Cultivation and analysis of anthocyanin containing types of potatoes in organic farming regarding cultivability and additional health benefits

In a two year research project a representative spectrum of blue potato varieties were cultivated and tested in detail regarding disease infestation, yield potential and the influence of production systems (organic). Cultivation recommendations for blue potatoes could be deduced from this. Furthermore the varying anthocyanin content as well as the antioxidant capacity of the varieties used was analysed. Varieties with a particularly high content will undergo further tests to show the influence of the manner of preparation (boiling, steaming, frying) and determine their use for the processing industry. The combination of ecologically produced potatoes with „additional health benefits“ arouses the customers interest. The cultivation of high yield blue types can be an alternative to the cultivation of yellow fleshed high yield varieties in organic operating companies

Ermittlung der Futterqualität verschiedener Wintererbsengenotypen in Rein- und Gemengesaat zur Nutzung als nachwachsender Rohstoff, als Grünfutter und als Druschfrucht

Normalblättrige Wintererbsen sind in Reinsaat eine rohproteinreiche Winterzwischenfrucht für die Nutzung als Grünfutter oder als nachwachsender Rohstoff zur Energiegewinnung im Rahmen von Zweikulturnutzungssystemen. Zum Korndrusch im Gemengeanbau stellen sie bei mindestens vergleichbaren Kornerträgen und Qualitäten eine Alternative zu Sommererbsen dar. Dabei können Anbauprobleme von Sommererbsen besonders hinsichtlich der Unkrautregulierung reduziert werden

Variability of the height of plants of hybrid forms of spring common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under different ecological and geographical conditions

The results of two-year research (2013–2014) of the variability of plant height in spring common wheat hybrid forms (F4, F5) in three geographical localities, including Russia (Tyumen region) and Germany (Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony), which differ considerably in soil and climatic conditions, are presented. These three localities also differ in temperature and availability of water during the growing seasons of spring wheat. Differences between the geographical points in water supply and aridity during two growing seasons (2013–2014) were assessed on the basis of G.T. Selyaninov’s hydrothermal coefficient (HTS). The height of plants of different hybrids showed different responses to differences in environmental factors. Hybrids demonstrated a moderate degree of height variability (CV = 11–25 %). Hybrid forms characterized by the largest range in plant height within a locality were identified. The morphotypes of the hybrids were presented by undersized and moderately sized plants. It was found that hybrids formed higher plants under conditions of sufficient moisture. The contributions of the major factors (point, year, a genotype) to the formation of the height of plants were investigated by three-way analysis of variance. The results of this analysis demonstrated that the environmental conditions were responsible for the largest proportion of the explained variation of the variable under study (plant height). Two hybrid forms ( Hybrid × Lutescens 70 and Cara × Skent 3) with the least expressed variation in plant height and the highest lodging resistance were identified. Height of plants is considered one of the indicators characterizing the environmental plasticity of genotypes under different soil and climatic conditions

Resistance of hybrid (F4, F5) forms of the spring soft wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to leaf phytopathogens under different ecological and geographical conditions

The search for and creation of the initial material steady against adverse environmental factors and adapted to constantly changing weather conditions have always been some of the most promising directions of selection of agricultural plants. Results of studying the resistance of spring soft wheat (F4, F5) hybrids to the main leaf phytopathogens (Erysiphe graminis DC. f. sp. tritici Em. Marchal, Alternaria spp., Helminthosporium spp. and Puccinia recondita Rob. ex. Desm f. sp. tritici Eriks) under different soil and climatic conditions are presented. Tests were carried out within two vegetative periods (2013–2014) in three geographic locations: Tyumen region (Russia), Baden-Württemberg (Germany) and Lower Saxony (Germany). These areas significantly differed in climatic conditions during the study years. The assessment of resistance to leaf diseases in the hybrids was carried out in the settings of natural infection. The influence of a complex of abiotic factors on the prevalence of phytopathogenic fungi at the study sites has been demonstrated. Hybrid combinations that were less susceptible to powdery mildew, brown rust and spot blotch than other hybrids have been identified, and so have been the hybrids that have resistance to all the phytopathogens identified. It was noted that the hybrid forms under the ecological test had different indicators of biological resistance of plants across the geographic study sites. The ♀Cara × ♂Lutescents 70 hybrid at both German sites had rather a high index of biological resistance of plants and possessed, according to field data, complex resistance to the main phytopathogenic fungi at all geographic sites.  Ecological testing of new plant genotypes under environmental conditions strongly differing in biotic and abiotic factors is one of effective methods to reveal resistance to phytopathogens and to identify highly adapted cultured plants

Impacts of elevated dissolved CO2 on a shallow groundwater system: reactive transport modeling of a controlled-release field test

One of the risks that CO2 geological sequestration imposes on the environment is the impact of potential CO2/brine leakage on shallow groundwater. The reliability of reactive transport models predicting the response of groundwater to CO2 leakage depends on a thorough understanding of the relevant chemical processes and key parameters affecting dissolved CO2 transport and reaction. Such understanding can be provided by targeted field tests integrated with reactive transport modeling. A controlled-release field experiment was conducted in Mississippi to study the CO2-induced geochemical changes in a shallow sandy aquifer at about 50 m depth. The field test involved a dipole system in which the groundwater was pumped from one well, saturated with CO2 at the pressure corresponding to the hydraulic pressure of the aquifer, and then re-injected into the same aquifer using a second well. Groundwater samples were collected for chemical analyses from four monitoring wells before, during and after the dissolved CO2 was injected. In this paper, we present reactive transport models used to interpret the observed changes in metal concentrations in these groundwater samples. A reasonable agreement between simulated and measured concentrations indicates that the chemical response in the aquifer can be interpreted using a conceptual model that encompasses two main features: (a) a fast-reacting but limited pool of reactive minerals that responds quickly to changes in pH and causes a pulse-like concentration change, and (b) a slow-reacting but essentially unlimited mineral pool that yields rising metal concentrations upon decreased groundwater velocities after pumping and injection stopped. During the injection, calcite dissolution and Ca-driven cation exchange reactions contribute to a sharp pulse in concentrations of Ca, Ba, Mg, Mn, K, Li, Na and Sr, whereas desorption reactions control a similar increase in Fe concentrations. After the injection and pumping stops and the groundwater flow rate decreases, the dissolution of relatively slow reacting minerals such as plagioclase drives the rising concentrations of alkali and alkaline earth metals observed at later stages of the test, whereas the dissolution of amorphous iron sulfide causes slowly increasing Fe concentrations