Larvae of Lepidopteran Manduca sexta and Spodoptera littoralis are pests of economical importance in several horticultural and agricultural crops. Knowledge of insect feeding preferences and behavior is crucial in order to find economically and ecologically sustainable solutions to the problems caused by these herbivores. The aim of this thesis was to study the behavior and the induced feeding preferences in larvae of M. sexta and S. littoralis when reared on certain host plants. The hypothesis was that larvae of M. sexta would have an innate preference for plants of the Solanaceae family and therefore discriminate the previously experienced nonhost when faced with the choice between a true host and the previous food source.

The requirements of good quality and appetizing fast food increases continuously as a consequence of a community where food is always available. The crispiness of French fries is an issue that must be considered in this context, since it tends to decrease and give the fries a soft surface not appreciated by the consumer. To prolong the crispiness, the fries can be coated by a batter, a mix of starches. The batters used often consists of modified starches, e.g. cross-linked, acetylated and dextrinizated to increase and prolong crispiness, flour to stabilize the batter and sodium bicarbonate to make the batter ?rise?.The cross-linked starch keeps the granules in a swelled state and prevents them from breaking when exposed to heat or processing: therefore, it delays the gelatinization and decreases the stickiness of the batter.

During the summer of 2005 a number of steer producers in Skåne, Sweden, found that their animals graded less favourable according to the EUROP carcass grading system when slaughtered, than ordinary. The aim with this project was to determine factors that affects the production result in steer production and to find the reason to the lower classification. The project was initiated by Anita Persson, LRF, Skåne and was preformed with supervision from Ingemar Olsson, SLU, and Jens Fjelkner, Skånesemin. Ten producers of dairy steers located in Skåne was chosen for this study. The producers were interviewed to collect information about their steer production with respect to their planning and results.

A literature study and a field trial have been carried out in order to investigate the physiological response of Potato plants to different soil moisture levels. Higher yield, quality and number of tubers can according to the literature be obtained if constant high soil moisture is kept during major parts of the growing season. A field trial was set up where drip irrigation was used as an alternative to conventional irrigation techniques to maintain high and constant soil moisture. The application of water in the drip irrigated area was monitored and adjusted on a daily basis so that the soil moisture stayed as close as possible to the recommended level. The sprinkle irrigated area was irrigated according to traditional practices with approximately 35 mm every 7th to 10th day depending on the whether.

Every year, pesticides are found in surface and ground waters in Sweden. Fungicides are in common usage and applied in high amounts against Potato late blight. The present thesis examined the possible removal of four fungicides (metalaxyl, cyprodinil, propamocarb and mandipropamid) from water using the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris. Microorganisms are capable of decomposing a range of organic pollutants and the main focus in previously published studies has been on bacteria and fungi. Microalgae are mostly studied due to their high capacity in biosorbing heavy metals.

The park at Svaneholm is a place, the history of which is very little known today and the needfor better knowledge has been the cause of this investigation. The essay is primarily limited tothe time from late 17th century up to the end of the 18th century and takes stand on profoundinvestigations in accessible map-and archive material. The results presented show a manorhill, which during the course of a hundred years was subject to several changes and in bigparts consisted in other than park/garden.Burman related to the manor hill containing a cowshed, a large dam and a parterre garden isix quarters and it is plausible to think, that this establishment generally was built as producedon the plate.In the 18th century the construction is being changed, they go on building at the cowshed andin 1707 there are totally 268 livestock on the farm. In 1723 the garden is represented in amuch bigger scale than on the plate from the 1680:s, but it is not possible to tell, whether it isnew or not.Parts of the parterre garden is remaining during the whole of the 18th century, for the leastuntil it is being squared, but on two of the squares there was built a riding-groundMoreover the cowshed burnt down and was only partially reconstructed.The image given by the archive material is at the same time variegated. The inventory list ongarden tools from 1726 gives an image of gardening more directed to growing and pathshuffling, while the possibilities of keeping the parterres were fewer (e.g.

A Biogas plant in SLU?s (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) management sustains to behave in con-nection with the new animal stables at Lövsta. There will primarily manure from stables that rot to biogas. The biogas plant will also have the capacity that rot others substrates that can arise in the farm operation. The aim with the biogas plant is to produce non fossil electrical and gas heat for own customs, to reduce smell impact from stables and to make possible different types of research investments within the area.This study has implemented multiple cases study of different investment scenarios.

During the 1930´s the hot Potato for the Swedish lighting associations were how to create the most suitable light for every situation, either for industries, offices or homes. The light bulb were the most frequently used source of light but due to limitied luminous intensity, big halls sometimes required up to hundreds of light bulbs to produce the right amount of light. Two kinds of different lights, by different reasons, can be titled the predecessors of the fluorescent lighting during the 1930´s: The volfram-filament tube light due to its estetic similarities and the electric discharge (mercury- and sodium-) lamps due to its technical resemblance. Even though they came in quite wide use (the volfram tube in public halls (e. g.

This study investigated Potato growing in beds as an alternative to conventional ridges.It was based on results from field trials on bed-grown Potatoes carried out by Halland Rural Economy and Agricultural Society in 2007, studies of literature and interviews with farmers with experience of bed growing of Potatoes. Due to their shallow root system, Potatoes are one of the most drought-sensitive crops. Potatoes are often grown on sandy soils with poor water-holding capacity. Factors such as total yield, tuber size distribution and quality defects are negatively affected when water becomes insufficient. Wide beds have a more flat top which leads to more uniform water infiltration. Further on, beds have lower soil surface area due to its shape, and therefore, retain water more efficient. In the field trials, which were carried out at the Stjärnarp Estate near Halmstad, Potatoes were grown in beds alongside a conventional ridge-grown crop.

Variation in tuber quality within a single field was one of the motives for a pilot study in Halland, in south-western Sweden conducted during 2002. Quality problems in Potatoes have been increasing due to the aggregation of several small fields with different land use history into larger farm units, which are heterogeneous in soil properties and fertility. The study in Halland indicated that both the uniformity and the mean size of tubers may increase from site-specific K fertilization, whereas total yields may be unaffected. The results from this pilot-study with site-specific fertilization showed that tubers reached a more uniform quality and gave a more uniform mean size, while the total yield wasn't affected at all. Site-specific K-fertilization has been applied for some years in Halland with good results. The aim of this study was to test this technique in another Potato growing area.

The importance of micropropagation has increased to provide the increasing fields with true to type and healthy plants. Traditional plants are growing on solid agar-based medium but lately liquid medium has become a new opportunity. This study has focused on a new bioreactor, developed on large scale micropropagation. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. ?Semlo?), raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.

Organic rearing of broilers is not a large production in Sweden. In order to create a sustainable yet efficient production of organically produced poultry meat, at a price that the consumers are willing to pay, much more knowledge is needed. It is therefore important to do more research on organic broilers under Swedish conditions. This report is aimed to be a base for further studies. In the study 2000 broilers of the hybrid Ross 308 divided in to two equal groups. The broiler hybrids that are used in Sweden are selected for a high growth rate and are normally slaughtered at the age of 5 to 6 weeks, with a slaughter weight of 1.7-2 kg.