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In this study, the effect of tine type, adding wing, operating depth and forward speed on the draft requirement of subsoil tillage tines was investigated in clay loam soil. Three subsoil tillage tines (subsoiler, bentleg and paraplow), four levels of forward speed (1.8, 2.3, 2.9 and 3.5 km/h), three levels of depth (30, 40 and 50 cm) and winged and no-wing tines were examined with the exception of bentleg as it would not be winged. It was revealed that draft of the tines is less affected by forward speed but is much affected by tine type, depth and wing. It was observed that an increase of speed and depth plus adding wing results in an increase of draft in all tines. Additionally, it was found that in all depths and speeds, subsoiler required more draft than paraplow and paraplow required more draft than bentleg. Multiple regression models including the studied parameters were developed to predict the draft requirements for each tine with high accuracy.

Thai economic growth lags behind all other ASEAN countries because its export dependence along with the political and economic vulnerabilities. With the growing bioeconomy worldwide, Thailand needs a clear bioeconomy roadmap as a new growth engine for its economy. Four potential clusters to build bioeconomy in Thailand include the bioenergy, bio-based industry, bio-food and bio-agriculture, and bio-medicine and health. There are roadmaps for only the first two clusters. The paper discusses the potential bio-based products for the bio-food and bio-agriculture as well as bio-medicine and health and proposes the use of the Pracharath strategy to build bioeconomy in Thailand with the main objective of creating the sustainable economy. Since a smart community is a key driver for the sustainable economy, five steps to smart community proposed in the paper will immune communities in the rural area of Thailand, make them self-reliant, and remove the dependency culture.

The purpose of this investigation was the identification of chicken, beef and sheep meat in pork sausages using PCR-RFLP and PCR with pecies-specific primers. Six dry fermented pork sausages were produced by adding beef, sheep and chicken meat to each in the amount of 1 and 5%. DNA was extracted from five regions of each sausage and PCR-RFLP together with PCR using species-specific primers was performed. PCR-RFLP analysis was successful only for chicken meat, while species-specific PCR was effective for identification of chicken, eef and sheep meat in all ratios and from all regions of the sausages. The results of our study show that discovering adulteration using PCR-RFLP is suitable only for chicken meat in the investigated products, while for detection of beef and sheep meat use of species-specific oligonucleotides is more effective.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of physical exercise (marcha gait) on heart rate variability indices in Mangalarga Marchador horses. Twenty-five animals, fourteen females and eleven males, aged 6.4 ± 2.7 years and with a mean weight of 428.3 ± 24.7 kg, were used. Electrocardiograms were recorded at two different time points: rest and immediately after exercise (40 min of aerobic exercise, marcha gait). Time domain analyses of heart rate variability were made using vasovagal tonus index (VVTI) and standard deviation of normal intervals (SDNN). Variables were analysed for normality using the Shapiro-Wilk test and comparisons were made between T0 and T1 using the paired t-test (VVTI) or Mann-Whitney (SDNN), considering P < 0.05. The Pearson coefficient was calculated to evaluate the correlation between heart rate and VVTI and the Spearman coefficient was calculated for heart rate and SDNN. There was an increase in heart rate after exercise (P < 0.0001), from 45.7 ± 12.7 to 77.3 ± 13.5 beats/min, and a reduced VVTI (P < 0.0001), from 8.66 ± 1.45 to 4.65 ± 1.25 and a reduced SDNN (P < 0.0001), from 80.09 to 11.67 ms. No correlation was observed between heart rate and VVTI or SDNN. It was possible to conclude that the physical activity carried out by Mangalarga Marchador horses influenced the autonomic response and consequently heart rate variability indexes, suggesting the possible use of these indices for the evaluation of Mangalarga Marchador performance.

In 2012-2015 the virulence of the wheat leaf rust (Puccinia triticina Eriks.) population was studied on Thatcher near-isogenic lines with Lr1, Lr2a, Lr2b, Lr2c, Lr3a, Lr9, Lr10, Lr11, Lr13, Lr15, Lr17, Lr19, Lr21, Lr23, Lr24, Lr26 and Lr28. Samples of leaf rust were obtained from different parts of the Czech Republic. A total of 163 wheat leaf rust isolates were analysed. No virulence for the resistance gene Lr9 was found. Virulence for Lr19 was found only in one isolate in 2015. A lower frequency of virulence to Lr24, Lr2a, 2b, 2c and Lr28 was also observed. The presence of Lr10, Lr24, Lr26, Lr28 and Lr37 in registered cultivars was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) molecular markers.

