Fulltext search in archive

The objective of this study was to investigate the capability of radish to extract lead from soils contaminated with lead resulting from air pollution. A randomized block experiment design was performed. The soil was contaminated with PbNO₃ and the treatments consisted of 180 (standard), 250, 350, 450, 800 and 1000 mg/kg lead. After development, plants were harvested and divided into shoots and roots. The lead content of each plant part as well as the soil-lead were measured. The results indicated a non-linear positive relation between the lead concentrations in soil and that accumulated in plant roots and shoots. By increasing the lead concentration in soil, its accumulation in plant tissues was also increased. Most of the extracted lead was accumulated in the roots (208.1 mg/kg) compared to shoots (27.25 mg/kg). Since radish can be seeded up to five times a year, and its yield may reach up to 20 t/ha, it can be used to remediate lead-polluted topsoils (0-10 cm).

In this paper we have discussed the problem of decomposition of a response variable into other predictor variables whose product gives the value of the response variable. This methodology is known as multiplicative yield component analysis. We have discussed the applications of multiplicative yield component analysis in cereal science and breeding. The discussion of multiplicative yield component analysis involves the description of yield component analysis for cereal grain yield, single genotype yield component analysis and across-genotype yield component analysis.

The objective of the study was to examine a possibility of predicting phosphorus leaching from the top layer of agricultural soils by rainfall simulations by means of three multi-nutrient soil tests: Mehlich 3, NH₄-acetate extraction and water extraction (1:5, w/v). Another objective was to determine parameters of maximum phosphorus losses after an extreme load of rainfall on the top layer. Forty soils from different localities of the Czech Republic were used for the experiment. A leaching experiment was conducted in pedological cylinders with a soil layer of about 1 cm and with the bottom from a glass microfibre filter with pores 1.2 μm in size. Within 15 days the soils were flooded ten times with 25 mm of simulated rainfall in a minimum interval of 1 day. The closest regression between the soil test and phosphorus leaching was computed for NH₄-acetate soil test (R² = 0.8831) and Mehlich 3 test (R² = 0.8572) after the first application of 25 mm of rainfall. In water extraction it was for the mean of 10 simulated rainfalls (R² = 0.8674). As leaching proceeded, the closeness of regression diminished due to fluctuations of P concentration in leachates (increases and decreases), mainly in soils with higher P-test. The increase in P concentration could be caused by the activation of phosphorus from Fe-phosphates under anaerobic conditions in wet soils. The steepest decrease in P concentration in leachates was observed in light soils with low CEC value and higher initial P-test.

The aim of the paper was to contribute to the acquisition of background data for the specification of safe boron levels in soils in relation to diagnostics by multi-nutrient soil tests and to CEC (cation exchange capacity) value of soil, pH and soil organic matter. The research was conducted on 24 soils. Sorption was determined after 97 days from the application of B at the rates of 0, 1, 2.5, 5 mg B/kg in H₃BO₃. The closest regression of B-sorption was with the CEC value of soil in NH₄-acetate and water tests and it increased with the increasing application of B (regression at a rate of 5 ppm B; NH₄-acetate: linear R

In this research cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae, BGA) were isolated, identified, multiplied and used as an inoculum in pot rice experiment. The pH, moisture and algal population were measured in four seasons. The highest and lowest pH (6.7, 6.2), moisture of soil (43%, 34%) and algal population (12, 20 Colony-Forming Units/50 ml on A and B medium and 4, 5 Colony-Forming Units/50 ml on A and B medium) were recorded in spring and winter, respectively. The only heterocystous cyanobacteria were found in soil samples identified as Anabaena with four species (A. spiroides, A. variabilis, A. torulosa and A. osillarioides). The germination of rice seeds treated with cyanobacteria was faster than control. The result of pot experiment were: increase of 53% in plant height; 66% in roots length; 58% in fresh leaf and stem weight; 80% in fresh root weight; 125% in dry leaf and stem weight; 150% in dry root weight; 20% in soil moisture; 28% in soil porosity and a decrease of 9.8% in soil bulk density and 4.8% in soil particle density. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) in pot treated with BGA as compared with control.

