Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: editors Title: List of reviewers Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: I-VIII Volume: 59 Issue: 12 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/7136-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/7136-PSE.html File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:12:id:7136-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: K. Jaisamut Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: L. Paulová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: P. Patáková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Rychtera Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: K. Melzoch Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Optimization of alkali pretreatment of wheat straw to be used as substrate for biofuels production Abstract: Alkali pretreatment of wheat straw was optimized by response surface methodology to maximize yields of fermentable sugars in subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis and to remove maximum lignin in order to improve rheological attributes of the media. The effects of pretreatment conditions on biomass properties were studied using the Expert Designer software. Concentration of sodium hydroxide and temperature were the factors most affecting pretreatment efficiency. At the optimum (80°C, 39 min, 0.18 g NaOH and 0.06 g lime per g of raw biomass), 93.1 ± 1.0% conversion of cellulose to glucose after enzymatic hydrolysis and 80.3 ± 1.2% yield of monosaccharides (glucose plus xylose and arabinose) from cellulose and hemicellulose of wheat straw were achieved. Keywords: alkali hydrolysis, agrowaste, response surface methodology, enzymatic hydrolysis, bioethanol Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 537-542 Volume: 59 Issue: 12 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/7129-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/7129-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201312-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:12:id:7129-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: P. Dąbrowski Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Environmental Improvement, Warsaw University of Life Sciences SGGW, Warsaw, Poland Author-Name: B. Pawluśkiewicz Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Environmental Improvement, Warsaw University of Life Sciences SGGW, Warsaw, Poland Author-Name: H.M. Kalaji Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Physiology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences SGGW, Warsaw, Poland Author-Name: A.H. Baczewska Author-Workplace-Name: Polish Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden ? Center for Biological Diversity Conservation in Powsin, Warsaw, Poland Title: The effect of light availability on leaf area index, biomass production and plant species composition of park grasslands in Warsaw Abstract: How light conditions affect development of park grasslands is a question that has not been satisfactory addressed. The aim of this study was therefore determination of the level to which unfavorable light conditions influence grassy parks area and relationships between parameters which determine state of turf grasses. Researches were conducted in two parks in Warsaw, in various light conditions and included measurement of: leaf density, sward height, leaf area index (LAI), and botanical composition of the communities. The leaf density of shaded areas did not exceed 70%. LAI value varied from 0.5 to 0.9-fold lower than in the areas in half-shade and in sun. The participation of basic lawn species at Skaryszewski Park was higher under shade, while at Łazienki Królewskie was higher in full-sunlight areas. The state of tested grassy areas in limited solar radiation does not satisfy the requirements of recreational and representational functions. The development processes of vegetation coverage were inhibited at the sites of lower solar radiation. LAI was influenced by both leaf coverage and sward height. Agrostis stolonifera and Poa trivialis may be recommended to create grass areas under limited solar radiation. Keywords: green infrastructure, park habitat conditions, urban green area, environmental improvement, leaf density of sward Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 543-548 Volume: 59 Issue: 12 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/140/2013-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/140/2013-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201312-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:12:id:140-2013-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Ben-Asher Author-Workplace-Name: Agriecology Group, Katif R&D Center Ministry of Science, Sedot Negev Academic Campus, Israel Author-Name: A. Garcia y Garcia Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Wyoming Research and Extension Center, Powell, USA Author-Name: I. Flitcroft Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Georgia, Griffin, USA Author-Name: G. Hoogenboom Author-Workplace-Name: AgWeatherNet, Washington State University, Prosser, USA Title: Effect of atmospheric water vapor on photosynthesis, transpiration and canopy conductance: A case study in corn Abstract: The effect of atmospheric water vapor (AV) on plants has mostly been neglected in climate impact studies. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of AV on photosynthesis (Pn), dry matter production (DM), transpiration (Tr), leaf conductance (gl) and water use efficiency (WUE), in climate controlled chambers. The relative humidity (RH) was held near 30, 60, and 85%. DM and WUE increased with RH. δDM/δRH ~ 0.3 from 30% to 60% and ~2.2 from 60% to 85%, δWUE/δRH ~0.2 for all RH's. The improved WUE at a rate of 0.2 units for each percent of increased RH resulted from a synergy between larger gl and lower Tr at high RH. This conclusions carries a bleak message to dry regions. Keywords: growth chambers, water use efficiency, relative humidity, vapor pressure deficit, absolute humidity Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 549-555 Volume: 59 Issue: 12 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/346/2013-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/346/2013-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201312-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:12:id:346-2013-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: V.M. Ruíz-Valdiviezo Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Soil Ecology, ABACUS, Cinvestav, México City, México Author-Name: Á. Aguilar-Chávez Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Soil Ecology, ABACUS, Cinvestav, México City, México Author-Name: M.R. Cárdenas-Aquino Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Soil Ecology, ABACUS, Cinvestav, México City, México Author-Name: L.D. Mendoza-Urbina Author-Workplace-Name: Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México Author-Name: S.C. Reynoso-Martínez Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Soil Ecology, ABACUS, Cinvestav, México City, México Author-Name: A. Bautista-Cerón Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Soil Ecology, ABACUS, Cinvestav, México City, México Author-Name: F.A. Gutiérrez-Miceli Author-Workplace-Name: Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México Author-Name: J.A. Montes-Molina Author-Workplace-Name: Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México Author-Name: L. Dendooven Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Soil Ecology, ABACUS, Cinvestav, México City, México Title: Greenhouse gas emissions from a soil cultivated with wheat (Triticum spp. L.) and amended with castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) or Jatropha curcas L. seed cake: A greenhouse experiment Abstract: Cultivation of plants, such as castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) or Jatropha curcas L. is set to increase in future as their seeds are used to extract oil