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The seed production area (SPA) is an improved plantation managed for production of quality seeds for a large-scale plantation programme. The soil nutrient is one of several factors affecting seed production among SPAs. The status of soil nutrients and their effect on seed production are poorly understood. Hence, the present study was undertaken in 20 seed production areas located in different seed zones of Karnataka, South India. Results showed that there was a greater variation among SPAs in various soil properties like soil pH, organic carbon, available NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). Some of the studied parameters recorded significant variations among three different depths: 0-20 (top), 20-40 (middle) and 40-60 cm (bottom). For instance, organic carbon and available potassium showed significant variations at different depths, where the highest content was recorded in the top layer, followed by middle and bottom layers. Considering associations between soil properties and tree growth, organic carbon was positively associated with dbh (diameter at breast height; r = 0.500), stem roundness (r = 0.351) and stem volume (r = 0.250). Similarly, available nitrogen positively influenced the stem volume (r = 0.250). Though the fruit yield varied among SPAs, none of the studied soil parameters showed a significant influence on fruit yield indicating that some other factors like genetic ones, phenology, rainfall overlapping with peak flowering might control it. Data on site quality showed that all existing SPAs studied were growing in poor site conditions, however, this could be one of the factors affecting overall seed yield among SPAs. Hence, it is recommended to undertake a few important silvicultural interventions like application of fertilizer/organic manure, soil working, spraying of floral hormone and others to improve the existing seed production level.

By the means of Land Consolidation is understood, in accord with law No. 139/2002 Coll., spending of funds on land consolidations and land offices, provided the accessibility of grounds in public interest. Land consolidations also ensure the conditions for improvement of the ecosystem, protection and reclamation of land resources, waterway management and the increase of the ecological stability of landscape. All mentioned measures are collectively called the Common Measures, rural roads being one of the most significant of these measures as far as the ground accessibility is concerned. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Land Office (MZe, ÚPÚ) statistics, for instance in 2008, over 707.4 million CZK was spent on the common measures projects from the public funds. Of this sum, 82 per cent was spent on financing of the land accessibility projects - rural roads and objects on them. The Cost & Benefit Analysis (CBA) method was applied. The analysis explains step by step what benefits the investment projects bring and to whom, as well as what and from whom it takes something away. Thus defined effects and impacts are aggregated, converted into financial flows and included in the calculation of criteria indicators. These calculations enable to make decision whether the concerned project is in its consequences generally contributive. There is a difficulty in the method - it is applied ex-ante, which usually leads to the exaggerated input parameters, which may be significantly affected by a number of variable effects (time factor, socio-economic impacts, inflation rate, etc.). The ex-post application of the method cannot be objectively used due to the absence of the statistically processed input data for the analysis. Such data must be collected during the operational period of the realized investments. This is caused by the fact that these analyses consider lifetime of these investments in terms of 25-30 years. The ÚPÚ statistics, however, say that the operational period of most of realized common measures has not reached one half of their lifetime yet. The ex-ante analysis enables to evaluate the possible difficulty and the general benefit of projects, including their impact on the broad spectrum of subjects.

The addition of plant proteins into meat products is nowadays a commonly used practice especially for the technological and economical reasons. Their properties have been known and used in meat products production for a long time. In the past, wheat protein or flour had been used most frequently, however, in these days they are being replaced by soya protein which has much more favourable properties in its use. Considering the possible misuse of raw materials of plant origin for the adulteration of meat products, the existence of highly sensitive and accurate procedures for their detection is needed including the determination of their content. Soya protein can be detected using various methods. In our work, an immunohistochemical method was used with image analysis for the quantification of soya protein. Model meat products with the addition of known amounts of soya protein in various forms were made for this experiment.