The effect of diesel oil applied at 0, 2.4, 4.8 and 7.2 ml/kg of soil on yield of oat and number of oligotrophic, eutrophic, nitrogen immobilising, ammonifying and cellulolytic bacteria and Azotobacter sp., actinomyces and fungi was studied in a pot experiment. Inoculation with Streptomyces intermedius spores was used for soil detoxication. The experiment was performed in Eutric Cambisol soil derived from light clay sand. Diesel oil was found to have a negative effect on the growth and development of oat. Inoculation did not attenuate the response of oat to soil contamination with diesel oil, but it had a positive effect on oligotrophic and eutrophic bacteria as well as Azotobacter sp., nitrogen immobilising bacteria and fungi. Regardless of sown and unsown soil and inoculation with S. intermedius spores, diesel oil stimulated the number of oligotrophic, eutrophic, nitrogen immobilising bacteria and actinomyces. Sowing of oat positively affected microbiological properties of soil, because it had a positive influence on the relation of oligotrophic bacteria and actinomyces to fungi. This positive effect, however, was weakened by diesel oil.

Improvement in leaf hydraulics is directly related to the improvement of plant tolerance to drought stress. Therefore, a field and pot experiment was carried out to determine the type of genetic variability and selection of parental types on the basis of combining ability for leaf hydraulics. Genotypes showed similar performance in both experiments; higher values were shown by drought tolerant genotypes in all traits except for osmotic potential, which drought tolerant genotypes maintained lower. Osmotic adjustment in pot experiment showed the highest magnitude of additive type of genetic variability. Female showed a higher and significant contribution of general combining ability effects as compared to male; it suggests that within genotypes female rather than male mostly contribute for additive genes. AMES-10103 showed the highest general combining ability effects for traits such as turgor pressure and osmotic adjustment.

Sustainable land management requires that water and matter (nutrients and base cations) are efficiently recycled within ecosystems so that irreversible losses of matter from topsoils are minimised. Matter losses are connected to water flow. The division of water into evapotranspiration that is loss-free, and seepage to groundwater or surface water flow that both carry material losses, is decisive in determining total losses of dissolved matter in a given catchment. Investigations of areal matter losses confirmed the instrumental role of vegetation cover. Areal matter losses measured in agricultural catchments in Germany were on average between 1-1.5 tons of dissolved matter per ha per year, i.e. some 50 to 100 times higher than those from unmanaged land in a virgin forest. Such high losses continuously reduce soil fertility and can hardly be compensated by fertilisation. Some suggestions on how to achieve sustainable management of agricultural land and maintain high soil fertility are presented - the priority is to close water and matter cycles through the incorporation of more natural vegetation cover into our landscapes and to restore the energy-dissipative properties of ecosystems.

Plant root and shoot dry weight, leaf relative water content (LRWC) and chlorophyll content were reduced by 30%, 21%, 15%, 34%, respectively, at 40mM NaCl as compared to non-salt stress conditions. However, membrane permeability (MP) of plant increased (85.0%) with increasing salinity. Foliar nutrient application (FNA) alleviated deleterious effects of salinity stress on growth and this effect was statistically significant. The highest alleviation effect of FNA at 40mM salinity stress was observed in the case of 10mM foliar KNO₃ and Ca(NO₃)₂ application, resulting in increase in plant root dry weight (50%), shoot dry weight (50%), LRWC (8.2%) and MP decrease (27.4%) at 40mM NaCl. Phosphorus, Fe and Zn contents in shoots and roots of plants also increased with FNA treatments, but they were still much lower than those of non-salt stress treatment. Sulphur, P, Fe and Zn contents of shoots reached similar values as in non-salt stress treatment when KNO₃ was applied, whereas Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu contents of roots reached the values of non-salt stress treatment when Ca(NO₃)₂ was applied.

The heavy metal contents and their bioavailability were monitored in soils of Central Spiš region of SR. This area belongs to long term contaminated and hygienically loaded areas. Soil contamination by heavy metals is caused especially by ore mining, processing and treatment. Soil samples from the Central Spiš contained higher proportions of mobile forms which corresponded to the following sequence Pb > Zn > Cu, while for mobilizable forms the sequence of investigated metals was as follows: Cu > Zn > Pb. Soil pH is one of the parameters that affect significantly the share of bioavailable forms of metals. Higher proportions of mobile fractions of metals were detected in samples taken from soils with acidic pH. Statistical processing confirmed a relationship between the percentage share of lead and zinc in the mobile form and the level of pH/KCl, which was significant for Zn: r = -0.53. The relationships for lead and copper were insignificant.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of organic (cattle manure) and inorganic fertilizers [composite NPK (15:15:15)] and natural zeolites on soil properties, vegetative growth and yield of apple plants grown on vertisol under Cacak conditions (Western Serbia). The results showed that the combined fertilization induced a decrease in acidity, an increase in humus content, a partial increase in total nitrogen (NTOT), and, primarily, a rise in available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) levels. A highly significant (P < 0.01) interactive effect of the apple cultivars and nutrients on one-year-old shoot length and trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) and a significant effect (P < 0.05) on yield per tree and yield per hectare were determined.

