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  • Consumption tendencies of foods of animal origin in Hungary
    7-17
    Views:
    135

    One of the most important indices of the population's food consumption are the quantities of the consumed foods expressed in a natural measure. In the course of my examination from the 1980 years I examined how our dietary habits changed. I was able to demonstrate it by the time series examination well, in which years and in a what kind of measure these consumer changes occurred. The trend analysis was in it onto my help, that let me be allowed to depict his beat as the changes of the food consumption visual.
    In his totality the Hungarian population nutritional and from his consumer customs we may relate that the present nourishment increases it unambiguous the diet pendant the risk of illnesses, furthers their development, aggravates their effect, and contributes to the population's adverse health conditions powerful.
    It was over in some years, in a decade on a unfortunate manner, we lost the natural instinct of the selection of the food in a considerable part. Our diet fundamental the narrower and the customs of wider environment, his rules, the social values, beliefs define it. Because of this to feed it is necessary to study it.
    The changed and the health-conscious nourishment would be  important for him herding back into a upturned dietary habit correct bed with a wide circle recognizing him with the population, his role could be big for the healthy, or functional foods. The nourishment gives his pleasure likewise while we take over healthy foods.
    The recognition of the changes of the demand and accompanying him with attention could be the domestic food producers' fundamental interests. The consumer types and the market segments should be mapped, that they suitable marketing a strategy can be aimed at it, and into the direction of the healthy nutrition to push away, and would be need onto an efficient informative campaign, onto an advertisement message formulated well, onto the making aware of this, that let the advertisement supply an educational function in one. 

  • Food problem and its solution
    19-23
    Views:
    123
    The Globalization processes substantially changed relations between countries. One of main factors of these processes is forming in ХХ century of Worldwide auction organization, which activity provided with swift growth of volumes in trade of food commodities. Thus, the solution for global food problem was found. At the end of the second half of ХХ century the production volumes of agrarian goods in countries with a different level of economic development grew considerably. However, a food crisis 2007–2008 led to the necessity to define factors, which would allow to grow production, converting an agrarian sector into sustainable growing industry, passing ahead the increase of quantity of population.
  • Recovery and confirmation of Haemonchus contortus from abomasal contents of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Eastern-Hungary (Biharugra): A diagnostic case study
    59-62
    Views:
    159

    Gastrointestinal parasites are ubiquitous. They occur both in wild and domesticated animals. Among such parasites of veterinary importance is the trichostrongyle worms, out of which the Haemonchus contortus species is regarded as the most pathogenic one in the small ruminant industry. The occurrence of this parasite in the sheep flock is now very well documented and an established fact in Europe, although the parasite was original of the warmer climatic region. Studies on the cross-transmission of H. contortus between the wild and domesticated animals are also on the rise although the question of the direction of transmission is still debated. This is an important area that needs to be addressed as it could potentially contribute indirectly to mitigating anthelmintic resistance. Hungary also has reported its share of the occurrence of the parasite, mainly in the sheep flock and a certain population of roe deer. The study presented here is the preliminary results of a diagnostic case study that confirms the presence of H. contortus in wild ruminant deer species that are close to the domesticated sheep population.

  • Coagulase-negative staphylococci in ewe udder surface and raw milk samples
    221-225
    Views:
    168

    Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are among the major causes of subclinical mastitis in dairy ewe flocks. This has a financially significant impact on the ewe dairy sector and consumer health. The determination of the bacterial count, particularly CNS, is critical in terms of the quantity and quality of ovine milk. Thus, the purpose of this study was to quantify the CNS count in the udder surface and raw milk samples of the ewe, in addition to identifying CNS strains (n=8) collected from udder surface and individual raw milk samples by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A total of 164 samples of udder surface and raw milk originated from four sheep farms were tested. The obtained values were compared between the different farms. Furthermore, values during 2018 and 2019 in the case of Farm I were compared. Significantly higher (p<0.05) average count was observed in udder surface samples taken from Farm I (2.8±1.0 lg CFU/cm2) than that of Farm III samples (2.3±0.6 lg CFU/cm2). In the case of individual raw milk, the higher value was observed in samples derived from Farm III (3.5±0.9 lg CFU/mL), while the obtained value was significantly lower (p<0.05) in samples originated from Farm IV (1.8±0.4 lg CFU/mL). In the bulk tank milk samples, the highest mean value was 5.3±0.4 CFU/mL, and there was no significant (p>0.05) variation between farms. Coagulase-negative staphylococci counts were decreased to a certain extent in both sample types tested during 2019 except for individual raw milk derived from the Tsigai breed. The correlation between the mean CNS counts of udder surface and individual raw milk was very weak (r=0.048). Staphylococcus simulans, Staphylococcus auricularis, and Staphylococcus equorum were identified by molecular sequencing and Staphylococcus simulans were the most frequently identified CNS species. A higher CNS count of bulk tank milk than individual raw milk indicates possible contamination during milking and storage. Therefore, further studies are required to investigate the other sources of bulk tank milk contamination to improve the hygienic quality of milk.

  • The effect of dissolved oxygen on common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and basil (Ocimum basilicum) in the aquaponics system
    89-96
    Views:
    377

    Aquaponics is an integrated system that combines fish farming (aquaculture) and hydroponic plant production. The objective of this study was to examine how the level of dissolved oxygen with or without an air pump affects water quality, fish output and plant growth parameters for common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and basil (Ocimum basilicum).

    Ebb – and flood aquaponics systems (with automatic syphon) was used. Two treatments were set in this experiment, one of which was the aquaponics system without air pump (unit I), where water of the plant bed was pumped two directions, one falling back to the fish tank oxygenating the water the other was pumped to the hydroponics unit. The other system (unit II) was designed with an air pump.

    In the course of the study, water quality parameters, such as oxygen saturation, dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity (EC) and nitrite were significantly different (p<0.05). Total basil biomass was higher in unit II. (5367.41 g). The final biomass of common carp were
    2829.45 g ± 79.24 and 2980.6 g ± 64.13 g in unit I and unit II respectively. Weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) showed no significant differences (p>0.05) between the treatments. 

  • Investigation of the impacts of the by-product of sewage treatment on some characteristics of maize in the early growth stage
    77-82
    Views:
    66

    The use of sewage sludge on arable land has been widespread for many years. This by-product, treated as waste, can provide valuable nutrients to the soil, but the applied amount of sewage sludge to arable land is limited. The possibility of application of sewage sludge is essentially determined by the composition of the sludge. The goal of the experiment was to demonstrate that the physiological, morphological, and biochemical parameters of maize (Zea mays L. cv. Armagnac) linearly change with increasing concentrations of sewage sludge (25%, 50%, and 75% as m/m%). The experiment was set up in a glasshouse. The following parameters were investigated: plant height, relative chlorophyll content, photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, carotenoids), and leaf proline and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and PS II quantum efficiency in the 3-leaf stages of the plants. Sewage sludge applied in lower doses had a beneficial effect on the initial growth of maize. The relative chlorophyll content was significantly higher in all treatments compared to the control. There was no significant difference in the maximum quantum efficiency of PS II reaction centers among the treatments. In this experiment, different concentrations of sewage sludge treatments had different impacts on the MDA and proline content of maize leaves. The proline content was significantly higher in all treatments, while the MDA content did not change significantly compared to the control.

  • Investigation of host-specificity of phytopathogenic fungi isolated from woody plants
    155-160
    Views:
    160

    Host-specificity is an important characteristic of fungal pathogens. Changing climate could create more appropriate environmental conditions for phytopathogens, thus formerly host-specify fungi could be able to colonize new hosts. Noxious plant pathogen fungi, which can infect several plant species are well-known worldwide. These genera may expand their range of hosts because of the appearance in new geographic areas due to climate change. This new exposure can result in serious problems in agriculture because of the lack of immunity. The susceptibility of apple tree was studied through testing pathogenicity in vitro with species isolated from walnut twigs and nuts, and identified by ITS sequences. Three of four tested species, Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diaporthe eres and Diplodia seriata colonized and necrotized the infected apple branches, while Juglanconis juglandina was not able to infect the twigs. Members of Botryosphaeriaceae were the most virulent, causing the largest lesions in the fastest way. This experiment draws attention to the threat of new host-pathogen connections, which can arise because of the favourable weather conditions and can spread between neighbouring cultures. 

