The incorporation of trees on traditional agricultural land has the potential for providing beneficial conditions for understory crops by altering the microclimate. Under these assumptions, we ...conducted a study on maize productivity intercropped in a 14-year-old walnut orchard by measuring growth and yield parameters, and water and nutrient uptake. Overall, we found that walnut trees decreased maximum air temperature and increased air humidity, especially during hot summer months characterized by precipitation deficit. A 30% reduction in maize yield per total area was a result of significantly reduced plant density, which could be a walnut-specific effect due to juglone excretion. Productivity per plant increased as shown by a significantly higher harvest index and 1000 kernel weight. No meaningful differences were found in terms of maize grain nutrient productivity, nutrient recovery, or nutrient use efficiency. On the systems level, we observed an advantage of the walnut-maize system compared to its respective monoculture systems—land and water equivalent ratios showed that for gaining the same yields as in intercropped system, walnut and maize grown separately would need 32% more land and 31% more water. Our study implies there are some beneficial outcomes to growing maize with trees, although further research should focus on investigating walnut as an option, due to its possible allelopathic effects.
Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L. convar. Inkara) seeds were imbibed with water solution of various pH values (4, 5, 6 and 7) at various ambiental temperatures (10, 15 and 22 °C) with the aim ...to reveal treatments effects on seed (imbibition, germination energy, germination and electric conductivity) and seedling traits (stem, root and total length). Seeds were imbibed in a laboratory by the standard method for seed germination. When averaged over the inquired pH values, ambient temperature affected all the investigated traits except stem length. The highest seed imbibition (58.8%) and electric conductivity (82 μS/cm per gram) were achieved at 22 °C. The highest values for germination energy (70%), germination (68%), root length (31 mm) and total seedling length (77 mm) were achieved at 10 °C. When averaged over the inquired ambiental temperatures, the highest germination energy (71%), germination (73%), root length (34 mm) and total seedling length (78 mm) were achieved at pH 4.
Role of mineral fertilizers is to complement the soils’ indigenous supply of minerals for crop plants nutrition. Among the mineral nutrients, nitrogen is generally considered as the most ...yield-contributing. Obtaining nitrogen from legumes is potentially more sustainable than from industrial sources. Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) has long been appreciated as cover crop grown for green manuring due to its capability for binding the atmospheric nitrogen into plant-available form. Green manuring effects of crimson clover for succeeding maize crop were tested in 2019 year on two locations of Northeastern Croatia differing in soil texture: 1) on the site A where the soil was compact and dominated by clay and 2) on the site B where the soil was loose and dominated by loam. The research was conducted in a year with favourable rainfall during maize vegetation. Results have shown that green manuring with crimson clover for maize as the main crop delivered somewhat lower maize grain and aboveground mass yields than the conventional full-dose mineral fertilization on deep fertile soils around Osijek (Northeastern Croatia). When compared to conventional agronomy, green manuring was associated with additional agrotechnical operations required for crimson clover cover crop establishment and its herbage incorporation into soil prior to seeding main maize crop. Research should be continued in more different environments (year × location combinations) in order to produce reliable evaluation of crimson clover’s green manuring services.
Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L. convar. Inkara) seeds were imbibed with water solution of various pH values (4, 5, 6 and 7) at various ambiental temperatures (10, 15 and 22 degreesC) with the ...aim to reveal treatments effects on seed (imbibition, germination energy, germination and electric conductivity) and seedling traits (stem, root and total length). Seeds were imbibed in a laboratory by the standard method for seed germination. When averaged over the inquired pH values, ambient temperature affected all the investigated traits except stem length. The highest seed imbibition (58.8%) and electric conductivity (82 u.S/cm per gram) were achieved at 22 degreesC. The highest values for germination energy (70%), germination (68%), root length (31 mm) and total seedling length (77 mm) were achieved at 10 degreesC. When averaged over the inquired ambiental temperatures, the highest germination energy (71%), germination (73%), root length (34 mm) and total seedling length (78 mm) were achieved at pH 4. Keywords: Trifolium incarnatum L., germination, pH, electrical conductivity U laboratorijskim uvjetima ispitivan je utjecaj upijanja sjemena inkarnatke (cv. ,,Inkara") pri razlicitim temperaturama (10, 15 i 22 degreesC) i pH otopina (4, 5, 6 i 7) na svojstva sjemena (upijanje, energiju klijanja i klijavost, elektricni konduktivitiet) i klijanaca (duzinu stabljike, korjena te ukupnu duzinu klijanaca). Sjeme izlozeno upijanju na navedenim temperaturama i pH vrijednostima otopina naklijavano je standardnom metodom. Temperatura upijanja u prosjeku za pH vrijednosti otopine upijanja utjecala je na sva ispitivana svojstva sjemena i klijanaca osim na duzinu stabljike klijanaca. Najvece vrijednosti na 22 degreesC dobivene su za upijanje sjemena (58,8%) i elektricni konduktivitet (82 u.S/cm per gram). Dobivene vrijednosti za energiju (70%) i klijavost sjemena (68%) kao i duzinu korjena (31 mm) i ukupna duzina klijanaca (77 mm) bile su najvece na 10degreesC. U prosjeku za temperature, na pH 4 vrijednost otopine za upijanje dobivene su najvece vrijednosti za energiju klijanja (71%) i klijavost sjemena (73%), duzinu korjena (34 mm) i ukupnu duzinu klijanaca (78 mm). Kljucne rijeci: Trifolium incarnatum L., klijavost, pH, elektricni konduktivitet
Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L. convar. Inkara) seeds were imbibed with water solution of various pH values (4, 5, 6 and 7) at various ambiental temperatures (10, 15 and 22 degreesC) with the ...aim to reveal treatments effects on seed (imbibition, germination energy, germination and electric conductivity) and seedling traits (stem, root and total length). Seeds were imbibed in a laboratory by the standard method for seed germination. When averaged over the inquired pH values, ambient temperature affected all the investigated traits except stem length. The highest seed imbibition (58.8%) and electric conductivity (82 u.S/cm per gram) were achieved at 22 degreesC. The highest values for germination energy (70%), germination (68%), root length (31 mm) and total seedling length (77 mm) were achieved at 10 degreesC. When averaged over the inquired ambiental temperatures, the highest germination energy (71%), germination (73%), root length (34 mm) and total seedling length (78 mm) were achieved at pH 4.
Intercropping arable crops in orchards is a sustainable land use for intensifying agricultural production, under the condition of plants’ complementarity in sharing resources. This study investigated ...the aspects of water use and yields in intercropped systems of walnut and crops. To assess possible temporal complementarity between crops and trees, a summer crop—buckwheat—and a winter crop—barley—were intercropped in walnut orchards. The land and water productivity were studied under two designs: in an older, denser orchard and a younger one, with wider tree spacing. The results showed a reduction in yields and water productivity (WP) of intercrops due to the competition with walnut trees, with the exception of buckwheat in the younger orchard, where this summer crop surprisingly achieved the highest yield and WP. Nevertheless, in the system with mature fruiting trees, intercropping with winter barley was 53% more productive per unit of land and 83% more water-productive than growing walnut and barley separately but also 48% more land-productive and 70% more water-productive than the walnut–buckwheat system. Our results indicate positive effects of trees on microclimates but also emphasize the importance of species selection and systems design on the overall productivity of intercropped systems.
