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Two Hanwoo steers were emergency-slaughtered due to symptoms of urethral obstruction. The steers were of the same age and were raised using the same feed management. The remaining 22 cattle in the finishing period showed no symptoms of urinary calculi until 30 months of age and were examined for the presence of bladder calculi when slaughtered. Bladder calculi were observed in 11 of 22 steers at slaughter (50%) and cystitis occurred in 13 of 22 steers (59.1%). There was a significant relationship between the presence of bladder calculi and the incidence of cystitis (P < 0.05).

The host resistance level of pure line materials was assessed in the genepool for the purpose of breeding. The highest resistance to the pathogen was observed in bell-type pepper. Moreover, genetic diversity of pure lines was investigated using selected inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers. Generally, genetic markers showed genetic diversity, so that long-type pure lines were separated from the other accessions. This is the first report on host reactions of Turkish pure lines as breeding material. These results provide significant information for future pepper breeding programs.

The negative consequences faced by the entire planet, the intensification of natural disasters, global warming, lowering the level of groundwater, deforestation, deterioration of corals and the underwater world, soil degradation, and the change of species diversity, testify to the necessity of introducing reforms in the agricultural-food complex. Fulfilling such a goal and creating added value of innovation potential can only be created in the conditions of functioning structures strengthened by system support, which requires reviewing and introducing change in food systems. The recent financial crisis, later the pandemic, and the current going military conflict in Ukraine, caused problems in supplier-customer relations, and made humanity feel how the issue of food security and self-sufficiency can be easily and quickly disrupted. If farmers and food producers are to be able to respond to challenges and at the same time ensure the EU’s strategic goals, it is necessary to have support in research and innovation. Agricultural research and innovation in the EU is characterised by a long-term strategic approach that focuses on creating value from the land through sustainable primary production and strengthening rural innovation. It is an important tool in the fight against challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss. In view of the above, it is necessary to transform food systems, apply regenerative agriculture, introduce alternative land-saving farming systems, observe the principles of sowing procedures and greater diversification of crops in the sowing procedure, reduce the consumption of agrochemicals, naturally integrate plant and animal production into agricultural business entities in relation to the circular economy, use farm waste for bioenergy production, protect agricultural land, implement measures to retain water in the country and support regions

To determine the best phosphorus (P) fertilizer management strategy in chernozem soil in the semi-arid region of Northeast China, a field experiment under film mulched drip irrigation was conducted for two consecutive years. Five P application methods were tested, including no P fertilizer applied (P0); P fertilizer one-time basal application (P1); one fertigation one time (P2); fertigation twice (P3) and fertigation four times (P4). The shoot dry matter weight, phosphorus accumulation, yield and POlsen in soil were measured regularly during the maize growing season. The results demonstrated that P fertilizer application methods imposed significant effects on dry shoot matter, the apparent P loss, P fertilizer use efficiency and yield of maize (P < 0.05). The yield, P agrinomic efficiency and P recovery efficiency of P4 treatment were significantly higher than P1 treatment by 4.2, 39.7, and 66.4% across two year. In addition, P4 treatment significantly enhanced the shoot dry matter weight after V12 stage, post-silking P uptake and reduced the apparent P loss. In conclusion, P fertigation and a rational frequency (e.g., fertigation four times) enable to keep the maximum grain yield, the shoot dry matter, and recovery efficiency of P fertilizer (66.4%) though changing agronomic methods for efficient acquisition of P toward a sustainable and productive agricultural fertigation system.

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

A number of variables influences potatoes growing, including natural conditions, used growing technologies and market conditions. The most important parameters for the production of potatoes crops are yield, farmer's price, subsidies and costs. All these parameters can change over time. This means that managers of farms must constantly assess the key parameters affecting the economic outturn and analyse the degree of risk of their achievement. This article analyses the economic risks of potatoes cultivation based on statistical data obtained over the last 10 years. The Monte Carlo stochastic simulation method was used to analyse the risk of gross profits. The results of the calculations confirmed the considerable variability and risk of growing potatoes in the climate conditions of the Czech Republic in general, and especially regarding the first early potatoes and potatoes for starch production.

