Viliam Bárek

Seed priming is an effective approach to control diseases in tomato. In this context, the current study was undertaken to confirm the effectiveness of seed priming. Treatments included (1) dry seeds; (2) seed priming with 1 mL of moringa leaf extract diluted with 30 mL of distilled water for 18 hr; (3) seed priming with 1% NaCl for 36 hr; (4) seed priming with 10% polyethylene glycol (PEG) for 12 hr; (5) 100 ppm GA ₃ ; (6) 5% KNO ₃ under dark conditions and (7) 1000 ppm thiourea for 24 hr; (8) distilled water for 12 hr and (9) 2% KH ₂ PO ₄ ; and 0.5 mmol · L ⁻¹ NAA at 4°C for 6 hr. The treated seeds were immediately broadcasted in separate nursery beds; after that 21-day old seedlings were transplanted in main plots. Foliar application of GA ₃ at 100 ppm was sprayed 25 days after the seedlings were transplanted. Two-year results revealed that tomato seeds primed with 2% KH ₂ PO ₄ in combination with GA ₃ , significantly reduced bacterial wilt, leaf spot, early blight, late blight and leaf curl diseases. Additionally, the combination of 10% PEG with GA ₃ has emerged as the most effective for controlling collar rot disease. While PEG decreased the incidence of collar rot, KH ₂ PO ₄ strongly reduced bacterial wilt. Target leaf spot, early blight and late blight were less severe when KH ₂ PO ₄ , KNO ₃ and moringa leaf extracts were used, indicating that seed priming was more crucial for prevention of disease severity. Application of GA ₃ also enhanced the effect of nearly all priming agents.

Abiotic stressors are the main barriers to successful crop production in this era. The balance of redox and metabolic activities in plants is negatively impacted by abiotic stresses, which ultimately limit the plants’ capacity to grow an...

The planting date, plant population, and variety are crucial factors that interact with the physical environment and hence, meticulously influence crop output and performance. To determine the impacts of planting time, spacing, and varietal effects on field pea crop phenology, growth and yield at the Indo‐Gangetic plains, the present experiment was designed for three rabi seasons. The treatments included four sowing dates from the first week of November to mid‐December, with 10‐day intervals, as the main plots; two varieties, that is, VL‐42 and Rachana,and two spacing treatments (S1: 30 cm × 10 cm and S2: 45 cm × 10 cm), were included as subsubplots. A gradual delay in field pea sowing from early November to mid‐December resulted in a 27% reduction in grain yield and VL‐42 (1256.2 kg ha ⁻¹ ) prominently outperformed Rachana by 26% in terms of grain yield (920.5 kg ha ⁻¹ ). Narrow‐spaced field pea crops presented significantly greater grain yields (1136.5 kg ha ⁻¹ ) than did wider crops (1040.2 kg ha ⁻¹ ). Microclimatic interactions of the treatments led to differences in the performance of the treatments. The field pea variety, VL‐42 accumulated relatively higher growing degree day (GDD) of 1883.4°C days and heliothermal unit (HTU) of 11,949.2°C day‐h compared to Rachana variety’s 1694.2°C days and 10,475.8°C day‐h, respectively. Variation in crop phenophase duration was also observed, as a delay in sowing leads to exposure to a relatively high thermal regime, significantly shortening the length of the growing period by nearly 10 days. Agroecological indices (i.e., GDD and HTU) are also affected by phenology resulting higher values in within mid‐November sown field pea crop compared to crops sown in mid December. Closely spaced (30 cm × 10 cm) field pea plants performed better in terms of grain yield, typically because of the greater plant population. Micrometeorological studies have indicated that in mid‐November, field pea plants that are exposed to approximately 20 to 25°C mean air temperatures during their growth stages perform best in this region. VL‐42 was found to be more climate resilient than Rachana and hence, can be adapted in the lower Gangetic plains of India for better yield potential.

