Fulltext search in archive

The water regime variability in most catchments is frequently influenced not only by the changes of the vegetation cover in the annual cycle but also by its development in the time span of decades. That means that the resulting evapotranspiration depends not only on the actual climatic situation but also on the soil moisture. The simulations of the rainfall-runoff process have been used with the intention to follow the possible role of the developing land cover. The differences between the observed and simulated flows in relatively long periods can be considered as an appropriate tool for the assessment of the water regime changes, in which the evapotranspiration demand variability is a significant phenomenon.

The relationships between conformation and longevity traits were analysed in 58 493 Czech Fleckvieh cows first calved from 1994 to 2003. All cows were scored for conformation during the first lactation. Genetic correlations between longevity and conformation traits were estimated by bivariate runs using the VCE 4.0 program for variance component estimation. The values of heritability for conformation traits were in the range from 0.06 to 0.63 and for longevity traits from 0.04 to 0.05. Low or intermediate genetic relationships between recorded linear traits and longevity trait were found. The correlations were lower for functional longevity. Body measurements showed negative genetic correlations with real as well as functional longevity (-0.12 to -0.29). The dairy character negatively correlated with longevity traits (-0.18 to -0.26). The muscularity and udder showed a zero correlation with functional longevity, while the feet and legs were not correlated with real longevity. The highest positive genetic correlations between real longevity and objectively scored linear type traits were found for hock (0.24), rear udder attachment (0.28), fore udder length (0.16) and central ligament (0.11). On the contrary, the correlation between the udder depth and the milk-corrected longevity was positive (0.28) and higher than in the case of real longevity.

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).

Koch method of ornamental trees evaluation is based on interest paid on costs invested in tree-growing up to their maturity stage minus deductions for age, defects and damage. The aim of this paper is to apply the above mentioned method in the economic conditions of the Czech Republic. The paper presents essential economic data generated in accordance with the technological model of tree growing at a permanent site. We also describe the mechanism of the so-called base tree price calculation as a basis for the subtraction of deductions derived from its current condition. The calculated base tree prices are illustratively compared to prices based on the to-date applied calculating techniques and the relevant regulation. We also refer to the method of base price adjustment based on the criterion of landscape tree value. The mechanism of price calculation applied for Koch method testing included two modifications. The first relates to due consideration of growth qualities when calculating development care costs; the other introduces landscaping value indicator as the only base price adjustment to achieve the resulting price, corresponding with the current tree condition.

Sustainable land management requires that water and matter (nutrients and base cations) are efficiently recycled within ecosystems so that irreversible losses of matter from topsoils are minimised. Matter losses are connected to water flow. The division of water into evapotranspiration that is loss-free, and seepage to groundwater or surface water flow that both carry material losses, is decisive in determining total losses of dissolved matter in a given catchment. Investigations of areal matter losses confirmed the instrumental role of vegetation cover. Areal matter losses measured in agricultural catchments in Germany were on average between 1-1.5 tons of dissolved matter per ha per year, i.e. some 50 to 100 times higher than those from unmanaged land in a virgin forest. Such high losses continuously reduce soil fertility and can hardly be compensated by fertilisation. Some suggestions on how to achieve sustainable management of agricultural land and maintain high soil fertility are presented - the priority is to close water and matter cycles through the incorporation of more natural vegetation cover into our landscapes and to restore the energy-dissipative properties of ecosystems.

The paper identifies and analyses the main factors which influenced the wine demand. The average annual wine consumption per capita is the basic factor of the wine demand. The average annual wine consumption, one of the wine demand factors, grew between 2003 and 2007 from 16.3 l to 18.5 l per capita. Following this trend, we can expect the average annual wine consumption 19.0 l per capita in year 2010. A positive feature of this development is also the fact, that there grows the demand after the quality wines. At the same time, there grows also the consumption of the lower quality, cheap wines packed in boxes or PET bottles. A continuously growing tendency can be also noticed in the red-wine consumption. This change of consumer preferences has significantly influenced the growth of the share of the red varieties in the new-planted vineyards. However, there are critical factors in the development of the demand for wine demand here. Specifically, it is the daily feasible ration of alcohol in wine and other alcoholic drinks, especially beer that we can treat as the substitute of wine. The average annual beer consumption moves about 160 l per capita in the Czech Republic. The continuously growing tendency of wine consumption is reduced by the lower price of beer too, because beer is the cheapest alcoholic drink in the Czech Republic. The taste and preferences of consumers have been changing, that means, that the consumers are the ones who decide about the wine quality, and not producers. That is why this paper includes the partial results of the research oriented on the habits and behaviour of consumers in the wine market in the Czech Republic. It is concentrated on the wine sellers opinions on demand development in the wine market.

