Review on Agriculture and Rural Development

Economic analysis of precision technological cultivation of winter oilseed rape

2023-09-04T13:31:17+02:00

By using precision farming and animal husbandry systems, we can optimize resource use and reduce wastefulness and loss. The basis for well-functioning precision agriculture is the immediate and continuous recording of accurate data at the point of cultivation, followed by processing and analysis of the data. This requires a change of approach not only by developers and machine manufacturers, but also by farmers, to turn data into decision-support information that can be quickly made available without external assistance.

In our work, we want to analyze the economics of autumn oilseed rape production in an agricultural company whose crop production sectors are considered to be at the forefront of precision technologies at national level. The company has decades of professional experience in rapeseed production. The principle that the more intensive a cropping system, the more benefits there are from the use of site-specific technology, is fully applied in the enterprise under study. With high input material use, proper positioning is more important, and increasingly expensive production costs are recovered faster through the use of automated steering and non-overlapping cultivation. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the efficiency of rapeseed production economic situation in 2021-2022. Using a technological and economic approach to production, we have highlighted opportunities for more economical and profitable production.

Perspective varieties of cherry (Cerasus avium Moench.) in Uzbekistan

2023-06-15T13:20:39+02:00

Uzbekistan annually produces more than 100 thousand tons of cherries and increases the export of cherries to the countries of the world, according to this indicator, the Republic ranks 5th in the world. The article presents data on the production and biological characteristics of sweet cherry varieties. The highest rates for the average weight of one fruit were obtained when growing varieties Melitopolskaya Chernaya (7.8 g), Bakhor (8.2 g) and Russkaya (8.4 g). According to a complex of production and biological characteristics, early fruiting, average fruit weight, yield, promising varieties of sweet cherries Melitopol early (119.3 c/ha) and Russian (112.6 c/ha). When growing these varieties, a high yield of cherry fruits with high quality indicators is ensured.

Sustainable rural development through the utilization of invasive alien shrubs to produce local bioenergy

2023-06-19T11:37:05+02:00

Invasive species are considered the second biggest threat to global biodiversity. Amorpha fruticosa, a very aggressive alien invasive plant, has colonised a large part of the floodplains of the Tisza and the Hármas-Körös rivers. This high density shrub increases flood risk, increases the cost of agricultural land use, fragments habitats and reduces biodiversity. A local community, along the river Tisza, started to develop a pilot project to use this shrub as a local natural resource. One of the biggest challenges facing this local community, like many others, is the energy supply to public institutions and households. The initiative is based on the concept that these invasive plants have high energy content and can be converted into bioenergy. The local municipality with other stakeholders set up a pilot project along the river Tisza, began to eradicate this shrub and established a local biomass supply chain to harvest and convert invasive plants into woodchips. The produced woodchips, as bioenergy source is utilized in biomass boilers that produce green heat for local public buildings, as well as transported to a heating plant. On the one hand, in order to prevent the encroachment of invasive alien shrubs and to ensure the continuous production of biomass, the public authority established a native tree plantation for energy. The project has already delivered multiple impacts both for the community and the environment, such as the substitution of natural gas, CO2 emission reduction and heating cost saving annually.

Evaluation of Trapa Natans L. (Water Caltrop) Harvested From Lake Tisza, Hungary

2023-06-15T13:13:50+02:00

Trapa natans L. (TN) is an aquatic weed with high-yield biomass from its fruit. We aimed to study the nutritional potential and the safety of Trapa natans L. fruit kernel and processing into flour and juice. Floating TN plants with fruits were harvested from the Sarud Basin of Lake Tisza, Hungary. We analyzed the fruits’ macro-composition and inorganic elements content, including heavy metals. The fruits were selected into groups by weight and hardness. We determined the hardness of the fruits after a 24-hour, 1% cellulase treatment. The applied wet processing mechanical techniques: pressing and centrifugation. We concluded that the TN kernel is a good source of bioactive substances (12% protein, 2,5% ash, 68% carbohydrates), is high in K, Mg, Cu, it is low in Sodium, and does not contain As, Hg, Pb, or Cd, either. After the pressing and centrifugation, the clear juice contained a considerable amount of sugar (Brix 6 %). The TN fruit harvested from Lake Tisza (Hungary) is a valuable material for development food specialties and is a special ingredient of local dishes.

