• Authors:
    • Razo-Flores, E.
    • Celis, L.
    • Gomez-Tovar, F.
    • Alatriste-Mondragon, F.
  • Source: Bioresource Technology
  • Volume: 116
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Oat straw was subjected to sequential pretreatment: acid/alkaline/enzymatic, to convert the lignocellulosic material in soluble sugars. The hydrolysates from acid pretreatment (2% HCl, 90°C) and enzymatic pretreatment (cellulase, pH 4.5, 45°C) were used as substrates in two lab-scale UASB reactors for methane production. The acid and enzymatic hydrolysates contained 25.6 and 35.3 g/L of total sugars, respectively, which corresponded to a COD of 23.6 and 30.5 g/L, respectively. The UASB reactor fed with acid hydrolysate achieved a maximum methane yield of 0.34 L CH 4/g COD at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 2.5 g COD/L-d. In the reactor fed with enzymatic hydrolysate the methane yield was 0.36 LCH 4/g COD at OLR higher than 8.8 g COD/L-d. The anaerobic digestion of both hydrolysates was feasible without the need of a detoxification step. The sequential pretreatment of oat straw allowed to solubilize 96.8% of hemicellulose, 77.2% of cellulose and 42.2% of lignin.
  • Authors:
    • Ochodzki, P.
    • Goral, T.
    • Bulinska-Radomska, Z.
  • Source: Biuletyn Instytutu Hodowli i Aklimatyzacji Roslin
  • Issue: 263
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: The aim of the study was to determine Fusarium head blight resistance of spring type genotypes from the genera Triticum, Avena and Hordeum, and to determine the content of Fusarium mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol - DON and its derivatives) in grain. Head and kernel infection of barley was low and amounted 7.3% and 8.3%, respectively. However, barley accumulated 1.23 ppm of DON in grain. As for oat varieties, 26.5% of panicles showed FHB symptoms. Fusarium kernel damage was low and amounted 6.0%. Oat accumulated low amounts of DON in grain (0.44 ppm). Significant variation was found in genotypes of the genus Triticum in head infection (1.0-34.7%), kernel damage (0.7-30.1%) and accumulation of deoxynivalenol in grain (0.26-6.61 ppm). The cultivars of bread wheat were the most susceptible. There was also a significant intraspecific diversity of resistance in wheat, spelt and emmer. Fusarium head blight resistant and medium-resistant genotypes were identified.
  • Authors:
    • Zie, J.
    • Hagenblad, J.
    • Leino, M.
  • Source: Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
  • Volume: 59
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Landrace accessions have long been recognized as an important source of genetic diversity for crop species, and landraces are stored in genebanks across the world as genetic resources for future crop development. Landraces are also an important part of the human cultural heritage and as such they have been used for genetic studies to make inferences about historical agriculture. However, surprisingly little is known about the within-accession diversity of landrace crops of different species. In order to evaluate the diversity of Swedish landraces we used microsatellite markers to genotype accessions of four species (barley, pea, oats and rye), both extant genebank material and 114-year-old seed samples of similar geographic origin and type. We found consistently high levels of within-population genetic diversity in the historical material, but varying and often lower diversity levels in the genebank accessions. We also make tentative conclusions about how representative the genebank material is to what was originally cultivated in its reported area of origin and suggest that the true identity of the genebank accessions is unclear and that historical seed collections should be a more appropriate material for the study of historical agriculture.
  • Authors:
    • Arendt, E.
    • Zannini, E.
    • Bez, J.
    • Czerny, M.
    • Wolter, A.
    • Hager, A.
    • Czerny, M.
  • Source: European Food Research and Technology
  • Volume: 235
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Bread is a major staple food consumed daily in all parts of the world. A significant part of the human population cannot tolerate gluten, a storage protein found in wheat, rye and barley, and therefore, products made from alternative cereals are required. During this study, the bread-making potential of seven gluten-free flours, wheat and wholemeal wheat flour was compared. Fermentation potential of the different flours was determined, showing that dough development height of gluten-free and wholemeal wheat samples was lower than for wheat and oat flour. Apart from standard bread quality parameters such as loaf-specific volume and physical crumb texture, also water activity and shelf life have been determined. The shelf life of gluten-free breads was reduced compared to wheat bread. Aroma profiles were evaluated by a trained panel. Wheat, oat and wholemeal wheat breads were liked moderately, while the remaining samples had lower liking scores. Crumb grain characteristics were investigated using image analysis, and microstructure was observed by scanning electron microscopy. Overall, only breads produced from oat flour were of similar quality to wheat bread, and the utilization of buckwheat, rice, maize, quinoa, sorghum and teff flours resulted in breads of inferior quality.
