INFLUENCE OF COMPOST MIXTURE ON THE LETTUCE YIELD AND QUALITY FORMATION

In Bulgaria there are many natural materials that present an interest for human activity in relation of their use and properties. Five natural products were tested. In base of their quantity and quality characteristics was offered different mixture in various combination of vermiculites, ash from straw biomass, wood biomass and pig manure. The aim of the study is based on the characterization and evaluation of the proposed natural products. Different ratio of mixtures was tested as a soil improver and their impact on yield and chemical characteristic of plant production. Pot experiment with lettuce is set out in the following versions: control, 2, 5, 7, and 11% by soil weight. The highest yield is obtained in variants with 11% of all compost mixture. In mixtures (2, 3 and 5) with large manure content has been observed highest increase of yield as a result of more imported nutrients by organic manure. Chemical characteristics of lettuce crop production, with the participation of all variants of compost mixtures show that the main nutrients - nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are normal for plant species. The level of tested heavy metal is below toxic concentration. The results of total sugars content and photosynthetic activity correspond with data obtained in biomass harvesting in pot experiment. In all variants with 7-11% compost mixture was observed the highest level of photo-synthetically active chlorophyll "a"

AGRI-ECOLOGICAL ZONING OF MUNICIPALITIES IN THE KYUSTENDIL REGION

It has been done agroecological zoning of nine municipalities in Kyustendil area - Bobovdol, Boboshevo, Kocherinovo, Kyustendil, Nevestino, Rila, Sapareva bania, Dupnitza and Treklyano. Agroecological zoning is done based on certain environmental characteristics, basic of which are: prevailing soil type; an extreme manifestation of certain climatic factors; altitude; relief features and other. In the presented paper were analyzed and described: weather conditions; soil resources; agronomic suitability of land for organic growing of suitable for the region crops. There were considered the potential threats of soil erosion, acidification and compaction. It was prepared land evaluation regarding the potential for growing grape and fruit, vegetable crops, meadows and pastures. It was found that the areas with altitude above 800 m are unsuitable for cultivation with fruit crops, which can be planted in areas with an altitude of 1800 m. Vegetable crops are not suitable to be cultivated in areas with altitude above 800 m are with the exception of late potatoes which may be planted in places with an altitude of 1800 m. It was found that the areas with altitude above 800 m are unsuitable for growing vines. The territories with altitude above 2400m are unusable for grassland

Management of Rhinitis: Allergic and Non-Allergic

Rhinitis is a global problem and is defined as the presence of at least one of the following: congestion, rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasal itching, and nasal obstruction. The two major classifications are allergic and nonallergic rhinitis (NAR). Allergic rhinitis occurs when an allergen is the trigger for the nasal symptoms. NAR is when obstruction and rhinorrhea occurs in relation to nonallergic, noninfectious triggers such as change in the weather, exposure to caustic odors or cigarette smoke, barometric pressure differences, etc. There is a lack of concomitant allergic disease, determined by negative skin prick test for relevant allergens and/or negative allergen-specific antibody tests. Both are highly prevalent diseases that have a significant economic burden on society and negative impact on patient quality of life. Treatment of allergic rhinitis includes allergen avoidance, antihistamines (oral and intranasal), intranasal corticosteroids, intranasal cromones, leukotriene receptor antagonists, and immunotherapy. Occasional systemic corticosteroids and decongestants (oral and topical) are also used. NAR has 8 major subtypes which includes nonallergic rhinopathy (previously known as vasomotor rhinitis), nonallergic rhinitis with eosinophilia, atrophic rhinitis, senile rhinitis, gustatory rhinitis, drug-induced rhinitis, hormonal-induced rhinitis, and cerebral spinal fluid leak. The mainstay of treatment for NAR are intranasal corticosteroids. Topical antihistamines have also been found to be efficacious. Topical anticholinergics such as ipratropium bromide (0.03%) nasal spray are effective in treating rhinorrhea symptoms. Adjunct therapy includes decongestants and nasal saline. Investigational therapies in the treatment of NAR discussed include capsaicin, silver nitrate, and acupuncture

Methodological approach for farm typology construction in terms of soil health – the EU case

Soil health is a significant problem in agriculture which demands a tailor-made approach. The study aims to develop a methodological approach for farm typology construction in terms of soil health. TUdi project, under which was made this study, aims to transform unsustainable management of soils in key cropping systems in Europe and China, developing an integrated platform of alternatives to reverse soil degradation. Thus, the focus is on small, medium, and large EU farms, which produce in the three key cropping systems - grassland, cereal-based rotation, and tree crops. It was applied principal component analysis based on which it was constructed four factors, related to soil health. The results from this analysis was used to feed up the cluster analysis together with other significant variables. The developed farm typology consists of four farm types. From practical point of view was introduced a methodology which allow to determine the type of each farm according the TUdi typology

