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The present study has been done to evaluate the impact of pure ash stand and mixed stand with beech on the herb layer biodiversity and soil properties in the forests of Noor city. There is a unique stand of ash in the forests of Noor city and at 1,900-2,100 m a.s.l., which is rarely seen like that in the northern forests of Iran. Shannon-Wiener diversity indices (H'), Simpson index of dominance (D), Margalef richness (R₁) and Pielou's evenness were used to analyse biodiversity. Sampling was also conducted to investigate physical and chemical properties of soil (bulk density, acidity, electrical conductivity, soil moisture, soil lime, nitrogen and organic carbon) in each sample plot and at two depths (10 and 20 cm). The total number of 26 soil samples (13 soil samples at either depth) in pure ash stand and 24 soil samples (12 soil samples at either depth) from this type of stand mixed with beech were taken. The results of plant species biodiversity showed that between the pure ash stand and the stand mixed with beech there is a significant difference at the 99% probability level in Shannon-Wiener diversity, Margalef richness, and Simpson dominance. There is also a significant difference at the 95% probability level between the two stands under study in Pielou's evenness index. The results of soil factors also showed that at the depth of 10-20 cm acidity factor showed a significant difference from its adjacent stand at the 99% probability level. There is also a significant difference at the 99% probability level in acidity (0-10 cm) and soil moisture at the depth of 10-20 cm between the two areas, but there is not any significant difference between the areas under study in electrical conductivity and lime factors at the two depths and also in moisture content at the depth of 0-10 cm. It should be noted that between the stand and soil nitrogen, organic carbon and bulk density parameters at both depths (0-10 and 10-20 cm) a significant difference at the 95% confidence level is shown.

Hisex hens, aged 24 weeks, were divided into 6 groups. Each group consisted of 4 cages with 10 hens per cage with dimensions and equipment meeting the EU directives. This 2 × 3 factorial experiment included two levels of calcium (Ca; 35 or 42 g/kg) and 3 different additions of 6-phytase OptiPhos^® (Ph; 0, 300, and 1500 phytase units (FTU)/kg) to the diet. The content of nonphytate phosphorus (NPP) in all diets was the same (1.8 g/kg). The experiment lasted 12 weeks. A significant interaction of Ph × Ca (P = 0.029) was observed in hen-day egg production. A diet with 35 g/kg Ca and the highest dose of Ph (1500 FTU/kg) resulted in a lower hen-day egg production (84.1%) than did the other treatments (91.5-88.6%). Phytase superdosing negatively influenced egg mass production (P = 0.001) and the feed conversion ratio (P = 0.018). Neither Ph nor Ca influenced eggshell ash content. Both additions of Ph into mixed feed decreased Haugh units (P < 0.001). A higher content of Ca in the diet increased shell thickness (P = 0.024) and shell breaking strength (P = 0.039), while Ph addition increased shell percentage (P = 0.004) and shell breaking strength (P = 0.009). The results of this experiment demonstrate the unsuitability of Ph superdosing in mixed feed for laying hens.

The Smeda catchment, where the Smeda Brook drains an area of about 26 km², is located in northern Bohemia in the Jizerské hory Mts. This experimental mountain catchment with the Bily Potok downstream gauge profile was selected as a model area for simulating extreme rainfall-runoff processes, using the KINFIL model supplemented by the Curve Number (CN) method. The combination of methods applied here consists of two parts. The first part is an application of the CN theory, where CN is correlated with hydraulic conductivity K_s of the soil types, and also with storage suction factor S_f at field capacity FC: CN = f(K_s, S_f). The second part of the combined KINFIL/CN method, represented by the KINFIL model, is based on the kinematic wave method which, in combination with infiltration, mitigates the overland flow. This simulation was chosen as an alternative to an enormous amount of field measurements. The combination used here was shown to provide a successful method. However, practical application would require at least four sub-catchments, so that more terraces can be placed. The provision of effective measures will require more investment than is currently envisaged.

