rss_2.0Sciendo RSS Feed for Agriculture (Pol'nohospodárstvo)https://sciendo.com/journal/AGRIhttps://www.sciendo.comhttps://sciendo-parsed.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/656de7a372379d15f87571bc/cover-image.jpghttps://sciendo.com/journal/AGRI140216https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-0006<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Quality protein maize (QPM) commercialization can combat the food and nutritional insecurity that is common in some developing nations of the world. Evaluation of QPM hybrids under varying rainfed environments provide valuable evidence for the selection of the most productive genotypes for the target environment. The present study was conducted at three locations to assess the agronomic performance and the grain yield stability of 11 QPM and 2 commercial hybrids (checks) over two years. There were significant (<italic>p</italic> ≥ 0.01) differences among the environments in the expression of all measured traits while genotype as well as genotype × environment interaction also differed significantly for all the traits except for husk cover and Anthesis-silking interval. The tested QPM hybrids outperformed the local and reference checks by 17.28% and 29.47% respectively. The biplot explained 85.3% of the total variation in yield, with 65.4% attributed to principal component 1 and 19.9% to principal component 2. Three vertex hybrids, EWQH-25, EWQH-21 and Local Check, were identified as the most responsive in the environments within which they fall. Hybrid EWQH-21 produced the highest yield across all environments but was unstable. Therefore, hybrids EWQH-22, EWQH-9, and EWQH-13, with similar yield values and more stable performances were recognized as ideal across environments. Lapai 2017 (E2) proves to be both representative and discriminative, making it the ideal test environment for selecting hybrids with broad adaptability. The study concludes that EWQH-9, EWQH-13, and EWQH-22 be recommended for cultivation across the environments while EWQH-21 be recommended for the specific area of adaptation.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-00062023-11-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-0007<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The application of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) for seed coating of agricultural crops is an innovative and promising method to effectively reduce plant stress during dry periods and thereby contribute to sustainable agriculture. However, due to the lack of experiments using SAP in field conditions in Central Europe, we focused on determining the effect of synthetic SAP, which was used for coating maize seeds, on the germination and emergence of these plants as well as on determining its impact on the genetic diversity of microbial communities in the maize rhizosphere for two consecutive years. The results showed that the growth parameters of coleoptiles and root systems of germinating maize plants at the very early development stage were biased in favour of SAP-coated seeds, and some values were statistically higher in the second year of evaluation. Similar observations were recorded in the assessment of maize emergence parameters. Also, these values were better when using SAP-coated seeds compared to the untreated controls. Plant height, dry weight, leaf tip number, and the Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD ) value were statistically higher in the second year of evaluation. The rhizosphere bacterial and fungal genetic diversity results did not confirm statistically significant differences between the SAP-coated and control maize seeds. They concern both alpha diversity indices and the results from multivariate statistical methods. Principal coordinate analysis results with cluster analysis show that the main factor influencing the microbial diversity in the maize rhizosphere was the collection date, especially the year of sampling than t he use of SAP-coated seeds.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-00072023-11-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-0005<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The objective of this paper is to document the occurrence of pests recorded in a large-scale pilot field experiment, where a unique set of newly-introduced herbaceous energy crops was tested under conditions of eastern Slovakia. The set consisted of <italic>Elymus elongatus, Secale cereanum, Silphium perfoliatum, Galega orientalis, Sida hermaphrodita, Panicum virgatum, Amaranthus</italic> spp., <italic>Panicum miliaceum, Sorghum sudanense,</italic> and <italic>Sorghum bicolor.