The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S) fertilizer on grain yield of spring wheat and its technological quality. A field experiment (2009-2011) was conducted in south-eastern Poland on Cambisols. The experiment included 2 factors: N fertilization (0, 40, 80, 120 kg/ha) and S fertilization (0, 50 kg/ha). The experiment showed that spring wheat cv. Tybalt exhibited a positive reaction of N and S fertilization on grain yield, which was the highest at the application of 80 kg N/ha (5.40 t/ha), increasing by 1.30 t/ha (13.1%) with respect to the control. S fertilization increased grain yield by 3.58%. S application increased significantly the content of gluten by 3.2%, cysteine by 6.0% and methionine by 16.5%. The most beneficial effect on the content of N, S, total protein, gluten, cysteine and methionine was observed for N application a rate of 80 kg/ha and for S at a rate of 50 kg/ha. Positive correlation was found between the content of S in grain and grain yield (r = 0.73). Significant correlations were found also between grain yield and all other quality characteristics except for N and starch content.

The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of sulphur application on the content (g kg-1) and uptake (kg ha-1) of phosphorus and potassium with the yield of potato tubers. In 2004-2006, a field experiment on potato was conducted, in which S was applied in different forms (elemental and K 2 SO 4) and doses (0, 25 and 50 kg ha-1). The content and uptake of P and K in the dry mass of potato tubers was significantly increased by sulphur. The application of sulphur increased the P content and uptake irrespective of the S dose, but elemental S proved more effective. The K content was the highest when sulphate was applied at 50 kg S ha-1. The K uptake by tubers was significantly increased by both of the applied doses versus the control plots. The tuber yield depended substantially on the rate of S fertilizer. Sulphur applied as sulphate increased the content of SO 4-S in the soil. The application of elemental S in a dose of 50 kg ha-1 decreased the soil pH. The soil content of total C was dependent on each dose and form of the applied sulphur. The content of SO 4-S and total C in the soil positively correlated with the P content and uptake by potato tubers. A negative correlation was found between the pH value and content and uptake of P by potato tubers. No correlation was found between K and soil parameters, but a positive correlation was found between the P and K uptake by tubers and between the P and K uptake versus tuber yield.

No abstract

Bioeconomy is a response of the European Union and its member states to global challenges such as ensuring food security, mandatory sustainable management of natural resources, mitigating climate change and reducing dependency on non-renewable resources. One of the sectors playing an important role in the development of bioeconomy is agriculture, which accounts for the largest part of biomass used as a raw material for producing bioproducts. This paper is an attempt to answer the following questions: What is the essence and significance of the bioeconomy sector in the EU? How significant is agriculture to the bioeconomy sector? What is the potential and competitiveness of agriculture in EU countries? Data used in surveys is sourced from the Data-Modelling platform of agro-economics research and covers the years 2008–2017. The position of agriculture in the bioeconomy was determined based on measures such as level of employment and gross value added (GVA), turnover, while its competitiveness was assessed based on labour productivity. The results of surveys showed that more than 50% of all bioeconomy workers were employed in agriculture. The sector produced nearly 30% GVA and had a more than 18% share in bioeconomy turnover. Member states of the European Union featured diverse agricultural potential. At the same time, the productivity of agriculture was one of the lowest in the bioeconomy sector. The importance of agriculture stems not only from its food function, but also from the production of biomass. However, its social function is equally important, and in the face of escalating environmental problems the function connected with reducing external costs and producing environmental public goods has become complementary.

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the efficiency of investment activity in the communes in Poland. The commune is a basic unit of local government in Poland, and rural and urban-rural communes constitute the vast majority of municipalities. Communes in their own name and on their own account carry out public tasks that cover all tasks of local interest, including technical and environmental infrastructure. Despite many researches on the efficiency of communes, there are no studies on selected activities as well as on rural areas only. The nonparametric method of technical efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used in the study. The inputs and the effects of investment activity of rural and urban-rural communes in 2007-2013 were compared. This period was related to the duration of EU support programs. The study was conducted on the basis of data from the Local Data Bank which is Poland's largest database of the economy, society and the environment. The ranking of investment activity for communes were made based of the calculated average for indicators of efficiency. The studies conducted show that the amount of expenditure incurred on the studied spheres of investment activity of the analyzed communes does not translate into their efficiency. This is connected with the possibility of obtaining additional funds from EU. Information on the use of EU funds for financing the municipal investments were not included in the study due to lack of data before 2010. Among the analyzed rural and urban-rural communes the most efficient ones were located in the Mazowieckie, Świętokrzyskie and Lubelskie voivodships, although they were not fully efficient throughout the considered period. Due to its closeness to the capital, the municipality of Mazowieckie voivodeship belongs to an area with a high degree of urbanization. Communes from the Świętokrzyskie and Lubelskie voivodships belong to regions characterized by a high share of rural areas. The dynamic development of infrastructure is extremely important in terms of divergence between regions of the country.

This article aims at evaluating the capacity of agriculture in the member states of the European Union regarding the production of biodiesel from biomass as well as identification and empirical verification of relationships between the rapeseed market and the consumption of biodiesel. The studies were based on panel data for the EU-28 member states in the period 2010-2013 obtained from Eurostat. The results of the studies point to significant differentiation in the production and consumption of biodiesel and its share in the consumption of liquid fuels in the transport sector in the EU. In 2010-2013 the consumption of biodiesel in EU countries exceeded 10.5 M TOE, with 2012 being a unique year when the consumption of biodiesel increased to nearly 12 M TOE. France and Germany are the leaders in the consumption of biodiesel in the EU; their consumption accounts for about 40% of the EU’s consumption. In the same period in the EU countries rape was cultivated over 6673.7 k ha, with the largest area recorded also in France (1516.4 k ha) and in Germany (1390.4 k ha) - the total area of rapeseed crops in those countries accounted for 43% of the total area in the EU. In this period the annual yield of rapeseed in the 28 member states of the EU on average amounted to 19979.4 k t, 50.3% of which were crops from France and Germany. This article proposes the construction of a theoretical model describing the relationship between the consumption of biodiesel and the key determinants of its production. The studies carried out show that the variable having the strongest impact on the consumption of biodiesel in the countries of the EU is the price of rapeseed (smaller-the-better characteristic). At the same time it was demonstrated that the consumption of biodiesel is stimulated by the supply of rapeseed.

The aim of the study was to assess the efficiency of investment activity in the communes of Lubelskie province compared to the others in Poland. The inputs and effects of investment activity of rural and urban-rural communes in 2011-2014 were compared. The study used a nonparametric method of technical efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The ranking of investment activity for communes were made based of the calculated average for indicators of efficiency. First place received two provinces: Lubelskie and Mazowieckie. Rural and urban-rural communes of this provinces were fully effective throughout the considered period. They represent a model of efficient use of resources for investment activity.

The revenues from the agricultural tax only to a small extent contribute to the budgets of communes, and they often constitute the basic source of tax revenues in rural communes. This is the main reason for the worse income situation of rural communes in Poland. Rural communes in Poland are the least independent units and such situation requires the search for effective sources of income for local government units. For many years, there has also been a discussion on the possibility of real taxation of income from agricultural activities. Considering the above, the purpose of this study was to analyze the income equipment of rural communes in the field of agricultural tax in 2011–2017. The analysis of the income structure confirms that in rural communes, the share of agricultural tax in total income is twice as high as the average in Polish communes. However, this is not a factor that makes it possible to increase the financial independence of rural communes.