Fulltext search in archive

The eastern foot of Helan Mountains in Ningxia belongs to the semiarid area and has been identified as the best wine grape producing area in China. In order to solve the problems of a high sugar content, organic acid falling too fast and severe shortage of acidity in the berries during ripening, which lead to lack of wine harmony, this study took Vitis. vinifera L. cv. 'Cabernet Sauvignon' as the experimental material and expanded nine treatments from setting to harvest. Nine rows were selected and divided into three groups, treated with mild (-0.20 MPa ≥ Ψb ≥ -0.40 MPa), moderate (-0.40 MPa ≥ Ψb ≥ -0.60 MPa), severe (Ψb ≥ -0.60 MPa) water stress from setting to veraison separately. From veraison to harvest, within each group, the mild, moderate, severe water stress were set, forming light-light (CK), light-medium (T1), light-heavy (T2), medium-light (T3), medium-medium (T4), medium-heavy (T5), heavy-light (T6), heavy-medium (T7), heavy-heavy (T8) treatments. The results showed that when the medium treatment was used from setting to veraison and the medium or severe treatment was used during post-veraison to harvest, it would facilitate the transportation and accumulation of sugar and improve the fruit quality.

The main objective was to study the effect of sample preparation on the content of trans-resveratrol, trans-ε-viniferin and trans-δ-viniferin in young spring grapevine canes. The samples of six varieties of Vitis vinifera L. ('Hibernal', 'Malverina', 'Kolor', 'Fioletovij Augustovskij', 'Grüner Veltliner' and 'Blaufränkisch') were either lyophilised or slow dried at room temperature (three months), extracted and analysed by HPLC using DAD and FLD detectors and by LC-MS. The presence of trans-δ-viniferin was confirmed by comparison with trans-δ-viniferin prepared by dimerization of trans-resveratrol using laccase and its structure was verified by LC-NMR. The slow drying of the samples at room temperature enables the synthesis of a significant amount of stilbenes in all the studied varieties of V. vinifera canes resulting in a higher stilbene content compared to the lyophilised samples. The results of this study show the importance of the method of drying the cane sample before the extraction and analysis.

Both wheat stripe rust and powdery mildew are important diseases in the world, which mainly infect the leaves and cause serious yield loss. In this study, the leaf samples of two varieties were collected from different pathogenic processes of stripe rust and powdery mildew that co-occurred in plants, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) amplicon sequencing was introduced to analyse the structure and diversity of phyllosphere fungal communities. The results showed that the alpha diversity indices of the fungal communities were decreased with the pathogenic process, and the beta diversity among the different pathogenic process were significantly different as well. In addition, an Adonis analysis showed the pathogenic processes affected the structure of the fungal community, which could explain 45.6% of the variance in the community structure, on the contrary, the variety has no effect both on the community diversity and the structure. With the development of the pathogenic process, the abundance of both pathogens (Puccinia striiformis and Blumeria graminis) increased significantly, as well as for the relative abundance of some fungi (i.e., Alternaria spp., Cladosporium spp., etc.). The relative abundance of other genera (e.g., Aureobasidium, Epicoccum, etc.) increased at the early pathogenic stage, then decreased at the late pathogenic stage. Comprehensively, these fungi may have the potential to compete with pathogens for nutrients, which may be the target for the development of biological control agents.

Bruchus pisorum L., is an economically important pest of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) crops worldwide, however, no fully effective methods (conventional, alternative) of its control exist now. To fill this knowledge gap, possibilities of trap cropping were tested in the years 2015-2017. Two field pea varieties differing in the start of flowering, and one spring barley variety, were used to design four different types of crops, that were compared in large plot trials (2.82 ha). It was hypothesized the females would prefer zones planted with early flowering variety for oviposition. In all three seasons, females placed more eggs on pods in the parts of plots planted with the early flowering variety, and positive aggregation of the eggs and infested seeds were recorded there too. In cases where the egg-laying period is shorter than 14-21 days, the early flowering variety located at the margins should serve efficiently as a trap crop.