</italic> A total of 14 cultivars were tested on 4 sites during 4 crop years (2016 – 2020). At least 17 species of pests were recorded in total, as some of the species may represent the identity of the couple or several relative ones, which was rare only as usually a fower common species. The occurred pests list consists of <italic>Anisoplia lata</italic> Erichson, <italic>Agriotes lineatus</italic> L., <italic>Capreolus capreolus</italic> L., <italic>Deroceras agreste</italic> L., <italic>Oulema gallaeciana</italic> Heyden, <italic>Lepisma saccharinum</italic> L., <italic>Lepus europaeus</italic> Pallas, <italic>Meloe proscarabaeus</italic> L., <italic>Metcalfa pruinosa</italic> Say, <italic>Microtus arvalis</italic> Pallas, <italic>Philaenus spumarius</italic> L., <italic>Psylliodes chrysocephala</italic> L., <italic>Rhopalosiphum padi</italic> L., stemborers as any insect larva or arthropod boring into plant stem, <italic>Sus scrofa</italic> L., <italic>Aleyrodes proletella</italic> L., <italic>Tettigonia viridissima</italic> L., and <italic>Trialeurodes vaporariorum</italic> Westwood. Overall, the occurrence of pests was regular and scattered, and damages caused by them were negligible usually, but a total destruction of the crop stand even cultivar-specific was recorded too. Most of the meaningful pests are primarily field hunting animals and only secondarily commonly occurring insect species, which for further observations are desirable in order to capture the tendency of important pests’ overpopulation, confirming respectively. Although even rare finding of the single caterpillar of <italic>Xylena exsoleta exsoleta</italic> L. was recorded in a buffer zone, within the experiment no newly introduced pest species was recorded.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-00052023-11-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-0008<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The results of seasonal variation of total polyphenols (TPC), flavonoids (TFC) and phenolic acid (TPAC) accumulation and antioxidant activity of <italic>Artemisia balchanorum</italic> Krasch. × <italic>Artemisia taurica</italic> Willd. genotypes from the Kherson Oblast of Ukraine represented in this study. The total polyphenol content was identified by the Folin-Ciocalteu method and ranged from 20.51 to 132.52 mg GAE/g (gallic acid equivalent). The flavonoid content conducted with aluminum chloride reagent ranged from 8.16 to 70.77 mg QE/g (quercetin equivalent) and phenolic acid content determined with Arnova reagent ranged from 6.26 to 38.67 mg CAE/g (caffeic acid equivalent) depending on genotype and stage of growth. The antioxidant activity of investigated genotypes determined by the DPPH (2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method (FRSA) varied from 4.68 to 10.38 mg TE/g (Trolox equivalent), molybdenum-reducing power of extracts detected by the phosphomolybdenum method (MRP) and was from 41.43 to 209.93 mg TE/g depending on genotype. The total polyphenol content, flavonoids and antioxidant activity by the phosphomolybdenum method increased from spring vegetation to flowering. The accumulation of phenolic acids and antioxidant activity by the DPPH method was uneven and depended on genotype and stage of growth. It was found a weak correlation between FRSA and TPC (<italic>r</italic> = 0.189), TFC (<italic>r</italic> = 0.211), and TPAC (<italic>r</italic> = 0.111) for genotypes. A strong correlation was found between MRP and TPC (<italic>r</italic> = 0.703), and TFC (<italic>r</italic> = 0.657). A moderate correlation was detected between MRP and TPAC (<italic>r</italic> = 0.481) for genotypes. The obtained data can be used for further breeding work to get genotypes with high antioxidant activity.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-00082023-11-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-0001<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Lavender plants are preferably propagated vegetatively. The aim of the work was to propose the composition of nutrient media for <italic>in vitro</italic> multiplication of plants of <italic>Lavandula angustifolia</italic> (var. Krajová and Beta) and <italic>Lavandula x intermedia</italic> (var. Budrovka and Grosso). Explant cultures were initiated from apical or nodal segments. Apical segments were more suitable and regenerated the highest number of shoots in MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/L BAP with or without 0.1 mg/L IAA in all used varieties. Nodal segments are suitable for var. Budrovka, where the number of shoots was not statistically different between the apical or nodal segments and among the media tested. Shoot multiplication of <italic>L. angustifolia</italic> varieties was the most effective in the MS media with 0.5 or 1 mg/L BAP. For variety Grosso, the optimal medium was MS with 1 mg/L BAP, while var. Budrovka regenerated a similar number of shoots in all media supplemented with 0.5 or 1 mg/L BAP with or without 0.1 mg/L IAA. All genotypes rooted with the highest frequency on growth regulator-free medium with a half dose of MS salts. After transplanting into the soil and <italic>ex vitro</italic> acclimatization, plantlets survivability after 10 weeks was 78.9 – 87.7%, except for var. Beta with a lower survivability of 50%. The proposed procedures enable a rapid plant multiplication of varieties Budrovka, Grosso and Krajová. With the Beta variety, it is advisable to continue working on the optimization of nutrient media to verify whether the procedures can be further optimized.