Fulltext search in archive

Ditylenchus dipsaci, the stem nematode, is a migratory endoparasite of over 500 species of angiosperms. The main method of D. dipsaci control is crop rotation, but the presence of morphologically indistinguishable host races with different host preferences makes rotation generally ineffective. Therefore, a sensitive, rapid, reliable, as well as cost effective technique is needed for identification of D. dipsaci in biological samples. This study describes the development of species-specific pairs of PCR oligonucleotides for detection and identification of the D. dipsaci stem nematode in various plant hosts. Designed DIT-2 primer pair specifically amplified a fragment of 325 bp, while DIT-5 primer pair always produced a fragment of 245 bp in all D. dipsaci isolates. Two developed SCAR primer pairs were further tested using template DNA extracted from a collection of twelve healthy plant hosts; no amplification was however observed. The developed PCR protocol has proved to be quite sensitive and able to specifically detect D. dipsaci in artificially infested plant tissues.

The concentrations of cadmium, lead and zinc were determined in the soft tissue of oysters (Ostrea edulis L.) from three locations in the Mali Ston Bay on the south-eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. The sampling was performed during two periods of breeding cycle, in summer (age ~1 year) and winter (age ~20 months, consumption size). The concentrations of cadmium, lead and zinc measured in the oyster soft tissue showed considerable spatiotemporal variations that could be attributed to seasonal differences in the freshwater inflow which varied between the study locations. Median concentrations measured at different locations and in different time periods ranged from 0.303 to 0.969, 0.13 to 0.32 and 208.9 to 650.0 µg/g wet weight for cadmium, lead and zinc, respectively. Although metal concentrations do not exceed the maximal legally approved limits according to the legislation of the Republic of Croatia and EU, more knowledge of their spatiotemporal distribution - of cadmium in particular - would contribute to the sustainable future development of oyster farming in Croatian waters.

The objective of this study was to determine suitable cultivars to be used as pollinators for 0900 Ziraat. 0900 Ziraat was used as a female cultivar; Bigarreu Gaucher, Bing, Noble, Starks Gold, Stella, Van, and Vista were used for pollination in the experiments. Starks Gold had the highest values in terms of anther number, average number of pollens per anther, number of pollen per flower and the morphological homogeneity. The pollen viability rates showed significant differences according to stain tests. In vitro pollen germination in 0.5% agar + 15% sucrose + 5 ppm boric acid medium increased with increasing incubation period, and the highest germination was obtained after 48 hours for all cultivars. In orchard trials parallel to pollen tube growth experiments in the laboratory, 0900 Ziraat × Starks Gold combination gave the best fruit set results.

Production of food and beverages is one of the Czech traditional branches of processing industry. The article tries to describe the model prediction on the sector structure development oriented on labour and personal costs in food industry sector up to 2013 and it is based on the continuous monitoring of these indicators in the period 2000-2005. Except regress analysis of time orders, there was used the method of exponential smoothing. With regard to certain antagonistic tendencies, i.e. the lasting fall of the number of workers in the monitored period but at the same time the growth of personal costs, there were projected separate predictions of these indicators up to 2013, aimed namely at the set of companies with 20 and more employees. The prediction of the selected data up to the year 2013 is based on the running results of the Research Plan of the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics (VÚZE). The probable development of the number of workers and personal costs in the individual branches of food industry is characterised.

The purpose of the study was to assess, in respect of selected physical properties, the reclamation of the northern slope of the outside spoil bank of the Belchatów brown coal mine by reforestation carried out 20 years ago. Investigations were carried out on 55 permanent research plots. This study confirmed the efficiency of reclamation of strip-mine spoils, and its results allowed to point out the properties of initial soils as the most useful characteristics for the assessment of land reclamation by reforestation.

Current sequencing projects are often based on random sequencing of genomic libraries followed by contig assembly by means of bioinformatics tools. This approach is convenient for whole genome sequencing projects. Chromosome walking described here is suitable for mapping and sequencing of short genomic regions in species where whole genome sequencing is not possible or for cloning gene from its closest known marker. This method is based on searching for overlapping BAC clones specific for the genomic region of interest.