Abies concolor was introduced to Europe in the 19^th century and commonly planted as an ornamental tree. In 2018, after several very warm and dry vegetation seasons, which has likely caused abiotic stress in the trees, a sudden dieback of A. concolor was observed in the city of Aranđelovac in Serbia. The external symptoms were the rapid discoloration of needles in a larger part of the crown and eventually the dieback of the trees. The aim of this study was to identify the possible agents of damage by analysing the fungal communities associated with symptomatic needles using high-throughput sequencing as no symptoms of damage were seen on the branches or stems. Symptomatic needles were collected from the lower branches of five standing trees. Half of the needles were surface sterilised and the remaining were left unsterilised. DNA was extracted, amplified using ITS2 rDNA as a marker and sequenced. Quality filtering showed the presence of 6 191 high quality reads, which, following a clustering analysis, was found to represent 79 non-singletons fungal taxa. The most common fungi in both surface sterilised and unsterilised needles were the pathogens Cytospora friesii (59.7%) and Sydowia polyspora (20.6%). The results demonstrated that C. friesii and S. polyspora can cause a rapid decline of A. concolor trees subjected to abiotic stress.

Breeding for aluminium (Al) tolerance is a vital approach for enhancing the productivity of field crops in acidic soil regions where Al toxicity seems to be the most restraining factor for crop performance. Sunflower is generally considered extremely sensitive to Al toxicity; although no comprehensive information on the evaluation of sunflower genotypes for Al tolerance is available. In this study, 50 sunflower genotypes (set-I and set-II) were evaluated for Al tolerance at the seedling stage under hydroponic conditions. Substantial genetic variability in Al tolerance was observed among the studied genotypes. High estimates of heritability were obtained for both the total root length (TRL) and root regrowth (RRG), together with high estimates of genetic advance. A cluster analysis separated the genotypes into five different groups among the studied germplasm, the genotypes; NDLR-06 and EC-601861 were observed to be highly Al tolerant in terms of root regrowth under Al stress. In conclusion, the findings lreveal the complex mechanisms of Al tolerance in sunflower and may help to find new genetic resource for the improvement of Al tolerance in sunflower breeding.

Chilling is an important abiotic stress in plants. Sweet potato is sensitive to cold damage due to its tropical origin. In this study, we identified a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene, IbbHLH33, from our cold-tolerance-related transcriptomic data. Further analyses revealed that IbbHLH33 encoded a nuclear protein and was most closely related to AtbHLH33. RT-qPCR analysis showed that IbbHLH33 was expressed at the highest level in the roots, and its expression was strongly induced by low temperature (4 °C), H₂O₂ and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing IbbHLH33 were obtained by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, which enhanced the chilling resistance of tobacco. At low temperatures, the proline content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased significantly, while the relative conductivity decreased significantly. At the same time, the expression of proline synthesis related genes and antioxidant activity related genes increased, while the expression of ABA synthesis related genes decreased. The results showed that IbbHLH33 is a transcription factor encoding a gene of the bHLH family that regulates chilling tolerance. In conclusion, these data suggest that IbbHLH33 has the potential to improve chilling tolerance in tobacco and other plants.

The wheat leaf rust resistance gene Lr1 encodes a typical coiled-coil nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (CC-NBS-LRR) of resistance protein containing 1 344 amino acids. WR003, a cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) marker is derived from the LRR regions of Lr1. In this study, a worldwide collection of 120 Aegilops tauschii accessions and 282 hexaploid wheat varieties was screened for Lr1 alleles using WR003, and the specificity of WR003 for Lr1 was confirmed by pathogenicity tests and genotype analysis. The sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis of 38 Lr1 haplotypes provided a further view of the molecular evolution of Lr1. The results showed that there were very few polymorphisms between the Lr1 alleles from Ae. tauschii and hexaploid wheat with the same resistance phenotype. The polymorphisms of the Lr1 haplotypes were mainly between the different resistance lines, rather than between the different ploidy levels. These results indicate that Lr1 originated from Ae. tauschii and differentiated into resistant and susceptible genotypes before its introgression into hexaploid wheat. Therefore, it is likely that wheat Lr1 has at least two major variants for disease resistance and susceptibility, and except for certain point mutations, few gene conversions and genetic re-combinations occurred during the hexaploid wheat domestication.

Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) is a potential circulating mediator connecting nutritional factors and fat metabolism, however, information is lacking on the exact role of ANGPTL4 on triglyceride metabolism in the thigh muscles and livers of broilers. The objective of this study was to determine the changes in the triglyceride metabolism in the thigh muscles and livers of broilers injected intravenously with ANGPTL4. In experiment 1, 36 male Arbor Acres broilers at 35 days of age were randomly allocated into six treatments with six replicates. The broilers were subjected to intravenous injection of polyhistidine-small ubiquitin-related modifier-ANGPTL4 (His-SUMO-ANGPTL4) once at a dose of 0, 20, 100, 500, 2 500, or 12 500 ng/kg body weight (BW), respectively. The results showed that the injection of His-SUMO-ANGPTL4 at a dose of 500, 2 500 and 12 500 ng/kg BW decreased (P < 0.05) the broilers' heart-fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) mRNA expression in the thigh muscle. All of the His-SUMO-ANGPTL4 broiler injected groups had a lower (P < 0.05) adipocyte-fatty acid-binding protein mRNA expression in the thigh muscle. In experiment 2, 18 male Arbor Acres broilers at 35 days of age were randomly allocated into three treatments with six replicates. The broilers were given an injection of normal saline (NS), His-SUMO, or His-SUMO-ANGPTL4 (500 ng/kg BW) once. The results showed that the broilers receiving an injection of ANGPTL4 at a dose of 500 ng/kg BW decreased (P < 0.05) the H-FABP mRNA expression in the thigh muscle. Besides, the broilers given an injection of ANGPTL4 at a dose of 500 ng/kg BW increased (P < 0.05) the fatty acid synthase mRNA expression and activity and decreased (P < 0.05) the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein mRNA expression in the liver. However, the concentrations of the high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein, insulin, growth hormone and leptin in the serum were not affected by the ANGPTL4 injection. In conclusion, ANGPTL4 has the ability to change the triglyceride metabolism in the thigh muscles and livers of broilers.

Proteins are the second most essential macromolecules after nucleic acids. This article aimed at the comparative analysis of extraction methods and nutritional benefits of milk and dairy products. Proteins form the body mass and perform several crucial tasks that include acting as a catalyst and carrying out different metabolic reactions in the body. Furthermore, protein acts as a transporter, transmits nerve impulses, provides mechanical support or immune protection, and controls growth. Several sources of proteins are present, but milk holds an important place due to its biological activities. The considerable health benefits of milk and its products are due to proteins. Yoghurt and cheese have significant importance among milk products. Proteins of milk and its products can be extracted by pH adjustment through homogenisation, centrifugation, and deproteinisation. There are several techniques for identifying and quantifying milk and product proteins. The Kjeldahl and spectrophotometric methods are the most widely used methods for quantifying proteins in milk and its products. Furthermore, these techniques include electrophoresis and chromatographic methods, including native gel electrophoresis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), urea-PAGE, capillary electrophoresis, and isoelectric focusing. A few are chromatographic methods like reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), size exclusion chromatography, and ion-exchange chromatography. Each technique has its advantages as well as disadvantages. The selection of the process depends upon the type of protein. The extracted proteins from milk and its products have many health or therapeutic effects that exhibit antimicrobial, antiproliferative, antioxidant, antihypertensive, anticancer, antiviral, and immunomodulatory effects. Yoghurt has prime importance among milk products because of its therapeutic effects and more protein.

Soy is considered an allergen under Regulation No. 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which mandates the labelling of soy allergen on food packaging. This study is focused on detecting soy in food products using two kinds of methods. The first method, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was performed using two commercial kits (Veratox for Soy Allergen; Neogen, USA). The second method, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), was carried out with two different deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-isolating kits and DNA isolation via the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method. A total of 57 samples of food were tested, including 45 samples of animal origin and 12 samples of plant origin. The results were compared with information on the packaging. From the group of samples that contained soy according to the packaging (12 pieces), 9 samples were found to be positive by ELISA method, 10 samples by the CTAB method and 11 samples by GeneSpin. On the other hand, from the group of samples that should not contain soy according to the packaging (30 pieces), the presence of soy in 2 samples was detected by ELISA. No significant difference was found between the examined methods. Results show that the situation on the market is satisfactory and that only products declared as containing traces of soy appear to be problematic.

