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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Valentin-Cosmin SARACIN, Adrian VASILE

The paper is aimed to identify how large is the sector of organic farming in Romania and why this sector should be developed. Because of the changes in the social structure, the economic crisis and the ageing of population, Romania must identify other segments and industries for an economic prosperity. This study focuses on a market niche represented by organic farming. In order to present how large is the sector of organic farming in Romania, statistical data regarding agricultural areas and livestock under organic farming were gathered and analyzed. Results shows that organic farming has a low impact in Romanian agriculture, and in agro-food system, but because of accelerated growth of indicators, Romania has a big potential and interest in developing the organic sector. As a conclusion, it is a very interesting and attractive subject, because people are more and more focused on consuming natural products for a healthy life.

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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Cristian IACOMI, Octavian POPESCU

In-row cultivation is the last piece in effective non-chemical weed control on a farm. In many ways, cultivation is the 'crown jewel’; it is there where the skill, ability, observation and timing of a good operator makes or breaks the effort (much more so than the choice of any particular piece of equipment). Successful weed control is the sum of all operations and cultural management. The purpose of the cultural methods (crop rotation, soil fertility management, sanitation, good seed, cover crops, etc.) and early season weed control (so-called blind cultivation) is to achieve the greatest possible crop-weed size differential, especially when there are many hectares to be cultivated. The last stage, in-row cultivation, is the final performance in the whole package of weed control strategies. This paper presents an innovative new tool of an in-row cultivator, a new combination between classic knives (could be shovels, S-tine teeth, C-shank teeth or Trip-shank teeth also) and a special unit of two vertical mini-discs gangs to improve soil cultivation and weed chopping. Research was carried out in the Department of Mechanisation of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest.

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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Carlos SABORÍO VÍQUEZ

The climate crisis that is affecting the planet Earth is pushing us to look forward for the optimization of the productive systems, with the final purpose of closing up energetic cycles, and in this way, attempt to take the most amount of energy that is produced. This is how clean energy or alternative energy sources are making their way into the productive systems, as it is the case of biogas, who takes advantage of the agricultural and/or urban waste in order to produce methane. In this experiment, we compared three crops: two varieties of King Grass (Pennisetum purpureum) two varieties of maize (Zea mays), and one variety of sorghum (Sorghum saccharatum), with the purpose to determine the corresponding variables of: plant height, stem thickness, and number of leaves. At the end of the test the respective laboratory analysis for fresh weight, dry weight, volatile mass, and biogas production were made. King Grass (P. purpureum) was the one who showed better results in terms of biomass production, being the “Altura” variety the one that gave better yields, which indicates better yields in terms of biogas production. The main objective of the present work was to compare the total biomass production as a source of biogas, by measuring: plant height, stem thickness, number of leaves and biogas production.

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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Florin SALA, Hamzeh RAWASHDEH, Marius BOLDEA

Researching the way to strike a balance for the shoot : root ratio is beneficial for the normal growth and development of wheat plants even from the early stages of vegetation. The aim of this research was to study the influence of some mineral elements, with a structural and nutritional value, on shoot and root biomass and on the shoot : root ratio in wheat seedlings. The fertilizer used for providing the mineral elements was Lithovit; this is a product based on calcium carbonate and magnesium, with a balanced content of nutrients (Ca, Mg, Fe, Si, K, Na, P and Mn). The biological material was represented by Alex wheat cultivar, species Triticum aestivum L. ssp vulgare. The mineral elements were applied on the shoots when the wheat seedlings were in development stage 12-13 BBCH, through three concentrations of Lithovit (0.35%, 0.7% and 1%). One variant was treated with water, thus it became the control variant, for reference. The treatments applied had a different influence on the quantity of fresh and dry biomass at root level and at shoot level; the results presented statistical significance (p < 0.01; Fcrit <<F, for Alfa = 0.001, ANOVA test). The values of the shoot : root ratio for fresh weight (S/RFw) ranged from 1.006 to 1.015 in the treated variants, while for the control variant the result was 0.970. As for the dry weight (S/RDw), the results yielded by the treated variants were between 1.010 and 1.033, and the result for the control was 0.977.

