Vol 44, No 2 (2018)

The results of a comparative evaluation of winter and spring wheat genetic material in the soil and climatic conditions of the Middle Priamurye Region are presented. Eight varieties of winter wheat bred in Zernograd Agricultural Research Institute were compared to varieties and lines of spring wheat bred in the Far East Agricultural Research Institute. It was found that regional conditions meet winter wheat biological requirements completely and are favorable for productivity features. Under optimal hydrothermal conditions, the productivity of winter wheat varieties is within 30.6–58.4 dt ha^–1, which is 22.3–75.0% higher than spring wheat’s due to a higher 1000 seed weight. On average over the years of research, 1000 seed weight of winter wheat was 35.0–41.0 g, while that of spring wheat was 29.7–36.6 g. In the local conditions, spring wheat’s grain quality is higher than that of winter wheat varieties. Spring wheat varieties and breeding lines surpass winter wheat crops in protein content by 2.5%.

Maize is moderately sensitive to salt stress; therefore, soil salinity is a serious threat to its production worldwide. Here, two maize variety Kharif Shaktiman-1 and Pioneer 30 v92 were screened to understand the maize response to salt stress and its tolerance mechanisms. Difference in relative water content, membrane stability index, stomatal conductance, shoot and root fresh/dry weight has been analyzed under salinity. The effect of osmotic stress was also analyzed on the basis of accumulation of osmoprotentant like proline, glycine betaine and soluble sugar content. The gas exchange characteristics and autophagy-dependent cell death were used to analyses the physiological effects of osmotic stress at about 15 days after salt stress in maize. The results of relative water content, membrane stability index, stomatal conductance, accumulation of osomoprotectant was higher in Kharif Shaktiman-1, the autophagy-dependent cell death was less in Pioneer 30 v92, indicate that Kharif Shaktiman-1 has more salt tolerant ability than the Pioneer 30 v92. But the result of autophagy-dependent cell death showed an opposite trend, as it was higher in Kharif Shaktiman-1, indicate more cell damage in it under salinity. So molecular technique or marker based on autophagy-dependent cell death for the screening of stress tolerant trait in desired crop may act as method of choice.

On samples of forage and harvested grain selected in 38 subjects of seven federal districts of the Russian Federation in 2009–2017, the higher occurrence of T-2/HT-2 toxins is shown in barley grain (71.9%) in comparison with wheat grain (32.9%) by ELISA. With the similarity of contamination of 8-oxo-trichothecenes of the 4-deoxynivalenol group (21.5 and 24.6%) and zearalenone (1.5 and 3.1%), they were detected for the first time jointly in wheat grains from geographically distinct areas. In samples of wheat grains of the harvest of 2017 from Lipetsk oblast and Krasnodar region, the presence of fumonisins of B group was detected in amounts ranging from 75 to 1990 μg/kg. Comparative analysis and discussion of cases of combined grain contamination with fusariotoxins and infection by toxin-producing fungi were carried out.

The presence of barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) (Virgaviridae, Hordeivirus) infection background in maize (Zea mays) crops in the territory of Primorsky krai was demonstrated. Field data and model experiments established that BSMV causes the disease formerly called “maize chlorotic stripe disease” with the following symptoms: general chlorosis of leaves at the early stages of plant development, the emergence of pale yellow, nearly white strikes along the midrib throughout the length of the leaf, and loss of infected plants to the stage of pulling (12–25%; average value of 17.1%) and elongation with the absence of severe death in the later stages. The coefficient of harmfulness for BSMV (37.1%) was determined in the study. We concluded that planned monitoring in relation to BSMV is required for planting maize.

