2023 * XXXIV * 1

Highlights: 

• Cover crop biomass and N accumulation in autumn and in spring depended on species and growing conditions.
• Forage radish accumulated the highest amount of biomass and N in autumn.
• Berseem clover accumulated lowest amount of biomass and N in the year with drought conditions before sowing.
• Among overwintered cover crops, hairy vetch accumulated the highest amount of N in the spring.
• Winter rye had the lowest biomass and N accumulation in spring.
• As an average over the four years, only forage radish and hairy vetch significantly increased the yield of subsequent barley.

Highlights: 

• The application of manure and sewage sludge compost on the fields may cause contamination of plants with pharmaceuticals.
• Fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides accumulate in food plants during a longer growing period.
• Carrots and potato accumulated fluoroquinolones from the soil even at a soil concentration of 0,01 mg kg^–1.
• At high soil concentrations 10 mg kg^–1, fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides accumulated in plants in amounts, which exceeded their maximum residue level set for food of animal origin. Wheat plants developed chlorosis and died before flowering. High content of fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides was detected in their leaves.
• Fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides were also found in wheat seeds grown at lower soil antibiotic concentrations but below the permissible residue level.
• Consumption of small amounts of antibiotics with plant foods can lead to the development of resistant bacterial strains in human and animal organisms.

Highlights: 

• Weeds are necessary elements of agricultural communities as they maintain the ecological balance of the environment.
• The effect of cultivation methods on weed biomass and abundance in both the first and second rotations was most significant between organic and conventional systems, while no statistically significant differences emerged within systems.
• Species diversity in organic systems increased during the second rotation, while it decreased in conventional systems.
• In organic systems, the highest diversity was at the end of the rotation with intercrops in the Org I system, which can be explained by more favorable growing conditions, lack of chemical disturbances and better soil properties.
• Weed biomass was higher whilst abundance and diversity were lower in Conv II system - probably due to fertilization, which supplied both cultivated and weed plants with nutrients, promoting the dominance of few weed species.

Highlights: 

• The biggest threat of climate change is drought and damage caused by it.
• The perception of production risks varies among farmers.
• An important adaptation measure is planning and following crop rotation.
• Using winter cover crops is important for improving soil health.
• Implementation of new productions technologies and willingness to take business risks are important risk management tools.
• In case production risks occurs and sales revenue decreases investment expenditures will decreasing.

Highlights: 

• The quantitative determination of the colouring substance of the different vine varieties with red skin of the grapes is important for their ampelographic characteristics and for oenological practice.
• A study of the amount of colouring substance in the skins and juice of grapes and raisins of seedless vine forms with coloured grape juice of six hybrid combinations was performed.
• The majority of the studied seedless colouring hybrid forms of all crosses are superior to the mother variety ‘Alicante Bouschet’ in the amount of anthocyanins in the juice of the grapes, and only a few differences are mathematically proven.
• Most of them do not differ from the parent variety in colour intensity and colour shade, as well as in the percentage of yellow, red and blue colour.
• There is a proven high or moderate positive correlation between the content of anthocyanins in the juice of the grapes and the intensity of the colour in the hybrid forms of most crosses, and in some of them - negative or slightly positive between the anthocyanins and the red colour, and moderately negative with the blue colour.
• The amount of anthocyanins in the skins of the grapes is in a very strong, positive relation with the intensity of the colour in the seedless colouring forms of all hybrid combinations.
• Approximately 47% of the increase in the intensity of the colour of the grape juice in hybrid forms can be explained by an increase in the amount of anthocyanins.
• Only 27% of the reasons for the changes in the colour intensity in the skins of the grapes are due to factors which have no influence over the content of anthocyanins in them.

Highlights: 

• The article presents the results of a study of the impact of different tillage and fertilization systems in short-rotational crop rotation on the content, reserves, and qualitative composition of black soil humus of the typical Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine.
• The use of soil without fertilizer led to significant losses of humus and deterioration of the quality composition due to the predominance of mineralization processes over immobilization processes.
• When applying 11.5 ha^–1 of organic fertilizers and (N27P38K45) mineral fertilizers per hectare of crop rotation area, the amount of humic substances significantly increased and the amount of fulvic acids in the upper layer decreased.
• The ratio of HA (humic acids) to FC (fulvic acids) is 2.48.

Highlights: 

• 96% ethanol extracts of rhubarb root and petiole as well as blackcurrant and chokeberry berries showed strong antibacterial activity against the tested bacteria in vitro.
• Plant extracts showed the strongest antimicrobial activity against C. jejuni.
• Plant additives are promising candidates for inhibiting of microbial growth in meat products.
• In meat products, the best antimicrobial properties against microorganisms were observed with the combination of rhubarb petiole and tomato powder.

Highlights: 

• Podzolized or Podzolic soils (known by WRB as Umbric Podzols) are the year 2023 soils of Estonia
• Podzolic soils are acid light textured aeromorphic soils formed by processes of podzolization and sod formation.
• The profiles of odzolic soils consist of humus, podzolic and illuvial horizons, which are underlaid by parent material and covered in forests by the forest floor.
• In Estonian Soil Classification on the base of moisture conditions and podzolization stage total of 7 Podzolic soil species have been distinguished.
• The morphology, properties, humus status and productivity of Podzolic soils are analysed in connection with land use (arable, forest or grassland).
• The Podzolic soils form ~5% of Estonian soil cover, whereas ~54% from them are by moisture conditions fresh, ~40% moist and ~6% drought-timid.