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This study aims to explore the effect of phosphorus (P) application on the economic yield, quality, P accumulation, and P utilisation efficiency of purple-fleshed sweetpotato and to provide a basis for the P efficient utilisation and high crop yield. Field experiments were conducted in 2018-2019, and five P application rates (0, 10.9, 21.8, 32.7, and 43.6 kg P/ha, expressed as P0, P1, P2, P3, and P4, respectively) were set. The results showed that P application significantly increased the yield and commodity potato yield of purple-fleshed sweetpotato, and that of P3 treatment was the highest, followed by P2 treatment. P application also increased the starch content in the storage root and increased the reducing sugar and soluble sugar (except for P2 treatment). P fertiliser supply significantly increased P accumulation and dry matter production of purple-fleshed sweetpotato during the growth period of 90 to 120 days. When the P application rate was over 21.8 kg/ha, the fertiliser investment rate, apparent P utilisation efficiency and P agronomic efficiency decreased with the increase of the application rate. Considering all the indexes, the supply of 21.8 kg/ha P fertiliser can meet the demand for high economic yield and P efficient utilisation in purple-fleshed type sweetpotato under the condition of this experiment.

With the passing of Professor MVDr. Karel Hruška, CSc., on March 24, 2022, the Czech veterinary community has lost an outstanding figure in basic and applied veterinary research. His remarkable legacy also includes bringing the discipline into the computer era as well as enduring contributions as an educator and editor.

Dairy farming is deeply affected by climate change, especially by rising temperatures and heat waves, poorer availability of quality food and water, and the spread of new diseases and pests outside their original ecological niche. Their impact can be mitigated not only by changes in technologies, management and treatment, but also by breeding and selection of more resilient cows. General resilience encompasses the animal's capacity to cope with environmental, social and disease challenges. It is described as the capacity of the animal to be minimally affected by a disturbance or to rapidly return to the physiological, behavioural, cognitive, health, affective and production states that pertained before exposure to a disturbance. As disturbances can be of different natures, general resilience is a composite trait consisting of different resilience types according to the nature of the disturbance. Resilience can be quantified through time series data that capture fluctuations in the daily performance. Recent studies have worked with deviations in the daily milk yield and daily live weight from optimal performance or have focused on the assessment of the daily activity in terms of the daily step count. To observe the duration and magnitude of the response to perturbance, two indicators were suggested: the autocorrelation (r_auto) and the natural logarithm of deviations (LnVar). Based on the daily milk yield deviations, both indicators have shown sufficient genetic variabilities with the estimated heritability ~0.1 for r_auto and ~0.2 for LnVar. Low values of both indicators were genetically related to better udder health, better hoof health, better longevity, better fertility, higher body condition score, less ketosis but also lower milk yield level. The selection for improved resilience could benefit from the use of genomic information as several genes and biological pathways associated with disease resilience and resilience to heat stress have already been identified. The presented results suggest that the integration of resilience into the cattle breeding programmes would improve the capacity of the dairy industry to cope with global climate change.

We studied sessile oak (Quercus petraea) growing on six dry sites to understand adaptability responses to drought stress. Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) on a moderately dry site was tested in parallel. We analyzed accessions from mostly dry sites that were less sensitive to soil drought and found that the growth performance ranking was not the same before and after treatment. We used phenological plasticity approaches to study seed development and plant development before and after drought: the treatments included stem length, root length, and collar diameter, as well as dry above- and below-ground biomass performance. Additionally, after drought treatment, osmolytes and root surface were tested in Q. petraea. According to the analyses and results, the ranked sites did not maintain their ranking status, with Q. petraea exhibiting different rates of growth during each developmental stage from seed development until the end of the treatment of plant material. The smallest seeds came from the driest site, which may indicate more adaptability to drought stress. After drought treatment, large differences were found between the dry biomass performance, stem length, root length, and collar diameter of oaks grown on different sites. The osmolality of Q. petraea on most of the dry sites was higher under the reduced treatment than under the optimal treatment, but not significantly. After drought treatment, all accessions - and especially those from the driest site - showed large differences in growth performance between the treatments. The relationship between seed weight and seedling development before and after drought treatment differed according to the developmental stage.

