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Optimization of plant fertilization is an important element of all quality systems in primary production, such as Integrated Production, GLOBAL G.A.P. (Good Agriculture Practice) or SAI (Sustainable Agriculture Initiative). Fertilization is the most important element of agricultural treatments, affecting the quantity and quality of crops. The aim of the study was to assess greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the cultivation of Chinese cabbage, depending on the technological variant. The factor modifying the production technology was the use of fertilizers with a slow release of nutrients. One tonne of marketable Chinese cabbage crop was selected as the functional unit. To achieve the research goal, a strict field experiment was carried out. Calculation of the total amount of GHG emitted from the crop was made in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. The system boundaries included the production and use of fertilizers and pesticides, energy consumption for agricultural practices and the emission of gases from soil resources and harvesting residue. The use of slow-release fertilizers resulted in a greater marketable yield of cabbage compared to conventional fertilizers. The results of the research indicate a significant potential for the use of slow-release fertilizers in reducing agricultural emissions. From the environmental and production point of view, the most favourable variant is the one with 108 kg N·ha−1 slow-release fertilizers. At a higher dose of this element, no increase in crop yield was observed. At this nitrogen dose, a 30% reduction in total GHG emissions and a 50% reduction in fertilizer emissions from the use of per product functional unit were observed. The reference object was fertilization in accordance with production practice in the test area.

Currently, the level of efficiency of an effective agricultural production process is determined by how it reduces natural environmental hazards caused by various types of technologies and means of agricultural production. Compared to conventional production, the aim of integrated agricultural cultivation on commercial farms is to maximize yields while minimizing costs resulting from the limited use of chemical and mineral means of production. As a result, the factor determining the level of obtained yield is the soil’s richness in nutrients. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of soil richness, depending on the production system appropriate for a given farm. The analysis was conducted for two comparative groups of farms with an integrated and conventional production system. The farms included in the research belonged to two groups of agricultural producers and specialized in carrot production.

Plant-based foods should be fresh, safe, and natural, with nutritional value and processed in sustainable ways. Among all consumed vegetables, Brassica vegetables are considered to be the most important ones. As they are eaten in large quantities and frequently, they may constitute an important source of nutrients and bioactive compounds in a daily diet. This work is aimed at assessing the effect of technological processing (blanching and traditional cooking in water and in a convection steam oven) as well as the method of frozen storage (in PE-LD zipper bags and vacuum packing) on the content of selected components in purple cauliflower. The material was examined for the content of dry matter, vitamin C, total polyphenols, anthocyanins, thiocyanates, nitrates, and nitrites, as well as antioxidant activity. All technological processes caused significant changes in the contents of examined nutritive and non-nutritive compounds as well as in antioxidant activity or the level of selected chemical pollutions. A trend was also observed towards lower constituents’ losses as a result of convection steaming, compared to traditional cooking in water. Moreover, the reduction in the content of examined compounds was smaller in vacuum-packed and frozen-stored vegetables then in those stored in zipper PE-LD bags.

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The purpose of the article is to identify and estimate the dependency model for the extreme prices of agricultural products listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The article presents the results of the first stage of research covering the time interval 1975–2010. The selected products are: Corn, soybean and wheat. The analysis of the dependency between extreme price values on the selected futures was based on the estimation of five models of two-dimensional extreme value copulas, namely, the Galambos copula, the Gumbel copula, the Husler–Reiss copula, the Tawn asymmetric copula and the t-EV copula. The next stage of the analysis was to test whether the structure of the dependency described with the estimated copulas is a sufficient approximation of reality, and whether it is suitable for modeling empirical data. The quality of matching the estimated copulas to empirical data of return rates of agricultural products was assessed. For this purpose, the Kendall coefficient was calculated, and the methodology of the empirical combining function was used. The conducted research allowed for the determination of the conduct for this kind of phenomena as it is crucial in the process of investing in derivatives markets. The analyzed phenomena are highly dependent on e.g., financial crises, war, or market speculation but also on drought, fires, rainfall, or even crop oversupply. The conducted analysis is of key importance in terms of balancing agricultural production on a global scale. It should be emphasized that conducting market analysis of agricultural products at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in the context of competition with the agricultural market of the European Union is of significant importance.

The study was primarily aimed at investigating the effect of brassica sprout consumption, namely rutabaga (Brassica napus L. var. napobrassica) sprouts (R) generally recognized as antithyroid agent due to its goitrogenic substance content, on hematological, biochemical, and immunological parameters in rats. Sprouts were tested alone and in a combination with other antithyroid factors, such as iodine deficiency (RDI) and sulfadimethoxine (RS). The expression of the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) gene in the thyroid as a stress-inducible protein was determined. The thermographic analysis was also estimated. The intake of rutabaga sprouts by healthy rats did not reveal any significant, harmful effect on the thyroid function. Both body temperature and expression of HO-1 remained unchanged in response to the consumed sprouts. In animals with hypothyroidism, rutabaga sprouts enhanced the negative effect of iodine deficiency or sulfadimethoxine ingestion on the organism by increasing the WBC (RDI), TNF-α (RS), creatinine (RS), and triglyceride (RDI and RS) levels, as well as decreasing PLT (RS) level. Moreover, rutabaga sprout consumption by rats with iodine deficiency and sulfadimethoxine decreased their body temperature. Additionally, the concomitant administration of sprouts and iodine depletion significantly reduced the expression of HO-1 in the thyroid. The results may prove useful in confirming rutabaga sprout consumption to be safe, though the seeds of this vegetable provide a well-known antithyroid agent. Our results have shown that rutabaga sprout consumption may be also a factor that enhances the negative clinical features only when combined with iodine deficiency and sulfadimethoxine ingestion.

Optimization of plant nutrition is a very important part of primary production quality systems. Crop fertilization is the most important agrotechnical measure because it determines the amount and quality of the yield. Moreover, excess fertilization intensifies the eutrophication processes and the greenhouse effect. The study aimed to assess the suitability of slow-release fertilizers in cultivation of carrot subspecies Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus in the integrated production system. The objective was realized on the basis of a strict field experiment set up on a clay loam soil with low nutrient content. The dose of fertilizer was the experimental factor. The fertilizers were applied during the formation of the ridges. Traditional fertilizers (ammonium phosphate, potassium salt, ammonium nitrate, and a multi-component fertilizer Polifoska 6), as well as a multi-component fertilizer with slow release of nutrients, NPK Mg (18-12-24-4), were used. In individual variants of the experiment, different fertilization strategies were applied: integrated production fertilization, traditional fertilization, and fertilization based on the use of slow-release fertilizers. The control treatment comprised of unfertilized plants. The efficiency of nitrogen fertilization was evaluated based on agronomic efficiency, partial factor productivity, physiological efficiency, and removal efficiency. Fertilization strategy significantly impacted the quantity of obtained yield. In the control sample, prior to mineral fertilization, the crop yield was 33.53 Mg·ha −1 . The largest yield was 82.30 Mg·ha −1 .The largest yields were obtained from plants fertilized with a combination of slow-release fertilizers, with nitrogen introduced in the form of ammonium phosphate, and through conventional fertilization. The highest productivity and environmental efficiency were obtained in treatments with fertilization according to the principles of integrated production and with slow-release fertilizers. In terms of environmental efficiency, the best results were obtained through nitrogen fertilization using 400 kg of slow-release fertilizers. The use of slow-release fertilizers in carrot cultivation can significantly improve the efficiency of fertilization, both in terms of production and environmental protection.