In some regions of the world, there is a risk of limiting crop production due to the growing pressure of biotic and abiotic factors. It is mostly connected with the forecasted climatic changes. Hence, alternative methods for supporting plant growth are sought for, and among them, biostimulants can play a significant role. The three-year (2009 – 2011) field experiment with spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was conducted in Poland to assess the response of grain yield, yield components, as well as the content and uptake of N, P and K in grain to differentiated times and to a dose of seaweed (Ecklonia maxima Osbeck) biostimulant Kelpak application. Preparation was applied in a dose of 2 L haE-1 at BBCH 22 (early treatment) or in a dose of 2 L haE-1 at BBCH 31 (late treatment), as well as two times, 1.5 L haE-1 each, in both phases. The study indicated that the biostimulant had a favourable effect on the root weight, grain number per spike, thousand grain weight and seed yield in early treatment as compared with the control. Early application also had a positive effect on N and P uptake in the grain yield. Favourable response of barley to the application of biostimulant shows the usefulness of the seaweed extract in the cultivation technology of this crop.

Superabsorbents are hydrophilic polymers that can absorb large amounts of water. These studies show that the use of superabsorbent may significantly reduce the negative effects of drought stress on plants. However, their use in the field cultivation has so far been minimal. The price of hydrogels has recently decreased significantly. This was the reason for starting research described in this work, in which the experimental plant was the winter wheat cultivar ‘Lucullus’ – the cereal which is the most intensively cultivated in Poland. The field experiment was conducted in the years of 2014 – 2016, in the Agricultural Experimental Station (AES) in Osiny, Poland, in 4 repetitions. TerrahydrogelAqua was evaluated in the following doses: 1) control without hydrogel, 2) 10, 3) 20 and 4) 30 kg•haE-1. Before harvesting, the plant samples were taken to determine the yield structure elements. After harvesting, grain yield at 15% moisture content was determined. The influence of hydrogel on winter wheat grain yield varied in individual years. On average, the yield of wheat grain from the treatment with a dose of 30 kg•haE-1 of hydrogel was significantly higher than from the control treatment or the treatment with a dose of 10 kg•haE-1 of hydrogel. The mean values of yield structure features, i. e. ear grain yield and weight of thousand grain were the highest at the dose of 30 kg•haE-1 of hydrogel. The effect of hydrogel on the average number of plants and ears per unit area and on the number of grains per ear was not found.

The objective of the work, carried out as part of research programme on current change of the regional climate, was to confirm the hypothesis about the increasing frequency and intensity of droughts in May and June in the region of Kujawsko-Pomorskie (central Poland) in the years 1981 – 2010. Furthermore, the aim was to confirm a significant relationship between indicators characterizing meteorological and agricultural droughts. Material for the research was the data from five meteorological measuring points located in the region. Atmospheric precipitation and air temperature in the period of high water needs of cereals and rapeseed (May–June) were used. Statistical methods widespread in climatological studies were applied, particularly the method of trends. The average multiannual totals (1981–2010) of rainfall in May–June allow ranking the region of Kujawsko-Pomorskie into the area of the lowest rainfall in Poland. The frequency of meteorological drought in May and June is 23.3–30.0% in the region. In the analysed period there were no significant changes in the frequency and intensity of these droughts with the passage of years. Rainfall shortages in cereal crops and rapeseed production range on average from -19 to -35 mm, and extend to maximum of -93 to -117 mm. The values of shortages did not show any significant changes in the years of the study. The significant dependence between the indicators of meteorological and agricultural droughts allows for determination of the rainfall shortages in crop production on the basis of the SPI values.

The aim of the article was to develop formulas, which can be used to model forecasts of production and economic effects of irrigated faba bean (Vicia faba var. minor), depending on drought severity level in a growing season. For the analysis we used data of ten-year (2005 – 2014) production effects of irrigated faba bean and indices calculated on the basis of meteorological data from the measuring point set in the vicinity of the experimental site in region of Bydgoszcz city, central Poland. Based on them, the most relevant relationships between irrigation productivity and chosen drought indices, calculated for a period of high water needs of the plant, were searched. Presented results have demonstrated that the non-irrigated faba bean yields depended significantly on drought severity level and showed very high variability in time. Irrigation contributed to a significant 49% increase in yields and their stability in the years. Due to this treatment, the coefficient of variation of the yield decreased from 55.1 to 19.6%. The production effects of irrigation depended significantly on moisture conditions over the period of high water needs of faba bean. In wet seasons, the increases in yields due to irrigation were insignificant and about three-fold lower, while in the dry periods – more than a half higher (57%) than the average increases. The results presented in the work are of great importance because they can be used to model forecasts of production, as well as to plan the development of irrigation systems in the given area.

The present research was carried out to investigate the effects of different fertilizer treatments on grain yield and yield components of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) ‘Harenda’ cultivar. The five treatments were as follows: control (standard NPK fertilization), standard NPK fertilization plus liquid NPK (10-11-11) fertilizer, standard NPK fertilization plus liquid NPK (10-11-11) fertilizer with microelements, standard NPK fertilization plus calcium micronized suspension fertilizer, and standard NPK fertilization plus Cu, Mn, Zn, Ca micronized suspension fertilizers. The field trials were conducted in 2017 at the Experimental Site of Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute in Puławy, Poland. Applications of calcium micronized suspension foliar fertilizer and a mixture of Cu, Mn, Zn, Ca micronized suspension fertilizers significantly increased grain yield of spring wheat, respectively by 44.5% and 38.6% in comparison with control (standard NPK fertilization). These fertilizer treatments also enhanced yield components of spring wheat. Moreover, micronized suspension fertilizers (Ca and the mixture of Cu, Mn, Zn, Ca) had a significant effect on ear number and thousand grain weight of spring wheat compared to control and NPK fertilizers. Liquid NPK and micronutrient-enriched NPK fertilizers had a significant effect on thousand grain weight compared to control.

