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It is difficult to estimate flood discharges and the flood zones as well as to design hydraulic structures in rivers without using hydrometric stations. Furthermore, using different models to determine the mentioned cases will be accompanied by errors. Therefore, flood marks on the trunks of trees located in the Babolrood riverbed were used to determine the peak discharge, flood flow depth, and flood zone in northern Iran. First, a hydraulic model for the study river was provided using topographic maps with a scale of 1: 1 000, HEC-GeoRAS extension (GIS), and HEC-RAS model. Then, the flood marks of past floods in the form of silt and clay sediments (deposits on the trees in the riverbed) were evaluated and the maximum flood flow depth was determined. Finally, the peak discharge of the past flood was estimated by the trial-and-error method to achieve the flood flow depth in the different river reaches. Then, the hydraulic model using the flow depth data was calibrated in the reaches, and, in the final step, based on the flood marks of other reaches, the model was validated. According to the results, the maximum instantaneous discharge rate of the study flood was 155 m³.s^-1 and the maximum flood flow depth was about 2 m. Furthermore, the results showed that the flood mark data in forest lands can be used as a tool for the calibration and validation of hydraulic models. The present methodology is an efficient method for determining the flood peak discharge, spatial variation of the flood depth, and flood zone in forest watersheds without hydrometric stations.

Bacterial antagonists are effective as an alternative to synthetic bactericides in the control of potato soft rot. The use of bioagents reduces the application of synthetic bactericides, which are harmful to humans and the environment. However, the mechanisms of some bioagents, such as some fungi and bacteria, are not yet understood. This paper reviews the current situation of potato soft rot, biological controls, antagonistic bioagents and their mechanisms, application strategies and future directions in today's agriculture. These mechanisms include mycoparasitism, competition, rhizosphere colonisation, synthesis and release of metabolites. Bioagents increased the defensive system of plants by increasing the antioxidants genes, such as superoxide dismutase, peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), and eventually increased the plant growth and yield production.

The functional role of the insect pathogen fungus Metarhizium anisopliae strain NCAIM 362 against the white grub cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) larvae and southern European marshland pyralid (Duponchelia fovealis) larvae in a sweet potato cultivation was tested under greenhouse conditions. As a positive control, the effect of the same strain of M. anisopliae were compared with the effect of the synthetic insecticide alpha-cypermethrin. According to the results, alpha-cypermethrin was more effective against both the Coleoptera and Lepidoptera larvae, a lower number of surviving individuals as well as less damaged tubers were detected after the chemical treatment, compared with M. anisopliae.

On February 23, 2022, the great Czech plant pathologist, and my personal friend and esteemed colleague, prof. Václav Kůdela passed away. For over 15 years (1990-2006), he served as the Editor-in-Chief for our journal, Plant Protection Science. His whole adult life was connected with agriculture, plant pathology, plant protection and the science of phytotherapy. However, he was also man who accepted, maintained, applied and lived his life following specific, serious traditional rules. The trajectory of his life and its fundamental message arose primarily from his family origins and experiences in youth.

Little cherry virus 1 (LChV1) of the genus Velarivirus is an important pathogen associated with the little cherry disease. It infects various species of the genus Prunus, mainly the sweet cherry and the sour cherry. Recently, plums and apricots have also been reported as natural hosts. In the present work, the LChV1 isolate causing chlorotic mosaics in almonds is characterised. The nearly complete (+)ssRNA genome sequence of the Alm138 isolate, obtained by Sanger sequencing, is 16 878 nt long showing a typical velarivirus structure with 8 ORFs. Among them, the taxonomically important ORFs, ORF1a/1b encoding the polyprotein is 8 421 nt long, with a 0/+1 frameshift position at 6 923; ORF3 encoding the heat shock protein HSP70h is 1 656 nt long, and ORF6 encoding the coat protein duplicate is 1 989 nt long. The genome sequence showed its highest identity with LChV1 isolates Apr184R (96.2%), 19SP003B (92.2%) and Kyoto-2 (92.1%). A similar situation was also found for the ORF1, HSP70h, and CP nucleotide and amino acid sequences. A phylogenetic analysis identified Alm138 as a member of the G5 phylogenetic group, supporting its close relationships with the Czech Apr184R apricot isolate and the other members of this group. This report describes the first little cherry virus 1 isolate infecting almonds and confirms the presence of isolates of the G5 phylogroup within Europe.