A study of work accidents in forests has shown that dangerous trees play an important role in forest accidents. Despite the importance of safe working environments for forestry operations, the definition of these areas in natural forests is still unclear. Dangerous trees are considered those snagged with broken branches and a canopy or ones with dead trunks and stumps that have a hazard potential to the forest workers. This study investigates the frequency of these trees in the managed and unmanaged forests in the Caspian forests of Iran. In order to do the study, 15 circular plots with a total area of 1,000 square metres in two studied parcels were selected and the trees, according to their dangerous characteristics, were evaluated. The final results indicated that 66 and 50 trees per hectare had signs of being dangerous trees in the managed and unmanaged stand, respectively. A comparison of the average number of dangerous trees in the two studied parcels using the Mann-Whitney test indicated a significant difference so that the average number of dangerous trees in the managed parcel was more than the ummanaged parcel. Trees with broken branches had the highest frequency in the managed stand, while trees with a dead trunk or stump, a broken branch and canopy in the unmanaged forest were more than the other classes. Considering the relative frequency of the dangerous trees in the two study areas, identifying them could be one of the main attempts in logging safety. The existence of hazardous trees with different risk classes in each of the forest stands requires the development of specific safety instructions to deal with the risks of each tree.

Spoilage bacteria were isolated from spoiled fruit-flavoured bottled water with a visual defect in the form of floating flocks. The bacteria were identified as Asaia lannensis using the PCR technique. The efficacy of five chemical agents commonly used in the beverage industry and of power ultrasound (PUS) on Asaia biofilms was studied. A static cultivation procedure on stainless steel plates was used and the efficacy of the chemical agents was tested in two stages. First, only the chemical agents were used. Second, the effect of the application of PUS for 1 min prior to the application of the chemical agents was tested. The most effective chemical agent was the one based on peracetic acid. Its use without PUS proved to be more effective than a combination of any of the other chemical agents with PUS. The least effective methods included the physical sanitation by PUS, the chemical agent based on a 10% solution of sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide, and the chemical agent containing a 0.3% solution of chlorine dioxide.

A survey of the pond system in Veľké Blahovo, Dunajská Streda district, Slovak Republic, confirmed the occurrence of tapeworms in carp with a prevalence of 63.5% and mean intensity of 1.7 ± 2.72. The species Khawia sinensis and Atractolytocestus huronensis were identified. We attempted to reduce the occurrence of tapeworms using a medicated feed mixture (granules) with 1% fenbendazole as active substance under controlled conditions. Faeces collected from carp (K2) were examined and the presence of tapeworm eggs was confirmed by the flotation method. Positive carp were divided into three groups; each group, labelled F1 to F3, included 15 individuals. The carp were placed in concrete pools (storage ponds) nourished by fish pond water at the peak of the vegetation period from August 7-17, 2015. The medicated feed mixture was administered to the first two groups (F1 and F2), while the third group was fed with a non-medicated feed mixture and served as the control (F3). A single dose was administered to the F1 group; tapeworm prevalence 24 hours after administration in the F1 group was 26.66% with a mean intensity of 1.3 ± 0.57. The F2 group was fed three times in total with 24-hour intervals between feeding. Tapeworm prevalence 24 hours after the last administration in the F2 group was 13.33% with a mean intensity of 2.0 ± 0.77. The prevalence in the control group was 66.66% with a mean intensity of 2.2 ± 1.62. Khawia sinensis tapeworms responded well to fenbendazole, while A. huronensis tapeworms responded poorly and, despite repeated administration of the active substance, this species remained attached to the intestinal mucosa. When compared with the control group, the reduction in the number of tapeworms was statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05) in the F2 group; however, it was not statistically significant in the F1 group.

Nowadays, quadrupedal locomotion information is well established for dogs, horses, and pigs, and kinetic systems have been widely used for sensitive and reliable gait analysis. However, few studies have investigated cat locomotion and the data available are confusing and restricted, especially in relation to jumping. In addition, it has been suggested that several factors, including the influence of the body weight (BW), may be associated with the collection of the kinetic data measurements in dogs. This raises the question of whether the BW would influence the kinetic data measurements in cats. Therefore, this study was aimed at comparing the kinetic parameters of the landing during the jumping in cats with different BWs and to determine the associations between the BW and the kinetic parameters. Twelve client-owned cats were sub-divided into two groups based on the BW and were categorised as a thin group and a heavy group. Each cat was encouraged to jump from a table (1.0 m) onto a force plate several times. The trials were considered to be valid if the cat jumped normally onto the plate and then continued to walk forward. The kinetic parameters including the peak vertical force (PVF) and the vertical impulse (VI) were obtained for each limb. In addition, correlations between the PVF, VI, and BW and the symmetry index (SI) of the forelimbs and hindlimbs were also determined. Most of the kinetic parameters of the thin cats were significantly smaller than the heavy cats during the landing and these values increased as the BW increased, while the normalised PVF and VI of the forelimbs were significantly smaller in the heavy cats than in the thin cats. In addition, for both groups, the non-normalised or normalised PVF and VI were significantly larger in the forelimbs than the hindlimbs, and the SI of the PVF was significantly smaller at the forelimbs than in the hindlimbs. In conclusion, the results of this study showed substantial similarities and differences during the landing between thin and heavy cats. These findings should provide more reference data for the biomechanical motion analysis related to jumping in clinically intact cats.