In the present study, the main purpose was the selection of antagonistic starter cultures for pickle and olive fermentation processes. The chemical and microbiological properties of fermented 70 pickle and 16 olive samples collected from the province of the west part of Turkey were analysed. Subsequently, lactic acid bacteria strains producing bacteriocin-like metabolites were isolated and identified. From 86 samples, 16 isolates were chosen, depending on their partial antimicrobial activity against at least one selected indicator. 13 out of this 16 isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum whereas 3 of them proved to be Lactobacillus pentosus. Moreover, all the relevant isolates were found to be potent acid producers. All these results obviously suggest that the isolated Lactobacillus plantarum 9 and 25 were appropriate for them to be proposed as starter cultures in fermented pickle and olive production.

The mycological conditions on study plots established in forests growing on former agricultural farm lands were studied. In young spruce stand (8-10 years) reduced and unstable spectrum of macromycetes was found. After approximately 50 years of forest growth the situation became stable and spectrum of macromycetes together with development of mycorrhizal status were similar to a situation found in stands on forest soils. Slightly increased occurrence of saproparasitic species of fungi (e.g. Heterobasidion annosum at others) was observed in older growths.

Within the framework of the research project ELISA methods for the quantitative determination of allergenic substances in foodstuff and raw materials were developed. ELISA kits for allergenic proteins of milk (casein, beta-lactoglobulin and BSA) egg white proteins and mustard proteins were validated and collaborative studies were performed to prove the validation of the ELISA methods developed. Various methods of extraction were tested. The parameters as a limit of detection, as a limit of quantification, robustness, repeatability and accuracy were determined. A broad range of zero matrices for allergens were tested as well. The ELISA kits are suitable for the determination of allergens according to EU legislation Directive 2005/26/EC and Directive 2006/142/EC in the laboratories focused on this topic.

Forty samples of grass silages, made from the five most widely used grass species in ruminant nutrition (Dactylis glomerata L.,Phleum pratense L., Lolium perenne L., Festuca arundinacea L. and hybrid Felina) were tested in the present study. These grass species conserved by an ensiling process were compared among each other according to dry matter (DM) rumen degradability parameters (a = portion of DM solubilized at initiation of incubation, b = fraction of DM potentially degradable in the rumen, c = rate constant of disappearance of fraction b and ED_DM = effective degradability of DM, estimated for each ingredient assuming the rumen solid outflow rates of 0.02 (ED_DM2), 0.05 (ED_DM5) and 0.08 (ED_DM8) h^-1). Based on the chemical composition of grass silages the regression equations for prediction of ED_DM were evaluated. The influence of the ensiling process on dry matter degradability parameters was also assessed. The best values of ED_DM were determined for Lolium perenne (ED_DM2 = 753.2, ED_DM5 = 631.1 and ED_DM8 = 567.7 g/kg DM). The best predictor was NDF (R²-values of 0.757 (ED_DM2), 0.863 (ED_DM5) and 0.906 (ED_DM8)). Using two predictors the accuracy level increased. The combination of CF and NDF gave R²-values 0.892, 0.920 and 0.929 for ED_DM2, ED_DM5 and ED_DM8, respectively. The regression equations based on the most important grass species harvested in different vegetation periods seem to be a useful tool for practical use. No significant P < 0.05) effect of the ensiling process in relation to dry matter rumen degradability parameters was proved.

The effect of the insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) gene polymorphism - a g.292C>T transition in exon 2 on feed uptake and conversion, growth rates, and meat production traits in Polish Holstein-Friesian cattle was investigated. A total of 291 young bulls were genotyped using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP-BsrI). Animals were slaughtered at the age of 11 or 15 months and carcass traits were examined. At the age of 11 months the association was shown of the CC genotype with higher cold carcass weight, daily gain and meat content (%) in valuable cuts. At 15 months of age the CC genotype bulls showed higher live body weight, whereas those with the CT genotype had more fat in valuable cuts. The TT genotype bulls appeared to consume more feed (dry matter and protein) and used more feed for maintenance and meat production as compared to the CC genotype. The imprinting status of the IGF2 gene was analysed using cDNA sequencing and RFLP-BsrI. In 15-months-old animals and in foetuses older than two months both IGF2 alleles, maternal and paternal, were equally expressed in liver. In a 2-months-old male foetus the IGF2 mRNA was primarily expressed from the paternal allele.

