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Cultivating the top 0-25 cm soil layer by ploughing cultivating method requires considerable energy, labor, and additional costs. Also, the larger soil surface caused by cultivation, the moisture content of soil can be lost easier. Therefore, in recent years soil loosening cultivation has become gained popularity, particularly to protect the moisture content of soil and reduce the risk of desertification. At the Experimental Station of Debrecen University, known as Látókép (a name, which corresponds approximately to visual image), two cultivation methods have been applied for research: (i) conventional ploughing and (ii) strip and streaked loosening cultivation methods (and variation of this method applying satellite determination of position, RTK system). In this paper, total number of bacteria, soil respiration, biomass carbon and nitrogen, net nitrification, and dehydrogenase activity were measured under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. The aim of the research was to evaluate the effects of the various cultivation methods. Soil samples were collected in spring (May) and autumn (September). Microbiological effects on the soil resulted from various cultivation methods were compared. Results demonstrate that the loosening cultivation method (strip tillage with loosening) exerts a more favorable effect on the parameters of soil biological activity than the conventional ploughing system. The most significant effect of loosening cultivation system was experienced in the increase of microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) by over 80%, along with an intensified dehydrogenase activity. Loosening system yielded positive effects on the other examined biological parameters, except for the total bacteria number and soil respiration.

Nitrogen (N) is a crop macronutrient of major importance, which affects both plant growth and yield. In this paper we discuss the humus content (%) and various soluble N forms (NO3-, total N, nitrate-N, ammonium-N, and organic nitrogen) available in humus sand soil samples originating from the Pallag Experimental Station of Horticulture at the University of Debrecen, Hungary. We found 45.4% nitrate-N and 13.8% nitrite-N of total N content present in the soil. Considering the percentage distribution of soluble N forms present at the Pallag Experimental Station, we recommend using this soil in further pot experiments, given that this has optimal nutrient supply capacity. In addition, we examined possible statistical correlations between humus% and N forms.

Although knowledge on glycan biosynthesis and processing is continuously maturing, there are still a limited number of studies that examine biological functions of N-glycan structures in plants, which remain virtually unknown. Here, the statistical correlation between nutrient (nitrogen) deficiency symptoms of crops and changes in 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (APTS)-labeled complex type free oligosaccharides is reported. While deficiency symptoms are predicted by multispectral images and Kjeldahl digestion, APTS-labeled complex type free oligosaccharides are identified by their glucose unit (GU) values in tomato xylem sap, using capillary electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF). Given the limited number of structures obtained from plants, archived in the literature, in the future, it is intended to create an open access database of promising indicators, namely, glycan structures that are presumably responsible for the nutrient deficiency caused stress in plants (http://glycoplants.org).

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to compare the effects of manure with different origin (horse, cattle), various bedding materials (straw, sawdust) and diverse doses (30 t ha-1, 60 t ha-1) and the impact of food waste compost on the plant growth and the available plant nutrient content of soil. The study was conducted on humic sandy soil and consisted of 9 treatments in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) was grown as the test crop. The treatments were: 1. unfertilized control; 2. horse manure with straw (30 t ha-1); 3. horse manure with sawdust (30 t ha-1); 4. cattle manure (30 t ha-1); 5 food waste compost (30 t ha-1); 6. horse manure with straw (60 t ha-1); 7. horse manure with sawdust (60 t ha-1); 8. cattle manure (60 t ha-1); 9. food waste compost (60 t ha-1). Plant growth was monitored for 4 weeks. Shoot and root weights per pot were measured, total biomass weight per pot were counted. On the basis of the results it can be concluded, that among treatments the application of horse manure with straw enhanced spinach growth most significantly compared to other treatments and to the non-treated control, resulted the highest weights of leaves and roots of spinach. At the same time even small dose (30 t ha-1) of this fertilizer caused increased plant available nitrogen and phosphorus of soil and the higher dosage further increased these values. The horse manure with sawdust applied in lower dose did not alter the leaves and roots weights, but higher portion (60 t ha-1) caused significantly decreased plant biomass. The results proved that the bedding material may significantly alter the composition of manure and may change the plant nutrition effect of organic fertilizer. Cattle manure and food waste compost in both applied doses enhanced plant growth. Both fertilizers increased the plant available nitrogen forms and phosphorus content of soil, but cattle manure caused higher increase.