Методологичен подход за изграждане на типологията на ферми от гледна точка на здравето на почвата случаят на ЕС

[EN] Soil health is a significant problem in agriculture which demands a tailor-made approach. The study aims to develop a methodological approach for farm typology construction in terms of soil health. TUdi project, under which was made this study, aims to transform unsustainable management of soils in key cropping systems in Europe and China, developing an integrated platform of alternatives to reverse soil degradation. Thus, the focus is on small, medium, and large EU farms, which produce in the three key cropping systems – grassland, cereal-based rotation, and tree crops. It was applied principal component analysis based on which it was constructed four factors, related to soil health. The results from this analysis was used to feed up the cluster analysis together with other significant variables. The developed farm typology consists of four farm types. From practical point of view was introduced a methodology which allow to determine the type of each farm according the TUdi typology.[BG] Здравето на почвата е значим проблем в аграрната икономика, които изисква прилагането на индивидуален подход. Целта на настоящата разработка е да се предложи методология за конструиране на типология на ферми, свързана със здравето на почвата. Анализът е реализиран по проект „Tudi“, който цели трансформирането на неустойчивото управление на почвите в ключови системи в Европа и Китай, разработвайки интегрирана платформа за алтернативи за обръщане на деградацията на почвата. В тази връзка фокусът е насочен към малки, средни и големи ферми от страни, членки на ЕС, които произвеждат продукция в трите ключови системи на земеделието – зърнени култури, трайни насаждения и пасища. Използван е анализ на главните компоненти за конструирането на четири фактора, свързани със здравето на почвата. Тези фактори, заедно с други ключови променливи, са анализирани чрез клъстерен анализ за формирането на четири типа ферми. Предложен е подход за определяне на мястото на всяка една ферма в тази типология.The study was developed with the financial help of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation action under the project “Transforming Unsustainable management of soils in key agricultural systems in EU and China. Developing an integrated platform of alternatives to reverse soil degradation” – TUdi with grant agreement No 101000224.Peer reviewe

Land evaluation for agricultural purposes: Bulgarian system. Part ІI: evaluation scales according to winter wheat requirements

The methods and approaches for evaluating the lands in Bulgaria according to the winter wheat requirements are demonstrated here. The Bulgarian system is using parametric method and uses important characteristics of the land–soil, relief, and climate according to the pre-developed scales. A high satisfactory level is reached about the adequacy of the relative evaluation. An example is shown

Single- and Multi-Date Crop Identification Using PROBA-V 100 and 300 m S1 Products on Zlatia Test Site, Bulgaria

The monitoring of crops is of vital importance for food and environmental security in a global and European context. The main goal of this study was to assess the crop mapping performance provided by the 100 m spatial resolution of PROBA-V compared to coarser resolution data (e.g., PROBA-V at 300 m) for a 2250 km2 test site in Bulgaria. The focus was on winter and summer crop mapping with three to five classes. For classification, single- and multi-date spectral data were used as well as NDVI time series. Our results demonstrate that crop identification using 100 m PROBA-V data performed significantly better in all experiments compared to the PROBA-V 300 m data. PROBA-V multispectral imagery, acquired in spring (March) was the most appropriate for winter crop identification, while satellite data acquired in summer (July) was superior for summer crop identification. The classification accuracy from PROBA-V 100 m compared to PROBA-V 300 m was improved by 5.8% to 14.8% depending on crop type. Stacked multi-date satellite images with three to four images gave overall classification accuracies of 74%–77% (PROBA-V 100 m data) and 66%–70% (PROBA-V 300 m data) with four classes (wheat, rapeseed, maize, and sunflower). This demonstrates that three to four image acquisitions, well distributed over the growing season, capture most of the spectral and temporal variability in our test site. Regarding the PROBA-V NDVI time series, useful results were only obtained if crops were grouped into two broader crop type classes (summer and winter crops). Mapping accuracies decreased significantly when mapping more classes. Again, a positive impact of the increased spatial resolution was noted. Together, the findings demonstrate the positive effect of the 100 m resolution PROBA-V data compared to the 300 m for crop mapping. This has important implications for future data provision and strengthens the arguments for a second generation of this mission originally designed solely as a “gap-filler mission”