Soil microbial properties are varied by growing different crops, ultimately reflecting the growth and reproduction of crops. In this study, two types of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. ZS11 and ZY821) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ZM9023) were planted in the Jianghan plain of China. Rhizosphere soil samples were collected three months after sowing. Soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities and microbial diversity were determined. The results showed that soil available phosphorus significantly increased from 25.57 mg/kg (ZM9023) to 33.20 mg/kg (ZS11) and 35.72 mg/kg (ZY821), respectively. Invertase activity of ZS821 (0.86 mg glucose/g) was significantly lower than in ZS11 (1.04 mg glucose/g). Acid phosphatase activity under planting rapes was significantly higher than that under wheat. Urease activities significantly increased from 40.88 mg NH₄⁺-N/g soil/24 h (NFP) to 49.04 mg NH₄⁺-N/g soil/24 h (FNP) and 51.28 mg NH₄⁺-N/g soil/24 h (ZM9023), 51.60 mg NH₄⁺-N/g soil/24 h (ZY821) and 52.28 mg NH₄⁺-N/g soil/24 h (ZS11), respectively. The ACE (abundance based coverage estimator) and Chao1 indexes of bacteria of ZS11 were lower than ZY821, which were similar to ZM9023. Fertilization increased soil bacterial ACE and Chao1 indexes. However, ACE and Chao1, Shannon and Simpson indexes of soil fungi for ZS11 were significantly higher than in ZY821, which were similar to ZM9023 (except for the Shannon index).

The effects of tillage and crop rotation on the soil carbon, the soil bulk density, the porosity and the soil water content were evaluated during the 6^th season of an on-going field trial at the University of Fort Hare Farm (UFH), South Africa. Two tillage systems; conventional tillage (CT) and no-till and crop rotations; maize (Zea mays L.)-fallow-maize (MFM), maize-fallow-soybean (Glycine max L.) (MFS); maize-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize (MWM) and maize-wheat-soybean (MWS) were evaluated. The field experiment was a 2 × 4 factorial, laid out in a randomised complete design. The crop residues were retained for the no-till plots and incorporated for the CT plots, after each cropping season. No significant effects (P > 0.05) of the tillage and crop rotation on the bulk density were observed. However, the values ranged from 1.32 to1.37 g/cm³. Significant interaction effects of the tillage and crop rotation were observed on the soil porosity (P < 0.01) and the soil water content (P < 0.05). The porosity for the MFM and the MWS, was higher under the CT whereas for the MWM and the MWS, it was higher under the no-till. However, the greatest porosity was under the MWS. Whilst the no-till significantly increased (P < 0.05) the soil water content compared to the CT; the greatest soil water content was observed when the no-till was combined with the MWM rotations. The soil organic carbon (SOC) was increased more (P < 0.05) by the no-till than the CT, and the MFM consistently had the least SOC compared with the rest of the crop rotations, at all the sampling depths (0-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm). The soil bulk density negatively correlated with the soil porosity and the soil water content, whereas the porosity positively correlated with the soil water content. The study concluded that the crop rotations, the MWM and the MWS under the no-till coupled with the residue retention improved the soil porosity and the soil water content levels the most.

In vitro meristem cultures have been used for the production of hop (Humulus lupulus L.) virus-free rootstocks worldwide, because multipropagation is considered to preserve the genetic stability of the produced plantlet. Nevertheless, in vitro tissue cultures can cause genetic and epigenetic changes. Therefore, we studied the genetic and epigenetic variability of Saaz Osvald's clones, Sládek and Premiant cultivars on the DNA methylation level by methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP). In vitro propagated plants, acclimatised glasshouse rootstocks as well as derived mericlones and control plants under field conditions were used for the analyses. A total of 346 clearly and highly reproducible amplified products were detected in the MSAP analyses within the studied hop plants. We found 16 polymorphic products (4.6% of products) and 64 products with methylation changes (18.5% of products) in the analyses. The demethylation events were comparable to the de novo methylation events. Most demethylation changes were found in the in vitro plants, but only a few of them were found in the derived mericlones under field conditions. In contrast, the de novo methylation changes persisted in the acclimatised plants under glasshouse or field conditions. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used for the evaluation of the molecular genetic variability within the individual samples. The dendrogram showed that the individual samples of the same variety, more or less, clustered together. Because the methylation status varied during the virus-free rootstock production process, we suppose that de/methylation process is a natural tool of epigenetics and evolution in vegetatively propagated plants.