Recently, in 2005, a new method for monitoring the rheological properties of the dough on the entire technological process of bread making became available through Mixolab at an international level. This laboratory equipment has amazing possibilities for the research and development, enabling a complex analysis of flour. It allows the analysis of flour proteins quality (water absorption, stability, elasticity, weakening), the analysis of starch behaviour (gelatinisation, gelatinisation temperature, the modification of its consistency on additives addition) and the analysis of enzymatic activities (proteolytic, amylolytic). The objective of this study is to establish a relation between the alveograph, Falling Number, and Mixolab values. Sixty flours, collected around the Romanian country, were analysed simultaneously on alveograph (standard protocol), for the Falling Number, and on Mixolab ("Simulator" and the standard option "Chopin+" protocol). A selection of principal factors based on the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied which allowed the building of an efficient predictive model for each parameter. There were significant correlations between most of the Alveograph parameters: maximum pressure (P), deformation energy (W), extensibility (L), alveograph ratio (P/L) and Simulator Mixolab stability. Using the Mixolab standard option "Chopin+" protocol a close association was found between some Mixolab parameters: stability and protein weakening (C2, difference of the points C1-C2 abbreviated C12) and the alveograph values (P, W). From the point of view of the correlations established with the Falling Number index, very good results were obtained with the parameters obtained with Mixolab that measures starch gelatinisation (C3, difference of the points C3-C2 abbreviated C32), amylolytic activity (C4, difference of the points C3-C4 abbreviated C34), and starch gelling (C5, difference of the points C5-C4 abbreviated C54).

The aim of this study was to investigate associations between PPARGC1A genotypes and haplotypes and milk production traits. The study included 181 Jersey cows. The genotypes were identified by the PCR-RFLP method. The frequencies of the most common alleles were as follows: T - 0.63 (c.1892T>C) and A - 0.88 (c.3359A>C). The frequency of the most common haplotype was TC/AA - 0.558. The results showed that there were no statistically significant associations between the individual genotypes of both SNPs and milk traits; however, individuals with the CC/AC haplotype produced significantly (P ≤ 0.05; P ≤ 0.001) less milk and had a significantly (P ≤ 0.001) higher protein content in milk.

The production of organic acids and changes during decomposition of rice straw amended with tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and Udaipur rock phosphate (URP) were studied under laboratory conditions. The organic C content of rice straw decreased and total N increased with time, resulting in a decrease in C:N ratio as the decomposition progressed. The pH decreased to acidic range in all the treatments on day 15, but became alkaline again later on. Soluble P increased at 15 days after incubation, declined later during decomposition, and was highest in the treatments containing TCP and Aspergillus awamori inoculation. Citric, oxalic, formic and maleic acids were detected during decomposition of rice straw and maximum amounts were present on day 15. Citric and oxalic acids were responsible mainly for P solubilization from TCP and URP; generally, citric acid was the most effective in P solubilization.

More than 1,300 seedlings of European plum originating from crossing combinations with at least one parent showing hypersensitivity resistance against PPV were analyzed for their reaction to artificial inoculation with PPV using the double grafting method with virus infected interstem. It was shown that the hypersensitivity resistance against the virus is a phenotypically quantitative trait. The different kinds of symptoms observed in the test system, which contribute to the hypersensitivity resistance, range from weak necrosis on the leaf blade and on the stem to the death of the whole young shoots. A hypersensitivity index was developed which helps to determine the degree of hypersensitivity resistance of an individual genotype. Its use is strongly recommended as selection tool in breeding for hypersensitivity resistance.