The in vitro compatibility of the entomopathogenic fungus, Cladosporium cladosporioides BOU1, with the crude extract of three plants viz. Calotropis gigantea, Vitex negundo and Carissa macrocarpa at a concentration of 1% and 2% was investigated. The compatibility of the fungal isolate with the plant extracts was calculated using the biological index formula from the germination percentage, radial growth and spore production of BOU1. The compatibility of the plant extracts with the fungal isolate was also assessed based on the protease and lipase activities of the treated fungus. Both concentrations of plant extracts did not significantly inhibit the germination percentage, radial growth and spore production of BOU1 in a dose-depended manner. The average mean values of the biological index for the three plant extracts with two concentrations were more than 98%. The analyses of the data with the compatibility index formula suggest that irrespective of concentration, all three plant extracts were compatible with BOU1. When the plant extracts were added to the fungal isolate, the protease and lipase activities of the fungal isolate were not significantly inhibited compared to the untreated control. The reduction in all the variables of fungal growth and the enzymatic activity was less than 10% and 20%, respectively. From these findings, we can conclude that the fungal biocontrol agent C. cladosporioides BOU1 is compatible with the investigated plant extracts in terms of the fungal growth and enzymatic activities.

Improved soil properties are commonly reported benefits of adding biochar to agriculture soils. To investigate the range of biochar's effects on soil chemical properties (e.g., soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic carbon (SOC), soil total carbon (TC), and soil carbon-nitrogen ratio (C:N ratio)) in response to varied experimental conditions, a meta-analysis was conducted on previously published results. The results showed that the effect of biochar on soil chemical properties varied depending on management conditions, soil properties, biochar pyrolysis conditions, and biochar properties. The effect size (Hedges'd) of the biochar was greatest for SOC (0.50), the C:N ratio of soil (0.44), soil pH (0.39), TC (0.35), EC (0.21), and CEC (0.20). Among the various factors examined by aggregated boosted tree analysis, the effects of biochar on soil chemical properties were largely explained by the biochar application rate, initial soil pH, and soil sand content. In conclusion, our study suggests that improving soil chemical properties by adding biochar not only requires consideration of biochar application rates and chemical properties but also the local soil environmental factors, especially soil initial pH and sand content of the soil, should be considered.

Cryptosporidium parvum is an enteric protozoan, which causes severe diarrhoea in a wide range of vertebrate hosts including ruminants and humans. C. parvum infections are responsible for immense economic losses to the livestock industry; furthermore, the zoonotic spread of the infection may lead to mortality in immunosuppressed humans. In the present study, we report two cases of severe cryptosporidiosis in goat kids in the Republic of Korea. Both cases were afflicted with severe diarrhoea upon presentation; the histopathological examinations revealed atrophied and fused intestinal villi and numerous circular basophilic organisms in the jejunum and ileum. Both cases were diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis based on the results of the histopathological analysis, amplification of the C. parvum gp60 gene, modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining, and C. parvum antigen ELISA. According to the phylogenetic analysis using the C. parvum gp60 gene for the genetic subtypes, the C. parvum isolates were identified as subtype IIdA15G1 with zoonotic potential. This is the first pathological report of caprine cryptosporidiosis induced by C. parvum subtype IId in the Republic of Korea. Considering the clinical manifestations associated with the pathological lesions and the zoonotic significance of these findings, the continuous monitoring and prevention of C. parvum infections in goats are essential for minimising the economic losses in ruminant farms and in maintaining public health safety standards.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an infectious pathogenic bacteria infecting many different species of animals. Currently, it lacks a commercial vaccine. In this study, three monovalent DNA vaccines (poprL, poprF, and pflgE), three bivalent combination DNA vaccines (poprL+poprF, poprL+pflgE, poprF+pflgE), and a trivalent DNA vaccine (poprL+poprF+pflgE) were constructed. Consequently, we immunised chickens with these DNA vaccines and used inactivated vaccines as the positive controls. Then, the immune efficacy was evaluated through serum antibody detection, a lymphocyte proliferation assay, and cytokine concentration determination. Lastly, we assessed the protection rate through a challenge experiment. Following vaccination, the serum antibody levels induced using these DNA vaccines were different due to the different coating antigens. In the trivalent combination DNA vaccine group, we established that the lymphocyte proliferation (SI values), IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-4 levels were significantly higher than those of the other six DNA vaccine groups and the inactivated vaccine group. However, the protection provided was slightly lower than that of the inactivated vaccine and higher than those of other DNA vaccines. The protection rate of poprL, poprF, pflgE, poprL+poprF, poprL+pflgE, poprF+pflgE, poprL+poprF+pflgE, and the inactivated vaccine were 50, 45, 60, 75, 80, 80, 90, and 95%, respectively. The results of this study indicated the trivalent DNA vaccine based on oprL, oprF and flgE genes represents a promising approach for the prevention of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.