Early identification of mastitis is a serious challenge for dairy farmers and veterinarians in ensuring the health of an animal and the hygienic quality of the produced milk. The purpose of this study was to detect the occurrence and aetiology of mastitis in a dairy herd of 153 milked cows localised in a farm in west Slovakia. During the complex investigation, 606 quarter milk samples were examined (6 quarters were discarded) and classified based on the clinical status, the presence of abnormal udder secretions, the result of the California mastitis test (CMT), the somatic cell count (SCC) and the bacteriological identification of the pathogens causing the intramammary infection (IMI). The study was augmented by the detection of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the milk and the measurements of the blood enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) as potential biomarkers for the udder health screening. A positive CMT score was recorded in 19.5% (118) of the examined quarters and 12.5% (76) of the quarters were infected with bacterial pathogens causing latent mastitis (LM; 1.3%), subclinical mastitis (SM; 8.3%), and clinical mastitis (CM; 2.9%). The most commonly isolated bacteria from the infected quarters were coagulase-negative staphylococci (55.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (11.8%) and streptococci (10.5%). The concentration of MDA and SCC were significantly higher from both the SM and CM cases than in the milk samples from the healthy cows, while the blood activities of SOD and GPx were lower in the cows with CM compared to the healthy cows. The higher MDA concentrations in the SM and CM milk observed in this study showed the presence of an oxidative stress in the infected milk, accompanied by a decrease in the antioxidative enzymatic activity in the blood of the cows. Therefore, the measurement of the milk MDA concentration and the activity of the blood SOD and GPx may prove insightful for the better screening of the udder health in the early diagnosis of mastitis.

The paper describes the determination of riboflavin and thiamine in the best-selling types of 13 raw and 8 commercial monofloral and multifloral honeys originating from Serbia. It was found that there is a difference in average riboflavin and thiamine content between raw and commercial honey, as well as between different honey floral varieties. The results showed that forest, meadow and oregano honey had a significantly higher content of both B vitamins compared to acacia, linden and lavender honey. On the other hand, a very low content of riboflavin and thiamine was found in honeydew honey. Among the commercial products, royal jelly was the richest in thiamine and riboflavin, followed by forest honey. In general, the quality of all of the commercial honey samples regarding these vitamins was lower than that of the raw domestic honeys.

The study is aimed at evaluating the pod shattering resistance of F₈ soybean lines based on the shattering incidence and shattering severity. The materials consist of fourteen F₈ soybean lines and two check cultivars. The pod shattering incidence was examined by using the oven-dry method, meanwhile, the shattering severity was evaluated based on the severity of the pod opening. The pod shattering resistance based on the shattering incidence resulted in five resistant lines (7-10% shattering), seven moderate lines (13-23% shattering), one susceptible line (53% shattering), and one very susceptible line (100% shattering). The pod shattering resistance based on the shattering severity showed that the pod opening on the ventral side differed between the lines and between the shattering degree, and it tends to form sigmoid curves with a different peak position for each shattering degree. The shattering severity of the resistant, moderate, and susceptible lines reached a peak at 60 °C, 50 °C, and 40 °C, respectively. A longer pod length indicated by the length of the dorsal (r = 0.827**) and ventral (r = 0.880**) sides of the pod, a higher total pod weight (0.827**), and a larger seed size (0.794**) will increase the degree of susceptibility to pod shattering. Those characteristics were considered to be the ones that should be used as the selection criteria in the breeding programme for pod shattering resistance in soybeans.

