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Worldwide attention in agricultural and in nutritional science is diverted to the controversy concerning ‘Quality’ versus ‘Quantity’ in connection with the alternatives of ‘Organic Manuring’ or ‘Chemical Fertilizing’ in relation to nutritional values in crops and their significance to human health. Some contribution towards classification of these problems is presented by the statistically significant results of our 12 years' experiment on two soils, fen and sand, including different organic manures and chemical fertilizers, namely 1) ‘Stable Manure’, 2) ‘Biodynamic Compost’, 3) ‘Stable Manure + NPK’, and 4) ‘NPK’. The difficulties in getting enough organic manures have no bearing on the subject of these investigations. The same is true for any considerations of economics. It could be shown by the aid of tables and annotated graphs that organic farming with 1) and 2) gave rise to considerable decreases in yield of 20 to 46% on fen, and of 28 to 56% on sand, in 8 crops grown in rotation or in succession within a year (2 crops/year). The losses in yield have been calculated in relation to means of yields given by 4)=100. These losses in yield the organic farmer must bear at his own expense, unless the nutritive value of his organically grown crops would rise to such an extent that low yield would be financially compensated by a higher price for his crops. That the consumer would benefit by a higher biological value of such products of 1) and 2) is beyond question, as confirmed by the following data based on 12 years' chemical investigations. Crops (both on fen and sand) manured with 1) and 2) have in comparison with 4)=100 contents on average higher. On the other hand detrimental and/or undesired constituents in crops show — due to organic manuring with 1) and 2) — average contents diminished in Finally let me comment upon the analytical results on behalf of the consumer in a somewhat practical way. Vegetables including potatoes are generally heated, by cooking in the household and restaurants or by blanching in processing plants. Their water-soluble constituents, minerals and trace elements, are not at all affected by a careful heating as usual, but on the other hand soluble vitamins of the B-complex and Vitamin C are affected but only to a certain extent. However, all these water-soluble plants constituents are strongly diminished in the food as eaten, if the cooking or the blanching water gets lost by pouring off. No doubt, using ‘hot pot’ diets (‘right across the kitchen garden’) losses from vegetables and potatoes in minerals and trace elements are entirely eliminated and those in water-soluble vitamins are only limited to destruction by heating. Therefore it may be concluded, that solely those diets including the cooking water or steam blanched products will justify the greater expense of a product richer in nutrients. Otherwise it would be rather illusive to claim for low yielding organically grown crops of high nutritional value, when the latter is carelessly wasted by foulty preparation ((3, pages 174–182; 187), 16, 17, 18, 20).

Research results, which were conducted in the forest-steppe of the Central Black Earth Region in the years 2000-2016, are presented. They were carried out in order to find new approaches to the selection of parental components in hybridization to make varieties of winter soft wheat with a high level of productivity, resistant to abiotic environmental factors. Agrotechnology - generally accepted in the region, research material- is the crop structure data of variety samples and hybrids from breeding nurseries. The experiments were conducted according to generally accepted methods, statistical analysis of data was carried out using the Statistica 6.1. The contingency was estimated by the Spearman coefficient, the contribution of factor signs to the resultant one was estimated by the method of multiple regression using the coefficient Beta (β). It is established that hybrids of winter wheat are characterized by higher polymorphism, the appearance of favorable transgressions. Their parental forms are selected by morphological and biological features according to the principle of different quality. When selecting high-yielding varieties which are resistant to lodging, it is advisable to make crossing, contrasting in height, forms with different spike lengths. Using the proposed methods, hybrids which are responsive to environmental conditions were made. They were used in the selection of the intensive winter wheat cultivar Alaya Zarya (since 2011 it's included in the State Register of Selective Breeding Results of the Russian Federation in the fifth region). In a number of hybrids, the contribution to the productivity of their elements practically does not depend on the conditions of the growing season, they are the basis for making the Alexia variety for organic farming (it is in State Commission of the Russian Federation on Testing and Protection of Selective Breeding Results).

The working hypothesis of the research is the possibility of priority development of currently unused, wasteland areas or fallow, including previously reclaimed agricultural land for the production of organic farming products. An algorithm has been developed for the use of wasteland areas for the production of organic products, which includes several groups of assessments: general, geo-oriented, ecological, sanitary and phytosanitary. The result of solving the algorithm is a reasoned judgment about the compliance of the land plot with the requirements of organic farming or rejection of this assumption. In the case of a positive decision is made about the use of lands for the organic products production, it implies conducting research in four more stages, each of which retains the possibility of deviation the project. In the first three stages the internal regulator of the project is involved in making a decision, while in the fourth, the decision is make by an external regulator in relation to the project initiators. Using the proposed algorithm it is possible to systematically approach the creation of organic agriculture projects on unused wasteland or fallow areas, to streamline the assessment system with the least resource consumption.