Rhinanthus minor (yellow-rattle) can be used for restoration of species-rich grasslands but is vulnerable to competitive exclusion from high total aboveground biomass production of vascular plants. We asked (1) whether there is a threshold limit for total annual aboveground biomass production of vascular plants above which R. minor cannot establish viable population in grasslands and (2) how is cover of R. minor in grassland related to standing biomass of bryophytes. Data were collected in the Rengen Grassland Experiment (RGE) established in Germany in 1941 with following fertilizer treatments: unfertilized control, application of Ca, CaN, CaNP, CaNPKCl and CaNPK₂SO₄. Cover of R. minor and total annual aboveground biomass production of vascular plants were determined from 2005 to 2009. Further relationship between standing biomass of bryophytes and cover of R. minor was analyzed in 2006. Mean cover of R. minor over five years ranged from 0.7% to 12.3% in CaNPK₂SO₄ and control treatments, respectively. Cover of R. minor was significantly negatively related to total annual aboveground biomass production of vascular plants and cover of R. minor was below 3% in all plots with total annual aboveground dry matter biomass production of vascular plants higher than 5 t/ha. Although cover of R. minor was markedly reduced in highly productive plots in the RGE, high standing biomass of bryophytes (1.8 t/ha) in low productive control was not an obstacle for establishment of its viable population. We concluded, that viable population of R. minor can be established in grasslands only if total annual aboveground dry matter biomass production of vascular plants is below 5 t/ha regardless on standing biomass of bryophytes.

Organic manure is considered as a beneficial fertilizer on soil quality and an excellent alternative resource of chemical fertilizer (CF). However, organic manure from intensive farms may have a negative impact on soil quality because of containing some harmful components, such as heavy metal and antibiotics. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of poultry litter (PL) and livestock manure (LM) from intensive farming on soil physical and biological indicators of soil quality. Results showed that PL and LM amendment increased soil macropore and mesopore volumes and decreased soil micropore volumes. Tensile strength in PL and LM treatment were lower than those in CF, while soil aggregate wet stability index were greater than those in CF. Compared with CF treatment, the microbial biomass C and N contents (+89%, +74%), soil basal respiration rate (+49%) and soil microbial quotient (+45%) in PL and LM treatment were significantly greater. Significant linear correlations were found between soil organic carbon and most soil physical and biological properties (P < 0.01). The results suggested that modern intensive farm manures can be alternate chemical fertilizers as a main fertilizer to improve soil physical and biological indicators in a rice-wheat system.

A disadvantageous tendency of resigning from milk production by small and medium sized farms has been observed in the recent years in the provinces of Southern Poland. It results from the low profitability of milk production on these farms and therefore the difficulties in reaching the income parity. It leads to a decline in the bovine population not compensated by an increase in the yield per animal and it poses a serious hazard to protecting the natural resources which is the function dairy farms perform in this region. The problem is serious since in the analyzed region, milk is acquired from 75% of farms keeping herds of up to 10 cows. Moreover, grasslands constitute a notably high share in the arable land structure, and for maintaining them cow keeping is a crucial condition. Hitherto functioning system of EU payments proved insufficient; therefore the Polish government intends to provide an additional financial support for dairy farms. The authors intended to reason that despite the hardly important participation of the analyzed regions in total milk production in Poland, an additional support for small and medium sized dairy farms from the state budget is socially necessary, in the first place because of the additional functions fulfilled by these farms.

A scientific shelf-life study for Listeria monocytogenes in the typical Slovak cheese "bryndza" was performed in accordance with the requirements of the Commission Regulation (EC) 2073/2005. Based on the previous positive findings of L. monocytogenes in the final products, the producer decided to perform laboratory tests, the results of which would allow him a different evaluation of these positive results. Both the physico-chemical (pH, a_w) and microbiological examinations of "bryndza" cheese stored at 5.8-6.2°C were performed every two days till the end of the product shelf-life (7 days). Microbiological analyses were performed after artificial contamination of the final product with a mixture of three L. monocytogenes strains. The growth potential of L. monocytogenes was calculated as the difference in the counts of this bacterium between the last day and the first day of the test. The Slovak traditional "bryndza" cheese has been found not to support the growth of L. monocytogenes. Thus, the counts of L. monocytogenes must not exceed 50 CFU/g at the beginning and 20 CFU/g at the end of the product shelf-life in order to ensure its safety for the consumer.