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-00012023-08-22T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-0002<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Synchronizing crop residue decomposing and releasing nitrogen with subsequent cash crop needs provides benefits for ecosystems, but it is difficult to carry out. This study aimed to investigate the trend of decomposition of vetch (<italic>Vicia sativa</italic>), rye (<italic>Secale cereal</italic>e) and mixed (rye + vetch) cover crop residues as well as nitrogen release after incorporating them into the soil during 12 weeks of the potato growth season by using the mesh bag method. Vetch residues decomposed very quickly in the spring and their nitrogen is released due to their higher nitrogen content and consequently a lower Carbon/Nitrogen (C/N) ratio. However, rye residues decomposed at a slower rate compared to mixed treatment, and their nitrogen content was immobilized mainly due to a higher C/N ratio. A better understanding of cover crops residues decomposition dynamics leads to maximizing the cover crop effects and higher nutrient uptake by subsequent main crops. The results of this study showed that the input level of nitrogen fertiliser can be reduced by implementing management strategies in farming potatoes and using cover crops, which will reduce the harmful environmental effects and increase the economic benefit for farmers.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-00022023-08-22T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-0003<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>This study aimed to confirm the causality of climatic and soil physical factors on silage corn yield based on the climatesoil-yield network in Korea. The climatic variables were growing degree days, high temperature, low temperature, surface temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, wind speed, and sunshine duration before and after silking. The soil physical variables were the effective depth, slope and drainage class of the soil. The yield variables were total digestible nutrients, dry matter and fresh matter yields. The network was constructed using structural equations and neural network models. In the result of the network, three causalities were remarkable. First, all longitudinal climatic causality before and after the silking stages were significant. It implies that the effect of climate in the vegetative stage reaches to yield through themselves in the reproductive stage. Second, there was the causality between climatic and soil physical factors based on indirect effects. Thus, it is likely to lead to an offset between the direct and indirect effects of soil physical factors. Finally, the effects of drought and heavy rainfall were clear before and after silking stages, respectively. It indicates that stress can damage the corn yield for silage. Here, the damage caused by the drought could be recovered due to various indirect effects, while the damage caused by heavy rainfall was fatal because there was a lack of an indirect path to recover from. This study contributed to identifying how various climatic and soil physical factors can affect production in the network. Furthermore, the climate-soil-yield network for silage corn in this study will help extend the structure with various factors in future studies.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-00032023-08-22T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-0004<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Callus formation and somatic embryogenesis in potato varieties are effective ways to obtain an entire plant from a single cell. The implementation of embryogenesis is widely used in improving plant materials and creating new biotechnological varieties. In our research, the optimum level of 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzyl aminopurine (BAP) was determined in the formation of callus tissue in the local Sarnav potato variety, and the Desiree variety taken as a control. Leaf and stem explants were used in the processes of callus tissue formation and somatic embryogenesis of both varieties. We tried various plant growth regulators for callus formation and somatic embryogenesis in different ratios. The 1 mg/L NAA and 1.5 mg/L BAP were established as the best option for callus formation resulting in 92 and 100% development of callus in internodes of Desiree and Sarnav varieties, respectively. The 0.1 mg/L BAP and 0.1 mg/L gibberellic acid (GA₃) resulted in almost 80% development of somatic embryogenesis in both varieties and were found as the most optimum option. These results showed that regenerated plants can be obtained from the Sarnav potato variety by somatic embryogenesis. This method can be applied to the Sarnav variety for genetic transformation studies.