Volumen 66 (2020): Heft 1 (April 2020)

This review investigates the significant challenges of the process of livestock manure composting in cold regions and assesses the critical features related to the quality of the final compost product. Recently, the composting process has grasped more attention because of environmental pollution concerns and seeks for environmentally-sound approaches for managing livestock manure. Despite recent progress in crucial areas like the microbiology of compost, further improvement is needed in composting process monitoring. Therefore, specific obstacles related to livestock manure composting in cold regions, such as the generation and preservation of temperature, and the solution of obstacles such as inoculation of coldadapted microorganisms, and the role of biochar in prolonging the thermophilic stage of composting were reviewed. Also, the challenges were adequately addressed, and promising strategies to improve composting of livestock manure under harsh conditions were proposed. Still, there is a need for more investigation to get a better understanding of the role of microbial inoculants and biochar amendment regarding the start-up of the composting process in cold regions.

The undesirable, hazardous, and risk elements are introduced into all environmental parts through human activities. They enter the soil and aquatic environment by atmospheric deposition, or by application of sewage sludge, pesticides, mineral and organic fertilisers, and by organic manures. Heavy metals (HMs) and risk elements can be determined in the soil by a wide range of analytical methods that differ in terms of time and financial costs, and the demands on service. One of the methods is the use of a portable XRF spectrometer under lab conditions, offering relatively fast determination of the concentration of chemical elements in the soil. In the presented study we evaluated the accuracy and the precision of the XRF device for analysis of the concentration of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, As, Mn, Cu, and Ni) in alluvial soils from the Mže and Otava river basins (Czech Republic), and validated and compared obtained results with the conventional lab method (ICP-OES). The soil samples (n = 502) were taken at 43 sampling sites at depths of 0 – 30, 30 – 60, and 60 – 90 cm, mainly in floodplains with Fluvisol soil type (N-year flow rates = Q100 m³/s). The multiple correlation coefficients R values ranged from 0.81 to 0.99. The R² determination coefficients for individual HMs, measured by XRF, were determined as follows: Pb – 0.98, Zn – 0.97, Cu – 0.80, Mn – 0.79, As – 0.78, Ni – 0.66. According to our results, 66 – 98% points fit the designed models. The Pb and Zn have the best dependency (relationship tightness), and regression models are excellent. Cu, Mn, and As have a slightly worse dependency (tightness of the relationship), but the regression model is still very well suitable for agriculture practice, or for the purposes of environmental monitoring.

The lucrative approach of nanotechnology and it´s utilizing in the agricultural sector is prospective. Based on this fact a field trial was done through 2018 and 2019 seasons to scrutinize the consequence of nano N, P and K elements application individual or in combination and nano zeolite loaded nitrogen or not on a sage plant grown under water stress compared to the commercial NPK fertilisers at new reclaimed land. Nano NPK elements were prepared from their precursor as potassium persulfate (K₂S₂O₈), calcium phosphate (Ca (H₂PO₄)₂·H₂O) and salt NH₄NO₃, urea (CO (NH₂)₂), while nano zeolite was hydrothermally synthesized. Water stress was applied via drip irrigation with 15 days intervals. The data revealed that, nanofertilisers and nano-zeolites had a superior effects on the plant itself under stress conditions with concern on nano-zeolite loaded nitrogen and nano-NPK mixture as well which boosted vegetative growth (plant height, branches number, yield fresh weight, health index, herb fresh and dry weight, leaf area and oil yield), also improved photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, CO₂ concentration, water use efficiency and relative water content. The chemical composition (plant pigments, total carbohydrates, total phenolic, tannin, total flavonoids, oil constituents, macro and micro-elements) with indigenous hormones (gibberellic acid GA₃ and abscisic acid ABA) and antioxidant enzymes (peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) were also positively affected. The outcomes of current study emphasis global warning about chemical fertilisers pollution, particularly in new reclaimed areas and safety production of medicinal and aromatic plants.

The cotton plant suffers from many pests and due to its economic importance, the use of efficient but ecologically friendly pesticides is highly desirable. The insecticide Sumi-Alpha with active compound Esfenvalerate is widely used for cotton treatment in Uzbekistan. This insecticide is considered as moderately hazardous for different organisms of ecosystems, while more collected data and relevant research is a necessity for judgement of their safety and/or potential risk. Therefore, a comparative analysis of cotton leaves was performed to study the protein profile changes upon treatment with this insecticide. Our data showed elevated accumulation of fructose bisphosphate aldolase and degradation of RuBisCo in the treated tissue. Besides, a protein belonging to P-loop containing nucleoside triphosphate hydrolases superfamily exerted lower accumulation. Our results indicate that the applied pyrethroid pesticide possibly can affect photosynthesis performance and cause accumulation of simple saccharides which in turn might contribute to enhanced colonisation of sucking insects. Further molecular research on Sumi-Alpha effects on cotton is necessary for its safer use in agricultural practice.