No abstract

Hydropower plants on the lower river Sava, Slovenia, were developed without sealing the underground upstream. As a consequence, without the countermeasures of elevating and recultivating, the agricultural land on the river banks would be inundated because of the water-table increase of the river. To remedy this, the fields were elevated and recultivated. The goal of this study was to assess soil quality and production potential after land raising and recultivation and to answer the question whether it is possible to recover soil quality and crop yield after large-scale mass manipulation, such as land raising. After recultivation and after the second year of land reuse for the two cultures grass-clover mixture and corn on two sites, Middle Pijavsko and Lower Pijavsko, soil physical and chemical characteristics and crop yields were evaluated. Mixing of topsoil with the second horizon during removal and during backfill with filling material resulted in uneven soil fertility, plant growth and decreased yield. Driving on the refilled second layer with heavy machinery caused soil compaction in the Middle Pijavsko in spite of favourable soil texture (loam, 38 . 7% sand). On the areas with very high sand content (over 55%) and low clay content (10%), soil compaction was not as severe or persistent. Recultivation measures restored the agricultural land almost to the production potential prior to powerplant construction. Immediate intensive land use (corn) showed less favourable effect on soil characteristics.

The environment can have a crucial influence on soybean production in particular regions, even more so when production environments are different from breeding environments. Therefore, soybean cultivars must be evaluated in field trials at various locations in order to explore the duration of the growing period and capacity of yield, which is based on interactions between genotype and environment. Seven soybean cultivars originating from five European countries were evaluated for thousand-seed weight, seed, protein and oil yields and protein and oil contents in five environments in Slovenia. Yield stability of seed, protein and oil was determined in order to select best genotype. Results showed that cultivar and environment had a significant impact on all measured variables. In almost all tested environments the best seed, protein and oil yielding cultivars were ES Mentor (3425-5628 kg seed/ha, 1280-2192 kg protein/ha, 640.8-918.9 kg oil/ha) and NS Mercury (3468-5342 kg seed/ha, 1266-2071 kg protein/ha, 618.6-880.7 kg oil/ha). The highest average protein content was found in NS Favorit (41.0% of DW). Volma had the highest average oil content (20.2%). Three yield stability indices were used to assess yield stability; in terms of Shukla?s variance (?i2) and S square Wricke?s ecovalence (Wi2), Josefine turned out to have most stable seed and oil yields, while ES Mentor had most stable protein yields. Regarding Kang?s yield stability (YSi), which makes simultaneous selection for mean yield and stability and is therefore most relevant for practical usage, ES Mentor, NS Mercury and NS Favorit were selected as superior genotypes regarding stability of seed, protein and oil in this study. Correlation analysis of some chosen traits showed different interdependence between measured variables depending on the environment. As expected, protein and oil contents were negatively correlated, yet this was only significant in one environment. The results of this study pointed out that among the seven tested cultivars, ES Mentor, NS Mercury and NS Favorit were best genotypes and are highly recommended for usage in soybean production in Slovenia.

No abstract

Despite the fact that successive sowing of maize was legally limited due to the occurrence of the corn rootworm beetle in 2003 and the integrated crop production was introduced in 2004, maize is still the most common and desired crop on arable and livestock farms in Slovenia. With a focus on the economic motives for the production farmers are gradually beginning to consider also the phytosanitary viewpoint, but the planning of a crop rotation is a demanding task, especially for younger farmers with no previous experience. The results of the analysis of crop rotations on conventional and integrated arable and livestock farms in northeast and western Slovenia in the period from 2000 to 2009 show that the maize monoculture has been supplemented by other grains, mostly wheat and barley, but legumes and supplementary crops are still missing from the rotation. With newly introduced crops to Slovene fields the need for new and modern agro-technical measures is increasing and also the need for improved knowledge of biological characteristics of individual varieties and species with their suitable order and share in the crop rotation. To help the farmers find the best solution for their production we have prepared some recommendations for the crop rotations with the main and supplementary crops, following good and proven examples of crop rotations used in the past. Whether farmers will use them on their farms depends not only on their technical equipment and knowledge, flexibility and receptiveness, but also on the legislative measures and sustainable nature of EU agricultural policy where farmers got used to be paid for every function and production that is environmentally and food friendly.