Key scale insects that have long been considered as having high economic importance in Tunisia and for which several research studies and pest management programs have been undertaken include the mealybug species Planococcus ficus (Signoret) and Planococcus citri Risso, the soft scale Saissetia oleae (Olivier) and the armoured scale Parlatoria ziziphi (Lucas). The host plants, bio-ecological aspects, auxiliary fauna of each of the aforementioned species as well as the related economic losses and pest management strategies adopted are explored and discussed. Among these species, P. ficus is considered herein as the most economically important in Tunisia. Still, the present contribution constitutes the first review article on key scale insects infesting plants in the South Mediterranean Maghreb area.

The reaction of IR 50, TRY 3, and IR 36 cultivars of rice to R. solani challenge, the causal agent of sheath blight, and its toxic metabolite was studied. Differential response of these cultivars to the pathogen and/or toxin inoculation was observed in detached leaf sheaths and greenhouse-grown plants. The observations were based on disease scoring, electrolyte leakage, and also microscopic views of infection cushions. The Osmyb4 gene expression was studied in the tissues from all these experiments and a correlation between the level of expression and disease response of the varieties was found at least in some experiments. The mechanisms regulated by Osmyb4 might have a lower but significant contribution to the tolerance of rice cultivars to sheath blight.

The effect of organic, mineral and combined organic and mineral fertilization of soils on the winter wheat yields and nutrient contents in soils was evaluated in long-term field experiments. Two sites with different soil characteristics were evaluated - Lukavec u Pacova (cambisol) and Ivanovice na Hané (degraded chernozem). The type of fertilization influenced wheat yields. Nutrient uptake by winter wheat was higher under nitrogen (N) fertilization, which resulted in a negative balance of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) and to a decrease of nutrient contents in the more fertile soils at Ivanovice na Hané. Two soil tests (Mehlich 3 method and NH₄-acetate method) were used to determine P and K availability. The mineral nitrogen fertilization negatively and significantly affected NH₄-acetate extractable concentrations of nutrients in the soils and these were lower in comparison with concentrations of P and K determined by Mehlich 3 method. Relative availability of P in alkaline soils from Ivanovice treated with mineral N increased while the soil pH decreased.

Vegetation restorations of degraded meadows have been widely implemented. The evaluation of soil nutrient changes as affected by degradation is vital for efficient restorations. However, while macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) have been widely investigated, sulfur (S) as one important element correlated tightly with other nutrients has not been thoroughly studied. Two studies were conducted to determine changes of sulfur as affected by degradation and elevation gradients. The results showed that available S (AS) changed non-linearly with elevation and the first principal component based on other soil nutrient variables. Soil AS depended on degradation levels and contributed substantially to the separation of meadows with different degradation levels. Moreover, AS responded stronger to changes in elevation gradients and degradation levels compared with other major nutrients. Thereby, AS could be an important nutrient responding to meadow disturbance, which should be considered in future studies on meadow soil nutrients cycling and vegetation restorations. The findings have implications for ecological restoration of degraded meadows with respect to soil nutrient management and conservations.

The influences of six different tillage treatments and five different crops on soil losses by water erosion were studied during a twenty-year period (1995-2014) on Stagnosol in central lowland Croatia. The aim of the study was to determine how the quantity of soil sediment, different tillage treatments and crops influence the particle size distribution (PSD) of soil sediment. During the studied period, total number of non-eroded soil samples was 60 and total number of soil sediments samples was 445. Significantly lower amounts of fine sand and higher amounts of clay and silt were determined in sediments compared to the non-eroded soil regardless of cover crop and tillage treatment, with the exception of bare cultivated soil. Generally, when quantities of soil sediments were higher, textural differences between non-eroded and eroded soil were lower. Very week negative correlation was determined between the quantity of soil sediment and the content of clay (r = -0.25) as well as the content of silt (r = -0.23). A very weak positive correlation (r = 0.23) was determined between the content of fine sand and the quantity of soil sediment, while non correlation (r = -0.02) was determined between the content of coarse sand and the quantity of soil sediment.