Abstract: The paper derives from the working and publication activities from research project "Chances of product diversification on behalf of improvement of competitive advantage in the small and middle-size farming business in the Czech Republic". This paper deals with the critical success factors for successful diversification at the small and middle-size farming business. For the purpose effective implementation of the diversification have been identified the principal influences of this issue. Besides of that, we have tried to measure a diversification's impact for an entrepreneurial profit in agricultural area. There is a definition of "diversification" as new farmer's activities for using profit opportunity. On the base of 50 units-exploration has been made a hypothesis validation of the most often impulse for doing diversification. That is an effort to utilize more effectively the product factors of farming business. Further, there was a validation of the effective and efficiency diversifications' characters.

The collection and sale of asparagus (Asparagus racemosus Willd.) is a major source of income for Praja and Tamang castes around the Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) in Nepal. However, the forests where asparagus is harvested are becoming depleted threatening the livelihood of collectors. To address this issue, at sustainable harvesting practices, the research reported here applied the contingent valuation method (bidding game) and estimated the average willingness to pay (WTP) of collectors to two asparagus collection scenarios. In the first scenario, if forests under the Department of Forests jurisdiction were managed for sustainable harvesting at 1995 rates, the average WTP of collectors was 4.4 NR/kg. In the second scenario, if the forest in the RCNP is managed in such a way that both the current harvesting rate of asparagus is sustained and they are legally allowed to collect asparagus at the present rate, the average WTP of collectors was 8.35 NR/kg. Consequently, there is a good chance of earning revenue for the government and sustaining the livelihood of asparagus dependents by the sustainable management of the Department's and the National Park's forests and giving legal permissions to collect asparagus from the National Park, which would have happened anyway but with financial and legal risks to collectors.

Effects of microspore culture treatment with antimitotic agents colchicine, trifluralin and oryzalin on the frequency of embryo formation, embryo development, plant regeneration and diploidization rate in three F₁ hybrids of winter rapeseed cultivars were compared. The ploidy level analysis of 1709 flowering microspore-derived plants showed that in vitro applications of all antimitotic drugs increased the rate of doubled haploid (DH) plants significantly. The mean rate of DH plants from the trifluralin treatment was 85.7%, from colchicine 74.1% and 66.5% in the case of oryzalin, while only 42.3% in the untreated control variant whereas in vivo additional application of colchicine at the plantlet stage did not significantly increase the mean rate of DH plants (55.6%). Although there were no significant differences in diploidization efficiency between the in vitro applications of particular antimitotic agents, trifluralin showed to be the most suitable because of its positive effect on embryo development and conversion into whole plants. In addition, the diploidization rate was sufficient and stable in all genotypes tested. The results indicate that the trifluralin treatment of microspore cultures could provide efficient chromosome doubling for the production of doubled haploid lines from winter oilseed rape breeding materials.

The paper deals with the current trends in development of communication infrastructure which is, above all, represented by high-speed Internet connection (broadband). It is focused on conditions of the Czech Republic; or more precisely, on its rural areas, including possibilities of further development in the following period in context of trends in the world, in the OECD and the EU countries.

The paper deals with the crucial phenomena of changes of the entrepreneurial environment of agriculture caused by the globalisation processes in the agrarian sector and their connection with the criteria of competitiveness of the present agricultural enterprises. It examines the influence of forming agribusiness and the demand driven terms of commodity chains functioning on the position of agricultural companies and the directly related segments in the field of the processing of agricultural products from the perspective of achieving competitive advantage. In this connection, the methodological approach to competitiveness is discussed according to the horizontal level, i.e. the particular stage of production or processing of the final product, and the vertical level, i.e. the interconnection of the individual stages of the vertical and their share in the value added in the final product as a prerequisite of the successful participation in forming competitiveness.

We examined the impacts of variation in overstory structure and burning regime on understory vegetation in the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forest of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Georgia, U.S.A. On sandy upland sites surrounding the Okefenokee Swamp and on islands, we established five randomly-located 0.04-ha plots within each of six study areas. The plots varied in overstory density, past management and fire regime. We measured overstory tree size of longleaf pines in the 0.04-ha plots and percent cover of ground cover species in five 1-m2 subplots nested within each 0.04-ha plot. We also calculated diversity indices for the ground cover species. There was no significant relationship between overstory basal area and any diversity measure. Even at the subplot level, there was no significant relationship observed between the diversity measures and distance to the nearest tree, presumably a surrogate for overstory density. The diameter (DBH) of the nearest tree exhibited a slight influence over the Shannon Index, and the nearest tree's height was significantly related to evenness in each subplot. There were varied relationships between individual species and fire regime or nearest tree measurements. There was a definite, but statistically insignificant, trend of decreasing diversity with increasing years since the last burn. Height of the nearest tree positively influen­ced evenness, probably reflecting the influence of stochasticity and amount of needle deposition (influencing fire behavior) over a wide area. Within the generally equal fire-return interval across sites, individual fire-events and site-specific behavior apparently influence understory diversity. It is not surprising that the last burn would affect species richness, even more so than the number of growing-season burns, other studies support this observation. The presence of obligate seeding and (clonal) sprouting as dominants in the ground cover suggests that the fire-return interval is not regular. The cycling of fire-return intervals, even within the manage­ment-prescribed 2- to 4-year range, and the variation by microsite appear to provide sufficient variability of disturbance to create diversity in the ground-level cohort. Site-specific relationships between particular species and the nearest tree suggest that even a narrowly-prescribed fire management regime can provide sufficient diversity.

