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Our study comparative analyzed the morphological and physiological performance of Juglans regia L. cv. ‘Xiangling’ (JRX) grafted onto five rootstock species originated from China. A wide range of coefficient of variation (CV), 1.155–39.848%, was detected for fourteen indexes among the studied seedlings. CV of plant height, total dry biomass, total leaf area, root/shoot ratio, chlorophyll index, and stomatal conductance was higher than 15.00%, suggesting higher variation. Principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and subordinate function analysis were used to screen engrafted seedlings for their quality. All three methods produced the same result that seedling quality of ‘Xiangling’ engrafted with the five rootstock species from high to low were – Juglans regia L. cv. ‘Jizhaomian’ (JRJ), JRX, Juglans regia L. cv. ‘Lvxiang’ (JRL), Juglans mandshurica, Maxim., and Juglans hopeiensis Hu.. The evaluation results were highly consistent with the actual growth performance of the engrafted seedlings, it verified the reliability of our results and the evaluation methods. The results demonstrated that JRJ, JRX, and JRL are potential rootstock candidates in the studied walnut planting regions. It would provide important implication for the selection of proper rootstock species for a certain particular walnut variety.

This research paper addresses the hypothesis that the peptidoglycan recognition protein 1 (PGLYRP1) gene polymorphism (Tyr76His; dbSNP ID: ss104796364) has an influence on some performance traits and causes of culling in Polish Holstein-Friesian red-white cows. The study involved 134 cows kept on a farm in the south-west of Poland. PGLYRP1 genotypes TT, CT, and CC were detected. It was shown that compared with cows with genotypes CT and TT, the individuals with genotype CC were characterised by higher lifetime yields and higher amounts of lactation milk, fat, and protein. A beneficial effect of genotype CC, compared with genotype TT, was also noted in the case of the lifespan and, consequently, the length of the productive life and the average number of lactations. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system (genotypes CC and TT) and disorders of the reproductive system (genotype CT) were the most common causes of culling. An essential practical observation was the potentially higher susceptibility of cows with genotype CC to mastitis, which resulted in the necessity to cull over one-fifth of the animals in this group. Simultaneously, no cows in this group were culled due to low performance or metabolic, gastrointestinal, and respiratory diseases. Therefore, the PGLYRP1 gene seems to be a promising potential herd health marker; however, to consider it the main gene, it is necessary to extend the investigations to include more individuals and other breeds of dairy cattle.

The purpose of the present study was to develop edible composite films based on sodium alginate and pectin with incorporated Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot and Thymus serpyllum L. extracts. The influence of the extracts on the physicochemical, optical, mechanical, and antioxidant properties of the films was investigated. The addition of the extracts changed the colour parameters and significantly increased the barrier properties to UV and visible light. This effect is more pronounced in the film with chokeberry extract and is due to the anthocyanins contained in it (75.43 μg cyd eq·g^–1, cyd eq – cyanidin equivalents). The antioxidant activity of films with incorporated extracts was 4-fold (thyme) to 7-fold (chokeberry) higher than the control alginate/pectin film. A significant improvement in the mechanical characteristics of the films with extracts was found. The values for tensile strength were 9.41 MPa (chokeberry) and 9.54 MPa (thyme), while for the film without extract – 4.63 MPa. The resulting films could find potential application as active packaging with antioxidant properties, which could increase the quality and extend the shelf life of the foods packaged in them.

Grape hyacinths are popular perennial, flowering bulbous plants. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, some plants of three Muscari species showed symptoms similar to those associated with phytoplasma infection in commercial ornamental gardens in Hungary. Symptoms included virescence of flowers and yellowing of leaves. Symptomatic and asymptomatic Muscari plants were sampled at two locations to detect and identify the pathogens involved. Total DNA was extracted from the plants and used as a template in polymerase chain reaction assays to amplify 16S rRNA gene sequences and housekeeping genes (tuf, secY) with phytoplasma-specific primers. The resulting PCR products from symptomatic plants were cloned and sequenced bidirectionally. Homology searching of the obtained sequences against the GenBank database indicated the presence of  'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' in the three Muscari species. This is the first report worldwide of C. P. asteris phytoplasma infecting M. botryoides and M. comosum, and its first identification in M. armeniacum in Hungary.