The paper investigates the innovation process in the Hungarian agri-food sector using the concept of open innovation. The empirical analysis is based on the data from a 2011 survey of more than 200 small and medium size agricultural producers, food processors and retailers. There is determined the impact of open innovation and a company's absorptive capacity on the innovation performance employing two stage approaches. First, a cluster analysis is applied to categorise companies based on their open innovation absorptive capacity, firm and managerial characteristics. Second, using semi-non parametric probit models, there is found that open innovation positively influences the innovation performance for the product and market innovation. Estimations indicate that the absorptive capacity has positive impacts on the technological- and organisational innovation and on innovation propensity. The results suggest that there exists a considerable heterogeneity both within and between the supply chain segments regarding to the innovation performance.

The giant liver fluke, Fascioloides magna, is of interest to wild-life managers, veterinarians and researchers, due to its unusual body size (3-10 cm), high pathogenic potential and because it is continuously spreading to new areas, especially in Europe. Annually, the number of cases of animal infections (mainly cervids and bovids) caused by this fluke is monitored in many European countries, including the Czech Republic (with some foci of prevalence over 90%). During the years 2009 and 2010, 1622 survey forms focused on monitoring of fascioloidosis were distributed in the community of "Czech Inspectors of Hunted Game" (CIHG), and 21.3% of forms containing positive or negative response about F. magna occurrence were returned. The administrative units monitored by particular CIHG, who answered the forms, were geographically equally distributed and therefore we believe that also the recorded distribution of F. magna in wild-life animals reflects the real situation in the Czech Republic. A significant number of cases of F. magna infection were repeatedly reported from areas in the south-west part of the Czech Republic. Moreover, our report contains also some unique records of several new F. magna foci in the western (close to the German border), northern (close to the Polish border) and central parts of the Czech Republic, supporting the assumption that the parasite is spreading further throughout Europe. In five game administrative units F. magna infection was directly confirmed by examination of dissected deer livers or by microscopic examination of coprological samples, followed by isolation of DNA from adults and eggs and further molecular analyses. Fascioloides magna intermediate host snails (Galba truncatula and Radix spp.) were collected during 2009 and 2010 from different localities of the Czech Republic, kept in aquaria, examined for shedding of F. magna cercariae, dissected and parasite/snail DNA was isolated. After PCR with specific primers for parasite/snail internal transcribed region number two (ITS-2) the obtained sequences confirmed identification of the following species: F. magna, G. truncatula, R. peregra, R. lagotis, R. labiata and R. auricularia. Although it has been demonstrated that the number of areas with positive cases of fascioloidosis is still growing, the risk of pathogenic impact of F. magna on populations of free-living animals and farming cervids/bovids is generally underestimated.

This article reports a case of a congenital unilateral forelimb defect in a two-month-old male puppy with clinical and radiographic findings. Congenital deformities are structural or functional congenital defects arising from errors during development, and they can affect an isolated portion of the body, the complete body or parts of several systems of the body. The congenital absence of a portion of the proximal epiphysis of the radius is an extremely rare condition in human and animal species. Although similar congenital limb deformities have been infrequently reported in dogs, the present case is, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first report of this type of partial forelimb paraxial radial hemimelia in a puppy, and it represents an addition to the scant literature on this topic.

Ruzrok, the first sorghum cultivar of Czech provenance, was selected as a multiline cultivar from sorghum collected in the Bílé Karpaty region in Moravia, Czech Republic. In the present paper, basic plant morphological and yield-related characteristics as well as characteristics related to plant resistance to major abiotic and biotic stress factors are described. The major advantages of Ruzrok consists in its earliness, plant height and high growth rate of plants leading to high biomass production. Ruzrok was registered for its high biomass yield; however, its grains can also be used for flour production and food purposes after the technological removal of tannin-rich outer layers of grains. Recommendations for basic cultural practices such as sowing date, fertilization and protection against pests and diseases are given. In conclusion, potential utilization of the novel sorghum variety as both biomass and fodder crop is discussed.

