Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: S. Abrishamkesh Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Author-Name: M. Gorji Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Author-Name: H. Asadi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran Author-Name: G.H. Bagheri-Marandi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Author-Name: A.A. Pourbabaee Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Title: Effects of rice husk biochar application on the properties of alkaline soil and lentil growth Abstract: This study evaluated the effects of biochar application on some properties of an alkaline soil and on lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) growth. Lentils were grown in the soil amended with the rates of 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.3 weight percent of two biochars (B1 and B2), produced from rice husk under different pyrolysis conditions. Lentils were harvested after 70 days. Soil samples were also analysed for changes in physico-chemical properties. The results indicated that biochar application significantly increased soil organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, available potassium and below ground biomass of lentil, while it decreased soil bulk density. The results suggested that biochar application to alkaline soils has benefits to both soil quality and plant growth. Keywords: arid and semi-arid soils, charcoal, carbon sequestration, liming effect, sustainable waste recycling Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 475-482 Volume: 61 Issue: 11 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/117/2015-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/117/2015-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201511-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:61:y:2015:i:11:id:117-2015-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Wyszkowska Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland Author-Name: A. Borowik Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland Author-Name: J. Kucharski Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland Title: Response of Avena sativa, microorganisms and enzymes to contamination of soil with diesel oil Abstract: The scale of the impact of petroleum products on the natural environment is still difficult to determine. This is why it was decided to conduct tests, under the conditions of a pot experiment, for the effects of diesel oil (0, 4, and 8 mL/kg dry matter of soil) on the yield of oat, content of macroelements, as well as the microbiological, biochemical, physicochemical and chemical properties of the soil. The study results showed that diesel oil had an adverse effect on the growth and development of oat, and contents of nitrogen, sodium, calcium and magnesium in the above-ground parts of oat. Diesel oil increased the concentration of the following substances in the soil: naphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene, benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[a]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[ghi]perylene, organic carbon, total nitrogen, and available potassium, while it decreased the concentration of available phosphorus and magnesium in the soil. Changes in the physicochemical properties of the soil had an unfavourable effect on the microbiological and biochemical properties. As regards the 7 tested enzymes, the most sensitive to diesel oil was catalase, and the least sensitive ones were ß-glucosidase and dehydrogenases. As for 12 various tested microorganisms, bacteria of the Azotobacter genus exhibited the highest resistance, while copiotrophic bacteria the lowest. Keywords: degradation of soil, macronutrient, physicochemical properties of soil, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 483-488 Volume: 61 Issue: 11 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/463/2015-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/463/2015-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201511-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:61:y:2015:i:11:id:463-2015-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: K. Bezhin Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Weed Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany Author-Name: H.-J. Santel Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Weed Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany Author-Name: R. Gerhards Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Weed Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany Title: Evaluation of two chemical weed control systems in sugar beet in Germany and the Russian Federation Abstract: Roundup Ready® sugar beets are widely grown in the USA since their market introduction in 2005. The system has proven to be cost-efficient and reliable. However, the negative social image among consumers and politicians has prohibited the adoption of this technology in Europe. Seven field experiments were conducted over three years in Germany and the Russian Federation to compare weed control efficacy and sugar beet yields of post-emergent glyphosate applications with conventional selective herbicides. Although weed infestations at the Russian sites were higher than in Germany, weed control efficacies were similar at both locations ranging between 78% and 100%. Glyphosate applications resulted in significantly higher weed control efficacies than the conventional herbicides in four out of 7 experiments. In five experiments, a single glyphosate application gave equal weed control efficacy as two and three glyphosate applications. White sugar yield was always higher in the weed control treatments than in the untreated plots. There was no yield difference between treatments based on glyphosate and conventional herbicide applications in 6 out of 7 experiments. The results demonstrate a slight benefit of the glyphosate-based weed control program compared to the conventional