Behaviour pattern of roe deer at feeding places revealed by camera-trapping in the hungarian great plain

2023-06-15T13:16:50+02:00

In the Hungarian Great Plain the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is one of the most important species for wildlife management. The supplementary feeding of roe deer in Hungary is a traditional habit, it can be beneficial for deer to survive and keep body condition during winter. In our study, we aimed to know the behavioural habits of roe deer at feeding places. The data were collected in two wildlife management units in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in Hungary from the winter of 2019 until the spring of 2020. Roe deer followed a temporal trend, with higher numbers around feeders in colder months and lower numbers in warmer months. Their visits followed a bimodal activity pattern that was characterized by peaks of activity at dawn and dusk. We were able to link the presence of snow cover and precipitation to an increase in the feeding activity of roe deer. It is important to understand that the presence of deer at the feeder does not reflect the actual biological effect of the use of feeders on deer. Game managers should identify what the main goal of the feeding is and think of how to validate the effectiveness of this expensive intervention. We suggest at least measuring how much of the supplemented feed actually makes up the diet of roe deer individuals. However, it would be the most reliable approach to analyse the physiological and biological differences between fed and non-fed deer.

Improving of maize yield stability with foliar fertilizers

2023-06-15T13:18:01+02:00

Increasing the yield stability in crop production is very important. Foliar fertilizers can be suitable for this purpose. In our study the effects of different foliar fertilizers were investigated for maize production. The experiment was set up in three replications, using random block design on the area of Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Szeged. The soil deeply salt meadow chernozem. The examined maize hybrid was DKC 4555. We applied three foliar fertilizers individually and combined with each other. 2021 was unfavourable year for maize. The amount of precipitation was lower by 113.58 mm than the average in the vegetative period of maize. We processed the obtained data by single factor variant analysis. The yield of the untreated control plot was 2.44 t ha-1. By using of foliar fertilizer treatments we got higher yields (2.48-3.14 t ha-1). Although the foliar fertilizer treatments resulted in maximum 29% higher yield in this experiment, but statistically it was not significant. Based on our results we can establish, that using foliar fertilizers can improve the yield stability of maize.

A bifidobacterium fermented egg white drink with different carbohydrate sources

2023-09-04T11:33:06+02:00

Probiotics have been shown to benefit human health, however, they are usually found in dairy products, which cannot be consumed by people with lactose intolerance or milk protein allergies. Egg white drink is a good alternative and might be a suitable carrier for probiotics. In this context, the usability of egg white drink for the fermentation by Bifidobacterium longum Bb46 and Bifidobacterium longum DSM 16603 and the effect of adding different carbohydrate sources (glucose, fructose and saccharose) was investigated. After 24 hours of fermentation, changes in pH, total cell count and protein profile were also examined. A reduction in pH was observed particularly when carbohydrate sources were added to egg white drink compared to control samples. Generally, the total cell count was greater than 8.3 log₁₀CFU/mL, and the cell count of B. longum DSM 16603 was considerably higher than B. longum Bb46 in egg white drink supplemented with glucose and saccharose. Following SDS protein profile analysis of all studied samples, ovalbumin, ovoflavoprotein, and ovomucoid were detected, although their associated bands were weaker when carbohydrates were added. To sum up, B. longum DSM 16603 can be applied for the production of fermented probiotic egg white drink in the presence of fructose, which might make the drink suitable for diabetics.

Technical and cultivation technology research and development of precision crop cultivation on the subject of corn planting

2023-06-15T14:38:19+02:00

This publication describes a study that measured how much uneven corn emergence. This publication provides some management recommendations for what to do planting process. My research takes this approach as a basis when examining the different tillage systems and their impact on the environment. In this context, conventional and a variety of no-tillage systems are examined in this paper. As a next step, it is examined how the environmental conditions created by the different tillage systems influence the emergence of maize hybrids. The analyses are carried out in a multi-factorial, long-term tillage field experiment. The same batch of the same hybrid seed was sown in several crop years, and the effects of environmental conditions on the emergence process were examined. Environmental effects and emergence-related uptake were measured in the examined plots. The first emergence time measurements of the sown crop in the plots of each treatment were compared and relationships between these factors were investigated.

Preliminary experiments of soil hydrophobic character with krüss dsa drop shape analyser

2023-06-15T14:39:29+02:00

In our experiments, we used Krüss DSA 100 drop shape analyzer to test the wettability of different Hungarian soil and sediment samples, which measures the contact angle (cA) and water drop penetration time (WDPT), excellent indicators of the wettability of the solid phase. Two sample preparation methods found in the literature were tested in this preliminary experiments. In the pastille method (PM), distilled water was dropped onto soil disc samples prepared at different pressures, cA and the WDPT were measured. In adhesive stripe method (ASM) only the cA was measured. During our measurements, we varied the brightness according to our experience. We tested the corresponding frame rate values. We chose Sessile drop method with Young-Laplace fitting and automatic baseline adjustment. Calibration was performed before measuring each sample, measurements were performed in several replicates. The cA and WDPT was also measured by the PM on a series of previously hydrophobized soil samples treated with CPC cationic surfactant. The two sample preparation methods mentioned above (PM and ASM) were used to determine the hydrophobicity order of the soil samples. In PM measurements, a verifiable difference in cA values was observed for pastilles produced at different pressures. For both methods, the hydrophobizing effect of the cationic surfactant was clearly detectable. The results confirmed that the hydrophobic character determined by cA measurement and the measured WDPT values are closely related. The correct adjustment of the frame rate value may be crucial for accurate contact angle measurements.