Whole genome sequences of three Czech Pea seed-borne mosaic virus isolates belonging to P1 pathotype and causing different symptom intensity were obtained. Using RDP4 analysis the natural recombinant isolate PSB204CZ bearing two breakpoints in nucleotide positions 4053 and 6080 was identified. The isolate was composed of fragment 2028 nt in length partially covering CI and 6K2 regions of the minor parent (PSB262CZ) incorporated into the major parent (PSB194CZ). The results suggest that the observed recombination in CI-6K2 region is responsible for severity of developed symptoms. This observation detected for the first time natural recombination within PSbMV isolates of an important pathogen of leguminous plants.

The effect of taxifolin (TXF) with starter cultures (SC), such as Leuconostoc carnosum, or a mixture of strains Pediococcus pentosaceus and Staphylococcus xylosus, on the TXF stability was evaluated. UPLC analysis demonstrated that after 181 days of storage total TXF content was the highest in samples with TXF and L. carnosum (60%), compared to the 1st day of storage. The sausages with TXF and the mixture of P. pentosaceus and S. xylosus (56%) followed next. The samples treated only with TXF retained 40% of TXF, compared to the 1st day of storage. TXF had no significant effect on the growth of lactic acid bacteria. The accumulation of biogenic amines (BA), including histamine and putrescine, was more effectively reduced in sausages inoculated with the TXF plus P. pentosaceus and S. xylosus mixture. Using this mixture, the rate of lipolysis and processes of lipid oxidation were effectively slowed down. Fatty acid (FA) composition was stable in all cases.

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

Red pigmentation of the skin is an important consumer trait in peach (Prunus persica). The pigment consists largely of anthocyanin. Here, a transcriptomic contrast, based on RNA-Seq technology, was drawn between a white-skinned (Feitao) and a red-skinned (Qiuxue) peach cultivar. The analysis identified 2407 genes as differentially transcribed in the fruit skin of the two cultivars. Among these were a number of genes known to contribute to anthocyanin synthesis. A quantitative real-time PCR assay was used to validate the RNA-Seq-based estimates of transcript abundance for 14 differentially transcribed genes. Anthocyanin synthesis was observed in the skin of Qiuxue fruit during the late ripening stage, matching the high transcript abundance of the gene encoding UDP glucose: flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase, the final step in the synthesis of anthocyanin.

In 2014, the journal Plant Protection Science (PPS) completes 50 years of publication (1965-2014). However, its roots extend back to the year 1921. Today, it is an international scientific journal focused on all aspects of plant protection sciences, fully published in English. This occasion offers a fitting opportunity to describe some of the most important historical stages of the journal's development. In our brief historical overview, we summarise the changes in journal title, chief-editors, and editorial policy during the last fifty years, and with an examination of its importance, scope and readership. We present analyses of the journal's development, some for the entire period of 1965-2013, while others are limited to more recent decades. The journal's present place among the world's scientific journals is documented by analyses in the international citation databases, BIOSIS CI, SCOPUS, and WOS. An analysis of three particular citation databases were made in October 2013, while the overall period 1998-2013 was conducted from All Databases/Thomson Reuters in March 2014. PPS is also included in other, important technical-literature databases, including Czech Agricultural and Food Bibliography, AGRIS/FAO database, AGRICOLA, CAB Abstracts, Current Contents, and Zoological Abstracts. Information about all of them is available in Ulrich's WEB database. In the final part of this paper, we summarise some recent achievements of the journal, and discuss some key topics related to its future development.

Endophytic fungi are widespread in plants and affect the host fitness and population size. We found 12 fungal taxa in C. secalina, a critically endangered species in several European countries, at two study sites in Poland. The most frequently occurring fungal taxa were Colletotrichum destructivum and Acremonium sp. Both taxa were found in half of the examined tussocks. The highest number of fungal taxa was noted in the C. secalina plants growing in the roadside area, where 7 of the 12 identified fungal taxa occurred. These fungi, inhabiting leaf tissues, are known for their pathogenicity but no visible symptoms of any diseases were observed on C. secalina leaves. This suggests that these fungi are latent pathogens.