Reactions of winter triticale cultivars mostly from central Europe to recent and old leaf rust isolates were tested in the greenhouse. In one trial 20 cultivars were tested with 8 leaf rust isolates, collected recently from official wheat and triticale trials in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In another trial 15 cultivars were tested with 6 old leaf rust isolates, used to identify leaf rust resistance genes in wheat. The cultivars Cando, Hortenso and Tricolor, registered in the Czech Republic, were resistant to the majority of the recent isolates. The Hungarian cultivar Tatra was resistant to all the recent isolates. The old leaf rust isolates were virulent only to a few of the triticale cultivars. Randomly selected isolates from wheat and triticale were tested on triticale cultivars and on Thatcher near isogenic lines with different Lr genes. On average, leaf rust isolates from triticale were virulent to a higher number of triticale cultivars than isolates collected from wheat and vice versa.

Grazing-induced variations in vegetation may either accelerate or reduce soil carbon storage through changes in litter quantity and quality. Here, a three-year field study (2005-2007) was conducted in Tibetan alpine meadow to address the responses of surface soil (0-15 cm) organic carbon (SOC) storage in the plant growing season (from May to September) to varying grazing intensity (represented by the residual aboveground biomass, with G₀, G₁, G₂, and G₃ standing for 100%, 66%, 55%, and 30% biomass residual, respectively), and to explore whether grazing-induced vegetation changes depress or facilitate SOC storage. Our results showed that: (i) Higher grazing intensity resulted in lower biomass of grasses and sedges, lower root biomass, and in a change in plant community composition from palatable grasses and sedges to less palatable forbs. (ii) Increased grazing reduced the SOC content and storage with only G₃ showing an SOC loss during the plant growing season. (iii) Soil organic carbon storage exhibited a highly positive correlation with the residual aboveground biomass and root biomass. Our results imply that a grazing-induced reduction in plant biomass productivity and changes in species composition would depress soil carbon storage, and that an increase in grazing pressure can lead to a gradual change of alpine meadow soils from being 'carbon sinks' to become 'carbon sources'.

A micturition problem appeared in an eight year-old mare at the third month of pregnancy. Symptoms intensified during the course of pregnancy and, at the end of the tenth month, the foetus was aborted. Labour was ordinary with normal presentation, position and posture, yet there was a formation about the size of an ostrich egg. The structure was spontaneously pushed out of the genital tract during expulsion of the foetus. Examination of the structure showed that it was a urolith which measured 13 × 10 × 7 cm (circumference measured along the long axis amounted to 31.5 cm, and along the transverse axis to 26 cm) and weighed 803 g.

This case study describes the pregnancy of a German Shepherd bitch with a singleton (one puppy) litter as a result of early embryo resorption. Resorption was confirmed by ultrasonography and the pregnancy was regularly monitored by USG and measurements of progesterone levels until parturition. These levels stayed within the physiological range. One healthy puppy was delivered within the timeframe of a physiological pregnancy although the inner chorionic cavity diameter (ICCD) protocol used for predicting the time of parturition showed divergence from the real time of whelping.

In conifers and other plants with long reproductive cycles, transformed embryogenic tissues can serve as a convenient source of plant material for the testing of insecticidal or fungicidal transgene efficiency. In this report, transgenic embryogenic tissue was obtained after the transformation of somatic embryos of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) by Agrobacterium tumefaciens with the gus-intron chimeric gene. The stable integration of transgenes was confirmed by PCR and Southern hybridization. The transformation was successful only in a suitable embryogenic cell line sensitive to Agrobacterium. Out of the nine embryogenic lines tested only one gave transgenic callus.

The article presents the results from the monitoring analyses of the buying/selling prices of agricultural land in accordance with the deposited contracts in the Real Estate Cadastre in years 2001-2008. Agricultural land sales, land areas and market prices are observed and evaluated under the size structure of the sold estates and their anticipated further utilization in the counties Dunajská Streda, Topoľčany, Rimavská Sobota, Liptovský Mikuláš, Michalovce and Svidník and for all observed counties as a whole. By data analyzing and evaluating of the agricultural land purchases/sales, there was taken into consideration the fact that the average price of the sold estates is to a large extent influenced by their size, location and the purpose of further utilisation. The estates of small area characterized as agricultural land are selling for the highest prices, but they already figure in the development studies and the land-use plans of the villages or they are regarded as building estates in the future. Therefore, the sold estates were divided into two categories in accordance with the expected further land utilization. As the estates for further agricultural utilization, there were considered the estates with the area above 1 hectare of agricultural land. In the case of smaller estates, it is assumed that they will be of building, recreational, sporting or other utilization after the landowner change.

