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A mixed infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) in one naturally infected red deer stag from a game park is described. The animal was euthanized because of symptoms of poor condition, weight loss and chronic diarrhoea. In spite of that, pathological lesions were observed only in the mesenteric lymph nodes, which were five to ten times enlarged with confluent caseous granulomas of 1 to 10 mm in size. Mycobacteria were isolated from all studied samples: a mixed infection of MAP and MAH was confirmed by multiplex PCR for the detection of IS 900, IS9011, IS1245 and dnaJ. MAP of the identical IS900 BstEII RFLP type C1 was isolated from all tissue samples and faeces. MAH isolates were detected in six examined tissue samples, including three mesenteric lymph nodes with caseous granulomas. Only minor differences in the band numbers and position of four different IS1245 PvuII RFLP patterns of MAH isolates were found. It follows from these results that red deer may potentially be infected with MAH, when a MAP infection is under way.

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.

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 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.

Three hundred and thirty-one (331) horses out of 371 cases (i.e. 351 individuals discharged from the clinic) were followed up in order to evaluate long-term survival rate and complications after colic surgery. Twenty horses were subjected to surgery twice during the period of this study. Out of the sample of 331 patients, 302 animals (91.2%) survived at least 11 months after the operation. Twenty-nine horses (8.8%) died or had to be euthanized. Colic episode was considered to be the cause of death in 23 (79.3%) out of 29 patients. Seven colic patients had to be reoperated. The remaining six patients died of a cause unrelated to the gastrointestinal disease. Seven out of 302 long-term surviving patients needed the second operation within the first 11 months after the first surgery. Colic episode was reoperated in another 15 patients after 12 months to 4 years after the first operation. Conservative treatment was necessary in another 10 long-term surviving horses. In eight long-term surviving horses and in one patient that did not survive 11 months, incision hernias were identified as the postoperative complication. Twenty-one horses out of 331 were subjected to relaparotomy during their first hospitalization. Eighteen out of these (85.7%) survived 11 months after the surgery; the remaining three were euthanized within six months due to colic.

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.

The results of research on the value production of the stands of poplar clones Robusta and I-214 carried out in Slovakia are presented. Models of value yield tables were constructed separately for each clone. The models simulate gross and net financial yield of wood production in dependence on the site index and age of stand. They were constructed on the basis of the models of assortment yield tables, timber prices according to assortments and the models of own costs of timber felling and processing. The clone I-214 produces a faster and higher proportion of thicker assortments of average and below-average quality, and therefore it has the higher value production at a younger age only. Robusta produces smaller diameter but higher quality assortments and has the higher value production only at an older age. The site index of the stand is the most important factor in the value production of poplar clones. Differences in the production between site indexes are much greater than between the clones.

In the locality Hnilé Blatá (the High Tatras Mts.), the structure was measured of root branches in the windthrown spruces (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). After cleaning the root plates, the number, diameter, and length of individual root branches were measured. Individual root branches were classified into twelve diameter classes - according to their diameters measured in the middle of the root branch length. We found out a high frequency of the root branches in the first three root-diameter classes; the values of the average frequency of root branches smoothly declined with their diameters increasing. We found out the lowest mean values of the root branch length in the first two root diameter classes. However, the values of total average length of root branches were the highest in the first root diameter class and these values continually decreased with increasing values of the root branch diameter. On the basis of the high values of root frequency and of total root length in the thinnest root-diameter classes, it seems that the spruce trees growing in gley soil form a similar root structure as those growing in podzolic brown soil.

The aim of this project was to study changes in the content of trans-resveratrol in berries and leaves of grapevine (Vitis sp.) infested by fungal diseases, especially by Botryotinia fuckeliana Whetzel, called as grey mildew, Plasmopara viticola (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Berl & De Toni, called downy mildew and Uncinula necator (Schw.) Burr, called powdery mildew. In our experiments two white and two blue varieties were used. Contents of trans-resveratrol were determined in healthy and infested leaves and in healthy berries. Infested leaves of white varieties contained more trans-resveratrol than those of blue varieties. The content of trans-resveratrol in berries was lower than that in leaves.