Impact of different nutrient supply levels on yield parameters of organic kapia pepper in plastic tunnel

2023-06-15T14:40:48+02:00

The use of commercially available, easily applicable, pelleted manure for nutrient supply has become a common practice of Hungarian organic vegetable growing farms, although information on nutrient mineralization of these products is limited. Our research investigated yield and several parameters of kapia pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) under different nutrient supply levels. The experiment was carried out in an unheated, 196 m² plastic tunnel on a certified organic farm. The soil was loam, pH(KCl) was 7.4, with humus content of 2.7%, low N, and high P and K content. The ‘Kapirex’ pepper plants were planted in 40+80×25 cm spacing in May 2022. Three nutrient supply levels were set up with increasing nutrient content in 4 repetitions. According to the results, a basic nutrient supply (22 kg/ha N) with manure pellet on soil with average humus content can achieve the average yield expected in organic farming, but lower quality can be expected. The intermediate technology (78 kg/ha N) with alfalfa pellets showed that it is worthwhile to choose alfalfa meal or other more rapidly revealing nitrogen sources instead of alfalfa pellets. The professional technology, with frequently repeated fertilization (126 kg/ha N), yielded only 3.6% higher. Still, there was a noticeable effect in early ripening, in higher number and size of fruits, but above average infestations of thrips species and Helicoverpa armigera.

Main changes in food trade in europe and the world under COVID-19 restriction

2023-06-23T10:31:39+02:00

Restriction during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes to all aspects of life, in food consumption and foreign trade. This raises questions about local and intercontinental food trade and transport. The aim of this paper is to describe the European and global changes, focusing on their background and causes. Its methods are to examine the foreign trade data of the main food products in the WITS database using a trend function and to investigate possible changes by calculating the Balassa index. The first results show that in absolute terms, the value of foreign trade has not decreased for most food products, but that there has been a decrease for almost all food products compared to the expected value of the trend function. In addition to Ukraine's significant decline in competitiveness indicators, Russia's positive performance warrants further research. As well as China's significant competitiveness decline, the good performance of the US requires further analysis and comparison. The main conclusions of this research are that COVID-19 has also had an impact on food supply. There is a need to maintain and support local markets and regional trade in the face of global food trade, as only they can remain stable during these crises and austerity.

Producers in short food supply chains and the role of local farmers' markets in sales

2023-06-19T11:41:18+02:00

Recently there has been a growing interest in local farmers' markets as the most significant areas of short food supply chains (SFSCs). The current study primarily focused on these market locations as the most important local food systems. In the course of our research, a questionnaire survey was conducted involving small producers operating in the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron and selling at local farmers' markets. Within the framework of this study in relation to the circle of producers, the method of farming, the viability of the economy, the role of direct sales, the forms of sales and their frequency, and the distance of delivery were regarded as major factors of the analysis. More than half of the respondents indicated the conventional way of farming, whereas the eco/bio cultivation method appears only to a limited extent. Contrary to our hypothesis, the proportion of those who gave the highest values to the question about the viability of the economy was outstanding. Respondents consider the role of direct sales to be particularly important. Examining the forms and frequency of sales it can be stated that the farmers' market is one of the main location for sales on a weekly and occasional (monthly) basis. Regarding the delivery distance almost half of the respondents deliver within a radius of 50 km but they consider longer distances acceptable. Overall, based on the opinions of the surveyed producers, the role of farmers' markets is prominent within the SFSC sales methods and this might also apply to future tendencies.