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesised using the Prunus cerasifera pissardii nigra (PC) leaf extract in an easy, low-cost and environmentally friendly way. According to the ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometer analysis data, the nanocrystals demonstrated a characteristic peak at 456 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy analyses revealed that the morphological structures of the biosynthesised AgNPs were mostly spherical. According to the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, it was determined that the crystal structures of AgNPs were cubic. The size of the nanoparticles was calculated as 23.60 nm using the Debye-Scherrer equation. The zeta potential of the synthesised nanomaterial was measured as -15.5 mV. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of AgNPs on Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 11774, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231 were determined to be 0.062, 0.250, 0.125, 0.500 and 0.125 µg mL^-1, respectively.

The determination of the engineering properties of the cashew nut is essential as the basis for the design and development of appropriate and optimum post-harvest handling and processing machinery. The present study examined the physical, mechanical and colour properties of cashew nuts (n = 100) at a moisture content of 7.63% (wet basis) derived from Central Java, Indonesia. The main characteristics included the length, width, thickness, mass, volume, and density. The derivative properties consisted of the geometric diameter, arithmetic diameter, surface area, frontal surface area, transverse area, shape index, sphericity, bulk density, and porosity. The mechanical properties included the static friction, static and dynamic angle of repose, and compressive load (in four orientations). It was identified that the cashew nut from Central Java was dominant with a small-medium size with an average mass of 5.42 ± 0.99 g. This cashew nut was thicker, but shorter in length than the cashew nuts from India, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast. The results of the stepwise regression analysis determined that the volume had the most substantial relationship with the mass (R² = 0.949), the bulk density had the highest correlation with the mass (R² = 0.968), and the porosity showed a high correlation with the true density and mass (R² = 0.997). The highest friction, static angle of repose, and-dynamic angle of repose occurred on the surface plywood, and the lowest was on the stainless-steel surface. In the context of designing appropriate cashew nut cracking equipment, it was recommended to provide the impact parallel to the longitudinal axis orientation due to the minimum compressive load (reduce the power requirement). Furthermore, the cashew nut colour properties of the L*, a*, b* coordinates were 35.988, 0.427, 1.718, respectively.

As a source of renewable energy, agricultural by-products after pre-processing and cleaning in post-harvest lines can be used as a feedstock for the production of pellets or briquettes. This can be achieved by determining the physicochemical properties of the by-products. Groundnut pods, maize cobs and the husks of rice, millet and sorghum were considered, and their properties were determined, which were then compared with the standard properties of pellets and briquettes to ascertain their viability as a feedstock for the pellet or briquette production. The by-products were transported from Nigeria to the Czech Republic and the research was carried out at the Department of Technological Equipment of Buildings, the Faculty of Engineering, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. The moisture content, ash content, calorific value, nitrogen content and sulfur content were the properties considered of the by-products. Groundnut pods and maize cobs with a calorific value of 17.48 MJ.kg^-1 and 16.25 MJ.kg^-1, an ash content of 3.46% weight and 1.79% weight, a nitrogen content of 1.24% weight and 0.44% weight and a moisture content of 7.92 weight and 7.56% weight, respectively, were discovered to fulfill all the requirements for graded non-woody pellets A. With the exception of rice husks and millet husks, which were discovered to have high ash contents and low calorific values, all the by-products fulfilled the standard requirements for one or more grade of pellet/briquette. They can, therefore, be used as a good feedstock for pellet or briquette production.

Phoma stem canker, caused by Leptosphaeria spp. is generally managed with demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides in the Czech Republic. However, there have been reports of resistance to DMIs in L. maculans populations. Fungicide resistance management recommends the application of fungicides with different modes of action, either as mixtures or in rotation with other fungicide classes. The objective, therefore, was to evaluate the efficacy of boscalid, dimoxystrobin and a mixture of boscalid and dimoxystrobin, belonging to the succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor and quinone outside inhibitor fungicide groups, respectively, on L. maculans isolates. A total of 41 and 285 isolates were tested using the mycelial growth and microtitre plate assays, respectively. The EC₅₀ values for the mycelial growth plate method ranged from 0.026-0.984 µg/mL and 0.097-1.653 µg/mL for boscalid and boscalid + dimoxystrobin, respectively. For dimoxystrobin, the EC₅₀ range was wide, between 0.053-95.59 µg/mL. The EC₅₀ values for the microtitre plate assay ranged from 0.001 496-0.836 3 µg/mL and 7.3 × 10^-4-2.801 µg/mL for boscalid and dimoxystrobin, respectively. The results also showed that the L. maculans conidia were more sensitive to boscalid and dimoxystrobin than mycelia.

