Contamination of agricultural soils can present a signifi cant risk to human health through oral ingestion, particle inhalation, and dermal contact. Th e aims of this research were to determinate the concentrations, distribution and human health risk of various heavy metals in soil samples from three agricultural areas of South Herzegovina. A total number of 32 soil samples were collected and analyzed for Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), and Zinc (Zn). Th e Hazard Index (HI) was used to assess the human health risk of the study area. For the adult and children population, the HI value for dermal exposure to Cobalt (Co) was greater than one (HI>1), and non-cancerogenic eff ects are therefore considered as signifi cant for human health. Our fi ndings impose consideration of taking risk management measures in order to reduce risk for human health from Cobalt (Co).

Summary The paper presents three year research on qualitative characteristics of introduced peach varieties: Maycrest, Spring Lady, Rich Lady and Elegant Lady, and standard variety Springcrest in Herzegovina. The varieties were described according to the method of the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR), including subjective assessment. The highest marks for attractive fruit were given to the varieties Rich Lady and Elegant Lady, that are characterized by extremely large fruit, attractive blush colour, and easy stone adherence. Early and medium ripening varieties (Maycrest and Springcrest) are characterized by extremely firmness of flesh which provides greater transportability. The highest stone cracking was found for variety Maycrest, the lowest was noticed for Elegant lady, while the other varieties have medium stone cracking (mark 5). Concerning stone adherence, clingstone was found for the varieties Maycrest and Springcrest, semi-freestone was noticed for the variety Spring Lady, while varieties Rich Lady and Elegant Lady had free stones, actually it is completely free from flesh, characteristic which is highly appreciated by consumers. Key words: peach, fruit, flesh, stone

The research on pollen germination of three most important pomegranate varieties grown in coastal region of Montenegro and the hinterland is presented in this paper. The trial was carried out during the three consecutive years (2002-2004) on two sweet (‘Slatki barski’ and ‘Serbetas’), and one sour (‘Dividis meke kore’) pomegranate varieties. Pollen germination was tested on solid 1 % agar medium (Agar Plate method) with two concentrations of sucrose (10 and 15 %).‘Slatki barski’ and ‘Serbetas’ varieties showed higher degree of germination at the 15 % sucrose medium (65,96 and 71,27 %) than at the medium with 10 % (42,41 and 39,70 %). The degree of pollen germination was significantly lower in ‘Dividis meke kore’, on both sucrose concentrations (16,5 and 22,54 %). Therefore, pollen germination parameter in this variety should be tested before planting in mono-varietal orchards.

This study was carried out on 13 local cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) genotypes grown in Yusufeli (Artvin) in Northeast Anatolia in Turkey. Cornelian cherry fruits from these 13 genotypes were harvested and analyzed during the ripening period in 2010. Some physical and chemical characteristics of cultivars were determined. Fruit weight and fruit flesh ratio of these genotypes ranged from 2.72 to 4.11 g and 79.08 to 89.99%. Soluble solid content were determined the lowest as 13.7% and the highest as 18.6%. The genotypes had vitamin C between 31 to 70 mg/100 g with average of 50 mg/100 g. Total protein, cellulose, tannin and ash content of genotypes were determined between 0.75-2.18%; 0.36-1.08%; 0.57-1.28% and 0.51-1.13%. The genotypes were found to be free of pest and diseases. The present study showed that there were enough variability among cornelian cherry genotypes grown in same ecological conditions of a small area and these genotypes could be important both to improve nutritional value through germplasm enhancement programmes and to use them in organic production.