This study provides the first insight into the biologically active potential (total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins and antioxidant activity) of Moldavian сarob beans and pod pulp in comparison with carob grown in Algeria, Spain, and Italy. The results showed that the samples of Moldavian carob contain significant amounts (P ≤ 0.05) of biologically active compounds, the content of some of these compounds is far exceeding that of сarob from the above-mentioned regions. Thus, the total content of phenolic compounds in Moldavian carob samples is 1.4 times higher, of flavonoids 1.9 times higher compared to the imported ones. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) antioxidant activity of Moldavian carob samples proved to be about 10-12% higher than the antioxidant activity of samples from other regions. It has been proved that Moldavian carob pod pulp and beans have a high biologically active potential making them possible ingredients for functional food products.

The effect of soil selenate application to two different soils (Phaeozem and Cambisol) on biomass yield and selenium (Se) uptake by spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was investigated in a pot experiment. Additionally, organic amendment (fugate, i.e. liquid by-product from the biogas plant) was applied to assess (i) the effect of organic matter on the bioavailability of Se and (ii) the fugate (containing 2.3 mg/kg of Se) as a potential source of Se for plants. Selenium was applied at two levels: 6.4 µg/kg (Se1) and 32 µg/kg (Se2) of soil. The efficiency of biofortification and the distribution of selenium within individual plant compartments were assessed in this case. The highest Se contents in the grain were achieved in the treatments receiving NPK fertiliser together with selenate, 455 µg/kg (Se1) and 2 721 µg/kg (Se2) when wheat was planted in Phaeozem. Fugate in co-application with selenate significantly reduced Se content in wheat plants as compared to treatments enriched solely with selenate. The lower Se contents in the wheat plants growing in Phaeozem were due to the biodilution effect, whereas in Cambisol, the decrease in wheat Se uptake was not clearly driven by a particular factor.

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stål, 1855 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), is recorded from Slovakia for the first time based on a 5^th instar larva collected in the town of Štúrovo, Slovakia. The current distribution, economic importance and biology of the species are briefly reviewed. During the visit to Štúrovo, a mass occurrence of adults and larvae of the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (Linnaeus, 1758) (Pentatomidae), so far captured in Slovakia in 2014 only as a single specimen, was also observed. This observation confirms the presence of N. viridula as an established species in southern Slovakia. Both species are important pests to a large number of crops (vegetables, fruit trees, decorative plants, etc.) and can cause considerable economic losses.

