This paper investigates the natural resources, business and social infrastructure and also the demographic structure of the local inhabitants of the municipalities, near the projected pulp mill. Possibilities and problems connected to the implementation of the pulp mill project are pointed out, also extra regional development is discussed.

Training of a vocational teacher at a professional education oriented university is in parallels to concentric integration of profession and pedagogic (psychology) resulting in formation of student's professional consciousness that ensures a new quality of professional orientation.

Estimating water quality of rivers, lakes and other water bodies, their contamination is being modelled according to the quantitative changes of pollution factors and their appearance conditions. Water contamination is being determined considering one or another value of contamination factors. The modelling of the impact of pollution factors on water quality becomes problematic when the values of the factors can be estimated only approximately or cannot be estimated at all. It is rather difficult to define qualitative estimation of water contamination factors in comparative terms (scanty impact, average impact, etc.) applying only quantitative mathematical methods. In this case the method of fuzzy logic may be of great help. Fuzzy logic enables us to formalise the comparisons of the ojects or phenomena under discussion as well as eliminates the contradictions between qualitative and quantitative methods. Those two methods supplement each other and can be easily applied together. The objective of the study was to estimate the possibilities of fuzzy logic application for the evaluation of stream water quality.

The work contains the description of the current technical conditions of the water resources of the Baltezers region and drinking water consumption in Riga during 2003-2010.

The effect of different fertilisers and storage temperature on the content of reducing sugar in potatoes of different varieties, destined for processing into chips, was investigated at the Elmininkai Research Station of the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture during the period 2000-2001. Five potato varieties belonging to different maturity groups were investigated: early 'Goda' and 'Voke', medium early 'Lady Rosetta', medium late 'Saturna' and 'Hermes'. Potatoes of all the investigated varieties were grown in the plots with different fertilisation: 1 - manure - 40 t ha*[-1), 2 - chopped straw+one-component mineral fertilisers at the rate of N45P45K90, 3 - one-component mineral fertilisers at the rate of N90P90K180, 4 - complex mineral fertilisers with microelements at the rate of N90P90K180. It was established that reducing sugar content in potato tubers depended on the genetic properties of the variety, storage temperature and fertilisation.

During the period of 2000 and 2001, field trials were established with the aim to evaluate the productivity and forage quality of lucerne. The most productive lucerne varieties were 'Birute', 'Radius' and 'Belorusskaya' yielding 13.5-14.6 t ha*[-1) DM, during the years of sward use. The most content of crude protein 170-175 g kg*[-1) have been obtains from 'Karly', 'Radius' and 'ABT-205'. The highest digestibility was observed in the developing line No 60. Acclimatization of rhizobia within lucerne roots has been determined applying streptomycin resistant forms. In field conditions acclimatization within lucerne was more successful by strains 05 (40-100%).

Dressing percentage and gonadosomatic index (GSI) of large (2-3 kg) rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), produced in Estonian fish farms were estimated. The dressing percentage and GSI did not depend on fish size, but there was a strong negative correlation (r = - 081, p0.001) between themselves. During maturation the flesh color decreased significantly. The male trout had the palest color (13 color card units), the color of fillets of females decreased with maturation from 15 to 14. The immaturate females had the brightest color (17 color card units) and the highest slaughter yield (mean dressing percentage 87%, mean fillet yield 68%). Due to deterioration of quality (smaller slaughter yield and pale color) the maturation of trout causes profit loss for fish farmers and thus, rearing of late maturing all-female strains is recommended.

Potato is the second important crop in Latvia. The area covered with potato is about 50 thousand hectares. Potato late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary is the most serious potato disease. Weather conditions in Latvia are very favourable for the development of potato late blight and it is occuring almost every year. The biology of P.infestans was the subject of a number of authors - plant pathologists. Research results about P.infestans population biology and epidemiology are presented in this review, especially focusing on the changes of pathogen biology.

Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is one of the most serious potato diseases. The light blight forecasting is a very important factor for the protection of potato plants. NEGFRY is a decision support system for scheduling the chemical control of potato late blight. Trials were carried out in 2000-2001 at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture (LIA) in Dotnuva in medium early and moderately susceptible to late blight varieties. Ordinary plant protection systems against late blight and different NEGFRY models were compared. Results of two years' investigations show that by using NEGFRY models we can obtain satisfactory protection of potato crop and get higher yield using fewer spray applications.

Udder secretion samples from mastitic and healthy udders were examined at the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the LUA Research Centre "Sigra". In total, 117 samples from 117 cows were investigated. Somatic cell count was recorded for cows with clinical and subclinical infections, and uninfected cows. The mean somatic cell counts for cows with clinical and subclinical mastitis were 1 825 250+-417 697 cells ml*[-1) and 967 866+-75 796 cells ml*[-1), respectively. For healthy cows the mean somatic cell count was 87 666+-15 384 cells ml*[-1). Gram-positive microorganisms from the genera Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Corynebacterium, and gram-negative microorganisms from the genera Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Salmonella, Escheria and Pseudomonas were isolated from samples from mastitic quarters.