Cryopreservation reduces the antioxidant activity of spermatozoa and makes them more sensitive to damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS). The addition of antioxidants to the freezing medium could prevent cryo-damage by mitigating the harmful effects of ROS and, thus, protecting the spermatozoa. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of ellagic acid (EA) on the rabbit sperm traits after freezing-thawing. Semen samples collected from New Zealand White rabbit males were cryopreserved in a BotuCrio freezing medium (Nidacon, Sweden) supplemented with different concentrations of ellagic acid (EA at 0, 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 mM) using the manual slow freezing procedure. After thawing, sperm motility parameters were evaluated by CASA. The parameters of viability (DRAQ7), apoptosis (Yo-Pro-1), acrosome integrity (peanut agglutinin; PNA), intracellular ROS (CellROX) and mitochondrial activity (MitoTracker) were evaluated by flow cytometry. EA added to the freezing medium at all concentrations led to a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in intracellular ROS in frozen-thawed sperm cells. However, this effect was not reflected in motility parameters. Semen supplemented with 1.5 mM EA also yielded a lower proportion of apoptotic cells compared to the control group. In conclusion, EA supplementation of semen extender demonstrated its antioxidative properties protecting spermatozoa against oxidative damage during cryopreservation. Nevertheless, to draw a definitive conclusion regarding the effect of EA on spermatozoa functionality, additional research is necessary.

The present study aimed to assess the effects of thermal manipulation on the vitellogenesis and final oocyte maturation (FOM) in pikeperch. Two groups of fish were stocked in two separate tanks of the climate chamber. One group was stocked at 10-month age (THERMAL), while the other was continually kept under stable photothermal conditions until 19-month-age (CONTROL) and then transferred to a climate chamber. The progress of vitellogenesis was assessed via evaluation of the oocyte diameter at the mid- and late-autumn phases, and the gonadosomatic index (GSI) at the late-autumn phase. Finally, females from the CONTROL group were hormonally stimulated before (WARMING) and after (STABLE) increase of the temperature from wintering to spawning, and the FOM progress, ovulation and plasma levels of 17 α, 20β dihydroxy progesterone (DHP) were assessed. Significantly larger oocytes at the mid-autumn phase (878.8 ± 40.1 μm vs 836.5 ± 46.5 μm) as well as the GSI at the end of the autumn phase (10.5 ± 1.7% vs 7.6 ± 1.1%) were noticed in THERMAL fish. Significantly faster FOM was seen in fish under the WARMING post-stimulation regime, and these fish had higher DHP levels at the moment of hormonal stimulation (5.4 ± 1.4 ng/ml vs 3.8 ± 1.2 ng/ml). According to the obtained results, it appears that photothermal induction of fish at a younger stage might have a positive impact on the first spawning, while the WARMING thermal regime seems to be more efficient in stimulating the FOM in fish upon first wintering.

The study analyses the influence of technical barriers to agricultural trade carried out by Japan on China's fruit exports. In order to measure the tariff equivalents of technical barriers, the price wedge method is utilized. Based on the utility function specified in the study, the constructed model is adopted to evaluate the elasticity of substitution between the imported fruits and Japanese domestic fruits, and the consumers' preference parameters for different kinds of fruits. Sample data are chosen from the beginning of 2002 to the end of 2015. Based on the estimated preference parameters and elasticity of substitution, the results show that Japanese consumers prefer domestic fruits to the imported fruits. Besides, the results reveal that although the substitution and preference parameters are higher for the improved quality of imported fruits in the context of the positive list system, the scales of tariff equivalents of technical barriers are larger than the regular custom tariffs, and the technical barriers would cause extra huge costs for the imported fruits. Especially, in the three consecutive years after the implementation of the positive list system, tariff equivalents of technical barriers almost reached 150%, and then gradually decreased in the following years.

The paper analyses the effect of electronic-trading (e-trading) on the wholesale prices of select commodities in agricultural marketplaces to aid agrarian income levels. Post a literature review, the researcher performed a field survey to get the opinions of 371 farmers and traders. The researcher also conducted the descriptive statistical analysis, the difference in differences analysis, and the t-test analysis to show the wholesale price improvement after the e-trading platform implementation. The field survey findings and the statistical analysis suggest an increase in average wholesale prices of select agri-commodities in select markets of India due to the National Agriculture Market (eNAM) e-trading platform effect. The suggestions to practitioners and social policymakers highlight an improvement in the functioning of e-trading in terms of better prices for farmers, lowering transaction costs, increased transaction speed, reduced administrative hurdles, improved infrastructure and eventually higher income for a farmer. The knowledge base developed in this paper will help researchers reduce the knowledge gap in agricultural pricing.