A set of quality parameters (crude protein content, Zeleny sedimentation test, wet gluten content, gluten index, albumins + globulins content, gliadin content, sum of glutenins, proportion of albumins + globulins in crude protein and relative viscosity) was tested in 17 doubled haploid (DH) wheat lines differing in the presence or absence of 1B/1R translocation. The presence of 1B/1R translocation (allele Gli 1B3) affected the significantly higher content of albumins and globulins and significantly lower value of gluten index. Nevertheless, a certain translocation influence on the other parameters (Zeleny sedimentation test; relative viscosity; proportion of albumins + globulins in crude protein) was also registered. The deteriorative effect of the 1B/1R translocation on indirect technological grain parameters was confirmed more markedly in gluten index than in Zeleny sedimentation test. A high number of significant differences between lines was found in Zeleny sedimentation test, content of glutenin, content of albumins + globulins and their proportion in crude protein. In spite of lower variability between lines relative viscosity showed a high dependence on genotype and was indifferent to the other quality parameters.

This article describes the results of the analysis of correlation between the soil electrical conductivity and BPEJ (valued soil-ecological units). The measurements were made in 2006 at the School Agribusiness Land Farm in Lány established by the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. The soil electrical conductivity (EC) was measured by the contact method using a sensor with six electrodes. The soil EC data measured were compared with the data obtained from BPEJ maps. The aim was to verify if any relationship exists between the soil EC and BPEJ. The results achieved show that the same dependency exists between the values of the main soil unit of the BPEJ code and the soil EC. The results achieved can be used in the precise agriculture system to improve the decision process.

The main aim of this work was to compare the results of the water storages obtained in the experimental basins in the Jizerské hory Mountains before the time of snowmelt with the total outflows, which were measured in the hydrological stations during the snowmelt period in two winter seasons with extraordinary snow depths (2005 and 2006). The snow water equivalent (measured in weekly steps), daily precipitation amount, and runoff in hourly values were the input data; the calculated runoff coefficients were the output values. The runoff coefficients from the snowmelt periods of 2005 and 2006 were compared in the Uhlířská and the Jezdecká Basins. The runoff coefficient in the Uhlířská Basin increased in 2006 from 0.636 to 0.688 (increase by 4%) and in the Jezdecká Basin it increased in 2006 from 0.660 to 0.749 (increase by 9%). It may have been the result of a bigger volume of precipitation during the snowmelt period 2006. The calculated runoff coefficients, which express the differences between the water storage obtained and the total outflow, can describe the specific characters of the experimental basins. It may be useful for the estimation of the expected inflow into water reservoirs and also for the hydrological forecasting in the foothills of the Jizerské hory Mountains. The measured data of snow cover also serve as a check, and also for the possible adjustment of the snow water equivalent generated by the model SNOW 17 - which is a part of the forecasting modelling system Aqualog. This system is in everyday use for the Elbe river forecasts in the Forecasting Centre of CHMI. The usefulness of this procedure was proved especially during the floods arising from snowmelts in last years. The model SNOW 17 has been calibrated for the catchment of the Černá Desná Stream with the Jezdecká closing profile (one of the experimental basins in the Jizerské hory Mountains). The results obtained demonstrate a very good capability of the model to duplicate the dynamics of the snow cover accumulation and thaw, if quality input data are available.

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.

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.

The southern area of the province of Alicante (Spain) embraces the regions Vega Baja del Segura (The Low Valley of The Segura River) and Bajo Vinalopó (Low Vinalopó) in the Valencian Community. Although both regions have a growing residential, touristy and industrial potential, agriculture is still an important activity here. In this study, a characterization of agricultural land distribution in the southern regions of Alicante is carried out, regarding the main crops where the most important current problems are irrigation water shortage and low harvest prices. Incomes received by farmers according to the level of harvest prices and the evolution of these prices in the last two years are studied. Besides, prices have been noticed to keep stable at the best. The evolution of land for different uses, mainly industrial, is also estimated. The competition for land and water use with other sectors has significantly increased the amount of land for these uses and what is more, it is still on increase.

The paper deals with the comparison of intangible fixed assets, especially in the area of determination, evaluation as at the date of the accounting transaction, closing date and possibilities of depreciation according to the Czech accounting legislation, the selected German accounting systems and the international accounting standards IAS/IFRS and US GAAP. An analysis of the selected Czech firms with a varied structure of intangible fixed assets was also performed. The analysis proved that, in spite of the running IAS/IFRS and US GAAP convergence process, there are significant differences in this area, which limit the comparability of financial statements of accounting units. This paper is not concerned in detail with the preference limits and permits for greenhouse gases and intangible assets in acquisition.

