Fulltext search in archive

The results of spatial variability of plant-available soil nutrients (P, K, Mg) and soil pH are described in this paper. Experiment was realized on the field of area 72 ha (orthic luvisol), located in the area of Český Brod. The use of coefficient of variation as a criterion of variability of soil agrochemical properties and yield on the field showed the following: the highest variability was observed in available P, the second highest variability was in available K, and the lowest variability of main non-mobile nutrients was in the available Mg. Soil pH was the lowest of all measured soil properties. Although the highest correlation coefficient between the soil available P content and soil pH was established, the process of spatial dependence was not detected. Detailed field scouting and others data can be important elements, as can complex decision rules, taking into account additional factors such as the characteristics of crop protection agents and preferences of the farm manager. This paper illustrates, how to plant nutritions, crop protection, crop production might be integrated to support these diseases and weeds management decisions.

In the case of cadmium transport via soil macropores, the short-term duration of an interaction between the reactive solute in aqueous phase and soil, as well as cadmium precipitation or adsorption on particles < 10-5 m should be taken into account. Two distribution coefficients are proposed for predicting the cadmium transport in a structured soil: the matrix distribution coefficient Kdm, equal to the equilibrium distribution coefficient Kdeq and estimated using the conventional batch technique, and the macropore distribution coefficient KdM, estimated using the modified batch technique. It was found that the conventional approach (using the coefficient Kdeq only) would underestimate a penetration of the part of Cd transported in the macropores about 255-times in the loamy-sand soil in Kalinkovo, 20-times in the loam soil in Macov, and 122-times in the clay soil in Jurová in comparison with the approach proposed in this study.

The contribution deals with the development of livestock since 1990. Since that year, beef and dairy cattle numbers have dropped by more than 50 percent in the Czech Republic. This decrease has been partly compensated by an increase in efficiency, yet milk production has dropped to 55% in this period and beef production to 60% compared with 1989. The declining amount of cultivated land in the Czech Republic has resulted in a decrease in the stocking rate and the corresponding production. It adversely influences the economy namely in highland areas. In this sense the high rate of permanent pastures with low stocking rate enables to efficiently exploit the EU direct payments and thus the direct payment system discriminates above all the farms in highland areas (potato and oat-growing areas and upland production areas).

Cereals have a significant position in land farming in Slovakia. Important commodities are wheat, barley and maize. In the years 1999-2000, a research showed that Slovakia's natural production was lagging behind the developed countries of the EU. Extraordinary low yields were recorded in the economic year 2000/2001 due to drought during the vegetation period. In this paper, there are analyzed the production prices, costs, cereals efficiency and profitability costs. We have also calculated the break-even point in yields, in costs and in production prices of cereals. In addition, we have done some suggestions and recommendations on how to analyze the results.

The paper is focused on logistics. The importance of the logistic chain management is emphasized as it becomes a crucial competitive success factor. The total corporate costs and customer service quality are dependent on the structure and communication within this chain. Using a concrete example, several results of the establishment of the logistic approach in the woodworking industry are mentioned in the paper. It has to be emphasized that the application of the logistic principles in the industry has its own specificities arising mainly from the biological character of processes providing and manufacturing the basis resource. A solution of the supply - purchase chain is provided on the basis of an example of the company Dřevovýroba.

The paper reviews experiences from the accession process of Poland and the Czech Republic, two countries with different accession conditions regarding the agri-food sector. The paper has two main aims. First is to discuss the scope of action in the EU and in the acceding countries from a game theoretical view. The second aim is to identify the reasons for successfully providing beneficial accession criteria. Investigating two selected agricultural sectors does this: milk and beef production. Our overall argument is that the actions, which nations and interest groups have undertaken with regard to the EU accession and future policy direction are, at least partially, a function of different external restrictions and internal national patterns; i.e., the relevance and structure of agriculture and the bargaining power of interest groups.

The article presents results of measuring influence of the selected economic differentiation factors on successfulness of agricultural businesses. As key factors, there were selected: the size of company, legal form, allocation based on attractions of soil - climatic conditions. Regarding certain financial indicators results and the specified order of analysed companies, they were divided into groups depending on theirs successfulness. Each group was compared and analysed. At the end, the results of dividing into the groups were graphically presented.

In 1986, the UN ECE established the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (hereinafter ICP Forests) to respond on the growing concern about forest damage caused since the beginning of eighties by air pollution load. Pan-European grid of the (ICP Forests) monitoring plots represents one of the most important systems of forest ecosystems assessing and checking. The Czech Republic is unfortunately well known due to this problem and so the country joined ICP Forest Programme since the very beginning. The paper presents general information on Czech forest stand condition that gained through various methods in the past as well as in the frame of ICP Forests. The participation in the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests) represents a contribution of the EU candidate country to the fulfillment of the Reg. (EEC) No. 3528/86. However it seems that effects and importance of air pollution are decreasing, a lot of new stress situations exists and there is a need for continuing the programme.

