• Authors:
    • Lajeunesse, J.
    • Pageau, D.
    • Reid, J. F.
    • Collin, J.
    • Vanasse, A.
    • Lanoie, N.
    • Durand, J.
  • Source: CROP SCIENCE
  • Volume: 50
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Naked oat ( Avena sativa L.) grown in Quebec, Canada, produces an average of 10% covered grains. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of environment, herbicide, and genotype on the proportion of covered grains, to study the relation between the presence of awns and the proportion of covered grains, and to determine the location of covered grains on the plant (tiller) and on the panicle. Eight oat lines were evaluated over 2 yr at four experimental sites. Each line was treated with bromoxynil/MCPA, dicamba/MCPA, or thifensulfuron methyl/tribenuron methyl applied at Zadoks 12-13 and compared to a hand-weeded check. The highest percentages of covered grains, 5.5 and 6.9%, were found at different sites in 2006 and 2007. The application of dicamba/MCPA increased the percentage of covered grains in the lines normally producing a higher proportion of covered grains, but low producing lines were less affected. Minor differences were found among the other weed control treatments. No relation was found between the presence of awns and the proportion of naked grains. Covered grains were mostly produced on the main stem and their position on the panicle depended on genotype and weed control treatment.
  • Authors:
    • Marghitas,M.
    • Rusu,M.
    • Toader,C.
    • Mihai,M.
  • Source: Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca
  • Volume: 67
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: In our country, potato is a highly important national crop, as a basic food element (almost the population's second bread), while for the Apuseni Mountains area, potato holds the highest percentage and at the same time represents an essential food for locals and their animals, as a paramount food support of the population in the area. Its specific renders this crop as a highly demanding species of plant in terms ecologic conditions, humidity and temperature, as well as nutritive elements, as it forms an abundant vegetative mass and a high tuber quantity for the surface unit. It is a highly consuming nitrogen, potassium, magnesium and calcium plant, as well as with respect to macroelements. Once the potato is harvested, the export of mineral elements from the soil is high, thus determining the rapid soil depletion and demanding for a suitable fertilization of potato crop, adequate to the household system specific to the mountain area. Numerous research conducted in the area under study reveal the fact that, from a pedoclimatic point of view, there are good and very good conditions for potato crop, considering the climatic abnormalities in the last period. But the severity of the climatic impact varies from one region to another and exerts a serious effect on agriculture. In this highly important sector, climate changes would influence crop harvest, animal breeding and location of production. The increased probability and severity of weather events will considerably increase the risk of crop calamities. The climate change will exert an influence on the soil, by decreasing the organic matter content - a major contributor to soil fertility. In this context, considering the basic occupation of locals in the area, especially animal breeding, a large quantity of organic fertilizers is used and by meas of their rational employment, they represent the main fertilization source of crops in the area, recovery and maintenance of soil fertility. Alongside being the basic food product of population in the area, the importance of potato increases once the altitude of the area also increases, being used as fodder for animal husbandry, due to the fact that the assortment of cultivated plants is limited to potato, rye, oat, some fruit trees, certain vegetables, while the rest of the surfaces is covered with natural pastureland and forests. In this respect, potato covers the largest surface, as corn hybrids, even early ones do not manage to reach maturity in this mountain area.
  • Authors:
    • Toader, C.
    • Rusu, M.
    • Marghitas, M.
    • Mihai, M.
  • Source: Research Journal of Agricultural Science
  • Volume: 42
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The paper emphasizes the effect of organo-mineral fertilizer application on tuber production and the content of the main mineral elements in the Semenic potato variety, under crops in the mountain region, Romania, in a rather harsh natural environment characterized by a damp and cold climate and the low quality of soils in the area. From a nutritional point of view, potato is considered a high-demand plant in terms of nutritive elements, as it forms and abundant plant mass and a high tuber quantity for the surface unit. It is a highly-consuming in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium, as well as microelements. The mineral element uptake in the soils for potato crop is high, thus determining the quick soil impoverishment and requiring the proper fertilization of potato crop, which is adequate to the specific management system in the mountain area. Known as the basic occupation of the locals in the area, especially in animal breeding, thus obtaining a large quantity of organic fertilizers that, through a rational employment represent the main fertilizing source for crops in the area. The cultivated assortment of crops in the area is limited to potato, lye, oat, certain fruit-trees and vegetables, while the rest of lands are covered with natural pastures and forests. For this assortment, potato shows the highest percentage, as it is an essential food product for locals and their animals, as the basic food support of people in the area. The organic matter formed in the soil on the basis of natural fertilizers positively influences the soil's physical traits, contributes to the decrease of wind and water erosion, diminishes nutrition imbalances and enhances the effect of mineral fertilizers applied to complete the necessary of nutritional elements for plants. The paper aims at a correct assessment of the organomineral fertilizer requirement on the basis of the uptake of the main nutritive elements in the soil alongside the harvests and the relevant values, agrochemical indices of the soil, towards maintaining and enhancing soil fertility in the mountain area.