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2023-00042023-08-22T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0015<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Intercropping is a technique in which two or more crops are grown together that is reported to be soil and water friendly. Field trials were conducted at three different localities in the Czech Republic. Spring wheat was grown together with different legumes (Egyptian clover, crimson clover, red clover, white clover, common pea, dun pea, common vetch, bird’s-foot-trefoil, common kidney vetch, and fenugreek) in an organic cropping system. Two basic systems were compared mixture and row-by-row cropping. The yield of grain was lower on average in row-by-row cropping than in the mixture. Lower yields were found in Prague (PR) compared to Uhříněves (UH) and Zvíkov (ZV). The mixture system seemed to be more effective in grain production than cultivation in separate rows (PR 2.14 t/ha, UH 4.71 t/ha, ZV 3.00 t/ha) in terms of spring wheat grain yield in comparison with the mixture system (PR 2.45 t/ha, UH 5.44 t/ha, ZV 3.14 t/ha). Quality parameters such as crude protein, wet gluten, gluten index, Zeleny test of wheat grown with legumes were compared to the control. The mean quality parameters of both systems were the following: test weight 75.75%, crude protein 13.9%, wet gluten 31.5%, Zeleny test 56.2 mL, falling number 266.4 s. The combinations of spring wheat with Egyptian clover, white clover, common vetch, common kidney vetch, and bird’s-foot-trefoil are recommended as the most promising according to the results obtained across all sites and considering all parameters.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00152023-06-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0016<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Hemp (<italic>Cannabis sativa</italic> L.) is one of the traditional crops currently being newly re-introduced in Slovakia and cultivated for multi-purpose uses, while still there is a lack of crop biomass yield data. The main objective of the paper is to document the yield of aboveground biomass of selected cultivars of hemp ('Bialobrzeskie', 'Felina', 'Santhica', 'Epsilon', and 'Futura'), which were tested in the pilot open-field experiments conducted during 2009 − 2012, immediately after a wave of legislative changes. The trial was agronomically designed including three nitrogen treatments as follows: (i) T1 30 kg N/ha (the full 30 kg/ha in the phenophase BBCH 31), (ii) T2 60 kg N/ha (dividing on 30 + 30 kg/ha in the phenophase BBCH 31 and 51, respectively), and (iii) T3 90 kg N/ha (dividing on 30 + 30 + 30 kg/ha in the phenophase BBCH 31, 51 and 59, respectively); whereas NPK 15-15-15 in the dose of 200 kg/ha was applied before the sowing all across the treatments. The total average dry matter (DM) yield of 9.49 t/ha was achieved, ranging from 2.12 to 16.80 t/ha. DM yield was affected mainly by years (<italic>F</italic>-ratio 337.40, <italic>P</italic>-value 0.0000), followed by nitrogen treatment (<italic>F</italic>-ratio 47.86, <italic>P</italic>-value 0.0001), then by cultivars (<italic>F</italic>-ratio 22.37, <italic>P</italic>-value 0.0019) and finally by replications (<italic>F</italic>-ratio 0.65, <italic>P</italic>-value 0.58). However, the need for further studies aimed to quantify more precisely the response of the cultivars to the weather and soil conditions is necessary, especially the cultivars of new and foreign origin.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00162023-06-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0014<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The objective of the paper is to determine ligno-cellulose quality and calorific value of tall wheatgrass Szarvasi-1 and Alkar, as well as perennial rye Kriszta and Gergő cultivars, tested within a huge pilot field experiment. The experiment was established in the autumn of 2016 and was carried out until 2020, while four trial sites with marginal soil and three nutrition treatments (intensive, semi-intensive and untreated control) were included as well. The impact of the nutrition, years, sites, and cultivars on quality was statistically evaluated as the main effects, with two complete data set points of acid-detergent fibre (ADF), acid-detergent lignin (ADL), crude cellulose (CE), hemicellulose (HEM), neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) and high heating value (HHV), primarily in terms of quality content and a secondarily in terms of quality yield. In terms of quality content, the impact decreased in alternating order: of sites, years, and cultivars, each of them over the least important nutrition, while in terms of quality yield nutrition has been confirmed as the most important factor followed by sites, then by years, and finally by cultivars with the least impact. Average ADF content according to cultivars sequence Szarvasi-1 – Alkar – Kriszta – Gergő was 45.95 – 45.65 – 42.25 – 42.97%, ADL 8.67 – 8.24 – 8.51 – 8.37%, CE 37.27 – 37.41 – 33.74 – 34.60%, HEM 24.14 – 24.78 – 25.46 – 25.00%, NDF 70.03 – 70.43 – 67.71 – 67.71% and HHV 16.86 – 16.89 – 17.21 – 17.17 MJ/kg, respectively. The maximum yield values of ADF yield according to the order were 6.373 – 6.180 – 6.112 – 4.983 t/ha, ADL 1.340 – 1.374 – 1.261 – 1.027 t/ha, CE 5.253 – 5.111 – 4.851 – 3.997 t/ha, HEM 3.000 – 3.097 – 3.052 – 2.655 t/ha, NDF 9.285 – 9.133 – 9.164 – 7.626 t/ha and HHV 225.3 – 221.1 – 228.9 – 185.7 GJ/ha, respectively.