kuin jauhiaiskiilukaisella. Aiemmissa tutkimuksissa ansarijauhiaisen on havaittu hyötyvän tomaatin typpilannoituksesta. Tutkimuksessa jauhiaisia munitettiin vuorokauden ajan klipsihäkeissä tomaateilla, joille annettiin typpipitoisuudeltaan neljää erilaista lannoiteliuosta. Lannoiteliuosten typpipitoisuus muuttui tomaatin kehitysvaiheen perusteella kaupallisten viljelmien käytäntöjen mukaisesti. Jauhiaisten kuolleisuus ja kehitysaika munasta aikuiseksi määritettiin. Kehitysaika laskettiin kummallekin sukupuolelle erikseen. Kuoriutuneista naaraista osa munitettiin kahden viikon ajan gelatiinikapseleista valmistetuissa häkeissä muninnan määrän selvittämiseksi. Typpilannoituksen vaikutusta tomaatin typpipitoisuuteen arvioitiin jauhiaislehtien klorofylli-indeksien perusteella. Tulosten perusteella typpilannoituksella ei ollut merkitsevää vaikutusta jauhiaisten kuolleisuuteen ja kehitysaikaan eikä jauhiaislehtien klorofyllipitoisuuksiin. Yllättävänä havaintona naaraat kuoriutuivat koiraita aikaisemmin kaikilla typpitasoilla: hyönteisillä on yleisempää, että pienikokoisemmat koiraat kuoriutuvat ensin. Kokeen toinen vaihe epäonnistui, eikä muninnan määrää per naaras saatu analysoitua. Näyttäisi siltä, että typpilannoituksen tulisi olla huomattavasti nykykäytäntöä vähäisempi, jotta sillä voisi hillitä jauhiaispopulaation kasvunopeutta. Tämä tulisi kuitenkin varmistaa lisäkokein, ja samalla selvittää vähennetyn typpilannoituksen vaikutukset jauhiaiskiilukaisen torjuntatehoon sekä mahdolliset satovaikutukset. Myös sukupuolten välistä kehitysaikojen eroa olisi tutkittava lisää, jotta saataisiin selville taustalla vaikuttavat syyt tai mekanismit.
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(2023)Maize (Zea mays L.) is cultivated in large scale for various purposes worldwide and maize is also commonly used as roughage for cattle. Due to climate warming and lengthening of the growing season, the cultivation of forage maize has been predicted to increase also in Finland. Maize provides a significantly higher dry matter yield in one harvest in comparison with other annual crops or silage grass. The aim of this master's thesis was to investigate the effect of the nitrogen (N) fertilization rate on the quantity and quality of the forage maize yield. The field trial was conducted in Helsinki during the growing seasons of 2019 and 2020. There were three rates of N fertilization in the experiment (100, 150 and 200 kg N/ha). Increasing the amount of N fertilization increased the crude protein (CP) content of forage maize, but the amount of N fertilization had no effect on the other analyzed quality factors or the yield rate. Nitrogen fertilization and year neither had an interaction on the quantity or quality of the forage maize yield. The fresh yield rate was higher in 2020 than in 2019. The starch and CP contents of the 2019 harvest were higher, and the ash and indigestible neutral detergent fiber (iNDF) contents were lower than in the 2020 harvest. On the other hand, there was no difference in the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content between the years 2019 and 2020. The higher starch and CP contents and lower ash and iNDF contents of the 2019 forage maize yield compared to the 2020 yield is explained by the higher ear percentage of the 2019 yield (58% vs. 51%). In 2019, the proportion of ears of the dry matter yield was higher. The N fertilization rates for maize permitted by the Nitrates Directive (at most 110–150 N kg/ha) and Yara's recommendation of 140 N kg/ha are sufficient to produce a high forage maize yield under the prevailing growing conditions in Finland. The increase in the rate of N fertilization from the current recommendations cannot be justified by increasing the CP content of forage maize either, because it is not economically viable with N fertilization. The results indicate that it is possible to produce forage maize yield that is good in quality and especially in quantity in southern Finland. Maize silage can be used to replace grass silage in cattle feeding without reducing production, and with improved utilization of nitrogen for production.
