Agricultural and Food Science https://journal.fi/afs <p>Agricultural and Food Science (AFSci) is a peer-reviewed journal, published quarterly. AFSci publishes original research reports on agriculture and food research in relation to primary production in boreal agriculture. Acceptable papers must be of international interest and have a northern dimension. We especially welcome papers related to agriculture in Boreal and Baltic Sea Region.</p> The Scientific Agricultural Society of Finland en-US Agricultural and Food Science 1459-6067 <p>Authors who publish with Agricultural and Food Science agree to the following terms:<br><br></p> <ol type="a"> <li class="show">Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution License</a> that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.</li> <li class="show">Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.</li> <li class="show">Any part of the&nbsp;Agricultural and Food Science&nbsp;may be referred to assuming the Author, The Article, Publication with Volume and Number plus URL&nbsp;for the references have been provided.</li> </ol> Fifth survey on weed flora in spring cereals in Finland https://journal.fi/afs/article/view/130009 <p>Regular weed surveys provide information on changes in weed communities. The composition of weed flora in spring cereal fields was investigated in southern and central Finland during 2020–2022. The survey was conducted in 16 regions, 226 farms and 549 fields. The occurrence of weeds was assessed in the second half of July from 90 organically cropped and 459 conventionally cropped fields. The weed flora was dominated by broad-leaved species, representing 81% of the total number of 138 identified species. The average species number per field was 21 in organic fields and 12 in conventional fields. The most frequent weed species in organic fields were <em>Chenopodium</em> <em>album</em> 99%, <em>Erysimum</em> <em>cheiranthoides</em> 84%, <em>Viola</em> <em>arvensis</em> 83% and <em>Stellaria</em> <em>media</em> 82%. In conventionally cropped fields, the most frequent species were <em>Viola</em> <em>arvensis</em> 83%, <em>Stellaria</em> <em>media</em> 65%, <em>Galeopsis</em> spp. 59% and <em>Galium spurium</em> 59%. The two most common grass species in both production systems were <em>Poa</em> <em>annua</em> and <em>Elymus</em> <em>repens</em>. The frequency and density of <em>Poa</em> <em>annua</em> had increased substantially in conventional cropping since the previous survey in 2007–2009. The average density of weeds was 384 plants m<sup>-2</sup> in organic fields and 147 plants m<sup>-2</sup> in sprayed conventional fields. The average air-dry biomass of weeds was 678 kg ha<sup>-1</sup> and 151 kg ha<sup>-1</sup>, respectively. <em>Elymus repens</em> produced almost a quarter of the total weed biomass in both production systems. Changes in weed flora were minor in terms of frequency and density of the most common broad-leaved weed species. Increased infestation of <em>Poa</em> <em>annua</em> in conventional cropping calls for special attention. The dominance of <em>Elymus</em> <em>repens</em> decreased in both production systems since the previous survey.</p> Jukka Salonen Heikki Jalli Anne Muotila Mari Niemi Hannu Ojanen Pentti Ruuttunen Terho Hyvönen Copyright (c) 2023 Jukka Salonen, Heikki Jalli, Anne Muotila, Mari Niemi, Hannu Ojanen, Pentti Ruuttunen, Terho Hyvönen https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2023-07-26 2023-07-26 32 2 51–68 51–68 10.23986/afsci.130009 A Quality assessment of cold dried chicken slices during storage in different packages and temperatures https://journal.fi/afs/article/view/130323 <p>In this study, dried chicken slices were packaged in MAP (modified atmosphere packaging) and AP (atmospheric packaging), and stored at 4 °C and 25 °C. The CO<sub>2</sub> content of MAP packaged samples decreased as the storage temperature and time increased. The slices exhibited lower aw values when they were packaged in AP at 25 °C. The pH increased from 6.1 to 6.2, 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) increased from 10.6 to 37.3 µmol MDA kg<sup>-1</sup>, and non-protein nitrogen (NPN) increased from 4.9 to 5.3 g 100 g<sup>-1</sup> in MAP for 90 days of storage. The microbiological