  • Comparison of alveohraph and extensigraph properties of winter wheat samples
    27-30
    Views:
    132

    The rheological properties of dough are determined by the amount and proportion of gliadin and glutenin proteins. Extensibility and resistance to the extension of doughs which can be measured using the extensigraph or alveograph allow good assesment of the baking behavior under realistic conditions. In our study, we compared the extensigraph and alveograph parameters of 87 flour samples. The results showed that the alveograph parameters were different from the extensigraph parameters. The classification of wheat varieties was different, and the order of varieties, as well. The alveograph properties were affected by other factors than the extensigraph properties, except the W value. The two rheological tests did not give similar results, therefor neither test are replaceable.

  • Changing of some parameters of the soil-plant system as an effect of different composts
    262-266
    Views:
    125

    Composting is an alternative way for practicing site-specific and environmental friendly plant nutrient supply. Our aim was to study the effect of different composts on plant and soil system. 
    Pot experiment with acidic sandy soil blended with three composts in five (0%, 5%, 10%, 25% and 50%) proportion was set up. Our experimental plant was perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). After the harvest of ryegrass we measured the fresh and dry weight of harvested plants, the P-, K-, Mg-contents, and the pH of soils.
    The three composts had different effect on dry weight production and on nutrient-supply of soil. We established that one of the compost had significantly larger effect on the dry weight of ryegrass compared to the others. In this study we proved that favourable compost/soil proportion is different in the case of different composts.

  • Wheat cleaning and milling technologies to reduce DON toxin contamination
    89-95
    Views:
    240

    Mycotoxicosis caused by Fusarium fungi holds a huge risk considering economic and food safety issues worldwide. By applying milling technologies, we attempted to reduce the concentrates of DON toxin, as it is the most often found toxin in wheat.

    The processes of sieving, aspiration and combination had been used on wheat with high DON toxin concentration. As a next step, grains were sorted using a horizontal cylinder separator, assorted by an optical and a gravity separator, and finally, the products were scoured and ground. The contamination level of the wheat and flour samples were defined by the HPLC-MS method.

    Regarding the results, it can be stated that toxin concentration was most effectively reduced by optical separation and scouring, and by applying these milling techniques, food safety can be increased significantly.

  • Daily soil carbon dioxide flux under different tillage conditions
    141-144
    Views:
    199

    Over the last few years, warming of the atmospheric layer near Earth's surface is increasingly experienced and researchers have also established that concentration of numerous greenhouse gases have risen over the past two centuries value. Change is basically a legitimate process - considering atmospheric concentration as well - but the change experienced during the past centuries could not have become this critical without the contribution of human activity. Due to the nature of the greenhouse effect, the result of a very fragile, complex process is experienced currently on Earth, which can be significantly unbalanced even by a slight change. Carbon dioxide emitted from the soil is involved in the global cycle and has an impact on the greenhouse effect. The rise in soil respiration may result in the further intensification of warming. In the scope of the present study, it was examined how carbon dioxide emissions of the soil evolve over a day. The results have been established based on the comparison of the effects of different parts of the day, tillage methods and irrigation.

  • Energy production systems of phototroph microorganisms (classification of photobioreactors)
    35-39
    Views:
    70

