Fulltext search in archive

The study focused on the effects of gap size on natural regeneration of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) and micro-environmental soil conditions in gaps of different sizes under temperate mixed forest in the Czech Republic. Six gaps comprising two for small (≥ 200 m²), medium (≥ 500 m²) and big (≥ 900 m²) each were selected. Ten circular 1 m² subsampling plots were established at 2 m intervals along individual North-South-East-West transects, including one at the gap centre. Regeneration was monitored in 2014 and repeatedly in 2019. Soil conditions were only measured in 2019. Gap size was found to be a significant parameter for European beech natural regeneration in 2014. Besides, the quick occupation of European beech in gaps at natural beech zone provoked its prolific regeneration compared to Norway spruce in 2014. However, in 2019 the recent threat of weather variabilities was responsible for the general abysmal growth performance of natural regeneration. Division of gap microsites into different within-gap positions based on prevailing light or shade conditions was helpful in assessing the significant variations of soil conditions within-gap positions and among gap sizes. Soil temperature and moisture significantly influenced the regeneration of European beech and Norway spruce, respectively.

Changes in the gene pool and homogeneity of red clover cultivars occur over time. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly renew the breeding material and foundation seed. Moreover, the market also prescribes a new demand. Based on the Natura 2000 habitats profile, we collected seeds from 39 locations across Lithuania in 2016. The phenotypic traits that affect the seed yield of red clover were analysed in 2018. The homogeneity of the populations with reference to the seed yield and 1 000 seed weight (TSW) were determined as well. Also, the possibility of obtaining two seed yields per season under drought conditions from wild genotypes of red clover was analysed. We found that the final seed yield mostly depends on the seed number per flower head (SN/FH), which strongly correlated with 1^st component of PCA during first (r = 0.91) and second (0.92) harvest. Meanwhile, the cluster analysis showed that the typical wild red clover has a lower seed weight than the cultivars and could be clustered on the basis of seed homogeneity. Finally, based on the seed phenotype and harvest components, there were five prospective accessions (2177, 2871, 2876, 2898 and 2899) for a new cultivar prototype.

To investigate how clipping (CL) regulates the effects of nutrient addition, an experiment, including CL and nitrogen (N) addition, was conducted in an alpine meadow. Nitrogen treatment increased community coverage (48-113% higher than the control) and aboveground biomass (29-117% higher than the control), which was mainly attributed to grass growth. Both N and N + CL treatments showed a tendency to reducing species richness, while significant reduction only occurred in 2016 and 2017 in CL treatment. Clipping showed a tendency to decrease community cover (3-37% lower than the control) and aboveground biomass (2-34% lower than the control), while N + CL treatment had no effect, indicating that clipping can eliminate the simulated effects of N addition. Nitrogen addition significantly increased soil inorganic N (SIN, 528-1230% higher than the control), while SIN in N + CL was 25-48% lower than N treatment. The decrease in stimulated effects in N + CL was attributed to SIN decrease, which resulted from the aboveground biomass removal by clipping. Our results show that clipping can take away aboveground biomass and cause soil nutrients to decrease, which slows down the degraded grassland recovery. This suggests that grazing exclusion may eliminate the effect of nitrogen deposition on aboveground production in alpine grasslands.

Matching the planting density, fertilisation, and genotype is crucial to improve the maize yield. Here, two-year field trials, including 4 densities and 3 nitrogen (N) rates for 2 maize cultivars, were conducted to study the effects of planting density and N rate on maize growth, lodging, spike characters, and yield. Compared with 360 kg/ha, N application of 180 kg/ha decreased the plant, ear height, and stem circumference of WeiKe 702 (WK702), while increased the plant height and stem circumference, but decreased ear height of ZhongDan 909 (ZD909). Meanwhile, the N application of 180 kg/ha greatly reduced the lodging rates of maize under the high density. The maize yield increased and reached the maximum yield at 7.5 × 10⁴ plant/ha, and then decreased with increasing density. The N application of 180 kg/ha increased yield by 0.49, 0.73, 5.38, 7.81% from low to high planting densities, and reduced the bald tip length by 18.86%. WK702 was more sensitive to the planting density and N application, with greater variation of yield and spike traits than ZD909 under the densification. Therefore, the N application of 180 kg/ha and a density of 7.5 × 10⁴ plant/ha could improve maize growth and lodging, and therefore increase maize yield.