An association between yield components and their direct and indirect influence on the grain yield of wheat were investigated. 24 breeding lines were tested in a randomized complete block experiment design with three replications. According to the results the phenotypic correlation among the traits and their path coefficient were estimated. Positive significant correlation coefficients were obtained for association between survival rate treatment I (0.35*) and III (0.34*), leaf venation (0.51*), stomatal frequency (0.39*), osmotic pressure (0.30*), flag leaf area (0.85*), number of tillers per plant (0.70*) with grain yield per plant at both phenotypic and genotypic levels. A negatively significant correlation between hygrophilic colloids (-0.15*) and epidermal cell size (-0.22*) with grain yield per plant was obtained at phenotypic and genotypic levels. Path coefficients were also computed to estimate the contribution of character to the yield. Path coefficient analysis revealed that flag leaf area (1.34), root/shoot ratio (0.51) and survival rate II (0.56) had the highest positive direct effects on grain yield, while hygrophilic colloids (-0.24) and osmotic pressure (-0.07) had a negative direct effect on grain yield. The results thus obtained suggested that flag leaf area is an important component of yield and hence needs a special attention in selection strategies.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a barley disease, which occurs every year in various areas of barley cultivation all over the world and the increasing incidence has been confirmed in the Czech Republic also during the last years. We aimed to emply AFLP (Amplified fragment length polymorphism) and SSR (Single sequence repeats) markers to describe diversity among breeding lines with a sufficient level of resistance towards FHB and to find marker(s) associated with the analysed traits. The number of eight accessions including five expected resistance donors and three sensitive lines were tested in the field and laboratory. The field values and the amount of deoxynivalenol were positively correlated (r = 0.92). The laboratory test and content DON manifested also a high correlation (r = 0.73). Several DH lines developed from androgenetic barley progenies of the F1 hybrids between the susceptible line PI 383933 and resistant line PEC 210 or the susceptible line PI 383933 and resistant cultivar Chevron were found resistant towards Fusarium infection in both the field and laboratory tests. Low infestation was found at line DH 37 from combination Chevron × PI 383933 and lines DH48, DH49, DH50 and DH55 from the combination PEC 210 × PI 383933. Cluster analyses based on 68 AFLP and 18 SSR markers demonstrate a genetic relationship among parental genotypes and DH lines.Some DH lines combined a sufficient degree of resistance against FHB and extract content (basic parameters malting quality). Statistically significant differences in malt-extract values were observed between groups of the DH lines possessing and not possessing the AFLP marker CAA/AGC 341bp. The markers will be further evaluated and optionally used for MAS.

The results of three-year trials (1999 to 2001) conducted with six winter wheat varieties in which was investigated the effect of sites, years and varieties on the final grain yield and technological quality showed statistically significant differences (LSD, 95%) among sites in grain yield and these parameters of quality: test volume mass, wet gluten content, sedimentation test, protein content, falling number and flour water absorption capacity. As to the quality, the Žatec site showed itself as generally most suitable, and the Jaroměřice site as the least suitable one. Climate conditions showed a statistically significant effect (LSD, 95%) on grain yield and all quality parameters, beside the percentage of complete grains and swelling capacity of gluten and falling number, which were insignificant. The most favourable weather conditions, a lot of precipitation and high temperature in the course of ripening from three years were proved in the year 2000. Among the varieties were statistically significant differences (LSD, 95%) in grain yield and these parameters of quality: test volume mass, thousand grain weight, ash content, percentage of complete grains, sedimentation test, protein content, reologic properties of dough and baking tests. From the six varieties the best profits were shown from variety Sulamit (loaf volume 595 ml/100 g of flour), the worst was Semper (loaf volume 543 ml/100 g of flour) and Vlasta (loaf volume 532 ml/100 g of flour). The best grain yield was in 2001 (average of sites 8.84 t/ha) and the variety Semper had the highest grain yield of 9.17 t/ha, that is higher at 13.41% compared with Sulamit (7.94 t/ha).

Basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars viz. PRH-10 (pusa rice hybrid-10) and PS-2 (Pusa Sugandh-2) were grown under two different day/night temperatures (31/24°C, 35/28°C) at ambient (370 μmol/mol) and elevated (550 μmol/mol) carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration, respectively, to characterize how an increase in CO₂ and temperature affects rice photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism. At elevated CO₂, the photosynthetic rates increased under both the temperature regimes, compared with plants grown at ambient CO₂. The photosynthetic rate, sucrose-P synthase (SPS) activity and accumulation of soluble sugars and starch were higher in PRH-10 (pusa rice hybrid-10), compared to PS-2 (Pusa Sugandh-2). Elevated temperature decreased the photosynthetic rates both under ambient and elevated CO₂ conditions. The SPS (sucrose-P synthase) activity and the accumulation of soluble sugars and starch were enhanced at elevated CO₂ under both temperature regimes compared with plants grown at ambient CO₂. The up-regulation of SPS (sucrose-P synthase) under elevated CO₂ and temperature would be beneficial for growth and productivity of rice plants for the future climatic conditions.

The experiments were conducted to study the effects of arsenic-contaminated irrigation water, zinc and organic matter on the mobilization of arsenic in an Aeric Endoaquept in relation to rice (cv. IET 4786). The results show that the amount of extractable arsenic increased with the progress of submergence decreased with zinc application. The magnitude of such decrease varied with the Zn amount, being greater (0.70 to 1.08 mg/kg) in the treatment where zinc was applied at the rate of 20 mg/kg. With regards to organic matter application, the arsenic content in soil markedly decreased, especially with farmyard manure application. The results of the greenhouse experiment with exposure of graded doses of arsenic to rice suggest that the upper toxic limit of arsenic in soil was 10 mg/kg for rice. The results of the field experiment show that the grain yield of continuous flooding (4.84 t/ha) and intermittent flooding up to 40 days after transplanting followed by continuous flooding (4.83 t/ha) with the application of ZnSO₄ at the rate of 25 kg/ha did not vary significantly. The lowest grain yield (3.65 t/ha) was recorded in the treatment where the intermittent flooding was maintained throughout the growth period without the application of zinc. The amount of arsenic was, however, much lower in the treatment where intermittent flooding was maintained throughout the growing period combined with zinc sulphate application.

In the present study, the effects of fungicide Aliette WG 800 [80% fosetyl-Al (aluminium tris-o-ethyl phosphonate)], widely used against Phytophtora infestans on tomatoes grown in greenhouse in Turkey, were studied on the morphology and viability of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) pollens. The fungicide was applied to tomatoes grown in greenhouse at recommended dosage (200 g/100 l water) and at double the recommended dosage (400 g/100 l water). The fungicide caused changes in the morphological structures of tomato pollens. Some pollen morphological structures that are not observed in the control group were encountered in the pollens in equatorial view and in polar view at 200 g/100 l treated groups. On the other hand, pollen viability level decreased as the dosage increased. Especially, non-viable pollen types such as wrinkled pollen or pollen with abnormal shape were encountered in the fungicide groups. It was expected that the pollen fertility as well as yield would decrease in future.

The key focus of the project "Bringing the datawarehouse for agriculture into practice" is to develop an IT solution for the implementation of data integration in agriculture. This solution is elaborated in cooperation with a whole range of bodies in the Czech Republic; the lead partner is the Pardubice region where the pilot phase of datawarehouse implementation is being performed. Apart from Czech legal subjects, partners from Finland, Estonia and Poland are also participating in the eFarmer operation. The datawarehouse project is one of the biggest subprojects of the eFarmer operation and is directly connected to the subproject of "Analysis of data and information flow and storage in rural regions", which was carried out within the eFarmer operation in the last period.

Producers in highland and semiarid regions have difficulty in increasing diversity in crop rotations due to unfavorable conditions imposed by cool temperatures, inadequate rainfall, and shorter growing periods. In such conditions, safflower appears as a promising alternative because it is cold and drought tolerant. The objective of this study was to determine the responses of the hybrid and open-pollinated safflower genotypes to irrigated and non-irrigated conditions in a highland environment. For this reason, the field research was performed during the years of 2001 and 2002 in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. According to the results of the study, safflower genotypes tested were well adapted to the cool and short-season conditions in this region. The response of seed yield to genotype varied depending on the growing seasons. The non-irrigated plants produced nearly the same seed yield as irrigated ones. Average seed yields of safflower genotypes tested were 914.3 and 928.0 kg/ha in 2001, and 1143.6 and 1139.9 kg/ha in 2002 years for irrigated and non-irrigated experiments, respectively. In general, the genotypes differed in all of the investigated traits. In both irrigated and non-irrigated experiments genotype × year interactions were very significant for all parameters. This research shows that in semiarid and highland environments safflower has a big potential value as an oilseed crop under dryland conditions.