This work discusses the differences in the removal efficiency of heavy metals in soils along the China-Russia crude oil pipeline in different vegetation backgrounds. In this paper, two representative forest types, birch forest and larch forest, were selected for replicated sampling and experimental study in the soil of disturbed and undisturbed areas along the pipeline, respectively. The results showed that after ten years of vegetation restoration, the amount of heavy metals in the soil of birch and larch forests decreased, the Cu content in the soil under the background of the birch forest was higher than that of the larch forest, while the Zn, Mn and Pb contents were lower than that of the larch forest. The order of decreasing magnitude was Mn, Pb, Zn and Cu, and the overall decreasing rate of heavy metal content in larch forest soil was more obvious. The above conclusions indicate that vegetation restoration is an effective measure to alleviate soil heavy metal pollution.

The vase life of cut lilies is short. Improving the vase life is very important to keep this kind of cut flower fresh by using exogenous improvers. The aim of this study was to elucidate the effectiveness of polyglutamic acid (PGA) on the vase life of cut lilies, in order to introduce a new vase life improver for cut lilies. The results demonstrated that PGA significantly strengthened the antioxidant capacity by enhancing the antioxidant activities (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase) and the antioxidant contents (total phenolics, total flavonoids, total anthocyanin and vitamin C), which further decreased the electrolyte leakage and the malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide contents. Meanwhile, the PGA significantly maintained the water balance by decreasing the water saturation deficit and increasing the relative water content and the soluble sugar and proline contents, as well as the average fresh weight change rate and average water balance value of the cut flower. Besides, the PGA significantly decreased the wilted flower numbers and increased the open flower numbers, flower diameter and the vase life of lily cut flower. The above findings provided useful information for the potential application of PGA as a new vase life improver for cut lilies.

The human population is highly dependent on electricity, and to maintain the current progress of its use and for future requirements, it is necessary to look for ways to ensure sufficient energy. The aim of the article is to compare nuclear energy as a representative of non-renewable energy sources with photovoltaic energy as a representative of renewable energy sources (RES). The comparison is made in terms of the effect on agricultural land occupation, given that soil as a basic production factor is completely unique and that nuclear energy sources are often used as a backup for RES. We used a quantitative research method based on deduction using available real data to compare agricultural land occupation by these two energy sources. The results indicate that the effect of photovoltaic power plants on agricultural land occupation is 100 times greater than that of nuclear power plants. In terms of the effect on agricultural land occupation, the combination of solar and nuclear power plants seems to be appropriate. This combination partially eliminates the negative agricultural land occupation consequence of using solar power plants.

Identifiable endophytic bacteria with plant growth-promoting traits promise to ensure sustainable agriculture. However, information on the versatility and exploration of sunflower-associated bacteria as bioinoculants is less studied. Here, we present the whole-genome sequence and annotation of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia JVB5 isolated from the sunflower root endosphere from the North West province, South Africa. The whole-genome analysis revealed a genome size of 4 771 305 bp, a sequence read count of 8 764 890, a 66% guanine-cytosine content, 57 tRNAs, 268 contigs, and 4 160 protein-coding genes with functions in various metabolic pathways. Pathways involved in the indole acetic acid production were found in the S. maltophilia JVB5 genome. The whole-genome annotation predicted notable genes involved in bacterial colonisation, antibiosis, and plant growth promotion. The predicted genes are involved in the sulfur metabolism, and the oxidative stress may enhance the plant growth promotion and boost plant the resistance to stress. Upon inoculation, S. maltophilia JVB5 efficiently colonised the sunflower root under greenhouse conditions with a significant improvement on the wet plant weight of 437.20 g compared to the uninoculated control with a 331.04 g wet weight. The genomic analysis revealing specific functional genes in the bacteria genome suggests their bioprospecting in agriculture. Hence, understanding the mechanisms employed by S. maltophilia JVB5 based on the predicted multifunctional genes will help harness their bioresource in sustainable plant health.

