The effect of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Berliner on the Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) on two resistant ('King Stone') and susceptible ('Rio Grande') tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivars was studied under laboratory conditions. In the bioassay tests, the lethal concentration (LC 50 ) values of Bt were determined for the 2nd-and 3rd-instar larvae of T. absoluta on two cultivars. In another experiment, the effect of sublethal doses of Bt on 2nd-and 3rd-instar larvae on two susceptible and resistant cultivars was determined. Also, the nutritional indices and the enzyme content of larvae on two susceptible and resistant cultivars under the sublethal doses of Bt were investigated. All nutritional indices and the enzyme content of the treated larvae were significantly different compared to those of the control group. The lowest efficiency of the conversion of ingested food (7.82%), the efficiency of the conversion of digested food (4.34%), the relative consumption rate (22.29 mg mg −1 day −1 ), and the relative growth rate (1.16 mg mg −1 day −1 ) was determined for the resistant cultivar 'King Stone' at the LC 25 concentration of Bt. The lowest amount of α-amylase (0.98 nM min −1 mg −1 protein), protease (12.61 µM min −1 mg −1 protein), and lipase (0.182 nM min −1 mg −1 protein) and the highest amount of phenoloxidase (0.337 µM min −1 mg −1 protein) were determined for the resistant cultivar 'King Stone' at the LC 25 concentration of Bt. The results showed that the integration of Bt application and host plant resistance significantly increased the efficiency of Bt.

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Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) has a potential to become a new field crop for higher latitudes. Sweet potato was cultivated for the first time in the fields of Estonia. During the study, the photosynthetic characteristics and yields of sweet potato cultivars 'Evangeline' and 'Covington' were investigated under fertilisation with two nitrogen (N) rates (0 and 100 kg ha −1 N) and various fertilisers in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Variation in fertiliser rate and composition had no effect on CO 2 assimilation rate (A) and stomatal conductance (g s ). The negative relationship between photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) and intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) among cultivars and treatments indicated that water availability could limit nutrient availability and ultimately reduce the potential yield in northern growing regions. The highest sweet potato tuber yield (t ha −1 ) was obtained from 'Evangeline' and 'Covington' at N0 in 2021. A comparison of yields of 2018 and 2021 experiments suggests that sweet potatoes can be grown in high latitudes. It can be concluded that depending on weather conditions, cultivars and soil properties, fertilisers can promote high plant productivity. Further studies should focus on sweet potato plants traits that enable the efficient use of nutrients and water during a short and potentially dry growing season.

The improvement of nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) can reduce the required N input.As a result, economic benefits will increase, and environmental pollution will decrease due to N loss.The aim of the study was to determine the NUE of potato genotypes and to evaluate the relationship of NUE with the tuber yield, starch yield, and starch content at different N fertiliser rates.During a two-year experiment, the performance of 19 potato genotypes was evaluated by different farming practices involving the varying levels of N fertiliser rates.These practices included the integrated farming (IF) system with three different N fertiliser rates and the organic farming (OF) system without N fertilisation.The N fertilisation in both farming systems was stated as plant-available N in soil and as N added with a fertiliser.A significant effect of the genotype and the farming system on the tested traits was determined.The potato genotype tuber yield correlation with NUE was high or moderate in the farming system with different N fertiliser rates in both years.The tuber yield of potato grown in the farming system with a comparatively higher N fertilisation usually did not increase significantly; therefore, a decrease in genotype NUE was detected.The correlation between starch yield and NUE was high and strong in both farming systems, although high and moderately strong correlation was determined between tuber yield and starch yield.NUE had a weak correlation with the starch content in potato tubers, so genotype characteristics and growing conditions had the greatest influence on this trait.An increase in N fertilisation did not lead to an increase in starch yield due to a decrease in starch content and a slight insignificant increase in tuber yield.However, genotypes with higher NUE produced a higher tuber yield and starch yield than genotypes with relatively lower NUE, even in the farming systems with different N fertiliser rates in both experimental years.