    In the field of alternative energy sources there is an argue in the comparison of its effects on the benefits and disadvantages to the economics and the environment. New studies are born which are in contradiction with each other. The demand for bioenergy feedstock is growing rapidly however there are the environmental problems caused by the extending energy crop plantations. There is such a significant need for land to grow traditional energy crops on (rape, soy, palm-oil, sugarcane, etc.) that the food purpose agricultural capacity could be in danger. Probably the extensively
    growing energy crops play a role in the very high prices of food. In some countries like China for example laws prohibit the use of food based crops such as corn for energie production. In the case of corn based ethanol production the cost only for the feedstock itself is over 60% of the whole preparation costs which significantly effects the entire economy of the energy productions process.
    The microalgaes however have a huge biotechnological potential and their production is notably cheaper then the traditionaly grown food crops growing expenses. They play a significant role as feedstocks in todays industrial production in such fields as comestible production, cosmetics, pharmaceutics and biotechnology especially in biofule production. In the field of economy the major aspects here are also the technological designs
    and the construction. For the future industrial production the closed type systems seem to have more advantages compared to the open, pond-type systems. For high value material production the more innovative and more easily developed closed photobioreactors are the profitable regardless the vast techological designs used in the construction. 

  • Changes of some soil chemical and microbiological characteristics in a long-term fertilization experiment in Hungary
    253-265
    Views:
    309

    Agricultural management practices – directly or indirectly – influence soil properties.

    Fertilization rates and crop rotation can strongly affect soil pH, soil nutrient supply and soil organic matter content due to the changes of microbial processes. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of different fertilization doses in monoculture and tri-culture of maize (monoculture: only maize grown since 1983, tri-culture: it is a three-year crop rotation system: pea – winter wheat – maize) on selected soil characteristics. The long-term fertilization experiments were set up in 1983 in Eastern Hungary. These experiments are situated west of Debrecen in Hajdúság loess region, on calcareous chernozem (according to WRB: Chernozems).

    The test plant was maize (Zea mays L.). One-one pilot blocks were selected from monoculture and tri-culture of the long-term experiments. The observed soil samples were taken in the 30th year of the experiment, in 2013. The doses of NPK fertilizers increased parallel together, so the effects of N-, P- and K-fertilizers cannot be separated.

    With the increasing fertilizer doses, the soil pH has decreased in both crop production systems and, in parallel, the hydrolytic acidity has significantly increased. A close negative correlation was proved between the pHH2O, pHKCl and hydrolytic acidity. An increased nutrient content in soil was recorded in every NPK treatment and the available phosphorus and nitrate content increased in higher proportion than that of potassium. Of the measured parameters of C-and N-cycles, fertilization has mostly had a positive effect on the microbial activity of soils. Besides the effects of fertilizer doses, correlation were looked for between soil microbiological properties. Evaluating the ratios among the measured parameters (organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon, OC/MBC ratio; carbon-dioxide and microbial biomass carbon; CO2/MBC proportion), the fertilization rate seems to be favoured by the increase of amounts of organic compounds

  • Effect of hail net on the water potential of an apple orchard
    109-113
    Views:
    160

     Apple production has seen a decline in yields in recent years, primarily due to ecological factors such as drought, water stress, water scarcity, uneven rainfall distribution, frost damage and hail damage. Ecological factors that are harmful to the plant can be eliminated by human intervention, irrigation or the use of hail net. In our study, we investigated the positive effects of hail net on the development of plant water potential as the vegetation progressed, in non-irrigation area with temperature and humidity. Water potential values were determined using a field osmometer. Confirmed the positive effect of the ice protection net in the apple orchard of Early Gold and Golden Reinders. Our results were supported by statistical analyzes our results.

  • The study of the fertilizing effect of wheat straw ash in a greenhouse experiment
    47-51
    Views:
    197

    The effect of wheat straw ash as a fertlizizer was studied in a pot experiment with an acidic sandy loam soil (pHKCl=4.9) with weak K and P supply. The test plant was ryegrass (Lolium perenne). The treatments were the following: 1. control untreated soil, 2. NPK fertilizer, 3. small dose of ash (1.4 g kg-1), 4 large dose of ash (2.8 g kg-1), 5. small dose ash completed with NP fertilizers. Soil parameters (pHH2O, pHKCl, ammoinum-lactate soluble P, K, 0.01 M CaCl2 soluble PO43--P, K, Mn, Cu, Zn ) and plant parameters (yield, P, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Mn uptake) were investigated. Based on the analysis of the straw ash sample and the results of pot experiment it can be stated that the wheat straw ash is suitable for the fertilization of the studied soil. The small dose ash completed with NP resulted in the largest yield increment (43%). In order of the treatments the pHKCl changes to: 4.9, 4.8, 5.2, 5.8, 5.1. As the N : P2O5 : K2O ratio is 0 : 1: 3.5 in the wheat straw ash sample, to reach optimal yield ash should be completed with N and P.