Challenges of establishing the circular oyster mushroom production model in Kenya

2023-06-28T13:44:56+02:00

Pilze-Nagy Ltd., the largest oyster mushroom producer in Central Eastern Europe, has been applying circular model in industrial practice for years. The key is the biogas plant which secures the by-product valorisation to renewable energy and the closure of the nutrient loop by returning the digestate to the fields. To further expand the scope of this system, the company is tailoring this model in Kenya to answer the food security, climate change and demographic challenges. This follows a systematic, step-by-step method to map the local possibilities, understand the challenges and adapt our know-how through technology transfer. The circular system involves feedstock assessment and substrate development, development of the tailored oyster mushroom production circle and oyster mushroom market study. Results show that there are available different local biomass feedstocks appropriate to grow oyster mushroom even when using the traditional low tech substrate preparation method. The key market for oyster mushroom in Kenya is the urbanized and growing mid-class population of large cities, such as Nairobi. The climatic conditions of the surrounding of Nairobi (i.e. close to market) offer good conditions for mushroom growing as with minimal equipment and energy investment the near optimal environmental parameters can be set. The analyses of all steps indicate that there is potential to tailor circular oyster mushroom concept in Kenya, not just by biological, physical and climatic conditions but also considering market and economic burdens. This system further presents small-scale farmers in Kenya with diversified incomes.

Investigating the effect of climate change on the land use and land cover of the jordan river basin

2023-06-15T14:41:43+02:00

Climate change impacts the world's ecosystems and alters many regions' land use and land cover (LULC). The Jordan River Basin is an important region for both its natural and cultural heritage, making it essential to understand the effect of climate change on its LULC. This study aims to use Correlation analysis, including GIS techniques, to investigate the impact of climate change on the LULC of a selected area in the Jordan River Basin. The analysis was performed using climate change data as the independent variables and LULC data as the dependent variable. The data was collected over a period from 2017-2021, and GIS data is used to analyze the LULC data and identify changes over time. The results showed that most of the correlations are statistically significant. The study found that changes in the climate variables were associated with changes in LULC, including changes in urbanization and vegetation patterns. The study concludes that climate change impacts the LULC of the Jordan River Basin. The use of Correlation analysis, and GIS techniques is an effective method to study this impact. The results of this study provide important information for decision-makers and local communities to protect the resources of the area. These findings highlight the importance of continuous monitoring and analysis of LULC changes, to better understand the effects of climate change and to mitigate and adapt to these impacts.

Micropropagation of Philodendron erubescens with the use of different biostimulators

2023-06-14T14:58:30+02:00

In order to find the best type and concentration of biostimulators, Philodendron erubescens in vitro plants were propagated on medium with 0.1-0.8 ml l-1 Pentakeep-V, the same dosages of Humus FW and 1-8 ml l-1 Titavit (in the case of the control stock, none of them were added). After the multiplication period, plants were acclimatized in greenhouse without any biostimulator treatment (as substrate, white peat and vermiculite mixture in 2:1 ratio was used). In general, most of the in vitro plants' survival ratio was higher than 80-85%, and 2-4 ml l-1 Titavit and 0.2 ml l-1 Humus FW effected the best values (95-100%); however, the latter product resulted the fewest shoot and root, the shortest leaves and roots, and the lowest leaf chlorophyll (a+b) contents. Pentakeep-V was suitable for faster shoot development and optimal plant elongation, while Titavit rather stimulated rooting and enhanced leaf pigment level, but only in lower concentrations, because the highest dose decreased all plant parameters.

Review of diagnostic signs of postpartum uterine diseases in dairy cows by the help of catus database

2023-10-30T15:20:46+01:00

Postpartum (PP) reproduction anomalies (increased calving interval and semen doses, pregnancy loss, infertility culling rate) are mostly caused by postpartum uterine diseases. The aim of this study was to find diagnostic symptoms (signs) help in identifying animals having possible subclinical endometritis. As a logical first step, analyzing a database with several thousand transrectal postpartum palpations and ultrasonic findings of the genital tract and production data of dairy cows (CATUS) seemed reasonable. Healthy (H) cows and animals with clinical endometritis (CE) both are in this database. We thought that statistical analysis of large amount of H and CE animals’ data should help in identifying signs or reasonable suspicion for recognizing cows with subclinical endometritis (SCE) in the future as well. During this work palpation and ultrasound data of healthy and CE cows were compared. Totally, data of 10683 cows were evaluated by chi-square test. These results show distinct differences in distribution of uterine size (volume) and ovarian phenomena in the two groups. As a sign of inappropriate involution large-sized uterus (32.9 % vs. 64.9 %) and uterine fluid content (6.1 % vs. 31.1 %) were significantly higher (p<0.0001) in CE group. Abnormal ovarian ovulatory phenomena (corpus luteum /CL/ with cavity: 8.0 % vs. 13.1 %; or cystic CL: 4.2 % vs. 27.4 %) also were detected in significantly higher numbers in animals with CE signs (p<0.0001). These results induce further examinations to compare them with SCE animals’ data for identifying diagnostic signs which are typical for the examiners.