for biofuel production. Ricinus communis seed cake (RSC) and J. curcas seed cake (JSC) were applied to soil cultivated with wheat (Triticum spp. L.) while plant growth and emissions of the greenhouse gases, CO2, CH4 and N2O were monitored. Application of RSC or JSC had no significant effect development of the wheat plants. Emissions of CO2 and N2O increased in soil amended with JSC or RSC, especially when larger amounts were applied, but had no effect on emissions of CH4. It was found that application of seed cakes increased emissions of CO2 and N2O, but did not stimulate plant growth. Keywords: biofuel, decomposition of seed cake, emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O, mineral N, soil characteristics Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 556-561 Volume: 59 Issue: 12 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/368/2013-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/368/2013-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201312-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:12:id:368-2013-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: W. Du Author-Workplace-Name: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, P.R. China Author-Name: J. Zhou Author-Workplace-Name: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, P.R. China Author-Name: P. Jiang Author-Workplace-Name: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, P.R. China Author-Name: T. Yang Author-Workplace-Name: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, P.R. China Author-Name: Y.Q. Bu Author-Workplace-Name: Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Nanjing, P.R. China Author-Name: C.H. Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, P.R. China Author-Name: C.C. Dai Author-Workplace-Name: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, P.R. China Title: Effects of Beauveria bassiana and acephate on enzyme activities and microbial diversity in paddy soil Abstract: To investigate the ecological safety of Beauveria bassiana in soil, we evaluated the effects of different concentrations of B. bassiana spores suspensions and acephate on paddy soil microbial flora and enzyme activities in a potted trial. Results showed that B. bassiana can increase the quantity of bacteria and fungi on day 10 and 30, while it showed inhibition on actinomycetes growth on day 10. However, acephate reduced the quantity of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes in soil. Investigation of enzyme activities revealed that invertase activity declined during prophase, while urease activity decreased later in B. bassiana treatment groups, and there were no significant changes in alkaline phosphatase or dehydrogenase activity. Acephate showed higher inhibition rates of enzymes. B. bassiana treatment at lower concentrations showed a higher yield. Overall, compared with the acephate, B. bassiana is an effective, environmentally friendly microbial pesticide in this system. Keywords: DGGE, ecological safety, Chilo suppressalis, Shannon index, biological control Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 562-567 Volume: 59 Issue: 12 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/447/2013-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/447/2013-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201312-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:12:id:447-2013-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: W. Li Author-Workplace-Name: Collegeof Plant Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Name: S. Yan Author-Workplace-Name: Collegeof Plant Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Name: Z. Wang Author-Workplace-Name: National Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Agronomy College, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, P.R. China Title: Effect of spikelet position on starch proportion, granule distribution and related enzymes activity in wheat grain Abstract: The starch proportion, starch granule distribution, and activities of enzymes involved in starch synthesis in different spikelet positions were examined during grain development in two high-yielding winter wheat cultivars. The results showed that grain number and weight per spikelet in different spatial position showed a single-peak curve from the base to the top in a wheat spike. Upper spikelets had the highest starch and amylose proportion followed by basal spikelets, whereas middle spikelets had the lowest. Starch and amylose absolute content was in opposition to their proportion. The volume of B- and A-type granule in grain of middle spikelets was remarkably higher and lower than those of basal and upper spikelets, respectively. However, no significant difference occurred in the number of A- and B-type granule in grains among different spikelet position. Compared with the basal and upper spikelets, the middle spikelets showed higher sucrose and ATP content and activities of starch biosynthetic enzymes, and subsequently higher starch absolute content. The results suggested that superior sucrose providing and degradation capacity and the high activities of enzymes involved in starch synthesis resulted in development of B-type starch granule in grain of middle spikelets. Keywords: winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), spatial position, starch characteristic, grain development, starch synthesis Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 568-574 Volume: 59 Issue: 12 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/586/2013-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/586/2013-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201312-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:12:id:586-2013-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: A. Nogalska Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Environmental Protection, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland Author-Name: M. Zalewska Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Environmental Protection, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland Title: The effect of meat and bone meal on phosphorus concentrations in soil and crop plants Abstract: A four-year field experiment was conducted in north-eastern Poland. The aim of the study was to determine the direct and residual effects of increasing doses of meat and bone meal (MBM) on the available phosphorus content of soil and the total phosphorus content in crops above ground biomass or grain. Experimental factor I was MBM dose (1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 t/ha/year, and 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 t/ha/every second year), and experimental factor II was the year of the study (four consecutive years). The application of increasing MBM doses to slightly acidic soil insignificantly decreased its pH, but it did not change soil classification. The use of MBM as a fertilizer increased the levels of available phosphorus, compared to the treatments with mineral fertilization. The grain of winter triticale and winter wheat and the green matter of maize contained higher concentrations of phosphorus after the MBM application, in comparison to the plants receiving mineral fertilization. Phosphorus uptake by winter wheat and maize plants (dry matter basis) was higher in treatments with MBM (in particular applied every second year) than in treatments with NPK fertilization. Irrespective of the frequency of MBM application, phosphorus uptake by winter rapeseed was considerably lower, compared to the control plants. Keywords: available P, soil pH, triticale, rape, wheat, maize, uptake, animal meal Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 575-580 Volume: 59 Issue: 12 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/594/2013-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/594/2013-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201312-0008.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:12:id:594-2013-PSE