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(2018)Since 2004 the Finnish Ayrshire Breeders' Society has offered a Canadian conformation classification system to its members via the cooperation with Ayrshire-Canada. The Canadian classification system differs from the Nordic system and has e.g. udder texture as a new trait describing udder softness and elasticity. The research objective was to estimate the genetic variation of udder texture and its correlation to production traits and somatic cell count and udder conformation traits in the Finnish Ayrshire cows. The data from the Finnish Ayrshire Breeders contained phenotypic records on the 1st lactation cows in 2011–2017. Finnish Animal Breeding Association (Faba osk) provided pedigree, herd, yield, insemination and calving information for the cows. The final data set for statistical analyses contained records on 3303 cows. The fixed effects of the traits were investigated by analysis of variance (R program lm). The variance and covariance components of the traits were analysed with Bayesian methodology resorting to the R program MCMCglmm. The heritabilities for the first lactation traits were 0,34 for milk yield, 0,26 for protein yield and 0,26 for fat yield and 0,10 for logarithmic somatic cell count (SCS). The heritability of udder conformation traits were from 0,13 for fore udder up to 0,47 for teat length. The heritability of udder texture was 0,15. The genetic correlation of udder texture with production traits were all negative: -0,36 – -0,34, and zero with SCS. The genetic correlations of udder texture with other udder conformations traits were positive with the highest being with mammary system (0,52), median suspensory (0,51) and udder depth (0,45). The data was representative and sufficiently large, as the heritabilities for production traits were similar to those found earlier and the accuracy of estimates was satisfactory. The longevity can be measured by the total number of lactations. The variation in this number was mainly explained by the milk yield and SCS of the first lactation records. Among the respective udder conformation traits, also the median suspensor and udder depth were significant. Because the udder texture is correlated with the latter ones, its contribution to the variation was not significant. Udder texture has a reasonable amount of genetic variation and is positively genetically correlated with other udder conformation traits, in particular with mammary system, median suspensory and udder depth. The use of the udder texture as an indicator trait for longevity would require a larger data volume. People who use the Finnish Ayrshire Breeder's AF-class-system should have all their cows assessed so the research and selection would have access to records covering a representative variation range.
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Valon vaikutus korianterin (Coriandrum sativum) ja tillin (Anethum graveolens) flavoriyhdisteisiin (2023)Indoor gardening is continuously increasing among consumers. Consumers and greenhouse entrepreneurs are looking for ways to optimize growing conditions for their plants to produce high quality and good yield. So far, the effects of LED lights on the plant biomass production and on the composition of volatile aroma compounds have been investigated. However, the effects of different lights on the taste and odor of homegrown herbs is yet to be discovered. The aim of this study was to investigate how different light conditions would affect the composition of compounds that are mainly responsible for the specific flavor of selected model plants. The main goal was to investigate what type of volatile compounds could be obtained in plants grown under different light conditions. The second goal was to investigate how non-volatile saliva soluble compounds could be modified due to the different growing conditions. Coriander and dill were selected as model plants. Coriander is globally utilized herb while dill is one of the most used herbs in the Nordic countries. Due to their strong flavor, both of these herbs divide consumer opinions and therefore investigation of their flavor modification is important. Coriander and dill were grown in domestic smart gardens manufactured by Plantui Oy. Used light conditions included control, green and blue light. Control light composed of a combination of blue, green and red light. Light source was LED lights. The herbs were grown at +22 °C and at humidity of 56.5 %. Used nutrients were ready-made mixtures by Plantui Oy. The composition of artificial saliva was optimized with commercial coriander and dill for the investigation of flavor compounds. Coriander and dill samples were extracted with the developed artificial saliva after which the volatile compounds were analyzed by a combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and non-volatile compounds by a combination of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Principal component analysis (PCA) was utilized to investigate the composition of volatile compounds while partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to investigate the differences in the non-volatile compounds. Used light conditions altered the chemical composition of herb leaves. Also, light conditions had a visible effect on plant growth. For example, herbs grown in blue light germinated weakly and produced less biomass. The profile of volatile compounds in corianders grown under green and blue light differed from those grown under control light. For dill, the profiles differed only for the samples grown under blue light. Majority of the volatile compounds were components of the essential oils of herbs and compounds that enhance stress tolerance. When looking at saliva soluble non-volatile compounds, coriander grown under blue light was different from the one grown under control light while for dill a difference was observed both under blue and green light. Based on the results, special light recipes can be developed to modify the flavor of coriander and dill. Further research is still needed, especially on the effects of light conditions in plant cell signaling and thereby on the morphological changes in plants and as a consequence on their flavor compounds.
