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A by-product of protein production from the larvae of the black soldier fly ( Hermetia illucens ) is a zoocompost consisting of a variety of organic compounds. The purpose of the work was to determine the hazard class of the zoo complex - the waste of cultivation of Hermetia illucens larvae using biotesting methods, since the use of calculated methods to determine the hazard class is difficult. Biotesting experiments were carried out on test organisms: planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna , algae Chlorella vulgaris , seeds of Avena sativa , Triticum vulgare and Hordeum sativum . It has been established that the zoocompost refers to low-risk waste. Extractions of the zoocompost stimulate the growth of plants Avena sativa and Hordeum sativum , it is supposed to be used as a phytostimulator. It has been shown that an environmentally friendly wasteless method for the production of protein additive from insects is possible.

This study was aimed to investigate straw stiffness in land races of two- row barley (hordeum vulgarel.). Straw from four landrace populations of barley grown in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was measured and tested for bending stiffness, showing considerable variation in diameter and in longitudinal bending modulus. In the lower range of diameter, the straw from these landrace populations was highly flexible and was able to lodge without fracture, by curving elastically without fracture or buckling until the head reached the ground. The landrace populations studied contained substantial variation in internode diameter and in the stiffness of the wall material. Selection for internode diameter appeared to have potential for improving lodging resistance. Because lodging potential depends on the weight of the whole shoot as well as on wind forces, it is likely to be increased by pre-harvest moisture content. Decreasing moisture content of the straw and heads reduced the total above-ground weight of the plant by approximately a factor of two during the month prior to harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barley and oat have been promoted for years as good sources of dietary fiber, especially β-glucan. Studies have shown a positive effect of barley and oat β-glucan on human health and as a result, there has been an increasing demand for β-glucans in the past decade. Thus, the variability of the β-glucan content was investigated in the grain of 10 barley and 10 oat varieties. The β-glucan contents were determined by the ICC Standard Method No 168. The content of β-glucan in the analyzed barley varieties were within the range 3.52–7.81% and in analyzed oat varieties, the content of β-glucan were within the range of 3.15–7.28%. Among analyzed barley varieties, Novosadski 314 contained the highest content of β-glucan (7.81%), while Tomba had the highest content of β-glucan (7.28%) in the analyzed oat varieties. Based on the results, it could be concluded that there is genetic diversity of oat and barley varieties with respect to their β-glucan content. This fact enables varieties with a high a nutritional capacity to be selected.

Agroecosystems represent specific biotopes compared to natural biotope, the presence of Zoocenosis individuals; especially their quantitative and qualitative composition significantly indicates the state of the environment. An important part of the agrozoocenosis is family Carabidae. Its major role is that Carabidae species act as natural enemies of harmful insect in agriculture. One of the dominant species occurring within agroecosystems is a species Pseudoophonus rufipes (De Geer, 1774), which acts as a generalist and its occurrence reaches automatic dominant representation. The study was realized at Dolná Malanta (Slovak Republic) within the polyfactorial field experiment, two growth crops: spring barley (Hordeum sativum var. Annua) and winter barley (Hordeum sativum var. Biennis) in conventional farming systems. The site is located at an altitude of 175-180m above the sea. The soil type is brown soil and territory belongs to the categories of high-producing soil. Epigeic material by the earth traps method was obtained. During the five-years period within the spring barley 4182 individuals (exemplars = ex) were obtained, belonging to the family Carabidae, it representing from the whole set 66.32% representation. Within the winter barley 4859 ex were obtained, belonging to the families Carabidae, which was 71.00% representation. Biological material was determined on the lowest systematic unit - species. From the above mentioned values was dominant species Pseudoophonus rufipes represented in spring barley 1961 ex. And within the winter barley 2568 ex. Dynamics of its occurrence was in spring barley: 1st year -- 351 ex, 2nd year -- 1057 ex, 3rd year -- 441 ex, 4th -- 0 ex, 5th -- 112 ex. Maximum incidences reached in second year, which was satisfactory in terms of climatic conditions. Occurrence in winter barley was as follows: 1st year -- 605 ex, 2nd year -- 832 ex, 3rd year -- 931 ex, 4th -- 84 ex, 5th -- 116 ex, with a peak incidence in the third year. Based on the above can be winter barley evaluated as crop with more satisfactory topical and trophic conditions. Dominant representation showing even species Pterostichus melanarius (Illig., 1798), which recorded in spring barley incidence 320 ex (12.58% representation) and in winter barley 146 ex (5.11% representation). Occurrence of other species was only at the level of subdominant, recendent respectively subrecendent representation, i.e. occurrence of less than 5%. Based on the calculated of species identity according to Jaccard is similarity of species composition for both monitored variants identical to 68%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to elucidate the physiological role of phytoecdysteroids in plants, we investigated the effects of exogenous ecdysterone (ECD) and phytohormones (IAA, GA3, and 24-epibrassinolide (EBL)) on the growth of wheat coleoptiles and Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings (wild-type ecotype Columbia (Col) and its det2 mutant), on α-amylase activity in the barley aleurone layer, and on the pigment content in the kidney bean senescent leaves. The range of effective ECD concentrations depended on the type of a reaction to be regulated. The regulation of growth processes was affected by a wide range of ECD concentrations (10–13–10–5 M), whereas some metabolic processes, such as the activation of α-amylase and the retardation of leaf yellowing, by a narrow range, that is, 10–9–10–7 M and 10–9–10–8 M, respectively. We noted the synergetic effect of ECD and IAA on coleoptile elongation, the antagonistic effect of ECD and EBL on coleoptile elongation, as well as the antagonistic action of ECD and GA3 on coleoptile elongation and α-amylase activity. The data obtained demonstrate that ECD is a physiologically active compound. ECD might be supposed to act as a source of sterols or a regulator of IAA and protein synthesis. The effects of this regulator seems to be brought about by its interaction with the EBL and GA3 receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]