Foliar nutrients containing macronutrients, micronutrients and a combination of both were applied to Physalis peruviana, P. alkekengi and P. ixocarpa to determine their effect on fruit quality. A randomised complete block design study was conducted in a greenhouse on Madura Island, Indonesia. This study showed significant interactions between Physalis species and foliar nutrition to the physicochemical character of the fruit. Each species responded differently to the given nutrients. The combination of 1 g/L macronutrient (P and K) and 0.0625 g/L micronutrients (Zn, Fe, Cu, B, Mo and Mn) resulted in the highest fruit antioxidant activity, vitamin C, total soluble solids and redness of the three Physalis species. Generally, macronutrients and micronutrients in combination can be recommended to increase the quality of Physalis fruit.

This study aimed to characterise the specific phenotypic responses and the sensitivity of photosynthetic parameters to progressive drought in modern wheat genotypes. In pot experiments, we tested eight wheat genotypes (Triticum sp.) that differed in ploidy level and country of origin. Water stress was simulated by the restriction of irrigation, which led to a decreased leaf relative water content of up to 70%. During gradual dehydration, changes in the structure and function of photosystem II (PSII) were analysed using the fluorescence parameters derived from fast fluorescence kinetics (OJIP transient). The results indicated that a group of JIP test-based parameters demonstrated sensitivity to drought, including genotype-specific responses. Severe drought stress led to a decrease in the photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), a reduction in the number of active PSII reaction centers (RC/ABS) and a decrease in parameters, indicating overall photochemical performance at the PSII level (performance indices PIabs and PItot). These findings demonstrate that the approaches used in our experiments were useful and reliable in monitoring the physiological responses of individual varieties of wheat exposed to stress conditions, and they have application potential as selection criteria in crop breeding. The contribution of the high-temperature effects on the photochemical responses under water deficit conditions is also discussed.

Adopting the concept of the waste to wealth approach, agricultural waste from maize cob could be transformed into a renewable form of energy through thermo-chemical methods of treating the biomass. This method can be utilised for biochar production. The utilisation of biochar has several significant applications. These applications include the enhancement of the soil through amendment, stimulation of crop production by a variety nutrient inputs in the soil, etc. In this research work, a biochar was obtained through a slow pyrolysis process of maize cob waste. This experiment was carried out using a small-scale muffle furnace and subjecting the feedstock to heating at different temperatures (300, 400, 500 °C). The biochar was produced and characterised by a proximate analysis, scan electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, while the surface area was determined by Saer's method. The effect of the temperature on the yield of the biochar was investigated. The results show that the biochar yield decreases with an increasing temperature for the maize cob biochar at 300, 400 and 500 °C. The results of the physiochemical properties showed that the temperature has a great impact on the physicochemical properties of the biochar. The biochar produced at 300 °C has the highest fixed carbon content of 60.5%. The largest surface area was (281.8 m2.g^-1) at 500 °C.

To study the effects of straw return and aeration of the water layer on oxygen and redox status in the water column and at different depths in paddy field soil, a short-term incubation experiment was conducted with four treatments: (1) no straw return (NS); (2) straw return without aeration (S); (3) straw return and 30 minutes of aeration per day (SO30); and (4) straw return and 90 minutes of aeration per day (SO90). Compared to NS, S decreased dissolved oxygen (DO) and redox potential (ORP) by 23-58% and 47-53 mV, respectively, and increased active reducing substance (ARS) by 21-46% in the water and soil layers. The aeration treatments increased DO and ORP by 25-120% and 11-86 mV, respectively, and reduced ARS by 5-16% compared to S. The results indicated that straw return to paddy fields exacerbated hypoxia and reducing conditions in the soil. SO90 achieved better effects than SO30 in alleviating the negative impact of straw return by supplying more oxygen, but the effects weakened over time and with soil depth.

