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Finding an appropriate method with the highest rate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) removal from naturally polluted soils is an important research issue. A pot factorial experiment (using contaminated soil samples from the Isfahan Refinery, Iran) was conducted in a 90-day period to compare the following bioremediation strategies: (1) natural attenuation (NA): the inherent ability of soil for bioremediation; (2) bioaugmentation (BA): inoculating soil with PAH degrading microbes Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus; (3) biostimulation (BS): using N, P and K nutrients for the stimulation of bioremediating soil bacteria to achieve the C:N:P ratio of 100:10:1, and(4) bioaugmentation + biostimulation (BS + BA). Treatments NA (22.8%) and BA + BS (63.9%) resulted in the least and the highest rate of PAH removal from the soil. The 2-4 ring compounds had a significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher rate of degradation than the 5-6 ring compounds. The highest rates were resulted by fluorene (76.41%) and acenaphthylene (72.28%) using the BA + BS treatment. However, the lowest degradation rates were resulted by indeno (1,2,3-cd) pyrene (10.05%), benzo [b] fluoranthene (10.17%), benzo (g, h, i) perylene (12.53%), and benzo [k] fluoranthene (13.67%), using NA treatment. The BA + BS treatments are the most effective method for the bioremediation of PAH polluted soils.

The paper shows a large-scale shift in agroclimatic zones in the territory of the Czech Republic (CR) between 1961 and 2019. The method used for agroclimatic zoning took advantage of high-resolution (0.5 km × 0.5 km) daily climate data collected from 268 climatological and 787 rain-gauge stations. The climate information was combined with soil and terrain data at the same resolution. The set of seven agroclimatic indicators allowed us to estimate rates of changes in agroclimatic conditions over the 1961-2019 period, including changes in the air temperature regime, global radiation, drought, frost risks and snow cover occurrence. These indicators are relevant for all main crops and agroclimatic zoning and account for local soil and slope conditions. The study clearly highlights major shifts in the type and extent of agroclimatic zones between 1961-2000 and 2000-2019, which led to the occurrence of entirely new combinations of agroclimatic indicators.

To investigate the effect of microbial inoculum on soil heavy metal immobilisation, pot experiments were conducted with paddy soils contaminated by cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg), respectively. The results showed that the inoculation of Rhodopseudomonas palustris was more effective in the immobilisation of Pb and Cd in soils than the composite of R. palustris and Bacillus subtilis. Interestingly, a lower dosage of inoculum immobilised significantly more heavy metals than the higher dosage, potentially due to the competition of bacteria with limited nutrients. The heavy metal contents in rice grains also supported this finding, as less Pb and Cd were accumulated under the lower dosage. However, there were limited effects of microbial inoculations on the immobilisation of Hg and As. In general, our study indicated the effectiveness of R. palustris in immobilising Pb and Cd in soils and highlighted the importance of determining the optimal dosage of inoculum in bioremediation.

This study evaluated the phytoremediation potential of eight native plant species on heavy metal polluted soils along the Spreča river valley (the northeast region of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Plants selected for screening were: ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), common nettle (Urtica dioica L.), mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris L.), wild mint (Mentha arvensis L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), dwarf nettle (Urtica urens L.) and yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.). All aboveground parts of selected native plants and their associated soil samples were collected and analysed for total concentration of Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu. The bioaccumulation factor for each element was also calculated. The levels of Cr (90.9-171.1 mg/kg) and Ni (80.1-390.5 mg/kg) in the studied soil plots were generally higher than limits prescribed by European standards, indicating that the soils in the Spreča river valley are polluted by Cr and Ni. Among the eight screened plant species, no hyperaccumulators for toxic heavy metals Ni, Cr, Cd and Pb were identified. However, the concentrations of toxic heavy metals in the above-ground parts of Artemisia vulgaris L. and Trifolium repens L. were significantly higher than in the other studied plants, indicating that both plant species are useful for heavy metal removal.

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.

Soil degradation caused by water erosion in sloping hop gardens is definitely a serious issue because the space in inter-rows is without plant residues for most of the year in traditional cultivation. Cover crops in inter-rows of hop gardens and their efficiency in soil conservation are assessed in this article. There is only little research available in this area, and our data bring unique information on water erosion in hop gardens. Technologies with different types of cover crops were always compared with the conventional cultivation. The research was conducted within the years 2016-2020. A field rainfall simulator was used to determine the soil conservation effectiveness of selected technologies. The simulated rainfall was performed in two stages of cover crops growth with the main aim to measure the overall soil loss. The outcomes from the measurements confirmed that cover crops in inter-rows of hop gardens protect the soil surface from falling raindrops and significantly (P-value < 0.05) reduce soil loss. It can be concluded that this technology had a soil conservation effect already one month after sowing, and it is a basis for sustainable agricultural management on sloping hop gardens.