Production of raw wood material and its regulation has a great ecological and economic importance in every country. The aim of the paper is to analyze the prospective production of raw wood with respect to the expected basic tree species composition and assortment structure on an example of long-term development of selected indicators of forest condition in Slovakia. For this analysis we used data on the area, growing stock and planned decennial timber felling in the forests of Slovakia in 1980, 1996 and 2003. The production potential of forests was evaluated on the basis of the annual perspective allowable cut by 2020, from which the prospective production of assortments was derived using the models of assortment yield tables of tree species. The results show that in the forests of Slovakia there is an about half proportion of coniferous and half proportion of broadleaved tree species, very good structure of growing stock as well as its trend in the last years. Production of raw wood assortments for industrial processing for the years 2010-2020 is limited by the volume 6.3-6.4 mil. m³. About one half of this volume comes from coniferous and the other half from broadleaved tree species. For coniferous tree species the proportion of spruce and fir is 87% and for broadleaved tree species the proportion of beech and oak is 80%. For coniferous tree species sawmill assortments have a decisive, almost 70% proportion. Regarding broadleaved tree species, pulpwood assortments with 47% proportion prevail, although with 11% the highest quality assortments for the production of veneer from beech and oak are also significant.

White wines of Debina cultivar were made from musts clarified by flotation using nitrogen as foaming agent. Flotation using air as the foaming agent (must hyperoxidation), without SO₂ addition, was also applied. Turbidity and suspended solids were lower in must clarified by flotation using nitrogen than in that clarified by sedimentation (control). Flotation with hyperoxidation led to a reduction of must phenolics. All experimental wines exhibited similar gross compositions (alcohol, reducing sugars, total acidity, and volatile acidity). Wines made from musts clarified by flotation using nitrogen had similar total phenolic content, browning capacity, and organoleptic quality as the control wines. Wines made from musts clarified by flotation using air had lower total phenolic contents and browning capacity than were those in control wines. These wines were of well acceptable quality but exhibited a slightly oxidised aftertaste. The results indicate that flotation using nitrogen can be effective in the production of typical Debina wine, while flotation using air may be useful in that of table wine without SO₂ addition. Orange juice was clarified by flotation using nitrogen or air as the foaming agent. Orange juice clarified by flotation using nitrogen as the foaming agent exhibited lower turbidity and a similar pulp content to that clarified by centrifugal separator (control). It had an acceptable taste and aroma. Juice clarified by flotation using air as the foaming agent, along with pectolytic enzyme treatment, exhibited much lower turbidity and pulp content compared to control. The clear juice had an acceptable taste but no aroma. The fermented clear juice was averagely rated, exhibiting a pleasant aroma and only a slightly bitter taste. The results indicate that flotation using nitrogen can be effective in the production of natural orange juice, while flotation using air may be useful in the production of orange drink.

The article presents an overview and brief characteristics of the selected soil information systems in the Czech Republic. It suggests synchronisation of their development, particularly some convergence of the Land Evaluation Information System and Soil and Terrain Digital Database. In the pilot area of Litoměřice district, it demonstrates the application of the SOTER methodology for the construction of middle- and detail-scale soil maps, using the data from the General survey of agricultural soils. It not only shows the variety of the district soil conditions, but it also supplements them with the data gathered in the 2006 soil survey.