The issues related to appropriate management methods of beech stands have been considered as a crucial topic from the past up to now. Although the positive effect of tending on wood quality in beech stands is a generally known fact, the results from long-term experiments are very scarce. We investigated the qualitative production of beech forests, treated by different thinning methods during a long-term period of 53 years. For this purpose two long-term (lasting 53 years with a measurement interval of 5 years) series of research plots were used. On each plot three different thinning methods were applied: i) heavy thinning from below (C-grade according to the German forestry research institutes in 1902), ii) free crown thinning (original thinning method developed in Slovak Republic), and iii) control plot (without treatments). As much as 6,316 trees at the beginning of research and 864 trees at the last measurement were assessed and measured. Chi-squared test was used to quantify the effect of different thinning methods on qualitative wood production. The results showed the highest proportion of target trees, as well as the best average quality of the stem and crown on plots where the free crown thinning was applied followed by the plots with heavy thinning from below and control ones. We found that the proportion (expressed out of the total growing stock of crop trees) of veneers was the highest on plots managed by the free crown thinning (30 and 36%) and the lowest on control (unthinned) plots (10 and 19%). It is concluded that no significant differences between the two studied sites were found, which demonstrates a similar effect of the investigated thinning methods at different places across the region of Slovak Republic, but with similar site conditions. On the other hand, the most appropriate and hence successful thinning method was proved to be the free crown thinning, which is also recommended for management of beech forests from the aspect of silvicultural wood quality.

Seedling quality is an important input affecting the outplanted seedling performance. Morphological attributes and association with symbiotic ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi belong to influential traits determining seedling quality. In this study, the effect of pre-sowing applied commercial additives Ectovit (containing hydrogel and ECM fungi), Mycorrhizaroots (ECM fungi and nutrients) and Vetozen (natural mineral fertilizer) on the growth and ectomycorrhiza formation of Norway spruce seedlings grown in nutrient-poor pure peat in an open nursery site was assessed. Two-year-old bareroot seedlings were transplanted into containers. No significant growth differences were detected between treatments for 1 + 0 seedlings but the values of growth parameters (root collar diameter; stem height; shoot, root and total dry weight) of Ectovit-inoculated seedlings were significantly higher than those in the other treatments including the control after the second (2 + 0 seedlings) and the third growing season (2 + 1). Root-to-shoot dry weight ratio and number of root tips were distinctly higher after the third year compared to the previous two years but they were not significantly different between treatments. Mycorrhizaroots and Vetozen did not have any significant effect on seedling development. Although the occurrence of treatment-specific ECM morphotype was detected in Ectovit-inoculated seedlings, the high total ECM colonization of roots in all treatments including the control indicated a crucial impact of naturally occurring fungi on ectomycorrhiza formation.

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests belong to the most relevant forest types in the Western Ukrainian Roztochia area. The promotion of close-to-nature forest management in Ukraine in the framework of the forest strategy 2 035 supports natural regeneration and the application of diverse felling methods beyond clearcutting. In the present study, natural regeneration was analysed in mixed Scots pine stands on poor and relatively rich soils, after small clearcuts, shelterwood cutting and gap fellings (with or without soil preparation), with respect to tree species composition, species abundance and height growth. It could be shown that Scots pine is the most abundant species in all the felling systems, with on average more than 100 000 plants per ha on poor soils. Other admixed tree species only occur with small shares. Natural regeneration, especially of Scots pine, was less abundant on rich soils and in shelterwood, compared to a small clearcut. After the young plants have established, their abundance declined in the second and third year due to competing herbaceous plants and thick litter.