The amount and spatial distribution of plants afflicted with cabbage root maggot (Delia radicum; CRM) and clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) in winter oilseed rape crops were assessed in the Olomouc region (Northern Moravia, Czech Republic) over the course of 2012-2014. A total of 16 commercial rape fields were included in the assessments. Plants with tumours showed a significantly lower (P < 0.001) level of infestation induced by CRM (24% of plants infested) compared to plants without tumours (37% of plants infested). According to a generalised linear mixed model, plants with thicker hypocotyls are predisposed to significantly higher levels (P < 0.001) of root surface damage induced by CRM. The correlation analysis indicates rather weak or intermediate levels of correlation between the two variables (hypocotyls thickness × root surface damage induced by CRM). Both CRM and clubroot symptomatic plants showed a significant tendency for aggregation in rape crops, but not in all cases. Distributions of CRM and clubroot symptomatic plants were either significantly spatially dissociated or not associated in crops. Ovipositing D. radicum females showed some tendency to avoid zones with higher number of plants infected by P. brassicae. Distributions of CRM and hypocotyl thickness levels were significantly spatially associated in crops in several cases.

A two-factorial experiment was carried out on 6 groups (10 animals each) of Polish Black and White Holstein-Friesian cows in the transition period to determine the effect of glucogenic additive (GA) to the diets containing grains of varied ruminal starch degradation on cow performance. The animals from 3 control groups (C-groups) were fed the diets without any additive, whereas 3 other, experimental ones (A-groups) received the diets with additive of glucogenic preparation (450 g per head/day) comprising calcium propionate and loose propylene glycol (1 : 1). In the control groups as well as in the experimental ones, three analogical treatments, differing in concentrate composed of grain species of varying ruminal degradability of starch, i.e. maize (M) - low ruminal degradability, barley and wheat (BW) - high ruminal degradability and marriage of them (MBW) were conducted. Finally, the treatments were: C-M, C-BW, C-MBW, A-M, A-BW, and A-MBW. The rations of all groups based on maize silage, haylage, and meadow hay were mixed at 69 : 19 : 12 ratio (dry matter (DM) basis) and given ad libitum. Besides, all the animals received adequate concentrate rations to satisfy their nutritional requirements. The experiment started two weeks before the expected parturition and lasted till the 6^th lactation week. Neither GA nor a type of grain in the diets showed significant negative influence on DM intake. A glucogenic additive has positively affected some basal nutrient digestibility, elevating significantly DM and crude protein (CP) coefficients of the apparent total tract digestibility (CATTD), by about 3 percentage points. The GA × grain interactions (P ≤ 0.05) in CATTD of CP and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) were stated, with the peak values reported in the A-BW treatment. GA increased (P ≤ 0.05) daily milk yield by nearly 5% in comparison with the control treatments. GA × grain interaction was noted with the best effect in the treatment where GA was given along with maize-barley-wheat-based concentrate. Besides, the glucogenic additive decreased (P ≤ 0.05) protein (PDI) expenditure per 1 kg of fat-corrected milk (FCM) by ca. 6% and raised (by 0.15 percentage point in week 6) protein content, while lowered the urea milk level in weeks 3 and 6 of lactation by approximately 15%. It showed beneficial effect on cow reproductive indicators reducing the time interval from calving to successful insemination and improving insemination index.

This paper deals with verification of the effect of fermented manure (with and without Z'fix activators) and soil activators (PRP Sol) on a soil properties change. Their application should lead to a change in physical, physical-chemical and biological properties of soil, along with ecological material fixation, improved water retention and infiltration, reduction of soil susceptibility to water erosion and decreased soil tillage energy requirements. Field trial was established in Sloveč in Central Bohemia in the year 2014. The experiment was divided into several variants and was designed as multiannual. Z>fix activator was used as a biological transformation activator of manure. PRP Sol was used as a soil activator. In order to verify the effect, soil infiltration, cone index, bulk density and draft of tillage implement were measured. Measurements have shown a beneficial effect of the activators with regard to the decomposition of organic matter. Consequently, changes in soil properties and a reduction of draft at tillage operations developed. Finally, the effect should evolve gradually with a prolonged activator treatment.