The nutritional status of winter oilseed rape (WOSR) during its vegetative period is crucial for plant growth and can be used for the seed yield prediction. This hypothesis was verified based on the data from long-term field experiments. The experiment consisted of four potassium (K) treatments based on the progressive K supply potential to plants from soil and fertilizer and two magnesium treatments (-Mg, +Mg) conducted in 2013-2015. The content of nutrients (N_tot, P, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu) was determined at the rosette stage (BBCH 30) for leaves and separately for leaves and stems in the late stage of inflorescence growth (BBCH 57-59). The low K content appeared as the key limiting nutrient in WOSR plants in the rosette stage due to the insufficient soil fertility level, depended even more on weather conditions. This negative K nutritional trait persisted through the whole vegetative WOSR growth. Its detection was possible, because stems were included in the diagnostic procedure. The most reliable prognosis of WOSR yield was conducted based on the nutritional status of stems in the late stage of the inflorescence development.

A simulation model was developed for secondary tillage and sowing operations in autumn, using discrete event simulation technique in Arena^® simulation software (Version 14). Eight machinery sets were evaluated on a 50-hectare farm. Total costs including fixed-costs, variable costs and timeliness costs were calculated for each machinery set. Timeliness costs were estimated for 21-years period on daily basis (Daily Work method) and compared with another method (Average Work method) based on the equation proposed by ASAE Standards, EP 496.3FEB2006. The Inputs of the model were machinery sets, field size, machines performances and daily soil workability state. The optimization criteria were the lowest costs and lowest standard deviation in daily work method plus the lowest costs based on average work method. The validity of the model was evaluated by comparing the output of the model with field observed data collected from various farms. Results revealed that there was no significant difference (P > 0.01) between the observed and predicted finish day.

For the period 2007-2013 LEADER became the fourth axis of rural development policy. One of the main characteristics of LEADER is that it adopts a bottom-up approach. Local Action Groups (LAGs) have to define and implement area-based local development strategies (LDSs). In this paper, we examine the relationship between variety in the LDSs implemented by LAGs and employment safeguarding over the programming period 2007-2013 in Andalusia, the most populated region of Spain. Firstly, we construct several indicators to capture differences in the number of projects carried out, the grants awarded, the investments made and the safeguarded employment. Secondly, we carry out an exploratory factor analysis. We use cluster analysis to classify LAGs applying similar LDSs. The results obtained show that there is no ideal strategy for employment safeguarding and that spending high amounts of money in a few numbers of projects does not guarantee success. Thus, most LAGs do not show any clear specialisation pattern but obtain moderate results in terms of employment safeguarding. This supports the idea that LAGs need to have sufficient flexibility to find a balance among the different objectives of the rural development policy and to translate this balance into the funding of projects.

We conducted to describe methods used to differentiate the zones of juvenile and mature wood in stems of coniferous species and to present the importance of good identification of the shares of both types of wood to ensure a rational use of the raw material and final quality of wood products. This study describes in more detail a novel method to separate the juvenile and mature wood tissue in stems of European larch using cluster analysis in the form of the k-means algorithm. Moreover, guidelines were also shortly described for forest management which could result in a reduction of the share of juvenile wood in stems of forest trees.

In the last few years, it has become easier to diagnose congenital brain malformations in dog's ante-mortem. This is probably due to the wider availability of advanced diagnostic imaging, in particular computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Despite this, there is still not much literature available about potential treatments, outcome and overall prognosis with respect to the patient's quality of life. We present three cases of Dandy-Walker malformation in Polish hunting dogs with up to five years follow up including assessment of their quality of life. A nine-week-old Polish hunting dog was presented with progressive signs of ataxia that had developed over the preceding few weeks. MRI revealed a Dandy-Walker malformation. The dog underwent MRI at the ages of 12 and 36 months, and his neurological condition was followed for five years. No other subsequent abnormities were found on further diagnostic tests. The dog showed transient behavioural problems which improved after castration and training. The ataxia seen at first visit improved with time and intensive physiotherapy, and the dog was considered to have a good quality of life in the owner's eyes. A further two cases shared a similar disease course. Dandy-Walker malformation was confirmed with MRI, but diagnostic imaging could not be reported here because the owner did not consent to publication. The Dandy-Walker malformations described in these three Polish hunting dogs had a stable disease course and revealed that dogs suffering from this condition may have a good quality of life, providing no other abnormalities are detected and rehabilitation is performed.

