The study was carried out on plants infested by the European corn borer (ECB) (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.): fodder maize Wilga cultivar, sweet maize Candle cultivar, and sweet sorghum Sucrosorgo 506 cultivar. Observations on the types of plant damage caused by caterpillars were carried out in 2008-2010 in south-eastern Poland, in Terliczka, near Rzeszów (50°06’ N; 22°05’ E). Damages caused by O. nubilalis varied according to plant species and weather conditions. The greatest harmfulness of ECB caterpillars during the analyzed three-year period was recorded in sweet maize, of which from 89.5 to 93.0% of plants, and from 53.5 to 76.0% of cobs were damaged. Lower harmfulness of the European corn borer was recorded in fodder maize, of which from 58.0 to 80.2% of plants and from 29.5 to 42.2% of cobs were damaged by caterpillars. Sorghum was the least infested and damaged species by O. nubilalis, with from 3.0 to 16.2% of its plants being damaged by caterpillars. Broken stems were the most common form of damage found in the analyzed plants. The greatest damage rate was found in sweet maize (34.7 to 66.7%), followed by fodder maize (29.7 to 52.5%), and a very low damage rate was found for sorghum (0.7 to 1.5%). The type of damage to maize and sorghum plants caused by ECB caterpillars largely depended on the number of pests. The highest number of caterpillars was found on sweet maize plants, while sorghum plants were infested only by single individuals.

The research has aimed at determining the influence of applying different systems of presowing tillage and fertilization with straw on the grain yield of cereals in crop rotation, selected indices of canopy architecture: leaf area index (LAI) and mean tip angle (MTA), weight of 1000 grains (WTG) and physical properties of soil. There have been presented the results of field experiments carried out in the years 2000-2002 on the fields of the Experimental Station IUNG in Jelcz-Laskowice on grey-brown podzolic soil formed from loamy sand. The highest yields of the studied cereals were obtained in traditional tillage without fertilization with straw. Leaving straw in form of chaff on the field caused decrease in cereal yields in all the research years. No significant influence of tillage was proved on the weight of 1000 cereal grains. Different tillage systems and fertilization with straw had a significant impact on leaf area index (LAI) in oats and mean tip angle (MTA) of winter wheat. That trait appeared to have been only slightly differentiated by the method of straw fertilization. Mean soil humidity over the research period was highest on the plot with zero-tillage and lowest on that with traditional one. Tested tillage techniques and the methods of fertilization with straw were not found to have exerted any significant influence on the soil density. The mean soil compactness was lowest in traditional tillage, and increased along with progressing shallowness of the arable soil layer.

This study describes the possibility of practical application of the Wright's path analysis method for assessment of the effect of growth dynamics of fodder galega (Galega orientalis Lam.) plants on some seed yield components: shoot length, the length of cluster, the length of productive part of cluster, the number and weight of pods per shoot, the number and weight of seeds and pod weight and thousand seed weight. Weekly increments of plant shoots as affected by hydrothermal conditions were determined to assess growth dynamics. Simple correlation and Wright's path method were applied to assess the effect of growth dynamics on yield components. Applying Wright’s path method allowed assessment of the effect of individual plant growth stages on increment at successive stages, which is impossible at using only simple correlations. Growth rate of eastern galega shoots significantly determined the number of pods per productive part of cluster (58.6%), number of pods on the whole length of cluster (48.9%) and the number of pods per shoot (41.5%). Dynamic plant growth in the initial period of development had a positive effect on the assessed seed yield components, whereas plant growth at its final period (beginning of July) had a negative effect. Shoot length increments in June affected the yield structure only to a slight extent.

The aim of this study was to precisely quantify the effect of different level and time of nitrogen application on the field and malting quality of spring barley grain of cultivar Prestige. Source of results was the field experiment carried out in 2003-2005. The experiment was carried out with the split-plot method in 4 replications. 8 fertilization combinations were tested (0; 20; 40; 40 (20 + 20); 60; 60 (40 + 20); 80; 80 (60 + 20) kg N·ha^-1). It was found that in soil of the good wheat complex at content N_min. = 55-77 kg·ha^-1 in layer 0-90 cm in spring high grain yields are obtained already at fertilization 40-60 kg N·ha^-1. Considerably higher productivity of these rates is obtained when they were divided into two parts – presowing and that applied at 23 BBCH stage. Raw material of the malting cultivar (Prestige) collected under different conditions of weather (year with average total precipitation and wet year) and fertilization (N rates from 20 to 80 kg N·ha^-1) is characterized by small variability of main qualitative index values of grain, malt and wort and comprehensive Q index according to EBC.