In order to the assessment of humic acid application on the qualitative characteristics of rapeseed in various plant densities, a factorial split-plot test was conducted for two cultivation years in Karaj, Iran. In this experiment, plant density considered in three levels (40, 60, and 80 plants/m²), humic acid at two concentrations (non-application and application at the concentration of 0.3%) in the main plots, and six cultivars of rapeseed embracing RGS003, Zafar, Julius, Jerry, Zabol10, and Hyola4815 in the sub-plots. The interaction effect of plant density ×humic acid × cultivar on seed yield, oil yield, oleic acid, linolenic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, erucic acid, canopy temperature, and seed glucosinolate content as well as the interaction effect of plant density × cultivar on the oil content and total chlorophyll content were significant at 1% level. Cv. Jerry had the maximum seed and oil yields under humic acid application condition with the density of 40 plants/m², and the maximum contents of oleic, linoleic, and palmitic fatty acids as well. Moreover, this cultivar, through containing the lower and standard content of erucic acid and glucosinolate, is recommendable under the circumstance of the present research.

Agronomic zinc (Zn) biofortification of crops could help to alleviate dietary Zn deficiency, which is likely to affect more than one billion people worldwide. To evaluate the efficiency of agronomic Zn biofortification of broccoli, four application treatments were tested: no Zn application (control); soil application of 5 mg/kg ZnSO₄.7 H₂O (soil); two sprays (15 mL/pot each) of 0.25% (w/v) ZnSO₄.7 H₂O (foliar); and soil + foliar combination. Soil Zn application increased Zn-DTPA (diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid) concentration by 3.7-times but did not affect plant growth or plant Zn concentration. Foliar Zn application increased stem + leaves and floret Zn concentration by 78 and 23 mg Zn/kg, respectively, with good bioavailability based on phytic acid concentration. Boiling decreased mineral concentration by 19%, but increased bioavailability by decreasing the phytic acid concentration. The entire broccoli could constitute a good nutritional source for animals and humans. An intake of 100 g boiled florets treated with the foliar treatment will cover about 36% of recommended dietary intake (RDI) of Zn, together with 30% of Ca, 94% of K, 32% of Mg, 6% of Na, 55% of P, 60% of S, 10% of Cu, 22% of Fe, 43% of Mn, and 35% of Se RDIs.

This study attempted to evaluate the efficiency of zeolite and pyrophyllite ore materials in reducing the mobility of heavy metals in soil near the lignite mining dumps, and consequently in their availability for plants. Extraction of pseudo-total and available forms of heavy metals from soil samples was performed by using aqua regia and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, respectively. Concentrations of heavy metals in soil and plant samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results of this study illustrate that application of zeolite and pyrophyllite could be a suitable technique to reduce heavy metals availability in soils. Zeolite treatments have been shown to be significantly effective in reducing cadmium (Cd) mobility, as well as pyrophyllite treatments in reducing lead (Pb) mobility in the studied soil, regardless of applied rates. The accumulation of heavy metals in leaves of maize grown on soil plots treated by zeolite and pyrophyllite, was found to be lower compared to the untreated plots. This finding was to be expected, considering the effects of these treatments on heavy metals mobility in the studied soil.

The persistent exploitation of natural resources and the consequent use of consumption are driving global food demand with the result that agricultural activity is becoming less and less environmentally friendly. The circular economy (CE) can become a valid alternative, inserting the economic-agricultural system into the harmonic process of material circulation. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) model is particularly interesting not only because of the ethical dimension of the company but also as a factor of strategic business improvement that combines the concepts of CSR and CE as possible solutions for developing sustainable business processes. The objective of the work is to highlight a detailed framework of how the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Italian agri-food industry can provide an adequate level of communication, circular strategies and social responsibility practices. The research methodology is based on a qualitative multiple study conducted on a sample of nine companies in the Italian territory. The study highlights the attention of companies on the issues of the CE for the achievement of the set sustainable objectives and the attention to CSR and CE practices. The work has several implications. It provides a further understanding of CSR and CE policies as enabling factors for the development of sustainable organizational performance in agriculture. Moreover, it better investigates the relationship between CSR and the CE. Finally, it analyses the SMEs state of the art in the CE field and strengthens the concept of CE by analysing corporate practices consistent with sustainability reports.