This paper is a review of the potential impacts of agriculture on Nepal birds. It includes an overview of agriculture in Nepal and the changes that have taken place between the early 1950s and 2007. Agricultural development has been sluggish, and has failed to keep pace with population growth. In recent years the yields of major food crops in Nepal have been lower than other South Asian countries and Nepal is now dependent on food imports. Land holding size per family and field sizes have both decreased markedly during the period. If hill regions are considered independently, all cereal crops yields have stagnated in the last 30 years and gains in production that have been made, have been due to increases in area of cultivation, at the expense of natural habitats: forests, wetlands and grasslands. Crop productivity in the hills has declined due to land degradation. Of the 28% of Nepal land that is degraded, 10% is poorly managed sloping agriculture terraces. As yields and production of cereal crops have fallen, many farmers have shifted to growing cash crops, to meet the demands of the increasing urban population and encouraged by government agricultural policies. Cultivation area, production and yields of some cash crops have significantly increased since 1964/65. Nepal’s livestock population is one of the highest in Asia and nearly every rural household keeps domestic animals resulting in widespread and serious problems of livestock overgrazing. The importance of agricultural habitats for Nepal birds is reviewed: 21% of bird species recorded in Nepal utilizes agricultural habitats for foraging at some season. The many ecological benefits of birds to agriculture and the damage caused by birds to agriculture are described: the former far outweigh the latter. Changes in agricultural practices (including changes in crops and crop production, impacts of livestock overgrazing) are having major and far-reaching impacts on natural habitats - grasslands wetlands and forests and their bird species; these changes and impacts are detailed and analysed. The increasing use of pesticides in Nepal, which is especially high on vegetable cash crops, the serious impacts of pesticides on birds and the environment and alternatives to pesticides are reviewed. Fertilizer use in Nepal and the damaging impacts of fertilizer over-use on birds and the environment are also reviewed. Recommendations to improve farming methods for the benefit of the environment are given. These include government measures to promote organic agriculture; government measures to expand the System of Rice Intensification and to encourage further use of Effective Microorganisms, both of which have significant benefits for environment, birds and farmers; field surveys to monitor bird populations and bird distribution on agricultural lands, and outreach and awareness-raising for farmers to apply best practice for sustainable environmentally friendly farming.DOI: 10.3126/on.v8i1.4339

The practice of producing organic fertilizer through the biological decomposition of organic wastes has been carried on for centuries as an art generally known as composting. The widest application of the practice has occurred in the Orient and in Europe where dense populations have for generations placed a great burden on soil fertility. Until recently, interest in composting in the United States has been limited to the amateur gardener and the organic farming enthusiast. At present, two important factors are contributing to a broadening interest in composting in this country. One is the possibility of composting as an answer to the increasingly complex and serious problem of municipal refuse disposal. The other is the growing concern over the depletion of our agricultural soils by our present intensive farming practices which fail to return organic humus to the earth. The especial importance of both of these factors to the state of California prompted the Sanitary Engineering Research Laboratory of the University of California to begin a study of the application of composting to the reclamation of municipal refuse. It soon became apparent that in spite of the antiquity of composting there existed very little scientific knowledge of the process. Because there is a widespread conviction that an "inoculum" of some sort is needed for successful and rapid composting, one of the problems studied in the investigation was the effect of such an additive on the process. Since composting is a biological process, its course should be determined by the magnitude and nature of the microbial population present. It is easy, therefore, to assume that by artificially increasing the numbers of organisms, the process should be accelerated. Refuse is a mixture of relatively undecomposed heterogenous material. During the composting of such material there appears a succession of environments, especially with regard to temperature and substrate, with a corresponding series of microbial populations. Since the environmental conditions at any one time are suitable to a limited variety of bacteria, it would seem doubtful that organisms added as an inoculum could be any more effective than similar organisms indigenous to mixed refuse. To determine the validity of this reasoning a series of experiments were conducted concurrently with a broader investigation of composting to learn what benefit, if any, would accrue to the process from the use of an inoculum. Materials which have often been considered as inocul-ums essential to the composting process include: animal manures, garden soil, decomposing material, and a variety of proprietary bacterial cultures. In the experiments, inoculums consisting of soil, of horse manure, and of partially composted material, as well as a commercial preparation of bacterial cultures were tested.

