The boiling properties are an important quality issue of the potato. In order to obtain adequate boiling properties the growth of the potato needs to be controlled and interrupted at the right time. However, it is difficult to determine when to stop the growth. Specific gravity can easily be measured and can sometimes be used as a tool for estimating the boiling properties. This report discusses different aspects of the specific gravity of the potato and how it can be used as a tool to determine the appropriate time for vine killing.

Agricultural land could be polluted by radioactive substances after a fallout. We would then need information about the level of contamination to decide whether the crops could be utilized as food under these circumstances. In an experiment carried out during the 1990ies the retention of 134Cs in potato haulm and the transfer to the tubers were studied. The experiment was carried out during three consecutive years. The plants were cultivated in pots under field conditions and the artificial deposition was sprayed directly onto the potato haulm at different times during the growing season.

The payment for produced grain is constantly going down in price. It is important for farmers to become more effective in cultivating more land in a shorter time perspective. At the same time we have to calculate with the risk of getting lowered subsidies from the EU. This is why I would like to find out the possibilities for establishing winter wheat without ploughing. I hope to find a difference in the number of plants due to different soil preparations. With this experiment I expect to find out whether I can establish winter wheat at a lower cost, with the same numbers of plants per square meter.

Broad beans are becoming a larger crop in Sweden. This is probably due to the current discussion about the cultivation of soya beans that are imported to be used as protein fodder. Broad beans are a good break crop in a small grain intensive crop rotation and works as a protein source for animals together with for example ley. At present little research has been done on broad beans and more knowledge is needed. This study is about fungal communities and diseases on broad beans and the impact of these fungi on seed germination.

It is important for today?s farmers to minimize the costs for crop establishment, because of decreased prices and support from the EU. Farmers, who plow in autumn on heavy clay soil, often do some kind of tillage in autumn to get better soil structure before spring seeding. This is especially important when growing small seed crop, e.g. sugar beet and oil plants.

The economic prerequisite to many farmers in Sweden after the EU membership and the new agriculture policy has generated large demands on the farm management. Until year 2004 you got a grant based on what you had produced and not on consumer demand. In 2005 a new economic aid (Mid Term Revue) was introduced and the conditions has changed again. Due to this I have chosen to do a cost-benefit analysis on a case, to investigate if the present production is sustainable in the future. My conclusion is that the profitability is acceptable even if the farm has a high debt. But to make the production more profitable the products produced should be refined as much as possible at the farm, to get maximum economic return.

Fusarium head blight is a large problem world wide which reduces the yields and the quality of small grains. Shrunken kernels with decreased thousand kernel weight as an effect and pro-duction of mycotoxins are some of the problems caused by infection of Fusarium spp. To avoid toxin contaminated bulks to enter the food and feed chain it is important to have tools for prediction and analysis of the fungi and toxins. Good prediction methods are also impor-tant in the breeding industry since early identification in trials of lines with high resistance or susceptibility simplify the work. To compare different techniques for these objectives this project was initiated.

During the cultivation season there are a several cropping activities to carry out. At what time these activities are carried out is affecting the result and also on the economy of the crop production. As the production costs are high in potato production, it is important to keep an eye on the economy. Profitability is the most important factor in most crop production systems. If the costs are not covered, it is difficult to justify the production.

During the cultivation season there are a several cropping activities to carry out. At what time these activities are carried out is affecting the result and also on the economy of the crop production. As the production costs are high in potato production, it is important to keep an eye on the economy. Profitability is the most important factor in most crop production systems. If the costs are not covered, it is difficult to justify the production.

Fusarium head blight is a large problem world wide which reduces the yields and the quality of small grains. Shrunken kernels with decreased thousand kernel weight as an effect and pro-duction of mycotoxins are some of the problems caused by infection of Fusarium spp. To avoid toxin contaminated bulks to enter the food and feed chain it is important to have tools for prediction and analysis of the fungi and toxins. Good prediction methods are also impor-tant in the breeding industry since early identification in trials of lines with high resistance or susceptibility simplify the work. To compare different techniques for these objectives this project was initiated.

Various electromagnetic (EM) treatments has been investigated for their potential in improving crop productivity over the past century. There is today an increasing amount of scientists advocating EM treatments as an organically compatible method for improving plant growth and yield. However, failure to produce repeatable effects and defining causal mechanisms has made it a study of much controversy and debate. The subject requires indepth interdisciplinary knowledge, making it inaccessible for the majority of biologists, horticulturists and growers. In this combined literature review and pilot study, these issues are addressed by providing a comprehensive introductory review of the topic plant bioelectromagnetics and its potential horticultural usability.

Oilseed rape is an important crop in Sweden and is grown on about 90000 ha today. The interest in oil seed pro-duction is increasing because of growing demand and high prices for oil seed both in Sweden and Europe. However, an increased intensity in the oil seed production can bring higher risk of yield losses due to fungal diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate what different fungi are associated with oilseed rape under field conditions and if their incidence is correlated to crop establishment problems. This study was carried out in three parts: 1) investigations on fungal community structure in roots and rhizosphere soils from young spring- and winter rape plants sampled in failed respectively good establishment patches in four fields, 2) investigations on the pathogenicity of fungi isolated from oilseed rape in controlled environment and 3) investigations on the effect of different fungicide seed treatments on germination and early plant development in a field soil naturally infested with damping off- and Verticillium wilt pathogens. The studies on community structure using a combined approach of standard fungal isolation techniques and DNA based methods revealed a high fungal diversity in three out of four studied fields of spring rape and winter rape. For some unknown reason, very few fungal species were identified from the fourth field.

There are a great possibility to shorten the time between mowing and preservation by spreading of ley crops in connection to the conditioning. In this case the cellular respiration (the plants breeding that consume sugar until the crop is ensiled) should not continue as long and the forage will perhaps get a higher nutritional value. The capacity of the next machine could also be higher because the rake gives swaths with a lot of material. There is also a possibility that spreading of ley crops gives the material a more homogeneous content of dry matter and that gives a reduced growth of clostridium. This is particularly important when the method of harvest doesn?t include any mixing of the material like it does with a round baler or silagewagon.

The last decades the populations of wild boar (Sus scrofa) has increased rapidly over the species? entire European range, including Sweden. This is followed by increasing human-wildlife conflicts as a result of the wild boar foraging behavior, causing damage to agricultural crop fields due to trampling and feeding. To be able to minimize damage we need more knowledge of where in the fields the risk of damage is high and what features in the landscape that affect this risk. I analyzed damage distribution in relation to the distance to six different landscape features; forest, road, ditch, building, game field and bait station, in the study area, the Island Mörkö in eastern central Sweden.

Hemp is an old agricultural plant and has been used for hundreds of years for making textiles, ropes and other fibre products. In the middle of the last century the Swedish government prohibited all growing of hemp. Natural fibres were replaced by syntetic fibres instead. Today there is a newly awakened interest for using natural fibres from renewable materials. Growing of industrial hemp for fiber is allowed in Sweden again. I want in my Paper give Swedish growers an insight of which harvesting methods that have been tried in Sweden and how they worked.