Climate change has increased attention paid in the research to forest soils and tree species composition, in respect to the potential for carbon sequestration. It is known that forest stands are able to store soil organic carbon (SOC), but little is known about the effect of forest naturalness on SOC content. This is important in relation of dying of unnatural spruce stands. It is necessary to determine a suitable composition of tree species which will replace them. This research is based on 248 plots with oak, beech, and spruce stands and mixtures of these species, with measured values of SOC. Our results show that autochthonous and mixed stands, in terms of tree species composition, in the study area had a higher SOC content than allochthonous and pure stands. In addition, it was found that autochthonous oak and beech stands, especially in mixtures, had a higher SOC content than allochthonous spruce stands (monocultures). On the basis of the presented results, it is possible to optimize the future tree species composition of stands in the study area, which currently have an allochthonous representation of spruce, to provide better function of carbon sequestration and resistance to climate change.

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a highly contagious virus that is ubiquitous in multicat environments and may induce oxidative stress. This virus commonly causes an asymptomatic infection, which can persist in certain individuals. Sporadically and unpredictably, FCoV infection leads to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a highly fatal systemic immune-mediated disease. There are no data in the veterinary literature relating to oxidative stress in FCoV. Antioxidant capacity (TAC) can be attributed to single components in the defence systems against free radicals. The measurement of the total oxidant status (TOS) accurately reflects the oxidative status of blood plasma or serum. Nitric oxide (NO) acts as a free radical and contributes to host defences against oxidation. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a reliable and commonly used marker of overall lipid peroxidation levels and the presence of oxidative stress. This study aimed to determine levels of oxidative stress markers, serum TAC, total oxidant capacity (TOC), NO and serum MDA in 24 cats seropositive for FCoVs and 15 cats seronegative for FCoVs. Significantly higher serum TOC, NO and MDA levels were found in seropositive animals (P < 0.001, P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively) than in seronegative animals. In contrast, serum TAC levels were found to be significantly lower in seropositive cats compared with seronegative cats (P < 0.001). The results of the present study suggest that FCoV seropositivity is associated with oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant status.