  • Biological control of sweet chestnut on Pécsbánya, Hungary
    77-81
    Views:
    226

    The supervision of plant hygiene of sweet chestnut grove on Pécsbánya (South Hungary) started more than four years ago. Hypovirulent strains were applied as a biological process to control Cryphonectria parasitica fungus which causes the chestnut blight disease. By now the performed interventions have shown obvious results, the vitality of the trees has greatly improved, the amount of harvested nuts is increasing, and the hypovirulent strain has been spreading within the area. During plant health inspection the galls of chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) was found in the year of 2015, which is the obvious symptom of new occurrence of the pest. The pest was eradicated by destroy galls, which allows taking out of consideration the damage by now in this area.

  • Examinations of the carbon dioxide emission of the soil in the case of different tillage methods in a field experiment
    209-212
    Views:
    238
    Today's global challenge is the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases in the air. The level of CO2 emissions may be significantly affected by the agriculture and, more specifically, the applied tillage method, even though to a lesser extent than industrial production. On a global scale, the CO2 emission of an agricultural area is insignificant in comparison to that of a large-scale plant in an area of the same size, but areas under cultivation, including arable land, have a large global area. In this paper, we investigated the relationship between applied soil tillage methods and carbon dioxide emissions in the case of different fertiliser treatments. In our experiment we examined four types of tillage with five different fertiliser effects. Comparing fertiliser treatments and tillage methods, it was found that their interaction significantly affected carbon dioxide emissions, the lowest value was obtained in the case of the 210 l ha-1 Nitrosol+N-LOCK – tillage radish treatment. Strip and tillage radish methods have relatively homogeneous, low value.
  • Reference genes for livestock gene expression profiling – Literature review
    81-89
    Views:
    188

    Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is an essential tool for understanding animal cell’s response to developmental progression or to different experimental conditions at gene expression level. However the reliability of this method heavily lies on proper normalization (measuring a target and a reference gene’s expression from the same sample to correct for technical related variations).
    Our literature review aimed to summarize the articles addressing the most important livestock species in regards of reference gene stability used as normalizers for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction experiments. Stably expressing reference genes were categorized into 14 distinct groups according to gene function. The number of reference genes tested and the publication numbers according to years and the ranking algorithms were also noted.
    Counting showed that genes encoding ribosomal protein components are ranked as most stable in majority of cases and therefore should be taking into account for qPCR stable normalizer gene finding experiments.

  • Definition antioxidant activity of selenium-enriched food sprout, as well as their microbiological analysis
    25-30
    Views:
    248

    In this present study, we prepared selenium-enriched food sprouts, where the antioxidant capacity was analysed, we also determined their microbiological status. We took into account the fact, we choose micronutrients to our treatment, that selenium can be delivered to the body by a small amount with the most widely consumed food.

    We focused during our research to determine that the increasing concentrations of selenium treatment, in which we used sprouts, knowing fully well that it has an impact on aboriginal antioxidant capacity of sprouts, which is mainly due to high vitamin content of sprouts.

    Furthermore, we think it is important to make microbiological analysis, because germination conditions, for example temperature, pH, all this will create an ideal environment for the growth of microorganisms. So we had goal to determine, how the used selenium concentration affect the total plate count, coliform bacteria count and Staphylococcus aureus count of sprouts.

    We determined the aboriginal water-soluble and lipid-soluble antioxidant capacity of sprout with the PHOTOCHEM chemiluminometer and we applied pour plate technique for the mapping of the mycrobiological state of sprouts.

    Experimental results are evaluated, we state that increasing concentrations of selenite or selenate treatment, is primarily water-soluble antioxidant capacity of sprouts was affected. The water-soluble antioxidant capacity of wheat sprout was much higher than the measured values in pea sprout, this may be linked to what we measured. That is much higher ascorbic acid content in case of wheat sprout, which is well known as one of the most important antioxidant properties compounds of wheat sprout.