Metabolites of Emericella nidulans (EN) were separated by chromatographic methods from crude hexane included emericellin and sterigmatocystin, while crude ethyl acetate found demethylsterigmatocystin. These metabolites proved to be antagonistic to Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast. Crude extracts and nano-particles derived from EN inhibited M. oryzae. The ethyl acetate crude extract derived inhibited M. oryzae with an effective dose (ED₅₀) of 66 μg/mL. The nanoparticles showed better inhibition of M. oryzae than crude extracts at low concentrations. Nanoparticles, namely from crude ethyl acetate, crude methanol and crude hexane of EN were active against M. oryzae with ED₅₀ of 4.2 μg/mL, 4.5 μg/mL, 8.9 μg/mL, respectively. It detected sakuranetin (rate of flow value is 0.09) in nano-EN treated rice leaves. These nanoparticles inhibited M. oryzae and acted as a new elicitor to induce immunity.

Various proportions of bentonite clay performing as co-catalysts were evaluated for the production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO). The results showed that the use of bentonite as a heterogeneous co-catalyst could significantly increase the biodiesel yield by approximately 50% of the control. The heterogeneous co-catalyst of bentonite clay improved the properties of the produced biodiesel including acid number, free fatty acids (FFA), relative density, kinematic viscosity and flash point fulfilling with the standard ASTM limits and the European Biodiesel Standard (EN 14214). The use of bentonite clay in the transesterification of WCO could also enhance the conductivity of the produced biodiesel from 11 to 100 µS·m^–1.

Tripleurospermum inodorum (L.) Sch. Bip. is one of the most economically important and yield-reducing weeds in cereals in Europe. Random and systematic monitoring of this weed might provide an early warning for the farmers and slow down the pace of the evolution of herbicide resistance. This study aimed to identify resistant populations of T. inodorum in the Czech Republic and elucidate their possible resistance mechanism/s. Monitoring and screening of T. inodorum for herbicide resistance against acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors and synthetic auxins was carried out. Greenhouse experiments and molecular-genetics studies were conducted to characterize the resistance. While all the tested populations were found to be susceptible to synthetic auxins, two populations (MATIN 2 and MATIN 4) were found to be resistant against tribenuron (ALS inhibitor). However, their cross-resistance to florasulam was not confirmed. The resistance mechanism detected was the target-site substitution of Pro197 at the ALS gene. The two populations carried different point mutations: Pro197Ser (MATIN 2) and Pro197Gln (MATIN 4). This is the first study in the Czech Republic to identify the survival mechanism in T. inodorum for resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. Our results from this research will provide basis for resistance management in T. inodorum in the Czech Republic and other countries.

Micropropagation has enormous potential in the forestry industry for the mass production of elite genotypes. A limiting factor that hinders a wider adoption of this technique is its high associated cost, dissuading small producers and laboratories from its use. Thus, it is important to develop low-cost protocols to increase the competitiveness of micropropagation. The goal of the present study was to elaborate a low-cost culture medium that would allow plant growth without diminishing plant quality and production. The replacement of laboratory sucrose with commercial sugar as a carbon source, and laboratory agar with locally produced agar as a gelling agent was tested. To validate the effects of the medium for woody species micropropagation, two relevant forest species, chestnut and birch, were used and several phenotypic characteristics were recorded. Our data indicated that the substitutions made in the media composition did not alter growth or rooting parameters. Substitution of laboratory sucrose and Bacto agar by table sugar and local commercial agar provides a valuable alternative for forest species micropropagation and for increasing their potential profitability.

