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Due to ongoing climate change, the need for the application of adaptive strategies in agriculture is increasing, particularly in areas with insufficient rainfall, high temperatures and weather fluctuations during the vegetation period. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in 2020 and 2021 to determine the influence of superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) on morphological, physiological and production traits of maize. SAPs were applied using a method of seed coating, which is considered cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Due to the impact of SAPs, significantly larger weights of leaves and roots, as well as the length of roots in the initial growth stage, were found. Furthermore, the SAP treatment condition found significantly larger values of leaf relative water content and spectral indexes PRI (photochemical reflectance index) and NDVI (normalised difference vegetation index). Applying SAPs also led to a significant increase in spikes per plot and grain yield of maize. Moreover, the results significantly impact the interaction between year and treatment. The correlation analysis indicates a higher correlation between the observed traits in the SAPs treatment condition, which subsequently impacted the final maize production. These results confirm that applying SAPs can be considered a suitable strategy for mitigating the impacts of adverse weather conditions, especially in terms of sustainability and maintaining maize production.

Environmental valuation studies in the context of developing countries have become more frequent in recent years. However, literature which reviews and examines the environmental valuation studies is limited. Thus, this paper performed a literature review on forest contingent valuation studies conducted in the Ethiopian context in the past two decades (2000 to May 2022), focusing on two specific objectives: (i) to examine amounts of resources that households are willing to pay (WTP) for forest conservation, and (ii) to identify determinants of households' WTP. Results indicate the mean lower annual WTP of USD 0.41 (2.63 birr) and 7.04 man-days per household in money and labour time, respectively. Whereas the mean upper annual WTP of USD 53.52 per household in monetary payment and 94.34 man-days per household in labour time contribution are found for the management and conservation of forest in Ethiopia. The finding reveals that there is a limited proportion of the examined studies that included and estimated WTP in a non-monetary payment vehicle, implying a need for future researches on the topic. The result shows that demographic and socio-economic variables, physical assets ownership, institutional and infrastructural services and bid price variables were the main determinants of households' WTP. This suggests that the forest conservation intervention program involving public participation in the country needs to consider the identified determinants of WTP in design and implementation of the program. Moreover, the finding indicates the presence of mixed results on the effect and direction in which some determinants of WTP are affected. This recommends a pressing need for comprehensive future studies on the research theme.

Agricultural production is one of the main sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing 50% and 60% of CH₄ and N₂O emissions, respectively. This study evaluated the rice yield and components, the CH₄ and N₂O emissions and the global warming potential between the triple rice (R-R-R) and sesame-rice rotation (S-R-R) systems in Can Tho city, Vietnam. The experiments were conducted in 3 cropping seasons: Spring-Summer 2016, Summer-Autumn 2016, and Winter-Spring 2016-2017. The results showed that there was no significant difference in yield components and grain yield between triple rice and rotation systems. The application of sesame rotation in rice-based could reduce the CH₄ and N₂O emission by 30.5% and 18.7%, respectively. Global warming potential in the S-R-R rotation was 9860 kg CO_2e/ha, significantly lower than the R-R-R rotation (12410 kg CO_2e/ha) by 20.6%. These results show that the S-R-R rotation has the potential to mitigate GHG emissions, especially CH₄, which contributes to a large amount of emissions in rice cultivation.

Advocating proper phosphorus (P) fertilisation is necessary to save this limited natural resource and to save the investment in rice cultivation. This study aimed to evaluate changes in phosphorus availability, total phosphorus in soil, phosphorus buffering capacity, and phosphorus saturation in the long-term phosphorus fertilisation in the paddy rice system. Soil samples were collected in the harvest stage after seven consecutive crops over three years at Can Tho city, Vietnam. The applied phosphorus fertiliser rates were: no phosphorus fertilisation (P0), 17.4 kg P/ha (P17.4), and 26.2 kg P/ha as farmer’s practice (P26.2). The results showed that the soil phosphorus buffering capacity in P0, P17.4 and P26.2 treatments was 9.49, 9.08 and 9.04 mg/kg, respectively. The degree of phosphorus saturation of P17.4 and P26.2 treatments ranged from 17.7% to 25.5%, showing the medium to high risk of phosphorus leaching. This study indicated that the application of phosphorus rate higher than 17.4 kg P/ha might result in the reduced soil phosphorus buffering capacity in the intensive rice cropping system in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta region. Our results implied that the application of a rate lower than 17.4 kg P/ha/crop could be extended to the other rice-growing (double/triple rice) areas in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta region or other paddy rice on alluvial soils in Asia.