Dairy farming is deeply affected by climate change, especially by rising temperatures and heat waves, poorer availability of quality food and water, and the spread of new diseases and pests outside their original ecological niche. Their impact can be mitigated not only by changes in technologies, management and treatment, but also by breeding and selection of more resilient cows. General resilience encompasses the animal's capacity to cope with environmental, social and disease challenges. It is described as the capacity of the animal to be minimally affected by a disturbance or to rapidly return to the physiological, behavioural, cognitive, health, affective and production states that pertained before exposure to a disturbance. As disturbances can be of different natures, general resilience is a composite trait consisting of different resilience types according to the nature of the disturbance. Resilience can be quantified through time series data that capture fluctuations in the daily performance. Recent studies have worked with deviations in the daily milk yield and daily live weight from optimal performance or have focused on the assessment of the daily activity in terms of the daily step count. To observe the duration and magnitude of the response to perturbance, two indicators were suggested: the autocorrelation (r_auto) and the natural logarithm of deviations (LnVar). Based on the daily milk yield deviations, both indicators have shown sufficient genetic variabilities with the estimated heritability ~0.1 for r_auto and ~0.2 for LnVar. Low values of both indicators were genetically related to better udder health, better hoof health, better longevity, better fertility, higher body condition score, less ketosis but also lower milk yield level. The selection for improved resilience could benefit from the use of genomic information as several genes and biological pathways associated with disease resilience and resilience to heat stress have already been identified. The presented results suggest that the integration of resilience into the cattle breeding programmes would improve the capacity of the dairy industry to cope with global climate change.

This study investigated the effects of the dietary addition of wormwood (Artemisia montana Pampan) on growth performance, blood characteristics, carcass traits, and meat quality in growing-fattening pigs. One hundred eighty crossed pigs (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc), weighing approximately 70 kg, were divided into four groups of 15 head (eight barrows and seven gilts) per pen, and the experiment was replicated thrice. The basal diet (C) was supplemented with 0.5% (T1), 1.0% (T2), and 1.5% (T3) of dried powdered wormwood, and the pigs were fed an experimental diet for six weeks. The average daily weight gain and feed efficiency were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in treatments than in C. On the contrary, the total cholesterol concentration was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in treatments than in C. Additionally, the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration was significantly higher (P < 0.05), and the carcass grade was better (P < 0.05) in the treatments than in C. The ether extract content of the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle was lower (P < 0.05) in T2 and T3 than that in C. In contrast, the unsaturated fatty acid (USFA) composition in LD muscle was higher (P < 0.05) in the treatments than in C. Additionally, the marbling and flavour of cooked meat were better (P < 0.05) in the treatments than in C. The dietary addition of wormwood increased (P < 0.05) lightness and yellowness of the surface meat colour and decreased (P < 0.05) juiciness of the LD sensory evaluation. Therefore, the dietary addition of wormwood improved growth performance, feed efficiency, carcass grade, USFA composition, and oxidation of protein and lipids in the LD muscle of growing-fattening pigs.

The improvement of rice production to meet food needs for the increasing population is a general problem faced in wetland development for agriculture. The use of industrial waste, such as coal fly ash (CFA), could effectively improve the soil properties of wetlands. In this study, CFA with an amount of 2% (weight/volume) or 240 g was added to 12 L of three different soils collected from the rice fields (peatland, swampland, and rainfed field) in a 15-L pot, and then incubated in the greenhouse for 15 days. The soil pH, concentrations of NH₄⁺-N, NO₃^–-N, exchangeable calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) and available phosphorus in the soil were quantified following the completion of the incubation. Rice seedlings were planted in each pot, and after 90 days, the growth and yield variables were observed. The results showed that CFA application enhanced the concentrations of NH₄⁺-N, NO₃^–-N, and available phosphorus in peatland and swampland, the rice fields that contain high organic carbon (C), which ultimately leads to increasing rice growth and yield. The application of CFA to rice fields containing low organic carbon did not improve available nitrogen and phosphorus nor enhance the growth and yield of rice. Results of this study indicate an important role of soil organic C content in the rice fields in controlling the effect of CFA on nutrient availability, growth and yield of rice.

