Seed germination is first critical and the most sensitive stage in the life cycle of plants compromise the seedlings establishment. Salt and drought tolerance testing in initial stages of plant development is of vital importance, because the seed with more rapid germination under salt or water deficit conditions may be expected to achieve a rapid seedling establishment, resulting in higher yields. The aim of this study was to determine whether the pea seed germination and seedling growth were inhibited by the salt toxicity and osmotic effect during the seedling development, and also identification of the sensitive seedling growth parameters in response to those stresses. Based on the obtained results, pea has been presented to be more tolerant to salt than water stress during germination and early embryo growth. Investigated cultivars showed greater susceptibility to both abiotic stresses when it comes growth parameters compared to seed germination.

Although salt stress affects all plant growth stages, seed germination and seedling growth stages are the most sensitive. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the seed viability of selected oilseed rape cultivars in saline conditions and to determine the most tolerant cultivars to salinity stress at germination stage. The experiment included four released oilseed rape cultivars. The salinity stress was simulated in vitro conditions by adding different concentrations of NaCl solution to the growing media. Testing of the seed viability was performed by using the standard laboratory method test and the accelerated aging test. In all four cultivars, with increasing concentrations of NaCl in the growing medium, significant changes were observed in determined characteristics. Results of accelerated aging test were lower than the standard laboratory test, which implies the importance of vigour tests as an additional indicator of physiological seed quality, especially under stress conditions. The most important source of variation is treatment, but the differences between the cultivars were also significant. Depending on traits, crossover and non-crossover cultivar ? treatment interactions were observed. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 31025: Development of new varieties and production technology improvement of oil crops for different purposes]

Disappearance of old cultivars, including dry and snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) has been accelerated in last five to six decades, which mainly led to great genetic impoverishment. For all the humanity and its future, particularly is important the maintenance and evaluation of old cultivar?s seeds. The research presented in this paper has been conducted on the territory of southwestern Fruska gora Mt. Of the collected samples of field and vegetables crops, as well as wild plants on the mountain, 13 accessions of snap bean and 21 accessions of dry bean have been analyzed in this paper. Seed color, seed shape, 1000-seed mass and phaseolin type was determined for all the accessions. Seeds of collected bean and snap bean accessions were predominantly white and cylindrical in shape. Mass of 1000 seeds ranged between 104,90 g and 634,96 g. T phaseolin type dominated, while S type of phaseolin was present in six bean and in two snap bean accessions. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31030: Development of vegetable varieties and hybrids for field and indoor production and Project Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development, Autonomous Province Vojvodina, Republic Serbia, number 114-451-3139/2011-01]

SummaryThe aim of this study is to assess DNA degradation, DNA amplification, and GMO quantity during tofu production. Soybean seeds were spiked with Roundup Ready ® soybeans (RRS) at 0.9, 2, 3 and 5 % (by mass), to assess the level of RSS that would be of practical interest for threshold labelling. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was more effective than conventional PCR in the analysis of raw soymilk, okara, boiled soymilk and tofu. The negative effect of grinding and mechanical manipulation was obvious in the okara sample prepared with 3 and 5 % RRS, where GMO content was reduced to (2.28±0.23) and (2.74±0.26) %, respectively. However, heating at 100 °C for 10 min did not cause significant degradation of DNA in all samples. The content of RRS in the final product, tofu, was reduced tenfold during processing, ranging from 0.07 to 0.46 %, which was below the labelling threshold level. The results are discussed in terms of global harmonization of GMO standards, which could have the positive effect on the trade of lightly processed foodstuffs such as tofu, especially regarding the labelling policies.

The aim of the paper is to show the impact of climate factors on the corn yield in Serbia. Contemporary climate reports show that climate is changing, and the emission of greenhouse gases is one of the main causes of climate change. In three different locations (West Bačka District, Šumadija District and Nišava District) different climatic conditions and corn yield were analyzed for the period from 1991 to 2011. In the research process, the model of multiple linear regression and Pearson coefficient of correlation was applied. Obtained results has shown that there is a high correlation between parameters of climate conditions and variance of corn yield. A small amount of precipitation quantity and high maximum values of temperatures in the vegetation period influenced the decrease in yield, which was particularly noticed during the period from 2000 to 2007. A lower yield of corn was established compared to the average yield in all three observed districts, in the Šumadija district, the yield was lower 48% in 2000 and 52% in 2007, in the West Bačka District, a yield was lower 40% in 2000 and 20% in 2007, and in the Nišava District, the yield was lower 65% in 2000 and 49% in 2007. There are perennial variations of climatic factors, especially temperature and precipitation quantity, which affect the realization of the economic profitability of growing agricultural plant species. Losses in agriculture can be higher in conditions of an unstable climate. It is necessary to more precisely predict climate change and create new hybrids and varieties for cultivation that will be adaptable to changed climate conditions. Adaptations of plants to climatic conditions changes will contribute to greater economy of agricultural production, and the provision of food for the world's population.

No abstract

The concept of corporate social responsibility in the broadest sense means the ways in which companies communicate with their stakeholders. The aim is to establish a balance between the economic, social and environmental aspects of the environment. In recent years, corporate social responsibility in Serbia is becoming more and more interesting. Serbia is, as a country, still in the process of transition with economic and social problems that further have an impact on the lack of responsible behavior by companies. As companies have an impact on social development in the communities in which they operate, they therefore also have responsibility that extends beyond the boundaries of making a profit. An important feature of our society is the responsibility of ranking on a scale of values of successful and modern companies. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of educational level

Seed deterioration is an unavoidable process to which seeds of oilseed plant species such as sunflower are especially sensitive. This study aimed to determine whether different invigoration techniques can improve the attributes of germination in sunflower and alleviate the effects of seed ageing. Both aged and non-aged seeds were subjected to invigoration by pre-soaking with distilled water and with 3% of KH2PO4 for 24 hours at 25°C. Germination performance, seedling growth and SDS-PAGE protein profile were determined. The outcome of invigoration depended on the condition of the seeds: invigoration of seeds with both water and KH2PO4 reduced the percentage of germination in non-aged seeds, while in aged seeds there was an increase in germination compared to the control. The SDS-PAGE seed protein profiles revealed that the low molecular weight proteins produced high-intensity bands and the high molecular weight proteins were in low concentrations. After accelerated ageing followed by H2O treatment, some bands of proteins appeared in the region of 2S albumins and were associated with a higher percentage of germination. Our results point out that invigoration treatments were more effective in low vigour seeds which can provide wide practical benefits.