2000 * XI * 2

https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/contents/2000_2_sisukord.pdf

On plant growing experiments in Estonia and Northern Livonia in the 19^th century and the first two decades of the 20^th century.

Experimental establishments: In Estonia and Northern Livonia more than 20 experimental fields, gardens and laboratories in all were founded by various organizations and individuals. Besides experimental work their activities comprised publication of experimental results, organization of courses and exhibitions.

https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2000_2_annuk.pdf

Estonian land philosophers. The basic concept of land ideology is the formation of relations between land and people and between land and farmers. It also deals with the rational use of land.

The most outstanding Estonians philosophers of agriculture or land philosophers were Fr. R. Faehlmann, C. R. Jakobson, J. Tõnisson, A. Eisenschmidt, T. Pool, J. Hünerson and K. Liidak. The article gives a short account of their lives and activities.

https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2000_2_kuum.pdf

About the development of the idea of soil liming and liming practice in Estonia. Data are lacking on the beginning of soil liming in Estonia. It is known that in 1814 Baron P. R. Sivers started with long-time liming trials on his estates. Soils were advised to be limed on the grounds of experience and observation of fields. At the end of the 19^th and beginning of the 20^th century the content of lime determined by laboratory tests was recommended to be taken into consideration in the estimation of the needs of soils for liming. Spetsialized concepts such as soil reaction and liming of acid soils were formulated only in the 2^nd and 3^rd decades of the 20^th century. At the end of 1930-ies overacid field soils were established in Estonia and the first reliable results were obtained in the liming experiments carried out on them.

The liming of acid soils in Estonia was scientifically grounded by O. Hallik. He mapped all the Estonian cultivated soils with respect to their acidity, analysed more than 100 deposits of fresh water lime sediments in great detail, conducted a large number of liming trials and actively organized the liming of acid soils.

At the beginning of 1950-ies the liming of acid soils was more extensively started with meadow lime and lake lime. But soon, proceeding from experimental results the use of oil shale ashes was introduced. The boom in the liming of Estonian soils was the period from 1964 to 1989. Then lime fertilizers in powdered form were used: pulverized oil shale ashes and cement kiln flue dust applied according to the pneumatic liming technology. In this way more than 60 thousand hectares of land was limed annually. The most effective lime fertilizer in Estonia is cement kiln flue dust followed by powdered oil shale ashes, whereas the effect of meadow lime on the yields of field crops is considerably smaller. At the beginning of 1990-ies the liming of soils almost ceased. By the year 2000 liming practice has been restored to some extent. At present cement kiln flue dust and ground limestone are used for liming.

https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2000_2_turbas.pdf

Comparison of purchased milk quality with demands of EC. Milk samples from bulk tanks were collected at the time of pick-up of dairy farms supplying three dairies (I, II, III). I – the dairy with good advisory and support service, samples were taken from April, 1997 to September, 1999. II and III – small dairies with irregular advisory activity, samples were taken from December, 1998 to November, 1999 and from March, 1999 to November, 1999.

Milk samples were analysed for standard plate count, psychrotrophic count, laboratory-pasteurized count, coliform count Staphylococcus aureus count, spores of butyric acid bacte-ria, somatic cell count, freezing point, colostrum residues, content of protein and fat free dry matter. Free fatty acid content were studied in milk samples taken from bulk tanks of 31 farms monthly from August 1999 to January 2000. Results were compared with requirements laid down in the EC Directive 92/46/EEC and standards used in payment systems for ex-farm milk and for advisory purposes in IDF member countries.

Demands of Council Directive 92/46/EEC and of the regulation of Estonian Ministry of Agriculture for milk composition were practically fulfilled – 5.99% of milk samples contained protein less than 2.8%. The plate count of delivered milk was less than 100 000 per ml in 71.26% of cases and somatic cell count less than 400 000 per ml in 81.88% of samples. Great influence of advisory and support service to milk quality was observed.

To decrease the added water content in milk (42.1% of samples corresponded to the EC Directive freezing point value) it is necessary to determine the freezing point of purchasing raw milk more frequently.