Agriculture is one of the main contributors to carbon emissions and is also significantly affected by changing climate. This article investigates the impacts of agricultural support on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from agriculture in the European Union. Panel regression models were used to examine the influence of subsidies in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on reducing GHGs from agriculture. First, estimates show that direct agricultural subsidies encouraged agricultural-related carbon emissions. Second, the study concludes that the expansion of organic agriculture and the rural development expenditures contributed to emissions reduction in the member states. Finally, the CAP Health Check reform decreased while the Ciolos reform stimulated GHG emissions.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, agricultural commodities had significant price increases, which inevitably implies high risk. In this article, we try to mitigate the extreme risk of corn and soybeans by constructing multivariate portfolios with developed and emerging European stock indices. We measured extreme risk via conditional value at risk. To address different goals that investors might prefer, we produced portfolios with the lowest risk and highest return-to-risk ratio. According to the results, corn and soybeans had relatively high portfolio shares. However, they are the riskiest assets because they have a very low pairwise correlation with the stock indices. Portfolios with emerging European indices had better risk-reducing results, considering both agricultural commodities because these indices are less risky than developed indices. In particular, the risk reductions of corn were 38% and 50% in the portfolios with developed and emerging stock indices, respectively, whereas, for soybeans, the results were 28% and 41%, respectively. In optimal portfolios, emerging European stock indices had the upper hand in most cases.

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease of rice caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is one of the significant constraints for rice production. A study was carried out to analyze the virulence, genetic diversity, and population structure of Xoo isolates collected from different rice ecosystems of Karnataka, India. The taxonomic identity of all 54 isolates was confirmed using a Xoo-specific PCR assay. The virulence assay on a set of twenty-eight near-isogenic differentials identified nine pathotype groups (KPthX-1 to KPthX-9). Among them, KPthX-6 was highly virulent, whereas KPthx-2 was less virulent. Differentials with four and five resistance (R) genes (Xa4+xa5+xa13+Xa21, Xa4+Xa7+xa13+Xa21, and Xa4+xa5+Xa7+xa13+Xa21) were effective against all the pathotypes. Further, genetic diversity was deduced using a universal marker set, JEL-1, and JEL-2, complementary to a conserved repetitive sequence IS1112. The amplicon size and numbers varied from 100 bp to 3 Kb and 1 to 25. Based on the amplicon counts, Jaccard’s co-efficient and phylogenetic analyses were carried out and categorized the 54 isolates into three clusters (I to III). Cluster-II contains the maximum number of isolates (27), followed by cluster-I (23 isolates) and cluster-III (one isolate). The structure analysis categorized the isolates into five subgroups, viz. SG1, SG2, SG3, SG4, and SG5 indicate the existence of five subpopulations. The present study has identified the genetic and virulence diversity of the Xoo population and reported the effective R gene/s for different rice ecosystems, which can be used in the breeding program for the eco-specific management of BLB of rice.

The draft Strategic plan of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the Czech Republic has provoked the displeasure of many entrepreneurs in agriculture due to the redistributive payments, to which 23% of the total volume of direct payments will be directed instead of the originally planned 10%. According to the creators of the Strategic plan, this should support the fairer distribution of payments, respecting the benefits arising from the scale of production of large companies. Critics of the plan claim that operating subsidies are already degressive and fear an adverse impact on medium-sized companies, which, given the structure of the companies in the Czech Republic, will affect a large part of agriculture. This article aims to identify the farm size for which direct payments will be reduced and the likely degree of the impact on the farm economy. Our results suggest that the new payment system will lead to a reduction in direct payments for farms larger than 313 ha and, from a farm size of 873 ha, direct payments will fall below 85% of the average, which may cover around 50% of the agricultural land in the Czech Republic.

The challenges smallholders face in agricultural management between developed and developing countries differ and can also impact the smallholder's well-being. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that affect the well-being of smallholders. We conducted a systematic literature by applying the Preferred Reported Item for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) and extracted 30 articles from Scopus and Web of Science. These articles show three main factors that drive well-being: technology, optimal resource, and insurance, and two additional factors: market pricing and tax policy. Findings show that all the above factors will first impact economic well-being and, subsequently, social well-being. When COVID-19 struck, the smallholder's well-being was also affected in addition to the destabilised food chain. Travel restrictions have led to a labour shortage. The smallholders had to turn to e-commerce to sell their products. They also incurred losses and experienced difficulties in procuring agricultural intermediate inputs. The absence of agricultural insurance worsened the impact on the well-being of the smallholders. To safeguard the well-being of these smallholders, the study suggests that stakeholders should encourage local labour participation, increase investment in human capital, adopt e-commerce in marketing, offer agricultural insurance schemes against various disasters and continuously provide or increase subsidies to smallholders.