The paper is focused on study of information systems that can be applied in the process of marketing planning. General terms from information systems theory are examined from marketing perspective, particular examples of marketing activities support are identified on the basis of literature review and global structure of the Marketing Information System (MkIS) is proposed. The main subsystems of MkIS - internal reporting system, marketing intelligence system, marketing research system, and decision support system are discussed in higher level of detail. The main attention is paid not only to supported marketing processes but also to technologies that can be used in individual parts of MkIS. The result is the architecture that integrates isolated marketing applications into one comprehensible framework. This architecture also creates a framework for following research in the field of marketing activities support.

We conducted a pot experiment to evaluate the Cd and Zn accumulation in leaves and roots of Salix smithiana (BOKU-03DE-001) and S. caprea (BOKU-01AT-004) clones grown on a metal-contaminated soil as affected by native microbes extracted from the same experimental soil, and the fungus Cadophora finlandica. Plant biomass production of S. smithiana was decreased in all the treatments compared to the sterilized control. In contrast, S. caprea grew best on the non-sterilized soil. Similar effects were observed for plant Zn and Cd contents. Microbial treatments affected metal accumulation differently in the two Salix species. The effects of the microbial treatments on biomass and metal content of leaves were not related to the degree of mycorrhization. A comparison with literature data suggests that the plant response to microbial inoculation in terms of metal accumulation may depend on the plant-internal metal concentration. Our findings also illustrate a difficulty of successful rhizosphere management using metal-tolerant microbial isolates to further enhance the phytoextraction process.

Malachite green has been used as an effective compound to control external fungal and protozoan infections of fish since 1933 but it has never been registered as a veterinary drug for use in food fish because of its potential carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and teratogenicity in mammals. The present paper reviews negative side-effects of malachite green including its accumulation and persistence in fish that have been treated and describes other alternative substances for the treatment of fish and fish eggs.

This paper analyzes the data on the development of the main factors of the demand for wine and wine consumption in the Czech Republic. The average annual wine consumption, one of the wine demand factors, grew between1991 and 2005 from 14.8 l to 17 l per capita. Following this trend, we can expect the average annual wine consumption 17.4 l per capita in year 2010. However there are critical factors in the development of the demand for wine demand here. Specifically it is the daily feasible ratio of alcohol in wine and other alcoholic drinks, especially beer that we can treat as the substitute of wine. The ethanol consumption in beer accounts for 50% of the total ethanol consumption in alcoholic drinks in the Czech Republic. The negative influence on wine demand growth has been the price of other alcoholic drinks, especially beer that is the cheapest form of ethanol.

The modified PAGE method (TRIS - Glycine buffer pH 8.9) was used for the characterisation of selected 25 registered potato varieties. This method enabled to identify each variety from the examined variety set. The calculation of identity indexes (proportion of common bands) helped to evaluate the similarity of varieties from these aspects. The examination of electrophoretic profiles of soluble tuber proteins, which are highly polymorphic and stable, can be considered as valuable for variety characterization and identification.

The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the effect of starter diet containing 10% of treated rape cake (TRC) with a reduced glucosinolate content on calf growth, development and health. The experiment included 45 calves allocated into 3 groups. After the colostrum period (5 days) the calves were fed 4 l of pooled fresh milk per calf/day and one of the starters ad libitum. The control group (S) was fed Standard starter with components with a standard nutrient content including fibre. Comparative group T was fed Telstar starter, which contained whole maize kernels and protein pellets. Experimental group G was fed Grant starter containing 10% of treated rape cake. The calves were fed hay ad libitum from 10 weeks of age. The average starter consumption (calf/day) over a 90-day feeding period was 1.34, 1.72 and 1.45 kg of the Standard, Telstar and Grant diet, respectively. An insignificantly higher body weight of calves was recorded for the Grant group at the end of the experimental period. When the calculated indices were compared, it was obvious that the weight gains obtained with experimental starters Grant and comparative Telstar were by 4.0% higher and by 5.4% lower, respectively, than in the control group Standard. No significant changes in the parameters of nitrogen, energy, lipid and mineral metabolism, health status, hepatic parenchyma and thyroid function were observed throughout the experimental period. The diet based on experimental starter Grant had no adverse effect on the ruminal fermentation in calves. It may therefore be concluded that the starter diet with 10% content of treated rape cake had no adverse effect on calf growth and performance.