A greenhouse study was conducted to test the effects of low herbicide dose exposure on different crops measuring visible damages, plant height, leaf area, and dry matter. Seven crops were tested: lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cv. Novosadska majska maslena, oil pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Duch) cv. Olivija, oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) cv. NS Ras, pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cv. Kurtovska kapija, soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr) cv. ZP Laura, sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) cv. NS Kruna, and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cv. Dunavski Rubin. Herbicide dicamba in the range of 0.14 to 1 155.6 g a.i. (active ingredient)/ha inhibited biomass, height, leaf area, and visual injury of all crops, while glyphosate doses from 0.48 to 3 840 g a.i./ha also reduced the growth of all tested species. A rate of 116 g a.i./ha mesotrione was needed to reach 80% visual injury in oilseed rape, while the same effects on lettuce only required 1.8 g a.i./ha of mesotrione. Tomato and oil pumpkin were also sensitive to low mesotrione doses, where only 1.3 g and 0.5 g a.i./ha of mesotrione was needed for 80% of biomass reduction, respectively. Lettuce was the most sensitive crop of all tested species; biomass was reduced by 80% by dicamba, glyphosate, mesotrione, and nicosulfuron at the low rates of 33 g a.i./ha, 19 g a.i./ha, 1.25 g a.i./ha, and 2.7 g a.i./ha, respectively. Among all herbicides, visible injuries were detected in dicamba at the lowest rates. Soybean was the most tolerant of glyphosate, mesotrione, and nicosulfuron. Based on the available literature and obtained results, herbicide off-target movement must be mitigated to maximise herbicide efficacy and decrease the negative influence on susceptible plants and the environment.

Nitrogen dynamics in soil produce N2O emissions. To decrease N2O emissions and conserve N, recent studies have focused on chemicals derived from root exudates that inhibit nitrification. However, selective plant breeding could be used to control nitrification activity in soil instead of fertilisers or synthetic nitrification inhibitors. In this study, we investigated the relationship between nitrification rates (NR) and related N dynamics and plant characteristics for 11 maize varieties with varying levels of nitrification inhibition (NI) compared to Brachicaria humidicola (Bh) as the positive control. In a greenhouse experiment, soil concentrations of NI, NR, NH4+-N, and NO3--N and nitrogen uptake by plants were measured. Six maize varieties had a 1.1–1.6 times lower NR than Bh. Low-NR varieties had higher NI and lower root-to-shoot ratios. NI was positively correlated with total N and shoot N content but not with cumulative N2O and NH4+-NO3-. These results show that maize has the capacity to reduce soil nitrification while increasing the total N in the soil and shoot N content in maize.

The development and provision of soil spectral library (SSL) could facilitate the application of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for economical, accurate, and efficient determination of soil organic matter (SOM). In this work, the performances of partial least squares regression (PLSR) and convolutional neural network (CNN) combined with the datasets of Zhejiang provincial SSL (ZSSL) and the feature subset (FS) were compared for the prediction of SOM at the target field. The FS dataset was chosen from ZSSL based on similarity to the spectral characteristics of the target samples. The results showed that compared with modelling using ZSSL, modelling using FS can greatly improve the prediction accuracy of the PLSR model, but the impact on the performance of the CNN model was limited. The method of mean squared Euclidean distance (MSD) was an effective way for determining the optimal spiking sample size for the PLSR model only using the spectral data of the spiking subset and the prediction set. The PLSR model combined with the FS dataset and the spiking subset determined by MSD achieved the optimal prediction results among all developed models, which is an accurate and easy-to-implement solution for the SOM determination based on ZSSL.