Farmers' markets have been booming in recent years and are becoming an important alternative food network. They enable farmers to sell their products directly to customers and thus shorten the supply chain. Market organisers must meet the needs of both consumers and vendors by ensuring customer satisfaction while maintaining profitability for vendors. The present study identified four basic segments at farmers' markets, as follows: (1) product-oriented customers; (2) personal social responsibility-oriented customers; (3) entertainment and emotional-oriented customers; (4) alternative food-oriented customers. These segments were analysed using Structural Equation Modeling in relation to the amount of money spent on average at a farmers' market. The results indicate that most money was spent at farmers' market segments that are oriented at entertainment and emotional-oriented and product-oriented customers. This indicates that farmers' markets are no longer just a place to purchase fresh, high-quality food, but also a place that people visit for its atmosphere, for the food that can be eaten on-site, and to buy products not for direct consumption (e.g. flowers). It also proved the negative moderation effect of entertainment-oriented motivation on the amount of money spent with connection to product-orientation, which suggests that entertainment-orientated customers spend more than product-oriented customers.

Forests as a part of landscape do not fulfil their economic function (timber production) only but a lot of other non-economic functions, especially ecological ones. Both economic and non-economic functions are indisputable and equally important for society. The aim of this paper is to identify current attitudes to forest perceptions by citizens in the Czech Republic. Primary data were obtained by means of a questionnaire research survey which was carried out in 2018. Altogether 824 respondents took part in this survey (n = 824). From the results follows that approximately 70% of respondents visit forest at least three times a month. In connection with this, the relationship between respondents' forest visit frequency and the forest density in the region where they come from was confirmed. 60% of respondents consider the forest exploitation and forest management to be the most important cause of damage and threats to forest. In relation to forest, 46% of respondents consider forest conservation and protection to be the most important topics.

Slow-release nitrogen fertiliser can potentially increase crop production and improve fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency. However, it is unclear that are suitable for different regions and crops in the northeast of China. Therefore, according to different soil and climate characteristics, we investigated the synchronised relationships between nitrogen slow release fertiliser and nitrogen maize requirements. Experiments were conducted at Shenyang Agricultural University, Liaoning province, Northeast China, from 2016 to 2017. Stabilised fertiliser treatments increased grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen accumulation at each maize growth stage. Grain yield increased by 2.32% and 11.33% (2016), and 1.55% and 7.87% (2017), respectively, when compared with the urea CK1 (233 kg N/ha) and CK2 (210 kg N/ha) treatments. Additionally, during the growth period of the stabilised fertiliser treatment, the stability of the synchronisation relationship between nitrogen absorption and absorption of spring maize was significantly higher than other treatments, and the effect was the best. Therefore, we conclude that the stabilised fertiliser is the most suitable option for promotion and application in spring maize in Northeast China.

Intercropping system plays a crucial role in improving crop yield, nitrogen utilisation efficiency (NUE) and economic benefit. The difference in crop yield and interspecific relationship under different bandwidth and row ratio allocation patterns are still unclear. A field experiment was carried out to explore change regularities between crop yield and interspecific relationships under maize soybean intercropping with different bandwidths and row ratios. The results showed that the yield of intercropped crops was lower than that of the sole crop. The nitrogen accumulation (NA), NUE and nitrogen competition ratio was the highest under the intercropping mode with a bandwidth of 2.0 m, which indicated that this mode was more conducive to the N uptake and utilisation in crops. In all intercropping systems, nitrogen equivalent ratio (NER) and land equivalent ratio (LER) were all greater than one, indicating that intercropping systems were conducive to improving land utilisation efficiency and NUE. Under the same bandwidth pattern, expanding the maize soybean row ratio from 2:4 to 3:4 was beneficial to the improvement of LER, NER, NUE, crop group yield. In conclusion, it was preferable in the NA, NUE, crop group yield under the system of bandwidth 2.0 m and row ratio 2:2, which could be a reference for maize soybean intercropping system.