In vitro experiments were conducted to study the effect of NaHCO₃ (alkalinity) stress on saplings of Morus alba (cv. Local and Sujanpuri) cultured from nodal explants. For shoot multiplication 2.5 mg/l of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) with 0.3 mg/l gibberellic acid (GA₃) were used and root formation was induced with 1.0 mg/l of indolebutyric acid (IBA). NaHCO₃ salt was added to the culture medium in three concentrations, i.e. 3.57, 20.0 and 59.0mM that increased pH to 6.2, 7.2 and 8.2, respectively. The increased salt concentration affected survival and growth parameters, subsequent cultures promoted them. The cultured biomass was analyzed for proline, protein, sugars and chlorophyll content. The results indicate an increase of proline, protein and sugars; however, they declined at higher concentrations of NaHCO₃. A decrease of chlorophyll was observed at all stress regimes.

Potassium is one of the most important nutrients for plants and its content in the soil should be monitored. In the precision agriculture, which is recommended now, the ion selective electrodes are tested to determine chemical properties of the soil. The objective of this work was an evaluation of use of the valinomycin-based ion selective sensors for determination of assimilated potassium in Egner-Rhiem soil extracts. Flame photometry was used as a reference method. Results obtained from potentiometric and photometric methods in soil extracts correlated linearly (R² = 0.84). Analysis of soil extracts by the ion selective electrodes is simple and there is not a need for calcium ions precipitation.

The Agricultural Economics Research Institute has launched a research project with the aim to analyse the Hungarian land market and the changes occurred since the EU accession as well as to present the tendencies of the development. The statistical data on the land market is rather deficient and cannot be considered representative, therefore, we also included some empirical experiments summarising experts' opinion referring to all the counties of Hungary. In our paper, we provide our statements and conclusions. The survey shows that the landed property market in Hungary is in a state of anticipation. Demand is primarily for outstanding and good quality land of favourable location in certain countries or larger plots of arable and forestry land. Characteristically, the poorer quality, less accessible land of less favourable location in the neighbourhood of the depopulated, cul-de-sac villages is in oversupply. Scattered, wedged properties of small size or of unclear ownership (undivided common land) are difficult to sell. Many of the vendors are older people with subsistence worries or people who obtained the title by compensation but do not wish to get involved in cultivation. Increasingly more buyers are well capitalised farmers, who wish to increase their holdings, or to unite their property (by land swap). Another significant group of buyers wish to invest into landed property located in the neighbourhood of larger cities, at popular sites, next to main roads or motorways. According to our survey, in the immediate years before the EU accession land and lease prices increased significantly, many fold in relation to quality. Increases in land prices are due to a process of convergence to the EU prices intending to take advantage of the projected unified land market. Increases in lease prices are due to apportioning of the projected land based support between owner and lease holder. According to land sale experts (estate or realty agents) the land market will in the 5-10 years liven up resulting in increases in land and lease prices, although the extent of this cannot yet be prognosticated.

The paper is a contribution to the research on problems of thinnings in mixed (spruce-fir-beech) stands situated in the 5^th forest altitudinal zone (beech with fir) in the central part of Slovakia. The research was carried out on two series of permanent research plots established in 1972. Each of the series consists of three partial plots where one plot was tended by free crown thinning in the framework of whole-area tending. On the second plot a non-whole-area tending was realised while the third ones were left without planned silvicultural treatment as controls. Dynamic changes in tree species composition, stand structure, qualitative and quantitative production including silvicultural analysis of seven thinning interventions were evaluated for a period of 29 years. A special attention was paid to development of future crop trees which are the main bearers of stand quality and quantity. The changes were compared with respect to differences between the plots with whole-area and non-whole-area long-term silvicultural treatment and the control plot (without treatments).