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(2022)Amerikankarpalo (Vaccinium macrocarpon) on hapan punainen marja, joka on kotoisin Pohjois-Amerikasta. Karpalon suosio on lisääntynyt viime aikoina sen tutkittujen terveysvaikutusten johdosta. Karpalon terveysvaikutukset ovat herättäneet halun viljellä niitä myös Suomessa. Suomen kasvukausi on kuitenkin lyhyt, eivätkä karpalot ehdi kypsyä täällä riittävästi. Siksi karpalon tunneliviljelyä on ryhdytty kokeilemaan. Tästäkin huolimatta marjat saatetaan joutua keräämään raakoina. Valon tiedetään vaikuttavan etyleenin ja antosyaanien muodostumiseen, joten karpaloiden jälkikypsytys valojen alla pitäisi olla mahdollista. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää miten valospektrit vaikuttavat eri kypsyysasteissa kerättyjen amerikankarpaloiden etyleenin, antosyaanien ja värin muodostukseen. Amerikankarpalolajikkeen Pilgrim- marjoja kerättiin kolmella eri kypsyysasteella vihreinä, valkoisina ja punertuvina. Käsittelyinä käytettiin sinistä, punaista ja laajaa (AP673L Valoya) valospektriä. Kontrollina toimi pimeys. Jokainen kypsyysaste sai 0 vrk:n, 7 vrk:n ja 14 vrk:n käsittelyn. Käsittelyiden jälkeen karpaloista mitattiin etyleenin muodostumisnopeus, kokonaisantosyaanipitoisuus ja väri. Valokäsittelyllä, kypsyysasteella ja näiden yhdysvaikutuksella oli merkitsevä vaikutus karpalon etyleenin, värin ja antosyaanien muodostumiseen sadonkorjuun jälkeen. Erityisesti sininen valo vaikutti merkittävästi värin muodostumiseen vihreinä kerätyillä karpaloilla. Käsittelyiden väliset erot tasaantuivat valkoisina kerätyissä karpaloissa. Punertuvina kerätyissä karpaloissa värin muodostumisessa ei ollut eroja käsittelyiden välillä. Kaikki valokäsittelyt kiihdyttivät etyleenin muodostumista vihreinä kerätyissä karpaloissa. Valkoisina kerätyissä etyleeniä muodostui enää sinisen valon alla. Punertuvina kerätyissä karpaloissa etyleenin muodostumisessa ei ollut eroja käsittelyiden välillä. Antosyaaneja muodostui vihreinä ja valkoisina kerätyissä karpaloissa eniten sinisen valon alla. Punertuvina kerätyissä antosyaaneja kertyi eniten laajan spektrin alla. Tutkimus osoitti, että raakoina kerättyjä karpaloita voidaan kypsyttää valon avulla. Tämä saattaisi mahdollistaa karpaloiden kypsyttämisen varastoinnin aikana. Sinisen valon vaikutuksesta karpalon viljelyssä kannattaisi tehdä jatkotutkimuksia.
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(2021)Eucalyptus growing by smallholders for financial income has rapidly expanded in the district of Mecha, Amhara region, Ethiopia. Nevertheless, a lack of market knowledge on final consumer markets is limiting the income that smallholders receive for their eucalyptus poles. This study aims to uncover the barriers to market knowledge transfer hindering smallholders from receiving higher incomes for their products by analyzing the vertical coordination of actors in the value chain. The qualitative study was based on the Global Value Chain framework, which uses the theory of chain governance to explain the vertical coordination amongst actors. For the study, 18 semi-structured interviews (5 smallholders, 6 traders, 3 service providers, 2 experts, 2 regulators) were conducted with individuals and groups representing a total of 21 individuals. The interviews were transcribed and edited for theory-driven thematic analysis. The coordination between smallholders and traders falls closest to the market governance type meaning that transactions are based on price and product specification. The increased demand for high-quality eucalyptus poles in Bahir Dar reflected by high prices is not communicated through the chain to the producers. This lack of knowledge on the price variation for different pole qualities, together with unclear local pole classification system, leads to the possibility for traders to exploit smallholder tree growers to gain higher rent. Linking woodlot valuation to the market demand in Bahir Dar, increasing smallholders’ knowledge on the price variation for different qualities of poles, and improving the local pole classification system to include pole quality could enable tree growers in Mecha district to achieve higher financial benefits from their participation in the eucalyptus pole value chain.