Cryptosporidium parvum is an enteric protozoan, which causes severe diarrhoea in a wide range of vertebrate hosts including ruminants and humans. C. parvum infections are responsible for immense economic losses to the livestock industry; furthermore, the zoonotic spread of the infection may lead to mortality in immunosuppressed humans. In the present study, we report two cases of severe cryptosporidiosis in goat kids in the Republic of Korea. Both cases were afflicted with severe diarrhoea upon presentation; the histopathological examinations revealed atrophied and fused intestinal villi and numerous circular basophilic organisms in the jejunum and ileum. Both cases were diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis based on the results of the histopathological analysis, amplification of the C. parvum gp60 gene, modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining, and C. parvum antigen ELISA. According to the phylogenetic analysis using the C. parvum gp60 gene for the genetic subtypes, the C. parvum isolates were identified as subtype IIdA15G1 with zoonotic potential. This is the first pathological report of caprine cryptosporidiosis induced by C. parvum subtype IId in the Republic of Korea. Considering the clinical manifestations associated with the pathological lesions and the zoonotic significance of these findings, the continuous monitoring and prevention of C. parvum infections in goats are essential for minimising the economic losses in ruminant farms and in maintaining public health safety standards.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of midazolam-ketamine alone or in combination with dexmedetomidine or tramadol in a constant rate infusion (CRI) on the minimum infusion rate (MIR) of propofol and the cardiorespiratory function in cats undergoing an ovariohysterectomy (OH). This was a prospective, randomised, blinded clinical study. Twenty-four healthy female mixed-breed cats were premedicated with ketamine and midazolam. Propofol was used for the induction and maintenance of the anaesthesia (starting at 18 mg/kg/h). Cats were assigned to groups (n = 8) to receive one of the following intravenous treatments: midazolam-ketamine group (MKG; ketamine 0.6 mg/kg/h); midazolam-ketamine-dexmedetomidine group [MKDG; ketamine 0.6 mg/kg/h and dexmedetomidine loading dose (LD) 1 mg/kg, CRI 1 mg/kg/h)] or midazolam-ketamine-tramadol group [MKTG; ketamine 0.6 mg/kg/h and tramadol (LD 2 mg/kg, CRI 1 mg/kg/h)]. During the OH, the propofol infusion was adjusted based on the clinical signs to maintain adequate anaesthetic depth. Selected variables were measured before (T0) and after (T1) the anaesthesia induction and during six surgical time points (T2-T7). The mean arterial pressure was higher and the heart rate was lower in MKDG at T1 (than in MKG and MKTG). The mean ± SD MIR of propofol were 17.4 ± 3.2, 15.0 ± 2.8 and 12.6 ± 3.5 mg/kg/h for MKG, MKTG, and MKDG, respectively. We conclude that, compared to midazolam-ketamine alone, midazolam-ketamine-tramadol and midazolam-ketamine-dexmedetomidine reduced the MRI of propofol by 13.8% and 27.5%, respectively, without significant changes in the selected indicators.

With the passing of Professor MVDr. Karel Hruška, CSc., on March 24, 2022, the Czech veterinary community has lost an outstanding figure in basic and applied veterinary research. His remarkable legacy also includes bringing the discipline into the computer era as well as enduring contributions as an educator and editor.

The efficacy of potable water and antimicrobial agents, including turmeric extract, black pepper extract, sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate, in reducing Listeria monocytogenes on the leaf mustard (Brassica integrifolia) and iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) was compared. The uncontaminated samples of two raw leafy vegetables were inoculated with L. monocytogenes at a concentration of 5 log and 7 log colony-forming units (CFU) g-1 for 1 h. At the high L. monocytogenes contamination level, the treatment with black pepper extract 0.6 mg mL-1 for 5 min was found to produce the most considerable decrease in L. monocytogenes counts, resulting in 1.44 log and 1.68 log reduction on leaf mustard and iceberg lettuce, respectively. Similarly, the black pepper extract also showed the highest L. monocytogenes reduction, approximately 0.79 log CFU g-1 on two leafy vegetables at the low contamination level. However, the odour of black pepper extract was left on the vegetables after being washed.

The series of phenolic acid (2-, 3-, 4-monohydroxy- and 2,4-, 2,5-dihydroxy) alkyl esters (methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl) were prepared, and their antimicrobial activities were determined. The antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and Aspergillus brasiliensis was investigated and expressed by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in the range of 1.2-20 mM. The inhibitory activity of higher esters of phenolic acids was found to be higher than that of methyl esters and acids. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of tested compounds was compared with that of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and its esters (parabens).

The introduction of new varieties in fruit production should consider consumer attitudes regarding the appearance and taste of the fruits. In order to evaluate the consumer attitudes in Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina (B&H), on the most important characteristics of cherry fruits, an online survey was conducted with 402 respondents. Participation in the survey was taken by 53.23% of respondents from Serbia and 46.77% from B&H, most of which were women (54.23%). Consumers expressed their views on the most important external (fruit colour, fruit shape, fruit size, presence of a stalk on the fruit, length of the stalk and the presence of damage to the fruit) and internal (fruit taste, fruit firmness) characteristics of the fruit. According to the results, the attitude toward the fruit size, the presence of a stalk and the stalk length, as well as fruit firmness was dependent upon respondents' residence. Both male and female respondents had similar attitudes toward the cherry characteristics except for the fruit taste and the most important cherry characteristics. The age of a respondent influenced the attitude toward the fruit size and the presence of a stalk, as well as the fruit firmness.