Agronomic zinc (Zn) biofortification of crops could help to alleviate dietary Zn deficiency, which is likely to affect more than one billion people worldwide. To evaluate the efficiency of agronomic Zn biofortification of broccoli, four application treatments were tested: no Zn application (control); soil application of 5 mg/kg ZnSO₄.7 H₂O (soil); two sprays (15 mL/pot each) of 0.25% (w/v) ZnSO₄.7 H₂O (foliar); and soil + foliar combination. Soil Zn application increased Zn-DTPA (diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid) concentration by 3.7-times but did not affect plant growth or plant Zn concentration. Foliar Zn application increased stem + leaves and floret Zn concentration by 78 and 23 mg Zn/kg, respectively, with good bioavailability based on phytic acid concentration. Boiling decreased mineral concentration by 19%, but increased bioavailability by decreasing the phytic acid concentration. The entire broccoli could constitute a good nutritional source for animals and humans. An intake of 100 g boiled florets treated with the foliar treatment will cover about 36% of recommended dietary intake (RDI) of Zn, together with 30% of Ca, 94% of K, 32% of Mg, 6% of Na, 55% of P, 60% of S, 10% of Cu, 22% of Fe, 43% of Mn, and 35% of Se RDIs.

The acquired form of Fanconi syndrome is seldom identified in dogs; those cases that have been reported have been secondary to hepatic copper toxicosis, primary hypoparathyroidism, ingestion of chicken jerky treats, exposure to ethylene glycol, or gentamicin toxicity. However, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of acquired Fanconi syndrome secondary to Babesia infection or ingestion of cosmetics in dogs. We here report on two dogs presented with a history of marked polyuria, polydipsia, and lethargy. Laboratory examinations showed glucosuria with normoglycaemia and severe urinary loss of amino acids. One dog was infected with Babesia gibsoni and the other dog had a history of cosmetics ingestion. The first dog received treatment for Babesia infection and the second dog received aggressive care to correct metabolic acidosis, electrolyte imbalances, and other add-on deficiencies. In both dogs, the Fanconi syndrome was successfully managed following the treatment for the underlying causes. In conclusion, both Babesia infection and cosmetics ingestion should be considered as a possible aetiology for transient acquired Fanconi syndrome in canine patients.

The presence of Epichloë endophyte can promote plant growth and increase the accumulation of host plant nutrients. We determined the dry matter (DM) and important nutritional indicators of E+ (infected by endophyte) and E- (not infected by endophyte) Festuca sinensis under the three-time repeated cutting. The results indicated that the total nitrogen, total phosphorus, crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), crude ash (CA) contents, and DM of F. sinensis decreased with the repeated cutting increase and reached the minimum after the third time cut. The total organic carbon content of F. sinensis peaked at the second time cut. In addition, the DM of F. sinensis was significant (P < 0.05) positively correlated with its quality CP, CF, and CA contents, and the appropriate repeated cutting times of F. sinensis was 1-2 times. We concluded that the presence of endophyte and proper cutting frequency can increase the quality and biomass of F. sinensis in Western China.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were used for the spring greenhouse cultivation of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) 'Milar F1' and tomato (S. lycopersicon L.) 'Benito F1' transplants. Seedlings were grown under natural light conditions with the supplemental LED light. A 16-h photoperiod provided plants with a DLI of 12.6 (eggplant) and 9.6 (tomato) mol m2/day. Four supplemental light spectra were tested: L1 (90% red + 10% blue); L2 (80% red + 20% blue); L3 (43% red + 42% blue+15% green) and L4 (56% red + 26% blue + 15% green + 3% UV-A). The PPFD in each LED light treatment was 150 ± 20 µmol/m2.s. Compared to the control plants (without LED lighting), the eggplant transplants had about a 25% larger leaf area and a higher level of total phenol content as well as a higher antiradical scavenging activity under the L1 spectrum. The favourable spectrum for the tomato transplants consisted of red to blue in a ratio of 1 : 1 mixed with a green light (L3) - the leaves were characterised by a higher content of dry matter, soluble sugars, photosynthetic pigments and total phenols; also the radical scavenging activity increased in comparison to the control group. It was shown that the supplemental irradiation of transplants was economically acceptable.