A 6-month-old crossbred of a Holstein and Japanese Black heifer calf weighing 95 kg presented with a history of intermittent abdominal distension and failure to thrive. The physical examination identified a pinging sound over the dorsal left flank. The abdominal radiography showed a huge gas-filled mass. The intravenous urography revealed no communication between the mass and the urinary bladder. Although the visual examination and palpation of the umbilicus did not reveal visible abnormalities, an umbilical disease was suspected because the animal exhibited poor growth, depression, and a hunched back posture. When the eschar adhering to the centre of the umbilicus was removed, the presence of a fistulous tract was revealed. The umbilical ultrasound examination revealed an intra-abdominal abscess and the fistulography demonstrated that the abscess communicated with the umbilicus. The abscess, compressing into the rumen, was observed by computed tomography. From these images, it was diagnosed as an umbilical cord remnant abscess and a definitive diagnosis of a urachal abscess was obtained by open abdominal surgery and the subsequent removal of the mass. The calf was discharged from the university hospital on day 14 after the operation. This case shows that a urachal abscess should be considered when a pinging sound is present, even if the animal exhibits no swelling or pain of the umbilicus.

An experimental population commonly used in genetic analyses of gene or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in rice is chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs). In the present study, with the typical indica variety Guangluai 4 as a donor and japonica variety Taichung 65 as a recipient, seven CSSLs carrying F₁ pollen sterility genes S-b, S-d, S-e, S-b/S-d, S-b/S-e, S-d/S-e, and S-b/S-d/S-e were obtained by specific selection for the target genes, non-specific selection for the genome of the recurrent parents in four backcross populations (BC₁F₂, BC₂F₂, BC₃F₂ and BC₃F₃). We evaluated the genetic effect of the F₁ pollen sterility genes using 35 F₁ hybrid individuals in crosses derived from CSSLs and Taichung 65. Pollen fertility of F₁ hybrid plants was observed and the results indicated that the single genes S-b, S-d and S-e can cause 67.7%, 14.6% and 53.2% of pollen sterility, respectively. Multiple genes S-b/S-d, S-b/S-e, S-d/S-e, and S-b/S-d/S-e can cause 76.6%, 85%, 68.7%, and 93% of pollen sterility, respectively.

Forests in central Europe were affected by heavy bark beetle outbreak during the years 2014–2022. Decline of Norway spruce brought other species of forest trees, including the fir, to the fore. The nutritional level of silver fir is one of the studied topics. Needles in 14 Norway spruce (NS) – silver fir (SF) mixed forest stands from 4 regions in the Czech Republic have been sampled to survey their nutrition level. Nutrition of NS is often near or below the deficiency limit, while nutrition of SF was assessed as sufficient or good. Differences between both regions and tree species were found. SF drew more nutrients from the soil profile than NS on the same forest site. Differences between NS and SF in nutrient concentrations in needles were significant for N, Ca, Mg, Zn and S and non-significant for P and K.

Regarding the increased surface runoff from production areas, wide-row crops grown on slopes are considered risk crops. By reducing the surface runoff, it is possible to mitigate the negative effects on both the soil and the plants and positively influence the subsequent production, e.g., after application of de-stoning before planting. During this research, the tied ridging method was applied during planting by a two-row planter in both central and tractor trail furrows in potato rows and on the slope of 8.8% compared to a control plot without this treatment. Rainfall and surface water runoff were monitored, and the crop yields were compared. During three monitored years, up to 86% of the runoff water in the central furrows was saved compared to the control, whereas it was up to 72% in the wider furrows for tractor travel. The total yield was increased on the treated area, however, the increase could not be statistically proven.

Major genes could be introgressed into laying hens to attenuate heat stress. However, under cold and/or moderate ambient temperature, these genes might possess different behaviour. The main objective of this study was to evaluate laying performance, immune response, and antioxidant status of native laying hens segregating for naked neck (Na) and frizzle (F) genes under low ambient temperature. Five genotypes were studied: homozygous naked neck (NaNaff), heterozygous naked neck (Nanaff), homozygous frizzle (nanaFF), heterozygous frizzle (nanaFf), and normally feathered (nanaff). The hens were raised under temperature range 22.2-16.7°C. No adverse effect due to ambient temperature was detected in laying performance for naked neck genotypes. Significant decrease in egg weight was recorded in nanaFF genotype compared to the other genotypes leading to significant decrease in egg mass. Significant improvement in shell thickness was associated with Na and F genes. NaNaff genotype had a significantly higher eggshell strength compared to nanaff. Furthermore, Na and F genes improved cellular mediated immune responsiveness, whereas this improvement did not extend to humoral immunity. Birds carrying F gene in homozygous state had a higher total antioxidant activity compared to the remaining genotypes. It could be concluded that the presence of Na and F genes in laying hens raised under low ambient temperature significantly increased shell thickness and, in turn, improved shell strength. Moreover, they greatly enhanced cellular immunity, particularly in heterozygous naked neck status.