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00142023-06-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0013<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>An experiment was performed to evaluate the variability parameters of the quantitative features in fifteen rice genotypes planted during the growing seasons of 2020 and 2021. These genotypes were grown in three replications with a randomized complete block design. For all of the studied characters, analysis of variance revealed that variations between the genotypes were highly significant. Among the studied phenotypic and genotypic parameters, the number of filled grains/panicles showed the highest variations, while grain width had the lowest value in this respect. The highest genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) was found for grain yield while hulling rice % had the lowest GCV. In yields, the genotypic and phenotypic coefficients were the highest, clarifying the action of additive genes in commanding these traits. Most of the studied traits had a high heritability. The highest genetic advance value (98.06) was determined for the number of filled grains/panicles, while total chlorophyll content had the lowest value (0.11). Five principal components with eigenvalues above 1 were identified using principal component analysis. The first and second principal components were responsible for about 30.34 and 15.24 of the total variation, respectively, indicating that these traits played a larger role in the overall clustering distinction of the populations. Rice enhancement programs can be more successful if selection efforts are focused on these characteristics. Cluster analyses of the fifteen genotypes have grouped the genotypes into five clusters based on the data taken. Genotypes found in Cluster II had the highest thousand-grain weights, grain yield and head rice, and they could be recommended for breeding due to these favourable parameters of height, yield and head rice percentage.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00132023-06-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0009<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The potato tuber moth (PTM; caused by <italic>Phthorimaea operculella)</italic> is one of the most serious insect pests that causes damage to crop production and storage of potatoes. It causes damage to the potato, while larvae of <italic>P. operculella</italic> feed on and grow in the leaves and tubers of potatoes, resulting in direct product losses. The larvae construct tunnels through tubers and mine leaves, stems, and petioles, resulting in uneven galleries. Foliar damage to the potato crop does not normally result in major output losses, although contaminated tubers may have lower marketability and storage losses of up to 100%. Light watering every 4 days and mulching with neem leaves during the last 4 weeks before the harvest was found to be a successful treatment. Spraying a thin layer of testing natural oils also acts as a defensive layer, which causes confusion or disturbance to the searching neonate larvae. The pest is tough to eradicate, so producers rely heavily on insecticides and biological approaches. Potato tuberworm damage was reduced by rotating esfenvalerate and indoxacarb treatments before and after vine kill. At 5 g/kg potato tuber in farmer rustic storage, <italic>Acorus calamus</italic> dust exhibited great efficiency in preventing PTM tuber damage. In different regions of the world, parasitoids such as <italic>Copidosoma</italic> spp. and <italic>Apanteles</italic> spp. are significant in PTM management. Pheromone traps are used for pest population monitoring as well as pest management in the field and during storage.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00092023-02-18T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0010<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p><italic>Ambrosia artemisiifolia</italic> L. (Asteraceae) has become a major threat to agriculture in many parts of the world. Global agriculture relies on the use of herbicides against <italic>A. artemisiifolia</italic> in the crops most at risk – sunflower, maize and soybean. This paper aims to provide an overview of the chemical control of <italic>A. artemisiifolia</italic> and to summarize the latest knowledge in this field. The sunflower is the crop most threatened by <italic>A. artemisiifolia</italic>, as both plants belong to the same family. The best control level was achieved after the preemergence application of flurochloridone and the combination of dimethenamid-P + pendimethalin. The introduction of the non-GM Clearfield and ExpressSun technologies allowed effective control with postemergence herbicides in sunflower varieties tolerant to imidazolinone and tribenuron-methyl herbicides. In soybean, the highest efficacy was observed in trials with imazamox and bentazone alone and in combination. The combination of imazamox with bentazone had a positive effect on yield compared to untreated stands. The introduction of transgenic soybeans tolerant to glyphosate led to increased glyphosate use and the predictable emergence of weed resistance in America in 1996. Preplant followed by postemergence herbicides were critical for the effective control of glyphosate-resistant <italic>A. artemisiifolia</italic> in glufosinate tolerant soybean. In maize, the highest efficacy was obtained after the application of glufosinate, bromoxynil and mesotrione + atrazine. Of the above substances for the control of <italic>A. artemisiifolia</italic> in maize, only mesotrione is currently registered in the EU.