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.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is normally used independently of the physical and temporal location of the product, process or service under analysis. This makes LCA results more easily comparable and globally accepted. At the same time, it has drawbacks though, e.g. land use will have the same impact regardless of location. However, the use of certain terrains in high erosion risk areas as compared to others in low erosion risk areas will have a different impact on the ecosystem. The availability of airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data (ALS) allows a quick and accurate morphogeometric analysis of any terrain. For this reason, this article offers a methodology, based on Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) method and airborne LiDAR data, for the straightforward detection of zones with high vulnerability to erosion problems. Based on these local erosion risk data, a method is developed to assess the environmental impact of land use, based on its location. In this way, the LCA methodology is incorporated to gather local data, dependent on the specific location of the activity under analysis. The methodology developed has been applied, as a case study, to a specific municipality in the high mountains of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja (Spain).

The purpose of the study was to examine the prevalence of Escherichia coli in shrimps and mussels, and to determine the distribution of β-lactam, aminoglycoside, quinolone, and multi-drug resistance phenotypically and genotypically in E. coli isolates obtained from mussels and shrimps in Istanbul. Faecal samples were collected from mussels (n = 96) and shrimps (n = 96) from the Marmara Sea coastline and fish markets in Istanbul. For the detection of antibiotic susceptibilities, seven antibiotic groups were used. β-lactamase, aminoglycoside, and quinolone genes were also determined. A total of 34 (17.7%, 15 shrimps, and 19 mussels) E. coli were isolated, and 17 (50%) were found to be resistant to one or more antimicrobials. The highest resistance was seen against aminoglycosides with 11 isolates (32.35%), followed by quinolones with 10 isolates (29.41%) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) with 4 isolates (11.76%). Multi-drug resistance was detected in 5 isolates (14.7%) from 3 shrimp and 2 mussel samples. The prevalence of ESBL genes was demonstrated at 3.84% in mussels and shrimp samples. There were no AmpC and carbapenemase-producing genes. These samples harbored bla_CTX-M-1 (n = 3) and bla_TEM (n = 4). Ten isolates were resistant to aminoglycosides genotypically. Resistance genes detected were strB in 2 isolates, aadA in 5, strB and aadA together in 3, ANT('')-Ia, aphA1 and aphA2 simultaneously in 3, aphA1 in 1, aac(3)-IIa in 1 isolate. aac(6')-Ib-cr gene was detected in only one of 10 phenotypically resistant isolates to quinolones.

The effect of drought stress on carbon metabolism in the leaves and roots of bermudagrass was investigated. Plants established in PVC tubes suffered from three water treatments for 10 days. C138 and Tifway (drought-tolerant) were found to have lower relative electrical conductivity and higher water use efficiency than C32 (drought-sensitive) under moderate drought by increasing carotenoid and soluble sugar content and rapidly decreasing leaf starch content. The sucrose synthase activity of leaves and roots, acid invertase and neutral invertase activity of C32 roots substantially decreased under severe drought, resulting in a slow sucrose decomposition rate and significantly lower fructose and glucose contents than C138 and Tifway. The activities of four carbon metabolism enzymes and sucrose content in the leaves were greater than those in the roots, while the fructose and glucose contents were on the contrary, indicating that bermudagrass transported fructose and glucose obtained from sucrose decomposition from leaves to roots under drought to reduce roots damage. The path analysis indicated that leaves neutral invertase activity, and roots soluble sugar content might be the key parameter of carbon metabolism in bermudagrass under drought.