In recent years, fresh fruits and vegetables have been linked to numerous foodborne illness outbreaks in different regions of the world. In Syria, there is not a lot of research that study E. coli and its serotypes by PCR technology. In this study, we have fulfilled a total count of bacteria, the census total coliform group, and Escherichia coli, as well as the serotype E. coli O157:H7 on some leafy greens (Spinacia oleracea, Beta vulgaris) irrigated by Aleppo River. The molecular characterization was done for ten strains of E. coli isolated from collected samples. The samples were inoculated on blood agar and suspicious colonies, then transferred to EMB and MacConkey agar using a primer (COL 1) in RAPD technic. Molecular characterization also performed ten strains of serotype E. coli O157:H7 isolated in medium (Sorbitol-MacCONKEY Agar), then by primers (OPA-03, OPA-13 OPC-12, OPE-20) in RAPD technic. The results showed significant differences between collected samples. The total count of bacteria in the first site (Handarat) for spinach and chard were the lowest, but in the fourth site (Jezraya) it was the highest among all samples. The results showed also the existence of E. coli in all sites except the first one in riverbed Handarat, and E. coli O157:H7 was found only in Jezraya village. Extracted DNA from samples was amplified by RAPD. after electrophoresis in the gel agarose, eleven different bands were detected from isolated strains of E. coli. These results refer to the great genetic diversity of Escherichia coli. For serotype E. coli O157:H7 thirty-four different bands were detected. RAPD analysis had the high discriminatory capacity for typing E. coli isolates. Because of its simplicity and rapidity, RAPD analysis appears to be a highly valuable tool for studying E. coli molecular epidemiology.

In an experiment with the use of a stable isotope of nitrogen ¹⁵N, the impact of fertilizers on grain yield of spring wheat and spring triticale on the dark chestnut soil in the dry steppe zone of Northern Kazakhstan was estimated. The maximum yield of spring wheat grain was obtained when introducing N₆₀ before sowing and that of spring triticale (2.2 times higher) when introducing N₆₀ in equal parts before sowing and during tillering. The effect of nitrogen fertilizer on yield of both the crops is more efficient compared to phosphate fertilizers. Both the crops used 30% of the introduced doses of fertilizer nitrogen for yield formation; 32% was fixed in the soil under spring wheat, 34% under spring triticale, and gaseous losses of nitrogen fertilizer were 38% and 36%, respectively. The maximum use of nitrogen fertilizer on yield formation (41–42%) is typical of both the crops when introducing N₃₀ before sowing both against the background with and without phosphorus. As a result of better nitrogen use by plants, its gaseous losses fell to 15–26%. It is noted that, both in case of P₀ and P₆₀, levels of fertilizer nitrogen use decreased almost twofold, from 41–42 to 23–28%, when the nitrogen fertilizer dose was doubled. Fractional introduction of N₆₀ by equal parts before sowing and during tillering hardly affected the amount of nitrogen fertilizer used by plants of both the crops for yield formation. The use of N₃₀ during tillering compared to a similar dose before sowing reduced the factor of fertilizer use by plants.

Investigations were carried out on permafrost taiga soil in Central Yakutia in a field factorial experiment with a wide range of rates and combinations of cattle manure and mineral fertilizers. The advantage of an organo-mineral fertilizer system in N₆₀P₆₀K₆₀ rates was shown against a background of 40 t of manure per hectare, which provides, under watering conditions, potato tuber yields of 18 t per hectare with starch content of 13.9%, which is 47.8% higher than in the control without fertilizer use. The yield of potatoes under the organic system with annual manure rate of 40 t per hectare was at the same level with the mineral system, but tubers contained more starch, 12.8%. It has also been established that organo-mineral and organic systems have a positive effect on the agrochemical properties of the soil, optimize its humus state and phosphate and potassium regimes. For the mineral fertilizer systems in rates of N₆₀P₆₀K₆₀, the yield increment was significant, but it did not exceed 17.8% with a lower starch content in tubers, 11.5%, and a negative balance of humus, phosphorus, and potassium in the soil.

