The objective of this study was to evaluate the content of ellagic acid in blackberries, as well as in the juice of different blackberry cultivars obtained using a specific technology. The analysis of the ellagic acid content in the test samples was performed using the high-pressure liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD). Results showed considerable variations in ellagic acid content in the test blackberry fruit samples, the highest being determined in the fruit of the blackberry- raspberry hybrid cv. 'Tayberry' (54.794 mg/100 g fresh weight), and the lowest in blackberry cv. 'Cacanska Bestrna' (1.852 mg/100 g fresh weight). The ellagic acid content in the 'Tayberry' juice produced using the specific technology was very high and almost identical to that in fruits.

Cilj ovog istraživanja je bio ispitati sadržaj toksičnih teških metala Cd, Cr i Pb u intenzivnom nasadu jabuke sorte Idared, smještenom na području općine Goražde, te utvrditi njihovu akumulaciju u plodovima jabuke. Sadržaj Cd, Cr i Pb u ispitivanim uzorcima tla i plodova jabuke određen je metodom atomske apsorpcijske spektrofotometrije. Prosječni sadržaj kadmija u ispitivanom tlu je iznosio 0.15, kroma 43.98, a olova 47.48 mg kg -1 suhe tvari. Akumulacija navedenih elemenata u plodovima jabuke je bila izuzetno niska. Prisutnost olova i kadmija u plodovima jabuke nije niti determinirana, dok je utvrđeni sadržaj kroma bio znatno ispod graničnih vrijednosti, propisanih od strane WTO (Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije). Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da se tlo na ispitivanom lokalitetu može smatrati pogodnim za proizvodnju zdravstveno ispravnih plodova jabuke, pod uvjetom da se uzgoj obavlja u skladu s principima integrirane proizvodnje.

One of the major problems confronting agricultural production is heavy metal contamination of agricultural soils, which imposes considerable limitations on productivity and leads to great consumer health and safety concerns about the products obtained on these soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate heavy metal dynamics in the soil-leaf-fruit system in an intensive apple cv. 'Idared' planting located in the Municipality of Goražde. Heavy metal contents in the soil samples and plant material were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry using a Shimadzu 7000 AA device, according to the instructions specified in the ISO 11047 method. The dynamics of the heavy metals analyzed, excepting zinc, in the soil-leaf-fruit system was characterized by relatively high total levels of heavy metals in the soil and a very low degree of their accumulation in the leaves and in particular the fruits. No fruit sample was found to have toxic levels of any of the heavy metals analyzed. In terms of soil contamination, this suggests the suitability of the study location for safe apple fruit production.

In order to create conditions conducive to sustainable fruit production, involving optimum utilization of all sources of plant nutrients with minimum environmental pollution, it is necessary to reorient agricultural producers to use those types of fertilization that are environmentally safe and appropriate which can also satisfy all fruit tree nutrient requirements. This gives particular importance to foliar nutrition as this model poses the lowest risk of soil and groundwater contamination with undesirable mineral elements. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive review of research papers dealing with the effect of foliar feeding on development parameters in apple trees in an attempt to obtain a more thorough insight into the advantages and disadvantages of this fertilization type and facilitate the potential use of this practice for apple producers. Keywords: Malus x domestica , foliar fertilization, nutrient, leaves

The aim of this study was to determine the degree of copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) uptake by pepper plants ( Capsicum annuum L.) grown on four different soil types. The study was conducted in 2009 and 2010 under controlled conditions in a greenhouse. The experiment was set up according to a randomized block design with four treatments (soil types) in five replications. The results showed that the degree of Cu and Mn uptake by pepper plants was statistically significantly dependent upon the soil type used for pepper cultivation regardless of plant phenostage and year of the study. The degree of Cu uptake by pepper plants was highest in the treatment on chernozem, lower on fluvisol and pseudogley, and lowest on vertisol, while the degree of Mn uptake by pepper plants was highest on chernozem and lowest on pseudogley. The Cu content of pepper leaves in all the treatments was low as compared to related literature data irrespective of plant phenostage. Considering the potential antagonistic relationship between Cu and Mn in the soil solution, we can conclude that one of the reasons for the low copper uptake by pepper plants was the high concentration of Mn in all soil types tested. Keywords: Pepper, soil types, manganese, copper

Although knowledge and use of Dalmatian sage can be dated back to Greek Era, there is a remarkable confusion concerning its distribution and diversity. Thus, our main purpose was to extend knowledge about biodiversity of Dalmatian sage populations of South East Europe (SEE) with the intention of covering the whole distributional area of the species. Thirty Dalmatian sage populations were analysed by eight microsatellite markers revealing a total of 181 alleles. Most of the samples were collected from native populations except one population from Serbia and two from Romania that represented cultivated material and two populations from Moldova that represented naturalized populations of plants that have escaped from earlier cultivation. The allelic richness per population ranged from 2.7 to 10.4, with a mean value of 7.0. The neighbour-joining tree showed that the most of the populations grouped together in accordance to geographical position of their collecting sites, from Slovenia in the North-West of the region to Greece in the South-East, with the exception of seven populations (two from Kosovo, two from Romania, two from Moldova and one from Serbia) that grouped separately from the rest and can be considered as non-native. The results were confirmed further using Bayesian model-based clustering method. Non-native populations had a considerable lower allelic richness in comparison to native populations. The great majority of the populations did not exhibit any significant departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The indication of recent bottlenecks has been found in some non-native populations (from Moldova and Romania), but also in some native populations (from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia). In almost all of the SEE countries Dalmatian sage is gathered from the wild which could lead to genetic erosion of natural populations. Therefore, these data represent a necessary prerequisite for designing monitoring programs for plant genetic resources conservation.

Acid soils have characteristic morphological properties and they undergo the process of gleying. They are also poor in water content, aeration and texture. Being of comparatively poor structure, the acid soils are deficient in alkalis and in organic matter so they are generally extremely acid. The current study was focused on liming as a soil amendment measure as well as on determining the oat leaf content of K in the cultivar Mediteran. Soil pH was 5.01 in 2007 and 5.11 in 2008. The variants used included increasing Ca rates compared to the control (the treatments were as follows: T1, T3 and T4 + control – without liming). The trial was conducted under the controlled conditions. The leaf content of K was determined during the flowering and full maturity phenophases. Gleying was performed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The content of K in oat leaf was the highest prior to liming with 4 g CaCO3 in 2008 over the flowering phenophase (1.634% dry organic matter) and the lowest in the control variant over the same phase in 2008 (being 0.721% dry organic matter).