Producing high-quality daughter plants of the June-bearing strawberry is very important for fruit production around the year. This study was conducted to investigate the impacts of different substrates on the runner production of the June-bearing strawberry cultivar 'Senga Sengana'. In April 2019, strawberry mother plants were planted while the daughter plants were examined November 2019. The nursery trial field was separated into four substrate treatments, each included ten strawberry mother plants, approximately homogeneous. The place where the mother plants were planted was with the same substrate (PTS substrate "Pindstrup") and separated from the field for the rooting of the daughter plants. In the field for the rooting of the daughter plants, four types of substrates were used: The first substrate treatment (S1) (soil 50% - decomposed manure 50%); the second substrate treatment (S2) (PTS substrate "Pindstrup" with modules (pots) with a volume of 200 mL/daughter plant); the third substrate treatment S3 (river sand 50% - soil 50%); lastly, substrate treatment four S4 (sawdust 100%). During the research, several parameters were determined for the mother plants: the crown diameter, number of flowers, number of runners per plant, number of daughter plants per runner and number of daughter plants per plant. The examination of some of the qualitative parameters was also performed on the daughter plants: the crown diameter, root length and number of roots. Based on these parameters, the daughter plants were categorised according to the standards: A++, A+, A, A-, OS (out of the standard). From the examined results, it was concluded that S3 formed the largest number of daughter plants at 123 (A++ 19.1, A+ 45.1, A 28.7, A- 17.8, OS 12.3 plants); S2 formed 69.4 daughter plants, but with the highest standards (A++ 34.7, A+ 33.6, A- 1.1 plants); S4 formed 74.8 daughter plants (A++ 26.2, A+ 30.4, A 14 OS 4.2 plants), while S1 formed 62 daughter plants and showed the worst results for both the number of plants and the standard (A+ 7, A 3.8, A- 0.8, OS 50.4 plants).

One of the main objectives of walnut crossbreeding programmes is to produce cultivars with late leafing dates. Sixteen years ago, a walnut crossbreeding programme was initiated by Prof. Mehmet Sütyemez, and now a new walnut genotype, namely 'Ahir Nut', has been generated with a leafing date that starts later than all commercially-famous walnut cultivars in the world. The present study describes this walnut genotype. For a detailed analysis, 'Ahir Nut' was compared with two French-origin walnut cultivars, i.e., 'Franquette' and 'Ronde de Montignac', which have had the latest leafing dates until now. In an experimental orchard in Turkey, the leafing date in 'Ahir Nut' was 14 May, whereas the leafing date in 'Franquette' and 'Ronde de Montignac' were 23 April and 25 April, respectively. This approximately 3-week difference between 'Franquette' and 'Ronde de Montignac' to 'Ahir Nut' reveals how valuable this genotype is for walnut breeding studies. The harvest dates for 'Ahir Nut', 'Franquette' and 'Ronde de Montignac' were 4 October, 3 October, and 7 October, respectively. The defoliation date for 'Ahir Nut' was 4 December. The nut weight and kernel percentage of 'Ahir Nut' were calculated as 11.61 g and 49.84%, respectively. Remarkable phenological traits were found in 'Ahir Nut', making it a promising option for future walnut cultivation. In the present study, the late leafing date of 'Ahir Nut' prompted further research into the molecular and walnut crossbreeding potentials. This new genotype has been conserved as an important genetic resource for future walnut breeding programmes around the world.

