Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Maame Esi Hammond Author-Name: Radek Pokorný Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Effects of gap size on natural regeneration and micro-environmental soil conditions in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) dominated mixed forest Abstract: The study focused on the effects of gap size on natural regeneration of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) and micro-environmental soil conditions in gaps of different sizes under temperate mixed forest in the Czech Republic. Six gaps comprising two for small (≥ 200 m2), medium (≥ 500 m2) and big (≥ 900 m2) each were selected. Ten circular 1 m2 subsampling plots were established at 2 m intervals along individual North-South-East-West transects, including one at the gap centre. Regeneration was monitored in 2014 and repeatedly in 2019. Soil conditions were only measured in 2019. Gap size was found to be a significant parameter for European beech natural regeneration in 2014. Besides, the quick occupation of European beech in gaps at natural beech zone provoked its prolific regeneration compared to Norway spruce in 2014. However, in 2019 the recent threat of weather variabilities was responsible for the general abysmal growth performance of natural regeneration. Division of gap microsites into different within-gap positions based on prevailing light or shade conditions was helpful in assessing the significant variations of soil conditions within-gap positions and among gap sizes. Soil temperature and moisture significantly influenced the regeneration of European beech and Norway spruce, respectively. Keywords: competition, forest dynamic, microclimate, regeneration density, electrical conductivity Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 607-615 Volume: 66 Issue: 12 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/397/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/397/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202012-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:66:y:2020:i:12:id:397-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Janusz Prusiński Author-Name: Radosław Nowicki Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology, Bydgoszcz, Poland Title: Effect of planting density and row spacing on the yielding of soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) Abstract: The paper presents the effect of planting density and row spacing on the growth, development and yield of soybean, cv. Merlin, under very diversified thermal and humidity conditions in the north-central part of Poland. The field experiment was performed in 2016-2019. Three planting densities were applied (70, 90 and 110 seeds per 1 m2) with two row spacing (16 and 32 cm), in 4 replications. Under good humidity and thermal conditions in 2016 and 2017, the yield of seeds and protein in soybean was 3.3 times higher than if exposed to extreme drought and accompanying high air temperatures in 2018 and 2019. The highly diversified thermal and humidity conditions also contributed to a significant decrease in the effect of the factors applied on the structural yield components, leaf area index and dry matter of nodules. As a result, no need of increasing soybean density was observed; along with row spacing, it should be chosen according to the region. Keywords: density effect, abiotic stress, plant morphology, sowing ratio, inter-row width, weather conditions Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 616-623 Volume: 66 Issue: 12 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/403/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/403/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202012-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:66:y:2020:i:12:id:403-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Feng-Ling Zheng Author-Workplace-Name: Engineering Research Center of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Waterlogging Disaster and Agricultural Use of Wetland, College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei, P.R. China Author-Name: Sheng-Min Liang Author-Workplace-Name: Engineering Research Center of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Waterlogging Disaster and Agricultural Use of Wetland, College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei, P.R. China Author-Name: Xiao-Ning Chu Author-Workplace-Name: Engineering Research Center of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Waterlogging Disaster and Agricultural Use of Wetland, College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei, P.R. China Author-Name: Yong-Lu Yang Author-Workplace-Name: Engineering Research Center of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Waterlogging Disaster and Agricultural Use of Wetland, College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei, P.R. China Author-Name: Qiang-Sheng Wu Title: Mycorrhizal fungi enhance flooding tolerance of peach through inducing proline accumulation and improving root architecture Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus mosseae on plant growth, root architecture, and proline metabolism in roots of peach (Prunes persica L.) under non-flooding and flooding conditions. The 12-day flooding dramatically inhibited root colonisation of G. mosseae, but induced a large number of extraradical mycelia. Although the flooding treatment also relatively inhibited growth and root architecture of peach, the mycorrhizal fungal inoculation dramatically increased shoot and root biomass, plant height, stem diameter, number of 1st- and 2nd-order lateral roots, root total length (mainly 0-1 cm and > 3 cm long), root surface area, and root volume under flooding. The study also revealed