Resistance of 31 winter wheat varieties (bred in 6 European countries) to Fusarium head blight (FHB) was evaluated in field trials lasting for three years (2007, 2008, 2009) after artificial inoculation with Fusarium culmorum. The data on deoxynivalenol (DON) content were supplemented by symptom scores and determination of % of Fusarium damaged grains and % reductions of thousand-grain weight and grain weight per spike due to infection. These varieties and also 120 advanced breeding lines from the Úhřetice Breeding Station, SELGEN company were examined for the presence of gibberellic acid (GA) insensitive semi-dwarfing genes to evaluate their effect on FHB. The conditions of experimental years highly influenced the performance of all characters. The highest production of DON occurred in 2008 at a high temperature and high moisture content during the infection period. In all years the moderate resistance to accumulation of DON (at the level of Swiss variety Arina) was detected in the Czech varieties Bakfis, Federer, Baletka, Samanta and Sakura. Among these varieties, Federer showed a low accumulation of DON at a relatively higher symptom expression and greater reduction of grain weight per spike, but the other four varieties and the reference variety Arina expressed resistance in all the examined traits. The varieties Pitbull, Cubus, Kodex and Bagou were found to be highly susceptible to FHB. The presence of the dwarfing allele Rht-D1b resulted in a significantly higher mean symptom score and also in a higher affection of the other traits. Nonetheless, the analysis of frequency distributions in symptom scores showed the presence of resistant lines also among the GA insensitive lines, but with a lower frequency than in the group of GA sensitive genotypes. A relatively greater effect on manifestation of the disease had plant height, and therefore it is suggested that the adverse impact of Rht-D1b on FHB resistance could be to a high degree excluded by opting for taller Rht-D1b genotypes.

It is estimated that world-wide existing germplasm collections contain about 7.5 million accessions of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Wheat (Triticum and Aegilops) represents the biggest group comprising 900 000 accessions. However, such a huge number of accessions is hindering a successful exploitation of the germplasm. The creation of core collections representing a wide spectrum of the genetic variation of the whole assembly may help to overcome the problem. Here we demonstrate the successful utilisation of such a core collection for the identification and molecular mapping of genes (Quantitative Trait Loci) determining the agronomic traits flowering time and grain yield, exploiting a marker-trait-association based technique. Significant marker-trait associations were obtained and are presented. The intrachromosomal location of many of these associations coincided with those of already identified major genes or quantitative trait loci, but others were detected in regions where no known genes have been located to date.

In this experiment we proved an effect of dolomite limestone on chemical immobilization in soil contaminated by trace metals, namely Cd, Pb, and Zn. Primary, we set up lysimeter pot experiment to measure soil leaching without vegetation. Willow clone (S. × smithiana Willd) was cultivated in the second lysimeter pot as a new approach to monitor Pb, Cd and Zn leaching, which was affected by soil liming (used in 1% rate). At the time of both harvests, aboveground biomass increased significantly at the amended variant. After the second harvest aboveground biomass production increased by 80% in comparison with the first one, Cd and Zn concentration in biomass decreased 2-fold and 3-fold, respectively. Dolomite limestone as a process of liming: (i) restricted metals leaching from the soil substrate; (ii) reduced metal uptake by willow; and (iii) increased biomass production of willow. Liming also alleviated the plant stress imposed by risk elements resulting in better plant growth and lower levels of stress markers (total nitrogen content and the main amino acid metabolism parameters in the willow leaves) yet through different mechanisms.