Twelve carbonaceous materials were investigated for adsorption of Cd, Cu and Ag from water solutions. Before the adsorption experiments the chemical and structural characterization of all materials were made. The batch adsorption experiment was used. The kinetic of the adsorption process was very fast for the first five hours but very slow for approximately the next 65 hours. Nevertheless the maximum amount of metal removed was achieved during the first stage of about five hours. Biological materials (milled wood, bark, cork) exhibited a very low affinity for adsorption of metals. The best results were obtained for materials in an intermediate degree of carbonisation with a high content of oxygen rich functional groups. Although the highly carbonised materials exhibited low ability to adsorb copper or cadmium, their capacity to bind silver was very high.

Except of 2001 and 2002, the agriculture has produced losses of SKK 38.8 billion over the entire process of transformation. The losses in agriculture were caused by major disparities between the price of supplies to agriculture and prices of agricultural products, plus the restrictive subsidy and loan policy adopted in the early years of the economic reform. The economic situation has improved over the last two years. This was caused by the increase in subsidies, as well as by the continuing restructuring process (sales and liquidation of dubious assets, optimised production), reduction in numbers of loss-making enterprises, by growth and increase in efficiency of production and due to a substantial increase in earnings of many partnerships. However, even despite the positive trends current financial position of most agricultural enterprises does not meet the requirements for development in agriculture, with the rate of TFA (tangible fixed assets) depreciation achieving 50% (of that, depreciation of machinery stands at 70%). The earnings are moderate even in profit making enterprises, with 75% of those enterprises making only up to SKK 1.5 million in earnings.

A full liberalisation of the sugar market is hardly acceptable for Slovakia, because it would significantly affect not only the economic performance and employment across different sectors, but also their production structures, particularly in the farming-intensive regions. We nonetheless believe that the reform is necessary as the sugar sector remains the last unreformed CAP sector in the EU, which puts it in a better position vis-ŕ-vis other producers and farms. On the other hand, the justified claims of producers for the compensation of losses, similarly as the claims laid during the 1992 CAP reform, would disrupt the EAGGF budgetary framework through 2013, because only the claims of Slovak sugar beet producers would amount to some € 200 million during 2010-2015. We believe that the solution and consensus lies in the combination of reforms based on the scenarios of fixed quotas and falling prices, and/or the application of the "Midway situation" after 2011. The alternative setting of quotas, based the administratively assessed production efficiency levels for the individual EU countries, would also be unacceptable for Slovakia. In the recent past, the volume of investments in the Slovak sugar industry has been considerable and the most viable sugar refineries have already emerged from the selection process. The situation in the sugar beet sector is similar and the results of the "Fall in Prices" scenario until 2011 are largely similar to the situation before the accession to the EU.

In 1986 (1987) research plots were established in a forest stands on the south-western slope of Šerlich Mt., Orlické hory Mts. (Kristina Colloredo-Mansfeld - Forest Administration Opočno), at the altitude of 950 to 970 m, to study deposition, chemistry of precipitation and soil water and development of soil chemistry. The plots were established on a clear-cut area, in a young stand and a mature stand of spruce, in a mature beech stand, and in an advanced growth of spruce and European mountain ash. The content of solutes in creek water was studied at the same time. Since 1993 the concentration of substances in precipitation water intercepted in the summit part of Šerlich Mt. has been measured. Research on water chemistry in the stands terminated in 1997. Soil analyses were done in 1986 (1987), 1993 and 1999. The load of acid air pollutants in these forest ecosystems was high in the eighties. After 1991 the deposition of H⁺, S/SO₄^2-, N/NO₃^- + NH₄⁺, Mn, Zn, Al decreased. Similarly, an increase in pH was observed in soil water, and the concentrations of SO₄^2-, and N, Al compounds decreased. But in 1993 the concentrations of SO₄^2- and Al increased again under the spruce stand for several months. The concentrations of NO₃^-, Mn, Zn and Al in the stream water also gradually decreased in the nineties. On the contrary, the average values of S-ions increased compared to those of 1987 to 1991. Strongly acid soil reaction developed in deeper layers until 1993. In the second half of the nineties the pH/H₂O value somewhat increased again, however the reserve of K, Mg, Ca available cations in the mineral soil constantly decreased. The saturation of sorption complex by basic cations in the lower layer of rhizosphere did not reach even 10% in 1999. The forest ecosystems of Šerlich Mt. were also loaded by a high fall-out of Pb, and increased fall-out of Cu. The lack of balance of N-compound transformations and consumption in the soil and increased leaching of N in the form of nitrates contribute to soil acidification on the investigated plots.