In vitro meristem cultures have been used for the production of hop (Humulus lupulus L.) virus-free rootstocks worldwide, because multipropagation is considered to preserve the genetic stability of the produced plantlet. Nevertheless, in vitro tissue cultures can cause genetic and epigenetic changes. Therefore, we studied the genetic and epigenetic variability of Saaz Osvald's clones, Sládek and Premiant cultivars on the DNA methylation level by methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP). In vitro propagated plants, acclimatised glasshouse rootstocks as well as derived mericlones and control plants under field conditions were used for the analyses. A total of 346 clearly and highly reproducible amplified products were detected in the MSAP analyses within the studied hop plants. We found 16 polymorphic products (4.6% of products) and 64 products with methylation changes (18.5% of products) in the analyses. The demethylation events were comparable to the de novo methylation events. Most demethylation changes were found in the in vitro plants, but only a few of them were found in the derived mericlones under field conditions. In contrast, the de novo methylation changes persisted in the acclimatised plants under glasshouse or field conditions. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used for the evaluation of the molecular genetic variability within the individual samples. The dendrogram showed that the individual samples of the same variety, more or less, clustered together. Because the methylation status varied during the virus-free rootstock production process, we suppose that de/methylation process is a natural tool of epigenetics and evolution in vegetatively propagated plants.

Application of composted pig manure (PM) is a traditional practice to improve soil fertility, whereas generally leads to some environmental questions. The effects of PM application on Cd, Cu and Zn accumulation in soil and maize were investigated based on a long-term field trial in Northeast China, including control (CK), PM_L, PM_M, and PM_H, receiving 0, 100, 250 and 500 kg total N/ha/year from 2002 to 2008 and 0, 10, 25 and 50 t fresh weight/ha/year from 2009 to 2018, respectively. Results showed that long-term soil application of PM increased maize grain yield, soil organic carbon (SOC) contents, coupled with significant accumulation and availability of Cd, Cu, and Zn in soil (0-15 cm). Compared with CK, the soil total Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations significantly increased by 105, 287 and 108% at high PM rate, respectively. Notably, the increments enhanced these heavy metals storage in maize roots rather than in grains. Moreover, the application of PM confirmed vertical transport of heavy metals in the tested soil, particularly for Cd and Cu in PM_H treatment. Overall, the repeated application of PM can cause the accumulation and leaching of Cd, Cu and Zn in soil.

The objective of this work was to investigate, before and after chemical treatment, the interrelationships of the physiological quality tests in wheat grains. Following the chemical treatments with (i) carboxin thiram; (ii) carboxin thiram + thiamethoxam; (iii) carboxin thiram + thiamethoxam + bio-stimulant; (iv) pyraclostrobin + methyl thiophanate + fipronil, and (v) pyraclostrobin + methyl thiophanate + fipronil + bio-stimulant, subsequently the grains were assessed for their physiological potential. The physiological potential of the grains could be differentiated based on the electrical conductivity, seedling growth, and emergence in sand tests. In conclusion, the use of the active ingredients changed the correlation between laboratory tests with crop emergence in the sand as well as altered the relevance of the tests for sorting the treated grains into different physiological potential. But, the seedling growth tests and the electrical conductivity were, together, the parameters most relevant for explaining the data variability.

The designation of traditional varieties of grapevine is usually based on verbal information or very dated records. Old rare cultivars found in the Czech Republic were identified by Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) analysis, a generally accepted method for cultivar identification. These cultivars are primarily maintained in a national collection of genetic resources. Finally a total of 102 candidate genotypes was selected where 49 traditional varieties were identified on the base of nine SSR loci compared with the European Vitis Database. Thirty-six items were registered under the correct designation. The remaining genotypes included four clones, and two genotypes could be described as synonyms. Seven genotypes were found to be incorrectly marked. For three of them, the correct name was found in the database under their SSR profile and four items were considered to be unique as no identical profile was found.

Barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.) is one of the most yield-limiting weeds in rice in Turkey. Barnyardgrass resistance to common herbicides has been reported worldwide; however, such information is largely lacking in the country. The objective of this study was to determine the resistance spectrum of different barnyardgrass populations to the most commonly-used herbicides in rice in Turkey. The susceptibility of 40 barnyardgrass populations was evaluated. The samples were collected from fields with intensive rice cultivation in Balikesir and Çanakkale provinces. Seeds were picked from barnyardgrass plants suspected to be herbicide-resistant because of their survival in the rice fields after herbicides application. A total of 38 populations were resistant to penoxsulam, and the resistance index of these populations ranged from 2 to 39. A total of 24 out of the 38 barnyardgrass populations showed a GR₅₀ (herbicide dose causing a 50% reduction in plant dry matter) value higher than the recommended penoxsulam dose (20.2 g a.i./ha) in rice. Among these 24 barnyardgrass populations, 25, 29.2 and 45.8% populations exhibited high, moderate and low level of penoxsulam resistance, respectively. From the penoxsulam-resistant populations (38), the response of 14 populations (low to high resistance to penoxsulam) to six commonly-used herbicides for barnyardgrass control in rice was evaluated. The selected 14 populations showed resistance to almost all herbicides tested, with the lowest average resistance being determined against profoxydim and the highest average resistance against molinate herbicide. Resistance levels against six commonly-used herbicides in rice ranged from 2 to 34.

This review is designed to address various alternative weed-control practices and their possibilities in the fruit orchard in terms of sustainability. Correct weed management and maintenance of adequate orchard biodiversity are crucial for sustainable orchard soil management. The key is to practice an alternative weed-management approach (single or integrated) rather than to use possibly harmful chemicals only. Integration of modern equipment with a shallow tillage system can provide effective weed control in tree rows, including optimised tree performance and soil biodiversity. Living mulch suppresses weeds and enhances orchard biodiversity, while selection of less competitive and less pest-attracting species is crucial. Plastic covers offer long-term weed control, but additional nutrient amendments are required to maintain the balanced fertility of the soil. Wood chip mulch is suggested where the materials are available on or near the farm, and where there is lower incidence of perennial weeds. High pressure water and robotic systems are still in their infancy for fruit orchards, and required more research to confirm their efficiency.

Zinc (Zn) insufficiency and water deficiency are primary challenges in intensive rice production systems. This study aims to examine the influence of two irrigation regimes, flood irrigation (FI) and water-saving irrigation (WSI), on rice grain yield and mobile Zn accumulation in soil and rice grains. Experiments were conducted in An Vien rice fields in the Tien Lu district, Hung Yen province, located in the middle of the Red River delta during four rice seasons from 2015 to 2016. The results showed that the WSI regime dramatically increased the grain yield and Zn concentrations in grain of rice. Grain yield was increased by 14.76% and grain Zn concentration by 17.93% when compared with the FI regime. The decrease in the mobile Zn concentration in soil was only 5.7% in the WSI technique, compared with 73.6% for FI techniques. Therefore, it can be concluded that WSI can be effective agricultural practice to elevate grain yield and increase Zn retention in soil and bioavailability in rice grains.

The Songnen Plain is an important agricultural base in China and one of the important areas of distribution of saline-alkaline soils in the cold region. Saline-alkaline soils severely restrict maize growth. This study was to potentially promote the soil nutrient in the maize rhizosphere, microbes diversity, and maize yield by Trichoderma asperellum in saline-alkaline soil of the cold region. In the present study, we applied different amounts of T. asperellum in field experiments for three consecutive years. High-throughput sequencing was used to analyse the impact of Trichoderma on microbes diversity in maize rhizosphere soils. Changes in crop yield and soil nutrients were also monitored. T. asperellum treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of beneficial microbes genera. In the control treatment, the pathogenic microbes were the dominant genera. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that changes in the soil microbial community composition were closely related to soil nutrients and were highly correlated with T. asperellum treatment concentration. Further, T. asperellum treatment increased crop yield by 4.87-20.26%. These findings suggest that T. asperellum treatment optimised the microenvironment of the maize rhizosphere soil, alleviated microbial community degeneration in cold region saline-alkaline soil, and promoted maize growth.

Production development for asparagus has become an important research subject due to its low shelf life. In order to determine the content of flavonoids in asparagus tips and shoots, LC-MS-based method was performed for a targeted analysis of flavonoids in asparagus, and 34 peaks attributed to the targeted flavonoids were characterised. Twelve peaks corresponding to rutin, isoquercitrin, quercetin, naringin, taxifolin, vitexin, genistin, daidzein, luteolin, chrysin, and kaempferide were identified and quantified from the asparagus tips and shoots by the LC-MS-based detection with monitoring of parent/daughter ions. The results showed that rutin (> 99%) was the main flavonoid present in the asparagus tips and shoots. Although the tips and shoots contained almost similar compounds, the content of the major compounds, especially rutin, was significantly different. Therefore, the method established through this study could be used for quantitative analysis of flavonoids, especially rutins, in asparagus. The result will provide a theoretical basis for food development in asparagus.