This study is to explore the effects of natural tannin (NBT) on intestinal injury in piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Thirty-two 7-day-old piglets were divided into four groups: I) control group, piglets were fed a basic diet without challenge; II) ETEC group, piglets were fed a basic diet and challenged with enterotoxigenic E. coli; III) NBT + ETEC group, piglets were fed a basic diet with supplementation of 2 g/kg NBT and challenged with enterotoxigenic E. coli; and IV) ZnO + ETEC group, piglets were fed a basic diet with supplementation of 3 g/kg ZnO and challenged with enterotoxigenic E. coli. Results showed that diarrhoea rate was significantly increased in ETEC group, whereas it was decreased after NBT supplementation (P < 0.05); NBT supplementation significantly increased the average daily gain of ETEC-infected piglets. ETEC group showed damaged intestinal morphology (as indicated by decreased villus height, surface area and increased crypt depth) and barrier function (as indicated by decreased d-xylose content and increased diamine oxidase activity), induced oxidative stress (as indicated by increased myeloperoxidase activity) while supplementation of NBT had an obvious impact on the recovery of intestinal function and alleviated the oxidative damage. Further analysis showed that NBT could decrease the expression of genes related to intestinal injury (matrix metalloproteinase-3), and specifically upregulate the expression of oxidative stress-related genes (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 and hypoxia inducible factor-1). Overall, dietary supplementation of NBT relieved intestinal injury and oxidative stress in piglets challenged with ETEC. NBT could be an alternative to ZnO as a feed additive in piglet diet.

Phosphate fertilisers rank among limited conventional production aids, requiring eco-unfriendly mining methods. On the other hand, wheat is an indispensable agricultural commodity essential in the food industry. For this reason, it is appropriate to monitor the potential bivariate relationship between these commodities and to follow their future development closely. The article aims to identify a correlation (Kendall’s tau) and causal (Granger causality test) between the price of Moroccan phosphate and wheat, applying vector autoregression (VAR). The results show a medium-to-strong correlation between phosphate and wheat, while causal analysis suggests a reciprocal relationship. The final prediction indicates the price stability of Moroccan phosphate and a fall in wheat prices, showing steady trends of the Moroccan phosphate and wheat market affected by the alarming situation in Ukraine. The article’s drawbacks are a narrow market specialisation, which ignores other agricultural commodities. Our findings contribute to national officeholders and professional public, private and non-profit agrarian organisations. Investors may benefit from exploring turbulent exogenous variables like a critical geopolitical deadlock in Ukraine. The main contribution highlights the fact that the conventional fertiliser and wheat market situation appears to be stable and free from elements of uncertainty.

As one of the most widely cultivated vegetable crops worldwide, chillies (Capsicum annuum L.) face serious pest-related problems when grown in either open or protected cultivation systems. However, studies aimed at understanding the implementation of various integrated pest management (IPM) techniques on chilli production in both cultivation systems are scarce. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of implementing an integrated approach that combines the use of a sweet corn barrier, thiamethoxam, control threshold, silver plastic mulch, pest traps, and fungicides on chilli pests and diseases in open and protected farming systems. Those techniques were applied simultaneously to overcome major chilli pests and diseases that commonly co-occur in the field. The experiment conducted in West Java, Indonesia from May to November 2021 revealed that control techniques could maintain chilli pest population below their control threshold and prevented disease outbreak in both cultivation systems. The average yields of chilli cultivated in the netting house were higher than those cultivated in the open field, i.e. 20.92 t/ha and 9.77 t/ha, respectively. Furthermore, the profitability of chilli cultivation using IPM technologies has been demonstrated in both open and protected fields, with the profit generated in the protected system being 3.9 times higher than that of the open field.

Centaurea cyanus is an annual weed mostly infesting winter cereals and rape. The aim of the study was to provide insights into the association between the seed germination characteristics and the herbicide sensitivity in C. cyanus in the presence of the genetic background control. Four populations of this species resistant to acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors were tested. A germination study was conducted in a growth cabinet. Plants were sprayed at the 2- to 3-leaf stage with a field dose of florasulam (5 g/ha). There were four herbicide treatments dates, which included plants that germinated up to the seventh day, between eight and 12, 13 and 15, 16 and 20 days of the germination study. The germination dynamics of the four tested populations of C. cyanus resistant to florasulam was diversified. Three of them reached their maximum germination on the fourth day after sowing, however, the germination of the fourth population was spread over time with the highest number of germinated seeds found seven and twelve days after sowing. The germination time of the plants belonging to the resistant C. cyanus populations differentiated their reaction to florasulam. The conducted study indicated that the germination biology of ALS inhibitor-resistant populations of C. cyanus is diverse, which makes it difficult to introduce universal management strategies of this species into agricultural practice. Integration of control methods is recommended, including delaying the crop sowing date.

