Paleolinguistics brings more light on the earliest history of the traditional Eurasian pulse crops

Traditional pulse crops such as pea, lentil, field bean, bitter vetch, chickpea and common vetch originate from Middle East, Mediterranean and Central Asia^1^. They were a part of human diets in hunter-gatherers communities^2^ and are one of the most ancient cultivated crops^3,4^. Europe has always been rich in languages^5^, with individual families still preserving common vocabularies related to agriculture^6,7^. The evidence on the early pulse history witnessed by the attested roots in diverse Eurasian proto-languages remains insufficiently clarified and its potential for supporting archaeobotanical findings is still non-assessed. Here we show that the paleolinguistic research may contribute to archaeobotany in understanding the role traditional Eurasian pulse crops had in the everyday life of ancient Europeans. It was found that the Proto-Indo-European language^8,9^ had the largest number of roots directly related to pulses, such as *arnk(')- (a leguminous plant), *bhabh- (field bean), *erəgw[h]- (a kernel of leguminous plant; pea), *ghArs- (a leguminous plant), *kek-, *k'ik'- (pea) and *lent- (lentil)^10,11,12^, numerous words subsequently related to pulses^13,14^ and borrowings from one branch to another^15^, confirming their essential place in the nutrition of Proto-Indo-Europeans^16,17,18^. It was also determined that pea was the most important among Proto-Uralic people^19,20,21^, while pea and lentil were the most significant in the agriculture of Proto-Altaic people^22,23,24^. Pea and bean were most common among Caucasians^25,26^, Basques^27,28^ and their hypothetical common forefathers^29^ and bean and lentil among the Afro-Asiatic ancestors of modern Maltese^30^. Our results demonstrate that pulses were common among the ancestors of present European nations and that paleolinguistics and its lexicological and etymological analysis may be useful in better understanding the earliest days of traditional Eurasian crops. We believe our results could be a basis for advanced multidisciplinary approach to the pulse crop domestication, involving plant scientists, archaeobotanists and linguists, and for reconstructing even earlier periods of pulse history

Effect of Mineral Nutrition on Red Clover Leaf Area Index

The legume red clover (Trifolium pratense) fixes its own nitrogen (N), but requires P and K fertilisation. There are no recent reliable data in the domestic literature, on the amounts of P and K recommended to farmers; present recommendations are often either inadequate or excessive. Red clover mineral nutrition is significantly affected by soil and weather conditions (Taylor & Quesenberry, 1996). The objective of our twoyear study was to enable rational fertiliser application in accordance with soil type and agro ecological conditions

UTICAJ ĐUBRENJA AZOTOM I PODSEJAVANJA NA PRINOS I KVALITET TRAVNJAKA CYNOSURETUM CRISTATI U PLANINSKOM PODRUČJU SRBIJE

The trial was carried out during two years (2003 and 2004) on Cynosuretum cristati-type meadow in the hillymountainous region of Serbia (altitude 1158 m). The investigation included five nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg ha-1 yr-1) and undersowing with red clover and birdsfoot trefoil. Increase in nitrogen fertilization level resulted in corresponding increases in the quantity and quality of grass, while legumes and other herbages decreased. Maximum two-year average dry matter yield of 4.44 t ha-1 was achieved with the highest N rate (160 kg ha-1). The increase was 2.03 t ha-1 or 85.0% compared with the control. Increased N rates increasing the contents of protein, ash, fat, Cu, Co, and NO3, and reduced the contents of cellulose, K, P, Ca, Mg, S, Zn, and B. Dry matter yield in the undersowing treatment was low, only slightly over that of the control in both study years. Furthermore, undersowing failed to affect the chemical and mineral composition of dry matter.Istraživanje je obavljeno na travnjaku tipa Cynosuretum cristati u planinskom području Srbije, na nadmorskoj visini oko 1158 m, tokom dve godine (2002 - 2003. g.). U istraživanju je proučavan uticaj azotnog đubriva i podsejavanja sa crvenom detelinom i žutim zvezdanom na prinos suve materije (SM) u sledećim varijantama đubriva (0, 40, 80, 120 i 160 kg/ha). Sa povećanjem količine azotnog đubriva povećao se udeo i kvalitet trava a udeo leptirnjača i bioljaka iz ostalih familija se smanjivao. Maksimalan dvogodišnji prosečan prinos SM je iznosio 4.44 t ha-1 a postignut je sa najvećom količinom azotnog đubriva (160 kg ha-1). Povećanje je iznosilo 2.03 t ha-1 ili 85.0% u odnosu na kontrolu. Sa povećanjem količine primenjenog azotnog đubriva povećavao se sadržaj proteina, pepela, masti Cu, Co i NO3, a smanjivala količina celuloze, K, P, Ca, Mg, S, Zn i B. Prinos SM sa primenom podsejavanja je bio nizak, nešto viši u odnosu na kontrolu u obe godine istraživanja. Primena podsejavanja nije imala uticaja na promenu hemijskog i mineralnog sastava u SM prinosa

