Sorghum and Foxtail Millet—Promising Crops for the Changing Climate in Central Europe

Climate change is connected to many undesirable aspects which may strongly affect agricultural production in the future, not only in the Czech Republic but also in other countries in Central Europe. The most serious risks with the main impacts on agricultural production are the frequency and intensity of occurrence of extreme events. Problems caused by drought and its impact on agricultural production are starting to be serious and urgent. One of the solutions is using the drought-tolerant/resistant species and/or varieties more adaptable to water stress. Sorghum and foxtail millet might be the solution for Czech conditions. They can provide good yields even in dry periods. This study discusses grain quality of foxtail millet and biomass quality in the case of sorghum. In addition, the benefits of cultivation of these two species and current knowledge from a scientific point of view are summarised here

Natural Fusarium occurrence qualitative evaluation on cereals under conventional and organic system in the Czech Republic

Cereals are the most growing crops under organic conditions. Cereals are supposed to be a source of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species. Our research was led to describe the differences among natural Fusarium species occurrence in two localities and two growing systems – organic and conventional. The main differences were observed among years and cereal species. No statistically significant differences were determined between localities and farming systems.Keywords: Fusarium natural occurrence, organic farming, conventional farmin

Effect of Fusarium spp. Contamination on Baking Quality of Wheat

The effect of Fusarium spp. contamination on baking quality of winter common wheat and spelt wheat from different growing systems (organic and conventional) was evaluated by the standard technological quality characteristics and by the rheological system Mixolab. The content of Fusarium spp. mycotoxins [deoxynivalenol (DON), deoxynivalenol-3-β-d-glucoside (D3G), 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON), and Zearalenones (ZON)] was determined too. Significantly worse standard technological quality parameters and rheological parameters were determined for artificially inoculated variants of both evaluated wheat species. Statistically significant negative correlation coefficients were discovered between content of mycotoxins and many of technological characteristics, for example, DON content and Zeleny sedimentation for common wheat and spelt (−0.60*; −0.66*) and also between DON content and volume weight (−0.63*; −0.95**) for both wheat species. Resulted Mixolab parameters confirmed that Fusarium spp. infection worsens both protein and starch characteristics for both wheat species. However, effect of Fusarium spp. contamination in spelt wheat was generally less pronounced in comparison with common wheat. Despite of visible shifts of Mixolab curves of samples from organic and conventional growing systems, resulted Mixolab characteristics were statistically comparable

Organic wheat seed quality

The Council Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007, and the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 889/2008, are the most important European legislative instructions addressing organic farming. EU regulation lay down the law to solely use organic seeds in order to establish organic crop stands. The seed must originate from plants being grown in compliance with the organic farming rules for at least one generation. It is extremely difficult to get high-quality certified organic seeds. However, organic farmers are not allowed to use any other seeds than the certified organic seeds. Certified organic seeds are rare and organic farmers usually have to use conventional untreated seeds or farm seeds in order to establish their crop stands. For this reason, we evaluated health and biological characteristics of SW Kadrilj variety of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) within the three-year trial (2010-2012). The experimental crop stands were established in three different localities within the Czech Republic. There were minimum differences (not statistically significant) in the level of seed contamination with colonies of the most frequent pathogens. There were also low differences in biological quality of seed only in case of some years there were small differences in energy of germination and laboratory germination. Results of the trials have shown the sufficient quality of all the tested seeds origin. However, they must come from the farms applying high-quality agrotechnologies

Plant genetic resources and their use in organic agriculture

Organic agriculture and plant genetic resources are closely related topics, as organic farming relies on the conservation and use of diverse and adapted varieties of crops. Plant genetic resources are the raw materials that can help improve the productivity and quality of organic agriculture, as well as enhance its resilience to environmental stresses and pests. Organic agriculture also contributes to the in-situ conservation of plant genetic resources by maintaining and selecting local varieties that have a high degree of genetic variability. An important goal of the ECOBREED project is to identify genetic and phenotypic variations for morphological, abiotic/biotic tolerances/resistance and nutritional quality traits that can be used in organic breeding. The first step to achieve this goal was to make the inventory of available genotypes of four crops: wheat, potato, soybean, and buckwheat. For this purpose, we have examined genetic resources of four crops stored in gene banks, used in previous European and national research projects, and available through plant breeding programmes and seed companies. We have also used agronomic data on available and used varieties in organic farming, varieties characterized by good disease resistance and quality. Selected 200 wheat genotypes originate from 12 different European countries, 197 potato accessions were identified from several databases, the list contains 242 soybean accessions that originated all around the world and of buckwheat were identified through international databases. Much of the material represents cultivars that were released in the last two decades and are included in either the European list or national lists

Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses

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Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses

Demand for organic foods is partially driven by consumers' perceptions that they are more nutritious. However, scientific opinion is divided on whether there are significant nutritional differences between organic and non-organic foods, and two recent reviews have concluded that there are no differences. In the present study, we carried out meta-analyses based on 343 peer-reviewed publications that indicate statistically significant and meaningful differences in composition between organic and non-organic crops/crop-based foods. Most importantly, the concentrations of a range of antioxidants such as polyphenolics were found to be substantially higher in organic crops/crop-based foods, with those of phenolic acids, flavanones, stilbenes, flavones, flavonols and anthocyanins being an estimated 19 (95% CI 5, 33)%, 69 (95% CI 13, 125)%, 28 (95% CI 12, 44)%, 26 (95% CI 3, 48)%, 50 (95% CI 28, 72)% and 51 (95% CI 17, 86)% higher, respectively. Many of these compounds have previously been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases, including CVD and neurodegenerative diseases and certain cancers, in dietary intervention and epidemiological studies. Additionally, the frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues was found to be four times higher in conventional crops, which also contained significantly higher concentrations of the toxic metal Cd. Significant differences were also detected for some other (e.g. minerals and vitamins) compounds. There is evidence that higher antioxidant concentrations and lower Cd concentrations are linked to specific agronomic practices (e.g. non-use of mineral N and P fertilisers, respectively) prescribed in organic farming systems. In conclusion, organic crops, on average, have higher concentrations of antioxidants, lower concentrations of Cd and a lower incidence of pesticide residues than the non-organic comparators across regions and production season