This paper is focused on the description of the black mulberry (Morus nigra), its ecology and the possibilities of its in vitro propagation for quick and efficient obtaining of a large quantity of clones in a relatively short time for subsequent planting or sale. Due to ongoing climate change, it is considerable to use mulberry trees in horticulture, agroforestry and forestry under the conditions of Central Europe. The use of the mulberry is conditioned by the availability of planting stock. A proven and successful method of mulberry propagation is in vitro cultivation. Based on literature review, the recommended composition of planting media and other procedures for in vitro cultivation of mulberries are presented. The aim of the article is to inform foresters about the possibilities of using the black mulberry tree in our conditions and, using its example, to point out the possibility of using non-standard species of trees both as part of adaptation measures to the expected climate change and as one of the options for increasing the biodiversity of the landscape.

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), a member of the family Paramyxoviridae, belongs to the genus Morbillivirus. It causes devastating viral diseases in small ruminants and has been rapidly spreading over various regions in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Although vaccination is thought to be an effective management strategy against PPR infections, the heat sensitivity of PPRV vaccines severely restricts their use in regions with hot climates. In this research, we studied the antiviral activities of ribavirin and aimed to understand the potential mechanisms of action of ribavirin in the African green monkey kidney cells (Vero cells). In brief, the adsorption, intrusion, replication, and release of PPRV, as well as the mRNA expression level of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), were significantly inhibited in the ribavirin-treated Vero cells compared to those in the PPRV-infected cells that were not treated with ribavirin. Additionally, ribavirin has potential as an antiviral drug against PPRV, and its antiviral activity is mediated by the Janus kinase signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) and PI3K/AKT pathways.

This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of basalt with two botanical aqueous extracts of Citrus aurantium and Nerium oleander (50g/L) against Aphis punicae and Planococcus citri in an organic pomegranate orchard. Basalt was applied as a foliar spray with two doses (1.5% and 3%), in the ground as a fertiliser (1.5%), and as a combined application (1.5%). Phenolic compounds of both plants were identified by HPLC-PDA/ESI-MS analysis. Seven and six flavonoids were detected in C. aurantium and N. oleander extracts, respectively. Hesperidin was more abundant in C. aurantium extracts; however, N. oleander extracts contained more quercetin rutinoside. A. punicae populations were significantly higher in control trees compared to the treated ones. A. punicae mortality rates reached high values above 90% for basalt and plants extracts and efficacy rates exceeded 80%. P. citri mortality rates reached 88% and 77%, and efficacy rates exceeded 75% and 66% for basalt and plant extracts, respectively. These findings may help to plan Integrated pest management strategies in organic orchards to avoid toxic chemical pesticides.

Herbivorous pests and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) coexist on the same host plant, having an indirect effect on one another. We established an experiment in a randomised complete block design with four treatments and six replications to examine the impact of AMF on the population and the damage caused to plane trees by the leafhopper Zyginella pulchra. Manure, manure plus fertiliser, manure plus fertiliser plus AMF, and non-inoculated plants (control) were all of the treatments. The findings revealed that while the nutritional content and soluble carbohydrate content were significantly enhanced by all treatments, they largely reached their peak in the AMF-inoculated plants. When compared to control trees that were not inoculated, the concentrations of N, P, and Zn were boosted by 39%, 81%, and 425%, respectively. AMF inoculation increased the population of Z. pulchra nymphs and adults compared to the control. However, the plants with AMF inoculation eventually suffered greater leaf loss as a result of this rise in the pest population. The findings show that while AMF enhance nutrient absorption and are necessary to improve the nutritional state of the host trees, they also enhance the absorption of pests that are thought to be harmful to plane trees. However, AMF colonisation improved the potential attractiveness of Z. pulchra to plane trees.

The CBF (C-repeat binding factors) genes play important roles in response to abiotic stress and environmental changes. In the present study, a total of 18 CBF genes were identified from a grapevine. Their domains, phylogenetics, and collinearity were analysed. The results revealed, that 18 VviCBF genes were distributed on 10 chromosomes unevenly in the grape genome. Promoter data analysis showed that the CBF gene has many cis-acting elements related to plant growth and development, light response, hormone, and abiotic stress response. We found that six VviCBF genes including, VviCBF5, VviCBF13, VviCBF14, VviCBF15, VviCBF16, and VviCBF18 differentially expressed during fruit developmental stages. Furthermore, four VviCBF genes including, VviCBF1, VviCBF3, VviCBF6, and VviCBF11 were expressed at the early stage of bud dormancy, whereas, nine VviCBF genes were expressed at the bud dormancy-breaking stage. Additionally, various VviCBFs genes respond to different abiotic and biotic stress. These findings will lay a foundation for further study of the CBF genes in bud dormancy, downy mildew, and abiotic and biotic stresses.