In the various crisis conditions of agricultural development, the role of promising sectors of the agrarian sector is growing. The development of organic agriculture is relevant and in demand throughout the world. Demand for organic products is increasing. For Russia, organic agriculture is a young sector that requires the adoption of a law in this area and the creation of effective mechanisms for its management and support. Russia can become one of the main suppliers at the world level of organic food products. On the example, the Republic of Кomi, perspective of the development of organic agriculture in the region of the main agricultural food products. For conducting organic farming, a rating assessment of soil quality was carried out in the agro-climatic regions of the region. The Komi Republic agro-industrial complex is confronted with the task of increasing the self-sufficiency of basic foodstuffs, which should be carried out in four directions: the first is ensuring domestic production of products on the average annual level, which were reached by Republic in 1986-1990, on average; the second is the achievement of the highest level of production for each type of product that the republic had from 1990 to 2015; the third is a 25% increasing in self-sufficiency of the population with meat and milk with adaptive chemicalization of the republic agriculture that does not harm the ecological environment; the fourth is the development of organic farming, bringing the level of self-sufficiency of the population of the republic: with meat – more than 60 kg / person, milk – 280 kg / person, which will satisfy the recommended consumption rates of the Russian Federation by 86.2%, and WHO, respectively, by 76.9 and 69.1%. At the same time, the specialized production profile should be differentiated according to the soil rating for organic farming in the agro-climatic regions of the Komi Republic and within them presented in the article.

Today's food industry is under great consumer attack. Consumer demands have served to increase the number of food products to 7,800; about 3,300–3,500 new products are introduced annually. Nearly all new products can be classified as convenience foods. With such a rapidly changing market, consumer confidence in the food industry has been lost and, because of confusion created, the consumer has become increasingly fearful of chemically contaminated foods. This fear is substantiated by increased public interest in so-called organic foods or organically-grown foods, proliferation of health food stores, and introduction of health food sections into supermarket chains. It is estimated that there are some 7 million organic food consumers, and that sales of natural foods (organic) will reach $500 million in 1972. Today only a limited number of organic farms and wholesalers of organic foods exist. The opportunity for fraud is great. A sign over an organic food section, or a label claiming “organic,” does not guarantee that the food was produced by organic methods. Since there is nothing unique about organic foods that differentiates them from products grown by conventional means, governmental agencies are reluctant to issue standards controlling movement of these products.

A field study was conducted to investigate the effect of farm yard manure and planting densities (P x P 10, 15, 20 and 25 cm and R x R 60 cm) under natural farming condition at National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad during 2016. The land was incorporated with well rotten farm yard manure (FYM) @ 25 t ha-1 in respective plots (4 x 8 meter) one week before bed preparation and mixed thoroughly in the soil. Seeds of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L., var. Pusa Green) were sown according to the plan following split plot design with four replications. The crop was allowed to stand till maturity and data on growth traits were recorded. Among plant densities, 10 and 15 cm P x P and FYM incorporation @ 25 t ha-1 produced comparable fresh pod yield (11.22 and 10.97 t ha-1, respectively) which was 25 and 24 % higher than that of without FYM application. Dense populated crop i.e., 10 and 15 cm P x P performed better than rest of planting densities through improved fresh pod yield with comparatively improved quality. Dense populated treatment (P x P 10 cm) and FYM application @ 25 t ha-1 produced better quality fruits with less crude fiber content (9.89 %) and higher moisture content (79.14%) as compared to without FYM application (10.93 and 77.49 %) respectively that indicates more accumulation of dry matter content in fruits.

The development of ecological agriculture in Romania is based on the EU regulations and on Romanian ecological laws, provisions also existing in the National Program for Acquis Communautaire, as well as projects for the adopting of ecological production methods and the preservation of rural landscape. Romania is making an effort to harmonise agricultural and agro-environmental policies with the rest of the European Union: the National Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development was presented by Romania in October 2000.Considering the demand of organic products from the foreign markets and the prices paid for these products, organic farming can represent an important source of money for Romanian farmers The institutional framework must stimulate and sustain the Romanian agricultural producers in developing this type of agriculture.

