Volume 66 (2020): Edizione 2 (July 2020)

Scientific studies show that the efficiency of biochar can be improved by its combination with other fertilisers. For this reason, fertiliser manufacturers are working to create products that combine biochar with other soil fertility enhancers suitable for different soil-climatic conditions. In this study, two types of biochar substrates (1. biochar blended with farmyard manure, and 2. biochar blended with farmyard manure as well as with digestate) at rates of 10 and 20 t/ha were applied alone or in combination with other manure and mineral fertilisers. These were added to Arenosol (sandy soil, Dolná Streda, Slovakia) and Chernozem (loamy soil, Veľké Úľany, Slovakia) to evaluate the soil physical properties to test the potential of these amendments for soil amelioration in texturally different soils. The results showed that the application of biochar substrates alone increased soil moisture, the volume of capillary pores, and decreased aeration and volume of non-capillary pores. The application of biochar substrates with mineral fertilisers increased aeration, content of water-stable macro-aggregates (WSA_ma), total porosity, and decreased soil moisture and the content of water-stable micro-aggregates (WSA_mi) in sandy soil. In loamy soil, when compared to unfertilised control, the biochar treatments increased content of WSA_ma, content of dry-sieved macro-aggregates, and decreased content of WSA_mi and content of dry-sieved micro-aggregates. The combination of biochar substrates together with manure had no effect on changes in the physical properties of loamy soil.

Species that have been identified as the genome donors to cultivated polyploid durum and bread wheats (Triticum durum L. and T. aestivum L., respectively) are potential gene sources for the breeding of these two crops. Therefore, their accurate identification facilitates their use in the improvement of these crops. Based on chloroplast DNA analysis (rpL2 and rps16 introns, psbC-trnS, trnT-L, and trnL-F) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), an attempt was made in 2018 (Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology/AECS) to identify durum and bread wheats from each of their proposed diploid ancestral species (i.e., T. monococcum, T. urartu, Aegilops speltoides, and Ae. tauschii). The use of two PCR markers (psbC-trnS and trnL-F) and three PCR-RFLP locus-enzyme combinations (rps16 intron-Tru 1I, rpL2 intron-Taq I, and trnT-L-Taq I) allowed the identification of all species involved. Reliable and accurate identification of diploid ancestors of durum and bread wheats using these candidate species-specific cpDNA markers will be useful for wheat breeding programs, in situ and ex situ conservation efforts, verification of seed purity in commercial seed stocks, and ensuring identity and integrity of accessions held within a collection does not change through unwanted gene flow or by genetic drift after regeneration by seed.

Precision agriculture requires a wide sampling procedure to determine the spatial variability of soil properties for adequate assessment of soil state and appropriate recommendations. Electrical geophysical methods (i.e. vertical electrical resistivity sounding) allow performing rapid measurement of soil electrical properties directly from the soil surface to any depth without any mechanical disturbance of soil cover. Soil electrical properties are linked with many soil properties and could improve the quality and spatial coverage of soil surveys. The results obtained in our study using vertical electrical resistivity sounding confirmed the hypothesis of a high correlation between electrical resistivity and such soil properties as carbon and nitrogen content and silt content. The highest correlation (r > 0.9) was found for electrical resistivity and carbon content. It was also confirmed that significant correlations between electrical resistivity and soil properties are found mainly when soil properties are highly ranged. Perspectives for the applied method lie at the relationship between electrical resistivity and soil properties, such as texture class, clay content, carbon content, and cation exchange capacity. The results obtained in this work could be useful for complex precision agriculture, creating maps of agricultural soils, adequate methods of plant growth, and other issues of precision and conventional agriculture.

The true grasses (Poaceae) comprise one of the largest plant families on earth. The group is peerless in its contribution to global agricultural production and its members dominate many of the world’s most important habitats. However, morphological diagnosis of wild grasses is notoriously problematic and it is often impossible in the absence of flowering individuals. The advent of DNA barcoding provided a useful tool to address this problem for larger-scale or longer-term studies but the need for sequencing precludes its use in a field laboratory context or in situations where either funding or time is limited. Here, a chloroplast DNA (cpDNA)-based Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequence (CAPS) system of molecular species diagnosis that has the capacity to address this problem is presented using British grasses as a model. First, PCRs were performed using universal primer pairs targeting 21 regions of the chloroplast genome in authenticated representatives of the 117 grass species from the British Isles, and universal amplification for all loci targeted was demonstrated. Second, 54 restriction enzymes were applied on amplification products generated from all species. There were 10 locus-enzyme combinations (with the highest variation) that had the best diagnostic utility for the 117 grass species.CAPS analysis on 16 representatives of three genera (Calamagrostis, Phleum, and Agrostis) was then used to illustrate the potential utility of the pipeline for establishing a field-laboratory screen of species identity. CAPS DNA barcoding system developed here may have ecological, conservation, and commercial applications. However, it has limited possibilities for intraspecific differentiation due to the highly conserved nature of loci targeted within species.