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00102023-02-18T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0011<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Plant viruses are a threat to a sustainable economy because they cause economic losses in yields. The epidemiology of plant viruses is of particular interest because of their dynamic spread by insect vectors and their transmission by seeds. The speed and direction of viral evolution are determined by the selective environment in which they are found. Knowledge of the ecology of plant viruses is critical to the transmission of many plant viruses. Accurate and timely detection of plant viruses is an essential part of their control. Rapid climate change and the globalization of trade through free trade agreements encourage the transmission of vectors and viruses from country to country. Another factor affecting the emergence of viruses is the cultivation of monocultures with low genetic diversity a nd high plant density. Trade in plant material (germplasm and living plants) also cause the emergence of new viruses. Viruses have a fast adaptation and development in a new environment. Aphids are the most widespread and important vectors of plant viruses. <italic>Myzus persicae</italic> transmits more than 100 different plant viruses. In nature plant viruses are transmitted also by nematodes, fungi, mites, leafhoppers, whiteflies, beetles, and planthoppers. The symptoms of viral diseases are very diverse and are often confused with symptoms of abiotic stress. Control of viral diseases is based on two strategies: i) immunization (genetic resistance acquired by plant transformation, breeding, or cross-protection), ii) prophylaxis to limit viruses (removal of infected plants and control of their vectors). For management, we rely on quick and accurate identification of the disease.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00112023-02-18T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0012<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Sorghum has good adaptability to drought stress conditions, but its early vegetative phase and the generative phase are susceptible to stress. Understanding the physiological response of plants under drought and mechanisms regulating drought tolerance in a plant, mediated by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) will be useful in developing a strategy to deal with drought. Here, a pot experiment was used to explore the growth performance, biomass production and physiological responses of two sorghum accessions (4183A and JP-1) inoculated by the AMF under drought stress, as well as the effect of AMF on soil enzyme and microbial stability. Based on growth observations, the AMF inoculation treatment had not significant effect on increasing the drought resistance of the two sorghum accessions. Drought stress decreased the rate of height increment for 4183A, and JP-1 accessions by 37% and 55%, respectively, compared to normal conditions. Shoot dry weight and root dry weight losses were up to 59% and 66%, respectively, compared to well-watered conditions. However, the interaction of AMF and plants to deal with drought can be captured through physiological response, particularly proline accumulation. AMF inoculation in JP-1 accession reduced proline accumulation (99.91 mM/leaf fresh weight) compared to non-AMF inoculated plants (149.86 mM/leaf fresh weight). It can be implied that mycorrhiza can reduce plant stress. In contrast to accession 4183A, there was an increase in the accumulation of proline in plants inoculated with mycorrhiza under drought conditions. Additionally, AMF inoculation improved acid phosphatase activity in the soil and proved crucial for maintaining the stability of the rhizosphere microorganisms under drought-stressed conditions.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00122023-02-18T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0005<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Biochar as an eco-friendly and low-cost product has the potential for modification to improve its functionality. The application of modified biochar is a new approach that can improve soil properties, quality, and productivity of plants, thereby helping sustainable agriculture. The focus of the recent studies has dealt with methods for improving the function of biochar. Biochar can be modified to enhance its physicochemical properties (such as bulk density, cation exchange capacity, specific surface area, and porosity) and nutritional value. This review provides crucial and summarizing information about the classification of biochar modification techniques for agricultural application and a comparison of pristine and modified biochar function on soil fertility and plant production. There are several approaches for modification of biochar, which can be divided into four main categories: chemical, physical, enriched with minerals, and nanocomposites. The modified biochar could be more appropriate for poor-nutrient soils and has a high adsorption capacity and potential for different pollutants immobilization. Further research is needed to determine the best methods of biochar modification with short-term and long-term effects on soil fertility and plant growth under different environmental conditions.