Trying to find the best solution for the ecological problem of karst zone (i.e. protection of surface and ground water from agricultural activity) it is important to determine the migration extent of plant nutrients leached from the soil into the streams and ground water depending on the type of land use. The paper presents the results of the studies carried out in two vicinities of intensive karst zone in Birzai district. The obtained results show the influence of drainage water on the quality of stream water in drained areas. It has also been determined that drainage water quality is influenced by soil forming rocks as well as by the type of land use. In the failures of karst zone, as well as in arable land the quality of ground water is worse, especially when ground water is found near the ground surface.

Latvia has essential territorial differences in socio-economic development. Therefore the task of the state is to realise such regional policy which decreases unfavourable territorial differences, facilitates balanced territorial development and increases the life quality of the inhabitants. The regions deserving special support have an important role in the implementation of regional policy. The state support from the specially established Regional Fund is mainly being given to the enterprises which are located in the regions deserving special support, sometimes - to local governments. Up to now the state support was more frequently given to the peasant farms and individual enterprises and occasionally to the stock companies, local governments etc. In the period from 1998 to 2000, interest payments for specific credits compile 82% from the usage of the Regional Fund. The directions of the application of the Regional Fund are not wide at present and they should be diversified.

The efficient functioning of drainage objects depends on a number of accidental factors: natural and climatic conditions, the quality of drainage technologies and their exploitation, as well as the peculiarities of drained land use. Drainage reliability may be evaluated in view of the following indices: mean quantitative values, fluctuation peculiarities, interrelations and dependence of the indices. One of the indices, determining the reliability of drainage objects, is the drainage operation time to failure - the longer this time, the more reliable the drainage is from the point of view of exploitation. The paper deals with one of the most important reliability indices of drainage systems - it's operating time to failure. The indices of drainage functioning until its failure have been defined on the basis of probability theory and mathematical statistics. The distribution regularities have been established for the drainage object under different land-reclamation conditions. This might help to determine the failure probability, a certain age as well as to foresee the time and extent of repair works.

As the majority of well-known researchers (All right 1982, Jordan 1989, Morrow 1977 etc.) evaluate needs analysis as the starting point for any kind of teaching and learning ESP, and the new developments in educational psychology contributed to ESP (Chambers F., 1980 etc.) emphasize a learner-centreted approach, the first attempt for such kind of data collecting was made in the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Estonian Agricultural University (EAU).

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.

Weed surveys showed that annual broad-leaved weeds were dominant in spring barley sowings in central Latvia. Field trials on broad-leaved weed control in spring barley showed that herbicides Granstar and Duplosan Super at 0,5 and 0,25 doses gave good weed control. There were statistically significant relationships between the abundance of broad-leaved weed and the yield of spring barley when barley yield and broad-leaved weed population were both high.

The spread of thrips was observed in winter rye, wheat and triticale crops during the growing season of 2001 at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture in Dotnuva. Thrips started to spread in winter cereals of the end of tilling - beginning of stem elongation stage (DC 29-30). In winter rye and triticale the spread of thrips was similar. There were two well-defined peaks of thrips occurrence. The highest incidence of thrips was on winter rye. There were 100% infested stems and 15.4 thrips per infested stem in rye, 90% infested stems and 6.9 thrips per infested stem in triticale and 84% infested stems and 2.9 thrips per infested stem in wheat.

Balance of nitrogen, phosphor and potassium content in four rotations of sugar beets (in respective periods of 1965-1973; 1974-1982; 1083-1991 and 1992-2000) was established at the Rumokai Research Station of the Agricultural Institute of Lithuania. Extended crop rotation of nine fields included two fields of winter wheat or rye (22.2%), two fields of sugar beets (22.2%), two fields of barley (22.2%), one field of perennial grass, i.e. red clover and meadow timothy of the first year use (11.1%), one field of perennial grass - red clover and meadow timothy - of the second year use (11.1%) and one field contained vegetated fallow with the drilled mixture of vetch and oat for green fodder (11.1%). Organic-mineral fertilisation system was employed in the process of crop rotation.