Anna Zaniewicz-Bajkowska

Weed-control effects on different types of cover-crop mulches

Abstract A field experiment was conducted during the period 2002–2006 at the Experimental Farm in Zawady, located in the mid-eastern part of Poland, to evaluate the effect of date of mulch ploughing down (autumn, spring, left till cabbage harvest) and the plant mulches [phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.), vetch (Vicia sativa L.), serradella (Ornithopus sativus), and oat (Avena sativa L.)] on the weed pressure in red cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L. f. rubra) in the first and onion (Allium cepa L. var. cepa Helm.) in the second year after mulching. The biomass yield of plant mulches, total cabbage and onion yields, and biomass and number of weeds before planting and harvest of cabbage and before sowing and harvest of onion were assessed. Weed infestation was determined by the quantitative-weighting method. The biomass yields of phacelia and oat amounted to 26.6 and 24.8 t·ha−1, respectively, and were almost 2.5-times higher than biomass yields of serradella and vetch. The average cabbage and onion yields were 45.8 and 41.9 t·ha−1, respectively. The yields of vegetables following mulches were higher than the yields recorded in the unmulched control. The weed species most often found in the experiment were Viola arvensis Murr., Capsella bursa pastoris, Matricaria indora L., Chenopodium album L., and Stellaria media (L.) Vill. Of the examined dates of mulch ploughing down, the spring-incorporated mulches were most effective in reducing the number of weeds in cabbage whereas the nonincorporated mulches showed such an effect in onion. Nonlegumes (phacelia and oat) used as mulch produced higher fresh biomass yields than did vetch and serradella. Oat and phacelia mulches significantly reduced the fresh biomass and number of weeds before cabbage planting. Additionally, oat mulch reduced the fresh biomass of weeds before cabbage harvest. Also, oat and phacelia mulches reduced the number of weeds before onion harvest.

Cultivation of wheat following pea and triticale/pea mixtures increases yields and nitrogen content

Abstract An experiment was conducted in 2004–2007 at the University of Podlasie Zawady Experimental Station (52°06′N, 22°50′E), Siedlce, Poland, to examine the effect of either post-harvest residues or residues and straw of spring triticale (Triticale), field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and their mixtures containing the following proportions of both components: 75+25, 50+50, 25+75% on the subsequent crop of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). A field experiment was designed as split-blocks with three replicates. Residue mass, straw mass as well as N, P, K, Ca and Mg amounts were determined in the residues and straw. The residue amount of spring triticale was the greatest. N, Ca and Mg amounts in the residues of spring triticale/field pea mixtures were similar or higher whereas P and K amounts were similar or lower compared with spring triticale residues. Spring triticale straw contained less N, P, Ca and Mg than the straw of either field pea or spring triticale/field pea mixtures. Grain yield, yield components, N content and N uptake in the grain of winter wheat following field pea and spring triticale/field pea mixtures were significantly higher compared with winter wheat following spring triticale. Increasing proportions of field pea in mixtures with spring triticale cultivated as previous crops significantly increased winter wheat grain yields as well as N content and uptake. The residues of the previous crops combined with the straw significantly increased winter wheat grain yield, number of ears per m2, number of grains in an ear, thousand-grain weight and N content and uptake. The highest winter wheat grain yield and N uptake were determined following an application of residues and straw of field pea and 25+75% spring triticale/field pea mixture. The grain of winter wheat after field pea had the greatest N content.

The effect of agrohydrogel and irrigation on celeriac yield and quality.

