AGRO - KNOWLEDGE JOURNAL

The impact of different weed control approaches on strawberry yield

Dragoslava Bjelošević, Duška Delić — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Plant protection today is based on the principles of integrated plant protection. For many years, scientific research in the field of plant protection has been oriented towards the study of scientific foundations that are absolutely necessary for the successful implementation of integrated protection of plants against various harmful organisms. Using the examples of good practice and the results of scientific research, it has been shown in this paper how certain principles of integrated plant protection can be successfully incorporated into the integrated protection of strawberries against weeds. In the area of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the village of Popovo Polje, a research was conducted for three years (2021, 2022, 2023) on several variations of strawberry production: plots with the soil covered with synthetic material, i.e. with black plastic film, plots where the soil was covered with organic material, in this case with straw, plots on which weed control was to be carried out with herbicides, and plots on which no soil covering or weed control was to be carried out. The research was conducted in greenhouses. The aim of the experiment was to determine whether there was a significant difference in the final strawberry yield, effect of weed control methods, or effect of weed control treatments, as well as to determine the interaction observed over the years. To calculate these, the yields achieved per strawberry plant shown in grams were used. The collection of fruits from different test plots and the formation of representative samples using the methods of inferential statistical processing led to results that represent a key indicator of the success of weed control and, ultimately, the success of the agricultural process.

A review of agricultural extension roles in climate change adaptation and mitigation among farmers in Nigeria

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This review aims to provide an overview of agricultural extension roles in climate change adaptation and mitigation. It deals with farmers’ access to extension services, roles of extension services, climate change-related training needs of extension personnel, the influence of extension contact on adopting climate change adaptation strategies, and constraints experienced by agricultural extension from existing empirical studies. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses was used to retrieve and analyse 78 studies. The majority (89.6%) of the studies have shown that farmers do not have access to climate change-related extension services. Extension services focused more on the transfer of information (98.2%), provision of technical advice (48.3%), and support of indigenous adaptation and mitigation strategies (32.6%). The main training needs of extension personnel were skills in the utilization of information and communication technologies (76.5%) and assessment and utilization of climate change-related farming technologies (45.7%). Extension contacts had a positive influence on climate change adaptation (95.7%), while the extension faced the challenges of poor funding (86.8%), inadequate manpower (76.4%), and lack of capacity (67.7%). The study concluded that agricultural extension plays an active role in climate change adaptation and mitigation and recommended more funding and capacity development should be provided for extension personnel. More studies are needed to identify the extent of the positive outcome of extension contact on climate change management among farmers.

Milk coagulation properties of three cattle breeds

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Milk coagulation is a crucial process in cheese making, as it directly affects the texture and quality of cheese. This study aimed to determine the influence of breed on milk rennet coagulation properties. The present research included 138 individual milk samples from 3 breeds. The research has shown that there are no statistically significant differences in milk coagulation properties among the breeds. However, the results indicate that the coagulum firmness of the Brown Swiss breed is better than that of the Holstein Friesian and Simmental breeds. Still, to confirm these differences more samples must be analyzed.

Yield of commercial garlic (Allium sativum L.) varieties at three locations in Slovenia over two growing seasons

Lovro Sinkovič, Mojca Škof, Vladimir Meglič, Barbara Pipan — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Garlic is an important crop for domestic consumption in Slovenia, used fresh or cooked in traditional and modern cuisine. However, there is little data available on the yield performance of commercial garlic varieties grown under different climatic conditions, which could help farmers to select the best-performing variety for cultivation. Field trials were conducted at three locations (Jablje, Ivanci, Šempeter) in Slovenia during two consecutive growing seasons (2020/21 and 2021/22) to evaluate the response of different garlic varieties. Ten commercial garlic varieties were used as experimental material: Ptujski jesenski, Garcua, Sabagold, Garpek, Gardacho, Germidour, Messidrome, Arno, Messidor, and Ptujski spomladanski. The same cultivation method and fertilisation regimes were applied in three replicates at each trial site. At Jablje, an unheated tunnel was used, while the trials at the other two sites were conducted under open field conditions. Marketable and non-marketable yields were determined five days after harvest. The total yield varied considerably from 3.13 t/ha for the Ptujski jesenski variety to 20.49 t/ha for Sabagold. The non-marketable yield was significantly higher (up to 40%) for the Slovenian varieties Ptujski jesenski and Ptujski spomladanski, due to their susceptibility to virus diseases and the lack of quality seed material. The best-performing marketable yields were recorded for the Sabagold, Messidrome, and Gardacho varieties with an average of over 11.5 t/ha. Among the different locations, the sub-Mediterranean climate proved to be less favourable for the production of market garlic, especially for late varieties. Results of statistical analysis have shown that the year, location, and variety all had a significant effect on marketable yield. Each factor contributes independently to yield variation, with year having the strongest effect, followed by location and variety. The data clearly show that the choice of garlic variety is the key to achieving high marketable yields.