As the count of butyric acid bacteria spores, content of colostrum residues and free fatty acid influence technological properties of raw milk it would be necessary to use the standards for these quality criteria in payment systems according to the specific character of dairy in the future.

https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2000_2_henno.pdf

Apple cultivating in Estonia, particularly during 1963–1998. Apple trees were the most numerous in 1939 census (2 200 500, in the present frontiers of Estonia), reaching very close again to this number in 1960s. In the first half of the 20^th century, the apple cultivating was located mostly in the South-Estonia: in Tartu, Viljandi, Pärnu, and Võru districts. After the World War II, most trees were planted into lately established gardens of summer cottages near the great industrial towns in the North-Estonia. Thus, by the 1984 census, almost one quarter of all the apple trees of Estonia were growing in the orchards of Tallinn, Harju and Rapla districts. 15% of the trees were located in the Virumaa (both West- and East-Virumaa), mainly near the towns Narva, Kohtla-Järve, Sillamäe and Rakvere. Thus, big part of apple trees concentrated then in the northern Estonia. Only after them, Viljandi and Tartu districts had in 1984 either 13% of trees and the Pärnumaa had 9%, 5% of apple trees were growing on the Saaremaa island. The rest of districts (Läänemaa, Järvamaa, Võrumaa, Valgamaa, Põlvamaa, Jõgevamaa) had approximately 3–4% everyone, and the Hiiumaa island – 1.6%.

The Estonian climate isn’t favourable for apple producing due to severe winters and sometimes night frosts in the spring. The 37-year period, discussed in this article, is divided into three shorter intervals. 1963–1968 were conspicuous due to especially frequent winter injuries (1962/63, 1965/66, 1967/68) causing four crop failures: in 1963, 1965, 1966, and 1968. Good crop was obtained only in two years. The next (21-year) period 1969–1989 was relatively good for apple producing. However, at least two extremely cold winters (1978/79 and 1986/87) had more or less seriously damaged apple tree stands in Estonia during this period. The average apple production per year (1969–1989) was 35 750 tons though some poor years occurred, the worst was 1988 with less than 10 000 t. The record pome fruit production of Estonia was in 1976 (85 705 t), following by 1978 (71 778 t) and 1989 (61 400 t). The other very good crop years were 1971, 1981, and 1983. But sharply biennal crop producing resulted. The period 1990–1999 had mostly poor crops, not more in average than in 1960s.

During the Soviet occupation of Estonia, many state farms planted apple orchards making 100–160 ha, in some cases up to 263 ha (Rõngu state farm 1979) or 210 ha (Lahmuse state farm in 1986). The best yielding orchards were located in the Tartumaa, for example in the Rõhu experimental farm: the productivity of orchards was between 10–35 t/ha, the record being 35.5 t/ha in 1978. The second good yielding state farm Vasula-Sootaga in the Tartumaa had the productivity over 10 t/ha only in 42% of years (the best 13 t/ha in 1970 and 1978). The Rõngu state farm in the Tartumaa had never reached the productivity 10 t/ha, the bests being in 1976 (8.2 t/ha) and in 1989 (8.9 t/ha). The next good yielding district, after Tartumaa, was Viljandimaa were the Polli Horticultural Institute, Lahmuse, Õisu and Uusna state farms situated. But the productivity of gardens seldom surpassed 10 t/ha.

In the state farms of other districts of Estonia, the most extensive damage was caused in the winters 1962/63, 1965/66, 1967/68, 1978/79, 1984/85 which killed 50–85% of trees in the Tõrva (Valga district), Kullaaru (West Virumaa), and Alliku (Järva district) state farms. As a consequence apple production decreased in these farms almost up to zero and orchards were uprooted.

Examining the winter damages it is urgent to locate commercial apple orchards under favourable microclimate conditions in Tartu and Viljandi districts, and in coastal region and in big islands. The Central, East-North and East-South Estonia are not appropriate for commercial apple producing. Not much are made for investigating which cultivars are suitable for planting in the hobbyist gardens of sorroundings of big industrial towns in North Estonia.

However attention was payd to producing apples in large state farms, even in the Soviet time the home and hobbyist gardens produced 80–85% of all apples. Now the enterprises (joint-stock companies) are less numerous and they produced much less apples than ten or twenty years ago. The whole apple production of Estonia in nineties did not meet the need of inhabitants. According to statistics, apples are imported into Estonia in quantities of about one quarter (1995) up to the amount of Estonian own production (1996) in poor crop year. The production plus import makes 12.6 kg (1996) up to 26.4 kg (1995) per capita consumption during the year.

