Nitrogen transformation in soil with alternative farming system

Tatiana ŠTEVLÍKOVÁ, Beáta DOBOŠOVÁ, Jana VJATRÁKOVÁ, Soňa JAVOREKOVÁ   (Slovak Agricultural University, Nitra)
Paper is in Slovak
(4 tables, 21 ref)

    In the period 1994 to 1997 a field trial was conducted to study microbial transformation of nitrogen in soil with tetraculture cycle. Postharvest remains (variant PH) and ploughed in whole by-products (variant PZ) were used for fertilization instead of farm manure. The organic matter supplied in this form had no significant effect on the quantity of oxidizable carbon (C_ox). Its dynamics was mainly affected by the experimental year and the crop plant. An input of fresh organic matter supported mobilization/immobilization processes of nitrogen transformation, whith the predominance of immobilization. This resulted in an increase of total nitrogen (from 0.14-0.15 to 0.19-0.20%), low valies of mineral nitrogen (N_an) in sampling time except the period after application of comercial fertilizer, as well as a lower amount of mineralizable nitrogen (N_biol). The 4-year average values of N_biol in mg per kg soil dry weight were 10.36 (variant PH) and 10.55 (variant PZ). The measured parameters were influenced significantly by experimental years. In spite of C:N ratio modification the long-term replacement of manure with postharvest remains and by-product could cause change in soil nutrient cycles

Key words: mineral nitrogen, nitrogen, mineralizable nitrogen, immobilization, postharvest remains, by-product


Adress: doc. Ing. Tatiana Števlíková, Katedra mikrobiológie, Agronomická fakulta, Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita v Nitre, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic, tel. +421-87-6508 432

The effect of mineral fertilizer application on some parameters of growth-production process in temporary grassland

Iveta ILAVSKÁ, Daniel RATAJ, Norbert GÁBORČÍK, Ľubomír GONDA   (Výskumný ústav trávnych porastov a horského poľnohospodárstva, Banská Bystrica)
Paper is in Slovak
(6 tables, 1 ill., 13 ref.)

     The effects of N (+PK) fertilizer application on leaf area index (LAI), net assimilation rate (NAR) and dry matter (DM) production of temporary grassland were studied over 4 years. The research was carried out in an extreme climatic region of the Nizke Tatry (The Low Tatras) mountains. A comparison was made between the fertilizer treatments (N₉₀P₃₀K₆₀) and (N₁₈₀P₃₀K₆₀) and the control without fertilizer application (N₀P₀K₀). During the growing season, the most notable changes were observed for NAR. The maximum NAR values were recorded in the period of cut 1 and this parameter showed a tendency to decrease in the period between cuts 1 and 3. The maximum LAI was found in cut 2 and the minimum one in cut 3 but the differences between the growing periods were not so significant as those in NAR. The fluctuating values of LAI and NAR were reflected in the final DM production, which was also decreasing from cut 1 to cut 3. The fertilizer N (+PK) application was more closely related to LAI (r=0.763++) than to NAR (r=0.447++). The data averaged over the research years showed the 52.9 and 64.3% increase in LAI as well as the 20.7 and 45.6% rise in NAR values for N₉₀ and N₁₈₀ treatments, respectively in comparison with the control (N₀). An analysis of the relationships between LAI, NAR and DM production indicated that LAI was more influential in the primary production (r=0.843++) than NAP (r=0.411++). Averaged over the experimental period, fertilizer application increased the production of DM relatively by 58.3% for N₉₀ treatment and by 69.4% for N₁₈₀ treatment

Key words: leaf area index (LAI), net assimilation rate (NAR), dry matter (DM) production, grassland


Adress: Ing. Iveta Ilavská, Výskumný ústav trávnych porastov a horského poľnohospodárstva, VS Poprad, ul. SNP 2, 058 01 Poprad, Slovak Republic

Influence of nitrogen fertilization on morphological characters, yieldforming components and seed yield of oilseed flax

Eva CANDRÁKOVÁ, Ján BAKUĽA   (Slovak Agricultural University, Nitra)
Paper is in Slovak
(4 tables, 12 ref)

    Over 1998-1999 small-plot field trials with oilseed flax were carried out in order to obtain a knowledge of cropping oilseed flax under the conditions in Slovakia and find out the yield potential and the structure of yield forming components of this crop. The variety Flanders was used for investigation. A seed rate was 8 mil. of germinable seeds per hectare. Four treatments of fertilization were compared during the vegetation season: unfertilized control and three treatments of nitrogen fertilization. A rate of nitrogen was 20 kg per hectare. Nitrogen was applied in the form of amonnium nitrate at the beginning of slow growth phase and in the form of DAM 390 and Fostim at the beginning of fast growth phase. Oilseed flax stand had a high autoregulation ability to form yield components. The highest autoregulation ability was observed for a number of branches per plant (6.05 in 1998, 9.19 in 1999) and a number of capsules per plant (11.63 in 1998, 23.46 in 1999). The number of seeds per capsule was characterised by low variability (9.14 in 1998, 9.11 in 1999). Oilseed flax has achieved biological yields in a range from 7.19 to 9.81 tons per hectare and seed yields from 3.28 to 5.07 tons per hectare. Fertilization had no significant effect on the characters observed, which was caused because of a high stock of acceptable nutrients in soil at the site where the experiments were performed