A straw chopper is a mechanical device used to uniformly chop fodder into small pieces to mix it together with other grass and then feed it to livestock. The objective of this research was to design and develop an animal fodder chopping machine to be utilised by dairy farmers within their purchase range. The drawing of these machine parts was undertaken in AutoCAD software and the construction was performed in a local workshop. After development of this machine, performance tests were carried out on a farm. The chopping machine tests were carried out with commonly grown fodder (namely: straw, grass, and maize) in Bangladesh. The performance evaluation of the developed machine was carried out in terms of the chopping efficiency, machine productivity, and energy consumption. The economic analysis of the straw chopping machine was assessed by indicating the cost effectiveness to the poor farmers. Analysis of the data in regard to chopping efficiency and machine productivity varied from 93 to 96% and from 192 to 600 kg×h^-1, respectively. The energy consumption during the chopping process ranged between 0.0025 and 0.01 kWh for the different types of fodder. The break-even point of the fodder chopping machine was 3 793 kg of cut straw and the payback period was within one year depending on the use.

This study compared different methods of determining starch digestibility (in vivo vs in vitro) in wheat grains and evaluated the influence of extrusion on digestibility. In vivo starch digestibility was determined in broiler chickens by calculating the residual starch content in their ilea and the digestibility using a chromium oxide indicator. In vitro digestibility was examined using pepsin and pancreatin. During in vivo testing, the highest digestibility coefficient (DC) was achieved by the Bonanza variety in its extruded form (91.19 ± 0.40%). In contrast, the lowest DC was achieved by the Tobak variety in its non-extruded form (81.45 ± 1.92%). Generally, a higher DC was observed in vivo for extruded forms of wheat. During in vitro testing, the highest DC was achieved by the Stefii variety in its non-extruded form (96.10 ± 0.55%), whereas the lowest DC was observed in the Yetti variety in its extruded form (49.72 ± 0.41%). Overall, the in vitro experiments did not exhibit significant differences between extruded and non-extruded forms of wheat. Linear regression analysis showed a strong relationship (r² = 0.860; 85.98%) between in vivo- and in vitro-derived DC values in all wheat varieties, both in extruded and non-extruded forms. The study showed that in vivo testing is a suitable method for the determination and control of starch levels in extruded materials. However, despite the accuracy of this technique, it is also very demanding in terms of time, space, equipment, and methodological knowledge. Therefore, based on the strong correlation between the in vivo and in vitro assays, we recommend in vitro digestibility testing as a preferable alternative.

The role of preparations supporting plant growth is mainly to reduce the harmful effects of various stress factors on plants and to ensure high yields of good quality. This experiment compared the effect of the mineral stimulator Tytanit® and the biological preparation Effective Microorganisms (EM) on the physiological and biochemical activity, as well as the yield of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The photosynthetic pigments, free proline and malondialdehyde were assayed and compared at three phenological phases of the bean: 15 BBCH, 24 BBCH, 65 BBCH. The yield parameters included the average number of pods per plant, as well as their fresh and dry mass. Additionally, the nutrient content in the pods was determined according to the atomic absorption spectrometry method. The study revealed a positive effect of both preparations on increasing the content of chlorophyll a, b, and the carotenoids in the bean leaves. Plants treated with Tytanit® were characterised by the highest content of malondialdehyde and proline, while EM maintained the aldehyde content on a similar level compared to the untreated plants and significantly reduced the proline content. Both preparations significantly decreased the Mn, Mg, P, and Ca content in the pods and did not have a substantial impact on the yield.

Boron (B) is a plant nutrient and a limited mineral resource. Therefore, secondary B sources such as end-of-life cellulose fiber insulation (CFI) should be preferred for B fertiliser production over primary borates. In addition, crop B fertilisation is challenging because B is only weakly adsorbed in soils and prone to leaching in particular if the soil pH is below 7. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of pyrolysed CFI (B-Biochar) on crop B uptake in the field and on B leaching in a lysimeter study. B-Biochar was pyrolysed at 600 °C and tested (1) in a field experiment with maize (Zea mays L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), and (2) in a lab microlysimeter experiment to study B leaching under simulated rainfall. In the field experiment, B concentration in plant tissue increased by up to 100% with B-Biochar compared to the control (from 29.6 to 61.6 mg B/kg in young sunflower leaves) and was only slightly lower (-10% to -20%) than with water-soluble Na-tetraborate (Borax). This lower uptake was attributed to the slow-release properties of the B-Biochar. In the lysimeter experiment, 41% and 55% of added B through B-Biochar was leached below 16 cm depth when fertilised with 1 and 2 kg B/ha, respectively, but B concentration of the leachate remained below the 1 mg B/L threshold value for drinking water in the European Union. In conclusion, CFI has a strong potential as a secondary B source for fertiliser production, and pyrolysis appears to be a suitable process for that purpose. During the processing of CFI to fertiliser, more focus should be given to slow B release in the future in order to reduce losses by leaching.

