Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate both nutrient and phytochemical content of Swiss chard grown under different fertilization and irrigation treatments and the effect of these treatments on the tested parameters. Design/methodology/approach Samples of fresh Swiss chard were collected from the experimental field of Ljeskopolje, Montenegro, where chard was grown under different fertilization and irrigation treatments. Swiss chard samples were analyzed for nutritional and antioxidant parameters. Findings In this study, the authors found that 100 g of Swiss chard is a good source of total chlorophyll (47.13 mg), carotenoids (9.85 mg), minerals as well as vitamin C (26.88 mg) expressed as mean values. Total phenol and flavonoid compounds content were (138.59 µg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) and 11.91 µg catechin equivalent (CAE) per mg of water extract, respectively), also expressed as mean values. The total antioxidant capacity (IC50 values) determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay ranged from 2.93 to 4.44 mg/mL of aquatic water extract. Different fertilization regimes affected the following parameters: phosphorous, protein content, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and vitamin C (p<0.05), while different irrigation regimes did not have any effect on the tested parameters (p>0.05), while interaction effect between fertilization and irrigation was found only for sodium and copper (p<0.05). Originality/value Swiss chard produced in Montenegro on a sandy clay loam soil with acid reaction contains appreciable amount of minerals, crude fibers, vitamin C, chlorophylls, carotenoids and polyphenols. The nutrient and phytochemical content of chard is equal or superior to other green leafy vegetables which are considered as functional food. It was identified as a potentially rich source of essential nutrients and phytochemical compounds. The promotion of higher consumption and production of Swiss chard may represent a natural and sustainable alternative for improving human health.

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The foliar fertilization has been used as an important agrotechnical measure to avoid deficiencies and to improve quality. During the two consecutive years, a study has been performed on Vitis vinifera L. (cv. 'Cardinal') to examine whether a grape berry quality has been affected by the foliar application of PK fertilizer. A liquid mineral fertilizer containing 15% P2O5, 20% K2O with 0.1% B, 0.1% Mn and 0.01% Mo (% w/w) has been sprayed three times at rate of 8 L ha(-1) every 14-15 days starting at about 15 days before veraison. The sugars, organic acids and flavonoids (anthocyanins, flavonols and flavan-3-ols) have been analyzed by the high performance liquid chromatography in the grape berries. The foliar fertilization of grapevine can accelerate the accumulation of sugars and anthocyanins, whereas climatic factors and yearly fluctuations influence the content of sugars, organic acids, and phenolic compounds in general. The effect of fertilizer spraying on flavonols and flavan-3-ols has not been found.

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Mushrooms (Agaricus bisphorus) were osmotically dehydrated in sugar beet molasses solutions at concentrations of 60%, 70% and 80%d.m., at operating temperatures of 25 °C, 35 °C and 45 °C during 0.5h, 1h, 1.5h, 2h, 3h, and 5 hours. Moisture content, water activity (aw), microbiological parameters (total plate counts, Enterobacteriaceae, total yeasts and moulds count) and content of mineral elements (potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium) were determined in the osmodehydrated mushroom samples. Response surface methodology and analysis of variance were selected to estimate the main effects of the process variables (temperature, time, concentration) on process performance and selected mushroom attributes (microbiological counts, chemical composition and mineral content). Increase in the values of applied osmotic process parameters led to the significant increase in the content of minerals (for example, an increase in K and Ca content by 269.42% and 939.03%, respectively) and a decrease in aw values (from 0.941 to 0.811), decrease in microbiological load and relative protein content (decrease by 33.07%), indicating a possibility for prolonged shelf life and suitability for further processing. The osmodehydrated mushrooms could be considered as ingredients for new functional (semi)products due to improved nutritive profile.

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This paper describes the process of digitizing Montenegro’s legacy soil data, and an initial attempt to use it for digital soil mapping (DSM) purposes. The handwritten legacy numerical records of physical and chemical properties for more than 10 000 soil profiles and semi-profiles covering whole Montenegro have been digitized, and, out of those, more than 3000 have been georeferenced. Problems and challenges of digitization addressed in the paper are: processing of non-uniform handwritten numerical records, parsing a complex textual representation of those records, georeferencing the records using digitized (scanned) legacy soil maps, creating a single computer database containing all digitized records, transforming, cleaning and validating the data. For an initial assessment of the suitability of these data for mapping purposes, inverse distance weighting (IDW), ordinary kriging (OK), multiple linear regression (LR), and regression-kriging (RK) interpolation models were applied to create thematic maps of soil phosphorus. The area chosen for mapping is a 400 km² area near the city of Cetinje, containing 125 data points. LR and RK models were developed using publicly available digital elevation model (DEM) data and satellite global land survey (GLS) data as predictor variables. The digitized phosphorus quantities were normalized and scaled. The predictor variables were scaled, and principal component analysis was performed. For the best performing RK model an R² value of 0.23 was obtained.