Mixed stands are currently supported as effective management options to reduce forest vulnerability to climate change. However, our issues about benefits of mixtures, mechanisms of their incidence and conditions for their effectiveness have yet been only partly clarified. We assessed the crown condition of Norway spruce (Picea abies /L./ Karst) and occurrence of symptoms caused by Armillaria spp. on spruce in a small area in the Drahanská vrchovina Highlands (Czech Republic) in differently mixed stands in 2002 and 2019. We found that although the broadleaf abundance affected the total defoliation of Norway spruce, the effect was unstable in time. The observed effect of altitudinal zones and Norway spruce abundance on the occurrence of symptoms of Armillaria root rot in spruce was also unstable. The drought during recent four years and the implemented forestry measures (salvage and intermediate felling) can be reasons for the relationship instability. We did not identify any statistically significant relationship between tree species diversity (Simpson's Index) and defoliation.

Taking action aimed at creating an attractive agritourism product contributes to the development of rural tourism. The main purpose of this study is to present reflections regarding the assumptions of the experience economy and their possible application in developing an agritourism product. The conducted empirical research involved a diagnostic survey method based on a standardized questionnaire. The study results show that the owners of Polish agritourism farms, when focusing on the material components of their offer, should also recognize the need to design memorable experiences for their clients.

Magnesium is one of the most important nutrient elements. Soils are tested for magnesium in many countries with several extractants. Each country has its own validated methods, best-suited for its soils. The current study was designed to compare different magnesium content measuring methods with 80 Hungarian samples. The magnesium content was determined by the potassium chloride (1 M KCl 1:10), Mehlich 3 and CoHex (cobalt hexamine trichloride) methods. The maximum, mean and median values resulting from all the Mg determination methods showed the following order of measured magnitude: KCl < CoHex < M3.

In this study a new method of locating culverts is presented with the composition of achieved discharge from hydrological analysis and simulated forest roads in RoadEng 3D simulator to improve drainage condition. Locating culverts was performed on a small scale (1:20 000, using GIS) and large scale (1:2 000, road geometric design simulator). The small-scale study regarding the achieved discharge from streams shows that the installation of some culverts is not necessary. The large-scale study also showed that the geometric design of forest road has a significant effect on locating culverts and its accuracy. To improve drainage conditions 6 culverts and 2 waterfronts taking into account the geometric design of forest road, hydrological conditions and appropriate intervals (155 m) have been proposed. No installation or lack of accuracy to find the best location of culverts may result in the occurrence of creep and landslide, so the cost of destruction would be several times higher than the cost of technical buildings construction.

Between 2014 and 2019, a total of 361 commercially available Czech beer samples (103 brands) were analysed for gluten content using a competitive enzyme immunoassay. The gluten levels in different types of beers ranged from < 10 mg L^-1 to 3 380.0 mg L^-1. The percentage of samples that can claim the gluten-free status (< 20 mg L^-1) were in categories gluten-free (99%), radler (84.6%), non-alcoholic beer (44.2%), lager beer group I (16.6%), lager beer group II (16.3%), special beer (25%) and wheat beer (0%). The important finding from this work was that 2 out of 196 beer samples with a gluten-free label contained more gluten than allowed under the guidelines established by the European Union and the Codex Alimentarius Standard. From a consumer point of view, it is also significant that in addition to gluten-free samples, 15.4% of radlers, 55.8% of non-alcoholic beers, 71.4 to 75.5% of all lagers and 66.6% of special beer samples could be labelled as very low gluten (21-100 mg L^-1).