Effects of land use changes on chemical soil properties were studied in a southern alpine valley of Ticino, Switzerland by analysing three different land cover-topography units: (i) natural forested slopes (NFS); (ii) deforested, cultivated terraces (DCT), and (iii) reforested, abandoned terraces (RAT). Whereas NFS represents the natural reference state with negligible anthropogenic influence, DCT corresponds to intense agricultural utilization, and RAT refers to a post-cultural natural evolution after terrace cultivation. Land use-induced changes in vegetation cover and topography (i.e., terracing) had a clear influence on chemical soil properties. The presence or absence of the European chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), one of the main soil acidifying agents in the study area, clearly affected soil acidity, soil organic matter (SOM), and nutrient status. Compared to the vegetation change, terracing has a less obvious effect on soil chemistry. A greater effective rooting depth and a flat microtopography on terraces lead to a rapidly increased SOM accumulation due to better growing conditions for trees. Thus, the reforested, abandoned terraces develop peculiar soil chemistry conditions after 36 to 46 years of abandonment only.

The presence of Epichloë endophyte can promote plant growth and increase the accumulation of host plant nutrients. We determined the dry matter (DM) and important nutritional indicators of E+ (infected by endophyte) and E- (not infected by endophyte) Festuca sinensis under the three-time repeated cutting. The results indicated that the total nitrogen, total phosphorus, crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), crude ash (CA) contents, and DM of F. sinensis decreased with the repeated cutting increase and reached the minimum after the third time cut. The total organic carbon content of F. sinensis peaked at the second time cut. In addition, the DM of F. sinensis was significant (P < 0.05) positively correlated with its quality CP, CF, and CA contents, and the appropriate repeated cutting times of F. sinensis was 1-2 times. We concluded that the presence of endophyte and proper cutting frequency can increase the quality and biomass of F. sinensis in Western China.

The effects of tillage and crop rotation on the soil carbon, the soil bulk density, the porosity and the soil water content were evaluated during the 6^th season of an on-going field trial at the University of Fort Hare Farm (UFH), South Africa. Two tillage systems; conventional tillage (CT) and no-till and crop rotations; maize (Zea mays L.)-fallow-maize (MFM), maize-fallow-soybean (Glycine max L.) (MFS); maize-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize (MWM) and maize-wheat-soybean (MWS) were evaluated. The field experiment was a 2 × 4 factorial, laid out in a randomised complete design. The crop residues were retained for the no-till plots and incorporated for the CT plots, after each cropping season. No significant effects (P > 0.05) of the tillage and crop rotation on the bulk density were observed. However, the values ranged from 1.32 to1.37 g/cm³. Significant interaction effects of the tillage and crop rotation were observed on the soil porosity (P < 0.01) and the soil water content (P < 0.05). The porosity for the MFM and the MWS, was higher under the CT whereas for the MWM and the MWS, it was higher under the no-till. However, the greatest porosity was under the MWS. Whilst the no-till significantly increased (P < 0.05) the soil water content compared to the CT; the greatest soil water content was observed when the no-till was combined with the MWM rotations. The soil organic carbon (SOC) was increased more (P < 0.05) by the no-till than the CT, and the MFM consistently had the least SOC compared with the rest of the crop rotations, at all the sampling depths (0-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm). The soil bulk density negatively correlated with the soil porosity and the soil water content, whereas the porosity positively correlated with the soil water content. The study concluded that the crop rotations, the MWM and the MWS under the no-till coupled with the residue retention improved the soil porosity and the soil water content levels the most.

In 2016-2018 virulence of the Czech wheat leaf rust population was studied on Thatcher near-isogenic lines, carrying different Lr genes, and 130 leaf rust isolates. Virulence to Lr9 was found only sporadically. Virulence frequency to Lr2a, Lr2b, Lr2c and Lr28 was lower than in previous years. All tested isolates were avirulent to Lr19. Lr24 conditioned resistance to majority of isolates. Nineteen recently registered Czech cultivars were tested with six isolates of the pathogen and Lr genes were postulated. Presence of genes Lr1, Lr10, Lr19, Lr24, Lr26, Lr28, Lr34 and Lr37 was tested by molecular markers. Lr37 prevailed, followed by Lr genes 10, 24, 28, 1 and 26; genes Lr19 and Lr34 were not determined.

