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Grasses or ornamental grasses are increasingly used in contemporany arrangements, both in the composition of lawns and as solitary plants, group, masifs or curbs. The present study was conducted to evaluate the behavior of some decorative grass species/cultivars: Carex morrowii ΄Snowline΄, Carex morowii ΄Ice Dance΄, Festuca glauca, Koeleria glauca, Miscanthus sinensism ΄Variegatus΄, Pennisetum alopecuroides ΄Hameln΄, Pennisetum setaceum ΄Rubrum΄, in different areas of Pitesti. Observations and determinations were made on: biological characteristics, ability to multiply, aesthetic qualities, growing and requirements, winter hardiness, pruning effects, correlated with the variation of everage annual temperatures (°C) and average annual rainfall (mm/month) in 2 year of reporting, 2019 and 2020. Ways have been proposed to use the ornamental grasses studied in the landscape arrangements and the importance of their incorporation in the green spaces, for ecosystem offers: restoring the ecological balance, capitalizing on natural resources and developing biodiversity.

Sea buckthorn is currently used as a functional food, dietary supplements, and medicines raw material. Its fruits are a nutritional and therapeutical components valuable source (minerals, micro- and macronutrients, organic acids, amino acids, sugars, saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, carotenoids, phenolic compounds). They are perishable because, having a thin epicarp and lacking the protective layer of wax, they easily dehydrate and lose their firmness as a result of postharvest metabolic processes. The study aims to determine how the very low temperature (-18°C), establish for harvesting and long-term storage, affects the fruits quality in six varieties of sea buckthorn. Biometric (mass, size, color) and biochemical parameters (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble matter, sugar content, water content, dry matter, ash, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, carotenoids) were determined for this purpose. FTIR spectra for different types of extracts of sea buckthorn in the presence of ultrasonication or magnetic stirring were studied. The results indicated that the fruits stored at a temperature of -18°C have retained their nutritional and therapeutic value, and can be consumed immediately after thawing or can serve as a raw material for further processing.

Over time, different ways have been used to increase vegetable production per unit area; from the crop systems used (field crops, protected crops and forced crops), to intensive land use (successive, associated, double and intercropping) and to the technologies applied to them. In this paper we aimed to observe some aspects related to the behavior of tomatoes grafted on potatoes.The biological material was represented by: 'Sweet Million F1' cherry tomato hybrid variety, "Carrera" white potatoes, "Memphis" red potatoes, "Blue Star" hybrid purple potatoes. The experimental variants were: tomato control variant, potatoes control variants and tomato variant grafted on red, white and purple potatoes. It was observed that the best grafting was the tomato version grafted on the red potato. The control potato variants had the highest production compared to the grafted ones.The control tomato variant registered the highest number of flowers and formed the most fruits.The three grafted variants had a lower degree of fruit binding compared to the control variant.

The aim of this paper was to observe the influence of different technological factors on the growth and development of shallots (Allium ascalonicum). We choose to study this variety due to their antioxidant, anti microbial and nutritional properties. It was set up a bifactorial experience (A factor: planting distance – with 3 graduations and factor B: irrigation method – with 2 graduations), resulting 6 experimental variants. Parameters such as plant height and leaf number on the plant were monitored for 3 months (April to June). The results were compared and we noticed that irrigation on the gutters favors the height growth of the shallot, but do not influence the number of leaves formed on the plant. The lower the density, the higher the number of roots / plant. The irrigation has positively influenced the weight of bulbs and increased crop productivity irrespective of planting density. It is recommended to cultivate the shallots at planting distances of 25-30 cm between the rows, irrigated on gullies when atmospheric conditions are inadequate to culture.

It is known that vegetables are some of the valuable foods in the diet because of their content in nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Many species used in human food are grown by producing seedlings (Solanaceae, Brassicaceae, etc.). In order to achieve a good tomato culture, we must first take into account the quality of the seedlings. In this work we used seed of the same quality, that was sown for germination on 4 types of substrate (Gramoflor peat, Jiffy peat, Kllasman TS3 peat and Milaflor peat) to see how influence the germination and the growth of Rila tomato seedlings. Throughout the research it has been observed that the substrate influences the dynamics of plant height growth, the number of leaves per plant, roots length, root volume, aerial plant part volume, total weight, root weight, aerial plant part weight. The Gramoflor substrate had the best results in all measurements reaching the highest value, except for the length of the root system at the time of planting and the root system volume at the time of planting.

The walnut leaves and the green walnut husk are been widely used in folk medicine. These vegetal materials have been reported as a source of bioactive molecules such as the phenolic compounds. In this research, there were analysed different quality parameters afferent to several walnut varieties, harvested from the germplasm collection located at S.C.D.P. Vâlcea, Romania. Romanian cultivars ‘Jupâneşti’, ‘Valrex’ and ‘Valmit’ and French one ‘Franquette’ were analyzed. The variation in bioactive compounds content from the walnut leaves and walnut husk at different developmental stages (from June to September) was investigated. The results showed that the content in polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins has significantly increased until the ripening stage, after that a decrease of the values of these parameters follows. Greater values of the three parameters were also observed at walnut leaves and green walnut husk of cultivars attacked by walnut blight, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis (Xaj). The findings of this study reveal the mode of variation in the content of polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins during the growing season of the walnut leaves and green walnut husk, emphasizing also the influence of Xaj. The results obtained demonstrated the potential of the walnut leaves and the green walnut husk as an economical source of antioxidant and antimicrobial agents. ********* In press - Online First. Article has been peer reviewed, accepted for publication and published online without pagination. It will receive pagination when the issue will be ready for publishing as a complete number (Volume 47, Issue 4, 2019). The article is searchable and citable by Digital Object Identifier (DOI). DOI link will become active after the article will be included in the complete issue. *********

Sambucus nigra L. is part of the Adoxaceae family and is a shrub that prefers sunny places and is a native plant to Europe, America, Northern Africa and Western and Central Asia. The Sambucus nigra L. flowers and fruits have a long history of use in traditional European medicine, are used as treatment of diabetes and viral infections, fever, colds and flu. From elderberry fruits and flowers, tea, syrup and different alcoholic beverages can be obtained. Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) is a species that is also spread in Romania and its flowers and fruits are used for different purposes. The black elderberry produces umbels of cream-white flowers in early summer and blue-black fruits with a diameter of up to 6 mm, which ripen in late summer. The aim of this paper is to analyze the prevalence of climatic conditions on elderberry flower yields of different selections from spontaneous flora in two locations from the Oltenia region. Biometric data of quantitative traits have been collected from 10 elderberry selections in 2017 and 2018.

With a high nutritive value and healing properties, honey is a well known natural food product. Factors like floral source and climate condition influence the properties of honey. The study investigated sensorial and physicochemical characteristics of some honey samples collected directly from the beekeepers from Muntenia Zone, Romania. The colour, pH, moisture content, electrical conductivity, ash content, acidity and total sugar were evaluated. Moreover, these characteristics were compared with the International Standard of Codex Alimentarius. The results showed that all the honey samples had similar physico-chemical properties and respect the limits imposed by EU standards; in this way was proved that the honey from Muntenia Zone is a good quality honey. This standard could be sustained by regular training of local bee farmers in honey harvesting and storage.