  • Authors:
    • Nerg, A.
    • Kivimaenpaa, M.
    • Hartikainen, K.
    • Holopainen, T.
  • Source: Botany-Botanique
  • Volume: 90
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: To study the possible differences in tropospheric ozone (O 3) tolerance of oat ( Avena sativa L.) and wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), two oat and two wheat cultivars were exposed to 0, 50, or 100 nL.L -1 O 3 concentrations in growth chambers. Measurements on volatile organic counpound emission and physiological, biochemical, and leaf structural characteristics were conducted with 2- and 4-week-old seedlings. Neither of the studied species was particularly O 3 sensitive, but O 3 sensitivity should rather be defined on the basis of the characteristics of the cultivars within species. Visible leaf injuries increased with leaf age and with increasing O 3 concentration. Net photosynthesis ( Pn), stomatal conductance ( gs), and chlorophyll fluorescence ( Fv/ Fm) of 2-week-old seedlings were more detrimentally affected by O 3 compared with older seedlings. Wheat generally invested more in photosynthesis and related processes, such as gs, Fv/ Fm, concentrations of Rubisco, chlorophylls and carotenoids, and synthesis of starch compared with oat. O 3 increased Rubisco concentration in 2-week-old and carotenoid concentration in 4-week-old seedlings, especially in wheat. Lower extent of O 3-caused visible leaf injuries in the other oat cultivar can supposedly be explained by its low stomatal conductance and high monoterpene production.
  • Authors:
    • Rickard, I.
    • Holopainen, J.
    • Helama, S.
  • Source: Holocene
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue: 8
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Climate and weather variation affect agricultural productivity, with consequences for both overall food availability and the wider economy. Knowledge of these processes has implications for understanding historical demography and predicting effects of climate change on societies. We studied the relationships between ambient temperature and the yields and prices of principle grains (wheat, rye, barley oats) in Sweden from 1803 to 1914. We found that the annual general crop index (a measure of overall crop yield) correlated negatively with the annual average price of the four grains. Overall temperature during the period of crop growth was related positively to general crop index and negatively to average crop price. At the level of month of crop growth, when the relationship between temperature and general crop index was most positive, that between temperature and average crop price was most negative. This strong structured relationship was found to be consistent when yields of each crop were considered separately, and indicates that the relationships between crop yield and crop price were to a large extent due to the influence of ambient temperature. Price correlations between pairs of crop species were in all cases greater than the correlation of yields. Within individual crops, correlations between price and yield were stronger for those crops for which imports were not available, and which were therefore subject to the weakest influence from rising globalisation. Our analyses demonstrate the sensitivity of historical agriculture to climatic factors, and the extent to which this affected the wider economy. It is likely that the susceptibility of agriculture to climatic risks was ascended by the concomitant climate regime, the 'Little Ice Age'. Moreover, our study period spans the period of rising globalisation, and suggests a weakening influence of prevailing weather on crop prices.
  • Authors:
    • Moffet, M.
    • Menalled, F.
    • Miller, Z.
    • Ito, D.
    • Burrows, M.
  • Source: Plant Disease
  • Volume: 96
  • Issue: 8
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Wild grasses, crops, and grassy weeds are known to host Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and its vector, the wheat curl mite (WCM). Their relative importance as a source of WSMV was evaluated. A survey of small-grain fields throughout Montana was conducted between 2008 and 2009. Cheatgrass was the most prevalent grassy weed and the most frequent viral host, with 6% infection by WSMV in 2008 ( n=125) and 15% in 2009 ( n=358). By mechanically inoculating plants with WSMV in the greenhouse, the highest susceptibility was found in rye brome (52.1%), jointed goatgrass (80.9%), and wild oat (53.9%). Quackgrass, not previously reported as a host, was susceptible to WSMV (12.7%). Mite transmission efficiency from susceptible grass species was lower than from wheat, and grass species must be a host for both WSMV and the WCM to serve as a virus source. WCM transmission was more efficient than mechanical transmission. Overall, results indicate that grass species can serve as a viral reservoir, regional variation in a weed species' susceptibility to WSMV cannot explain geographic variation in epidemic intensity, and crop species and closely related weeds (e.g., jointed goatgrass) remain the best reservoirs for both WSMV and the WCM.