Fine root traits are plastic and responsive to increased nitrogen (N) deposition. However, with the restoring of the ecosystem after grain for green, little research has been reported about the response of root traits in a long-term restored ecosystem to increased N deposition. Therefore, a successive N addition experiment was conducted in a long-term restored grassland on the Loess Plateau to analyse the effects of different N addition levels (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20 g N/m²/year) on root morphological traits, soil carbon (C) and N. Our results showed that root morphological traits (except for root diameter) firstly increased and then declined, with the maximum in the N level of 5 g/m²/year. N addition significantly increased soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃^--N) with the increasing N addition level, especially in the soil surface layer. Specific root length and specific root area had remarkable negative correlations with NO₃^--N, while root diameter and root length density had positive correlations with soil availability N and soil microbial biomass carbon. This study indicated that plants could have the threshold response to adapt to the N addition and prefer to slowly grow rather than quickly invest and return in order to adapt to the environmental stress.

A three-year experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of Z'Fix on soil physical properties and crop status. Z'Fix is an agent recommended as an addition to animal bedding to prolong its function and to lower ammonia emissions in stables. Concurrently, a positive effect on organic matter transformation in resulting manure is claimed. The experiment involved control, farmyard manure (FYM), and farmyard manure with Z'Fix (FYM_ZF) as variants. In-field sampling was conducted for cone index, water infiltration and implement a unit draft, where the latter two showed significant differences in favour of FYM_ZF. Also, concerning crop yields, FYM_ZF consistently attained the highest values, followed by FYM throughout all three seasons. Furthermore, remotely sensed data were analysed to describe crop status via normalised difference vegetation index where significant differences were found across all variants. Based on the study, FYM_ZF demonstrated positive effects both on soil properties and crop conditions.

Flag leaves play an important role in synthesis and translocation of photoassimilates in the rice plant, affecting grain yield; similarly they were believed to be a major source of remobilized minerals for the seeds. At the same time, the seed's sink strength plays an important role in dry matter accumulation. To investigate the relative contribution of rice flag leaves and seed sink strength to seed mineral accumulation, field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of flag leaf or half-seed removal on seed Fe, Mn and Zn concentration and content. Flag leaf or 50% of the seeds were removed at anthesis. Seed Fe, Mn and Zn accumulation were not affected by flag leaf or second leaf removal. Plants with only half of the seeds showed higher Fe and Zn seed concentrations, but similar Mn concentrations. It is concluded that the flag leaf is not necessary for metal remobilization to the seeds and that seed sink strength and seed number have different roles in Fe/Zn and Mn seed concentrations.

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 has a strong positive correlation with yield. Fertilization increased yield during fourth and fifth year of development on Gleysol and Technosol. The highest yield on Gleysol was 23.12 t/ha in 2014, on Planosol 10.16 t/ha, and 4.77 t/ha in 2015 on Technosol. The yield of miscanthus, beside fertilization, depends on weather conditions and weeds. Cultivation of miscanthus is possible on marginal soils with minimum application of agricultural measures only in the year of establishment. Gleysol is a type of soil that can be recommended for miscanthus cultivation.

Humic acid urea fertilizer (HA-N) is a new type of slow-release nitrogenous fertilizer that can enhance utilization rate of urea, and consequently increases crop yield. However, there were few researches about the effect of HA-N on the nitrogen absorption and utilization in sweet potato production. Hence, the effect of HA-N on nitrogen accumulation and distribution, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and yield of sweet potato was studied in the field using the ¹⁵N tracer technique. Results showed that HA-N significantly increased the number of storage roots per plant and the average fresh weight per storage root, as well as the yield increased by 29.6% compared with urea fertilizer. Furthermore, nitrogen accumulation of total plant was higher under the HA-N. In addition, HA-N significantly increased nitrogen production efficiency of fertilizer and nitrogen production efficiency. Results of a ¹⁵N tracer experiment revealed that the percentage of nitrogen absorbed by plant from fertilizer increased from 31.1% to 38.7% and NUE increased from 33.5% to 44.8% with application of HA-N when compared with single N treatment, respectively. HA-N significantly increased sweet potato storage root yield, nitrogen absorption and NUE, as well as it reduced the loss of nitrogen fertilizer.