Besides agro-techniques the climatic conditions play an important role in agricultural production. Weather extremes aresignificant hazards to many horticultural regions all over the word. It has a profound influence on the growth, development and yields of acrop, incidence of pests and diseases, water needs and fertilizer requirements in terms of differences in nutrient mobilization due to waterstresses. Nowadays, the weather extremes cause more and more problems and significant hazards to many horticultural regions in Hungary.The aim of this study is to explore the problems of nutrient uptake followed from climatic anomalies and response it. In this studywe focus on water supply problems (water-stress).Reviewing the effects and nutrient disorders caused by climatic anomalies, the following statements can be taken:· Nutrient demand of trees can be supplied only under even worse conditions.· The most effective weapon against damage of climatic anomalies is preventative action.· Proper choice of cultivars, species and cultivation should provide further possibilities to avoid and moderate the effects ofclimatic anomalies.· Fruit growing technologies especially nutrition should be corrected and adjusted to the climatic events as modifier factors.· The role of foliar spraying, mulching and fertigation/irrigation is increasing continuously.· Urgent task of the near future is to correct and adjust the tested technologies of fruit growing according to these climatic events asmodifier factors.Optimal nutrient supply of trees decreases the sensitivity for unexpected climatic events. To solve these problems supplementary, foliarfertilization is recommended, which adjusted to phonological phases of trees. Moreover, mulching is regarded as an excellent water savingmethod.

A greenhouse experiment was conducted on a calcareous chernozem soil to investigate the effects of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) fertilization and their ratios on the yield and quality of white mustard (Sinapis alba L.). Four levels of N [0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 g pot−1 N as ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) and ammonium phosphate (NH4H2PO4)] in combination with three levels of applied N–S ratios [8, 4, 2; S as potassium sulfate (K2SO4) and sodium sulphate (Na2SO4)] were tested as treatments. Results indicated that a significant response to seed yield was observed for N and S application. Maximum yield, 24.8 g pot−1, was found when full doses of N and S were applied. Increasing N supply from 0.5 g pot−1 to 1 g pot−1 had little increasing effect in the oil content of the seed. Higher application of N doses (>1 g pot−1) decreased these values significantly. The maximum oil content (28%) was achieved with the 1 g N pot−1 treatment; the lowest values were observed in the pots applied with the highest N doses. Changes in the...

The aim of this paper was to provide further information about the nitrogen mineralization processes of soil. A modified incubation technique was applied to establish the amount of easily soluble mineral and organic N forms during the incubation period. An acidic sandy soil was used for incubation, which was sampled from the „Westsik” long-term field experiment. The incubation was carried out on fifteen selected soil samples which were received different treatments since the experiment was set up. From the obtained results, the amount of potentially mineralizable N and the mineralization rate constant were determined. Results of chemical analysis and biological interpretation of results are discussed.

Introduction White mustard is cultivated for seeds, for green manure as animal feed, for green fodder crop (Minkevics and Borkovszkij 1951) and for compost. Mustard seeds are mostly used for the preparation of spices, oil, french mustard, mustard pastes which is a common condiment in food industries (Szabo and Fodor 2005). Climate of Hungary is favourable for the cultivation of mustard. In spite of this little information exists on its fertilization, on its nutrient-uptake in the foreign (Asare Scarisbrick 1995, Singh 2004) and Hungarian (Kadar 2002, Fodor Kadlicsko 2006) scientific literature. Mineral nutrition, especially sulphur and nitrogen are major factors affecting growth, yield and quality of mustard (Singh 2004). Nitrogen and sulphur are necessary for the synthesis of amino acids, proteins and various other cellular components, including thiol compounds and the so-called secondary sulphur compounds, which have a significant bearing on protection of plants against stress and pests. In the present study, an attempt was made to investigate the effects of N and N:S ratios on the yield and nutrient uptake of mustard (Sinapis alba L.).

Changes in the amount of water soluble N-forms were really varied both with soil type and with treatments. It has been stated that the main proportion of water soluble N is in organic form that are considered as available substrate for microorganisms. On sand soil, which having low pH and low organic matter content, as a consequence of low microbial activity the organic N was intact to a greater extent than on chernozem soil.

Introduction Yellow mustard (Sinapis alba L.) is a annual spring crop and has been grown mainly in Europe since last century. Yellow mustard seed is suitable for a wide range of applications. It is grown for its seed, as a salad plant, as a green fodder crop or as green manure. Mustard seed is a nutritious food ingredient. Climate of Hungary is favourable for the cultivation of mustard. In spite of that little information exists on its fertilization, on the mechanism of its nutrient-uptake and its fertilizer activity in the international (Ahmad et al. 1998, Asare et al. 1995) and hungarian (EOry et al. 1996, K&d&r 2002) scientific literature. In the present study, an attempt was made to increase the amount of information for the effects of N supply and N/S ratio on the sulphur, nitrogen (crude protein), oil content and yield of seed.

The effect of liming materials was investigated on the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) content of the soil in a pot experiment on an acidic soil using oat (Avena sativa L. ) as an indicator plant. Soil samples were taken three times during the growing season. The lime rates applied were 0, 1, 2, 3 g calcite/pot and 0.92, 1.84, 2.76 g dolomite/pot, respectively. Due to an increase in soil pH and microbial activity the DOC concentration significantly increased with increasing lime doses at all three samplings. An exponential relationship was found between soil pH and DOC concentration: y v = v 0.3733e 0.7893x , r v = v 0.903***. Lime had a significant effect on DON concentration at the first sampling, while for the remainder of the growing period no further significant increases were found. This could be explained by the fact that the biodegradability of DOC and DON differs under conditions of the experiment, resulting in a decrease in the N content of the dissolved organ...