Plant-based indicators of water status, such as midday stem water potential (Ψ_stem) and leaf stomatal conductance (g_s), are used to optimise irrigation scheduling in horticultural crops because they integrate the effect of soil and climatic conditions and the internal physiological constraints. The use of these indicators relies on experimentally acquired thresholds that relate the value of the indicator to negative effects on yield. In five irrigation treatments, we monitored yield, fruit size and the courses of Ψ_stem and g_s throughout four consecutive growing seasons. We found that Ψ_stem was more sensitive to irrigation treatment than g_s. Both indicators increased with available soil water content (ASWC) and decreased with evaporative demands of the atmosphere (ET_C). On a seasonal basis, crop load had a stronger impact on g_s than Ψ_stem. In summary, our study explored the effect of environmental conditions and crop load on plant-based indicators of tree water status and can be useful for establishing thresholds for irrigation scheduling in apple tree orchards.

Surface runoff and soil losses in the case of potato cultivation using de-stoning technology on gentle slopes (Haplic Cambisol) were studied in 2020–2022. Different ridges shapes were compared: control (smooth shaped ridges), pits, pits plus loosening, pits plus loosening plus cover crop (Triticum aestivum L.) sowing in trail furrows. Runoff and soil losses were studied approximately 1 and 2 months after planting potatoes. The obtained results showed the highest reduction of surface runoff and soil losses in the treatment with cover crop sowing. In this variant, soil losses were reduced by 65–81% (1 month after planting) and 54–85% (2 months after planting) in case of simulated rainfall on the soil with natural moisture (or these losses were reduced by 51–93% and 50–76% in case of 15-min rainfall). On average, tuber yields reached 29.4 t/ha (pits + loosening) to 30.6 t/ha (pits) in 2020–2022. The different abilities of the tested shapes of ridges and furrows to retain water did not significantly affect the achieved yields of tubers, as rainfall was not a limiting factor in the monitored period. The yield differences among all tested treatments reached units of tons per hectare if the entire dose of nitrogen was applied at planting. Splitting the total nitrogen dose (50% at planting, 50% at loosening) gave significantly (P < 0.05) higher yields (34.2 t/ha) than a single application at planting. The treatment pits plus loosening with fertilisation provided a 19–26% higher tuber yield than pits plus loosening with a total N dose applied at planting.

This study analyses the perception of the relationship between forest certification and the production of ecosystem services by Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sustainable forest management (SFM) certification holders. In addition, the psychological constructs that govern the use of certification for ecosystem services are investigated. Specifically, online questionnaire surveys were submitted to a sample of Italian and German forest owners and managers to study reasons for and against and global motives to adopt certification for ecosystem services through the application of Behavioural Reasoning Theory (BRT). Results show that respondents believe that certification can better support ecosystem services related to 'regulation and maintenance' and the conservation of biodiversity. On the other hand, the application of BRT has only been partially useful in explaining the psychological factors towards the adoption of ecosystem services certifications. In any case, attitudes and reasons for certainly had a significant influence on the intention to adopt certifications. Apart from the scientific implications, these results have practical applications for policymakers who can focus on the dissemination of the certification of ecosystem services by trying to support through eco-policies, the attitudes and reasons for expressed by forest owners.

Sap flow represents water transport from roots to leaves through the xylem and is used to describe tree transpiration. This paper proposed and tested a procedure to estimate sap flow by calculating global radiation in a digital model of the tree canopy surface obtained by unmanned aerial vehicle imaging. The sap flow of nine trees was continuously measured in the field. In the digital surface model, individual canopies were automatically delineated, their parameters were determined and the global radiation incident on their surface on specific days was calculated. A polynomial relationship was found between sap flow and the calculated incident solar radiation during the morning hours with a coefficient of determination of 0.98, as well as a linear relationship between the decrease in radiation and sap flow during the afternoon with a correlation coefficient of 0.99. Using the Random Forest machine learning method, a model predicting the sap flow of the trees was created based on the global radiation and canopy parameters determined from the digital surface model of tree canopies. The resulting model was deployed on additional days and compared to field measurements of sap flow, achieving a correlation coefficient of 0.918. In addition, two linear regression models were created for a tree group, achieving coefficients of determination of 0.66 and 0.90.