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00052022-12-16T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0006<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>This study aimed to determine the changes in soil properties due to land rolling after sowing and analysis the effects of these changes in soil properties on the plant growth in barley (<italic>Hordeum vulgare</italic> L.) production. For this purpose, a field experiment was conducted by using three weights of the land roller (196.37, 337.67, 478.97 kg/m) and untreated control treatment after sowing barley. The results showed that land rolling significantly changed the soil properties such as bulk density, moisture content, and penetration resistance. These changes in soil conditions significantly affected the plant growth parameters in barley production. The increased bulk density at the 0 ‒ 100 mm depth of the soil due to land rolling increased the seed emergence, the plant growth parameters and the yield of barley. However, it was observed that the grain yield per ear started decreasing at the higher penetration resistance than 345, 486, and 630 kPa for 50 mm, 75 mm and 100 mm, respectively. Consequently, it can be said that the use of a land roller after sowing in barley production can increase the yield by improving the plant growth parameters and soil physical properties under the soil and climate conditions like the experimental field.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00062022-12-16T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0007<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p><italic>Fusarium oxysporum</italic> f. sp. <italic>asparagi</italic> is one of the main problems associated with the roots of asparagus plants and inflicting serious losses worldwide. A novel and eco-friendly strategy to reduce pathogen resistance and management of the Fusarium crown and root rot is using chitosan and <italic>Trichoderma harzianum</italic> as a sustainable treatment approach to improve both disease resistance and yields, while also effectively managing the asparagus product. In this study, the effect of chitosan and <italic>Trichoderma harzianum</italic> on growth promotion and control of Fusarium crown and root rot in asparagus plants was investigated. diseased plants from the main production areas of Iran were surveyed. The <italic>in vitro</italic> antifungal properties of chitosan solutions (concentrations of 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg/mL) and <italic>T. harzianum</italic> strain were evaluated by the dual culture method. <italic>T. harzianum and</italic> chitosan solution (20 mg/mL) gave the largest inhibition zone against <italic>F. oxysporum</italic> and were selected for further studies in the greenhouse. Chitosan (20 mg/mL) and <italic>T. harzianum</italic> were applied as seed treatments and they significantly reduced disease incidence by 92% and 73% respectively, compared to the control.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00072022-12-16T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-0008<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Increased agricultural operations result in increased usage of various pesticides to safeguard crops, however, this is done without paying attention to the effects of the amounting potential harm to both humans and the environment. In this present study, a structured study was conducted on the uptake of <italic>atrazine, mesotrione, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2.4-D),</italic> and <italic>glyphosate</italic> herbicides from contaminated soil and translocation into different maize segments. It was observed that <italic>2.4-D</italic> was least absorbed by the soil, however, all the studied herbicide showed high absorption in the leafy segment of the maize plant due to the high polarity of the leaf cuticle. <italic>Glyphosate</italic> showed a high absorption rate in soil, roots, stalk, and leaves while <italic>mesotrione</italic> was highly absorbed in corn and tassels in all treatments. The absorption rate of the herbicide increased with increasing growth days. The higher treatment concentration (0.75 µg/l) showed elevated accumulation with the highest concentration (1.0 µg/l) observed for <italic>glyphosate</italic> in leaves after 140 days and high <italic>mesotrione</italic> in corn (0.51 µg/l) and tassel (0.42 µg/l) observed after 120 days. The PTi values of all treatments were &gt;1 however, the hi data were below 100% indicating minimal possible health risk linked to the intake of these crops by both adults and children.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/agri-2022-00082022-12-16T00:00:00.000+00:00en-us-1