Herbage Seed Production Possibilities in Finland

In the seed production variety experiments in Finland from 1977 to 1992 the mean seed yield of timothy (Phleum pratense) cultivar Alma was 717 kg ha-1, of meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) cv. Boris 622 kg ha-1, of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) cv. Retu 350 kg ha-1, of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) cv. Riikka, of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) cv. Haka 295 kg ha-1, and red clover (Trifolium pratense) cv. Hankkijan Venla 403 kg ha-1. From 1988 to 1998 annual certified seed production of timothy from 4599 ha was 1845 t in total at an average yield of 401 kg ha-1. The meadow fescue seed production area was 1046 ha resulting in a yield of 470 t at an average of 449 kg ha-1. In perennial ryegrass, small domestic demand has maintained the seed production area low. Herbage seed of timothy, meadow fescue, perennial ryegrass and red clover is produced in Finland for the domestic market only. In the 1950s and 1960s, however, Finland exported herbage seed. Exports ceased in the 1970s mainly due to high production costs in Finland. When Finland joined the European Union (EU) in 1995 the economical regulations in agriculture changed. A study on possibilities to produce herbage seed of foreign cultivars in Finland for export is currently in progress

Ear Emergence of Different Grass Species under Finnish Growing Conditions

Timothy is the most commonly cultivated grass species in Finland. Swards cultivated for silage of hay are of pure timothy or timothy is the dominant species of the mixture. Successful timing of harvesting of the primary growth is very critical in Northern latitudes where the stand develops very rapidly at daylengths of above 18 hours with a daily mean temperature close to 20 °C. The primary growth has to be harvested within a very short period to obtain a yield of high and uniform quality. Short harvesting periods require high capacity harvest machinery which lead to high costs. If it would be possible to prolong the harvesting over a longer period of time, it would decrease the risk of bad weather conditions and reduce machine costs through better utilization of harvesting capacity. Sowing different grass species makes it possible to extend the harvesting period. The aim of this study was to investigate timing of ear emergence of different grass species in comparison with timothy. The suitable harvesting time for silage in Finland is closely related to ear emergence of the stand

Italian Ryegrass and Barley Mixture for Forage Production: Effect of Harvesting Time on Yield and Quality in Northern Latitudes

In northern latitudes forage cereal and Italian ryegrass (IRG) mixtures provide a good source of forage in situations where perennial swards have suffered winter damages (Nissinen, 1994). In this experiment harvesting time of the first cut of an IRG-barley mixture was studied to optimise the yield and quality in the growing season. The objective of the study was to assess if harvesting an IRG-barley mixture later than two weeks after heading, as currently recommended, offers benefits

Italian Ryegrass and Whole Crop Cereal Mixture: Effect of Sowing Rate and Maturity on Variety on Yield and Botanical Composition in Northern Latitudes

The profitability of a dairy farm using whole crop cereals (WCC) is better in Finland than that of a farm producing combine harvested cereals and grass silage (Turunen, 2000). The main reason for that is the decrease in the machinery costs. However, quality of the WCC yield can vary considerably depending on the ear- straw ration. This may lead to problems in feeding. In this experiment we studied the effect of sowing rate and growing time of the cereal cultivar on the botanical composition, quality and yield of the WCC harvest. The objective was to study if it would be possible to increase the grass component in the WCC harvest by cultivation management to such a level that the WCC yield would be feasible to be used in feeding with pure grass silage. In this paper we present results of the botanical composition of the WCC harvest

Forage Production from Perennial vs. Annual Crop R~ on in Sandy Soils in Egypt

Forage production was studied on newly reclaimed sandy soil in Egypt trom perennial lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) and two annual crop rotations. The cropping systems were: A) lucerne, B) berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) in the winter followed by pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum R. Br. Emend. Stantz.) in the summer and C) triticale (XX Triticosecale Wittm.) (forage cut + grain harvest) in the winter followed by maize (Zea mays L.) (grain + stover) in the summer. Mean annual dry matter yields (t ha-1 ) were 20.65, 26.59 and 27.48 from A, B and C, respectively. However, lucerne provided the most even seasonal forage production

Carry-Over Effect in Forage Rotations on Newly Reclaimed Sandy Soil in Egypt

This study was carried out to investigate the carry-over effect of a preceding crop on the productivity of the following crop in various rotations in newly reclaimed lands in Egypt. The productivity of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), soyabean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), maize (Zea mays L.) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) in summer season were much higher following berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) or lentil (Lens culinaris Medic) than after wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) or barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in both years of the study. Soyabean was the best summer season pre-crop for lentil and berseem, whereas peanut was best for barley. Maize was a suprisingly good pre-crop in this study. The carry-over effect from pearl millet was inferior to that of maize. Of the winter season crops berseem had the most positive effect on the four summer crops studied. Winter season crops had a decreasing positive effect in the order: berseem, lentil, barley and wheat. The data suggest that, cropping systems on newly reclaimed sandy soils should include legume crops (soyabean or peanut in summer, and berseem or lentil in winter) to maximise production of the following crop

Farmer Field Schools in Expanding Cultivation to Newly Reclaimed Land in Ismailia in Egypt

The use of irrigation systems is expanding in Egypt to facilitate cultivation on sandy areas that were previously desert. Many of the farmers starting on the new areas are undergraduates and others with no background in farming. Much support is required when they start farming. In addition, farmers moving to the new lands from the Nile Delta meet completely new challenges because the poor and infertile sandy soils require different management from the clay soils at the Delta. Ismailia Agricultural Research Station (IARS) of the Agricultural Research Center of Egypt focuses on research on how to cultivate the newly reclaimed sandy soils. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland has supported the research and advisory work of IARS for the last fifteen years through the Egypt - Finland Agricultural Research Project (EFARP). This has been implemented as a twinning project between the Agricultural Research Center of Egypt and the equivalent organisation in Finland: MTT Agrifood Research Finland. In this paper we describe the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach applied to forage and animal production on smallholder farms from 2000-2004

ICI-project "Enhancing development of water use efficient crops and production methods to dry and saline conditions"

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Different incidences of knee arthroplasty in the Nordic countries.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked FilesBackground and purpose - The annual number of total knee arthroplasties (TKAs) has increased worldwide in recent years. To make projections regarding future needs for primaries and revisions, additional knowledge is important. We analyzed and compared the incidences among 4 Nordic countries Patients and methods - Using Nordic Arthroplasty Register Association (NARA) data from 4 countries, we analyzed differences between age and sex groups. We included patients over 30 years of age who were operated with TKA or unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) during the period 1997-2012. The negative binomial regression model was used to analyze changes in general trends and in sex and age groups. Results - The average annual increase in the incidence of TKA was statistically significant in all countries. The incidence of TKA was higher in women than in men in all 4 countries. It was highest in Finland in patients aged 65 years or more. At the end of the study period in 2012, Finland's total incidence was double that of Norway, 1.3 times that of Sweden and 1.4 times that of Denmark. The incidence was lowest in the youngest age groups (< 65 years) in all 4 countries. The proportional increase in incidence was highest in patients who were younger than 65 years. Interpretation - The incidence of knee arthroplasty steadily increased in the 4 countries over the study period. The differences between the countries were considerable, with the highest incidence in Finland. Patients aged 65 years or more contributed to most of the total incidence of knee arthroplasty.NordForsk gran