We tested the germicide activity of 1% Chloramin BM, 1% Incidin Plus, 1% Lysoformin 3000, 0.2% Mikasept KP, and 2% Sekusept Forte against viruses in suspension (suspension test) and dried onto a surface (carrier test). The agents of the porcine encephalomyelitis (Porcine teschovirus, strains CAPM V-86, CAPM V-37), Aujeszky's disease (strains CAPM V-166, CAPM V-327) and vesicular stomatitis (strains CAPM V-499, CAPM V-331) were used as model viruses. After 30 min contact time in both the suspension and carrier tests, the Porcine teschovirus was 4 lg inactivated only by Mikasept, which was thus the only disinfectant to meet the standard. The other disinfectants decreased the viral titre insufficiently. Under the same conditions, Aujeszky's disease virus was inactivated by at least 4 lg by all the tested disinfectants except for Chloramin BM which decreased the titre of CAPM V-166 only by 3.75 lg in the carrier test. For the inactivation of Vesicular stomatitis virus Chloramin BM and Mikasept KP were tested. Both the disinfectants reliably decreased the viral titre in both the suspension and carrier tests. Our results show that the inactivation of a surface-bound virus is more difficult than its inactivation in suspension. We confirm the high resistance of non-enveloped viruses (Porcine teschovirus) to chemical inactivation.

Molecular studies enabling the recognition of the role of game and ticks in the circulation of pathogens transmitted by ticks and detection of coinfections in order to estimate a risk which a contact with tissues of roe deer, red deer and wild boar from north-western Poland brings were the aim of this research. DNA isolated from the blood and spleen of game and from Ixodes ricinus were the study materials. The results shows that Capreolus capreolus and Cervus elaphus play an important role in the life cycle of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, two Bartonella species, Theileria and Babesia spp. Whereas in the isolates obtained from 50 representatives of Sus scrofa, the DNA of only one pathogen, A. phagocytophilum occurred. 63.5% of 74 PCR+ isolates from Capreolus capreolus showed a double coinfection and three isolates - triple. In the tissues of Cervus elaphus, the coinfections were triple in 38% of individuals, double in 40%, single in 84%.

Sewage sludge application in agriculture is the simplest method of its management. Its content of organic and inorganic toxic components is a barrier to such management. Particular attention should be paid to the content of heavy metals whose presence in sewage sludge and later in soil poses hazard for plants, animals and people. The investigations aimed to determine the effect of vermicomposts obtained from tannery sludge on development of the root system and biomass of shoots as well as heavy metal concentrations in these organs. In the first year after the vermicomposts application their effect on the maize biomass increase was equal to the farmyard manure treatment but significantly worse than the mineral fertilization. The consecutive fertilizer effect of vermicomposts of tannery sludge ted on the increase in biomass of the shoots and roots of winter rape, sunflower and oats was comparable with the farmyard manure effect but notably better than the mineral fertilization. Heavy metal concentrations in individual plants were diversified; in the plants from vermicompost treatment they were as a rule lower than in the plants from mineral or farmyard manure treatment. Absorbed heavy metals accumulated primarily in the root systems, whereas the extremely high chromium content in vermicomposts did not cause its excessive accumulation in the cultivated plants.

Microbial activities and counts of microorganisms were monitored as a part of research projects at 11 localities on arable land of different soil types during the years 2002-2006. The counts of microorganisms (total bacteria count, actinomycetes, micromycetes, Azotobacter, oligotrophic and spore-forming bacteria) and microbial activities (respiration, ammonification and nitrification tests) were evaluated using summary statistics, analysis of variance and correlation coefficients. The average counts of microorganisms corresponded with usual counts of microbes in arable soils. There were only some differences among localities in Azotobacter counts. Soil respiration is very often used as an indicator of soil microflora activity. Average values of basal respiration were slightly lower (0.45 mg CO₂ /h per 100 g dry soil) than usual values, potential respiration with glucose (G) or with ammonium and G (NG) responded to usual values (average G 4.27, NG 9.53 mg CO₂ /h per 100 g dry soil). All activities (except actual ammonification) were higher in spring season, but the differences were not significant. There were significant differences in correlation coefficients among the selected criteria; 66% from the total number of correlation coefficients were non-significant, 34% were significant (13% of them was at the significance level 0.05, 10% P < 0.01, and 11% P < 0.001).

Pot experiments were conducted to determine the best time for application of (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) EDTA and sheep manure extract (SME) in phytoremediation of a contaminated soil by Helianthus annuus. The plant was grown in a mine calcareous soil treated with increasing concentrations of EDTA or SME in 30 and 10 days before sowing (T1 and T2) and 10 and 30 days after sowing (T3 and T4). The best time for EDTA application was T4. The EDTA application before seed germination significantly reduced sunflower seedling emergence and dry weight. Soil available Pb and lead concentrations in plant organs increased with EDTA concentration but the actual amount of phytoextracted Pb decreased at high EDTA concentrations significantly, due to severe growth depression. SME application after sowing can increase plant dry weight and Pb concentration in the soil solution, enhancing the accumulated metal concentrations in shoots and roots. However the results showed that the most efficient treatments for Pb phytoextraction by sunflower are applications of 0.5 and 2 g EDTA/kg soil at T3 and T4, respectively.

