Plant, Soil and Environment, 2017 (vol. 63), issue 4
Cytoplasmic male sterility as a biological confinement tool for maize coexistence: optimization of pollinator spatial arrangementOriginal Paper
Heidrun BÜCKMANN, Gemma CAPELLADES, Kateřina HAMOUZOVÁ, Josef HOLEC, Josef SOUKUP, Joaquima MESSEGUER, Enric Melé, Anna NADAL, Xavier Piferrer GUILLEN, Maria PLA, Joan SERRA, Katja THIELE, Joachim SCHIEMANN
Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(4):145-151 | DOI: 10.17221/761/2016-PSE 
Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) allows efficient biological confinement of transgenes if pollen-mediated gene flow has to be reduced or eliminated. For introduction of CMS maize in agricultural practice, sufficient yields comparable with conventional systems should be achieved. The plus-cultivar-system in maize offers a possibility for biological confinement together with high and stable yields whereas pollinator amount and distribution within the CMS crop is crucial. The aim of this EU-funded study was to identify the best proportion (10, 15, and 20%) and spatial arrangement (inserted rows, mixed seeds) of the pollinator within the CMS maize cultivar...
Utilization of exogenous saccharides by protocorms of two terrestrial orchidsOriginal Paper
Jan PONERT, Helena LIPAVSKÁ
Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(4):152-158 | DOI: 10.17221/71/2017-PSE
Orchid protocorms are completely mycoheterotrophic structures. Although saccharides are proposed as the main energy and carbon (C) sources provided by fungi, there is only limited knowledge on their effects. For the first time, utilization of a wide range of saccharides by in vitro axenic protocorms of two terrestrial orchids from two subfamilies, Ophrys iricolor subsp. lojaconoi and Oeceoclades, was tested. Protocorm size and, in the first of these also rhizoid length and soluble saccharide contents, were analysed. The endogenous saccharide spectra reflected the supplied saccharides and their metabolism. In both...
Differences in size and architecture of the potato cultivars root system and their tolerance to drought stressOriginal Paper
Krystyna ZARZYŃSKA, Dominika BOGUSZEWSKA-MAŃKOWSKA, Artur NOSALEWICZ
Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(4):159-164 | DOI: 10.17221/4/2017-PSE
Drought can cause substantial yield losses, particularly for crops with shallow root systems, such as potato (Solanum tuberosum). This study tested whether root system architecture could affect potato yield under drought conditions. The following parameters of the roots were measured: depth range, total length, total area, surface area, average diameter, and total dry weight of the root system. These parameters in soil layers were also measured at different depths. Five potato cultivars from a group of mid-early cultivars were examined in this study. The same cultivars were tested under two conditions: control with optimal irrigation and drought...
Possibility to predict the yield of potatoes grown under two crop production systems on the basis of selected morphological and physiological plant indicatorsOriginal Paper
Krystyna ZARZYŃSKA, Milena PIETRASZKO
Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(4):165-170 | DOI: 10.17221/101/2017-PSE
In the study conducted in the years 2014-2016 at the Institute of Plant Breeding and acclimatization in Poland, the effect was tested of such indicators of plant productivity as: leaf area index (LAI), leaf greenery index (SPAD) and chlorophyll a fluorescence on the yield of potato tubers grown in two production systems, i.e. organic and conventional. It was found that in the organic production system the values of all tested indicators were significantly lower than in the conventional system and the decrease in chlorophyll content in the leaves, as well as the decrease in chlorophyll a fluorescence over time followed faster in the...
Effects of fertilization, burning, and grazing on plant community in the long-term fenced grasslandsOriginal Paper
Guanghua JING, Wei LI, Kailiang YU, Zak RATAJCZAK, Robert L. KALLENBACH, Jimin CHENG
Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(4):171-176 | DOI: 10.17221/64/2017-PSE
Fencing is the common management practice to restore degraded grasslands. However, long-term fencing decreases grassland productivity and species diversity. The study was therefore conducted as a three-year (2011-2013) experiment with a randomized complete block in a grassland fenced for 20 years in the Loess Plateau of China, and the effects of fertilization, burning and grazing on aboveground biomass, species and functional group composition, species and some functional group diversity were analysed. Our results showed that the functional group of perennial bunchgrasses dominated the grassland regardless of management practices. However, burning...
Soil mineral nitrogen and the rating of CaCl2 extractable nutrientsOriginal Paper
Remigiusz ŁUKOWIAK, Przemysław BARŁÓG, Witold GRZEBISZ
Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(4):177-183 | DOI: 10.17221/92/2017-PSE
It was assumed that the determination of the mineral nitrogen (Nmin) content in the 0.01 mol/L CaCl2 could rely on measurements of single form NO3--N, NH4+-N or both, and even including other extractable nutrients. This hypothesis was verified based on some primary data from 17 fields: ten with oilseed rape and seven with maize as indicatory crops during three consecutive seasons in a production farm in Górzno, Poland. The contents of NO3--N, NH4+-N, P, K, Mg and pH were measured in soil prior to the spring vegetation start and after a crop...
Arsenic and selenium levels in rice fields from south-west of Spain: influence of the years of monocultureOriginal Paper
Sara RODRIGO, Oscar SANTAMARIA, Leticia PEREZ-IZQUIERDO, Maria J. POBLACIONES
Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(4):184-188 | DOI: 10.17221/105/2017-PSE
There is a lack of information regarding the arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) concentrations in Spanish rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields and how soil conditions affect such concentration, especially those derived from the typical monoculture practiced in the studied area. To clarify these aspects, 76 soil samples and 95 grain samples were collected from 19 rice fields along the Vegas Altas area, the most important rice growing area of south-west of Spain. The results suggested a significant increase in the soil total As and Se concentrations as the number of monoculture years increased. While As concentration reached toxic levels in 12 out of the...
Influence of fertilization on Miscanthus × giganteus (Greef et Deu) yield and biomass traits in three experiments in SerbiaOriginal Paper
Gordana DRAZIC, Jelena MILOVANOVIC, Jela IKANOVIC, Ivana PETRIC
Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(4):189-193 | DOI: 10.17221/156/2017-PSE
Miscanthus × giganteus (Greef et Deu) is an agro-energy crop of the second generation cultivated in purpose to obtain annually renewable bio-fuel produced from the aboveground biomass. Cultivation is preferred on marginal lands to avoid occupation of arable lands. Influence of fertilization and soil type Gleysol, Planosol and Technosol (open pit coal mine overburden) on yield and biomass traits of miscanthus were investigated during five years' field experiment. Among biometric characteristics: stem height, length and width of leaves, the number of leaves (dry and green) per stem and number of stems per rhizome, only the last one...