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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Bogdan-Alexandru GUŢĂ, Doru Ioan MARIN, Pierre-Louis CARRIER

Research was carried out between 2012 and 2014, under the soil-climate conditions of the Dâlga area, Călăraşi County, and included a comparative study of several winter wheat genotypes of foreign and local origin, as follows: four winter wheat varieties (Dropia, Glossa, Katarina, Mulan) and eight winter wheat hybrids (Hystar, Hyfi, Hywin, Hylux, Hyspeed, Hyland, Hybery, Hybiza). The experiment was established according to the randomized blocks method including three repetitive stages. The main goal of our research was the identification of the most competitive winter wheat varieties for the soil-climate conditions specific to the Romanian Plain. During our research, we performed phonological observations and determinations concerning plant density in autumn (plants/m2), plant density in spring (stems/m2), head density at harvesting time (ear/m2), grains weight per ear at harvest maturity (g), grain moisture (%) at harvesting time, the grain yield related to the area unit (kg/ha); we also carried out determinations concerning the main physical quality indices of grains: thousand grain weight and hectolitre weight. Sowing density was 500 germinable kernels/m2 for the winter wheat varieties and 200 germinable kernels/m2 for the winter wheat hybrids. The analysis of the average data for the two experimental years showed that the number of harvestable ears ranged between 545 ears/m² (Glossa) and 696 ears/m² (Katarina) in the winter wheat varieties, while the wheat hybrids varied between 559 ears/m² (Hybery) and 656 ears/m² (Hyspeed). Regarding their tillering capacity, the hybrids under study proved to be highly superior to the varieties. The analysis of the grain yields for the 12 winter wheat genotypes indicated that the recorded benefit values varied between 5623 kg/ha (Dropia) and 7291 kg/ha (Hystar), and that the tested hybrids were superior in productivity terms, as they recorded increased yields comprised between 316.2 Kg/ha and 1163.2 kg/ha, compared with the average of the average of the varieties, i.e. the control. The results obtained showed that the wheat hybrids had a high tillering capacity of forming fertile tillers, as six of the analysed hybrids recorded higher yields than the varieties.

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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Mala-Maria STAVRESCU-BEDIVAN, Gina VASILE SCĂEŢEANU, Roxana Maria MADJAR, Petre Bogdan MATEI, George Florea TOBĂ

Length-weight relationship, Fulton’s K condition factor and the size structure were assessed for unsexed Prussian carp, Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782) caught from three different Romanian aquatic ecosystems: Cişmigiu Lake (Bucharest, October 2014), Brăneşti 3 Lake (Ilfov County, May 2015) and Sâi River (Teleorman County, April 2015). Positive allometric growth was estimated for specimens sampled from Cişmigiu Lake and Sâi River, while Prussian carp from Brăneşti 3 Lake exhibited a negative allometric growth pattern. Some physico-chemical parameters (pH, total dissolved solids, nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, phosphate, electrical conductivity, total hardness) were also recorded, in order to estimate the impact of water quality on C. gibelio population from Cişmigiu and Brăneşti 3 lakes. Both lentic ecosystems were found to be within the suitable range for well being of fish. To our knowledge, this paper provides first published information on length-weight relationship of a fish species inhabiting the freshwater ecosystems Sâi River and Brăneşti 3 Lake.

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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Liliana PANAITESCU, Simona-Mariana PRICOP, Irina MOISE, Răzvan PANAITESCU, Simona NIŢĂ, Marsida Xenia BEJKO

Chickpea, known under the name of "peas of rams", is an annual leguminous plant, originating from Asia Minor. Chickpea seeds have a great nutritional value, are used in human consumption as boiled, roasted or cofee surrogate, being rich in proteins, mineral salts (phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron) and vitamin B complex. Having an increased protein concentration (24%), plus a substantial percentage of carbohydrates and lipids, chickpea has a remarkable food value, largely replacing the meat protein. Chickpea is a characteristic ingredient in Middle East kitchen, Africa and India, known under the name of "desi" and "kabuli". In Romania, there are cultivated local populations of chickpea: Galben de Moldova (Moldova Yellow), Naut galben de Lovrin (Lovrin Yellow chickpea). Chickpeas have quite high requirements to the temperature, the amount being of 2,000ºC and tolerate the easiest, among of all leguminous bean plants, the drought conditions, therefore it can be cultivated in Dobrogea, provided the early spring seeding.

