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Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plant growth decreases when cultivated under salinity or irrigated with salty water. Inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) is a method for mitigating the harmful effects of salinity on plants growth. To investigate salt-tolerant PGPB with salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive alfalfa cultivar interactions under salinity, some physiological and agronomical aspects were investigated. The inoculated plants of alfalfa cultivars with Hartmannibacter. diazotrophicus and Pseudomonas sp. bacteria were compared with non-inoculated plants. Plants were grown in growth room and irrigated with tap water until 6-7 weeks, and then, salinity stress imposed by irrigating with tap water (control), 10 dS m −1 and 20 dS m −1 NaCl. Salinity reduced relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), K + , photosynthesis rate (Pn) and stomatal conductance (gs), leaf number, height, and dry weight, and increased sodium in all cultivars. Inoculation of cultivars with both PGPB mitigated the negative effects of salinity on plants growth by increasing the root length and weight, nodule number, chlorophyll pigments, RWC, MSI, Pn, and gs. Chlorophyll pigments, plant height and leaf number, Na + , K + /Na + , and nodule number improved more pronounced through inoculating with Pseudomonas sp., whereas K + , carotenoids, and RWC improved more pronounced through H. diazotrophicus under salinity. The results showed inoculation with two bacteria improved growth performance in salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive cultivars under 10 dS m −1 , but at high salinity (20 dS m −1), inoculation was successful only in salt-tolerant alfalfa cultivars.

A b s t r a c t. The aim of the study was to reveal the relationship between soil properties and grain yields in an East Hungarian region in regard to weather conditions. Soil pH, EC, carbonate content, soluble and exchangeable Na+, texture, organic carbon, and nutrient contents were analyzed. Yield data (maize, winter wheat, sunflower) from 10 years were standardized using calculated relative yield and yield variability. Weather conditions were characterized by the Pálfai Drought Index. Hydrological and topographical conditions were characterized by the mean altitude of plots. The ranged pedological variables were analyzed using principal component analysis with Varimax rotation. The principal component analysis showed that three principal components with eigenvalues greater than one explained more than 84% of the variability of soil properties. The multiple stepwise principal regression analysis showed that the mean relative yield was linearly correlated with all the three principal component factors (R 2 = 0.49, p < 0.01). In droughty years, the sodification, salinization, soil texture, and nutrient contents determined the yields (R 2 = 0.30, p < 0.05). In humid years, the lower topographical position, soil organic matter, and nutrient contents were the main limiting factors (R 2 = 0.40, p < 0.01). Consequently, the variables can effectively explain the yield variability together with other variables as linear combinations.

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Soil organic matter supply is mainly derived from plant litter. The early stages of litter degradation is a very dynamic process. Thus, its study is important for understanding litter degradation and the control factors of different biomes and ecosystems. In the frame of the Síkfőkút DIRT (Detritus Input and Removal Treatments) Project, the effect of organic matter treatment was studied on the rate of decomposition of organic matter by applying different kinds of organic materials (leaf and wood litter, green and rooibos tea material, and cellulose cotton wool). During long-term experiments, we intended to investigate how the different organic matter manipulations changed by the soil microbial community and how it affects the degradation of different quality organic matter in the soil. The important main purpose of the research was to investigate litter degradation and its main regulators, contributing to both current and future climate scenarios. According to our results, in the case of litter-doubling treatments, we experienced a greater loss of organic matter compared to the weight of the litter bags placed in the soil of organic matter-withdrawal treatments. Furthermore, based on our results, we found that the decomposition rate is influenced by litter quality (leaf and cellulose wool) that is to be decomposed and by the applied litter treatments depending on the time allowed for decomposition. A drier climate by slowing down the degradation processes and by increasing the proportion of recalcitrant molecules in the detritus may increase the turnover time, which may lead to an increase in soil organic carbon (SOC).

14The present study reports novel data concerning Conservation Tillage (CT) in the continental sub-humid climate 15 zone in Central Europe (Hungary), an area which has been mostly neglected in the course of previous CT

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