The root system of six-year-old winter jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Mill. cv. Zhanhua) trees were manually pruned at 3, 5 or 7 times trunk diameter distance along both inter-row sides, to study the effects of root pruning on physico-chemical characteristics and biological properties of winter jujube rhizosphere soil. The results showed that the root pruning of 3 and 5 times trunk diameter distance increased the available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium^[concentrations and pH values in the rhizosphere soil and decreased organic matter concentrations, the contents of amino acids, organic acids and total sugars in the root exudates, the populations of bacteria, actinomyces and fungi, and inhibited the activities of catalase, invertase and urease enzymes in contrast to the control in early stage when root pruning was applied. The determined indexes presented a reverse trend as those in early stage after new roots appeared. Compared to the control, the trees by root pruning had higher pesticides residues of the rhizosphere soil in the whole experiment. No differences were noticed between 7 times trunk diameter distance and the control. It is proposed that root pruning had greater impacts on physico-chemical characteristics and biological properties of the rhizosphere soil depending on root pruning intensity.

The objective of this study was to develop a superovulatory program based on synchronization of follicular waves with GnRH which could be applied regardless of the stage of the oestrous cycle. 36 heifers were subjected to this experiment and GnRH (Cystorelin, 200 µg) was applied between Days 0 and 7 (n = 15), 8 and 12 (n = 8) or 13 and 20 (n = 13) of the oestrous cycle. Four days after GnRH treatment, all follicles ≥ 6 mm of heifers (n) were either punctured (n = 21) or left intact (n = 15). All heifers were superstimulated from Day 6 to Day 10 after GnRH treatment with 320 mg Folltropin-V. In parallel, 21 heifers were superstimulated in a conventional manner (Days 8 to 12) and were used as controls. The homogeneity of follicular inventories among Stage-groups occurred within 4 days of GnRH treatment for follicles ≥ 7 mm but only 2 days after follicular puncture for follicles 4 to 6 mm. In response to the follicular puncture, the mean number of follicles 4 to 6 mm increased in heifers of the punctured group (P < 0.01). Following the superstimulation, the follicular (P < 0.01) and ovulatory (P < 0.01) responses were higher in the punctured group than in the nonpunctured group. The in vivo production of transferable embryos in the punctured group was similar to that of the nonpunctured group but it was lower (P < 0.01) than in heifers of the control group. In conclusion, results from the present study indicate that regardless of the stage of the oestrous cycle, the homogeneity of follicular inventories following the follicular synchronization is obtained using GnRH treatment and follicular puncture. The in vivo production of embryos was severely compromised in the present study with heifers. Causes of such reduction in the in vivo production of embryos are still unknown.

In this report a case of actinomycosis in a five-month-old Holstein calf is described. The patient displayed a hard and immobile swelling in the mandible and fever. Computed tomography (CT) imaging of the skull was performed under deep sedation and revealed an asymmetrical appearance of the mandible with the presence of intra-mandibular hypodense lesions. Haematologic and serum biochemical profiles revealed leukocytosis, neutrophilia, hypoalbuminaemia and hypergammaglobulinaemia. Treatment consisted of flushing the lesion and administration of antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The calf responded to therapy and had recovered almost completely four months later. The present case indicates that CT is an effective non-invasive means of identifying mandibular lesions in cattle.

Analyses of root mycorrhizal samples and monitoring of fruiting bodies of macromycetes from Norway spruce stands at mountain and foothill localities in the Krkonoše and Orlické Mts. provided several data series allowing to assess and compare (albeit somewhat preliminarily) mycorrhizal conditions and macromycete incidence related to stand ages and location conditions. The overall mycorrhizal conditions in young (10 years old) and older (80 years old) stands on formerly agricultural soils are comparable to those in 80- and 90-year-old forests growing on standard forest soils, but young spruce stands in the Orlické Mts. replanted on forest soils do not surprisingly show any favourable mycorrhizal characteristics. The research documents a marked diversity of macromycete species composition in mountain spruce stands compared to foothill spruce stands on former agricultural soils. While in the younger mountain spruce stands of the Orlické Mts. the expansion of macromycete species composition began to develop in a similar fashion to that in the Krkonoše Mts., the comparison of older (80-year-old) stands on formerly agricultural soils in the Orlické Mts. foothills and Krkonoše Mts. implies that the macromycete species composition developed quite differently but with a similar success.