Growth and flowering of lachenalia 'Romaud' was studied with reference to its commercial potential as pot plant and the need to obtain flowering plants at a specific time. The experiment was carried out in a heated glasshouse. Lachenalia bulbs were planted in November, December, January and February. The plants were exposed to two lighting regimes, natural lighting and natural lighting with supplemental irradiation (HPS lamps). The later the planting date was, the faster the bulbs flowered, and they produced thicker inflorescence stems with greater number of florets. Depending on the bulb planting date and light conditions, the plants flowered from February to May. The leaves obtained from the bulbs planted in November and December were longer than those produced by the bulbs planted in January and February. Compared with control, supplemental irradiation accelerated flowering by 10-13 days and positively affected plant features by promoting the growth of thicker inflorescence stems with more abundant and longer florets. The leaves of irradiated bulbs were shorter (apart from the bulbs planted in February) and were characterised by a higher content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll a + b and carotenoids as compared with control. Plants grown under HPS light also had the higher dry weight of bulbs, leaves and stems.

Švihov dam, the largest drinking water source in the Czech Republic and Central Europe, has problems with eutrophication. The Švihov dam catchment spreads over 1200 km² and supplies over 1.5 million people in the capital of Prague and the Central Bohemian region with drinking water. Due to intensive agricultural activities and a lack of wastewater treatment plants in small settlements, the water quality is deteriorating. As a result, corrective measures need to be taken. Technological Agency of the Czech Republic supported this research which proposes different scenarios for a reduction of water quality degradation in the dam. The Trnávka dam watershed was chosen for study purposes as it occupies one quarter of the Švihov dam watershed. Hydrological balance was established using measured data. Point and non-point sources of nutrients were determined by field research and included in a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. This study aims to propose complex watershed management to improve the state of the environment in the entire area and to reduce eutrophication. Different management practices would reduce nutrient loads of streams and increase water quality which is the critical factor in dam eutrophication. This research brings methodology and systematic approach to integrated management, and can be applied not only for the Švihov dam, but also for other watersheds, including those which function as drinking water supply.

The main purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed overview of the theoretical insights and recent development trends on risk in agriculture. It focuses on the synthesis and analysis of the research studies published over the period from 2008 through 2018 and aims to identify major findings obtained over the recent decade and determine the areas for future research. This paper reviews a total of 397 unique publications retrieved from the international journals accessible in the Web of Science database. Based on different criteria deployed by the scientometric analysis, the selected articles have been reviewed and classified. The bibliometric analysis includes the citation volumes, authors, names of journals, research areas, affiliations, and contributing countries. The network analysis includes the examination of keywords. This article provides an opportunity for scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers to understand and manage risk in agriculture and at the same time presents a roadmap for future research in this field.

Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) is one of the major forest pests and causes serious damage especially to pine trees. Mechanical and chemical methods are used in the control of this pest in Turkey's forests. In recent years, a chemical control has been the most preferred method against this pest. Due to the chemical control's harmful effects on the environment and the human health, alternative methods of control are being emphasised today. There are many studies on the use of plant oils against pests in agricultural areas. However, studies on the effect of plant oils against the pine processionary larvae are very limited. In this study, commercial oils containing 8 different essential oil types (thyme oil, peppermint oil, poppy oil, garlic oil, rosemary oil, pine oil, sage oil, lavender oil) were applied in 3 different doses (0.1%, 0.5%, 1%) and 4 repetitions against the pine processionary larvae. The experiments were conducted at 65% humidity and 25°C in laboratory conditions. The study was monitored for five days and the results were evaluated through the mortality rates. On the 5th day of the study, 1% dose of thyme oil was found to be most effective with 100% mortality followed by the poppy oil (95%), the sage oil (95%), the garlic oil (90%), the rosemary oil (70%), and the pine oil (45%). The peppermint (40%) and lavender oil used in the study were found to be ineffective. As a result of the study, it was determined that thyme oil, poppy oil, sage oil, and garlic oil were effective against the pine processionary larvae and that they had the potential to be used in the control of this pest.