distinctly higher proline accumulation in the roots of mycorrhizal plants than non-mycorrhizal plants under both non-flooding and flooding conditions, accompanied by higher Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase (P5CS) activity and lower δ-ornithine transaminase and proline dehydrogenase activities. In addition, the PpP5CS1 gene expression was up-regulated by flooding and mycorrhization. This study concluded that mycorrhizal fungi enhanced flooding tolerance of peach through inducing proline accumulation and improving root architecture. Keywords: fruit tree, osmotic adjustment, symbiosis, water stress Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 624-631 Volume: 66 Issue: 12 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/520/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/520/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202012-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:66:y:2020:i:12:id:520-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Senad Murtić Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Author-Name: Emina Sijahović Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Author-Name: Hamdija Čivić Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Author-Name: Mirza Tvica Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Author-Name: Josip Jurković Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Title: In situ immobilisation of heavy metals in soils using natural clay minerals Abstract: This study attempted to evaluate the efficiency of zeolite and pyrophyllite ore materials in reducing the mobility of heavy metals in soil near the lignite mining dumps, and consequently in their availability for plants. Extraction of pseudo-total and available forms of heavy metals from soil samples was performed by using aqua regia and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, respectively. Concentrations of heavy metals in soil and plant samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results of this study illustrate that application of zeolite and pyrophyllite could be a suitable technique to reduce heavy metals availability in soils. Zeolite treatments have been shown to be significantly effective in reducing cadmium (Cd) mobility, as well as pyrophyllite treatments in reducing lead (Pb) mobility in the studied soil, regardless of applied rates. The accumulation of heavy metals in leaves of maize grown on soil plots treated by zeolite and pyrophyllite, was found to be lower compared to the untreated plots. This finding was to be expected, considering the effects of these treatments on heavy metals mobility in the studied soil. Keywords: contaminated soil, environment, health, remediation, risk elements, Zea mays L Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 632-638 Volume: 66 Issue: 12 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/371/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/371/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202012-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:66:y:2020:i:12:id:371-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jian Fu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Cultivation and Crop Germplasm Improvement of Heilongjiang Province, Daqing, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Postdoctoral Research Station for Crop Science of Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, P.R. China Author-Name: Yao Xiao Author-Workplace-Name: College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, P.R. China Author-Name: Zhihua Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Forestry, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, P.R. China Author-Name: Yifei Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Cultivation and Crop Germplasm Improvement of Heilongjiang Province, Daqing, P.R. China Author-Name: Yufeng Wang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Cultivation and Crop Germplasm Improvement of Heilongjiang Province, Daqing, P.R. China Author-Name: Kejun Yang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Cultivation and Crop Germplasm Improvement of Heilongjiang Province, Daqing, P.R. China Title: Trichoderma asperellum improves soil microenvironment in different growth stages and yield of maize in saline-alkaline soil of the Songnen Plain Abstract: The Songnen Plain is an important agricultural base in China and one of the important areas of distribution of saline-alkaline soils in the cold region. Saline-alkaline soils severely restrict maize growth. This study was to potentially promote the soil nutrient in the maize rhizosphere, microbes diversity, and maize yield by Trichoderma asperellum in saline-alkaline soil of the cold region. In the present study, we applied different amounts of T. asperellum in field experiments for three consecutive years. High-throughput sequencing was used to analyse the impact of Trichoderma on microbes diversity in maize rhizosphere soils. Changes in crop yield and soil nutrients were also monitored. T. asperellum treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of beneficial microbes genera. In the control treatment, the pathogenic microbes were the dominant genera. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that changes in the soil microbial community composition were closely related to soil nutrients and were highly correlated with T. asperellum treatment concentration. Further, T. asperellum treatment increased crop yield by 4.87-20.26%. These findings suggest that T. asperellum treatment optimised the microenvironment of the maize rhizosphere soil, alleviated microbial community degeneration in cold region saline-alkaline soil, and promoted maize growth. Keywords: bioremediation, saline-alkaline, microorganism, nutrient cycle, cold climate Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 639-647 Volume: 66 Issue: 12 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/456/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/456/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202012-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:66:y:2020:i:12:id:456-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Shuo Ma Author-Workplace-Name: College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Eco-Circular Agriculture, Guangzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Wenkang Chen Author-Workplace-Name: College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Eco-Circular Agriculture, Guangzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Jiaen Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Eco-Circular Agriculture, Guangzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Hong Shen Author-Workplace-Name: College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Eco-Circular Agriculture, Guangzhou, P.R. China Title: Influence of simulated acid rain on the physiological response of flowering Chinese cabbage and variation of soil nutrients Abstract: Flowering Chinese cabbages are widely planted in the south of China and often exposed to acid rain. However, the effect of acid rain on the growth of flowering Chinese cabbage is unclear. In this study, we investigated the influence of simulated acid rain (SAR) on plant height, soil-plant analysis development (SPAD) value (an index for chlorophyll content), proline, malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant enzyme activities, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), or potassium (K) uptake and variation of soil nutrients. Our results showed that SAR at pH 5.5 did not damage plant development because growth characteristics, photosynthesis, and superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities did not change obviously at this pH compared to those at pH 7.0. However, 2- to 7-time of SAR exposure at pH 4.5 and pH 3.5 led to the increases of antioxidant enzyme activities, MDA and proline contents, and the decreases of leaf SPAD value and root activity. Nutrient analysis indicated that spraying 4 to 7 times of SAR at pH 3.5 reduced the uptake of N, P and K of flowering Chinese cabbage significantly. In addition, treatment with SAR at pH 3.5 decreased the pH value of the surface soil and the contents of alkaline-hydrolytic N and readily available K but increased that of readily available P in the surface soil by 8.5% to 14.9%. Taken together, our results indicated that SAR at pH 3.5 influenced the antioxidant enzyme system and the contents of soil nutrients, caused metabolic disorders and ultimately restricted the development and growth of flowering Chinese cabbages. Keywords: atmospheric pollution, acidification, nutrient availability, leafy vegetable, abiotic stress, phosphorus fractions Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 648-657 Volume: 66 Issue: 12 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/469/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/469/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202012-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:66:y:2020:i:12:id:469-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Vladimír Nesvadba Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Hop Breeding, Hop Research Institute Co., Ltd., Saaz, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jitka Charvátová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Hop Breeding, Hop Research Institute Co., Ltd., Saaz, Czech Republic Author-Name: Josef Vostřel Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Hop Protection, Hop Research Institute Co., Ltd., Saaz, Czech Republic Author-Name: Markéta Werschallová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Hop Protection, Hop Research Institute Co., Ltd., Saaz, Czech Republic Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Evaluation of Czech hop cultivars since 2010 till 2019 Abstract: Czech hop cultivars were evaluated from 2010 to 2019. A total of 13 cultivars were assessed. The highest yield per plant was found out in cv. Kazbek (3.66 kg/plant), whereas the lowest in cv. Saazer (2.02 kg/plant). Rubín and Boomerang are the cultivars with the lowest variability of the yield per plant. On the contrary, the highest variability was shown by cv. Kazbek. Conclusively the highest content of alpha acids was recorded in cv. Gaia (13.81%), whereas Saazer is the cultivar with the lowest content (2.87%). Significantly highest content of beta acids were recorded in cvs. Gaia, Vital, Boomerang and Bohemie. On the contrary, the lowest content of beta acids was found in cvs. Saazer, Rubín and Bor (below 4%). Kazbek is the cultivar with the highest ratio of cohumulone (36.67% rel.). Cvs. Premiant and Harmonie show the lowest ratio of cohumulone (19.63% rel.). The lowest ratio of myrcene (18.91% rel.) and caryophyllene (8.26% rel.) was recorded in cv. Saazer. The highest ratio of farnesene was found in cv. Saazer (13.34% rel.) and cv. Saaz Late (10.22% rel.). A wide range was found in the ratio of humulene: from 2.15% rel. (cv. Vital) to 35.76% rel. (cv. Bor). Cv. Gaia has the highest ratio of selinene (19.77% rel.). Keywords: Humulus lupulus L., hop resins, hop oils, productivity, aroma and bitter cultivars Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 658-663 Volume: 66 Issue: 12 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/430/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/430/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202012-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:66:y:2020:i:12:id:430-2020-PSE