Fast-growing woody plants that can be grown under short-rotation systems offer an alternative to food production on arable land, and serve as a potential source of renewable energy. In order to establish the feasibility of future large scale production under the conditions of the Czech-Moravian highland, a high density experimental field plantation including a range of available clones of Populus sp. and Salix sp. with the total area of 1.5 ha was established in early 2001 in Domanínek (Czech Republic, 49°32'N, 16°15'E and altitude 530 m). The clone experiment of Populus sp. covered 0.3 ha in the center of the plantation and included 13 clones in total, with hardwood cuttings of only 6 clones available in numbers allowing 4-replicate experiment. The plantation was established on agricultural land and the trees were planted in a double row design with a density of 10 000 trees/ha. The trial was weeded by mechanical methods, and no irrigation, fertilization, or herbicides were applied. The experiment site was harvested at the end of 2006. It was found that the biomass yields of the tested clones of Populus sp. were in the higher range of results from national and European studies in case of hybrid clones. The satisfactory survival rate in the first year, when mortality tends to be highest, was supported by relatively wet weather conditions after plantation establishment. At the end of the first rotation, the highest yields were obtained from clones J-105 and J-104 (P. nigra × P. maximowiczii) and P-494 (P. maximowiczii × P. berolinensis) with J-105 showing a mean annual increment of dry matter close to 14 t/ha. Additional experiments seem to suggest that well managed poplar plantation might produce even better values if higher survival rates can be achieved.

By reference to the Eternal Rye trial in Halle, Germany, as an example, it is demonstrated that long-term trials provide indispensable information for contemporary and future land use research. These trials serve as tools for the examination of cultivation measures or the effects of climate on nutrient dynamics and mobilization, microbial biodiversity, mineral composition or soil formation processes. They are therefore essential for the evaluation of land-use strategies or climatic change and, because of that, can provide more accuracy in related political considerations.

The effects of different concentrations of copper (0-800 μmol) on growth, protein contents, peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) in Jatropha curcas L. seedlings were assessed by means of pot experiments. Results suggested that increased copper concentrations lead to decreased shoot elongation and seedling biomass. Protein content in the leaves and roots reached their highest levels at the copper concentrations of 400 μmol, while the highest protein content in the stem was observed at 800 μmol copper. POD activity in leaves and stems was unaffected at low copper concentrations, but showed a considerable variation at high copper concentrations. In roots, the highest POD activity was observed at 200 μmol copper. Under copper stress, SOD activity in leaves increased concomitantly with increasing copper up to 400 μmol, and SOD activity in stems and roots showed a slight increase. Catalase activity significantly elevated in leaves and roots but showed no significant changes in stems of the seedlings exposed to copper. A gradual increase of PAL activity in leaves and roots at the copper concentration of 400 and 200 μmol was observed, while PAL activity remained unchanged in stems.

The paper deals with the possibilities of arsenic analysis in the soil. The aim is the selection and verification of the methods for analysis of As in the soil, which seem to be suitable for risk evaluation based on the increased As soil load. Economical and analytical availability of the methods is an important criterion. A sample set of 6 heavily contaminated soils was used to compare application potential of prevalent as well as less common procedures for determination of arsenic forms in soils. The results showed that substitution of analytically more demanding As total content analysis and sequential analysis for simple extraction using one-off agents seemed to be promising in many cases. The comparison and evaluation of statistical correlation of used methods of As analysis in the soil was realised. The results suggested that using the combination of simple 1M NH₄NO₃ extraction and determination procedure for amorphous Fe forms in the soil (the Tamm method) was suitable for the risk assessment stemming from the As contamination without necessity of the application of more complicated sequential extraction procedures.

Several fusarioid microorganisms were isolated as potential pathogens of hop (Humulus lupulus L.) but their virulence was not proved in inoculation trials in field conditions. Molecular search for other possible pathogens was then performed. Using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), Gibberella pulicaris (anamorph: Fusarium sambucinum) was identified as a probable cause of the hop wilting. The primary cause of the disease is wounding of hop crowns by feeding of rosy rustic moth (Hydraecia micacea) caterpillars or by defect pruning and other unfavourable circumstances. The specific primer HLf1 was designed that can be used to detect the pathogen in soil and in damaged plant tissues.