Nutritional values of different foodstuffs have been examined in various studies on a number of occasions. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the legal aspects of introducing edible insects in the European Union. Yet, the rearing of this mini-livestock for food and feed has a potential of developing into a new agricultural sector, which is sustainable, unlike the breeding of the traditional livestock. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the legal background of authorizing edible insects in the European Union, taking into account the environmental impacts thereof. At present, the Member States are free to regulate this field, however, only until the transitional period established by the European Union (EU) rules has expired, since the EU wide regulation for authorizing edible insects is to be introduced as of 1st January 2018.

Since the last decade, significant changes have occurred in the trade flows of agri-food products of the Southeastern European countries (SEE) due to adjustment to international market. Namely, as all countries of the SEE strive to be full members of the EU; market opportunities have been changing, primarily because of the reduced barriers on trade with the EU, as well as with the regional countries. In order to investigate the effects of the liberalization process of the agri-food sector of the SEE countries on their export, as well as the total foreign trade, a gravity model based on panel data in the period 2005-2015 has been estimated. According to the results, liberalization of the market in the SEE countries, as a consequence of the EU enlargement process, as well as regional integrations, had positive effects on the total foreign trade of agri-food products. Despite the positive liberalization effects on the agri-food trade, all SEE countries have a lower level of competitiveness than the EU countries, so an organized access to products which possess comparative advantages will be an important condition for the achievement of their particular positions at the international market.

At present, the New Common Agricultural Policy for the period 2021-2027 has been currently formulated. Future of the agriculture and food industry is now widely discussed. These sectors play an important role, and it is necessary to maintain their competitiveness and sustainability. In this context, the main aim of the paper is to evaluate the technical efficiency of food processing firms by using Stochastic Frontier Analysis applying True Fixed Effect model on production function. It was identified, that increase of subsidies cause a slight increase in the mean of technical inefficiency. Also, the technical efficiency of the firms without subsidies is higher than in the subsidised firms and differs statistically significantly in the time and also with respect to the region of the firm. To summarise, the effect of subsidies is negative as the obtaining of the subsidies is not related to higher technical efficiency.

Farmers' markets have been booming in recent years and are becoming an important alternative food network. They enable farmers to sell their products directly to customers and thus shorten the supply chain. Market organisers must meet the needs of both consumers and vendors by ensuring customer satisfaction while maintaining profitability for vendors. The present study identified four basic segments at farmers' markets, as follows: (1) product-oriented customers; (2) personal social responsibility-oriented customers; (3) entertainment and emotional-oriented customers; (4) alternative food-oriented customers. These segments were analysed using Structural Equation Modeling in relation to the amount of money spent on average at a farmers' market. The results indicate that most money was spent at farmers' market segments that are oriented at entertainment and emotional-oriented and product-oriented customers. This indicates that farmers' markets are no longer just a place to purchase fresh, high-quality food, but also a place that people visit for its atmosphere, for the food that can be eaten on-site, and to buy products not for direct consumption (e.g. flowers). It also proved the negative moderation effect of entertainment-oriented motivation on the amount of money spent with connection to product-orientation, which suggests that entertainment-orientated customers spend more than product-oriented customers.

The European Union (EU) is one of the biggest traders of agricultural products. In 2017, extra-EU agricultural trade accounted for 7.4% of the total EU international trade. Furthermore, Europe is the main destination for agricultural goods arriving from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) trading partners. The paper analyses the effect of geographical proximity, cultural similarity, free trade agreements on bilateral agricultural trade as well as intra-industry trade between EU member states and its trading partners (intra and extra EU trade), employing gravity model for a period of 1996-2017. Regression results suggest that EU countries export more agricultural products to their common markets. In addition, the export costs of agricultural products are lower if the EU and its external trading partners are culturally similar; have the same religion or both have regional trade agreements. We found a moderate intra-industry trade between the EU and ACP countries at 18%. The results indicate rather inter-industry trade between EU and non-EU members, with a lower index level for ACP countries. A higher positive impact is revealed on the agricultural import between ACP-EU countries than export.