• Authors:
    • Kovacs, V.
    • Boldizsar, A.
    • Szalai, G.
    • Soltesz, A.
    • Pal, M.
    • Kocsy, G.
    • Janda, T.
  • Source: Acta Agronomica Hungarica
  • Volume: 59
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Low temperature stress results in significant yield losses in cereals. Cereals of subtropical origin like maize and rice are severely damaged at temperatures below 10°C and are killed at subzero temperatures. This stress effect is called chilling. In contrast, cereals originating from the temperate zone (wheat, barley, rye and oat) may survive short periods even between -10 and -20°C, depending on the species and varieties, so they are freezing-tolerant to various extents. For the winter type of these cereals a gradual decrease in temperature up to -4°C results in cold acclimation, which increases their freezing tolerance. In addition, it fulfils their vernalization requirement, which is necessary for the correct timing of the vegetative to generative transition. During both chilling and freezing, oxidative stress is induced. Although the accumulation of high concentrations of reactive oxygen species may be lethal, a moderate increase in their level may activate various defence mechanisms. In this review the role of reactive oxygen species, antioxidants, carbohydrates, free amino acids, polyamines and hormones in the response to low temperature stress in cereals will be described. The effect of light and the use of the model plant Brachypodium distachyon L. to reveal the biochemical and molecular biological background of this response will also be discussed.
  • Authors:
    • Hyovela, M.
    • Hurme, T.
    • Niskanen, M.
    • Laine, A.
    • Kontturi, M.
    • Peltonen-Sainio, P.
  • Source: Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section B-Soil and Plant Science
  • Volume: 61
  • Issue: 7
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Locally produced crop protein is urgently needed in Europe. Pea is a good protein source and is well adapted to northern conditions. Pea can fix nitrogen that the following crop in rotation can benefit from. In cereal-dominated cropping systems pea is a break crop disrupting the life cycle of cereal diseases, leading to less fungicide application and thereby minimizing off farm inputs and benefiting the environment. Grain legumes provide animals with protein and energy, and the seeds of pulse crops are complementary to those of cereals. Field peas can be cultivated in most parts of Scandinavia and interest in peas has increased for inclusion in organic farming. Growing pea as a sole crop is a challenge since its stem is prone to lodging thereby resulting in harvesting difficulties, reduced yield and decreased profits. Intercropping of pea with oat could minimize the above listed problems but to our knowledge proportion of seeds mixture of the two crops and selection of pea cultivars without compromising the pea yield, especially protein production, at high latitudes conditions is limited. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate performance of sole cropped pea (Karita, Perttu, Hulda) and oat (seed proportions 7.5% and 15%) and their intercrop combinations and establish an appropriate seed mixture for a pea-oat intercropping systems that prevents lodging without markedly reducing pea yield. Field experiments were conducted at three locations (Jokioinen, Mietoinen, Ylistaro) of the Agrifood Research Finland in 2002-2004. Intercropping peas with oats prevented peas from lodging and made their harvest easier. Optimal numbers of oats in pea intercrops were difficult to determine, varying according to pea cultivar and local growth conditions. Excess oats in the seed mixture or conditions favouring oat growth prevented peas from lodging but pea yield was decreased.
  • Authors:
    • Blaha, L.
    • Huda, P.
    • Stehno, Z.
    • Capouchova, I.
    • Konvalina, P.
    • Moudry, J.
    • Moudry, J.