Healthy seeds are essential for the optimal plant population and yield, but seed-borne pathogens, such as Fusarium spp., may reduce seed germination, quality and cause damping-off of the seedlings. Fusarium graminearum is a dominant pathogen of cereal crops and can cause significant losses of grain yield and quality. It is important to evaluate the role of alternative inoculum source in crop rotation. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of F. graminearum infection on different plant seed germination and seed infestation. The research was conducted at the Institute of Agriculture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, in 2017. Visually healthy seeds of bean (Vicia faba L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), lupine (Lupinus angustifolius L.), soybean (Glycine max. (L.) Merr.), lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), white (Trifolium repens L.) and red (Trifolium pratense L.) clover were inoculated with 10 mL of F. graminearum suspension, adjusted to 1×106 conidia per mL. Seed infection was counted 2 and 6 days after inoculation (DAI), seed germination energy and reduction rate – after 3 DAI and germination index – 6 DAI. Results showed that all inoculated seeds were covered with typical to F. graminearum red-purple mycelium. The results of inoculated seeds with F. graminearum showed red-purple mycelium growth on the seeds (infection from 21.25 up to 100%). The results showed that germination energy decreased on pea (2.56%) and lupine (7.79%) seeds. Our results suggest that various plant seeds differently react to F. graminearum infection. The highest infection of F. graminearum was obtained on pea, lupine seeds and the least on red clover.

Conducting agricultural activity in areas facing natural constraints (ANC) affects farms’ production and economic results. ANC payments were introduced to compensate farmers for higher costs and lost income. The aim of the study is to compare the production and economic results of farms receiving ANC support with other farms. It was hypothesized that ANC farms achieve lower production and economic results than other units. The analysis is based on Polish FADN data concerning 2015. The sample included 12,105 farms, of which 4,652 (38.43%) received ANC subsidies. To describe the characteristics of the surveyed farms, positional measures were used due to strong asymmetry. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to assess the significance of differences in distributions. The results indicate the existence of significant differences in the production potential, production and economic efficiency of farms receiving ANC payments and ones without them. Agricultural farms receiving ANC payments are characterized by a significantly smaller area of agricultural land, a lower share of arable land in the UAA and a smaller share of leased land. They also have lower production volume, lower land and labour productivity. They achieve relatively lower incomes. Nevertheless, the payments to a small extent reduce these differences. On this basis, it can be concluded that ANC payments in Poland do not provide full compensation for differences in the production and economic results of a farm with worse agri-environmental conditions. Therefore, the impact of the CAP on the economic results of farms located in ANC is relatively small.

Based on data on the number of newly established enterprises and the total number of enterprises, the authors analysed whether and what changes occurred in the industries of the national economy that have high transfer potential in relation to smart specialisation implementation in the country, broken down by region, thereby identifying the RIS3 specialisation field on which the focus has to be placed and to which attention has to be drawn. The aim of the research is to identify the entrepreneurship development in RIS3 specialisation fields broken down by region and economic development according to the RIS3 specialisation fields. The research has found that the number of enterprises in the industries having high transfer potential in relation to RIS3 as a percentage of the total number of enterprises was slightly above 50%; the regional breakdown of the enterprises revealed that two thirds were located in the regions of Riga and Pieriga, and that ICT was the most significant RIS3 specialisation. In the post-crisis period, the number of newly established enterprises increased at the highest rate in 2011, exceeding the rate of the previous year more than two-fold, whereas in the next two years the rate decreased below the 2009 level.

During the last decade a huge number of Latvian citizens have left the country and live abroad, which complicates to a certain extent the chance of easily returning and settling down in Latvia. At the same time, the Latvian entrepreneurs are ultimately demonstrating their desperate need for all kind of workers. Especially it could be seen in sectors like medicine, retail, heavy and light industry. Rapidly growing Diaspora allows to acknowledge that there is a big potential of labour force flowing away from the country, sometimes staying without any work positions for quite a long time. The aim of this article is to find evidence that Latvian Diaspora could be involved in the Latvian economy and business by using a new attitude and approach, which should be supported by teleworking. During research the main methods used were content analysis of strategic and planning documents as well as analysis of the best practices in the world and Latvia, with the aim of establishing a model of remote work development and finding out proposals for a better participation of employees, employers and territory representatives – local governments and state institutions. This article is a part of and supported by the State Research Project EKOSOC-LV, part 5.2.2. The authors express their gratitude to the Institute of Social, Economic and Humanities research of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences.

Social entrepreneurship plays an increasingly important role in tackling socio-economic problems. It has gained recognition in Latvia among politicians, academicians and social entrepreneurs; consequently, the number of social enterprises increased in the country, yet there is a lack of research studies on social enterprise models and their classification. Accordingly, the research aim is to examine the theoretical models of social enterprises in Latvia. In the scientific literature, there is no strict classification of social enterprises, but based on different criteria, it is possible to distinguish several types or models. In Latvia, there are relatively few social enterprises; for this reason, it is quite difficult to categorise them. However, social enterprises are divided by sector, field of activity, target group, scale of activity and other criteria. The research stresses the following key social entrepreneurship models: the Selfinitiative Model, the Government Participation Model, the Municipal Participation Model and the Company-initiated Development Model. These models are based on two key criteria – support intensity and taking the initiative in establishing and developing a social enterprise.