Abstract The experiment investigated the effect of different irrigation methods (no irrigation, irrigation by means of a drip tape) and method of AgroHydroGel application (control, AgroHydroGel applied to seedlings, AgroHydroGel applied to plants in the field, half of the AgroHydroGel applied to seedlings, the other half to plants in the field) on the yield level and quality of celeriac grown in the field. Irrigation significantly increased yields as well as the average weight of the marketable root; however, it had no influence on the nutrient contents. The application of AgroHydroGel to plants in the field or in a split proportion resulted in the most favourable influence on yielding. In the non-irrigated combination, AgroHydroGel applied entirely to plants in the field or in a split proportion increased marketable root yields. In the irrigated treatments, the highest yield was obtained in the plots where hydrogel was applied to plants in the field. Roots from the treatments where AgroHydroGel had been applied in a split proportion contained more dry matter as compared to the control. In the non-irrigated combination, AgroHydroGel applied entirely to plants in the field and in a split proportion increased ascorbic acid content. Simultaneously, irrigation and hydrogel application in a split proportion increased total sugar content as compared to the plants in which the hydrogel was only applied to the seedlings

THE INFLUENCE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS OF EASTERN POLAND ON SWEET CORN YIELDS AND LENGTH OF GROWING SEASON

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of weather components (air temperature, precipitation) on the growth, yield and the length of the growing season of sweet corn cultivated in eastern Poland. The results come from a field experiment conducted in 2006–2011. Weather conditions in the successive years of the study significantly modified the yield of ears, weight and number of formatted ears, high of plants and the length of the growing season of sweet corn. Good yielding of sweet corn favoured years with moderate air temperatures in July and uniform distribution of precipitation during the growing season. The highest yield of ears was found in 2011, the lowest in the very difficult in terms of weather 2006. The shortest growing season was characterized corn grown in the years 2006 and 2010 with the high air temperatures in July and August, the longest in the years 2009 and 2011, in which the temperatures in the period June-August were the lowest of all the years of research. Irrespective of the year of study, cv ‘Sheba F1’ was formatted eras with higher weight than cv ‘Sweet Nugget F1’.

ŹRÓDŁA POZYSKIWANIA INFORMACJI O WARTOŚCI ODŻYWCZEJ WARZYW PRZEZ MIESZKAŃCÓW WSI

Abstrakt. Celem podjętych badań była identyfikacja źródeł wiedzy na temat wartości odżywczej warzyw wśród mieszkańców wsi na przykładzie dwóch województw – mazowieckiego i lubelskiego. Ukazano ocenę istotności poszczególnych form pozyskiwanych informacji. Podstawowym narzędziem badawczym był kwestionariusz ankiety przeprowadzonej w 2015 roku na grupie 200 osób. Po analizie wyników badań stwierdzono, że respondenci wskazali na 6 źródeł, z których czerpią informację nt. wartości odżywczej warzyw. Za najważniejsze ankietowani uznali rodzinę i znajomych. Na drugim miejscu ex aeguo znalazły się internet oraz czasopisma. Najmniejsze znaczenie miała opinia sprzedającego warzywa. Kobiety za najważniejsze źródło uznały czasopisma, a mężczyźni rodzinę i znajomych. Dla najmłodszych respondentów najważniejszym źródłem informacji był internet. Wraz ze wzrostem wieku respondentów rosło znaczenie opinii rodziny i znajomych. Na internet jako najważniejsze źródło wiedzy wskazały także osoby z wykształceniem podstawowym. Wraz ze wzrostem poziomu wykształcenia respondentów wzrastało znaczenie fachowych czasopism i książek.

THE EFFECT OF DATE OF PLANTING SEEDLINGS AND POLYPROPYLENE FIBRE COVERING ON THE YIELD AND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF MELON

Melon is a little popular vegetable to grow in Poland, due to high climatic requirements. Ensuring appropriate thermal conditions for plants growth is possible with relatively late planting seedlings. However, late planting does not guarantee high yield of good quality fruit. The factor enabling the earlier planting seedlings and improving the conditions of growth is the use of flat covers. The field experiment was conducted in 2008–2010 in central-eastern Poland. The effect of planting seedlings of melon ‘Malaga F1’ (15 May, 25 May and 4 June) and the length of polypropylene fibre 17 g·m -2 covering (by 4 and 8 weeks from planting, until harvest, control without covering) on the yield and economic efficiency of melon cultivation in the field was investigated. Most preferably the yield level and profitability of melon cultivation were influenced by planting seedlings on the 15 May and covering by 4 weeks. However, earlier planting decreased the share of marketable fruits in the total number of fruits. The highest share in the costs structure of melon cultivation had the costs of human labour.