Soil incubation and pot experiments were conducted to follow the sorption processes of added phosphorus (P) fertiliser using the radioisotope tracer technique. Increasing doses of P fertiliser (40, 80, 160, 320 mg P/kg soil) were added to Chernozem and Arenosol and incubated for 1, 3, and 13 weeks. After incubation, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was sown in one group of pots, and the experiment had been continuing for another 9 weeks. The yield, grass P uptake, isotopically exchangeable (P_IE), water-soluble (P_W), and ammonium lactate soluble phosphorus (P_AL) fractions of soils were measured. On Chernozem, plant P uptake, P_IE, P_W and P_AL were significantly less in the case of the longest incubation period compared to shorter incubations. This suggests a transformation of P into tightly sorbed form. On Arenosol, there were only small changes in the parameters as the incubation period increased, suggesting less intense P transformation to tightly sorbed form. The P_W/P_IE ratio enhanced with increasing P-doses, and the ratios were higher on Arenosol. On Arenosol, the higher P doses caused a greater increase of P_W than on Chernozem. The P_IE + P_W showed a good correlation with plant P uptake proving this value can be a good indicator of plant-available phosphorus.

Freeze-thaw erosion occurs primarily at high latitudes and altitudes. Temperature controlled freeze-thaw events dislodge soil particles and serve as a catalyst for erosion. This review paper provided an overview of the effects of freeze-thaw on soil properties and water erosion. The process of freeze-thaw cycles results in temporary and inconsistent changes in the soil moisture, and affects the soil's mechanical, physical and chemical properties, such as the soil moisture content, porosity, bulk density, aggregates stability, shear strength and organic matter content and so on. The variation trend and range of the soil properties were related to the soil texture, water content and freeze-thaw degree. Furthermore, the soil erosion was affected by the freeze-thaw processes, as thawing and water erosion reinforce each other. However, research of different experimental conditions on indoor simulations have numerous limitations compared with field experiments. The use of indoor and field experiments to further reveal the freeze-thaw effect on the soil erosion would facilitate improved forecasting.

The heading date and growth habit are key factors that regulate the transition from the vegetative to the reproductive stage in barley. In this study, we used PCR based markers to identify the allelic variations in the Vrn-H1 (HvMB5) and Vrn-H2 (HvSNF2) genes and to predict the heading date and growth habit of a collection of Tunisian barley assessed under a semi-arid climate. The allelic variation at HvBM5 revealed two PCR fragments at 830 and 344 bp. Primer sets used to amplify the HvSNF2 gene have resulted in different alleles size of 543, 623, and 700 bp. Different allelic combinations of HVBM5 and HvSNF2 were associated with the heading date and growth habit. The spring and early heading accessions were only characterised by the amplification of the HvSNF2 fragment at 700 bp. All the winter accessions yielded the PCR product HvBM5 at 830 bp, but the variation in the heading date was determined by the HvSNF2 alleles. These DNA markers will be a powerful tool to predict the heading date and growth habit and can be used as markers for the assisted selection to speed up the national breeding programme.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the inter-breed genetic diversity of Lithuanian Trakehner horses. The current population in Lithuania numbers 1 039 Trakehner horses. The study included the immunogenetic data analysis of 316 blood samples. Pedigree was traced back to 7-11 generations. The horses were assigned to genealogical clusters originating from East Prussian Trakehner Stud, Thoroughbred and Arab sires. The first two clusters were subdivided into nine-horse groups according to the most important ancestors. The evaluation of genetic diversity was based on six blood groups and five protein polymorphism systems. The differences between genealogical groups were confirmed by principal component analysis and applied cluster analysis. According to the allelic frequency, the Trakehner population changed very slightly through a 30-year period, and only one rare (0.013) allele Tf^RR (frequent in other Trakehner populations), has been newly found. The analysis of genetic polymorphism systems based on a very low rate of alleles Q^abc (0.093) and D^dkl (0.046), which are typical of other populations, indicated the exclusivity of the Trakehner population in Lithuania. The average expected heterozygosity by blood protein polymorphism and blood groups were 0.409 and 0.441, respectively. The genetic clustering diverged by observed heterozygosity of blood groups and by pedigree data in Pilger through Egoist, Bay Ronald through Dark Ronald and Dampfross through Hyperion subgroups. The determined distinctiveness of subdivided Trakehner horse groups suggests reconsidering the breeding strategies and conservation programme of Trakehner horses. Breeding and selection of subdivided sire lines could be among the appropriate solutions for the maintenance and extension of the genealogical structure.