  • Authors:
    • Zavalin, A.
    • Pasynkova, E.
  • Source: Russian Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 36
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: It is shown that a comparative evaluation of the biological efficiency and intensity of competitive relations in cereal (spring wheat) and pulse (spring vetch) mixed crops is the most complete and accurate in yield of the main product (grain, dry matter) and biological yield (grain+straw+chaff, dry matter).
  • Authors:
    • Ponizil, A.
    • Henriksen, B.
    • Pozdisek, J.
    • Hunady, I.
    • Loes, A. K.
  • Source: Vyzkum v Chovu Skotu
  • Volume: 52
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Controlled field trials with legume-cereal mixtures and monocultures were conducted on five organic farms in CR, to determine the suitability for feeding ruminants. Mixtures of 60% peas to 40% cereals (wheat and barley) were compared with peas, wheat, and barley monocultures. The obtained results are useful to assess how mixtures may be included in animal feed rations. For feeding beef cattle, it is most beneficial to harvest green matter in the BBCH 79 growth phase (green ripeness), which is characterized by a higher protein and energy content and a lower fiber content. Advantageous crop for beef cattle appeared to be the mixture with peas and barley, because the crude protein and NEL contents come the closest to the requirements for a balanced state between breakdown and synthesis in the rumen (CP 130 g kg -1, NEL 5.9 MJ kg -1 DM). The results support that legume-cereal intercropping is a feasible technology to produce high quality feed on organic farms, which may provide animals with good health, and potential to utilize their genetic capacity for growth and production.
  • Authors:
    • Kadziuliene, Z.
    • Deveikyte, I.
    • Sarunaite, L.
  • Source: ZEMDIRBYSTE-AGRICULTURE
  • Volume: 97
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The aim of the three-year study was to determine the impact of intercropping spring wheat with grain legumes on yield performance and stability, nitrogen use, weed control and grain quality. The experiment was carried out during 2007-2009 on a loamy Endocalcari-Epihypogleyic Cambisol ( CMg-p-w-can) in Dotnuva (55degrees24′N). Grain legumes: field pea ( Pisum sativum L.), lupin ( Lupinus angustifolius L.), bean ( Vicia faba L.), vetch ( Vicia sativa L.) and spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) were sown as intercrops and sole crops and were grown organically for grain. The productivity of spring wheat sole crop or intercrops depended on the species of grain legume, however, the results varied over the experimental years. In 2007, the vetch and wheat intercrop produced a significantly higher grain yield than wheat in sole crop or in the other intercrops. In 2008, no advantages of legume and wheat intercrops were revealed. In 2009, the yield of sole legume crops was lower compared with the total wheat and legume intercrops. The concentration of crude protein was higher in grain yield, when spring wheat had been grown in intercrops. Vetch exhibited the best suppressing ability on weeds compared to all other grain legumes investigated. The total weed mass in spring wheat intercrops with grain legume was lower compared to that in the sole crops.
  • Authors:
    • Gregova, E.
    • Polisenska, I.
    • Sudyova, V.
    • Srobarova, A.
    • Slikova, S.
    • Mihalik, D.