This paper presents principles of investigating how the structural parts of geographical systems of different hierarchical levels influence the variability of economic and landscape environmental factors to be considered when designing landscape-specific ameliorative systems of crop farming. In addition, it describes the distinctive features of natural complexes that belong to three nodal levels of agrogeosystems’ classification, that is, agri-environment section, genus of the agricultural landscapes, and type of the agricultural landscapes in Tver oblast. It has been shown that all the studied parameters of agrogeosystems fall into three groups based on the degree of their influence on the spatial variability of factors of different orders. The first group includes crop yield, soil acidity, and the share of pastures and fallow lands in farms; the second group includes plant nutrient content in soils, waterlogging of soils, and its stoniness as well as the share of hay lands; and the third group embraces elements of the structural organization of agricultural enterprises.

In agro-ecosystems, pollinators perform a variety of ecological services. The ecological role of pollinators and their ecosystem services are critical to the health of many ecosystems. Pollination by birds and bees are recognized as an important ecosystem function maintaining the dynamics of agro-ecosystems. As agriculture covers a significant portion of the globe, it necessitates the evaluation of their ecosystem services. There are overwhelming evidence that pollinators are experiencing tremendous population decline. Global agricultural encroachment, agriculture intensification, changes in cropped pasture, urban development and extensive use of pesticides are the major threats to farmland birds. Despite ecological importance and global awareness, farmland birds and bees are often considered as species of low conservation value. The worldwide use of neonicotinoid insecticides has raised concern over the decline of pollinators in the farmlands globally. Neonicotinoids are neurotoxins, applied to variety of agricultural crops to control sucking and biting pests and are readily incorporated into plant cells, inclusive of pollen and nectar. Among neonicotinoids, imidacloprid is found to have startling effects, disrupting several ecosystem services, inhibiting pollination and threatening global food security. The study focuses on imidacloprid and its wider risk to the environment with effects on non-target pollinators especially birds and bees. Some of the effects on bees include disrupting social behavior, foraging and altered navigation and in birds reduced reproduction and offspring immunity. Though the scientific community is intently examining the potential effects of imidacloprid on pollinators, the research warrants further investigations with field-realistic concentrations and at relevant exposure levels. This would facilitate the functioning of pollinators and promote sustainable agriculture by reducing the impact of neonicotinoids. This review summarizes the potential lethal and sublethal effects of neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid on pollinators and other invertebrate groups and also helps us to better understand the extent of their toxicity.

The activity of digestive enzymes in the blood of chickens has been studied using the current biochemical methods. The digestive enzyme activity level in blood is proven to be associated with intestinal function. Typsin is the most volatile digestive enzyme since its activity significantly increases 1 h after the feed intake. The calculation of the blood digestive enzyme index as the ratio of the total lipase and amylase activities to the trypsin activity has been proposed to evaluate the physiological condition and health of the digestive system in the animals.

The paper reports the development of the algorithm for the quantitative assessment of stability of the virus vaccine, LaSota strain, against the Newcastle disease (ND) in birds using the StatPlus software package. A mathematical model for the process of the ND virus thermal inactivation has been developed, according to which the temperature dependence of the virus inactivation rate constant is described by a first order kinetic equation. It has been demonstrated that the inactivation rate constant is the measure of vaccine stability. The adequacy of the model was confirmed by the retrospective analysis of K_T values in the industrial and experimental-industrial vaccine batches. We have statistically validated the use of the “7 days–37°C” accelerated aging test for the prediction of the vaccine storage potential within the shelf life period under the recommended conditions (12 months at 4–8°C according to the Product Specifications).

A method of surfacing of a wide range of cast, hard, wear-resistant materials on a steel base was created based on the performed investigations. The surfacing was carried out in the conditions of heating with high-frequency currents (HFCs). The exothermic thermite mixtures were used, including the mixtures of metal oxides, aluminum, or silicon. In the course of synthesis, the coatings with the weld pad of 100–900 μm were obtained. The surfacing process was carried out in two main synthesis modes—high and low-temperature using the exothermic thermite mixtures—and allowed extending significantly the raw material base of the surfacing materials, including refusing the use of the traditional surfacing eutectic alloys and charge mixtures with the boron carbide for deep borating. It is shown that the synthesis of the coating of the exothermic thermite mixture FeO/B₂O₃/Si is identical to the diffusion saturation of the surface layer with the classical mode of borating during the HFC-heating.