Heat is one of the most important types of energy at northern latitudes. In 2013 the total consumption of renewable energy resources (RER) in Latvia was 68 PJ. The heating systems can function on plant or other organic material, for example, wood chips or agricultural residues. By using local biomass resources it is possible to reduce the pollution of atmosphere caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Different variety of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), triticale (Triticosecale) and rye (Secale cereale) were used in the research. The following aspects were determined during the research: dry matter yield, chemical composition and the higher heating value of grains and straw. The evaluation of grains and straw of winter cereals showed that the higher heating value (MJ kgE-1) was acquired from the straw of winter cereals, whereas the grains had the highest dry matter yield, thus the grains of winter cereals had the highest heating yield from one hectare (GJ haE-1).

Environmental conditions and climate change on a global scale affect the overall agriculture and food supply. Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus (L.) Fiori) is widely distributed all over the world. Immature inflorescence, commonly called capitula or head, is used in human consumption. These vegetables are a good source of human health promoting components. Artichokes are widely used in human diet, characterized by low protein and fat, high content of minerals, vitamins, inulin, carbohydrates and polyphenolic compounds. Relationship between plant growth and development is tight and complicated. Many agroecological factors, such as temperature, irrigation and fertilization level, planting and harvesting date, influence processes of growing and development of globe artichoke. Biologically active compounds in plants are dependent on climate conditions, seasonal changes, cultivar properties and maturity. Pre-germination is required for better plant establishment in the field. Better plant growing and development can be ensured by regular irrigation which provides 85 – 100% from evaporation and applied fertilization before planting and during vegetation period according to soil properties. The biochemical quality of artichoke heads differs between cultivars, head fraction, and stage of head development. This indicates possibility to grow artichokes in Latvia.

This study was carried out in 2012 to determine the effects of different irrigation intervals and irrigation water amounts on the cut flower performance of oriental lilium (Lilium L.) ‘Casa Blanca’ cultivated in greenhouse conditions. Different ratios of the plant water consumption (Tr) calculated using exterior radiation values of the greenhouse were applied to the plants as irrigation water. Irrigation water amounts varied between 199.3-589.0 mm, whereas measured plant water consumption (ETa) varied between 314.9-613.8 mm according to the treatments. Different irrigation water amounts and irrigation intervals had statistically significant effects on flower stem length, flower stem diameter, stem weight and number of flowers. In the study the stem length varied between 26.4-74.7 cm, stem weight varied between 72-175 g, stem diameter varied between 5.0-9.5 mm and the number of flowers buds varied between 3.6 and 8.0. The experimental treatment on which about 1.25 times of the potential plant water consumption calculated in two day intervals and the experimental treatment on which about 1.50 times of the potential plant water consumption calculated in four day intervals were selected as irrigation program.

In automatic milking systems, where the concentrate and forage components of the ration are offered to the cows separately, lack of control over intakes can result in difficulties balancing the forage and concentrate portions of the diet, leading to problems associated with high concentrate intakes and concomitant low forage intakes. In order to check this as a problem on a dairy unit, the feeding behaviour of a sample of cows was observed by video recording. As a pilot study, four Holstein Friesian cows (two at the highest yield and two at the lowest yield of the milk production range) were selected from sixty lactating cows on the Estonian University of Life Sciences’ farm near Tartu, Estonia. The study took place from May 18th till November 4th 2014. The cows were robot-milked and fed a ration comprising, separately, concentrate feed from a robot and a feeder, and a grass/clover silage mix forage at the feed barrier. With the low number of samples the results are indicative and descriptive, but it appears from the raw data that individual variation in visiting times and times spent at the feed barrier are greater than the effect of level of production. Cows spent a significant portion of their time idling at the feed barrier, not actively feeding. It is concluded that care should be taken to presume behaviour from positional data, and there is no evidence that cows with higher and lower milk yields are differentially motivated to feed from a forage source.

From legume seeds it is possible to make new products with different physical properties such as size and hardness by using extrusion-cooking. Peas are products that normally need a rather long cooking time, but extrusion-cooking can make them more usable in daily human diet. As protein based food products in markets are less represented than those based on carbohydrates, but for balanced diet protein intake is essential, our aim was to ensure availability of such products, so experiments were carried out in order to establish optimal moisture content for grey pea (Pisum sativum L.) flour extrusion. Three grey pea (Pisum sativum L.) based products were obtained with different water amount added before extrusion, and their size, volume mass and colour was analyzed in order to ascertain what amount of water is best for such products. Results show significant differences for size, volume mass and colour changes, establishing that the best of the products was the one with 9.00±0.01 g∙100gE-1 added water. This product had better characteristics than others, where 11.00±0.01 g∙100 gE-1 and 7.00±0.01 g∙100 gE-1 water was added. The products with 9.00±0.01 g∙100 gE-1 added water were by more than 100 g∙LE-1 lighter than other products, also colour changes compared to non extruded pea flour were fewer than for other samples and their size was the biggest of all obtained products, averagely 11±1mm.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important agricultural crops for human consumption and high amount is produced worldwide every year. Potato peel waste is a zero value by-product, which occurs in big amounts after industrial potato processing and can range from 15 to 40% of initial product mass, depending on the peeling method. Food waste utilization causes great concern in food industry in Europe and many scientific works were written on this topic in the last years offering solutions and original approaches. Present article aims to summarize the review of available literature on industrial potato peel waste application possibilities in food production industry. Scientific articles on food waste management, potato peel chemical composition and recycling methods have been studied. The main results show, that there is a big potential for potato peel extract as an antioxidant in food systems due to its high phenol content. In addition, potato peel powder could serve as a partial flour replacement in dough up to 10 g 100 gE-1 of flour weight without causing significant changes in sensory properties. Potato peel waste can serve as a solid substrate for fermentation. Further investigations in the present field are needed in order to evaluate full potato peel waste application potential.