The experiment included testing of rheological properties of dough as well as the baking quality of bread flour and bran obtained by grinding coloured wheat grains with purple pericarp (cultivars Rosso, Konini and PS Karkulka) and blue aleurone (cv. Scorpion). Common wheat cv. Mulan was used for comparison. Formulas containing 10, 15 and 20% of bran were prepared. The addition of bran increased the water loss during baking by an average of 1.28%, specific volume of bread decreased by 2 to 10 mL, and the ratio number decreased from 0.57 to 0.51. The dynamic oscillatory rheometry simulated processes occurring during baking. A higher content of bran increased the complex viscosity of dough. In the initial stages of heating, the increasing presence of bran promoted dough weakening. Starch gelatinization was also influenced by the content of bran.

It has been assumed that zinc (Zn) fertilizers applied to maize simultaneously with amino acids (AA) at early stages of its growth may decrease the yield variability due to correcting its nutritional status during the 'critical window'. Two Zn carriers were evaluated (Zn-I - Zn chelate; Zn-II - Zn oxide); they were applied to maize at BBCH 14/15 with or without amino acids, based on two rates of nitrogen (80 and 160 kg N/ha). The precipitation deficiency in 2015 resulted in the grain yield decrease by 35% compared to 2014. An advantage of higher N rate was proved in 2014, whereas the influence of Zn and AA showed in 2015. In this year, the beneficial impact of Zn-oxide and AA combined application resulted in amelioration, at least partially, of the imbalance of certain macronutrient content (N, P, Mg) during the 'critical window'. These effects were revealed due to a boosted number of kernels in cob, and particularly higher thousand kernel weight. Consequently, the yield depression in 2015 was partly overcome. The results indicated that simultaneous application of Zn oxide and AA to maize at BBCH 14/15 corrected both its nutritional status during the 'critical window' and yield components, but had no effect on the yield itself.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of genotype, tuber flesh colour, site conditions, year of cultivation and storage on the content of ascorbic acid (AAC) in the tubers of twelve potato cultivars with coloured flesh, compared with the yellow-flesh cv. Agria. AAC ranged from 88.6 to 282.0 mg/kg fresh matter (FM) and it was significantly influenced by genotype. A significantly highest AAC, on a three-year average, was achieved by cv. Rosemarie with red flesh (218.9 mg/kg FM; 1.10-1.84-fold more than the other cultivars). Position number two was achieved by the control cv. Agria (199.4 mg/kg FM). The purple or red colour of the cultivars with coloured flesh did not have a significant effect on the AAC. A significantly higher (1.17 times) AAC was determined at the Uhříněves site with warmer climate and drier weather before the harvest, compared with the other site in Valečov. The AAC was also significantly affected by year of cultivation. Cold storage (4°C, 180 days) resulted in a significant decrease in AAC, which varied in dependence on the genotype of the cultivars (34.6% to 65.1%). However, no link to the colour of the tuber flesh was found.

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 under field conditions in the Czech Republic, in Germany and in Spain. In Germany and in the Czech Republic, a pollinator proportion of 10% produced significantly lower yield than the treatments with a pollinator proportion of 15% and 20%. Differences in yield between row and mix arrangements were not detected. No differences between the tested arrangements occurred in Spain. With respect to practical conditions, a pollinator proportion of 15% can be recommended for achieving a satisfactory yield. CMS maize cultivar released no or merely a small amount of pollen and self-pollinated plants developed no or only a small number of kernels indicating that currently recommended isolation distances between genetically modified (GM) and non-GM fields can be substantially shortened if the CMS confinement tool is used.

Glucose-induced microcalorimetry and carbon dioxide (CO₂) production are two widely applied methods to assess microbial activity in soil. However, the links among them, microbial communities and soil chemical properties based on large number of soil samples are still not fully understood. Seventy-two soil samples of different land uses were collected from an ultisol soil area in south China. The best correlation between the rate of heat output and the rate of CO₂ respiration occurred in 8-16 h reaction (R² = 0.64), followed by 0-8 h (R² = 0.50) (P < 0.001). However, the correlations decreased sharply after 16 h. The heat output per biomass unit (Q_T/MBC) was well correlated with the total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) (R² = 0.56) and bacterial PLFAs (R² = 0.53) (P < 0.001). In contrast, these links were not apparent between soil respiratory quotient (qCO₂) and the total PLFAs and microbial communities. Redundancy analysis further confirmed that Q_T/MBC was a more comprehensive indicator to assess soil microbial activity and soil quality than qCO₂, showing a good negative correlation to soil organic carbon, total nitrogen (N) and mineral N, and pH. This work is very helpful to better guide the application of calorimetry and CO₂ respiration in assessing microbial activity in soils.