    We conclude from the results of the microbiological, that the highest concentrations of selenite or selenate treatment has a relative significant anti-microbial effect in case of wheat sprouts. Coliform and total plate count showed no clear decreasing tendency, although the values of treatments in both cases obtained were below the control values.

  • Evaluation some important microbiological parameters of the carbon cycle in chernozem soils profiles
    33-39
    Views:
    176

    Some chemical and microbiological properties of the carbon cycle were investigated in three chernozem soil profiles. The soil profiles originated from a long term fertilization experiment (potato) of the University of Debrecen, Látókép, Kryvyi Rig Botanic Garden (grassland) and a large-scale farm (sunflower) of Ukraine. The results of the organic C-content, total number of bacteria, microscopical fungi, cellulose decomposing bacteria, CO2-production, microbial biomass carbon and saccharase and dehydrogenase activities were compared and evaluated with the help of correlation analyses. Close correlation was found between the organic carbon content and the number of microscopical fungi,, saccharase and dehydrogenase enzymes’ activities, as well as close correlation was found between the dehydrogenase activity and microbial biomass-C and saccharase activity.

  • Determination of element contents of commercial and homemade jams
    71-75
    Views:
    272
    Various products could be prepared by using fruits as raw materials. In Hungary, the most popular fruit products are spirit, jams, preserves, juices and dried fruits. Jams are made from different fruits, with different fruit content, technology and additives. They can be used for different products or they can be consumed by themselves. These products and their related production processes have great traditions in Hungary. In addition, they are widely used.
    The aim of our study was to determine the element content of jams and to compare these samples based on their micro- and macroelement content.
    In this study, 26 fruit jams with different botanical origins were examined. 10 samples were commercial, and 16 samples were homemade products. The determination of micro- and macroelements was carried out by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer. Different element contents were measured [B (249.7), Ca (422.6), Fe (259.9), K (769.8), Mg (280.2), Na (589.5), P (185.9), S (182.0), Al (27), Mn (55), Cu (65), Zn (66), Sr (88), Ba (137)]. Based on element contents, the jams showed statistical differences.
  • Single nucleotide polymorphism analysis in meat-production related genes in broiler chickens
    79-82
    Views:
    181

    In broiler chickens, the intensive selection for growth rate, feed efficiency, body composition (breast muscle weight) traits in the last decades was successful. To improve economically important characteristics, it is possible to use molecular markers associated with meat production traits. The aim of this study was to examine genotype polymorphisms in ROSS 308 broilers for thyroid hormone responsive Spot14α, insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF1), IGF-binding protein 2 (IGFBP2), somatostatin (SST) and prolactin (PRL) genes. A further goal of this investigation was to study the relationship between the polymorphisms and phenotypic characteristics.

    In the investigated broiler population, the frequency for CC homozygous genotype was 0.77 in Spot14α (AY568628), AA homozygous genotype was 0.80 in IGF1 (M74176), GG homozygous genotype was 0.85 in IGFBP2 (U15086), DD homozygous genotype was 0.60 in PRL (FJ663023 or FJ434669). Only the AA homozygous genotype was found in SST (X60191). Chickens with AC genotype in Spot14α, and with GG genotype in IGFBP2 had higher body weight (BW) and carcass weight (CW), compared to CC and GT genotypes. However, the differences were not significant (P>0.05). There was significant association (P<0.05) between PRL genotypes and body and carcass weight, where chicken with homozygous DD surpassed individuals with homozygous II genotypes.