In this paper, we describe and compare the employment, wages and prices in the agricultural and other rural sectors in Central and East European countries. Together, we point out the lack of statistical information limiting the possibilities of the comparison. We comment the marked decrease in both production and employment in these sectors during the transition period. Together with low wages and the unfavourable development of the relation between the purchase and producer prices, this situation causes the retardation in the growth of the living standard of the rural population, in comparison with other sectors of the national economy. Therefore, the necessity of restructuring agricultural production arises, and first of all, the multifunctional character of the agriculture and the development of non-agricultural activities must be supported by the rural municipalities. It concerns, of course in different rates, all discussed countries.

In the territory of the Czech Republic there are more than 50% of agricultural soils exposed to water erosion; it is a very urgent problem both at present and for the future. It must be solved now when there is still something to be protected. It is rather complicated to describe the soil properties in terms of soil susceptibility to water erosion because it is a complex relation in which many factors participate. For the complex evaluation of all main factors participating in erosion origination it is possible to apply the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). It consists of six factors interacting with each other and participating in the origination of soil erosion. One of these factors is the soil erodibility factor (K-factor), the revision of which for soil conditions of the CR is the subject of this study. In total ca. 5000 soil pits from the whole territory of the country were processed and evaluated in detail. The main results of this study are K-factor values (means and variances) for the soil types, subtypes and varieties (represented in the database) according to the Taxonomic Classification System of Soils of the Czech Republic.

The paper analyses the evaluation of agricultural and farm support in the OECD countries and its differentiated development in the respective countries. This is important, because the effect of subsidies on production, trade, income as well as environment, directly depends on the way how this subsidies are disbursed to the farmers. Another object of the analysis are the differences in the level of support between different commodities that may lead to deformations.

The exclusive pre-selective effect of BLAD carriers reproducing in the exposed Holstein-Friesian cattle population prompted to search for the candidate gene variants of high quality of milk performance traits within the bovine ITBG2 gene or loci linked with bovine ITBG2 gene. Theoretical considerations indicated that the &Idquo;silent mutation" C→T localized at the position of 775 bp of the gene encoding the CD18 subunit might be a potential QTL marker of high milk productivity. An association study between the polymorphism of SNP 775C>T, and the diversification of milk performance traits was carried out on the progeny of four bulls with genotypes BL/TL and 775C/T and one bull with genotypes TL/TL and 775C/T. The results documented statistically significant differences in the protein content percentage of milk in two half-sib families of bulls with BL/TL and 775C/T genotype and one half-sib family of bull with TL/TL and 775C/T genotype. It was further concluded that the polymorphism of SNP 775C>T was found to be a more efficient QTL marker than that of D128G, since in all the analysed milk performance traits for half-sib families higher values of the F coefficient were obtained for the SNP 775C>T mutation in comparison with D128G.

Small towns are defined as towns with the population not exceeding 15,000 (20,000) residents. They are organisms that can be embraced visually, mostly with the clearly demarcated area. Residents know their small town very well, the majority of buildings and structures is constructed at a reasonable scale and architectonic dominants allow easy orientation. Verdure in a small town is either a separate functional space (park, landscaped area, forest, scattered green vegetation) or it is associated with another function (residential green spaces, green spaces of housing estates, line verdure, verdure of self-retained areas - sports grounds, cemeteries, schools, etc.). The verdure of a small town is formed to make up a system. It may be realised but its functionality may be diminished by barriers of different type. Verdure significantly contributes to the image of a small town and its particular spaces. From the recreation aspect it is important to create near and easily accessible green spaces that may be used for the short- or long-time recreation of residents and visitors; the good connection of the urban verdure system with suburban landscape is desirable. To accentuate the basic landscape values and to realise the potential of the verdure system of a small town it is advisable to use the system of land-use planning while the landscape plan becomes its integral part.