herbicide system in terms of weed control efficacy. Keywords: weed management, competition, Beta vulgaris, pesticide, yield loss Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 489-495 Volume: 61 Issue: 11 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/482/2015-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/482/2015-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201511-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:61:y:2015:i:11:id:482-2015-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: S. Tandon Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Chemistry, Division of Agricultural Chemicals, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India Title: Dissipation kinetics and residues analysis of pendimethalin in soil and maize under field conditions Abstract: Herbicides play an important role in the production of crops, but their residues may cause numerous human/environmental problems. Dissipation kinetics of pendimethalin and residues in soil, maize straw and cobs in winter maize under field conditions were studied by gas chromatograph-electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Dissipation followed the first order kinetics and accounted by a biphasic pattern. The half-life for initial phase and later phase was 11.70 and 34.13 days for recommended and 9.19 and 46.81 days for double dose, respectively. Percent recovery from cobs, straw and soil samples varied from 76.2-88.5, 76.6-84.4, and 85.0-89.5%. The limit of quantification was 0.001 µg/g of sample. At harvest pendimethalin residues were below detectable limit in soil, maize cobs and maize plant at both application rates (1 and 2 kg/ha). Pendimethalin is safe for use and does not appear to pose any health hazard to consumers or harm to the environment. Keywords: herbicide, Zea mays, persistence, DT50, chromatography Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 496-500 Volume: 61 Issue: 11 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/406/2015-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/406/2015-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201511-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:61:y:2015:i:11:id:406-2015-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Yang Author-Workplace-Name: StateKey Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Name: W. Gong Author-Workplace-Name: StateKey Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Collaborative Innovation Center of Geospatial Technology, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Name: S. Shi Author-Workplace-Name: StateKey Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Collaborative Innovation Center of Geospatial Technology, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: China School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Name: L. Du Author-Workplace-Name: StateKey Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Name: J. Sun Author-Workplace-Name: StateKey Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Name: Y.-Y. Ma Author-Workplace-Name: StateKey Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Collaborative Innovation Center of Geospatial Technology, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Name: S.-L. Song Author-Workplace-Name: Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P.R. China Title: Accurate identification of nitrogen fertilizer application of paddy rice using laser-induced fluorescence combined with support vector machine Abstract: To identify accurately the doses of nitrogen (N) fertilizer and improve the photosynthetic efficiency of paddy rice, laser induced fluorescence (LIF) technique combined with the support vector machine (SVM) and principal component analysis (PCA) is proposed in this paper. The LIF technology, in which the ultraviolet light (355 nm) is applied as an excitation light source, is employed to measure fluorescence spectra of paddy rice. These fluorescence spectra demonstrate that the fluorescence spectral characteristics of paddy rice leaves with different doses of N fertilizer have distinct differences from each other. Then, PCA and SVM are implemented to extract the features of fluorescence spectra and to recognize different doses of N fertilizer, respectively. The overall recognition accuracy can reach 95%. The results show that the LIF technology combined with PCA and SVM is a convenient, rapid, and sensitive diagnostic method for detecting N levels of paddy rice. Thus, it will also be convenient for farmers to manage accurately their fertilization strategies. Keywords: remote sensing, macronutrient, multivariate analysis, chlorophyll content, Oryza sativa Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 501-506 Volume: 61 Issue: 11 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/496/2015-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/496/2015-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201511-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:61:y:2015:i:11:id:496-2015-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: V. Hejnák Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Ö. Tatar Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey Author-Name: G.D. Atasoy Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey Author-Name: J. Martinková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: A.E. Çelen Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey Author-Name: F. Hnilička Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Skalický Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Growth and photosynthesis of Upland and Pima cotton: response to drought and heat stress Abstract: The effects of drought and heat stress on physiology of two common cotton species, Gossypium hirsutum L. (Upland) and G. barbadense L. (Pima) were investigated in this study. Four consecutive 28-day pot experiments were carried out in a fully controlled growth chamber under four temperatures (25, 30, 35 and 40°C), while