The purpose of this document is not to list organic farming inputs but to explain how these materials are evaluated and where to find current online lists of inputs and regulations. This document is HS966, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: January 2004. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs207

Organic agriculture is considered to be a durable system, in which the manure utilization assures a high quality of the production obtained and also of the soil’s properties. Through application of high quantities of the organic fertilizers, in dozes of 50t/ha and 100 t/ha of manure, comparatively with variants fertilized with NPK and unfertilized variants, results showed an improvement of the soil’s properties to all cultures as fallowed: pea-beans, wheat, potato and maize. The results obtained on argic phaeozem revealed that 50 t/ha manure applied on soil lead to increased the hydro stability of the soils aggregates between 5 and 8%, increased values of wilting point coefficient and also the pH values between 0,5 and 1 to all cultures. A higher quantity of manure, 100 t/ha has not showed high differences compare to witness regarding the aggregate stability and led to increase of the CO values, which means a negative effect during the drought season when plant cannot take the water from showers, which will be held from soil. Regarding the organic matter content, the values were different depending on culture and their efficiency to use manure. Thus, the differences between witness and 100 t/ha manure variant were the highest, at pea (2.12) and wheat culture (1.76).

Being much appreciated all over the world for their high nutritional values, escargots or terrestrial snails are farmed in many countries. Within the last few years, snail farming started to become a very popular activity in Romania too. It represents an ecological type of agricultural activity that can also be certified as biological, organic farming if the soil’s conditions and the technology are as such. Extensive amount of research offers details on the physiology of the edible snail species as well as regarding their biochemical content and their nutritional value. No much research reflects snail’s ability to bioaccumulate selenium. In the same time, a lot of research demonstrated the snail’s ability to accumulate contaminants such as heavy metals. Using fluorimetric analysis, we investigated selenium accumulation in meat and shell of edible terrestrial snails Helix pomatia and Eobania vermiculata Muller gathered from different regions of Moldova Republic, Ukraine and Russia. The meat selenium concentration in terrestrial snails reflects the ability of those invertebrates to accumulate high selenium contents. Based on the intake recommendations, snails can be a very good source of selenium for human consumption. Depending upon the soil mineral content and level of contamination, the snails will accumulate large quantities of heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, therefore making the snails a very high-risk food product. Therefore, it is very important a careful selection of the agricultural land designated for snail farming. Additives containing selenium may be a way to supplement snail’s diet.

The garden thyme is well known and used since antiquity. The air part of the plant (Saturejae herba) is used. It has carminative, expectorant and astringent action. The research performed in this specie was performed based on the project PN II – parteneriates no. 51-032 with the title ”Implementation of the system of standardizing the vegetal raw material for increasing competitiveness in medicinal plants species valuable in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry”, where UASMV Cluj-Napoca is partner. The plantation of the nursery transplant, in organic culture, was performed with 50 cm row distance and 20 cm between plants by row, in 18.05.2008. During 2008, 3 manual hoeing and 6 sprinkler with 0.2% Bionat (product accepted for organic cultures) foliar fertilizer. Based on bio-morphological determinations we concluded that average plant weight increased from the first up to the forth harvesting phase (from 27.5 g to 130.7 g). The herbal production increase from first up to latest harvesting phase, from 2,743 kg/ha to 10,561 kg/ha, respectively. The vegetation period during 2008 was of 103 days. The highest content in triterpenic acids 3.3287 g%, respectively, was recorded in the second harvesting phase.

Studies are reported on the aetiology of allergic dermatitis of horses in Australia. This disease is considered identical with a dermatitis of horses reported from India, the Philippine Islands, and the United States of America, of which the skin-infesting microfilariae of Onchocerca reticdata are claimed to be the cause. These larval helminths could not, however, be incriminated in allergic dermatitis in Australia, which proved to be due to the development of a hypersensitivity to the bites of a sandfly, Culicoides robertsi. Observations on blood histamine levels revealed that in non-susceptible horses the level was constant throughout the day and also throughout the year, whereas in susceptible animals in the summer the levels fluctuated widely during the day, reaching a maximum value at 6-9 p.m. This period coincides with the period of maximum activity of C. robertsi. Susceptible horses stabled in an insectary from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the summer months did not develop the disease. The geographical and seasonal distributions of the disease are also similar to the known geographical and seasonal distributions of C. robertsi.Intradermal skin tests with antigen prepared from biting insects gave consistently positive results in susceptible animals only with C. robertsi antigen. The pathological and blood histamine pictures following the use of antigen from this insect were identical with those seen in naturally occurring cases of the disease and also following experimental biting and engorgement by this insect. Evidence was obtained of the presence in susceptible animals of a thermolabile, skin-sensitizing antibody which was capable of passive transfer. An immune antibody was demonstrated in susceptible animals, after a course of treatment with "Hapamine", by means of the precipitin test and also by the in-vitro neutralization of histamine liberated in the blood of untreated, susceptible animals. The absence of immune antibodies in non-susceptible horses is regarded as evidence that their freedom from the disease is due to an inherent immunity and not to an acquired immunity or to desensitization.