Residues differing in quality and incorporation depths are presumed to contribute differently to the improvement of soil properties through decomposition.Understanding the response of residue decomposition at different depths using tillage implements and effective microorganisms can help to develop strategies for improving soil properties.Therefore, three nitrogen (N) supplemented crop residues: wheat (Rw), chickpea (Rc), Rw + Rc, and no residue (R0) as a control, under three different tillage implements: cultivator (CT), mouldboard plough (MBP), and chisel plough (CP), in combination with beneficial microorganisms (BM) applied (BMA) or not applied (BM0, control) were investigated during summer 2018 and 2019.The experiment was conducted in a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with a split plot arrangement with four replications.Tillage implements were placed in the main plots, and crop residues and beneficial microorganisms in subplots.The results of the experiment showed that the use of a MBP increased the availability of mineral nitrogen (N min ) by 23% but decreased the content of soil organic carbon (SOC) (14%) and total nitrogen (N tot ) (7%) compared to the CT.The N min availability was more than doubled with Rc either alone (116%) or in combination with Rw (106%) compared to Ro. Decomposition of crop residues was faster with the BMA, especially with chickpea residues compared to wheat residues or its combination.Structural equation modelling indicated that soil fertility and maize phenology were directly affected by most of soil properties with N min having the highest estimated effect (119.5), followed by electrical conductivity (EC) (0.23), and indirectly by soil pH (0.06).It was concluded that the crop residues improved soil fertility and delayed maize phenology when incorporated through mouldboard or chisel ploughing into deeper soil layers with the BMA.Therefore, the application of chickpea residues is recommended for a faster soil mineralisation and N availability, while wheat residues are recommended in combination with deep tillage for long-term carbon stock development.

One of the main UN Millennium Development Goals is eradication of poverty and hunger through food security.Unfortunately, this goal is difficult to achieve in Nigeria due to soil degradation, low soil fertility, and other agricultural challenges.The current research on food security in Nigeria is focused on improving soil fertility using low-cost organic amendments.Thus, in 2019, the study investigated the residual effects of the repeated animal manure application on the cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) yield, the nutrient uptake, and the soil nutrient status of a coarse-textured Ultisol in a greenhouse at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.The experiment was conducted in a completely randomised design with four treatments: poultry manure (PM30), cow manure (CM30), and pig manure (PgM30) applied at 30 t ha -1 , and untreated control with five replicates.The experiment was performed (repeated) three times.The results showed that the soil pH increased (p < 0.05) by 33.3% for the PM30 treatment, 13% for the PgM30 treatment, and 11.1% for the CM30 treatment and decreased by -7.4% for the control treatment compared to the initial amount of the soil pH (5.4).The total nitrogen (N tot ) increased by 99.4% (CM30), 63.3% (PgM30), and 56.3% (PM30) compared to the initial N tot (4.8 g kg -1 ).The available phosphorus (P avail ) in the PM30, PgM30, and CM30 treatments increased by 1204%, 171%, and 164%, respectively, while in the control treatment, it decreased by -59.6% compared to the initial P avail (7.57mg kg -1 ).The soil organic carbon (SOC) increased by 13.3% (CM30), 3.9% (PM30), and 3.9% (PgM30) compared to the initial SOC content (1.28%) and decreased by -18.8% in the control treatment.Cucumber growth parameters: the number of fruits, fruit weight, and biomass (fresh and dry), were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the amended treatments compared to the control treatment.There was a significant correlation between the cucumber yield, N-uptake, P-uptake, and soil nutrients.The results of regression analysis showed that the cucumber yield was increased by 91, 61, 56.4, and 86.4 % due to SOC, N tot , N-uptake, and P-uptake, respectively.This study indicates that the repeated animal manure application has a positive residual effect on the properties of coarse-textured Ultisol and cucumber yield performance.

Please use the following format when citing the article: Okhrymovych O., Chebotar G., Chebotar S., Motsny I. 2021. Evaluation of effects of Rht-b1a/b/e alleles by using the isogenic lines of bread winter wheat. Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, 108 (2): 141-146.