Effect of Cutting Date on Quality of Red Clover Forage

Development stage or plant age is an important factor determining the chemical composition and quality of red clover forage (Ignjatovic et al., 2001). In early spring, young red clover plants have large leaf mass, high contents of moisture, protein and minerals and a low fibre content. In the course of the growing season, under the effects of long days and high temperatures, the plant undergoes morphological changes: leaves grow more slowly, the stem elongates, dry matter yield increases and quality drops, especially digestibility and the contents of protein and minerals

White lupin as a forage crop on alkaline soils

White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) is not widely known in Serbia. A small-plot trial was carried out during 2006 and 2007 at the Rimski Šancevi Experiment Field of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, on a carbonated chernozem soil with a pH value in H₂O of 7.92. It included twelve white lupin accessions of diverse geographical origin from the Annual Forage Legumes Collection of the Forage Crops Department of the Institute. All accessions were sown in early March, with a crop density of 75-85 viable seeds m⁻², and were cut when main stem inflorescences were in full flower. The tallest accession was Termis (120 cm). The greatest number of main stems and first-order branches was in BG-005542 (9.0 plant⁻¹) and BG-002171 (8.7 plant⁻¹), with the former having most leaves as well (59.7 plant⁻¹). Accessions BG-005542 and LUP 261/89 had the highest green forage yields of 53.3 t ha⁻¹ and 52.9 t ha⁻¹ respectively. The average dry forage matter yield ranged from 4.0 t ha⁻¹ in BG-002173 to 8.7 t ha⁻¹ in Termis. The greatest dry matter proportion in green forage was in Termis and Siebacher Red (0.19)

EFFECT OF NITROGEN FERTILIZATION AND UNDERSOWING ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF CYNOSURETUM CRISTATI-TYPE MEADOWS IN HILLY-MOUNTAINOUS GRASSLANDS IN SERBIA

The trial was carried out during two years (2003 and 2004) on Cynosuretum cristati-type meadow in the hillymountainous region of Serbia (altitude 1158 m). The investigation included five nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg ha-1 yr-1) and undersowing with red clover and birdsfoot trefoil. Increase in nitrogen fertilization level resulted in corresponding increases in the quantity and quality of grass, while legumes and other herbages decreased. Maximum two-year average dry matter yield of 4.44 t ha-1 was achieved with the highest N rate (160 kg ha-1). The increase was 2.03 t ha-1 or 85.0% compared with the control. Increased N rates increasing the contents of protein, ash, fat, Cu, Co, and NO3, and reduced the contents of cellulose, K, P, Ca, Mg, S, Zn, and B. Dry matter yield in the undersowing treatment was low, only slightly over that of the control in both study years. Furthermore, undersowing failed to affect the chemical and mineral composition of dry matter

Sandfly surveillance and investigation of Leishmania spp. DNA in sandflies in Kosovo

In the past decade, leishmaniasis seems to be re-emerging in Balkan countries. There are serious implications that Kosovo is a visceral leishmaniasis endemic region with autochthonous transmission; nevertheless, surveillance of vectors, reservoirs or the disease is not yet established. Gaining knowledge about sandfly vector species is a prerequisite for the development of a monitoring and control plan in the future. After a long gap in research of over 70 years, sandfly studies in Kosovo were resumed in 2014. During this presence/absence study, nine sandfly species were detected: Phlebotomus papatasi, Ph. perfiliewi, Ph. tobbi, Ph. neglectus, Ph. simici, Ph. balcanicus, Ph. alexandri, Ph. mascittii and Sergentomyia minuta. Three species are new with regard to the fauna of Kosovo - Ph. alexandri, Ph. balcanicus and Ph. mascittii. Besides increased diversity, changes in the number of collected specimens and distribution range of species were recorded, with Ph. neglectus being the most dominant species with the widest distribution. Testing of randomly chosen females for Leishmania spp. DNA resulted the in detection of L. tropica in a specimen of Ph. neglectus. The presence of numerous vector species in the sandfly fauna of Kosovo pose a threat for the re-emergence of vector-borne diseases. Therefore, continuous surveillance is recommended with regular updates on vector distribution and abundance

Nutritional properties of sainfoin (Onobrychis vichfolia scop.) autochthonous populations in Serbia and B&H

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is the only species in the genus Onobrychis. Sainfoin is a Eurasian perennial herb that has purple flowers, curved pods and is naturalized in Europe, Asia and North America grasslands on calcareous soil. Sainfoin has been grown in parts of Europe and Asia for hundreds of years. Understanding the relationships among sainfoin ecogeographic, and chemical characteristics may provide insights for better utilizing exotic germplasm. Ten sainfoin populations, were sampled and determined in Serbia and B&H. Some chemical properties, such as crude protein, ash, fat, crude fibre, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, K/(Ca+Mg) ratio, and sulfur. Serbia is an important gene origin center for most legume species. Considering the high values of their traits, some Serbian sainfoin populations could serve as a valuable breeding material. In comparison with populations from other parts of the world, Serbian populations are superior in chemical properties and nutritional quality values