A continuous long-term field experiment (2008-2018) was conducted in Xinjiang, north-western China, to assess the impact of farmyard manure (FYM) and inorganic fertilisers on the sustainable biomass yield of sweet sorghum cultivar (Xingaoliang No. 3) and soil chemical properties. Seven treatments, associated with nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), FYM, and their different combination, were compared with the control plot (CK). As a result, the treatments NP, PK, NK, NPK and NPKM significantly increased the average biomass yields by 30-48% over CK. The 12 t/ha FYM per year with NPK (NPKM) increased both the yield and total soluble solids (T_SS) by 48% and 7.9%, respectively, while the 18 t/ha/year application rate of FYM had an adverse effect on yield. Stem T_SS, soil available N and K for all treatments decreased while soil organic carbon, soil total salt and the available P for FYM applied treatments increased over the years. The soil pH stabilised at 7.8-8.2 at the end. In conclusion, the 12 t/ha/year of FYM is the most efficient rate for a single application or incorporation with inorganic fertilisers. A more reasonable application rate of N and K fertiliser to increase the yield and irrigation rate to reduce soil salt needs for further investigation.

Atrazine is still widely used in China. Atrazine residue (1.86-1 100 mg/kg) in the soil has exceeded the allowable limit (1.0 mg/kg), affecting soil structure and soil aggregate composition. To understand the long-term application of atrazine on soil aggregates and the binding agent, four treatments were established in cornfield planted since 1998, including without atrazine applied (AT₀), atrazine applied (28% atrazine, 1 200-1 350 mL/ha/year) once a year from 2012 to 2018 (AT₆, 167 mg/kg), from 2008 to 2018 (AT₁₀, 127.64 mg/kg) as well as from 2002 to 2018 (AT₁₆, 102 mg/kg) with three replications. Along with the increase of atrazine application time, the mass fraction of soil aggregates > 5 mm and 2-5 mm decreased significantly while the mass fraction of soil aggregates 0.5-2 mm and < 0.5 mm increased gradually, and the change of aggregate binding agents contents were the same as that of aggregates. The contents of soil organic carbon (SOC) and glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) in the aggregates > 5 mm and 2-5 mm were significantly negatively correlated with the years of atrazine application. Our results show that although atrazine residue in the soil does not increase with the increased yearly application, its concentration is still markedly higher than the permitted limit value and seriously affected the content of SOC and GRSP of aggregates > 2 mm, which can lead to a decrease of soil aggregate stability and soil quality.