Key words: oilseed flax, seed, cropping technology, yield, fertilization


Adress: Ing. Eva Candráková, PhD., Ing Ján Bakuľa, PhD., Katedra rastlinnej výroby, Agronomická fakulta, Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita v Nitre, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic, e-mail:Eva.Candrakova@uniag.sk

Utilization of molasse by-products as silage additives

Daniel BÍRO, Marko HALO, Klára VAVRIŠINOVÁ, Peter STRAPÁK, Ondrej DEBRECÉNI   (Slovak Agricultural University, Nitra)
Paper is in Slovak
(9 tables, 10 ref.)

    Trials were conducted to verify the influence of Leoprotein 45 on the silage fermentation process and the nutritive value of maize silage. Leoprotein 45 is a concentrate of fermentation by-products of molasse (vinasse) arising from manufacturing alcohol and citric acid. Dry matter of concentrate contained 307.8 g/kg of crude proteins of which 76% were non-protein nitrogen. There was a high content of ash, 271.3 g/kg, in which dominated potassium, 110.9 g/kg. The nutrition value can be characterized by PDIN 181.3 g/kg, PDIE 77.6 g/kg, NEL 5.53 MJ/kg and NEV 5.24 MJ/kg dry matter. The use of 3, 5 and 10% of Leoprotein 45 respectively in maize silage significantly increased crude protein content by 7.0 to 28.3 g/kg (11-43%). The high content of ash in Leoprotein 45 had no adverse effect on fermentation processes in silage. An increased butter capacity of the additive is compensated, to a certain degree, by the content of organic acids, of which Leoprotein 45 has most lactic acid, 115.7 g/kg. Fermentation loses of dry matter were increased by increasing Leoprotein 45 doses from 17.2 g up to 32.8 g/kg. The highest dose of this additive caused a significant decrease of 35.2 g/kg in fibre content of silages. With the doses of 5 and 10% Leoprotein 45, respectively a lower content of lactic acid and a higher content of acetic acid were observed. Also, pH value increased from 3.91 to 4.16 due to increasing the doses of additive. There was a significant rise of 4.2 g to 17.1 g/kg in the PDIN nitrogen value. The energetic value for maize silages was not influenced by the additive and varied from 6.2 MJ to 6.35 MJ. Leoprotein 45 in the doses of 5 and 10%, respectively can be used as a silage additive for increasing crude protein in glycide silages. Maize silages have a higher content of lactic and acetic acids. Higher proportion of acetic acid of 27.2-28.2% support the aerobic stability of silages

Key words: fermentation by-products of molasse, vinasse, silage, nutritive value


Adress: prof. Ing. Daniel Bíro, PhD., Katedra výživy, Agronomická fakulta, Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita v Nitre, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic, tel. +421-87-6508 328, e-mail:biro@sai.uniag.sk

Estimation of milk of dairy cows with mastitis before and after treatment

Peter POPELKA, Jozef NAGY, Rudolf CABADAJ, Jaroslav HAJURKA, Pavel POPELKA, Slavomír MARCINČÁK   (Univerzita veterinárskeho lekárstva, Košice)
Paper is in Slovak
(4 tables, 2 ill., 16 ref.)

     The purpose of our experiment was to verify the therapy efficiency of chronic mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus in dairy cows. Intramammary preparations were administrated alone and in combination with single intramuscular injection. On the basis of pharmacokinetics considerations and experimental works, a combination of local intramammary and general intramuscular therapy is recommended. At the same time laboratory diagnosis was carried out, based on the results of somatic cells count (SCC) and microbiological parameters of milk samples before and after treatment. SCC and total number of microorganisms were compared with the limits as laid down in STN 57 0529 standard [Slovak Technical Standard - the national standardization system] and considered as indicators of milk quality and incidence of mastitis. No significant difference was detected between the two regimens for treatment of chronic mastitis. The results of clinical, bacteriological and SCC examinations indicated that there is no anticipation of successful treatment. Losing money due to a decrease in milk production as well as the costs of non-effective, but expensive treatment and feeding animals make farmers' situation more difficult. After an evaluation of NK mastitis test, clinical findings, the results of SCC, and microbiological examinations, it was recommended to eliminate from a herd the dairy cows positive for a presence of chronic Staphylococcus aureus mastitis

Key words: dairy cows, mastitis, Staphylococcus aureus, somatic cells


Adress: MVDr. Peter Popelka, Univerzita veterinárskeho lekárstva Košice, Komenského 73, 041 81 Košice, Slovak Republic, e-mail:popelkap@lycos.com

The use of KNOP pens for suckling sows

Ivan PAŠKA, Juraj MLYNEK, Mária BULLOVÁ, Stanislav ELIÁŠ   (Slovak Agricultural University, Nitra)
Paper is in Slovak
(3 tables, 2 ill., 15 ref.)