Aquatic foods such as fish, shrimp, and shellfish are important human nutrient sources. However, aquatic foods spoil quickly during processing and storage due to spoilage bacteria and endogenous enzymes. Ultra-high-pressure (UHP) technology, as an advanced non-thermal treatment method, is an effective preservation technique for aquatic foods. The mechanism of UHP technology is to destroy non-covalent bonds by UHP, which leads to the change of cell membrane permeability and the destruction of high-level structure of proteins, making apoptosis and enzyme inactivation. The technology can effectively sterilise and preserve food's colour, taste and nutritional value. The paper provides an introduction to the working principles, types, sources and equipment and describes the progress of the research and application of UHP technology in pascalisation, enzyme inactivation, parasite inactivation and quality modification of aquatic products. Potential limitations and prospects of the technology are also outlined. We hope to lay the theoretical groundwork for using this technique in aquatic product processing and provide guidance for its application in industrial production.

The paper deals with the genomic evaluation of retained placenta (RP), metritis/endometritis (MET), and cystic ovarian disease (CYS) and their involvement in the selection programme of Holstein cattle. A procedure for the estimation of genetic parameters and genomic breeding values was proposed. The dataset included farmers’ records of 127 000 lactations from 109 farms for RP, 185 000 lactations from 131 farms for MET and 115 000 lactations from 87 farms for CYS. The lactational incidence was 6.9% (RP), 12.8% (MET) and 9.2% (CYS). The single-trait animal model equation included fixed effects of herd-year-season of calving and parity of the cow, random direct additive genetic effect, random permanent environmental effect and residual effect. The single-step genomic prediction (ssGBLUP) was based on more than 50 000 SNP-genotyped individuals. Heritability for all traits did not exceed 2%. Favourable correlations were found between reproductive disorders resistance, fertility and longevity traits. The correlation between CYS and milk protein yield indicated a genetic predisposition to cystic ovarian disease in high-producing cows. All significant correlations between health traits (clinical mastitis, claw and feet disorders, reproductive disorders) were positive, indicating that the selection for improvement of one health trait would induce a favourable selection response in the others.

In this study, the effects of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and humic acid (HA) chelate applied to soils contaminated with heavy metals on the development, antioxidant defence system, and phytoremediation of forage turnip (Brassica rapa L.) were investigated for the first. Three doses of EDTA (E1: 5 mmol/kg, E2: 10 mmol/kg, E3: 15 mmol/kg) and three doses of HA (HA1: 500 mg/kg, HA2: 1 000 mg/kg, HA3: 2 000 mg/kg) were applied to soils contaminated with heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cr) in the pot. According to experiment results, HA application as chelate to the polluted soil caused a significant increase in the growth of forage turnip. Phytoremediation values of the plant for Cd heavy metal were found to be BCFshoot, BCFroot > 1, and translocation factor > 1. This result proved that forage turnip has Cd accumulating properties. Also, HA application caused a decrease in H2O2 (46%) and malondialdehyde (6%) levels and antioxidative enzyme activity in polluted soil. It has been concluded that humic acid improves the oxidative stress conditions in the plant and is more effective in the development and growth of the plant than EDTA, so that it can be used effectively in phytoremediation studies.