It was assumed that the determination of the mineral nitrogen (N_min) 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 harvest (autumn). Phosphorus in spring and NH₄⁺-N in autumn, were variables discriminating against the number of clusters. It was higher in cropping sequences (CSs) with maize than with oilseed rape. The reliability of N_min determination and distribution between clusters in spring based only on NO₃^--N was fully corroborated for maize CSs. In autumn, irrespective of the CS, the decisive factor in N_min prediction and distribution over clusters was the NH₄⁺-N pool. This study resulted in the rating of CaCl₂ extractable nutrients, indicating their availability status, shortage or excess, on the background of the N_min temporary rating.

The aim of this work was to verify and assess the tolerance of the PR63E82 (ExpressSun) sunflower cultivar to tribenuron, propaquizafop and their tank-mix combination in two rates under various weather conditions. Three small-plot field trials were carried out on sunflower in Prague, Czech Republic, from 2015 to 2017. High phytotoxicity (25-56%) of tribenuron (TBM) + non-ionic surfactant was observed in 2015 and 2016 when the sunflower was sown in mid-April. In 2017, phytotoxicity was significantly lower (4-6%), probably due to a later sowing of sunflower (May), and hence higher temperatures. The main symptoms of TBM phytotoxicity were leaf chlorosis, necrosis and growth retardation. Propaquizafop (PQF) injury was minimal in 2015 and 2017. A higher phytotoxicity (10-13%) was recorded in 2016, probably due to a hail which occurred 2 days after T2 (second application term (sunflower BBCH 14)) application. Plant injury had puckered leaves and also made more side branches. TBM + PQF damaged sunflower plants most of the tested herbicide treatments (phytotoxicity 3-62%). High phytotoxicity caused stem branching, increased number of sunflower heads and decreased yield.

Tea plants grown in acidic soils are strongly dependent on arbuscular mycorrhizas, whereas it is not clear whether soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) improve plant growth, root development, and nutrient absorption in tea plants. A potted study was conducted to determine the effects of Claroideoglomus etunicatum, Diversispora spurca, D. versiformis and a mixture of the three AMF species on plant growth, root morphology, root-hair growth, and leaf nutrient status in Camellia sinensis cv. Fuding Dabaicha in Jingzhou, China. After 12 weeks of AMF inoculation, root mycorrhizal colonization ranged from 15.12% to 40.23%. AMF inoculation heavily increased plant height, shoot and root biomass, and total leaf area, whilst the increased effect was ranked as C. etunicatum > D. spurca > mixed-AMF > D. versiformis in the decreasing order. Mycorrhizal inoculation also considerably increased total root length and volume, whereas obviously inhibited root-hair length and number, in company with an increment in root-hair diameter. Leaf N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, and Mn contents were significantly higher in AMF-inoculated plants than in non-AMF-inoculated plants, regardless of AMF species. It concludes that AMF inoculation had positive effects on plant growth performance, root morphology, and leaf nutrient levels in cv. Fuding Dabaicha seedlings, whilst C. etunicatum performed the best effects.

Secondary fertilisers are becoming an important alternative to conventional mined fertilisers. For the first time, the struvite "relative" hazenite (KNaMg₂(PO₄)₂∙14 H₂O) has been artificially synthesised. A pot trial assessed whether hazenite-fertilised ryegrass had comparable potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), or phosphorus (P) uptake and shoot yields with treatments receiving conventional K (muriate of potash), Mg (kieserite) or P (triple superphosphate, TSP) fertilisers. Ryegrass shoot biomass production and K/Mg uptake in replicates receiving hazenite were as good as or superior to those amended with conventional fertilisers. Phosphorus uptake of plants whose P source was TSP was significantly higher than that of the hazenite-amended replicates without significantly higher shoot biomass, indicating luxury P uptake. Hazenite's constituent sodium (Na) makes it a potentially useful soil amendment for forage grasses or natrophilic crops such as sugar beet. Its component Mg would also be desirable in forage grasses to pre-empt ruminant hypomagnesemia or in crops with a relatively high Mg demand, for example, maize. Furthermore, hazenite represents a good alternative to KCl for chlorophobic crops such as potatoes. However, given its unusual ratio of Mg, P, and K, the ideal application of hazenite would probably be in combination with other fertilisers.