     The present study aimed to investigate the effects of some welfare elements and a regardful biological programme adopted in KNOP pens (pens for stressless pig breeding) for housing sows in farrow and suckling sows. Three pig reproduction breedings in three farms were entered into the test. The basic herds of sows were Slovak Large White sows and the boars of pietrain and hampshire (Pn x Ha) combination were used for production of pigs for slaughter. 265 litters were evaluated and at the Central Test Station [Slovak Agric. Univ.], 150 slaughter pigs up to 100 kg of live weight (60+42) and 48 pigs up to 130 kg of live weight were tested according to STN 46 6164 [Slovak Technical Standard - national standard system]. The results were statistically processed and some differences were verified using Student's T-test. The number of live-born piglets within the breedings tested ranged from 10.39 to 10.90 piglets and that of reared piglets on day 87 was between 8.60 and 9.61 heads. At a birth rate of 2.02-2.19 litters, a number of piglets produced by a sow per year was 18.83, 19.41 and 18.46 heads, respectively. Mean live weight of piglets at this age was 26.96, 27.73 and 25.8 kg, respectively. In the process of fattening from 30-100 kg animals for slaughter achieved the mean daily live-weight gain of 0.705 and 0.7.9 kg, respectively and the food consumption per 1 kg gain was 3.56 and 3.48 kg, respectively. The lean content in carcass side was found to be higher in crossbreds - 58.7% than in purebred animals - 55.1%. The differences in meet quality index were minimal, only BU breed pigs slaughtered at 130 kg had more cholesterol in 100 g meat - 70.9 mg than pigs slaughtered at 100 kg - 55.3 mg (BU) and 40.2 mg [BU x (Pn x Ha)], respectively

Key words: pigs, welfare, reproduction, fattening, slaughter value


Adress: prof. Ing. Ivan Paška, CSc., doc. Ing. Juraj Mlynek, CSc., Agronomická fakulta, Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita v Nitre, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic

The influence of magnesite emissions on changes in [soil] pH

Peter ONDRIŠÍK, Ján NOSKOVIČ, Alena RAKOVSKÁ   (Slovak Agricultural University, Nitra)
Paper is in Slovak
(3 tables, 16 ref.)

    The influence of captured magnesite emissions on changes in soil reaction of very acid soil was tested in laboratory conditions. Dried up, homogenized soil of Dystric Cambisol humus horizon (8 kg), passed through a 5.00 mm sieve, was placed into experimental containers. The soil was mixed with NPK-fertilizers and magnesite according to treatments. Soil moisture was maintained at 65% of field moisture capacity. The covering plant was darnel (Lolium multiflorum). Seven treatments of the trial were used for investigation: K (non-fertilized control), NPK fertilization, 2 CaO (0.66 g CaO per kg of soil + NPK fertilization), 2 KM (0.66 g KM/kg + NPK), 4 KM (1.32 g KM/kg + NPK), 2 GM (0.66 g GM/kg + NPK) and 4 GM (1.32 g GM/kg + NPK). KM is for caustic magnesite and GM for granulated magnesite. At the rate of 0.66 and 1.32 g/kg it is 2t and 4t per hectare, respectively. Nitrogen was applied as sulphate of ammonia, potassium as potash manure salt (48.14% K) and phosphorus as triple superphosphate. NPK-fertilizers (at a dose of 300 mg/kg) were applied in a 1 : 0.3 : 0.5 ratio. The rates of chalk oxide and magnesites were determined according to the doses recommended for agricultural practice and magnesium oxide content in magnesites. The significant influence of magnesite on an adjustment of pH towards to neutral value has been confirmed. The application of magnesite had a more expressive effect than that of CaO. The best results were obtained after application of pulverized magnesite at a rate of 4t per hectare, which changed pH from 3.9 to 6.75 at the end of experiment. The effect of CaO was lesser in comparison with pulverized magnesite but it was the same than the influence of granulated magnesite

Key words: soil reaction, magnesite, acid soil


Adress: doc. Ing. Peter Ondrišík, PhD., Katedra ochrany životného prostredia a zoológie, Agronomická fakulta, Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita v Nitre, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic, tel. +421-87-6508 427, e-mail:ondrisik@afnet.uniag.sk