Sequential extractions, metal uptake by Taraxacum officinale, Ruby's physiologically based extraction test (PBET) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), were used to assess the risk of Pb and Zn in contaminated soils, and to determine relationships among soil characteristics, heavy metals soil fractionation, bioavailability and leachability. Regression analysis using linear and 2nd order polynomial models indicated relationships between Pb and Zn contamination and soil properties, although of small significance (P < 0.05). Statistically highly significant correlations (P < 0.001) were obtained using multiple regression analysis. A correlation between soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) and soil organic matter and clay content was expected. The proportion of Pb in the PBET intestinal phase correlated with total soil Pb and Pb bound to soil oxides and the organic matter fraction. The leachable Pb, extracted with TCLP, correlated with the Pb bound to carbonates and soil organic matter content (R² = 69%). No highly significant correlations (P < 0.001) for Zn with soil properties or Zn fractionation were obtained using multiple regression.

In laboratory and small-field experiments inducers of synthetic origin: benzothiadiazole (BTH), salicylic acid, and inducers of biological origin: glycine betaine, extracts prepared from oak bark (Quercus robur L.), Reynoutria sacchaliensis L., curcuma (Curcuma longa L.), ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) were effective against powdery mildew on the winter wheat (cv. Kanzler) susceptible to this disease. All studied inducers slightly effected the synthesis of new proteins (PR-proteins) that were localized in extracellular space. The efficacy of inducers was long-term. The most effective inducer was BTH; its application produced a number of chlorotic blotches on leaves

Allelopathic effects of juglone and walnut leaf extracts from Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) on yield, growth, chemical and plant nutrient element composition of the day-neutral strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa L.) cultivar Fern were investigated as part of an effort to identify tolerant species to plant adjacent to walnut. Strawberry plants were treated with juglone (5-hydroxy-1.4 naphthoquinone, 1mM) and walnut leaf extracts (undiluted, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 diluted). Vegetative and reproductive plant growth was inhibited strongly by the treatment of both juglone and undiluted walnut leaf extracts. Fruit yield per plant, the number of fruit per plant, average fruit weight, crowns per plant, number of leaves, leaf area, fresh root weight, total soluble solid (TSS), vitamin C and acidity were reduced by juglone treatment compared to the control. All nutrient elements analyzed in the leaves generally were lower than the control for all treatments except 1/8 diluted.

Thirteen of the new synthetized 2-R substituted benzothiazole derivatives have been tested for plant growth regulatory (PGR) activity. The effect on growth elongation was studied on wheat coleoptile segments Triticum aestivum L. cv. Blava, and on the hypocotyl and roots in cucumber Cucumis sativum L. cv. Evita. The formation and number of adventitious roots and the length of hypocotyl in Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek and, the effect on the length of stem, fresh and dry mass in buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. cv. Pyra were evaluated. Cytokinin activity was determined on segments of barley leaves Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Jubilant on the basis of senescence inhibition and chlorophyll content. The benzothiazole derivatives were tested in the range of 10^-3-10^-7M concentrations, and PGR activity was compared with indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-butyric acid and 6-furfurylaminopurine. All tested derivatives showed different auxine-like effects on elongation growth of plants and the stimulative effects were found to depend on applicable concentrations. At higher concentration rates, derivatives acted as growth retardants and inhibited the length of cucumber hypocotyl and roots. The derivatives increased the formation of adventitious roots of mung bean hypocotyl cuttings, as well as stem elongation and production of fresh and dry mass of buckwheat. Cytokinin activity was confirmed in one derivate only with a significant effect on the inhibition of leaf senescence and higher chlorophyll content. The tested benzothiazole derivatives may be characterized as biologically active substances with dominant auxine-like growth promoting activity

The influence of mycorrhizal fungi on field pea green mass yield, dry matter yield, grain yield, number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod, average number of plants per m², grain concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were studied in the greenhouse during two investigative years. The best results with all parameters were obtained in both investigative years by seed inoculation with the mycorrhizal species G. mossae. The exceptions were mean green mass yield, dry matter yield and the number of grains per pod in the second investigation year (irrigation rate - 240 mm/m²) where better results were achieved by seed inoculation with species G. intraradices. The highest green mass yield obtained by seed inoculation with mycorrhizal species Glomus mossae was 671.45 g/m², dry matter yield 59.40 g/m², grain yield 346.20 g/m² whereas grain nitrogen concentration was 4.08%. Far better results of all yield and quality indicators of this plant compared to non-mychorrized variants were accomplished by mycorrized variants in water lacking conditions.