The present study aimed to use a non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate the energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in off-season cucumber-producing greenhouses in different farm level management systems in Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire completed by 83 cucumber producers through face-to-face interviews. The results showed that the energy use rate was 75.1%, 82.6%, and 86.2% in small (0.5–0.9 ha), medium (0.9–2 ha), and large farms (≥ 2 ha), respectively. In all the farm levels, the greatest energy use shares belonged to electricity, chemical fertilisers, and human labour, respectively. The results of the DEA revealed that the technical, pure technical, and scale efficiencies of the large farms were 87.3%, 92.8%, and 97.1%, respectively, which were higher compared to other farm level management systems. The ratio of energy savings was estimated at 5.62% and 2.97% for small and large farms, respectively. The results also showed that electricity, chemical fertilisers, and diesel fuel were the most responsible for the GHG emissions. By optimising the energy use, pollution per one/ha one of off-season cucumbers can be mitigated by 1 614.5 and 1 315.0 kg of CO2/ha in small and large greenhouses; indicating more attention is required in managing the energy inputs in small-sized agro-ecosystems, especially for electricity.

Tree height is one of the most important variables in describing forest stand structure. However, due to difficulty in height measurement, especially in dense and mountainous forests, the common approach is to invoke the height-diameter (H-D) models. The oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) is one of the most important species of Hyrcanian forests, over the mid to high-altitudes (400–1 800 m a.s.l.), in northern Iran. In this study, the H-D relationship of beech trees was investigated separately for mid-altitude and high-altitude in Shafaroud forests of Guilan using 14 nonlinear H-D models and an artificial neural network model (ANN). To collect data, a systematic random sampling method within a 100 × 100 m regular randomized grid was applied. In total, 3 243 individual trees in 255 circular plots with 0.1 ha were measured. For comparing the results, performance criteria including root mean square error (RMSE), R²_adj, Akaike's information criterion (AIC), and mean absolute error (MAE) were used. In high and mid altitudes, Meyer (1940) and Bates and Watts (1980) models had the best performance, while Watts (1983) model and Burkhart-Strub (1974) model had the worst performance in high-altitude and in mid-altitude, respectively. On the other hand, the ANN model had the best accuracy and performance in both sites. Since the performance of the ANN model is superior and consistent compared to the common nonlinear models, here it is preferred for both regions.

Symptomatic samples were taken from five districts in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces of Indonesia to survey the genetic diversity of Begomovirus, α and β satellites. A total of 14 samples were tested positive by PCR for tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV), pepper yellow leaf curl Indonesia virus (PepYLCIV), mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV), and ageratum yellow vein China virus (AYVCNV) infections. Besides that, ageratum yellow vein alphasatellite (AYVA) was identified for the first time in Indonesia, and tomato leaf curl Java betasatellite (ToLCJaB) were detected for the first time in different hosts. Partial genome sequences of begomoviruses and complete sequences of the α and β satellites were recovered and registered in NCBI GenBank (OP846592-OP846615). Phylogenetic study showed that AYVA and ToLCJaB each had two separate lineages. Polymorphism and diversity analyses confirmed other reports that βC1 coding region of ToLCJaB genome is highly conserved. Comparison of phylogroups 1 and 2 of ToLCJaB produced a high FST value, indicated genetic isolation between them. This report could be a basis for future works on the less studied genetic variation of α and β satellites in Indonesia and other countries.

Forest cover plays an important role in terms of biodiversity and the environment. The Beni Salah national forest in its part which is located in the Guelma province in the extreme northeast of Algeria is an illustrative example where forest fires represent the chronic phenomenon which weighs heavily on this forest. The present study comes after a forest fire that occurred in 2021, when 3 000 ha of this forest were ravaged by forest fires according to the conservation of forests of Guelma. The main objective of this research is to map the severity of burns and estimate the severely burned area using Sentinel-2 satellite images based on remote sensing indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Differenced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (dNDVI), Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), Differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR), Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI), Differenced Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (dGNDVI), Burn Area Index (BAI) and Relativized Burn Ratio (RBR). The result obtained revealed that 28.23% of the study area represents a seriously burned area. The established burn severity map is a real decision-making tool, but it still has certain limitations.