  • Source: Lucrari Stiintifice, Universitatea de Stiinte Agricole Si Medicina Veterinara "Ion Ionescu de la Brad" Iasi, Seria Agronomie
  • Volume: 54
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Council Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007, and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 889/2008, are the most important European legislative instructions on organic farming (OF). They lay down a permit to use just organic seeds (OS) for establishment of organi c crop stands. Such seeds have to originate from the plants being grown in compliance with OF rules for at least one generation. Organic farmers are obliged, in compliance with the above-mentioned legislation, to use seeds originating from organic production when establishing crop stands. Otherwise, they are allowed to use their own seeds or they may apply for an exception to a relevant public authority in order to use conventional untreated seeds. There are 3,517 organic farmers in the Czech Republic (CZ) and they manage their farms on the total surface of 448,202 ha, which represent 10.55% of the agriculture land surface in CZ. Arable land represents 12.26% (54,937 ha) of the total organic land surface. Cereals were considered as the main market crops and grown on the surface of 22,762 ha in 2009. Deficiency of certified good-quality OS in CZ is one of the factors limiting the organic cereals growing there. Crop stands are currently established from certified OS (6%), conventional untreated seeds (37%) and farm seeds (57%) in CZ. They are usually established from "uncontrolled" farm seeds originating from repeated reseeding. As restrictions on conventional untreated seeds are being imposed, seed growers have to be motivated to provide a sufficient supply of certified OS. Current deficiency of approved seeds is also caused by a complexity of the reproduction process and small amount of approved seeds originating from the approved reproduction processes. Identical requirements for conventional and OS have been imposed but organic farming is not so highly intensive as conventional farming. It is one of the reasons of the current OS deficiency.
  • Authors:
    • Lednev, N.
    • Lednev, A.
  • Source: Russian Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 37
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: It is shown that the application of high doses of organic and mineral fertilizers (N 60P 60K 60+60 t/ha manure) and plowing under vetch and oats as green manure makes it possible in low-humified agrozems to reduce soil acidity by 0.5-0.6 pHKCl units, increase total exchangeable bases by 3.1-4.3 mmol/100 g soil, and increase organic matter content by 0.32-0.41%. This variant can be the basis of the technology of rehabilitating low-humified soils, since it provides a substantial increase of their fertility at a relatively low cost.
  • Authors:
    • Perim, L.
    • Castro, G.
    • Crusciol, C.
    • Marques, R.
  • Source: REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIA DO SOLO
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Lime and gypsum influence nutrient availability and uptake, as well as the content of organic acids in the aerial plant parts. These changes, quantified by plant analysis of soluble nutrients, may potentiate the effect of soil amendment, ensuring the sustainability of the no-tillage system. In this sense the effect of lime and gypsum surface application on the content of water-soluble nutrients in peanut and oat residues was evaluated. The experiment was conducted on an Oxisol in Botucatu (SP) in the growing seasons 2004/2005 and 2005/2006. It was arranged in a randomized block design in split plots with four replications, where lime rates represented the plots and presence or absence of gypsum application the subplots. Peanut was grown in summer and white oat in the winter in the entire experimental area. Gypsum applied to peanut increased soluble Ca only in the first season, due to the short period between product application and determination of soluble nutrient contents in the plant extract. Liming of peanut and oat increased soluble Ca, Mg, K contents, did not alter Cu content and reduced Zn, Mn and Fe contents in both years of cultivation. Gypsum on the other hand reduced the electrical conductivity of peanut (2004/2005 and 2005/2006) and white oat (2004/2005).
  • Authors:
    • Paliwal, J.
    • Mebatsion, H.
    • Jayas, D.
  • Source: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
  • Volume: 80
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: The variation in the shape of cereal grains, namely; barley, oat, rye and wheat (Canada Western Amber Durum and Canada Western Red Spring), were quantitatively evaluated using principal components analysis (PCA) based on elliptic Fourier descriptors. Grain image boundary contours were extracted from the digital images of kernels, expressed as chain-coded points and then approximated by 13 elliptic Fourier coefficients. After normalization of the size, rotation and starting point of the contours, four groups of coefficients namely; invariant, symmetrical, asymmetric and standardized Fourier coefficients were analyzed separately using PCA. The PCA based on the symmetric Fourier coefficients captured the shape variability of different grains with fewer principal components (PCs) than the rest. Results suggest that the major shape variations of grains can be summarized by the first two, five, eight and seventeen PCs of the symmetric, standardized, invariant and asymmetric Fourier coefficients, respectively, capturing about 99% of shape variations. The effect of growing regions on kernel shapes was also studied and results revealed that the shape variability is well captured by the PCA of the symmetric coefficients of the standardized Fourier descriptors.
  • Authors:
    • Bow, J.