Immobilisation of lead (Pb) and toxic elements in contaminated soils is of importance due to their persistence in the environment. Herein, we investigated the effects of sugarcane filter cake biochar (SFCB) and sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA) on the extractability of Pb and some toxic and potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cu, and Zn) in polluted mine soil samples from Lower Klity Creek, Thailand. The soil was equilibrated with the SFCB and SBA at the respective rates of 0, 1, and 5% (w/w) for 120 days at field capacity. The results revealed that both SFCB and SBA materials significantly (P < 0.05) decreased Pb extractability in the studied soil, and it stabilised after 56 days of incubation. At 120 days, the SFCB and SBA application at the rates of 5% SFCB, 5% SBA, 1% SFCB, and 1% SBA decreased the extractable Pb contents by 50.35, 40.81, 29.42, and 19.27%, respectively, compared to unamended soil. The SFCB and SBA materials also improved soil chemical properties by increasing the soil pH, available phosphorus, and extractable sulfur. At 5%, SFCB decreased As extractability and increased organic carbon in the studied soil. The Zn availability in the studied soil was also improved by SFCB and SBA addition. This study highlights the potential use of biochar and ash from the sugarcane industry to stabilise Pb and As in contaminated soils.

The experiment was established in the Pomological Orchard of The National Institute of Horticultural Research in Skierniewice in a system of randomized blocks. The aim of the experiment was to investigate the impact of innovative organic fertilizers: BioIlsa, BioFeed Ecomix, biostimulator Ausma and mycorrhizal inoculum Mykoflor on the fine roots growth characteristics of 'Vanda' sweet cherry trees in comparison with NPK mineral fertilization. The experiment involved five combinations, in three repetitions of three trees each, treated with tested preparations. The study assessed the influence of fertilization on the lifespan of the roots, the depth of their formation, their diameter and survivorship using minirhizotron camera. The highest numbers of roots were found in the treatment where the plants were fertilized with NPK and the lowest following the use of the biofertilizer BioFeed Ecomix. The longest lifespan was shown by the roots of the trees treated with BioFeed Ecomix - 347 days, and the shortest - by those fertilized with the Ausma - 225 days. The lifespan of the roots increased with their diameter. The roots that lived the longest had a diameter in the range from 0.9 to 1.0 mm - 568 days, and the shortest-living were the roots with a diameter smaller than 0.3 mm - 238 days. The roots that formed in late autumn and winter had the shortest median lifespan of 159 days, while the roots formed in the spring where characterized by the longest lifespan of 300 days. The lifespan of the roots formed close to the soil surface was the shortest - 225 days, while that of the roots formed at a depth of 10 to 20 cm was the longest - 326 days. Biological origin, organic nitrogen rich fertilizers positively influence on fine roots lifespan and longevity. Mineral fertilization increases number of new formed roots.

Control and supervision activities in the field of forest management are a type of activity of state authorities to detect, prevent forest violations. The purpose of this study is to analyse the dynamics and nature of violations in the forest sector on the example and in comparison of such regions of Russia as the Krasnodar territory and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The research methodology is selected taking into account the characteristics of the object under study. With the assistance of employees of the environmental inspectorate, search operations were organized in the areas where the greatest amount of forest damage occurs in the studied regions. The authors concluded that one of the reasons for the existing problems is the lack of interest of the state in the development of this sector of economy. The paper focuses on specific types of forest violations and the problems of their prevention. The authors believe that illegal logging belongs to the most common and socially dangerous forest violations. The article concludes that when adopting new regulations for control and supervisory activities in the field of forest management, the legislator must take into account requirements of administrative reform, regulatory guillotine, and risk-based approach.

The population structure of Phytophthora capsici among asexual and sexual progenies was analyzed using ISSR. Thirty asexual progenies of one parent and three sexual populations were assayed for genetic diversity using 5 ISSR primers and DNA from 120 offspring of P. capsici was amplified. In total, 71 reproducible ISSR fragments were obtained, of which 100% were polymorphic, revealing high polymorphism among the isolates. Among them, the percentages of polymorphism of sexual and asexual progeny isolates were 100.00 and 77.46%, respectively. Genetic similarity coefficients among all the isolates ranged from 0.54 to 0.73. The sexual offspring population showed much more variability than the asexual offspring population with 76.26% variability attributed to diversity within populations as compared with 23.74% among populations. This research reveals that the sexual progeny population of P. capsici contributes more genetic diversity than that of asexual progeny population.