Pyrolysis is a promising technology for sewage sludge (SS) treatment providing several improvements of SS properties for soil application. However, information on the influence of pyrolytic temperature on the availability of nutrients in resulting biochar (BC) is limited. In this study, anaerobically stabilised SS was pyrolysed in a laboratory fixed-bed reactor at 220, 320, 420, 520, and 620 °C for 30 min in the N₂ atmosphere. Pyrolysis resulted in a higher total content of all studied nutrients in BCs. Aromaticity and hydrophobicity of BCs increased with increasing temperatures while solubility decreased. Relative availability (% from total content) of nutrients in BCs was in order: Ca > Mg ~ K > S > P. Pyrolysis at 220 °C produced acidic BC with a higher content of acetic acid-extractable nutrients compared to non-pyrolysed control. An increment in pH and a significant drop in the content of available Ca, Mg, K and S were found at temperature 320 °C. Pyrolysis at 320 °C increased the content of available P by 28 % compared to non-pyrolysed SS. At the temperature of 420 °C and higher, available contents of all studied nutrients were lower than in non-pyrolysed SS.

According to the data of the Central Statistical Office, there has been an increase in forest cover in Poland from 27.8% to 29.6% over the last 25 years. This increase contributed to an increase in the possibility of wood obtaining and processing for energy purposes. The aim of the study was to analyse the efficiency of a chipping machine manufactured by the American Company Bandit Industries (Bandit 990XP chipper) based on the working day chronometer. The study was carried out in specific conditions related to the place of the chipper application because the machine was used to process the material obtained from standing trees in the framework of park maintenance. As it was shown during the analysed working day, the effective capacity W1 in the work cycle of the Bandit 990XP machine was 9.2 m³∙h^-1 chips. Specific working conditions made it impossible to organize the work smoothly. Ongoing obtaining of the material for chipping from standing trees resulted in low productivity during the exploitation time of the shift W08 on the level of 1.3 m³∙h^-1 chips.

Production development for asparagus has become an important research subject due to its low shelf life. In order to determine the content of flavonoids in asparagus tips and shoots, LC-MS-based method was performed for a targeted analysis of flavonoids in asparagus, and 34 peaks attributed to the targeted flavonoids were characterised. Twelve peaks corresponding to rutin, isoquercitrin, quercetin, naringin, taxifolin, vitexin, genistin, daidzein, luteolin, chrysin, and kaempferide were identified and quantified from the asparagus tips and shoots by the LC-MS-based detection with monitoring of parent/daughter ions. The results showed that rutin (> 99%) was the main flavonoid present in the asparagus tips and shoots. Although the tips and shoots contained almost similar compounds, the content of the major compounds, especially rutin, was significantly different. Therefore, the method established through this study could be used for quantitative analysis of flavonoids, especially rutins, in asparagus. The result will provide a theoretical basis for food development in asparagus.

Secondary fertilisers are becoming an important alternative to conventional mined fertilisers. For the first time, the struvite "relative" hazenite (KNaMg₂(PO₄)₂∙14 H₂O) has been artificially synthesised. A pot trial assessed whether hazenite-fertilised ryegrass had comparable potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), or phosphorus (P) uptake and shoot yields with treatments receiving conventional K (muriate of potash), Mg (kieserite) or P (triple superphosphate, TSP) fertilisers. Ryegrass shoot biomass production and K/Mg uptake in replicates receiving hazenite were as good as or superior to those amended with conventional fertilisers. Phosphorus uptake of plants whose P source was TSP was significantly higher than that of the hazenite-amended replicates without significantly higher shoot biomass, indicating luxury P uptake. Hazenite's constituent sodium (Na) makes it a potentially useful soil amendment for forage grasses or natrophilic crops such as sugar beet. Its component Mg would also be desirable in forage grasses to pre-empt ruminant hypomagnesemia or in crops with a relatively high Mg demand, for example, maize. Furthermore, hazenite represents a good alternative to KCl for chlorophobic crops such as potatoes. However, given its unusual ratio of Mg, P, and K, the ideal application of hazenite would probably be in combination with other fertilisers.

