Evaluating Mustard Seed Meal for Weed Suppression in Borage (Borago officinalis L.) Cultivation

A field experiment was carried out in Felin Experimental Farm (2019) in Lublin region (Poland) in order to determine the effect of white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) seed meal (MSM) on weed density as well as on borage plant growth and yield under field cultivation. MSM scattered on soil surface at rates of 2 and 3 t ha−1 when weeds emerged and a day before emergence of borage did not affect the number of borage seedlings but caused transient growth stunting and chlorosis of cotyledons and first leaves. However, final plant height, yield of above-ground parts, mericarp dimensions and weight, content of oil in mericarps, and oil composition were not significantly affected by MSM treatment. At harvest, MSM had decomposed completely, supplying considerable amounts of phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium to the soil, but did not affect its pH or organic matter content. MSM suppressed weed density by 37%–46% during the period of highest sensivity of borage to weed competition. Among dominant weeds occurring in the experiment, Gnaphalium uliginosum and Stellaria media were the most susceptible to MSM, while Amaranthus retroflexus and Galinsoga ciliata were mildly susceptible, Echinochloa cruss-galli and Poa annua were less susceptible, and the least susceptible species was Capsella bursa-pastoris. Obtained results show that MSM may have value for early season weed suppression in borage cultivation

The effect of different types of rootstock on the quality of maiden trees of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cv. ‘Regina’

Over the period 2006–2009 in Lublin, a study was conducted to determine the effect of five types of rootstock: ‘Colt’, ‘F12/1’, sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), ‘GiSelA 5’ and ‘Piast’ mahaleb cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.), on the growth and quality of maiden sweet cherry trees cv. ‘Regina’ in a commercial nursery. Based on the three-year average, rootstocks were shown to have a significant effect on the investigated quality characteristics of maiden sweet cherry trees. Trees budded on ‘Colt’ vegetative rootstock were characterized by strongest growth and best quality. In each year, they were thicker, higher and better branched than sweet cherries on the rootstock. Under the tested conditions, ‘GiSelA 5’ dwarf rootstock significantly reduced the growth and quality of budded sweet cherry trees in the nursery. During the period 2007–2009, no physiological incompatibility symptoms were observed ‘Regina’ sweet cherry cv. and ‘Piast’ seedling rootstocks. The growth of trees budded on ‘Piast’ mahaleb cherry was poorer than on ‘Colt’ clonal rootstock, but it was stronger than on ‘F12/1’ and Prunus avium L. rootstocks

Impact of effective microorganisms on weed infestation and yield of peppermint cultivated on muck-peat soil

Peppermint (Mentha ×piperita L.) rootstock cuttings with 9–11 internodes were planted on April 10, 2014 in rows 50 cm apart and with 25-cm distance in the row, on well fertilized muck-peat soil containing 82.1% of organic matter with a pH of 5.9. Peppermint plants were sprayed once with an activated EM-1 preparation, then on two or three further occasions as follows: at 10 cm height (May 10), at branching stage (May 29), and during rapid growth (June 19). EM did not affect peppermint growth or yield. Yields of the fresh and dry herb were high (means: 15,563 and 2,661 kg ha−1, respectively) and characterized by a medium (1.85–1.90%) essential oil content in the dry herb. Twenty-nine compounds were identified in the oil and its main components were menthol (53.1–58.5%), menthone (14.6–16.8%), isomenthone (6.3–6.7%), menthyl acetate (4.0–5.0%), germacrene D (2.3–3.4%), ß-caryophyllene (1.8–2.4%), viridiflorol (1.5–2.3%), and 1,8-cyneole (0.3–3.7%). EM did not affect the content of essential oil in the dry herb or the oil composition (except for 1,8-cyneole). Thirty-four days after planting, 22 weed species grew in the experimental plots and the dominant were common meadow grass (Poa pratensis L.) accounting for 20% of total weed population, annual meadow grass (Poa annua L.) 17%, common chickweed [Stellaria media (L.) Vill.] 20%, creeping yellowcress [Rorippa sylvestris (L.) Besser] 8%, hairy galinsoga [Galinsoga ciliata (Raf.) S. F. Blake] 7%, gallant soldiers (Galinsoga parviflora Cav.) 6%, Canadian horseweed [Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq.] 6%, common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris L.) 5%, and annual nettle (Urtica urens L.) 5%. Other species occurred sporadically. The total number and fresh weight of weeds growing on 1 m2 were 412 and 246 g on plots treated with EM and 389 and 227 g on control plots, respectively, but the differences were not statistically significant

The effect of rootstocks on the efficiency of a nursery of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) trees cv. ‘Regina’

During the period 2006–2009 in Lublin, a study was conducted to determine the effect of five rootstocks: ‘Colt’, ‘F12/1’, sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), ‘GiSelA 5’, and ‘Piast’, on bud take in the cultivar ‘Regina’, the quality of budded trees and the efficiency of a sweet cherry tree nursery. The highest percentage of bud take in cherry trees cv. ‘Regina’ and the best efficiency of the sweet cherry tree nursery were obtained for the rootstocks ‘Piast’ and ‘Colt’. In two years during the three-year study period, the rootstock was found to significantly affect the efficiency of the sweet cherry tree nursery. When grafted on the rootstocks ‘Colt’ and ‘Piast’, a significantly higher percentage of trees met the requirements of the Polish Standard PN-R-67010 than on the clonal rootstock ‘GiSelA 5’. Under the tested conditions, the quality of maiden sweet cherry trees cv. ‘Regina’ grafted on the dwarfing rootstock ‘GiSelA 5’ was lowest

The effect of flower removal on the growth and quality of bushes of two rose (Rosa L.) varieties