Similarly to 2007, 2011 was also critical year for fruit growers in Eastern-Hungary. Serious frost damage was observed at late blooming period (6 May (T=-1.6°C)) in this region, which caused approximately 60-65% of fruit loss. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of a spring frost event on nutrient uptake and status of the trees of a sour cherry plantation at Újfehértó. The symptoms of frost were observed visually. This visual observation was confirmed by SPAD readings. The frost affected the macroand micronutrient contents of leaves. It was found that the frost affected the nutrient uptake negatively, but the effect of it was not significantly sometimes. It can be stated that the nutrient demand of trees can be supplied only under even worse conditions.

Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient in plants especially in fruits. Despite of this fact there are very few information about its application, uptake and symptoms in Hungarian fruit growing sector. Nowadays we should consider the effects of weather conditions on soil B availability increasingly according to the climatic anomalies. Identifying of internal and external symptoms of plant parts (leaf, fruit) is help for growers to recognize the deficiency and excess symptoms in time. Methods and application rates of boron fertilization provide further information for growers to achieve qualify-oriented fruit growing among Hungarian conditions. The aim of this minireview is to focus on the importance of boron in fruit nutrition.

Worldwide research goals and concerns are to soil conservation and improve. This conception is mostly actual in horticulture where the numbers of high-density plantings are continuously increasing. High-density orchards cause more intensive nutrient and water uptake. So that the preservation of soil moisture and nutrient level are key factors in qualified fruit growing. On the other hand due to the climatic changes the water supply of trees will be satisfied among worse conditions than some decades ago. Appearance of water supply problems and water stress is increased in organic growing, where the number of corrections is limited anyway. Furthermore, floor management is a successful tool in weed management which causes many problems for organic growers due to the prohibition of synthetic herbicides. This paper will mainly focus on the nutritional aspects of methods of orchard floor management for growers adopting organic fruit management to make their production profitable.

Influence of a three-year-long foliar fertilization on mineral composition of leaf, content of sugars (glucose, fructose, galactose and sucrose) and organic acids (citric, malic and fumaric acid) of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) fruits was studied. The experiment was conducted during 2005-2007 in West Hungary on mature cv. `Germersdorfi 3' grafted on Prunus mahaleb rootstock, planted in 1999. Trees spaced 7 x 5 m, and growing in a calcareous chernozem soil. Trees were foliar-fertilized with potassium (K) as KNO3 and calcium (Ca) as Ca(NO3)2. Potassium spraying was carried out 3 (K1) and 5 (K2) while calcium was applied at 3 (Ca 1), 5 (Ca2) and 6 (Ca3) weeks after full bloom. Beside fruit analysis, complete soil and leaf analysis were done to study the rate of nutrient uptake and its effects on fruit quality. Contents of nutrients of soil and leaf were determined by atomic absorption and spectrophotometric method, while sugars and organic acids in fruit were determined by HPLC. The applied treatments (except K1) had been increasing leaf K significantly compared to the control till ripening. Most of treatments had no significant effect on Ca content of leaf till ripening. From applied treatments only the boron treatments had significant increasing effect on contents of all examined sugars, compared the control. Furthermore, the effect of calcium spraying on the contents of organic acids was significant.

This paper reports a greenhouse study to compare the effects of food waste compost, bacterial fertilizer and their combination with the effect of mineral fertilizer on yield of carrot and the available nutrient content of soils. The study was conducted on calcareous chernozem and acidic sandy soils and consisted of 8 treatments in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The NH4NO3 resulted in reduced growing of carrot plant in sandy soil, and the treatment effect of mineral fertilizer was not observed significantly in chernozem soil. Sandy soil showed higher response of growth of carrot to food waste compost fertilization than chernozem soil. Sole application of EM-1 bacterial fertilizer did not have marked effect on yield parameters and sizes of roots. When EM-1 bacterial fertilizer was applied together with ammonium-nitrate or with compost in chernozem soil, the weights of roots and the sizes of roots in some cases became higher compared to the values of appropriate treatments without inoculation. In sandy soil the diameter of roots slightly increased when EM-1 bacterial fertilizer was applied with ammonium-nitrate and with ammonium-nitrate+compost combination compared to appropriate treatment without inoculation. In chernozem soil the maximum weights and sizes of roots were achieved with the combined treatment of ammonium-nitrate+compost+EM-1 bacterial fertilizer and in sandy soil with compost treatment. Our results of soluble nitrogen content of soils are in good agreement with yield parameters of carrot. Results suggest that food waste compost could be a good substitute for mineral fertilizer application in carrot production mainly in sandy soil. EM-1 bacterial fertilizer did not cause marked effect on yield and yield parameters of carrot plant, but its combination with other fertilizers promises a little bit higher yield or plant available nutrient in the soil. These effects do not clear exactly, so further studies are needed.