Listeria monocytogenes is not only a pathogen causing a serious food-borne disease in humans but can also occur as a saprophyte in the natural environment. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of L. monocytogenes obtained from the natural environment of the Czech Republic (hereinafter Czechia) and Slovakia in 2016–2018 and to compare the clonal relationship of strains circulating in the environment with the strains originating from the food chain and humans. Altogether, 217 samples of mud, surface water, vegetation and soil were collected in 61 locations. Samples were processed according to the modified EN ISO 11290-1 standard. The obtained L. monocytogenes isolates were characterised using serotyping, macrorestriction analysis, followed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, whole genome sequencing (WGS), and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. L. monocytogenes were detected in 8.8% of the examined samples and were isolated in 15 locations, mainly from the mud from the banks of the surface water sources. Altogether, 25 L. monocytogenes strains were obtained from 19 positive samples. Serotypes 1/2a, 4b, and 1/2b were detected among the strains. Twenty combined AscI/ApaI pulsotypes were obtained by macrorestriction analysis. Altogether, 12 sequence types (STs) were detected using Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) by WGS, with ST451 being the most frequent. The core genome MLST analysis revealed a heterogeneous population of environmental strains. No phenotype resistance was detected by antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Screening of antimicrobial-resistance genes using the platform ResFinder revealed the genes fosX in 24 isolates and blaTEM-116 in one isolate. The occurrence of L. monocytogenes in various samples from natural environments within wide altitude range during different seasons of the year may highlight this bacterium's remarkable adaptability and exceptional tolerance to external factors. Serotype distribution of the strains circulating in the natural environment of Czechia and Slovakia seems to reflect distribution in the human population more than in the food chain.

Forest thinning can be used as an adaptive measure to improve the growth and resistance of Norway spruce forests affected by climate change. The impact of different thinning intensities on sap flow, growth, and tree water deficit of 40-year-old Norway spruce was tested. High thinning intensity (–61% of basal area) resulted in increased tree-level sap flow compared to the control (+27%), but it caused a decrease in the stand-level transpiration (–34%) due to reduced leaf area index. Low-intensity thinning (–28% basal area), high-intensity thinning, and control showed similar responses of sap flow to vapour pressure deficit and global radiation, suggesting unchanged isohydric behaviour. Both low- and high-intensity treatments displayed greater radial growth than the control. There were no differences in tree water deficit between the treatments. The low-intensity treatment can be considered the best water utilisation treatment with increased growth and unchanged transpiration at the tree level. The high-intensity treatment had similar radial growth as the low-intensity but lower stand-level transpiration, implying improved soil water availability. The study expands the ecophysiological understanding of thinning as a valuable silvicultural practice for adapting forest management of Norway spruce to the effects of climate change.

This study investigates the effects of repeated applications of the non-ionic soil surfactant H2Flo (ICL-SF Inc., Israel) on the soil water content, hydraulic conductivity, nutrient distribution, and organic carbon fractions (OCFs) in non-hydrophobic loamy sand soils under subsurface drip irrigation. Our results indicate that H2Flo treatment reduces both saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity while promoting the uniform irrigation distribution, consistent with previous findings on surfactants’ effects on sandy soils. An increase in soil pH levels, organic carbon content, and extractable magnesium, calcium, and potassium was observed in treated soils, with elevated levels of potassium permanganate oxidizable organic carbon (POXC) implying accelerated decomposition rates. Notably, a positive linear relationship was found between POXC and the increased NO₃^–-N content of treated soils, suggesting induced conditions of nitrification. However, the carbon fractions water-soluble organic carbon (C_ws) and hot water-soluble organic carbon (C_hws) remained quantitatively unchanged, even though they exhibited a positive linear relationship with the soil’s hydraulic conductivity. The study highlights the crucial role of monitoring changes in OCFs and nutrient dynamics after surfactant application to optimize soil organic matter utilization and chemical fertilizer management.