Recent information campaigns of media and the ongoing substantive discussions of experts have been more and more devoted to the climate change issue and its impacts that could affect our future and threaten the sustainable and balanced development of the planet Earth. However, the categorical apparatus as presented at the above mentioned events is not always used correctly and the same is true about the objective interpretation of the very nature of the processes. Also the explanations of realistic options of governance to mitigate and streamline the effects associated with climate variability in order to achieve the least possible damage of global environment are not always given appropriately. Because of a lack of specific statistical data on climate variability, which are usually at the sole disposal of professional climate scientists, and owing to the attention the public pays to these phenomena only at times of climatic anomalies (floods, extreme heat and drought, etc.), the issue is still on the edge of a broader awareness of people and academic research. This paper is in essence an overview of scientific works, which aims to contribute to the understanding of the issue of climate change by the means of summarizing the main approaches and use of categories, defining their substance and especially clarifying the phenomena in relation to possibilities of global governance.

The EN ISO 6579/2002 guideline was used for the detection of Salmonella in retail poultry and pork meat in the Czech Republic in 2013 and 2014. The laboratory confirmed isolates were further typed (slide agglutination, phage typing, resistance to antimicrobial agents, PCR for the detection of selected genes encoding plasmid mediated quinolone resistance). Out of 176 poultry and 223 pork meat samples, 24 (13.6%) and 6 (2.7%) were positive for the detection of Salmonella spp., respectively. In Salmonella isolates from poultry, 14 serotypes were differentiated with S. indiana, S. enteritidis and S. 6,7:-:1,5 being the most common serotypes. S. typhimurium and its monophasic variant S. 4,[5],12:i:- were predominant in pork meat. The overall resistance to one antimicrobial agent at least was high in both groups of isolates - 50% (poultry) and 71.4% (pork). No Salmonella isolate was confirmed to carry any of the selected PMQR genes. The study showed a higher prevalence of Salmonella in poultry, but pork meat also poses a risk to consumers.

Otitis media is a common disease in clinical veterinary practice. Although low-field magnetic resonance imaging reports for otitis media in dogs exist, in cats detailed information is missing. Radiography is helpful in diagnosing chronic inflammation, but may be insufficient during the initial phase of inflammation. For this reason, this report describes the magnetic resonance findings in two cats with otitis media. In both cases, middle ear empyema was detected. Magnetic resonance imaging of middle ear disorders in cats should contain pre- and post-contrast T1-weighted sequences in the dorsal and transverse planes, a T2-weighted sequence in the dorsal and transverse planes and a fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence in the dorsal or transverse planes. On pre-contrast T1-weighted images, the empyema had an intensity similar to that of brain tissue with a delicate hyper-intensity in the middle. On post-contrast T1-weighted images, the material had non-uniform enhancement in the dorsolateral compartment and circumference enhancement in the ventromedial compartment of the tympanic bulla with a hypo-intense centre. On T2-weighted images, the mass had heterogeneously increased signal intensity to brain tissue, but was less intense than cerebrospinal fluid. In the fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence, the pathological lesion was distinctly hyper-intense in comparison to other tissues with a narrow area of increased signal intensity in the middle of the ventromedial tympanic bulla compartment. Magnetic resonance imaging is commonly used for the visualisation of different disorders of the membranous labyrinth and allows the differentiation of chronic hematomas, empyemas and middle and internal ear neoplasia. The recommended magnetic resonance protocol of the middle ear should include pre- and post-contrast T1 sequences in the dorsal and transverse planes, the T2 sequence in the dorsal and transverse planes and the fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence in the dorsal or transverse planes.

The changes in the structure of cereal proteins during the mixing of flour into dough was described and evaluated. Wheat gliadins and glutenins (gluten proteins) have unique physical properties and play an important role in breadmaking. The effect of mixing time on the formation and the structure of the gluten network was determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Buckwheat flour (gluten-free) was used to compare the development of structure during the mixing process.