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(2021)Organic agriculture is growing steadily in Europe. Demand for organic products and pressure from policy changes in the EU have created a need for organic seed material. One of the limiting factors is the lack of organic variety testing. Currently no official organic Value of Cultivation and Use (VCU) trials or standards for organic variety testing excist in the EU. Plant breeding companies like Boreal Plant Breeding want to offer varieties for organic farmers but they lack information on the performance of their varieties in organic conditions. The main objective of this experiment was to determine the most important variety traits in organic agriculture in Finland and which of the Boreal Plant Breeding oat varieties exhibit the most favourable traits for organic growing conditions. Relationships between observed traits were also examined. A wide range of observations and measurements were performed from the trial throughout the growing season. Quality analysis of the yield were performed after harvest. The objects of examination during growing season included growth development, leaf area index (LAI), nutrient status with SPAD (Soil and Plant Analysis Development) measurements, plant height and yield components. Plant height and LAI appeared to be the best indicators for evaluation of performance potential of oat in organic conditions. SPAD value wasn’t found to have a connection to oat yield nor was it an indicator for oat LAI. High LAI increased oat height, yield and yield component shoots/m2 but effected negatively on the yield component panicles/m2 during the end of stem elongation. Plant height was a good indicator of yield level. The number of weeds and LAI value didn’t have a connection in this experiment and neither did weed number and yield. The early and late varieties varied in their reaction to the low-input growing conditions. Early varieties had generally lower yield but better yield quality than the late varieties. ‘Nella’ showed potential to be a variety with good yield quality and high yield in low-input conditions in Southern Finland. Area of cultivation and the end use of the oat are important factors in variety selection.
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(2023)Ruoantuotanto ja sen kestävyys ovat yhä useammin esillä arkipäivän keskusteluissa, sekä politiikassa ja mediassa. Tutkimusten mukaan lasten ja nuorten tieto siitä mistä ruoka tulee, on vuosien mittaan huonontunut, sillä kaupungistuvassa yhteiskunnassa maatalous ei ole enää osa nykynuoren arkipäivää. Vuonna 2014 tuli kestävän ruoantuotannon opetuksesta ensimmäistä kertaa osa yläkoulun biologian opetussuunnitelmaa; aihetta tulisi näin ollen koulussa opettaa opetussuunnitelman mukaisesti. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten yläkoulun biologian opettajat kokevat kestävän ruoantuotannon opetuksen ja mitä haasteita se heille tuottaa. Opettajat saivat myös antaa ehdotuksia opetuksen kehittämiseen. Tutkimus toteutettiin kyselytutkimuksena vuonna 2022 yläkoulun 7–9 luokkien biologian opettajille Suomessa. Kyselyyn vastasi 46 opettajaa. Kestävyys ruoantuotannossa miellettiin keskimäärin ensisijaisesti ekologiseksi kysymykseksi, vaikka kestävyyden määritelmä on paljon laajempi. Kyselyyn vastanneiden opettajien mukaan perehdytys aiheeseen omissa opinnoissa oli olematonta tai sitä ei ollut lainkaan. Kestävä ruoantuotanto koetaan kuitenkin tärkeäksi aiheeksi, jota tulisi opettaa peruskoulussa. Kysymys siitä, kuuluuko opintokokonaisuus osaksi biologian opintoja, jakoi mielipiteitä. Opettajat olivat avoimia ja kiinnostuneita maatila- ja asiantuntijavierailujen järjestämisestä paikan päällä tai etänä, sekä kokivat sen hyväksi tavaksi oppia uutta ruoantuotannosta. Kuitenkin niin opetuksessa kuin vierailuissa haasteeksi osoittautuivat vahvasti aikarajoitteet, kustannukset ja aiheen opetuksen hankaluus. Haastavina opetuksen aiheina esille nousivat kotieläintuotanto, kasvintuotanto ja eläinten hyvinvointi. Tutkimuksen mukaan opettajat kaipaavat opetuksen tueksi monenlaista materiaalia. Valmiit oppimiskokonaisuudet antaisivat mahdollisuuden käyttää aikaa opetukseen viisaasti ja myös saatavilla oleva tieto olisi ajankohtaisen tutkitun tiedon mukaista. Hankepohjaista toimintaa kaivataan, jotta hyväksi havaittuja toimintatapoja voitaisiin hyödyntää ympäri Suomen. Oppiainerajat ylittävä yhteistyö kestävän ruoantuotannon ympärillä voisi auttaa nuoria löytämään urapolkuja ruoan ja sen tuotannon parista. Saadaksemme kestävästä ruoantuotannosta kiinnostavan, sekä pysyvämmän osan biologian opintokokonaisuutta, tulee opettajia tukea opetuksessa, sekä luoda heille käyttöön kiinnostavaa materiaalia ja kokonaisuuksia, joista innostuvat niin oppilas kuin opettaja. Näin voimme vaikuttaa tulevaisuuden kuluttajien tietoisuuteen ruoasta ja sen tuotannosta, sekä kannustaa kestäviin valintoihin omassa arjessamme.
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