Hyperspectral imaging technology has emerged as a prominent research area for quantitatively estimating soil nutrient content owing to its non-destructive, rapid, and convenient features. Our work collected the data from soil samples using the hyperspectrometer. Then, the data were processed. The competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) algorithm reduced the original 148 bands to 13, which accounted for 8.8% of the total bands. These selected bands possess a certain level of interpretability. Based on the modelling results, it can be concluded that the prediction model constructed by the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) exhibited the highest accuracy. The coefficient determination, root mean square error, and ratio performance deviation were 0.8295, 2.95, and 2.42, respectively. These findings can provide theoretical support for the application of hyperspectral technology in detecting the content of the AHN in soil. Moreover, they can also serve as a reference for the rapid detection of other soil components.

If appropriately applied, tillage can positively affect the crop’s yield by enhancing the soil’s physical properties. Fertilisation also has beneficial effects on yield if applied at efficient rates by increasing available-to-uptake nutrients and improving soil’s chemical properties. A field experiment was carried out in Debrecen, Hungary, to evaluate the individual and the interaction effects of these 2 factors on sunflower and sweet corn. The cultivation methods applied were ploughing (C1), direct drilling (C2) and deep loosening (C3). In addition, 3 fertilisation rates were applied to each cultivation system: F1 (control, no fertilisation); F2 (100 : 50 : 70) kg NPK/ha and F3 (150 : 100 : 120) kg NPK/ha in a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with 4 replicates. Our results showed that fertilisation did not affect the yield of sweet corn measurably. However, C1 resulted in the highest yield, whereas C2 and C3 resulted in relatively similar yields. In sunflowers, the yields of both C1 and C2 were higher than that of C3. No significant differences were recorded between C1 and C2. The yields of both F2 and F3 were higher than the yield of F1. The differences between F2 and F3 were insignificant. It could be concluded that the cultivation method is a determining factor in the yield of sweet corn. The effects of both fertilisation and cultivation treatments were more detectable in sunflowers. The differences between the two fertilisation rates (F2 and F3) were insignificant in both species, indicating that the extra fertilisation levels might be unnecessary.

The determination of the saturated hydraulic conductivity Ks on a field scale presents a challenge in which several variables have to be considered. As there is no benchmark or reference method for the Ks determination, the suitability of each available method has to be evaluated. This study is aimed at the functional evaluation of three publicly available types of pedotransfer functions (PTFs) with different levels of utilised predictors. In total, ten PTF models were applied to the 56 data sets including the measured Ks value and the required predictors (% sand, silt and clay particles, dry bulk density, and organic matter/organic carbon content). A single agricultural field with a relatively homogenous particle size distribution was selected for the study to evaluate the ability of the PTF to reflect the variability of Ks. The correlation coefficient, coefficient of determination, mean error, and root mean square error were determined to evaluate the Ks prediction quality. The results showed a high variability in Ks within the field; the measured Ks values ranged between 10 and 1261 cm/day. Although the tested PTF models are based on a robust background of soil databases, they could not provide estimates with satisfactory accuracy unless local soil data were incorporated into the PTF development.

Knowledge of gene actions governing begomovirus resistance and plant architectural traits is a prerequisite for a successful hybrid breeding programme. Therefore, the gene actions associated with these traits were studied in two intervarietal crosses of Cucurbita moschata (C₁: Punjab Nawab × MVSR-6711 and C₂: Punjab Nawab × P-135). We used the generation mean analysis of six generations for this purpose. Significant differences between the generation means were observed for all the traits in both crosses. The parental lines differed significantly in most of the studied traits. The nature and magnitude of the gene effects of seventeen traits varied by trait and cross. A simple additive dominance model was adequate for the internode number, leaf length and width, petiole length, fruit weight and cavity diameter in C₁ and the number of fruits/plant in C₂. The non-allelic interaction was found to be significant for a majority of the traits including the per cent disease index of the squash leaf curl China virus, tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus and their mixed infections, which indicated, that recurrent selection in biparental progeny might be useful for the accumulation of genes with additive effects. Duplicate epistasis was observed for the vine, internodal and peduncle length in C₁ and the internode number, petiole and peduncle length, peduncle and fruit polar diameter in C₂. This information will help to establish a breeding program for the simultaneous improvement of virus resistance and yield traits in pumpkins.