The land consolidation is a significant instrument for the ownership relations issue and for ensuring the maintenance of land functions and the increase of the ecological stability. Despite of the demonstrable arguments, this activity is not fully valued by the society, which is retroactively reflected from the long term point of view into the processes and structures of land consolidation in countryside. The analysis of the current organisation and management of the Land Offices pointed at substantial regional differences in the process management effectiveness, the utilisation of expert capacities during the land consolidation realisation and further administration actions. There is proposed an optimisation of the institutional structure that will be sufficiently flexible towards the changes of the demanded actions. The need for change of organisation and activities requires also the agro-environmental policies of the European Union.

A total of 30 tea samples of different origins, thirteen green tea samples, thirteen black tea samples, two semi-fermented tea samples and one white tea, imported to the Czech Republic, were collected and analysed for the total content of copper, iron, manganese, and zinc in tea leaves and tea infusions. The total contents of metals in tea leaves differ according to the type of tea (green or black) and are probably influenced by many other factors, e.g. soil properties. The total contents of Mn were much higher compared to the total contents of Cu, Fe, and Zn, and varied between 511-2220 mg/kg. To compare easily hot water soluble concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn, 5 min, 60 min, and 24 h infusions were prepared. The extractability of the elements was in the order Cu > Zn > Mn > Fe. The proportions of the element contents in the infusion related to the respective total contents in leaves were 30 ± 16% Cu, 26 ± 10% Zn, 18 ± 10% Mn, and 1.5 ± 0.8% Fe, respectively. The results confirmed that tea infusion can be an important dietary source of Mn.

Field efficacy of seven geographical isolates of Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HaNPV) along with an insecticide control was evaluated against H. armigera on cotton and chickpea in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India. Among the HaNPV isolates, CBE I (Coimbatore) and NEG (Negamum) applied at 3.0 × 10¹² POB/ha to cotton and 1.5 × 10¹² POB/ha to chickpea with an adjuvant, crude sugar, significantly reduced the H. armigera larval population and increased the yield. CBE I and NEG recorded the highest yield of 2038 kg/ha and 2033 kg/ha, which was on a par with endosulfan (2026.7 kg/ha) with cost/benefit ratios of 1:2.32, 1:2.48, and 1:1.12, respectively, on cotton. In chickpea grain yields of 980, 983, and 973.3 kg/ha and cost/benefit ratios of 1:1.36, 1:1.48 and 1:0.87, respectively, in CBE I, NEG and endosulfan treated plots were obtained. The isolate RAJ (Rajasthan) recorded the lowest yield comparable to that of the untreated control in both crops.

The work was targeted on the study of egg white foam forming, including the influence of pH, aluminium ions, xanthan, maltodextrin, and phosphates on the whipping and stability of egg white foams. The whipping was studied with non pasteurised and pasteurised egg white using the blender with planet motion. Both types of egg white formed good foam in the acid area (pH below 4.5) and at neutral pH. Aluminium ions had a positive effect on the foam volume and stability, especially with the non pasteurised egg white. The addition of maltodextrin or saccharose decreased the foam volume but increased the foam stability. The addition of natrium pyrophosphate or natrium hexametaphosphate had a positive effect on the volume, density, and stability of foam. Foams with hexametaphosphate were applied into confectionary products.