Analysis of anatomical traits of faba bean stems, in traditional cultivar Neptun and self-completing one, Granit, was carried out in two stages of seed maturity, both physiological and technical one, on segments of the length of 40 mm, sampled from an internode right under the first pods. Studied faba bean cultivars differed significantly in terms of 8 out of 15 tested anatomical traits of stems. Stem in cultivar Neptun was characterized by a greater width of sclerenchyma, and thickness and width of its cells, as well as width of phloem and xylem. In cultivar Granit, a significantly greater thickness of parenchyma layer and of xylem cells was observed, as well as a higher proportion of tissues in the stem. Plant maturation was accompanied by a significant decrease in the width of epidermis cells, in the thickness of parenchyma layer and in the thickness of sclerenchyma and phloem cells. Only 6 morphological traits of plants were significantly correlated with the anatomical structure of faba bean stems, and they included: plant height and height of the first pod setting, length of the stem fruit-bearing, thickness of the stem wall and its internal diameter, as well as the dry weight of faba bean plant. Significant negative correlations between anatomical traits of stem, and its resistance to bending was observed for: width of epidermis cells, thickness of parenchyma layer and in phloem thickness. Stem section modulus in faba bean was positively correlated with the width of epidermis cells and phloem thickness.

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of the use of soil fertilizer used against the use of mineral fertilization on the energy and protein values of Lolium multiflorum (cultivar Gaza) and to assess the usefulness of soil fertilizer UGmax for animal production. Studies with the cultivation of this species were carried out in pots, in four repetitions, on the experimental plot of the Department of Grassland and Greenland Management. In each pot, eight seeds of the tested species were sown. After germination, when seedlings reached the 2-3 leaf stage, negative selection was performed by removing four weakest plants. Then, the experimental factors were introduced in the form of the following fertilizer combinations: A1 – mineral fertilization at the annual doses of 0.6 g N·pot^-1, 0.11 g P·pot^-1, and 0.75K g·pot^-1, A2 – no fertilization, B1 – soil fertilizer in the form of 0.25% solution and the dose of 3.7 cm³·pot^-1, B2 – no soil fertilizer. Nitrogen (34% ammonium nitrate) and potassium (60% potassium salt) fertilization was used in three split doses, while phosphorus (46% triple superphosphate) in a single dose in the spring. Soil fertilizer solution was used a single time with plant watering at the shooting stage. The period of full, three-cut use of the experimental material occurred in years 2008-2010. During that period, the analysis of the chemical composition of dry matter yield, for all cuts, was performed at the Institute of Technology and Life Sciences in Falenty. Furthermore, the following measures of the energy and protein indexes of the fodder were calculated: feed units for lactation (ULF), feed units for maintenance and meat production (ULV), protein digested in the intestine on the basis of energy (PDIE) and nitrogen (PDIN), and relative feed value (RFV). Use of soil fertilizer in Italian ryegrass cultivation did not result in a clear improvement of the chemical composition of plant dry matter and energy metric values, as well as the protein value of the fodder.

The study was carried out in 2010 in the area of the IHAR Botanical Garden in Bydgoszcz. In two experiments eight lawn cultivars were assessed, belonging to three grass species of the genus Festuca: F. arundinacea (Schreb.), F. rubra (L.), F. ovina (L.). The first experiment involved the evaluation of single plants, which grew in pots placed in a cold frame up to the stage of 6-10 completely formed leaves. In the second experiment for a period of two months grasses grew in cuvettes placed in a cold frame. In each experiment the weight of roots, their length and aboveground weight of grasses were determined. Indexes of root productivity and root density in soil were calculated. Lawn assessment was carried out, taking into consideration general aspect and a sod cover degree of the lawn. The highest parameters of assessed traits were found in one of cultivars (Tarmena) F. arundinacea. The lowest values were found in cultivars of F. ovina, which at the same time were characterized by the highest rate of increase in root weight and length. Cultivars of F. rubra, due to the chewing or creeping structure of the underground weight, showed differentiation in respect of analyzed traits and calculated indexes.

The research carried out under greenhouse and field conditions involved three species and eight cultivars representing genus Festuca (F. arundinacea, F. rubra, F. ovina). The research results showed that semi-drought reduces the weight and the length of roots less considerably than of their aboveground parts. The research of the sod regeneration level showed that the process is species-specific. The lowest tolerance to semi-drought is observed for F. rubra cultivars, while those most resistant to drying-off are F. ovina cultivars. The grasses which, after the period of semi-drought, regenerated the sod most considerably were F. ovina cultivars. The coefficient of correlation calculated showed that for the grasses evaluated, depending on the species, under greenhouse and field conditions, the morphological characteristics of roots (weight and length) are a good indicator of the reactions of the grasses investigated to the process of sod drying-off and regeneration. The results of research reported in the greenhouse experiment, especially for F. rubra, are confirmed in the field conditions.

In a pot experiment, carried out in an additive design on light and heavy soils, the effect of interaction between spring barely and pea was evaluated on nitrogen accumulation in different forms of the above-ground matter (stems, leaves, spikes, pods) and roots of both plant species. The experiment included three series, carried out in years 2003-2004 in five periods determined by the developmental stages of spring barley (the BBCH scale): emergence (10-13), tillering (23), stem elongation (32), earing (55), and ripening (87-89). It was demonstrated that the species grown in a mixture accumulated less nitrogen in the above-ground parts and roots than in pure sowing from barley tillering stage to the end of growth. Competition for nitrogen started at the tillering stage, and its intensity increased gradually until the end of the growth period. During tillering, it limited to the greatest extent nitrogen accumulation in the roots of both species, at the straw shooting stage in their above-ground parts, and at the stages of earing and ripening in the roots. With the exception of barley earing stage, pea proved to be a better competitor for nitrogen. Competition was the most intensive on heavy soil.