Emmer and spelt are two hulled wheats that were widely grown in Spain until the latter 1960s. Twenty-nine emmer and twenty-six spelt lines obtained from Spanish accessions of these hulled wheats were analysed for quality traits and endosperm storage protein composition. The results showed a wide range of variability in these traits. Likewise, a certain association between some alleles of these proteins and the SDS-sedimentation volume has been detected.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of cage stocking density on egg yield, some egg quality traits and plumage condition in laying hens. Eighteen weeks-old 264 ISA-Brown pullets were divided into four cage density groups. The densities were 2 000, 1 000, 667 and 500 cm² per hen (by allocating 1, 2, 3 and 4 hens per cage; floor area 40 × 50 cm) with 48, 30, 24 and 21 replicate cages, totally 123 three-tier battery cages. During the experimental period from 18 to 53 weeks of age, all birds were provided illumination for 16 hours a day. The hens were fed a diet containing 11.7 MJ ME/kg and 180 g CP during the period of 18 to 40 weeks of age and 11.3 MJ ME/kg and 170 g CP during the period of 41 to 54 weeks of age. Feed and water were available for ad libitum. Egg yield, mortality, live weights at 50% egg production age and at the end of experiment, pecking related mortalities, some egg quality traits and plumage condition were recorded weekly. Hen-housed egg production, egg mass, viability, and live weights were significantly decreased by higher densities. Most of the egg quality traits were not affected by cage densities. Pecking related mortalities increased in cage densities of 667 cm² and 500 cm² per hen compared to the other densities (P < 0.05) while plumage scores were higher in all body parts of hens kept in cages of 2 000 cm² and 1 000 cm² densities compared to the higher densities. The results showed that brown laying hens should be kept in cages having 1 000-2 000 cm² densities in order to improve their welfare and performance.

The submitted work deals with the relation between the sum of active temperatures above 7°C and important phenological phases in peach tree cultivation. The aim of the paper is to provide information for growers, especially regarding anticipated harvest dates, which is important for marketing. Data has been compiled for the period 1998-2007 for the variety Catherine, grown in the locality of Velké Bílovice in the Czech Republic. A relationship between the sum of active temperatures above 7°C from the beginning of the year up to the start of blossoming has been identified, and a model determining the harvest date on the basis of the sum of active temperatures in the periods of 30 days and 60 days after blossoming has been tested.

The common denominator of all rather different names and understandings of it (the problem of the "model of man and society development", problem of the "lack of the civilisation concept" etc.) is that there is no clear understanding regarding the question of the perspective approach (or approaches), the relevant basic development trends of humankind in the material as well as non-material sphere, i.e. in the basic question of many philosophers "Who are we, whence and where are we going". We mention only some of the problems, which are at present directly connected to the "problem of the future of man". These are the problems from the sphere of all-human social, ethical, humanitarian and cultural aspects of the human civilisation development, which are today (but need not be already in the near future) in the centre of attention: the problem of social inequality extension, the problem of spreading epidemics and drug abuse, the problem of the uncontrollable migration and city agglomerations growth, the problem of terrorism.

Bovine reproductive disorders are of growing interest from both economic and health standpoints. The role that fungi play in these processes is becoming increasingly important. Study of the seroprevalence of anti-Aspergillus antibodies in cow sera taken from herds with previous reproductive disorders is therefore of great interest. We used an indirect ELISA technique, that had shown suitable results in previous studies in other animal species. Thirteen percent of the 387 animals tested in the current study were positive, accounting for 41% of herds. When this technique was applied to the sera of two fetuses, that were aborted due to aspergillosis, a significant difference in anti-Aspergillus antibody levels was found compared with those in control sera. The ELISA technique was compared with PLATELIA and PCR for 24 ELISA-positive cattle sera; these assays resulted in only one and three positive results, respectively. In conclusion, the ELISA analysis showed a significant seroprevalence of Aspergillus antibodies in herds with previous reproductive disorders. There is therefore a need for more attention to be paid to Aspergillus in the differential diagnoses of these conditions and to improve preventive methods to effectively control this organism.