The aim of the experiment in test station was to evaluate productive performance with respect to feeding-technologies through the test for LWs × (LW×L) genotype in pigs. The productive performance as growth capacity, feeding intake and quantitative traits of slaughter value was examined for 144 hybrid pigs divided in two identical groups, where the 1st group was fed ad-libitum and the 2nd one semi-ad-libitum. On the base of profit formula, the ad-libitum system of feeding in pigs is better in all economic features.

New Economy deals with competitiveness analysed by international comparative advantage of commodity and regional trade. According to New Economy we are forced to quantify the contribution of tradable goods and services into international competitiveness. New Economy shifts the current national competitiveness into a higher comparative advantage of comparable commodities of the world competitiveness. The methodology of calculation of domestic inputs and outputs is expanded by inputs and outputs of the comparable countries, integrated territories or also international agro-commodity trade.

Different transformations of RGB colour space were compared to develop the best method for discrimination of vegetation from the background in open pure cork oak stands in southern Portugal in high-resolution colour imagery. Normalised difference index, i1i2i3 colour space and other indices developed for classic band imagery were recalculated for near infrared imagery and tested. A new method for fully automated thresholding was developed and tested. The newly developed index shows the equal accuracy performance but provides the smallest overestimation error and retains the largest scale of grey levels for a subsequent shape analysis.

Measurement of business performance by using the value of a firm represents a modern tool of financial management. The paper deals with this problem and discusses basic methodological approaches to the determination of farm's value, especially by means of methods based on the estimation of future revenues.

Based on extensive literature review, the characteristics of a learning organisation are depicted as a starting point to define a pragmatic tool to assess the level to which an organisation meets the individual characteristics of learning organisation. The tool is designed as a matrix combining eight characteristics of learning organisation with four improvement levels including feedback loop. This tool has been tested in 9 organisations and the examples of information gathered through this exercise are provided and discussed.

Forest management in the Czech Republic (CR) was not shaped in the environment of natural forests but in the territory that was influenced by unregulated felling and animal grazing for a long time. Hence the fear for sustainable and balanced benefits from forests endangered by long-term uncontrolled exploitation was legitimate. Almost after three centuries of application of the sustainability principle, forests are considered not only as a source of renewable wood raw material but also as a tool of the environment formation. Mountain forests are an important landscape component of this country. They are an object of specific importance from the aspect of natural environment conservation, stabilization of natural processes and general landscape homeostasis. In addition, they fulfil a number of production and non-production functions. Cardinal elements of sustainable forest management in the CR conditions are as follows: management of the forest as an ecosystem, i.e. transition from exclusive care of forest tree species and their stands to care of the whole forest ecosystems; restructuring (conversion, reconstruction) of damaged and declining forests; optimum (species, genetic, spatial, age) structure of forest ecosystems differentiated according to site conditions and management targets; differentiated transition from general management to group or individual methods; utilization and support of spontaneous processes such as natural regeneration, competition and other principles of self-regulation. The above cardinal elements of sustainable forest management are applicable to forests of the CR in general, but their importance considerably increases in mountain forests where many species survive on the margin of subsistence. Moreover, mountain forests of CR have been heavily destroyed by anthropogenic factors, especially air-pollution ecological stresses, during the last three or four decades.

The article deals with the identification and categorisation of economic power of Slovak regions on the base of collecting of unemployment support payment from the employers, employees, and natural persons entrepreneurs into the employment fund. The analysis shows that during the last years, the number of rich regions has decreased and there rises the number of counties which have to be supported by the division of means from the rich counties. The article consequently categorises the development of economically strong and weak counties of Slovakia in the years 1999-2002 and marks the causes of regional polarisation of Slovakia, lying in its economic and structural difficulties. Alongside increasing the regional polarisation in the rate of unemployment, there continues to rise the re-distribution of funds for labour-market policy from the economically stronger regions to the economically weaker regions, which are reliant on socio-spatial solidarity. The course of economic transformation up to date has had significantly different regional impacts and creates unequal chances for people as well as businesses in the afflicted areas.

The paper is examining the productivity of production factors in the EU-15 and some of the New Member States. International comparison shows that Slovakia is considerably lagging behind the EU-15 countries in the productivity of land and productivity of labour, but it is rather competitive in productivity of the fixed and variable capital. In order to get comparable data, the author adjusted figures on production of agricultural activities published in the Economic Accounts of Agriculture, and excluded the influence of different price - and support levels in the EU-15 and New Member Countries.