This paper presents detailed data on the biomass and element pools of six sample trees in the catchments of Plešné andČertovoLakes. Diameters and heights of the sample trees ranged from 28.0 to 63.7 cm and from 14.1 to 38.7 m. The age of the sample trees ranged from 84 to 177 years. Total biomass of the sample trees was in the range of 239.4 kg to 2,932.3 kg. Variation of total biomass between the sample trees was a consequence of the tree biometric data (height and dbh) and age differences. The proportion of stem wood and bark ranged from 63.5 to 69.5%, and from 4.6 to 7.2%, respectively. The proportion of foliage and fine branches ranged from 4.3 to 8.4%, and from 0.7 to 1.9%, respectively. The proportion of branch wood and bark ranged from 2.2 to 6.5%, and from 0.8 to 2.2%, respectively. Mean concentrations of C in different tree components were quite similar. Except C and compared to the other elements, N had the highest mean concentrations in tree components in all cases. Concentrations of P, Ca, Mg, and K showed similar patterns. Generally the highest concentrations of these elements were found in foliage, fine branches, fine roots and bark of stem and branches. Fe, Na, Al and Mn showed the lowest mean concentrations in tree components for all the analyzed elements. The total element pools per tree were highly variable because of the differences in total biomass between the individual trees. Generally, stem wood and bark, foliage, and roots contained the highest proportion of the elements. But there were differences between individual elements. Concerning the important nutrients, while the highest proportion of Ca and Mg was contained in stem wood and bark, the highest proportion of P was contained in foliage. The foliage contained a relatively high proportion of P and K, but a relatively low proportion of Ca and Mg.

The objective of this study was to probe the relationship between prevalence of selected principal mastitis pathogens and somatic cell counts in bulk tank milk samples. The sources of milk contamination were evaluated. The samples were collected from 298 dairy herds (with approximately 32 000 dairy cows). Only 48.3% of the bulk tank milk samples were free of contamination of pathogens of interest. Approximately 38.9% of the milk samples were contaminated with only one, 12.4% with two and 0.3% with three pathogens. The arithmetic mean of logarithmically transformed data of bulk tank milk somatic cell count rise in order: pathogen free, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus uberis, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus (5.381; 5.413; 5.495; 5.518; 5.563, respectively). The arithmetic mean differences between bulk tank milk somatic cell counts in pathogen-free and single-pathogen contaminated samples have revealed a significance for the Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus groups (P < 0.01). Using binary logistic regression, a statistically highly significant relationship (P < 0.001) has been found between the number of contaminations of bulk tank milk samples with mastitis pathogens and bulk tank milk somatic cell counts. The relationship allows the determination of the probability of finding relevant mastitis pathogens in bulk tank milk samples with different levels of bulk tank milk SCC. A 63% probability can be defined at a cell count level of 400 000/ml and 20% at a cell count level of 100 000/ml. Analysis may reveal the potential sources of the bulk tank milk sample contamination, i.e. infected mammary glands or the environment. The presence of high levels of contamination along with a low bulk tank SCC may suggest an environmental source of contamination. The study clarified that a potential source of bulk tank milk contamination by relevant pathogens (the environment or the mammary gland) may be elucidated and the probability of the contamination of bulk tank milk samples with mastitis pathogens predicted by the analysis of relationship between the bulk tank milk somatic cell counts and the number of mastitis pathogen contaminations.