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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Anca-Olguta OANCEA, Alexandra GASPAR, Ana-Maria SECIU, Laura ȘTEFAN, Oana CRĂCIUNESCU, Florentina GEORGESCU, Radu LĂCĂTUȘU

Selenium (Se) has been proved to be an essential micronutrient for animals and microorganisms. Se is considered a beneficial element for plants, determining plant growth increase and enhanced response to biotic and abiotic stress. Se biofortification of food chain is considered essential for global health, but when applied on Brassicaceae family plants is interfering with sulfur (S) metabolism, reducing the accumulation of valuable S-phytonutrients. Moreover, Se-based biostimulants were acting first as potent pro-oxidants, bleaching the treated plants. Based on accumulated knowledge regarding cross-talking between Se and S assimilation pathways, we propose the development of a new biotechnological approach for protective biofortification of Brassica crops. The aim of this study was to develop new formulations of biostimulants, based on mixtures of betaine, selenium salt and spraying adjuvant, applied on cruciferous plants, in order to obtain safe functional food with enhanced chemopreventive compounds. We treated cabbage seedlings with different variants of biostimulants, we performed plant morphometric analysis and we determined the selenium content by atomic absorption spectroscopy, the glucosinolate and sulfur aminoacid content by HPLC and we evaluated plant antitumoral activity in Caco-2 human carcinoma cell line. The results of the qualitative and quantitative chemical determinations of spectroscopy and chromatography allowed us to select the mixture of 10 μM Na2O4Se, 10 mM betaine and 1% adjuvant, as optimal biostimulant formula that induced an equilibrated content of chemopreventive compounds in cabbage seedlings. Biological in vitro tests demonstrated that the obtained biofortified cabbage seedlings had enhanced antitumoral activity in Caco-2 human carcinoma cell line, compared to water-treated seedlings. In conclusion, we recommend a protective biofortification biotechnology based on selenium salts, betaine and spraying adjuvant to be tested in the field, on cruciferous crops of both cabbage and cauliflower.

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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Oana-Alina SICUIA, Iulian GROSU, Florica CONSTANTINESCU, Cătălina VOAIDEŞ, Călina Petruţa CORNEA

Plant health is one of the issues that have to be maintained and closely monitored during cultivation and harvest. In this regard, prevention is the key factor in organic production. Biological control of plant pathogens and plant growth stimulation can be done through beneficial microorganisms. Different bacterial bio-preparates are available on the market, many of them based on selected strains of Bacillus species. In our previous studies, we isolated autochthones strains of Bacillus spp. with beneficial traits for plant protection and growth promotion. Considering the interest for biological production, and public concern for healthy products without significantly reduced yield, different biological control strains of Bacillus spp. that could be used as bio-inoculants for plant protection were analyzed. Thirteen biocontrol strains of Bacillus spp. were analyzed in comparison with three referent strains of B.subtilis and B.licheniformis. Qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of these biocontrol Bacillus spp. strains was studied in order to characterize their enzymatic activity with implications either in cell wall degradation of plant pathogenic microorganisms, or in metabolism of various substrates. Genetic variability was studied by rep-PCR analysis compared with reference strains of B.subtilis and B.licheniformis. Microbiological studies performed in order to characterize the selected beneficial bacteria for their ability to produce lytic enzyme involved in plant pathogenic inhibition and plant growth stimulation revealed chitinase, cellulose, protease, lipase, amylase, decarboxylase, ACC-deaminase and phosphatase activity. The molecular techniques revealed significant genetic differences among the bacterial strains analyzed. The study allowed the detection of several enzymatic mechanisms involved in plant growth and protection, and revealed the potential of autochthon microbiota to be used for biotechnological purposes.

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Published in AgroLife Scientific Journal, Volume 4, Number 2
Written by Viorel ION, Adrian Gheorghe BĂŞA, Marin DUMBRAVĂ, Lenuţa Iuliana EPURE, Niculae DINCĂ, Maria TOADER

The preceding crop and the soil tillage are among the important crop technology measures with a significant influence upon the yield, respectively upon the yield components which represent those elements participating to the yield formation. The aim of this paper is to present the grain yield and yield components at maize under different technological conditions in the specific growing conditions from South Romania. In this respect, field experiments were performed in the year 2014 in South Romania (44o29’ N latitude and 26o15’ E longitude), under rainfed conditions. Six maize hybrids were studied under two preceding crops, respectively sunflower and maize, and under two soil tillage, respectively ploughing and harrowing. There were determined the grain yield at 14% moisture content (kg.ha-1) and the following ear yield components: ear length (cm), ear diameter (mm), number of kernels per ear, ear weight (g), kernel weight on ear (g), and weight of thousand seeds (g). The highest values of the grain yield and yield components were registered under maize as preceding crop and ploughing as soil tillage. Among the two preceding crops, maize determined higher values for the grain yield and yield components. Among the two soil tillage conditions, ploughing determined higher values for the grain yield and yield components, except for the weight of thousand seeds.

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