Biochar-based fertiliser (BF) is beneficial to improve yield and quality, but the effect of BF on open field tomato remains unclear, especially in karst mountainous areas. The objective of this study was to identify the application effect and optimum application rate of BF. A field experiment was carried out in Southwestern China from 2019 to 2020 to study the effects of different application amounts of BF on the yield, quality, nutrients accumulation and fertiliser utilisation of open field tomatoes. The results showed that compared with the traditional fertilisation practice, BF can significantly increase the yield of open field tomato by 5-9% (2019) and 12-23% (2020), and significantly reduce nitrate content and increase vitamin C content of fruits. Meanwhile, nutrient accumulations, agronomic efficiency, and recovery efficiency of BF treatments were all significantly improved. In conclusion, the BF rate of 2 326 kg/ha improves yield and fertiliser utilisation in open-field tomatoes and could be recommended for tomato production in karst mountainous areas.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an infectious pathogenic bacteria infecting many different species of animals. Currently, it lacks a commercial vaccine. In this study, three monovalent DNA vaccines (poprL, poprF, and pflgE), three bivalent combination DNA vaccines (poprL+poprF, poprL+pflgE, poprF+pflgE), and a trivalent DNA vaccine (poprL+poprF+pflgE) were constructed. Consequently, we immunised chickens with these DNA vaccines and used inactivated vaccines as the positive controls. Then, the immune efficacy was evaluated through serum antibody detection, a lymphocyte proliferation assay, and cytokine concentration determination. Lastly, we assessed the protection rate through a challenge experiment. Following vaccination, the serum antibody levels induced using these DNA vaccines were different due to the different coating antigens. In the trivalent combination DNA vaccine group, we established that the lymphocyte proliferation (SI values), IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-4 levels were significantly higher than those of the other six DNA vaccine groups and the inactivated vaccine group. However, the protection provided was slightly lower than that of the inactivated vaccine and higher than those of other DNA vaccines. The protection rate of poprL, poprF, pflgE, poprL+poprF, poprL+pflgE, poprF+pflgE, poprL+poprF+pflgE, and the inactivated vaccine were 50, 45, 60, 75, 80, 80, 90, and 95%, respectively. The results of this study indicated the trivalent DNA vaccine based on oprL, oprF and flgE genes represents a promising approach for the prevention of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.

The ameliorative effects and its mitigation mechanisms of selenium (Se) on cadmium (Cd) toxicity in cucumber seedlings were studied through hydroponic experiments. Cd and other mineral nutrient concentrations, antioxidant enzyme activities, and antioxidant contents in cucumber were studied. The results revealed that exogenous Se significantly decreased the Cd concentrations in all tissues, especially in the leaves. Moreover, exogenous Se (Cd + Se) could increase Zn, Na, leaf Cu, stem/root Fe, stem/root Ca, and stem/root Mg concentrations; and reduce leaf Mg concentration, compared with Cd alone treatment. Additionally, the application of Se ameliorated the toxicity of Cd by harmonising the activities of antioxidase, such as Cd + Se treatment reduced Cd-induced increase of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, leaf/stem ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities, which resulted in the significant decrease of the content of hydrogen peroxide, and malondialdialdehyde; increased root APX, and glutathione reductase activities. In addition, the content of nonenzymatic antioxidants such as root-reduced glutathione and oxidised glutathione was significantly increased by adding Se under Cd stress. Also, exogenous Se enhanced the total antioxidant capacity in terms of cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity and decreased total phenols, flavonoids, and leaf/root proline contents under Cd stress. In general, 3 μmol/L Se was conducive to plant growth and improved the cucumber's ability to alleviate Cd stress.

In general, it can be stated that the economics of non-dairy sheep breeding in the Czech Republic experienced a worsening trend in recent years. One of the ways to improve this situation is to use some of these breeds also for milk production. One of the possible breeds usable for milk production, especially for the good milk production of mothers, is the Clun Forest (CF). The aim of our experiment was to evaluate the daily milk yield (DMY) and the contents of fat (F), total protein (TP) and lactose (L), pH, titratable acidity (TA), concentration of urea (CU) and somatic cell count (SCC) in CF ewes during lactation. In our experiment, the following means of individual traits for the whole lactation were found: DMY: 579 g, contents of F, TP and L: 6.73%, 5.82% and 4.98%, pH: 6.55, TA: 8.74 °SH, CU: 36.08 mg/100 ml and log SCC: 4.71. The stage of lactation had a significant (P < 0.01) effect on DMY, contents of F and TP and pH and TA. The results of our experiment show that CF ewes had lower DMY than dairy breeds (DB). However, the majority of the milk quality traits was comparable to DB. Moreover, the high fat and protein contents and the values of most other milk quality traits are good prerequisites for high cheese yield and optimal final quality of other sheep’s milk products. The results of our experiment suggest that CF ewes could be used for milk production while the milk production of CF ewes should ensure an improvement in the economics and competitiveness of smaller farms in particular.

