The scientific workshop “Harvest Festival “Vecauce – 2021”. Harvest in extreme conditionsˮ took place remotely on November 4, 2021. The eight oral presentations (ecosystems, Research Study Farm “Vecauceˮ, soil resources, plum cultivation, self-produced feed for pigs, drug plant cultivation, evaluation of bioeconomy strategy in Latvia and photos on field and laboratory experimentation show) were presented at the workshop and also 29th stand reports. The collection of the seminar includes articles on the results of scientific research on spring barley varieties, soil diagnostics within the SYStem workshop in Slovenia, lactobionic acid in pig feed, tomato diseases observed in central part of Latvia in 2021, preliminary results in an intensive type plum orchard in Vecauce, assessment of soil resources in the context of EU agricultural and environmental strategy, assessment of local spring wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) breeding line, terminology – gyttja or sapropel, essential oil content and composition from aerial parts of wild and cultivated Glechoma hederacea L., inclusion of lactobionic acid in the diet of dairy cows, the losses of the content of essential oil for oregano (Origanum vulgare L.), development of winter wheat tan spot depending on fungicide treatment scheme, humates chemical composition and uniqueness, and influence of soil tillage on soil agrophysical properties within a decade.

The aim of the study was to evaluate grain yield components and their role in yield formation for spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) varieties in the meteorological conditions of 2021 in the Northwest of Latvia. The number of plants per square m, the tillering coefficient, the harvest index, the root to shoot length ratio at growth stage 21, the grain weight, and the number of grains per square m were determined. There was a significant difference between the barley varieties in terms of all the analysed traits. The varieties ‘Jumara’ and ‘Quench’ provided the best results for grain weight per square m showing significantly (p is less than 0.01) higher values for the number of plants and grains per square m simultaneously.

The aim of the research was to determine the feeding efficiency of lactobionic acid on the pigs’ growth and pork quality. In order to achieve the goal, the following tasks were performed: the growth of pigs was controlled, the feed was prepared, the yield and quality of pork was determined. The study was organized on a production farm. Two groups (control and trial) were completed, each with 26 pigs. The animals were selected in groups based on pig´s pedigree, live weight, age and sex. The control group pigs received wet compound feed, but for the trial group lactobionic acid was included in the wet compound feed: from 7% at the beginning up to 15% at the end of the experiment. Other feedstuffs were the same. The results showed that inclusion of lactobionic acid in the diet did not increase significantly the growth rate of pigs. The pork quality indices were without significant differences, but the slaughter outcome and back fat thickness was a little higher in the trial group.

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) is a widely grown vegetable in the entire world and Latvia as well. Tomato fruits are characterized by a good nutritional profile and can be consumed fresh or processed. One of the biggest threats of tomato growers is the diseases that significantly reduce the amount of yield. Tomato can be infected by pathogens of different genera – Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Fusarium, Phytophthora, Septoria, Alternaria, Oidium, Leveillula, Colletotrichum, Verticillium, and Botrytis. No research on tomato diseases has been carried out in Latvia. The present research aimed to diagnose tomato diseases and identify their causal agents. The study was carried out on 6 farms in the central part of Latvia in 2021. The dominant diseases were different leaf spots caused by the genera Alternaria, Botrytis, and Cladosporium. Diseases of tomato fruits were caused by Alternaria spp. and Botrytis spp. The research should be continued, as many questions remain unclear.

Modern agriculture is facing many ambitious goals set up by European Union, international negotiations, as well as National Development Strategy. Climate Neutral Economy, Green Deal, Global Soil Partnership, etc. are some of initiatives focusing on smart, balanced and watchful use of soil resources. The adaption to climate change, reduction of greenhouse gasses emissions, and maintenance of soil quality require specific knowledge and detailed information about the soil resources. Therefore, a 3-year project (2021–2023) has been started, which is led by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia in cooperation with the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research. The main activities of the Project are three. The first activity is the development of modern, country-specific soil information database for agricultural land. It includes synergy of all possible existing soil information and new survey data into the unified data set developed according to international standards and applicable for all modern data users and technologies. The second activity is the establishment of National soil carbon monitoring system (200 polygons), where changes in soil organic matter stocks affected by natural factors and human activity will be studied. The third activity is the improvement of some parameters related to the soil conditions and used by the National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission calculation system to better fit the local conditions. The Project is financed by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism’s pre-defined project “Enhancement of sustainable land soil resource management in agriculture” (E2SOILAGRI).

Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is the second most important species of Triticum genus and consists of about 5% of the wheat market. The main growing sites are concentrated mainly in dry and warm regions. Climate changes – longer and warmer growing seasons in the Northern part of Europe, may widen utilization of wheat genetic resources and durum wheat is among them. The aim of the study was to test the first local durum wheat breeding line F-015-0128-sv (SMH87/Miradur) grain yield under different fertilization conditions and using various sowing rates: 550, 600 and 650 germinable seeds per 1square m. Field trials were conducted at the Stende Research Centre of the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics in 2021. Results of the experiments showed that grain yield of spring durum wheat breeding line F-015-0128-sv under extreme hot and dry weather conditions of 2021 was 3.57 t ha-1 (3.41–3.91 t haE−1). None of the investigated factors (rate of pre-sowing fertilizer, N top-dressing rate, sowing rate) affected yield significantly in 2021. A tendency was observed that little yield increase was observed only when increasing sowing rate up to 600 seeds mE−2. Study should be continued.

Oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) is classified as one of the paramount species of aromatic and medicinal plants in Europe. The aim of this research was to analyse the content of essential oil in oregano over the years. The detection was made during different scientific projects in 2006–2015. Identic oregano accessions from the ex situ collection of aromatic and medicinal plants’ genetic resources were used as plant material for these observations. For all analysis, oregano samples had been prepared identically: the accessions were cut at the stage of full flowering and samples were dried at +26 °C temperature in a special drying cabinet with ventilation. Despite the differences in the units of measurement used in different laboratories, the results had a tendency to decrease. The factors influencing the losses of the content of essential oils were analysed, including information from field observations, as well as from scientific articles. Additional studies are still needed in Latvia.

In 2021, from July 4th until July 10th, four students from Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies participated in a soil research within the SYStem workshop projects. The purpose of the project was to educate students about World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) and the making of and updating the “Share Your Soils” application. During this time the students attended lectures and did a field research. This year the project was carried out in Slovenia. Students from eight countries were divided into four groups, and each group made and diagnosed a soil profile for three days. The obtained information on soil profiles was added to the SYStem mobile-application.

The aim of the study is to evaluate plum growing in different regions of Latvia with innovate crown pruning system (Heka espalier). This paper covers the first results obtained in the Research and Study farm “Vecauce” of LLU where the trial was established in spring 2018. Control cultivars ‘Jubileum’ and ‘Victoria’ were compared with cultivars ‘Ance’, ‘Adelyn’, ‘Sonora’, ‘Laine’ (bred in Latvia), and German cultivar ‘Tegera’. P. cerasifera rootstock was used. Only 1% of trees perished during the first four growing years. All the other trees were without cold damages. In the first years, ‘Sonora’, ‘Jubileum’ and ‘Viktoria’ had significantly stronger trees. The first year of plums’ harvest was 2021. Cultivar ‘Victoria’ had the highest yield. By choosing the right growing place and planting time, healthy growth of trees is ensured even in less favourable growing years.

Within this research the amount and composition of essential oils obtained from ground-ivy (G. hederacea) samples collected in wild and harvested in organic production system of Northeast Latvia have been determined. Aerial parts of plants were harvested at different vegetation stages within two seasons – 2019 and 2020. Essential oils of the dried biomass were extracted by hydro-distillation for 3 h. The volatile constituents were determined by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The obtained product was pale yellow-green, pleasant smelling essential oil in concentration ranging from 0.32 to 2.98 mL kgE–1. Essential oil content varied among different populations and among vegetation stages of harvest. Higher essential oil content was in plants collected at the first harvest after flowering stage. Population collected in Sigulda (GH3) had the highest essential oil content in both cultivated and wild conditions. The major compounds identified in the oil were Germacrene D, Germacrene B, Eucalyptol, β-Ocimene and 1-Octen-3-ol.