Istraživanje je provedeno u laboratorijskim uvjetima naklijavanjem kultivara sjemena bijele djeteline (Trifolium repens L.) u klima komori uz prethodno tretiranje sjemena magnetskim poljem. ...Predtretman sjemena stacioniranim magnetskim poljem od 250 mT proveden je na dva kultivara bijele djeteline, Apolo i Merlyn. Sjeme je bilo izloženo neodimijskom magnetu različitom vremenu trajanja: kontrola (bez tretmana), 5 min., 30 min. i 60 min. Ispitivanje svojstava sjemena provedeno je u klima komori po pravilima ISTA. Određena su svojstva energija klijanja i klijavost sjemena, dužina korijena i stabljike te izračunata ukupna dužina klijanaca. Vrijeme izloženosti magnetskom polju (MP) značajno je utjecalo na dužinu korijena (p<0,01) i ukupnu dužinu klijanaca (p<0,05). Između kultivara dobivene su značajne razlike za energiju klijanja i klijavost sjemena (p<0,01), dužinu stabljike i ukupnu dužinu klijanaca (p<0,05). Kultivari su različito reagirali na vrijeme izloženosti magnetskom polju te su dobivene značajne interakcije između tretmana MP i kultivara za sva ispitivana svojstva osim za dužinu stabljike klijanaca.
The study was carried out under laboratory conditions by germinating cultivars of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in a climate chamber with pretreatment of the seeds with a magnetic field. The pretreatment of the seeds with a stationary magnetic field of 250 mT was carried out on two white clover varieties, Apolo and Merlyn. The seeds was exposed to a neodymium magnet for different times: control (no treatment), 5 minutes, 30 minutes and 60 minutes. Seed properties was tested in a climate chamber according to ISTA rules. The properties of germination energy and seed germination, root and stem length and total seedling length were calculated. The time of exposure to the magnetic field (MF) significantly influenced root length (p<0.01) and total seedling length (p<0.05). Significant differences between cultivars were found for germination energy and seed germination (p<0.01), stem length and total seedling length (p<0.05). Cultivars responded differently to the time of magnetic field exposure and significant interactions were found between MF treatment and cultivars for all tested traits except seedling stem length.
The study on the influence of magnetic poles on field pea seed of the 'Bera' variety of different ages was carried out under laboratory conditions in a growing chamber. Field pea seed were exposed to ...a neodymium magnet's positive and negative magnetic poles with a magnetic flux density of 250 mT for 24 hours. Germination of untreated as well as magnetically poled treated seed was carried out according to ISTA rules. Seed characteristics, germination energy, and germination were determined by counting. The root and stem length of the seedlings were measured, and the total length of the field pea seedlings was added up. The total mass of the seedlings was determined by weighing. On average, seed age and magnetic poles significantly (p<0.05) increased the traits: stem length, total length, and seedling weight. On average, significant differences (p<0.05) were found for untreated and magnetic poles treated seed for all the studied traits except seedling stem length. Significant interaction (p<0.05) between magnetic pole treatment and seed age was found for all the traits studied.
Istraživanje utjecaja magnetnih polova na sjeme krmnog graška kultivara „Bera“ različite starosti provedeno je u laboratorijskim uvjetima u klima komori. Sjeme graška izloženo je djelovanju pozitivnog i negativnog magnetnog pola neodimijskog magneta gustoće magnetskog toka 250 mT tijekom 24 sata. Naklijavanje netretiranog kao i magnetnim polovima tretiranog sjemena obavljeno je sukladno pravilima ISTA. Brojanjem su određena svojstva sjemena, energija klijanja i klijavost. Mjerenjem je određena dužina korijena i stabljike klijanaca te zbrajanjem ukupna dužina klijanaca krmnog graška. Vaganjem je izmjerena ukupna masa klijanaca. U prosjeku za starost sjemena, magnetni polovi su značajno (p<0,05) utjecali na: dužinu stabljike, ukupnu dužinu kao i masu klijanaca. U prosjeku za netretirano i sjeme tretirano magnetnim polovima, dobivene su značajne razlike (p<0,05) za sva ispitivana svojstva osim dužine stabljike klijanaca. Značajna interakcija (p<0,05) tretmana magnetnih polova i starosti sjemena dobivena je za sva ispitivana svojstva.