Nutraceuticals are food ingredients that provide extra health advantages that expand above their nutritional value. Nutraceuticals comprise amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, enzymes, organic acids, fatty acids, medicinal plants, etc. Recently, nutraceuticals have acquired much attention in poultry industry by reason of their potential effects on establishing the normal physiological status, supporting the immune system, and disease prevention, which consequently enhances productivity. The technique of in ovo feeding (IOF) of nutraceuticals holds several promises in poultry industry. The vital benefits of IOF of nutraceuticals are enhancement of intestinal development, establishment of a balanced microbial population in the gut, support of intestinal physiology and health. Interestingly, IOF of nutraceuticals participates in improving the antioxidative properties and energizing the immune system, which thereby translated into greater performance and bigger resistance to diseases, especially in early life challenges. The current review attempts to throw more light on the fresh results associated with the profits of IOF of nutraceuticals on intestinal histomorphology, intestinal microbiota, antioxidative properties, immune responsiveness, hatchability, chick quality, and growth performance in poultry.

The estimation of the level of the soil organic carbon (SOC) content plays an important role in assessing the soil health state. Visible and Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (Vis-NIR DRS) is a fast and cheap tool for measuring the SOC. However, when this technology is applied on a larger area, the soil prediction accuracy decreases due to the heterogeneity of the samples. In this paper, we first investigate the global model performance in the LUCAS EU-wide topsoil database. Then, different clustering strategies were tested, including the k-means clustering based on the principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering, combined with the partial least squares regression (PLSR) models, and a clustering based on a local PLSR approach. The best validation results were obtained for the local PLSR approach with R² = 0.75, root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP) = 13.38 g/kg and ratio of performance to interquartile range (RPIQ) = 2.846, but the algorithm running time was 30.05 s. Similar results were obtained for the k-means clustering method with R² = 0.75, RMSEP = 14.61 g/kg and RPIQ = 2.844, at only 4.52 s. This study demonstrates that the PLSR approach based on k-means clustering is able to achieve similar prediction accuracy as the local PLSR approach, while significantly improving the algorithm speed. This provides the theoretical basis for adapting the spectral soil model to the needs of real-time SOC quantification.

20α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (20α-HSD) is a member of the aldo-keto reductase family. These enzymes play a pivotal role in regulating steroid hormones, such as androgens, oestrogen, and progesterone, and are, therefore, considered vital targets for determining whether a pregnancy is maintained. In this study, we investigated the association between 20α-HSD and apoptosis-related genes in luteal tissues (at 30, 60, and 90 days of gestation) and cells from early gestation in cattle. The corpus luteum altered the number of large lutein cells from 30–90 days. The change in the junction of the connective tissue appeared to affect the density of the corpus luteum. In addition, 20α-HSD was detected in the corpus luteum and cultured cells during early pregnancy, in contrast to the results of previous studies. The overall expression pattern of the 20α-HSD and Casp-3 proteins was lower on day 50 of gestation than on days 30 and 90. However, the 20α-HSD expression gradually increased from 30 to 90 days of gestation. When the 20α-HSD protein was increased to 0.5 μg/ml, 1 μg/ml, and 1.5 μg/ml in the luteal cells collected on day 30 of pregnancy, apoptosis was analysed after 48 hours. 20α-HSD generated in the cells was confirmed, and the concentration gradually decreased as the concentration increased. However, the expression of Casp-3 showed an overall similar expression pattern. Notably, the 20α-HSD and Casp-3 proteins were lowest at 1.5 μg/ml supplemented with 20α-HSD, with higher levels in the cytosol than in the cytoplasm. These results suggest that 20α-HSD plays a role in maintaining normal pregnancy, particularly by regulating the progesterone concentrations during luteal cell development.