The present study was conducted during the period 2008–2011 in a production nursery without irrigation and established on grey-brown podzolic soil classified as soil class II. The study investigated the effect of regular flower removal on the growth and quality of bushes of the following rose (Rosa L.) varieties: a multi-flowered variety ‘Arthur Bell’ and a large-flowered variety ‘Burgund’. In the case of the multi-flowered variety ‘Arthur Bell’, flower removal was found to have a significant effect on the number and total length of shoots growing from the bud union in bushes. On the other hand, this practice was not shown to have an effect on the growth and quality of bushes of the large-flowered variety ‘Burgund’. In the case of bushes of the studied varieties budded on Rosa multiflora Thunb. rootstock, the study showed significant differences in plant growth and branching between years. In 2009, after spring frosts that damaged young shoots and as an effect of a lower amount of rainfall by about 60 mm during the growing season, a much worse quality of rose bushes was obtained than in the other years

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - living with chronic pain. Current knowledge of the disease

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a group of the most common inherited connective tissue disorders. The main symptoms of this syndrome are excessive skin flexibility, joint hypermobility and blood vessels fragility. The diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms, but to confirm the type of EDS, it is necessary to identify the collagen-encoding gene or protein interacting with it. The group of Ehlers and Danlos diseases include fourteen types, the most common are classic, vascular, hypermobile, arthrochalasis, kyphoscoliotic and dermatosparaxis. [15] Connective tissue plays a key role in the process of movement, constituting the main component of bones, joint cartilage, tendons, ligaments and intervertebral discs. In addition, connective tissue is a part of every internal organ including the intestines and parenchymal organs and the cardiovascular system.[19] For this reason, patients with EDS show symptoms of many diseases, including respiratory, muscular, skeletal and vascular. Women suffering from EDS often struggle with complications during their pregnancies. Psychological and emotional issues are also common.[6] However, the most noticeable and debilitating symptom of EDS is pain, which is often severe and chronic. The pain occurs in approximately 90% or more of EDS patients.[8] Successful pain management in patients with EDS is a major challenge for specialists. The treatment involves non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acetaminophen, opioids and physiotherapy. Also marijuana, traditional chinese treatments, herbal remedies are considered to reduce the severity of the symptoms. [9] During the creation of this article, the authors analyzed the clinically relevant knowledge of EDS treatment and management based on research published on Pubmed

The impact of no-tillage cultivation and white mustard as a cover crop on weed infestation and yield of carrot and red beet

In a two-year field experiment, no-tillage cultivation using white mustard (Sinapis alba L. ‘Bardena’), 30 kg ha−1, as a cover crop did not influence emergence of red beet (Beta vulgaris L. ‘Czerwona Kula REW’) and had a favorable effect on emergence of carrot (Daucus carota L. ‘Berlikumer 2 – Perfekcja REW’). However, further growth of both vegetables was significantly slower under no-tillage cultivation. Both vegetables produced a higher yield of roots and the diameter of these roots was bigger under conventional cultivation. The effect of cultivation method on the content of total nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium in carrot and red beet leaves varied, while the content of dry matter, monosaccharides and total sugars was significantly higher in the roots of both vegetables harvested under no-tillage cultivation. The number of weeds growing on no-tilled plots covered with mustard mulch 4 weeks after seed sowing was lower by about 75%, but their fresh weight was higher more than 6 times in comparison to that under conventional cultivation. This was caused by the emergence of wintering and winter hardy weeds in places not covered by mustard plants in the autumn of the year preceding the cultivation of vegetables. Next year, they started to grow in the early spring and some of them produced a considerable amount of fresh weight and attained the flowering stage in the middle of April

Influence of Rootstock on Yield Quantity and Quality, Contents of Biologically Active Compounds and Antioxidant Activity in Regent Grapevine Fruit

The cultivation of vines in temperate climates poses many difficulties to be overcome. The soil and climatic conditions in Poland limit the choice of vine varieties that can be used in the field; therefore, growers are often limited to varieties that are tolerant to extreme winter temperatures and spring frosts and to cultivars that are able to achieve optimum berry maturity at the end of the season. The study evaluated the effect of six rootstock types and own-root bushes on yield quantity and quality and on the content of biologically active compounds and antioxidant activity in Regent grapevine fruit. The research was conducted in 2015 at NOBILIS Vineyard (50°39′ N; 21°34′ E) in the Sandomierz Upland. Among the evaluated rootstocks, 125AA turned out to exert the significantly best effect on the yield, grape and berry weight, and number of grapes per bush. The fruit from bushes grafted on the 5BB rootstock were characterised by the highest content of L-ascorbic acid and tannins

The effect of different types of rootstock on the quality of maiden trees of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cv. ‘Regina’

Over the period 2006–2009 in Lublin, a study was conducted to determine the effect of five types of rootstock: ‘Colt’, ‘F12/1’, sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), ‘GiSelA 5’ and ‘Piast’ mahaleb cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.), on the growth and quality of maiden sweet cherry trees cv. ‘Regina’ in a commercial nursery. Based on the three-year average, rootstocks were shown to have a significant effect on the investigated quality characteristics of maiden sweet cherry trees. Trees budded on ‘Colt’ vegetative rootstock were characterized by strongest growth and best quality. In each year, they were thicker, higher and better branched than sweet cherries on the rootstock. Under the tested conditions, ‘GiSelA 5’ dwarf rootstock significantly reduced the growth and quality of budded sweet cherry trees in the nursery. During the period 2007–2009, no physiological incompatibility symptoms were observed ‘Regina’ sweet cherry cv. and ‘Piast’ seedling rootstocks. The growth of trees budded on ‘Piast’ mahaleb cherry was poorer than on ‘Colt’ clonal rootstock, but it was stronger than on ‘F12/1’ and Prunus avium L. rootstocks