  • Source: Biologia
  • Volume: 65
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Oats as a source of antioxidants and complex polysaccharides are currently an important component in human nutrition. Producing healthy, safe and high-quality grain for this purpose depends upon growing oat cultivars with improved resistance to diseases caused by Fusarium spp. producing mycotoxins. Thirteen cultivars of naked (Abel, Detvan, Izak and Avenuda) and covered (Zvolen, Auron, Atego, Flamingsstern, Kanton, Viktor, Zlat'ak, Euro and Ardo) oats were inoculated with conidial suspensions of F. culmorum isolate in the field at flowering in 2006 and 2007. After harvest, reduction in thousand-kernel weight (R-TKW), reduction in panicle-kernel weight (R-PKW), and deoxynivalenol (DON) content in grain and hulls were determined. The ELISA immunochemical method was employed for the quantitative analyses of DON. Values of yield components (R-TKW; R-PKW) were 35.4% and 31.1% lower in dehulled covered oats than in naked oat cultivars. The DON accumulation was highest in hulls as compared with DON content in kernels of naked and covered oat cultivars. Accumulation of DON in dehulled covered cultivars was 34.4% lower than the average contamination in naked cultivars. When the cultivars were compared, there were positive correlations between R-TKW and R-PKW and also between DON content and R-PKW. With a view to growing oat cultivars for production of cereal foods, it was shown that dehulling of covered oat grain resulted in substantially reduced DON content.
  • Authors:
    • Trawczynski, C.
  • Source: Journal of Research and Applications in Agricultural Engineering
  • Volume: 55
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The aim of this investigation was to determine balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in organic crop rotation system on light soil. The crop rotation comprised following agricultural plant species: potato, oat, yellow lupine, rye, phacelia. Apart from these main species 3 plants were cultivated as intercrop: field pea, white mustard, serradella. Before potato cultivation the manure in dose of 25 t.ha -1 was applied. The calculations were based on real data of obtained yields and nutrients content in the yields. The "on surface of field" method was used in this investigation. In the crop rotation positive balance of nitrogen (+20,4 kg N.ha -1 per year -1) and slightly negative one for phosphorus (-3,1 kg P.ha -1 per year -1) and potassium (-4,5 kg K.ha -1 per year -1) were noted.
  • Authors:
    • Zekaite, V.
  • Source: Vagos
  • Issue: 88
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Field experiments, designed to study weed incidence in Poaceae and Fabaceae monocrops and their mixtures as influenced by an organic cropping system, were carried out during 2007-2009 at the Experimental station of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forest in Perloja on a Hapli-Albic Luvisol. Short-lived weeds prevailed in the crops. They accounted for 93-95% of the total weeds. The highest counts of weeds were recorded at the beginning of the growing season when the conditions for their emergence were the most conducive ones. In 2007 and 2009 the weather conditions during cereal tillering stage were wet and warm, which created optimal conditions for weed emergence and the weed count per m -2 was 257-264. In the third ten-day period of April 2008, re-current night frosts inhibited cereal and weed emergence, which resulted in 43.6-51.7% lower emergence. With increasing crop competitive power (milk maturity stage), weed emergence tended to decline and was by 17.9-9.8% lower compared with the weed count at tillering stage. Weed air dry weight decreased proportionally, however, only at crop hard maturity stage, with the reduction in crop competitive power, weed air dry weight increased by 31.6%. Due to the weather conditions, weed air dry weight in the wet year 2007 was by 35-55% higher than that in 2008 and 2009. Lupines, oats and wheat and its mixture with peas performed best in suppressing weeds. A strong linear correlation was established between weed number and precipitation and weigh (r=0.901, r=0.758); between plant density and precipitation amount (r=0.745).
  • Authors:
    • Czekaa,J.
  • Source: Journal of Research and Applications in Agricultural Engineering
  • Volume: 55
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The distribution of nitrogen in the soil in different chemical associations is a resultant of action of many factors of which three deserve mention: plants, nitrogen fertilization and sprinkling. The main objective of this research project was to analyze the impact of these factors, acting separately as well as jointly, in conditions of long-term plant cultivation without cereals, on the content of individual soil nitrogen forms. Sequential nitrogen determination of soil nitrogen forms was applied in the experiments which allowed identification of mineral nitrogen as well as its easily-, poorly-hydrolyzed and non hydrolysable forms It was found that sprinkling exerted the strongest, significant influence on the concentration of all examined nitrogen forms with the exception of the easily hydrolysable nitrogen fraction. This impact was also noticeable in the interaction with nitrogen doses, primarily in the content of mineral nitrogen forms and easily hydrolysable nitrogen. Irrespective of the experimental treatment, no significant effect of nitrogen applied in different doses on the examined forms of the component was recorded. On the other hand, the percentage proportion of nitrogen forms in total nitrogen depended significantly, primarily, on sprinkling irrigation and only in relation to mineral nitrogen forms.