The traditional management applied by the Native Community of Chambira (NCCh) is based on agroforestry plots with diverse species and areas with rotation of legumes, cassava and maize. The objective was to evaluate behaviour of the physicochemical indicators of soil quality with traditional crop management in the NCCh. A completely randomised design was applied, where the treatments were traditional mixed fruit management (MF), crop rotation (CR) and native forest (NF) as reference. Physical indicators of the surface layer did not show differences, the apparent density (AD) and the resistance to penetrability (RP) increased with depth; chemical indicators differed in the MF and CR had higher results compared to NF. The AD and RP had a significant negative correlation with soil organic carbon (SOC) and positive correlation between SOC, P, Ca, Mg, K available and cation exchange capacity. The MF and CR managements developed in the NCCh are techniques with great potential for soil conservation.

In the agricultural industry, many brokers exploit the benefits between farmers and customers and decrease the farmers' income. As the technology has developed, the internet has become the best advertising medium for many industries. In light of this, this study based on the Google Earth has designed an on-line Agricultural Products Navigation System operated by mobile devices which can easily exclude brokers, and build the bridge between farmers and customers in order to increase the farmers income and customer benefits. Moreover, based on the IS success model of DeLone and McLean, by using the qualitative methodology, it is expected that this model will be able to provide system developers with the knowledge to improve the success of their systems.

For two years, the tomatoes (cv. 'Belle' and 'Clarabella'), ungrafted, self-grafted and grafted onto the 'He-man' rootstock, were grown under two irrigation regimes, i.e., partial-root zone drying (PRD) and fully irrigated (FI), to investigate whether grafting can alleviate drought stress and promote water-use efficiency (WUE). The grafted plants under the FI regime had the highest vegetative growth, which was the result of more leaves and greater leaf area and were only significantly different from the PRD grown ungrafted plants. The grafted plants had the highest yield as a result of the greater number of larger fruits and the yield did not differ between the irrigation treatments. No differences were found in the leaf NPK concentrations, while the Ca and Mg were higher under the PRD regime. The ungrafted plants under the PRD regime had the highest total soluble solids and acidity in the fruit juice. The grafted plants had a significantly higher WUE, more pronounced in the PRD regime. The different types of irrigation did not influence the vegetative growth and the yield in the greenhouse grown grafted tomato. The PRD and rootstock effects should be additionally investigated with deficit irrigation.

Pyrolysis is a promising technology for sewage sludge (SS) treatment providing several improvements of SS properties for soil application. However, information on the influence of pyrolytic temperature on the availability of nutrients in resulting biochar (BC) is limited. In this study, anaerobically stabilised SS was pyrolysed in a laboratory fixed-bed reactor at 220, 320, 420, 520, and 620 °C for 30 min in the N₂ atmosphere. Pyrolysis resulted in a higher total content of all studied nutrients in BCs. Aromaticity and hydrophobicity of BCs increased with increasing temperatures while solubility decreased. Relative availability (% from total content) of nutrients in BCs was in order: Ca > Mg ~ K > S > P. Pyrolysis at 220 °C produced acidic BC with a higher content of acetic acid-extractable nutrients compared to non-pyrolysed control. An increment in pH and a significant drop in the content of available Ca, Mg, K and S were found at temperature 320 °C. Pyrolysis at 320 °C increased the content of available P by 28 % compared to non-pyrolysed SS. At the temperature of 420 °C and higher, available contents of all studied nutrients were lower than in non-pyrolysed SS.

The study aimed to demonstrate how irradiation affects the chemical composition and amino acids of Spunta potato flour, and the sensory evaluation of biscuit samples partially composed of irradiated potato flour. The potato flour was irradiated with 50 and 150 Gy. Protein, fat, total dietary fibre, ash, carbohydrates, ascorbic acid, and amino acids were analysed. Sensory evaluation of biscuits was conducted after adding potato flour as a partial replacement for wheat flour at ratios of 5, 10, and 15%. The results showed that potato flour contained ascorbic acid, which was absent in wheat flour. Potato flour had less total protein and carbohydrate and more ash and fibres than wheat flour. Total essential amino acids appeared at the highest percentage, particularly lysine at 8.29 ± 0.02, compared with non-essential amino acids in the samples irradiated at a dose of 150 Gy. The biscuits were prepared with different ratios of the irradiated potato flour at dose 150 Gy to white flour. Sensory evaluation for biscuits with 10% of potato flour scored 8.61 ± 0.01, 8.33 ± 0.02, 8.77 ± 0.02, and 8.38 ± 0.00 for overall acceptance, colour, texture and appearance, respectively. This study recommends using 10% of irradiated potato flour at 150 Gy blended with wheat flour to produce biscuits.