Severe symptoms of root rot on sugar beet have been observed in Poland and Germany since 2001. The symptom classification suggested girth scab as it was mistakenly classified on the basis of current classification, e.g. in LIZ. However, the cause of the disease was Aphanomyces cochlioides infection, not Streptomyces spp. According to these findings we cannot call the symptoms caused by A. cochlioides as 'girth scab'. The typical scab (girth scab) symptoms can be promoted by A. cochlioides infections. In many cases, A. cochlioides developed at the beginning of the season, during the seedling stage. Its further development was due to rainfall and was not routinely recognised in disease-changed tissues if in the middle of the summer the rainfall level was reduced. According to the described findings, renewed description and differentiation of the girth scab symptoms caused by Streptomyces spp. and root rot caused by A. cochlioides on sugar beet roots are suggested. Typical symptoms of the disease caused by A. cochlioides occur mainly on the upper part of the root but can also occur on its lower part, if weather conditions are favourable for the pathogen. The coexistence of A. cochlioides and Pythium spp. in the same niches is also possible. Currently the illustrations showing these symptoms are included in the 'girth scab' descriptions.

The present study investigated the impact of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton on several aspects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Funneliformis mosseae. The results showed that Bt cotton significantly inhibited spore germination and pre-symbiotic hyphal growth. The appressorium density, arbuscule frequency and colonization intensity in Bt roots were also decreased. The statistical analysis demonstrated that the transformation event resulted in the inhibition of hyphal development and colonization. The reduced interaction between AM fungi and plants could affect nutrient uptake and transportation in plant-fungus symbiosis. The mechanism might involve the direct toxicity of Bt toxins or the interference of signal perception between AM fungus and Bt cotton.

In this research, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique combined with back-propagation neural network (BPNN) was employed to analyse different nitrogen (N) fertilization levels in paddy rice. Leaf fluorescence characteristics (FLCs) were measured by using the LIF system built in our laboratory and exhibited different FLCs with different nitrogen fertilization levels. The correlation between fluorescence intensity ratios (F685/F460, F735/F460 and F735/F685) and the dose of N fertilization was established and analysed. Then, the BPNN algorithm was utilized to validate that the different N fertilization levels can be classified based on the three FLCs. The overall identification accuracies of 2014 and 2015 were 90% and 92.5%, respectively. Experimental results demonstrated that the three FLCs with the help of multivariate analysis can be served as a helpful tool in the evaluation of paddy rice N fertilization levels. Besides, this study can also provide guidance for the selection of LIF Lidar channels in the following research.

A bacteriocin-like substance (BLS) producing Enterococcus faecium CE5-1 was isolated from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of Thai indigenous chickens. Investigations of its probiotic potential were carried out. The competition between the BLS probiotic strain and antibiotic-resistant enterococci was also studied. Ent. faecium CE5-1 exhibited a good tolerance to pH 3.0 after 2 h and in 7% fresh chicken bile after 6 h, but the viability of Ent. faecium CE5-1 decreased by about 2-3 log CFU/ml after 2 h incubation in pH 2.5. It was susceptible to the antibiotics tested (tetracycline, erythromycin, penicillin G, and vancomycin). The maximum BLS production from Ent. faecium CE5-1 was observed at 15 h of cultivation. It showed activity against Listeria monocytogenes DMST17303, Pediococcus pentosaceus 3CE27, Lactobacillus sakei subsp. sakei JCM1157, and antibiotic-resistant enterococci. The detection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the enterocin structural gene determined the presence of enterocin A gene in Ent. faecium CE5-1 only. Ent. faecium CE5-1 showed the highest inhibitory activity against two antibiotic-resistant Ent. faecalis VanB (from 6.68 to 4.29 log CFU/ml) and Ent. gallinarum VanC (from 6.76 to 4.31 log CFU/ml) after 12 h of co-cultivation. The results show the future possible use of Ent. faecium CE5-1 as a probiotic strain for livestock to control antibiotic-resistant enterococci.