The paper deals with the occurrence, development and natural enemies of the cecidogenous aphid Pemphigus gairi Stroyan (Pemphigidae). The aphid abundantly occurred on leaves of Populus nigra and P. nigra var. italica in Brno in 2003. It was described from England and no information on its occurrence is available in literature from continental Europe. It refers to a holocyclic and heteroecious species. In localities under study, larvae of fundatrices hatched mainly in the last decade of April. Through their sucking on the abaxial face of freshly unfolded leaves of poplars, species-unspecific lengthwise tile-like galls originate on the adaxial face of leaves (near the central leaf vein). During 12 to 14 days, fundatrices mature in galls of an average length and width 11.2 and 3.9 mm, respectively. Adults live about 1.5 months, namely max. until mid-July. They produce on average 75.6 fundatrigeniae which mature to winged migrantes alatae in the course of 16 days. In the period of hatching the first migrants (at the end of May), galls grow up to the final length of about 11.8 mm and width 4.7 mm. In primary slit-shaped caps on the abaxial face of leaves, migrants leave the galls through emergence holes. In a secondary host (Aethusa cynapium, Daucaceae), they produce on average about 17.5 larvae of exules. Owing to natural enemies (above all true bugs of the species Anthocoris minki), aphids die in 90% of galls.

Economic efficiency in farming is achieved as a result of manager's skills and proper technologic equipment available on the farm suitable for carrying out husbandry operations. Applying skilled management to the whole business of farming is of an extraordinary importance, too. The manager should be equipped with more or less sophisticated software that would make his decision making process more professional and adequate to (generaly) production conditions. Such software (program) will allow proving his technological conception by economic calculations and proper tests. An Agricultural Technology Management Program AGRO-EXPERT has been conceived and is discussed in this paper. The authors analyze situation in appearance of such programs and conditions/information necessary for their correct (adequate) functions.

The paper is oriented on the argumentation of real and potential problems and challenges, which are a basis for the formation of a new strategy for the Czech agriculture and for a new conception of the Czech agricultural policy for the period after EU accession. Based on the arguments, goals of the new strategy are derived, to be discussed with a broader professional public. Possible fields of measures of the government to provide the strategic goals are presented to the conclusion.

The article deals with characteristics of local communities and rural regions. Local communities are defined both according to the standards of population density and the number of inhabitants. In the article, there are treated especially the indicators of population development (balance of migration), economic activities of the inhabitants, unemployment rates, structures of the population according to the sector of national economy and the indicators of education. These indicators have been calculated on the basis of data of the Census 2001, municipal and regional statistics and the Department of Employment data concerning the unemployment rate.

The paper describes the policy, legislative and organisational context and structure of financing the forestry from public funds in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland and Slovenia in the 90's. The first half of the nineties was the period of the most significant changes, whereas more stable and systematic financing of forestry was generally started in the second half of the nineties. The supported activities reflected main problems and challenges facing the forestry in individual countries. In the Czech Republic the substantial support was designed for protective measures and restitution of damaged stands. In Poland, the increase of forest area and restitution of forest stands damaged by air-pollution were the priority. Slovenian budget supported mainly the improvement of road infrastructure, forest management planning, as well as sustainable utilisation of forests through marking of trees for cutting. Estonian forestry received the relatively lowest subsidies allocated mainly to the preparation of management plans and extension services. Subsidies were the most important instruments of support. In Poland, however, tax exemptions and concessions were significantly higher than the value of financial means allocated from the public funds.

The article summarizes findings drawn form the research carried on within the European project "Best e-European Practices" with a focus on digital SMEs only. Case studies are used to describe good practices. Cases studies are coded structurally using a set of indicators for each success factor and thus provide for learning of the potential users. Synthesis and generalization has been done on factors explaining motivations for introducing e-practices, the results firms seek to achieve and the benefits from the adoption of digital technologies.

The goal of the paper is to identify opportunities following from the use of theory of modern marketing in the business practice in terms to reach competitiveness in the global food market. The paper analyses in details the competitive advantages related to individual marketing tools as well as using some up-to-date marketing tactics with the goal to attract a customer. In addition to the most effective use of marketing tools, we define the role of marketing in the global market space and distinguish the local, regional and global extend of marketing activities.

The paper deals with the determination of the rate of damage by deer barking and browsing, the subsequent rot caused by Stereum sanguinolentum and the rate of its progress, elucidates causes of damage and quantifies volume and financial losses in the region of Forest Range Mořkov, Forest District Frenštát pod Radhoštěm. In the most damaged 2^nd age class, decay by Stereum sanguinolentum was recorded in 59% of damaged trees. The progress of rot ranged from 1 to 70 cm/year. The high number of red deer is considered to be the main reason of extensive damage by bark stripping in the Forest Range Mořkov. The actual financial loss caused by depreciation of wood by the rot is greatest in the 5^th age class amounting to CZK 64,320 per ha.