    • Muir, J.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 103
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: 'Tifton 85' bermudagrass [ Cynodon dactylon L. (Pers.) * C. transvaalensis Burt Davy] is a warm-season forage used on southeastern U.S. dairy concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). Cool-season annual forages need to be identified that can be overseeded into Tifton 85 and remove the greatest quantity of P or N while minimizing suppression of bermudagrass spring regrowth. During 3 yr we overseeded six grass, five legume, and two Brassica spp. on a dairy CAFO Tifton 85 field on a Windthorst fine sandy loam (fine, mixed, active, thermic Udic Paleustalf) containing 83 mg plant-available P kg -1 soil. Hairy vetch ( Vicia villosa Roth.), barley ( Hordium vulgare L.), oat ( Avena sativa L.), and rye ( Secale cereale L.) yielded the most (entry * year interaction P
  • Authors:
    • Jelic, M.
    • Zivanovic-Katic, S.
    • Nikolic, O.
  • Source: Herbologia
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: The aim of this investigation was to study allelopathic and competitive relationships between weeds and small grains by grain harvest index (GHI) of small grain in order to provide more information about these complex relationships. In the study were included small grains: wheat ( Triticum aestivum), barley ( Hordeum sativum), oat ( Avena sativa L.), triticale (Triticosecale Witt.) and rye ( Secale cereale) and some weed species: Agropyron repens, Cirsium arvense, Sonchus arvensis, and Sorghum halepense. Applied extracts of weed species mainly expressed suppressed effect on GHI, but stimulating actions were noticed, too. Positive influence, on GHI was registered at Agropyron repens and Sonchus arvensis variant in wheat and at Agropyron repens segments variant in oat. The most expressive grain harvest index decreasing was noticed in Sinapis arvensis variant, while oat showed the least sensitiveness towards weed presence by GHI aspect. The intensity of competitive relationships between weed species and wheat, considering grain harvest index, depended on sprouting quickness and percentage of studied weed species.
  • Authors:
    • Cabrera, D.
    • Liso, A.
    • Coelho, J.
    • Lopez-Pineiro, A.
    • Nunes, J.
    • Pena, D.
  • Source: Spanish Journal of Rural Development (SJRD)
  • Volume: 2
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: In order to determine the effect of different irrigated crop rotation (1. corn, 2. intensive olive grove (300-400 trees/ha), 3. Corn - barley/oat/wheat (1 or 2 years) sugar beet and 4. Tomato - barley/oat/wheat (1 or 2 years) - Beet) on the organic matter content, pH, electrical conductivity and soil sodicity, we collect and georeferenced 6280 samples from the surface layer of soils (0-20 cm) in the Caia Irrigation Perimeter (located in Elvas and Campo Maior Counties, Portalegre District, Portugal) occupied with those rotations. These samples were mixed in groups of 10, resulting 1 sample, corresponding to an area of 11.1 ha, the one was sent to the laboratory where we proceeded to examine the above parameters. With the use of appropriate software (Geographic Information Systems - GIS), it was possible to correlate these individual soil samples with crop rotations and with the group of soil present (Fluvisols, Luvisols and Calcisols). We found that the use of the abovementioned crop rotations, over about two decades, led to significant differences in soil characteristics, although not always significant from a statistical point of view. The crop rotations using larger water and fertilizers amounts in irrigated crop systems are the ones causing a more evident decrease in soil organic matter and pH and, at the same time, leading to an increase in soil electrical conductivity and exchangeable sodium content.
  • Authors:
    • Honda, K.
    • Ohta, I.
  • Source: Annual Report of the Kansai Plant Protection Society
  • Issue: 53
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Sitobion akebiae is a promising alternative host aphid using a banker-plant system of Aphidius gifuensis. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of host plant species and varieties on population growth of S. akebiae. Barley, wheat, oats and rye were tested in this study. The population increase of S. akebiae were lower on seedlings of the barley variety 'Shunrai' than other plants. But S. akebiae successfully increased on the matured plants with ears of 'Shunrai'. These results suggest that young seedlings of the barley 'Shunrai' should be useless for host plants of S. akebiae.