The impact of precipitations and air temperatures on winter wheat yields was evaluated in a 34-year long- term field trial with mineral and organic fertilization established at two experimental sites with different soil-climatic conditions: Ivanovice na Hané with well fertile soils (degraded Chernozem), higher average year temperatures and lower precipitations; Lukavec situated in Bohemian-Moravian highlands with less fertile soils (Cambisol), lower temperatures and higher precipitations. At both sites, a significant positive effect of used fertilizers was noted from the dose of 80 kg N/ha; the best yields were generally obtained at 120 kg N/ha and 160 kg N/ha. The wheat yields at the Ivanovice site were negatively affected by the decrease of precipitations, namely in more fertilized treatments, particularly farmyard manure + mineral nitrogen, from the dose of 80 kg N/ha. A different trend was obtained at the Lukavec site where better winter wheat yields were obtained under lower precipitations. The air temperatures played a positive role at the Lukavec site, but no significant effect of temperature was observed at the Ivanovice site. The less productive areas in highlands can become more interesting for agriculture production with changing climate. However, the soils generally having lower quality and nutrient content can be a limiting factor for obtaining high yields.

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.

Agnus is a Czech hybrid hop cultivar and a statistically significant influence of depth and term of pruning on harvested hop cones yield and on alpha-bitter acids content in hop cones were found in this study. Evaluated agrotechnical measures, i.e. depth of pruning, term of pruning and number of trained bines, considerably influenced performance and quality of newly grown hop genotype. Every year, we found a positive influence of shallow pruning on yield (increase of dry hop cones yield in 2003 by 0.37 t/ha, in 2004 by 0.28 t/ha and in 2005 by 0.02 t/ha). The hop yield of plants treated with shallow pruning increased on average by 11.6% in three years. We proved a statistically significant influence of three-bines training system on one hop pole, i.e. 3 + 3 bines from each plant. We found that alpha-bitter acids content corresponds with cones yield and indicates a convenience of shallow pruning. Pruning term influenced alpha-bitter acids yield and dynamics of their formation (in the first pruning term yield it was 155 kg/ha, in the second pruning term it was 169 kg/ha, and in the third pruning term it was 175 kg/ha).

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.

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.

A reliable tuber yield prognosis requires a complex statistical analysis of potato nutritional status in the fully developed 4^th leaf at the onset of tuberisation. This hypothesis was validated in the series of field experiments conducted in 2006-2008 in Poland. The experimental design was composed of two nitrogen (N) rates (60, 120 kg/ha), two N fertilisers (Urea and Agrotain), two rates of sulfur (0, 50 kg/ha). The marketable tuber yield of cv. Zeus ranged from 31.3 to 59.3 t/ha in 2008 and 2006, respectively. Despite annual variability, the potato presented a good nutritional status. In 2008, the contents of N, Mg, Cu and Zn were about 33% lower as compared to 2006. The stepwise and path analyses indicated N, Mg and Cu as the key yield-limiting nutrients. The diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS) showed that a slight imbalance of N and Mg did not disturb tuber yield, provided a positive balance of K was maintained. The Mg index, as a result of the DRIS procedure, emerged as the best single predictor of potato yield.

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.

A three-year pot experiment carried out in the vegetation hall in 2014-2016 included studying the enzymatic activity of soil, into which various amounts of copper: (100, 200 and 300 mg Cu/kg soil) and organic materials (cattle manure, chicken manure, post-mushroom substrate) were introduced, used separately, at a soil-introduction dose of 2 g C_org/kg. Copper and organic materials were used once, only in the first year of the study, before sowing test plant orchard grass. In soil collected after the last (fourth) swath of grass in each year of the study, the activity of urease, dehydrogenases, acid, and alkaline phosphatase was determined. Applications of copper to the soil, regardless of its dose, resulted in a decrease in urease, dehydrogenases and alkaline phosphatase and an increase in acid phosphatase activity. The inactivating effect of this metal on the activity of urease, dehydrogenases and alkaline phosphatase increased with the increase of its dose. Organic fertilisation generally increased the enzymatic activity of the analysed soil. In subsequent years of the study, urease and alkaline phosphatase activity decreased, while acid phosphatase activity increased. Dehydrogenase activity did not change significantly in subsequent years of the study.

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.

Composition and degradation of anthocyanins in blue and purple grain wheat during bread production were investigated using the HPLC-MS/MS method. The most abundant anthocyanins were delphinidin-3-rutinoside (blue grain wheat), cyanidin-3-glucoside and peonidin-3-glucoside (purple grain wheat). Peonidin-3-glucoside was also the most stable during grain treatment while delphinidin-3-glucoside had the greatest loss. Both blue and purple grain anthocyanins decreased significantly during bread production to 41.81% and 70.10% after baking, respectively, and to 24.21% and 60.00% after short-term storage, respectively. The blue grain wheat anthocyanins were lost mostly during baking, but in the purple grain wheat, the greatest decrease occurred during dough production. Despite the higher degradation, the blue grain wheat still showed higher anthocyanins content.