Zemdirbyste-agriculture 

About: Zemdirbyste-agriculture is an academic journal published by Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Soil classification & Crop yield. It has an ISSN identifier of 1392-3196. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 703 publications have been published receiving 6507 citations. The journal is also known as: Zemdirbyste-Agriculture & Zemdirbyste/Agriculture.

Bacterial endophytes in agricultural crops and their role in stress tolerance: a review

Abstract: Bacterial endophytes are a class of endosymbiotic microorganisms widespread among plants that colonize intercellular and intracellular spaces of all plant compartments and do not cause plant disease or significant morphological changes. Plant and endophytic bacteria association includes vast diversity of bacterial taxa and plant hosts and in this review we present an overview of taxonomic composition of endophytes identified in common agricultural crops. Further, during the last decade, new aspects of the microbial diversity have emerged with application of new metagenomic analysis methods in studies of bacterial endophytes. Endophytic bacteria community structure is influenced by plant genotype, abiotic and biotic factors such as environment conditions, microbe – microbe interactions and plant – microbe interactions. Agricultural practices, such as soil tillage, irrigation, use of pesticides and fertilizers have a major effect on function and structure of soil and endophytic microbial populations. Therefore, the use of agricultural practices that maintain natural diversity of plant endophytic bacteria is becoming an important element of sustainable agriculture that could ensure plant productivity and quality of agricultural production. The diverse endophytic microbial communities play integral and unique role in the functioning of agroecosystems. Endophytic bacteria have been shown to have several beneficial effects on their host plant, including growth promoting activity, modulation of plant metabolism and phytohormone signalling that leads to adaptation to environmental abiotic or biotic stress. Use of endophytic bacteria presents a special interest for development of agricultural applications that ensure improved crop performance under cold, draught or contaminated soil stress conditions or enhanced disease resistance.

Chilling injury in chilling-sensitive plants: a review.

Abstract: Chilling temperatures (1–10oC) lead to numerous physiological disturbances in the cells of chilling-sensitive plants and result in chilling injury and death of tropical and subtropical plants, e.g., many vegetable species. The literature review shows that the exposure of chilling-sensitive plants to low temperatures causes disturbances in all physiological processes – water regime, mineral nutrition, photosynthesis, respiration and metabolism. Inactivation of metabolism, observed at chilling of chilling-sensitive plants is a complex function of both temperature and duration of exposure. Response of plants to low temperature exposure is associated with a change in the rate of gene transcription of a number of low molecular weight proteins. The review analyzes historical aspects in the development of ideas about the nature of chilling damage of chillingsensitive plants and direction of modern research. Based on the authors’ own research and the literature data, the concept of cold damage was proposed, which highlighted the leading role of oxidative stress in the induction of stress response. According to this concept there were distinguished possible ways how to improve cold tolerance. They were divided into several groups: the thermal effect (low-temperature hardening, thermal conditioning, intermediate warming and the effect of heat stress), chemical treatment (trace elements, synthetic growth regulators, antioxidants) and the use of gene and cell engineering.

Growth and development responses of crop plants under drought stress: a review

Abstract: Water deficit conditions are a bearing on plant growth and development leading to diminished crop productivity. However, improving the crop productivity is need of the time to sustain the food security under ever increasing world population. Drought episodes are increasing with varying intensity and duration. Drought stress imposes alterations in crucial plant growth and developmental processes, including germination, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf size and area, dry matter production and partitioning, flower and fruit production, and maturity. Nonetheless, plants show some morphological changes to cope with drought stress by lowering water loss, enhanced water uptake and maintenance of tissue water status. Some plants complete their life cycle early before the onset of drought to escape water deficit conditions. Identification of effects of drought stress on morphological attributes and morphological changes in response to drought can be promising for selection and breeding of drought resistant genotypes.

Salt stress manifestation on plants, mechanism of salt tolerance and potassium role in alleviating it: a review.

Abstract: Salinity is an agro-environmental problem limiting plant growth and development in the arid to semi-arid regions of the world and becomes the predicament of serious concern. Plants exposed to salt stress may undergo osmotic stress, ion toxicity and nutritional imbalance which results in production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The ability of plants to detoxify radicals under conditions of salt stress is probably the most critical requirement and is determined by multifarious morpho-physiological and biochemical pathways like initial entry of salt to roots, intercellular compartmentation, synthesis of osmoprotectants (sugars, amino acids, proline and upgradation of antioxidant system) that results in maintaining ion homeostasis. This paper also revealed the plant responses to salinity stress with emphasis on physiological and biochemical mechanisms of salt tolerance which may help in interdisciplinary studies to assess the ecological consequence of salt stress. Moreover, the application of potassium helps the plants to cope with the hazardous effects of salinity by improving the morphological, physiological and biochemical attributes.

Variation of land use and land cover effects on some soil physico-chemical characteristics and soil enzyme activity.

Abstract: The main objective of this study was to determine some chemical, physical properties and extracellular enzymatic activities of soil modified after forestland transformation into cropland and pasture in CankiriUludere watershed. In this study, the changes in the properties of four different pedons classified as Lithic Leptosol (Lithic Xerorthent, LPq), Dystric Cambisol (Typic Dystroxerept, CMd) and Haplic Cambisol (Typic Haploxerept, CMha) located on three adjacent land use types which are native forest, pasture and cultivated fields include some extracellular enzymes, organic matter, pH, EC, CaCO3, bulk density, total porosity, hydraulic conductivity and aggregate stability. The effects of agricultural practices on soil properties taken from each four adjacent land use types were most clearly detected in the past 50 years with the land use change. Land use change and subsequent tillage practices resulted in significant decreases in organic matter, total porosity, total nitrogen and soil aggregates stability. There was also a significant change in bulk density among cultivat, pasture and natural forest soils. Depending upon the increasing in bulk density and disruption of pores by cultivation, total porosity decreased accordingly. The data show that after long term continuous cultivation of the natural forest soils resulted in change in soils both in physical and chemical characteristics. In addition, it was found that changes of land use and land cover associated with organic matter content can alter the soil enzyme activities within the soil profile.