A large crown is one of the most important prerequisites for the good growth of a tree and therefore the crown could be called an engine of increment. The care for a large crown brings a decrease in the bole value at the same time as it makes large branches and later knots on it. Pruning is a possible solution of these two contradictions. Young wild cherry trees were pruned in three different ways: (i) half of the crown left, (ii) one quarter of the crown left and (iii) control, i.e. no pruning. The results show that height growth was not influenced by pruning while diameter growth was significantly affected. The crown reduction to a half means 10% less in diameter growth within a 5-year period after pruning. The crown reduction to one quarter of the crown means only two thirds of 'full' diameter growth on the control plot. The data suggest that the pruning of young wild cherry trees should be done moderately (more than a half of the crown should be left) and pruning should be done when the bottom part of the crown is in the shadow zone of the crown layer, not earlier.

Chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements were carried out on two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars Arabi Abiad and Arabi Aswad at 8 and 14 days after emergence to identify their early tolerance mechanism for heavy metals (25 and 50μM of cadmium and lead). Transient fluorescence curves (OJIP curves) and energy flux models showed different specific reactions of photosystem II (PSII) of each cultivar to each type of stress. After 7 days of lead stress application plants of cv. A. Aswad showed weaker I and P peaks on the OJIP curve than control plants, and the appearance of a new K step; parameters of phenomenological energy fluxes for cv. A. Abiad were similar to those for control plants and only some silent reaction centers appeared. Generally, parameters of energy fluxes within PSII were directly shifted shortly (24 h) after the application of both heavy metals, especially in the case of plants grown under cadmium treatment. This suggests that these parameters could be good indicators for monitoring of these two pollutants in the environment at early stages of plant development.

This work presents results of a qualitative empirical study on practices of farmers participating in the Czech system of organic agriculture (ecological agriculture). Growth of this sector has been seen almost solely in positive terms, without questioning its content. However, Czech organic agriculture does not stem from the organic movement as is the case in Western Europe and therefore it is necessary to ask what it draws on and to discover, with regard to its nature, whether it can meet the expectations stated in official policies. This paper briefly describes the development of organic farming in other countries and the current problem of its conventionalization. The research study then shows evidence that organic farming is not adopted only because of state's subsidies, but also due to the specific value orientation of farmers, despite the history and the lack of tradition of these specific practices in the Czech Republic.

At present, photogrammetric interpretation of aerial images is a dominant method of forestry mapping. In the last years, transition from analogue to digital photogrammetry has been distinct. Digital photogrammetry enables to achieve workflow effectivity, and so to decrease the final product costs. The objective of the submitted paper was to evaluate the availability of digital photogrammetry for the forestry mapping rationalization. Digital aerotriangulation using the ImageStation SSK system brings more accurate results without requirements for the use of a larger amount of control points. The results also demonstrated the use of colour infrared aerial images, and also black and white aerial images at the scale 1:15,000 for the orthoimage creation in the forestry mapping department. Compared with the black and white aerial images, the colour infrared images have an essentially more interesting content, mainly from the qualitative aspect, which shifts them to use in many forestry disciplines (mostly for determination of the health conditions of forests stands, …), in combination with the remote sensing of the Earth and GIS (Geographic Information Systems).

The lack of recombination in some genomic regions represents a serious obstacle in mapping studies. In this review, we describe methods that are currently used to overcome this problem. Main attention is given to the comparison of methods that are based on the principle of radiation hybrid mapping. We also discuss a strategy called HAPPY mapping (mapping based on the analysis of approximately HAPloid DNA samples using the PolYmerase chain reaction). In addition to reviewing the methods used by other authors, we also summarize our experience with deletion mapping of Y-chromosome in dioecious model plant species (Silene latifolia).

The paper refers to the possibilities of the evaluation of the wind erosion risks by using a model created in GIS. The model exploits the pedological information database for determining the potential risks of soils by wind erosion. The following data are the database of the agricultural land use, meteorological data and the topographic maps for determining the direction of wind and climatic conditions. Using the data transferred to the graphic form, it is possible to create the digital terrain model and to regionalise the meteorological data. Consequently, the wind barriers are localised in the landscape and it is possible to create the zone of efficiency around each barrier (protecting the land from the erosive effects of the wind) according to the characteristics of their height and density.