  • Authors:
    • Arendt, E.
    • Klose, C.
  • Source: Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
  • Volume: 52
  • Issue: 7
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Oats ( Avena sativa L.) are distinct among cereals due to their considerably higher protein concentration. At the same time oats possess a protein quality of high nutritional value and a special protein composition. Most cereals like wheat, barley, and rye have a high percentage of prolamins, the alcohol-soluble fraction, which usually contains most of the storage proteins, but oats are an exception. Their major storage proteins belong to the salt-water soluble globulin fraction, whereas oats prolamins are a minor component. During oats groat development, most obvious is the fairly linear increase in the globulin fraction. Oats globulins share structural features with the 11 S globulins of legumes and other dicots. Amino acid composition of oats is superior to that of other cereals due to the higher amount of limiting amino acids like lysine and threonine. During germination, total amino acid analysis revealed an increase in essential amino acids like lysine and tryptophan, which leads to an increased nutritional value of germinated oats. Oats protein products including globulin have been chemically modified by various methods to improve their functional properties.
  • Authors:
    • Polyanskaya, N.
    • Suslov, S.
    • Kuchin, N.
  • Source: Ekonomika Sel'skokhozyaistvennykh i Pererabatyvayushchikh Predpriyatii
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: In 2009, production of leguminous and cereal grain crops in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast' totalled 1 432 400 tonnes, and the average crop yield was 2.44 tonnes/ha - the highest yield in 50 years. However extremely hot and dry weather conditions in 2010 caused a sharp reduction in harvest volumes, so that Nizhny Novgorod Oblast' had a total harvest of just 541 500 tonnes and an average crop yield of 1.36 tonnes/ha. 2010 harvest figures for the region were significantly lower than in 2006, when the total harvest volume was 1 169 900 tonnes and the average crop yield 2.05 tonnes/ha. Crop yields in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast' vary significantly between years, with yields being highly dependent on climate conditions. The greatest variation in yields occurs with maize, millet, and buckwheat crops. Strong variation in yields is also evident for wheat and leguminous crops, and moderate variation occurs in yields of rye, barley, and oats. For agricultural enterprises, the most significant factor influencing their production volumes and incomes is the structure of crops produced. The structure of crops produced in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast' has changed significantly since the pre-reform period, with a marked shift towards cultivation of food grade cereal grains, and away from production of feed crops. In 2010, wheat accounted for 56.8% of the region's total harvest, barley 21.9%, oats 10.7%, rye 7.6%, legumes 2.5%, triticale 0.4%, and groats crops 0.1%. Agricultural organizations continue to be the main cereal grain producers, despite increases in land areas used for cereal grain cultivation by private (peasant) farmers. In 2010, agricultural enterprises accounted for 92.2% of cereal grain production. Individual secondary farms account for only an insignificant proportion of grain crop production. Problems faced by enterprises operating in the region's cereal grain segment include a poor technical base, low rates of fertiliser application, and difficulties in securing suitably qualified workers. Approximately 80% of machines used by these enterprises have been in use for longer than their intended operating life. These problems have adverse effects on the efficiency of harvesting operations and on crop yields. It is important to address these issues if higher and more stable production volumes are to be achieved, and the profitability of crop production activities improved.
  • Authors:
    • Dziamba, S.
    • Martyniak, D.
    • Szydowska, A.
    • Mauszynska, E.
    • Dziamba, J.
  • Source: Biuletyn Instytutu Hodowli i Aklimatyzacji Roslin
  • Issue: 263
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: The aim of this study was to evaluate germination capacity after seed treatment with three formulations containing effective microorganisms: EM-Farming, Ema Plus, ISD. The experimental material were the seeds of spring wheat, barley, oats, phacelia, serradella, yellow lupine and blue lupine from organic farming. Germination capacity was evaluated in accordance with the ISTA Rules (2010). Seed treatment with effective microorganisms had no effect on germination capacity of wheat and barley. Only for one variety of oat, (Polar), from four tested, germination capacity was improved after seed treatment, but the difference was not statistically significant. After soaking in the solution of Ema Plus and ISD germination capacity of serradella seed was higher, but the difference was also not statistically significant. After application of each seed treatment the blue lupine germinated slightly better than the control seeds. Seeds of lacy phacelia showed higher germination after application the solution of the ISD. The three formulations with effective microorganisms did not cause significant increase in seed germination, but there were less abnormal seedlings and dead seeds.