  • Harnessing diversity in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) to enhance climate resilience and micronutrient concentration through genetic and agronomic biofortification
    9-20
    Views:
    201

    Huge consumption of wheat-driven food products with low bioavailability and small concentrations of zinc is responsible for zinc-induced malnutrition and associated health complications. The contemporary durum wheat varieties have inherently tiny zinc concentrations in developing grain, which cannot meet the daily human zinc demand. Despite the fact that over two billion people are suffering from iron and zinc-induced malnutrition, various intervention measures have been deployed to reverse the effect of zinc-induced malnutrition on humans. There are evidences that agronomic and genetic biofortification approaches can increase grain yield and nutritional quality (i.e. zinc, iron, protein, and vitamins) of durum wheat to a greater extent. However, there is a lack of direct empirical evidence for which the influence of both biofortification approaches on improving human health. Application of micronutrient-containing fertilizers either in the soil or foliarly is effective in combination with NPK, organic fertilizers coupled with efficient durum wheat varieties, emphasizing the need for integrated soil fertility management (ISFM). Although genetic biofortification is a cost-effective and sustainable approach, agronomic biofortification provides an immediate and effective route to enhancing micronutrient concentrations in durum wheat grain. The application of zinc-containing fertilizers is more effective under drought conditions than in normal growing situations. Hence, this article provides a key information for agronomists and breeders about the potential of biofortification interventions to improve durum wheat yield and enrich the grain qualitative traits to ensure food and nutritional security of the ever-increasing world population.

  • Trends in Dry Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Production
    53-58
    Views:
    145

    Dry pea is an important, cool-season grain legume, which is grown worldwide on over 6 million hectares. The major producing countries outside Europe are China and Canada, followed by India, Australia, and the United States. France, Canada and Australia produce over 2 million hectares and are major exporters of peas. During the 1980’s, in developed countries of the European Union, pea production rose yearly by 6-10%, which represents a significant increase in both area and yield. Europe accounts for 50-75% of world pea production. In the 1990’s, the European Union produced 4-5 million tonnes of dry pea, of which 3-4 million tonnes were used for feed and 1 million tonnes for export. At the end of the 20th century, the growth in production was low, mainly because of the absence of support measures, and the better returns offered by other crops. In the countries of the former Soviet Union, dry pea was primarily used as feed and pea production dropped, due to a trend in livestock raising.
    Food consumption of dry pea is concentrated in developing countries, where grain legumes represent a useful complement to cereal-based diets as a relatively inexpensive source of high quality protein. As a result, human consumption of grain legumes fell from 2,2 kg/capita in 1961 to 0,5 kg/capita in 1999. The importance of grain legumes in food protein supply decreased, while that of cereal products increased. Shortage of grain legumes has adverse effects on the nutritional standard of poor people in developing countries.
    World dry pea production reached 16,7 million tonnes in 1990, with 3,7 million tonnes used as food, 11,4 million tonnes used as feed, and 1,0 million tonnes used as seed. Dry pea production was 10,9 million tonnes in 1999, and 3,5, 5,8 and 0,8 million tonnes was used as food, feed and seed, respectively. In the coming decades, world grain legume production and utilization as feed are expected to expand at a slower rate than in the 1980’s. Most of the increase is expected to occur in Eastern European countries, Canada and Australia, where production is anticipated to grow at 2% annually. The projection for the new millennium was derived from adjusted trends in area and yield over the period 1961-2000, based on FAO statistical data.

  • Genetic diversity of the Hungarian draft horse assessed by mitochondrial DNA
    29-32
    Views:
    234

    Hungarian draft is a horse breed with a recent mixed ancestry. It was developed in the 1920s by crossing local mares with draught horses imported from France and Belgium. To genetically characterize the breed and to set up the basis for a conservation programme, we have employed a molecular marker: a 256-bp D-loop mitochondrial DNA fragment. We analyzed 124 horses representing Hungarian draft horses to assess the maternal phylogeography of the breed. Sequence analysis of a 256-bp segment revealed a total of 34 haplotypes with thirty-four polymorphic sites. High haplotype and nucleotide diversity values (Hd=0.953±0.001; π=0.024±0.001) were detected. The average number of pairwise differences were k=5.998. This breed counts 800 mares today, and only survive due to breeding programmes, this way each haplotype frequency depends on the extent to which mares are involved into the breeding. The reduced number of surviving maternal lineages emphasizes the importance of establishing a conservation plan for this endangered breed. Due to the revealed 34 polymorphic sites we could presuppose twelve maternal linages, which could be a first step for making a breeding programme.