The aim of this study carried out in 2017-2018 was to determine the effect of white cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.), which is known to have an allelopathic effect on the germination of some weed and cultural crops seeds. In addition to weeds, Amaranthus retroflexus L., Chenopodium album L. and Solanum nigrum L., cultural plants such as Zea mays L., Beta vulgaris L., were used in this study. It has been shown that the seed germination rate was decreased by the increased concentration of white cabbage post-harvest leaves extractions, which were made with different concentrations of aqueous and methanol extracts (30, 40, and 50%). The methanol extract was found to be more effective in germination. According to these results, S. nigrum and Z. mays seeds were less affected than A. retroflexus, C. album and B. vulgaris seeds. In the light of these data, it is observed that extracts obtained from white cabbage can be effective on some weeds; however, it was concluded that in order to reach more definite conclusions, studies on the subject should be increased, and similar studies should be continued under greenhouse or field conditions.

This study was undertaken to create an Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus; ABB) ethogram during hibernation and to describe the time budget of hibernating behaviours in ABB. Seven captive adult ABB were included in the study and began hibernation between October and December. Data were collected for three consecutive years (2013-2015) during ABB hibernation (total 169 days) using closed-circuit television. During the study, we observed 21 distinct behaviours in hibernating ABB (4 least active and 17 active behaviours). Five bears started hibernation less than seven days after feeding cessation, and by the end of one week, all bears hibernated. The most commonly observed behaviour was "sleep curling inside nest", and "nest maintenance" was the second most common behaviour. Among the active behaviours, "sitting in the nest", "change stance", "drinking and eating" were mostly shown as documented during the observation times. Our results provide new insights into the hibernating behaviours of ABB.

The experimental design included seven cover crop species and six kinds of soil tillage in the field cultivation of carrot. The use of cover crops had a positive impact on the yield of marketable roots of carrot in comparison with the cultivation without the cover crops. A significant increase of marketable yield was noted after phacelia, buckwheat, mustard and sunflower. The flat ploughless tillage significantly reduced the marketable yield of roots in comparison with traditional ploughing. The largest marketable yield of roots was obtained from cultivation on ridges after mixing the biomass of buckwheat or phacelia or mustard with the soil, and the smallest, after reduced spring tillage using aggregate without cover crops. The largest marketable yield in flat ploughless tillage was obtained when using grubber before winter, and the biomass of phacelia was mixed with soil. Growing carrot on the ridges had a positive influence on increasing the share of the marketable yield of roots in comparison with other variants of cultivation including the conventional tillage. The all cover crops with the exception of spring vetch significantly increased the share of marketable roots in the yield compared with cultivation without cover crops. The largest percentage of the marketable yield was noted after use of phacelia.

The paper aims to investigate family farm income volatility by decomposing disposable farm income (DFI) into the on-farm income, income from production support and off-farm income (OFI) over time. The research is focused on the OFI, assessing its role in achieving DFI above reference level based on the average net earnings. Three main indicators consistent with Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) were indicated. The research results revealed the significance of OFI. In 2017, 76% of the family farms were engaged in off-farm activities indicating, on one hand that such approaches as part-time farming or lifestyle farming are becoming more attractive to Lithuanian family farmers. On the other hand, research disclosed that farms mostly engaged in off-farm activities yield the lowest on-farm income levels. Moreover, the OFI tends to produce a stabilizing effect on quite a number of farmers as the majority of family farms cannot rely upon the on-farm income as their only income source. Thus, the agricultural and rural development policy makers, aimed at supporting viable farm income and strengthening farm resilience, have to answer the part-time farmers' needs.