Fusarium graminearum infects cereal crops of high commercial and nutritional value such as barley, wheat, and maize, and causes various diseases. Due to the increasing world population and changing climatic conditions, the importance of controlling this pathogen is increasing. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential antifungal effect of the flavonoid compound rutin hydrate (RH) on the F. graminearum PH-1 reference strain at different levels. The EC 50 (half effective concentration) value was determined by the agar dilution method on the PDA (potato dextrose agar) medium containing different concentrations of rutin hydrate. To examine the effect of rutin hydrate on cell viability, the WST-1 toxicity test was performed. To determine the effect of rutin hydrate on genomic stability and methylation profiles, the CRED-RA (coupled restriction enzyme digestionrandom amplification) analysis was performed. To determine the expression levels of atg5, cat, kmet1, sporulation (mgv1), and apoptosis (mst20) related genes, the qRT-PCR (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction) was performed. To detect the presence of oxidative stress and autophagy, the DCF-DA (2',7'-dichlorofluorescein) and MDC (monodansylcadaverine) staining tests were used. The EC 50 value of rutin hydrate was determined as 580 µg mL −1 . The WST-1 analysis revealed that rutin hydrate caused cytotoxicity (58.53%) in F. graminearum (p < 0.05). In the CRED-RA analysis, genomic template stability (GTS) decreased by 9.53%, and the methylation levels for HapII and MspI enzymes were 11.6% and 5.24%, respectively. There was a significant difference in the atg5 (2.66 ± 0.48; p < 0.01), cat (3.00 ± 0.46; p < 0.01), and kmet1 (6.29 ± 2.24; p < 0.05) expression in the rutin hydrate-treated samples. Autophagy and oxidative stress response with a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the rutin hydrate-treated F. graminearum was confirmed by DCF-DA and MDC tests. This is the first report demonstrating the antifungal effect of rutin hydrate on F. graminearum at physiological, transcript, and epigenetic levels.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of environmental and genetic factors on the yield, starch, and dry matter content in tubers of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars belonging to different maturity groups considering cultivars diversity according to SSR markers. Twenty-four very early, early, medium, and late potato cultivars were evaluated. Field experiments were conducted in 2018-2020 in two locations: Forest Steppe and Forest zones of Ukraine. The SSRs analysis was carried out in 2021 using eight markers: STM0019, STM3009, STM2005, STM2028, STM3012, STM3023, STM5136, and STM5148. During this study, it was found that the growing zone and the year weather conditions had the greatest influence on the potato tuber yield -54% and 24%, while the effect of the cultivar genotype on the tuber yield was 8%. It was found that the cultivar genotype and the year weather conditions had the greatest influence on the potato tuber dry matter content -36% and 30%, respectively. The impact of cultivar genotype on the starch content was 31%, while the influence of the year weather conditions reached 21% and the growing zone 3%. Based on the distribution of alleles obtained by SSR markers, the majority of the very early ('Riviera', 'Prada', 'Duma', and 'Vzirets') and one of the early ('Zhytnytsia') tested potato cultivars were included in one cluster group. It was revealed that the 416 bp allele was identified by the STM5148 marker mainly in the very early potato cultivars, and the 424 bp allele was detected only in the very early and early ones. The study of SSRs and their associations with maturity can be considered as a reliable and rapid method for potato genotyping to find favourable combinations of alleles. Thus, to increase the nutritional value and productive potential of potatoes by developing and improving the main elements of cultivation technology, the biological characteristics of the potato cultivars in the agricultural and climatic conditions of Ukraine should be taken into account.

Various forms of organic fertilisers are often used in agriculture. It is useful to have information on how microbial communities in arable land are affected by fertilisation with different types of fertilisers. One of the indicators of the stability and fertility of the soil ecosystem is the population structure and abundance of soil microorganisms. The aim of the study was to determine how fertilisation and biological additives affected the most active soil microorganisms of the studied functional groups in 2021 and 2022. It was found that organotrophic (113 ± 3 × 10 3 CFU g −1 ) and diazotrophic (161 ± 5 × 10 3 CFU g −1 ) bacteria were most abundant in the spring 2021. However, in 2022, the amount of organotrophs decreased, and their abundance was approximately the same throughout the growing season, probably due to a decrease in the amount of free organic matter in the soil. In 2022, the most abundant organotrophs (91 ± 2 × 10 3 CFU g −1 ) and diazotrophs (100 ± 1 × 10 3 CFU g −1 ) were also in the spring. Organic fertilisers and their different rates had a significant or very significant effect on the abundance of organotrophic, mineral nitrogen-assimilating, and non-symbiotic diazotrophic bacteria, except for diazotrophs in treatments with the biological additive Trichoderma spp. In 2021, nitrifiers (162 ± 5 × 10 3 CFU g −1 ) and fungi (2.29 ± 0.13 × 10 3 CFU g −1 ) were most abundant in the autumn. In 2022, nitrifiers were most abundant in the spring (128 ± 2 × 10 3 CFU g −1 ) but less abundant than in the autumn 2021. During the experimental period, the abundance of fungi and yeasts was highest in the autumn, and this trend was not affected by fertilisation. In the treatments with the biological additive Trichoderma spp., organic fertilisers significantly or very significantly affected the abundance of fungi and yeasts. However, no significant differences were found in the treatments with the biological additive Azotobacter spp.