Kvass is a non-alcoholic beverage produced by fermenting kvass mash with yeast; alcohol content in kvass must be less than 1.2% by volume. Kvass extracts have longer shelf-life and they are essentially free of ethanol. The aim of this research was to evaluate and compare aroma compounds in naturally fermented kvass and kvass extracts. Experiments were carried out at the Latvia University of Agriculture, Department of Food Technology from November 2014 to February 2015. Three commercially available kvass samples (Bruveris, Bauskas and Liepkalni) were used to produce kvass extracts applying vacuum evaporation. The investigation of volatile compounds in kvass and kvass extracts was performed using solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Dry matter content in kvass extracts was 32.4 ± 0.3% (ISO 2173:2003). In all kvass and extract samples in total 25 volatile compounds were detected. Ten of them were esters, five alcohols, five acids, four aldehydes and three ketones. Such aroma compounds as ethyl acetate (fruity flavour), hexyl acetate (fruit, herb) and ethyl decanoate (grape) were found only in Bruveris kvass, 2,3-butanedione (buttery) and phenethyl butyrate (floral) were found only in Bauskas alus kvass and three volatile compounds were identified only in Liepkalni kvass – acetic acid (sour), furfuryl alcohol (burnt) and carvone (caraway). Less than a half of the main aroma volatiles in kvass were also identified in kvass extracts and total values of peak areas were significantly lower in kvass extracts compared to kvass (p = 0.01).

Corticosteroid therapy is often used on dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) to treat different kinds of diseases. One of the most common complications of corticosteroid use is steroid hepatopathy, a specific pathology only in dogs. The objective of this study was to determine whether and how significant the liver functional changes after one administration of different kinds of corticosteroids in standard dosages are. The study took place in private veterinary clinics in Riga, Latvia, during 2013 - 2014, with the permission of dogs’ owners. Twenty animals, which received corticosteroids due to present diagnosis, were divided into four groups. To reach the aim such corticosteroids as dexamethasone sodium phosphate, prednisolone acetate, methylprednisolone acetate and hydrocortisone aceponate were used in standard dosage one time to these dogs, respectively. Then, such blood serum enzymes as alaninaminotransferase (ALAT) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) were determined 24, 48 and 96 hours after the use of corticosteroids. It was discovered that the only one administration of dexamethasone sodium phosphate and methylprednisolone acetate in standard dosage can significantly increase (p is less than 0.05) ALAT and AP mean values in dogs. The corticosteroid prednisolone acetate was used once in standard dosage and hydrocortisone aceponate spray was used once and did not statistically significantly (p is greater than 0.05) change the values of alaninaminotransferase (ALAT) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) in dogs’ blood serum during this study.

Land consolidations in Slovakia are regarded as an instrument for solution of ownership fragmentation in accordance to rural development. In the introduction of this paper, we describe problems in Slovakia associated with the ownership fragmentation. Country, rural areas were significantly influenced by the period of collectivization. The benefits of land consolidation project are shown in a case study area for Kanianka cadastre. We compare ownership relations before and after the land consolidation. Statistical values as number of resolved ownerships by LC, number of plots and average size of plots are shown. New infrastructure, water management and ecological elements are discussed. In conclusion, we give the reason why activities related to land consolidation in Slovakia stagnates despite positive response.

Development of tourism, understood as the result of human activity aimed at adapting space to the needs of tourism, requires a variety of specific spatial determinants recognized from the viewpoint of multi-dimensionality of tourist space. One of the major determinants of tourism intensity in an area are landscape values, including natural values. Natural elements of the environment (including the terrain, water reservoirs, and natural forms of land cover), sustainable landscape, or the unique cultural objects are the basis for long-term development of tourist activities. These values are characteristic of the so-called naturally valuable areas, including areas under the national and international law of different forms of nature protection. The paper aims at examining the relationship between the existing natural determinants affecting the development of tourism and the intensity of tourist movement as well as tourism intensity and the level of development of tourist facilities in the gminas of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodship. The overall objective will be implemented in three stages. The first one will be to identify the existing natural determinants for the development of tourism in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodship. The second phase will consist of an examination of the intensity of tourist movement and the level of the development of tourism by designating Schneider’s, Baretje’s and Defert’s indicators and the share of recreational areas. The final step will be to identify relationships between the variables obtained in the process of obtained in the two previous stages.