two water treatments (well-watered and drought) were imposed for 10 days to both cotton species. Growth according to dry matter accumulation of G. barbadense was more limited by sole drought conditions (50%), whereas heat stress was more remarkable on growth of G. hirsutum (64%). Chlorophyll (Chl) a and b content were more temperature-sensitive in G. hirsutum than G. barbadense under well-watered conditions. The most noticeable decrease in drought-induced rates of photosynthesis rate (Pn), transpiration rate (E) and stomatal conductance (gs) were recorded under 35°C, although genotypic variation was found under 25°C. Higher water use efficiency was associated with higher temperature. Relative decrease in Chl a content, gs and maximal quantum efficiency of PSII exhibited by both species were distinctive physiological traits for heat and drought tolerance. Keywords: fiber crops, rainfall, climate change, water stress, photosynthetic parameters Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 507-514 Volume: 61 Issue: 11 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/512/2015-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/512/2015-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201511-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:61:y:2015:i:11:id:512-2015-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: S. Matula Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Water Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Miháliková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Water Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Lufinková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Water Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: K. Báťková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Water Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: The role of the initial soil water content in the determination of unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity using a tension infiltrometer Abstract: The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity K(h) is a key soil parameter governing the water and solute transportation processes. The course of this function depends on the geometry of the pores which is determined by the soil's physical and chemical properties. Many studies focus on the comparison of soil hydraulic conductivity under different conditions. Despite the recent progress in this research field, no reference method for measuring the K(h) in situ exists. This study focuses on the effect of the initial water content of the soil as a factor influencing the measured K(h). The study was performed in situ over short time period and with several replications close to each other in order to reduce the effect of other factors which could cause variations. Two tension infiltrometers were used and compared: A Hood infiltrometer IL-2700 and a Minidisk infiltrometer. Three different levels of initial water content (dry, medium wet and wet) were applied for each of the two infiltrometers, and three pressure heads (-0.5; -1 and -3 cm) for each measurement. According to the results, the Minidisk infiltrometer showed significant sensitivity to the initial water content, while measurements performed using the Hood infiltrometer were more stable. Keywords: soil hydraulic properties, unsaturated flow, infiltration, soil moisture, pressure head Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 515-521 Volume: 61 Issue: 11 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/527/2015-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/527/2015-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201511-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:61:y:2015:i:11:id:527-2015-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: T. Šimon Author-Workplace-Name: Crop Research Institute, Prague-Ruzyně, Czech Republic Author-Name: E. Kunzová Author-Workplace-Name: Crop Research Institute, Prague-Ruzyně, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Friedlová Author-Workplace-Name: Crop Research Institute, Prague-Ruzyně, Czech Republic Title: The effect of digestate, cattle slurry and mineral fertilization on the winter wheat yield and soil quality parameters Abstract: This study compares the effect of application of digestate, straw, cattle slurry and inorganic fertilizers on crop yield and soil organic matter content. Total organic carbon (C), total organic nitrogen (N), hot water soluble C, microbial biomass C and hydrophobic soil components were evaluated in soil from the field experiment in Prague-Ruzyně (Orthic Luvisol, clay loam) with winter wheat. All fertilized treatments significantly increased grain yield above the level of non-fertilized control (5.68 t/ha), and the sequence was as follows: digestate (9.88 t/ha) > NPK(9.80 t/ha) > cattle slurry (9.73 t/ha) > digestate + straw (9.35 t/ha). Average organic C content in the soil ranged from 1.668-1.704% and the effect of different fertilization was not significant. The highest increase of microbial biomass C was recorded in digestate + straw (43.2% increase compared to control). Highly significant correlations were found between hydrophobic soil components and hot water soluble C (r = 0.988; P ≥ 0.05) and microbial biomass C (r = 0.964; P ≥ 0.05). Total organic N content ranged from 0.157-0.160% and differences among treatments were insignificant. Fertilization with digestate itself brings an effect in increasing crop yield, but does not improve the level of soil organic matter significantly. Keywords: digestion, energy crops, Triticum aestivum, macronutrients, animal slurry Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 522-527 Volume: 61 Issue: 11 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/530/2015-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/530/2015-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201511-0008.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:61:y:2015:i:11:id:530-2015-PSE