The aim of the study was to identify heterosomes in the semen of three Romanov rams - carriers of leukocyte chimerism (FISH technique) and to determine the proportions between spermatozoa with X and Y chromosomes. The choice of bovine probes for hybridization with ram heterosomes was dictated by genetic conservatism of bovine and ovine heterosomes. The ratio between spermatozoa with a yellow fluorescent signal containing the X chromosome in the haploid set and spermatozoa with a red-purple signal indicating the presence of the Y chromosome, taking into account spermatozoa with no signal, was 52%:43%:5% in ram No. PL100006077676; 47%:44%:9% in ram No. PL100006078031; and 48%:46%:6% in ram No. PL100006078895. The results obtained lead us to conclude that the 54,XX/54,XY chimerism has no effect on sex ratio in offspring.

Two cases of botulism in horses are described in the article. In the first case two horses died, one survived and recovered after four weeks. Botulotoxin type B was detected using a mouse bioassay in the gastrointestinal content of both dead horses; Clostridium botulinum bacteria were cultivated from one of them. In the second case two horses were affected. One of them was euthanized because of persistent recumbency, the second one recovered after six weeks. Detection of botulotoxin in the serum of the dead horse using the mouse bioassay was not successful.

Skeletal muscle growth is determined by the number of prenatally formed fibres and by the degree of their postnatal hypertrophy; i.e. prenatal development may influence the postnatal growth. Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was used to identify genes more expressed in fetal hind limb muscles of Piétrain pigs (44 days of gestation) compared to the adult biceps femoris. Six potential functional candidate genes (CNN3, DCN, FBN2, POSTN, SPARC and YWHAQ) were selected to verify the SSH results using real-time RT-PCR. Expression levels of the studied genes were significantly higher (P< 0.05) in the fetal muscle compared to the adult muscle. FBN2 and POSTN exhibited the highest mRNA levels (mean relative ratios were 182.7 and 121.6, respectively). The studied genes may play an important role in muscle biology and may be candidates for muscling traits.

The sugar industry in the Czech Republic is one of the branches of food production that since the end of nineties has been strongly protected by agricultural policy. Here, we will deal with the question how the Czech agricultural policy affected the competitiveness of the sugar industry during transformation. From the analysis, it can be derived that not only agricultural measures but also organisational changes inside the enterprises, as well as modernisation and increasing capacity of plants that all took place before the enforced political aid, supported the stabilisation of sugar beet farming and the sugar industry in the Czech Republic and its competitiveness in the national market.

A three-year field experiment was conducted from 2000 to 2002 in North-East Poland. Each year three sulphur fertilization rates in the form of sulphate (S-SO^2-₄) and pure (S-S⁰) sulphur were applied: 40, 80 and 120 kg/ha. In the soil horizon at the depth of 0-40 cm the triple rate of S- and S-S⁰) depressed soil reaction. Acidification of soil caused by S-SO^2-₄ became evident already in the first year of the study while that resulting from S-S⁰) application appeared as late as in the third year. The effect of sulphur on soil in the 40-80 cm horizon was irregular. As the sulphur rates increased and the duration of the experiment progressed, sulphates accumulated in soil. In the 0-40 cm soil layer, the increasing rates of sulphur tended to increase the content of N-NH⁺₄. In most objects, the NPK + S fertilization, and especially the single S-SO^2-₄ treatment, caused an increase in N-NO^-₃ in both soil layers compared with the NPK fertilized object. The dose of 120 kg/ha S-SO^2-₄ caused a significant increase in the concentration of available phosphorus in soil in the 0-40 and 40-80 cm layers.

The evaluation of nutritional quality of Chinese cabbage and the effects of cultivar, weed incidence, plant density and growing season were observed in integrated cultivation system. Mean contents of analysed compounds were as follows: 6% of dry matter, 10% of crude fibre, (in mg/kg of f.m.): 2,199 mg K, 289 mg Ca, 146 mg Mg, 111 mg Na, and 316 mg of vitamin C. Mean content of nitrates reached the value of 647 mg/kg. A significant effect of cultivar on the content of all observed substances in cabbage heads excluding magnesium was thus confirmed; however, a decrease of nitrates was found in the treatment with higher plant density. Weed cultivation caused slightly (insignificantly) higher nitrates content in cabbage heads by 100 mg/kg. Growing season showed a significant effect on content of some evaluated compounds. Integrated cultivation of Chinese cabbage could be an adequate approach to ensure nutritionally valuable products with low nitrates content.