quality of the samples was assessed by enumerating total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB), total psychrophilic bacteria (TPB), Micrococcus/ Staphylococcus, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Enterobacteriaceae and yeast-mold, and was higher in the sample stored in MAP at 4 °C. Moreover, the sensory quality was determined by sensory evaluation with a 9-point hedonic scale. When the sensory and microbiological qualities were evaluated together, the shelf lives of the samples were determined to be 90 days at 4 °C and 75 days at 25 °C for MAP and 45 days at 4 °C and 30 days at 25 °C for AP. It could be concluded that the cold dried chicken slices can be stored in MAP for 90 days without much change in physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory quality.</p> Elif Aykın Dinçer Mustafa Erbaş Copyright (c) 2023 Elif Aykın Dinçer, Mustafa Erbaş https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2023-07-26 2023-07-26 32 2 69–79 69–79 10.23986/afsci.130323 Yield predictions of timothy (Phleum pratense L.) in Norway under future climate scenarios https://journal.fi/afs/article/view/127935 <p>The perennial forage grass timothy (<em>Phleum</em> <em>pratense</em> L.) is the most important forage crop in Norway. Future changes<br />in the climate will affect growing conditions and hence the yield output. We used data from the Norwegian Value for Cultivation and Use testing to find a statistical prediction model for total dry matter yield (DMY) based on agro-climatic variables. The statistical model selection found that the predictors with the highest predictive power were growing degree days (GDD) in July and the number of days with rain (&gt;1mm) in June–July. These predictors together explained 43% of the variability in total DMY. Further, the prediction model was combined with a range of climate ensembles (RCP4.5) to project DMY of timothy for the decades 2050–2059 and 2090–2099 at 8 locations in Norway. Our projections forecast that DMY of today’s timothy varieties may decrease substantially in South-Eastern Norway, but increase in Northern Norway, by the middle of the century, due to increased temperatures and changing precipitation patterns.</p> Kristoffer H. Hellton Helga Amdahl Thordis Thorarinsdottir Muath Alsheikh Trygve Aamlid Marit Jørgensen Sigiridur Dalmannsdottir Odd Arne Rognli Copyright (c) 2023 Kristoffer H. Hellton, Helga Amdahl, Thordis Thorarinsdottir, Muath Alsheikh, Trygve Aamlid, Marit Jørgensen, Sigiridur Dalmannsdottir, Odd Arne Rognli https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2023-07-26 2023-07-26 32 2 80–93 80–93 10.23986/afsci.127935 Shortened first regrowth interval of grass silage as a harvesting strategy to improve nutrient supply for dairy cows: a case study https://journal.fi/afs/article/view/127253 <p>Dairy cows have a highly valuable ability to convert grass into milk. A modification of the normal three-cut <br />harvesting strategy was evaluated consisting of shortened first grass regrowth period to increase the energy value of the silage crop over the whole growing season under Boreal conditions. Grass was ensiled from timothy-meadow fescue-red clover swards over two years at three consecutive harvests within the growing season. Diets based on the silages (D1, 1st cut; D2, 2nd cut and D3, 3rd cut) were fed to dairy cows in two milk production experiments using change-over designs and an average concentrate proportion of 0.41 on dry matter basis. Consistently high energy value in silages was achieved and despite minor differences in silage D-values, feed intake was highest for D1. The differences in energy-corrected milk yield between treatments were limited to an increase for D2 in Exp 2 so that feed energy conversion into milk was decreased with D1. A shortened first regrowth interval for grass silage harvest was a viable option, but forage area per animal and other farm specific factors should be considered when choosing the silage harvesting strategy. </p> Auvo Sairanen Sari Kajava Annu Palmio Marketta Rinne Copyright (c) 2023 Marketta Rinne, Auvo Sairanen, Sari Kajava, Annu Palmio https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2023-07-26 2023-07-26 32 2 94–103 94–103 10.23986/afsci.127253