Diallyl disulfide (DADS) is an organosulfur compound that is expected to exhibit inhibitory property against urease similar to allicin, affirmed through preliminary study. The research aims to optimize DADS's concentration and duration of inhibition and observe the effect of soil moisture, temperature and pH on the inhibitory action of DADS. The calorimetric method was applied to optimize DADS's concentration significant for inhibition. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to quantify DADS present under different parameters relevant to selected soil conditions. The results obtained suggested that 5% of DADS/urea-N (w/w) treatment exhibited the highest urea hydrolysis reduction by 27.91% compared to the control sample at the end of 30 days. ANOVA results observed urea hydrolysis is significantly slower by applying 5% DADS/urea-N (w/w) treatment compared to the other DADS treatments. DADS also retained its original form longer in soil when the soil conditions were altered to 15% moisture content, 20 °C and pH 4. The findings exhibit the potential of DADS as a natural based inhibitor that is effective at low concentrations, compatible with urea and chemically stable.

The aim of this study carried out in 2017-2018 was to determine the effect of white cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.), which is known to have an allelopathic effect on the germination of some weed and cultural crops seeds. In addition to weeds, Amaranthus retroflexus L., Chenopodium album L. and Solanum nigrum L., cultural plants such as Zea mays L., Beta vulgaris L., were used in this study. It has been shown that the seed germination rate was decreased by the increased concentration of white cabbage post-harvest leaves extractions, which were made with different concentrations of aqueous and methanol extracts (30, 40, and 50%). The methanol extract was found to be more effective in germination. According to these results, S. nigrum and Z. mays seeds were less affected than A. retroflexus, C. album and B. vulgaris seeds. In the light of these data, it is observed that extracts obtained from white cabbage can be effective on some weeds; however, it was concluded that in order to reach more definite conclusions, studies on the subject should be increased, and similar studies should be continued under greenhouse or field conditions.

The negative effects of the current agricultural practices include erosion, acidification, loss of soil organic matter (dehumification), loss of soil structure, soil contamination by risky elements, reduction of biological diversity and land use for non-agricultural purposes. All these effects are a huge risk to the further development of soil quality from an agronomic point of view and its resilience to projected climate change. Organic matter has a crucial role in it. Relatively significant correlations with the quality or the health of soil parameters and the soil organic matter or some fraction of the soil organic matter have been found. In particular, Ctot, Cox, humic and fulvic acids, the C/N ratio, and glomalin. Our work was focused on glomalin, a glycoprotein produced by the hyphae and spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which we classify as Glomeromycota. Arbuscular mycorrhiza, and its molecular pathways, is not a well understood phenomenon. It appears that many proteins are involved in the arbuscular mycorrhiza from which glomalin is probably one of the most significant. This protein is also responsible for the unique chemical and physical properties of soils and has an ecological and economical relevance in this sense and it is a real product of the mycorrhiza. Glomalin is very resistant to destruction (recalcitrant) and difficult to dissolve in water. Its extraction requires specific conditions: high temperature (121°C) and a citrate buffer with a neutral or alkaline pH. Due to these properties, glomalin (or its fractions) are very stable compounds that protect the soil aggregate surface. In this review, the actual literature has been researched and the importance of glomalin is discussed.

The article analyses the potential expenditures that would be required in order to make the agrarian web information source (the areas of agriculture, food industry, forestry, water management) accessible from the mobile devices. The following approaches were analysed: creating of the responsive layout for mobile web browsers, creating a native application for the Android platform, and creating three native applications in the cross platform environment for the Android, iOS and Windows Phone. The experimental evaluation was performed using the Agrarian WWW portal AGRIS (www.agris.cz), which is one of the most visited online information source in the Czech Republic for covering the areas of agriculture, regional, and countryside development.