The choice of cultivars have based mostly (51% in 1998) on cultivars bred in Estonia, for example ‘Karksi’, ‘Krameri Tuviõun’, ‘Põltsamaa Taliõun’, ‘Treboux Sämling’, ‘Suislepp’, and ‘Tellissaare’. The cultivars bred at the Polli Horticultural Institute constitute 21%: ‘Koit’, ‘Sidrunkollane Taliõun’, ‘Sügisdessert’, ‘Talvenauding’, and ‘Tiina’. The very winter hardy cultivars ‘Streifling Herbst’ (West European origin) and ‘Antonovka’ (Russia) had been in the List of recommended for growing in Estonia for the most longer period. Lately, three Russian cultivars ‘Orlovskij Sinap’, ‘Kulikovskoye’, and ‘Veteran’ were included into the “List”. The relative importance of Russian cultivars is now 16% and 13% the same one of the United States (plus 1 Canadian cultivar). One important cultivar from the Western Europe is ‘Liivi Kuldrenett’.

https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2000_2_kask.pdf

On the factors affecting somatic cell count in milk. The cows being bred in Estonia are suitable for local conditions due to their high milk performance and relatively good fattening and meat qualities. The healthy udder is the prerequisite for obtaining from a cow the maximum production and high quality milk is the primary task of a present-day dairy cow.

More and more attention is paid to milk quality. After the accession of the Estonia to the European Union, the demands on milk must coincide with those valid in the EU.

Somatic cell count in milk is a measure of udder health as well as milk quality.

The objective of the present work was to study the effect of the following factors on somatic cell count in milk: environment; milking technique; working operations performed by the milker; sire of the dairy cow; heritability.

The experimental farms were chosen from agricultural enterprises applying different milking and cow-keeping technologies. Daughters of 21 bulls were studied. The data about ten-month milk yield, fat and protein content and somatic cell count of the milk of the daughters of each bull were collected. Cow’ s sire, enterprise, birth-year, lactation, milking equipment and milking operator were fixed in data-base. Monitoring of the working operations of the milkers, who milked the cows selected for our trials, were carried out. The duration of each element of the working process was recorded. SAS-program was used for data processing. Procedure REML was used to estimate the dispersion components and heritabilities.

From these data we can conclude that the milk somatic cell count increases with lacta-tion number (P<0,01).

It became evident from these data that the agricultural enterprise and the milker had an essential effect on the milk somatic cell count (P<0,001).

From these data we may conclude that a calving month was not statistically significant to the milk somatic cell count in lactation period.

The data analysis showed that the milking equipment was not essential to the milk SCC.

The heritability of milk somatic cell count in the first, second and third lactation as well as the average total heritability of the first, second and third lactation together was found. The heritabilities were 0,11, 0,16, 0,23 and 0,19, respectively.

https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2000_2_kiiman.pdf

Adding liquid media to established cultures and harvesting dominating shoots in plant micropropagation. In order to save manual labour and to reduce the need for subcultures in vitro propagation of plants pouring liquid media onto established cultures at various propagation stages and harvesting dominating shoots in combination with liquid media were employed. It was found that out of 23 plant species (33 cultivars) studied, three species did not stand adding liquid media at any growth stage. These species are Dianthus caryophyllus, Gypsophila paniculata and Rosa sp. 'Victory Parade' whose shoots vitrify under these conditions. Ficus triangularis become defoliated, however, its shoots were able to restore the leaves. Harvesting dominating shoots (employed for establishing new cultures or for rooting) during multiplication and elongation enables to increase the multiplication rate considerably.

https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2000_2_vardja.pdf

Phenotypic evaluation of the leanness of breeding pigs in Lithuania. In 1996–1998, a study was conducted for comparative evaluation of the backfat thickness and lean content in pigs of various breeds measured with the ultrasonic Piglog 105 apparatus and control slaughtering at 100 kg weight. The comparison of the two methods indicated that the average thickness and meat percentage differed by 1.32 mm (P<0.05) and 2.79% (P<0.001), respectively. High (r=0.76 and 0.83) and statistically reliable (P<0.01) correlation coefficients for backfat thickness and meat percentage determined with Piglog 105 and control slaughtering show the prospects of phenotypic evaluation of pig leanness in pig selection.

In three years time, 31.846 pigs of various breeds were evaluated at the pig breeding centres of Lithuania with the Piglog 105 apparatus. The average lean meat content for pure-bred Lithuanian White pigs was 49.20%, bacon (LB-B1) type Lithuanian White – 50.72%, meat (LB-M1) type Lithuanian White – 51.68%, Yorkshire – 52.67%, German Landrace – 52.83%, Finnish Landrace – 56.83%, Norwegian Landrace – 59.01%, Hampshire – 56.23% and Pietrain – 60.15%.

These findings were the basis for preparation of the requirements for determining of the meat percentage on live pigs with Piglog 105. Subsequently, the requirements were added to the rules for pig assessment. In Lithuania, breeding pigs are evaluated on a 100 point scale and meat percentage of pigs is worth up to 30 points.

Key words: pig breeds, selection, phenotype, Piglog 105, backfat thickness, lean meat percentage.

https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2000_2_klimas.pdf