Drought is characterised as a recurring climatic phenomenon with prolonged duration, affecting land through below-average rainfall and often accompanied by high temperatures. When the available water falls below the optimum level, water deficit or water stress arises, disrupting normal plant processes. This condition poses challenges for plant growth and development as it hampers the internal water transport, induces stomatal closure, and limits access to photosynthetic resources. The study employed the annual sunflower as the experimental plant. The plants were cultivated in a controlled environment with a temperature ranging from 20 to 25°C and a humidity level of 55 to 60%, supplemented by MARS HYDRO artificial LED lighting set to a 12-h photoperiod. Radial changes in the plant stems were monitored using a DD-S type dendrometric sensor to measure radial fluctuations. The collected data were recorded in a dendrometric data logger DL 18. Data collection occurred at hourly intervals from February 20 to March 9, 2023. The nine plants were divided into three groups, each comprising three plants. All plants from groups 1 and 2 received irrigation at one- day intervals (group 1 – 80 cm 3 per plant, group 2 – 40 cm 3 per plant) and group 3 was not irrigated. Based on these findings, visible water stress was evident in the plants under experimental conditions. Consequently, continuous monitoring throughout the growing season will be essential to adjust the irrigation rate to meet the requirements of the plants.

Environmental stresses such as drought, high salinity, and low temperature can adversely modulate the field crop’s ability by altering the morphological, physiological, and biochemical processes of the plants. It is estimated that about 50% + of the productivity of several crops is limited due to various types of abiotic stresses either presence alone or in combination (s). However, there are two ways plants can survive against these abiotic stresses; a) through management practices and b) through adaptive mechanisms to tolerate plants. These adaptive mechanisms of tolerant plants are mostly linked to their signalling transduction pathway, triggering the action of plant transcription factors and controlling the expression of various stress-regulated genes. In recent times, several studies found that Zn-finger motifs have a significant function during abiotic stress response in plants. In the first report, a wide range of Zn-binding motifs has been recognized and termed Zn-fingers. Since the zinc finger motifs regulate the function of stress-responsive genes. The Zn-finger was first reported as a repeated Zn-binding motif, comprising conserved cysteine (Cys) and histidine (His) ligands, in Xenopus laevis oocytes as a transcription factor (TF) IIIA (or TFIIIA). In the proteins where Zn²⁺ is mainly attached to amino acid residues and thus espousing a tetrahedral coordination geometry. The physical nature of Zn-proteins, defining the attraction of Zn-proteins for Zn²⁺, is crucial for having an in-depth knowledge of how a Zn²⁺ facilitates their characteristic function and how proteins control its mobility (intra and intercellular) as well as cellular availability. The current review summarized the concept, importance and mechanisms of Zn-finger motifs during abiotic stress response in plants.

The aim of this paper was to design a device for monitoring the work of irrigation technology (in our case, irrigation by sprinkler). Two devices for monitoring selected irrigation operating parameters for two hose reel irrigation machines were designed. During the monitored period of connection of the equipment to the sprinkler, 15 irrigation doses were carried out for both sprinklers. Irrigation operating characteristics working pressure, hose reel speed and selected weather conditions temperature and humidity were monitored. When evaluating the results, we proved the need to monitor the operation of the sprinkler not only by the coefficient of variation C_v, but also by introducing the coefficient of non-uniformity a. The results obtained indicate variability with respect to a particular irrigation dose and the applicable assessment method. The results were reviewed by one-way ANOVA analysis where observed coefficients and irrigation dose were considered as dependence factors. The results indicate a statistically significant impact of the applied quality coefficient of work and thus the impact of a particular device (p < 0.05, F_crit = 2.77). When evaluating the effect of the included irrigation dose, we also showed a statistically significant effect in both facilities (p < 0.05, F = 1.92). By checking the operation of the hose reel irrigation machine, we managed to successfully apply the proposed classifications, which also perform the function of fault prediction. The proposed facilities show that proper plant operation and timely response can help create more efficient and sustainable irrigation services, not only saving water but also reducing costs for the owner.