Soil erosion resistance is influenced by intrinsic soil properties and multiple external factors. This study investigated the effect of tea planting age on soil resistance to flowing water erosion (reflected by rill erodibility (K_r) and critical shear stress (τ_c)) in Three Gorges Reservoir Area. One slope farmland (as the control) and five tea plantations cultivated for 3 to 34 years were selected for sampling sites. The results indicated that bulk density (BD), soil cohesion (Coh), water stable aggregate (WSA), mean weight diameter (MWD), soil organic carbon (SOC), litter density (LD), and root mass density (RMD) increased generally with tea planting age. Compared to the control, K_r of tea plantations reduced by 71.1%–85.3%. The temporal variation in soil erosion resistance was controlled greatly by the variations in most near-surface characteristics. K_r decreased with WSA, Coh, LD, RMD, and SOC following a power function (P < 0.01); τ_c increased with MWD, LD, RMD, and SOC as an exponential function, with BD a power function, and Coh a logarithmic function (P < 0.01). In this study, K_r could be simulated well by WSA and LD with a power function, and τ_c could be simulated well by MWD and RMD with an exponential function.

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) has been implicated in mammalian testicular and epididymal development. This study aimed to investigate ERK expression in the immature and mature testes and epididymides of bulls. We evaluated ERK expression using immunoblot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Immunoblot analysis revealed that immature bull testes and epididymides had higher phosphorylated ERK (pERK) expression than mature bull testes and epididymides. pERK immunoreactivity was higher in immature epididymides than in immature testes. pERK was localised mostly in spermatogonia, undifferentiated sustentacular (Sertoli) cells, and interstitial (Leydig) cells in immature testes, as well as in some spermatocytes and spermatids in mature testes. In immature epididymides, the body and tail had higher pERK expression than the head, whereas pERK was broadly distributed throughout the stereocilia, basal cells, and connective tissues. pERK distribution in the head of mature epididymides was similar to that in immature epididymides, whereas few connective tissue cells were expressed in the body and tail of mature epididymides. Collectively, these results suggest that ERK is expressed in the testis and epididymis of immature and mature bulls with varying intensities, and the role of ERK in male reproductive organs may include the specific function of its development.

Biological invasions are globally recognised as a significant threat to native biodiversity, as they can change the structure, composition, and functioning of the native ecological system. The riparian forest is considered a habitat highly invaded by invasive plants since rivers serve as corridors for alien species through the terrestrial ecosystem or may simply harbour exotic species that cannot survive elsewhere. The riparian forest, as a high conservation value forest, is an important part of the lowland forests of Georgia. These forests are distributed along large rivers, including the Mtkvari, Alazani, Iori, Aragvi, Ksani, Algeti, and Great and Little Liakhvi rivers. Here, we present a case study that was part of the scientific project titled 'Survey of Potential Invasive Alien Woody Species (PIAWS) in the Protected Areas of Georgia'. Protected areas (PAs) in Georgia play an important role in conserving native biodiversity, including forest ecosystems of distinguished biodiversity. We focused on the lowland riparian forest (LRF) distributed along the Mtkvari and Iori rivers within two PAs – Korugi and Gardabani Managed Reserves (MRs). Six main alien woody species (AWS) were identified in the study areas: Robinia pseudoacacia, Gleditsia triacanthos, Ailanthus altissima, Acer negundo, Amorpha fruticose and Morus alba. Among these AWS, the local status of R. pseudoacacia, G. triacanthos, A. altissima, and A. fruticosa is invasive, while that of A. negundo and M. alba is naturalised. The environmental impact of AWS on LRF habitat was evaluated using the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) classification system. A major or moderate impact of AWS on the LRF habitat is evident, which, according to EICAT impact mechanisms, is expressed as apparent competition and physical, structural and indirect impacts. The study revealed that the impact levels of three AWS, R. pseudoacacia, G. triacanthos, and A. altissima, were classified as major or moderate ('harmful' impact), while the remaining AWS, A. negundo and A. fruticosa, were of minor or minimal concern. AWS in the invaded areas of the LRF are found as an understorey layer or, otherwise, they have already formed the main canopy and replaced native dominant woody species. Therefore, undesirable structural and succession processes in invaded LRFs are evident.