Agriculture is the sector that consumes by far most water globally. Much research efforts aim at minimizing losses through the use of drip irrigation. Rural agricultural areas often do not have access to a main electrical grid to power the pumps needed for drip irrigation; it reduces the options in paying for a grid extension, getting a diesel generator or investing in an off-grid renewable energy system. In this paper, these alternatives are assessed technically and economically under real world conditions through the Jordan Valley case study. The results show that the autonomous photovoltaic (PV)-battery system is preferable to the use of a diesel generator, as well as it is preferable to the main grid extension in many cases depending on the cost of grid electricity and distance from the grid. For current subsidized grid electricity retail price to farmers, the PV-battery system becomes more attractive above a 300 m distance from the grid, while if the actual cost of electricity production in Jordan is taken into account, then it breaks even to 128 m.

Apple is a climacteric fruit of economic importance and high nutritional value. Better understanding of the apple ripening process is needed to improve fruit quality and extend apple shelf life. This paper presents the results of molecular cloning and characterization of a newly identified allele of the ripening-specific ACO1 gene from Malus floribunda 821. A polymorphism of the ACO1 gene was detected using the polymerase chain reaction and BamH1 and RsaI enzymatic digestion. Whilst cloning and sequencing data confirmed the identity of allele d, it also revealed high sequence conservation (97.3 to 98.9%). In addition, a comparison of sequence data revealed some differences within the coding regions of the ACO1 alleles identified so far.

Interest in conifer-broadleaf mixedwood forests has greatly increased due to continuous demand for hardwood products and a shift towards more biological or ecosystem-based management. In British Columbia, more than 30% of the productive forest land is a conifer-broadleaf mixture and current forest regulations are more conifer biased rather than maintaining a mixed-species condition. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of paper birch on white spruce growth. Spruce growth data from 10 to 18 years old complex stands indicate that radial, height, and stem volume was not impacted by retaining up to 3,000 stems.ha^-1 of birch. Similarly, growth and yield model projections suggest spruce-birch stands would be more productive up to a threshold birch density (3,000 stems.ha^-1) than pure spruce stands. At a 4% real interest rate, the removal of birch from these stands does not appear to be warranted as an investment. The results suggest that instead of encouraging uniform broadleaf removal across conifer plantations, mixed species management strategies could enhance the forest productivity, stand diversity and resilience.

The purpose of this study was to characterise the radiographic appearance of abomasal phytobezoars in sheep as well as to evaluate the utility of abdominal radiography to identify them. Twenty-seven fat-tailed Herrick sheep with a clinical suspicion of abomasal impaction were examined radiographically. Abdominal survey radiographs in right lateral recumbency were taken. Abomasal phytobezoars (AP) were seen in abdominal survey radiographs in 25/27 sheep (92%). Their radiographic survey appearance was round-to-oval masses with radiopaque margins and radiopacity similar to the ingesta centrally. An additional gastrographic barium study was performed in six of the sheep, followed by exploratory laparotomy where phytobezoars were removed through abomasotomy. The optimal time to visualise the APs was 48 h post-contrast. A significant correlation was noted between phytobezoars size in radiology and surgery (r = 0.651, P < 0.001). Use of the barium study can improve the phytobezoar-ingesta contrast and visibility of the phytobezoars. Plain radiography with sheep positioned in right lateral recumbency is a useful supplementary technique which can be used to evaluate abomasal phytobezoariasis. This study shows that radiography is a suitable diagnostic method for detecting the presence of, but not the number of, abomasal phytobezoars in sheep.

Carcass fat cover is used in many countries as a predictor of meat quality, although studies relating this parameter to sensor y quality of meat are scarce and are mainly based on acceptability or palatability evaluation. The samples of calf chops with three different degrees of carcass fat cover were analysed according to a specific method for sensor y quality assessment. A trained panel evaluated the samples and scored the sensor y quality related to odour, texture, flavour, and persistence. Samples with higher carcass fat cover presented significantly better scores for texture, flavour, and persistence, although not for odour. When calculating global sensor y quality by integrating the cited parameters, significant differences were found between the three fat cover groups. Texture, f lavour, and persistence were also correlated with fat cover and marbling degree. Specific sensor y characteristics (medium tenderness, slightly tough, rancid odour, cooked meat aroma, equal or higher than fat aroma, ver y low aroma intensity, dominance of fat aroma, obvious liver aroma and milky aroma) contributed to explaining the quality differences obser ved among the groups.