The leaf spotting disease complex is a major biotic constrain in enhancing grain production in the major wheat growing regions. Two leaf spotting diseases, tan spot, caused by an ascomycete fungus Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, and Stagonospora nodorum blotch besides causing average yield losses of 5-10%, cause significant losses in grain quality by red smudge, black point and grain shriveling. Conservation agriculture in combination with wheat monoculture involving cultivation of susceptible cultivars has resulted in frequent onset of leaf spots epidemics worldwide. Development of resistant wheat cultivars, in conjunction with crop rotation, will provide an effective, economical, and environmentally safe means of controlling leaf spot. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico has initiated major efforts to mitigate the threat of tan spot. Efforts include screening of wheat germplasm, identification of new sources of resistance, characterization of new tan spot resistance genes through classical and molecular genetic analysis, incorporation of resistance into adapted cultivars, and assessing the variability in the tan spot fungus. Screening studies reveal that elite CIMMYT germplasm has high level of resistance to tan spot caused by P. tritici-repentis race 1. These germplasm have diverse genetic make-up and the resistance is likely broad based. Association mapping studies done with CIMMYT germplasm reconfirmed the presence of previously identified genomic regions for tan spot resistance; however, novel genomic regions on long arm of chromosomes 6A and 7B have also been identified. Studies done to date indicate that CIMMYT germplasm possess high level diverse genetic based resistance to tan spot of wheat. Efforts are in place to develop desired wheat cultivars with tan spot resistance. Virulence studies indicate presence of P. tritici-repentis race 1 only with some variability in level of toxin Ptr ToxA produced in each of the 76 isolates studied.

Members of Brassicaceae have been frequently cited as allelopathic crop. The toxic effect of Brassica spp. may be caused by hydrolysis products of glucosinolates that occur in substantial amounts in the vegetative parts of Brassica spp. This study investigated the allelopathic potential of Brassica napus, B. rapa and B. juncea on the sunflower seed germination and seedling growth. Aqueous extracts of three species from two stages (full flowering and straw) of sampling were separately made with 0 (distilled water), 10, 20, 30 and 40% concentrations. This experiment was conducted in 2 × 3 × 5 factorial arrangement based on completely randomized design with five replications. There was a highly significant difference among different concentrations of extracts and also between two stages of extraction. All aqueous extracts significantly affected sunflower germination, germination rate, seedling root and hypocotyl length, fresh and dry matter weight when compared with distilled water control. The greatest concentration showed a stronger inhibitory effect. Root length was more sensitive to extracts than hypocotyl length.

Influence of growth regulators chlormequat chloride, ethephon, trinexapac-ethyl, and a combination of chlormequat chloride and ethephon on decreasing sunflower height was examined in the years 2006-2009. Height was reduced by as much as 63 cm by double application of chlormequat chloride (915 g/ha) + ethephon (465 g/ha) at early and later growth stage (BBCH 32 and 50). Trinexapac-ethyl (375 g/ha) did not affect the height. One-time application of chlormequat chloride (1440-2160 g/ha), chlormequat chloride (458 g/ha) + ethephon (233 g/ha) (BBCH 30 or 50), or ethephon (480 g/ha) (BBCH 30) was sufficient for a ca 30 cm reduction during flowering, but this effect did not last until harvest. With double application (BBCH 30 and 50), reduction lasted until harvest. For ethephon (480 g/ha), application at BBCH 50 reduced height by as much as 35 cm and lasted until harvest. Combining a lower rate of ethephon with ammonium sulfate was effectively equivalent to using a full rate. Flower head diameter at maturity showed no significant negative influence compared to the control. In 2008 and 2009, a delay in flowering onset was observed after applying growth regulators.

This study had the aim of investigating the anatomy of the aortic arch in squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris). Ten squirrels were studied. The materials were carefully dissected and the arterial patterns of arteries originating from the aortic arch were examined. The brachiocephalic trunk and the left subclavian artery were detached from the aortic arch. The brachiocephalic trunk first gave the left common carotid artery, and then detached to the right subclavian and common carotid artery. In all the examined materials, the left and right subclavian arteries gave branches that were similar after leaving the thoracic cavity from the cranial thoracic entrance. But while the whole branches of the the right subclavian artery were arising from almost the same point the left subclavian artery gave these branches in a definite order, and the branches that separated were the following: the internal thoracic artery, the intercostal suprema artery, the ramus spinalis, the vertebral artery and the descending scapular artery. It also gave the common branch formed by the junction of three of the cervical superficial, the cevical profund and the suprascapular arteries. After the separation of these branches, continuation of the artery gave the external thoracic artery on the external face of the thoracic cavity and then formed the axillar artery. The axillary artery separated into the subscapular and the brachial arteries. Thus, the arteries originating from the aortic arch and the branches of these arteries are different from other rodents and from domestic mammals.