The aim of this study was to investigate the quinoa fruit and seed microstructure, as well as to determine the qualitative composition of quinoa whole seed spatial localisation of food reserves in cultivars Puno and Titicaca using two complementary spectroscopic techniques (Fourier Transform infrared and Raman). The analyses of the seeds also included measurements of the crude proteins and starch contents. The experiment was carried out during the 2016 growing season in rain-fed conditions in the north of Serbia. The analysis of the scores of the principal components based on the Raman spectra revealed two groups in both seed parts (cotyledons and perisperm). The analysis of the loadings highlighted the spectrum region that contributed to the differentiation, e.g. the band at 472 cm −1 was related to the amylopectin content in the perisperm region. As for the cotyledons, the spectral range from 1100 to 1650 cm −1 was responsible for genotype differences and it included both the most important bands derived from Amide I, II and quinoa protein with globoid crystals composed of phytin. IR analysis, similar to the analyses of the crude proteins and starch contents in the seeds, failed to reveal any differences in biochemical composition between two analyzed genotypes.

a b s t r a c tModern agriculture is faced with two tasks: (1) to produce enough food for a growing global population, and (2) to ensure satisfactory crop quality while using water resources efficiently. A study of the effect of kaolin on the yield, quality and water use efficiency of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), grown under different irrigation regimes, is reported in the paper. The research was conducted in an open field with carbonate chernozem soil, at Stara Pazova (40 km north of Belgrade, Serbia). It lasted for three years (2011, 2012, and 2013). The experimental setup was a two-factorial, completely random block system, with three replications. The first factor was the irrigation regime and the second the application of kaolin. Two irrigation treatments were studied: (a) full irrigation (F), covering 100% of ETc (crop evapotranspiration), and (b) deficit irrigation (D) at 50% of ETc. The kaolin treatments were: (a) control treatment, without kaolin (C) and treatment with a 5% suspension of kaolin (K).On average, the highest fresh tomato fruit yields were achieved under full irrigation, with kaolin (FK) (21.0 kg m −2 ). The FK treatment also resulted in the greatest dry weight of the fruits (1.1 kg m −2 ). The average fruit weight was rather uniform and ranged from 71.7 g with DC to 75.4 g with DK. The average sugar and lycopene content was quite uniform over the study period, while the irrigation regime had a significant effect on the average organic acid content and total antioxidant activity. Deficit irrigation treatments resulted in a higher organic acid content and higher total antioxidant activity than full irrigation. The application of kaolin had a greater effect of the water use efficiency of tomato than the irrigation treatment.

The environmental issues that our country is faced with are numerous, while the consequences of environmental degradation affect the health and the quality of life of our citizens. In this context, the issue of environmental education and environmental literacy is gaining momentum. In the present pilot research we examined the possibility of applying an international instrument for determining the level of environmental literacy, the Middle School Environmental Literacy Survey (MSELS), on a population of students in the higher grades of elementary school in Serbia. This instrument measures the environmental literacy using four components: environmental knolwedge, environmental affect, cognitive skills, and environmental behavior, together with corresponding sub-components. The content of the instrument was analyzed in the context of Biology and Civic education curricula as well as educational standards for the end of compulsory education for the subject Biology. Survey method was used in the research, while the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The data were collected on a sample of the seventh-grade elementary school students (N=111) from the territory of Belgrade. In addition, five group interviews were conducted with the students to check the clarity of the content of the instrument. The researchers established that the implementation of this instrument is adequate on several grounds: 1) the instrument is well-grounded in theory; 2) the instrument is based on a comprehensive approach to environmental literacy measurement; 3) the instrument is adequate in terms of the teaching and learning program in our education system and 4) the instrument has solid metric features. An overall reliability of the instrument is ,87. The respondents had the highest score in the component of affective attitudes towards environment, relative to other measured components, as well as relative to two countries used for comparing the results (USA, Greece). The lowest score was identified on the scale of the basic environmental knowledge, and the conclusion is that students did not fully master the knowledge envisaged in the educational standards for Biology lessons. The main disadvantage of the instrument is the time required for filling it out due to the amount of the content.

The reaction of leaf growth to drought stress is controlled by various hormones, among which ABA is one of the most important. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ABA deficiency on tomato leaf response under severe drought stress. Therefore, ABA-mutant (flacca) and wild type (Ailsa Craig) were selected for research and in the stage of second flower truss anthesis plants were exposed to severe water deficit. The effects of severe drought on wild-type leaves and flacca mutant showed that, as a result of reduced ABA concentrations, flacca plants were exposed to a higher degree of stress than wild-type leaves, which had a negative impact on the examined physiological and biochemical parameters. Severe drought caused stomatal closure, decreased water potential, specific leaf area, and chlorophyll concentrations in the leaves in both genotypes, but this was more pronounced in the mutant. Wild-type plants have accumulated more vitamin C and ABA and have a higher total antioxidant capacity in the leaves in dry conditions than flacca mutants, which contribute to their better adaptive response to stress. Based on this, it can be assumed that the ABA mutation has led to a decrease in the capacity for oxidative stress products caused by severe drought stress.

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