The Effect of Covers Application in the Broad Bean (Vicia faba ssp. Major) Cultivation

Abstract The experiment was carried out in 2007–2009. The investigated factors were: the kind of covers – without covering (control object), perforated foil with 100 holes per 1m2, polypropylene fibre weighing 17 g m−2 and broad beans cultivars – ‘Windsor Biały’, ‘Bizon’ and ‘Bachus’. Broad bean seeds were sown at the beginning of the second 10-days of April, at a spacing of 50 × 10 cm. Directly after, sowing field was covered by covers, which were left for 3 weeks. Broad bean was harvested in the stage of milky maturity of seeds. Before the harvest, the number of pods per plant was determined. During the harvest, the weight of pods and the yield of fresh seed were determined and productivity of seed from the weight of pods was calculated. Biometric parameters of pods and seeds i.e. length of pods, the number of seeds in the pod and length, width and thickness of seed was performed. It was found that the broad bean covering contributed to increase yield and improvement of the biometric parameters of pods and seeds compared to the control object without covering. The highest yield of pods and seeds produced cv ‘Bizon’. The best yield was obtained from plants covered by polypropylene fibre. The seeds of cultivated cultivars were characterized by similar parameters. Polypropylene fibre covering favoured formation of pods and seeds in the pods but did not cause changes in the seeds parameters.

The effect of foliar feeding on yield quality and the content of selected nutritive value components of three melon (Cucumis melo L.) cultivars

Abstract This study investigated the effect of foliar feeding with Florovit and Ekolist-Warzywa + urea liquid fertilisers on yield quality and the content of selected nutritive value components of three medium-fruit melon cultivars (‘Charentais F1’, ‘Melba’, and ‘Fiesta’). A higher total yield was harvested from plants foliar-fed with Florovit and Ekolist-Warzywa + urea compared with the control without foliar feeding. The ‘Fiesta’ cultivar was characterised by the highest total yield. The type of foliar feeding significantly affected the total number of fruit per square metre. More fruit per metre squared was produced by Florovit-fed plants in comparison to Ekolist-Warzywa + urea. ‘Charentais F1’ produced the greatest number of fruit. ‘Fiesta’ had the highest proportion of marketable fruit. The factors investigated did not have any influence on the percentage of disease-affected and unripe fruit. The greatest amount of dry matter and ascorbic acid were determined in the fruit harvested from the control and plants foliar-fed with Ekolist-Warzywa + urea, respectively. The highest levels of both components were assayed in ‘Fiesta’. Regardless of the type of foliar feeding, ‘Fiesta’ and ‘Charentais F1’ produced the highest quantity of total sugars and monosaccharaides as compared with ‘Melba’.

Effect of synthetic mulches on melon (Cucumis melo L.) yielding.

Abstract A field experiment was carried out in 2006-2008. The study examined the effect of soil mulching with synthetic materials (black polyethylene film, black polypropylene nonwoven 50 g m-2, and black polypropylene fabric 94 g m-2) on the fruit yield and quality of two melon cultivars (‘Seledyn’ and ‘Yupi’) grown in the field under the climatic conditions of central-eastern Poland. Specimens grown without mulching served as the control. The climatic conditions during the study years had a significant influence on the level of total, marketable and early yield of melon. The highest melon yield was obtained in 2007, which was characterised by the most favourable weather conditions for melon cultivation. The comparison of the cultivars showed that ‘Seledyn’ was better adapted to the climatic conditions of Poland. From cultivation, this cultivar achieved significantly higher early and total fruit yield compared with ‘Yupi’. ‘Seledyn’ was also characterised by a higher share of early yield of the total yield, a higher number of fruit in the early yield and a higher mean fruit weight. In turn, ‘Yupi’ produced a significantly higher share of marketable yield of the total yield and a higher number of marketable fruit.