Agricultural State University of Moldova

Introduction:Ruminant production in the Black Sea basin (BSB) is critical for national economies and the subsistence of rural populations. Yet, zoonoses and transboundary animal diseases (TADs) are limiting and threatening the sector. To gain a more comprehensive understanding, this study characterizes key aspects of the ruminant sector in nine countries of the BSB, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Türkiye, and Ukraine.Methods:We selected six priority ruminant diseases (anthrax, brucellosis, Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), lumpy skin disease (LSD), and peste des petits ruminants (PPR)) that are present or threaten to emerge in the region. Standardized questionnaires were completed by a network of focal points and supplemented with external sources. We examined country and ruminant-specific data such as demographics, economic importance, and value chains in each country. For disease-specific data, we analysed the sanitary status, management strategies, and temporal trends of the selected diseases.Results and discussion:The shift from a centrally planned to a market economy, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, restructured the ruminant sector. This sector played a critical role in rural livelihoods within the BSB. Yet, it faced significant challenges such as the low sustainability of pastoralism, technological limitations, and unregistered farms. Additionally, ruminant health was hindered by informal animal trade as a result of economic factors, insufficient support for the development of formal trade, and socio-cultural drivers. In the Caucasus and Türkiye, where diseases were present, improvements to ruminant health were driven by access to trading opportunities. Conversely, European countries, mostly disease-free, prioritized preventing disease incursion to avoid a high economic burden. While international initiatives for disease management are underway in the BSB, there is still a need for more effective local resource allocation and international partnerships to strengthen veterinary health capacity, protect animal health and improve ruminant production.

Doubled haploid technology is a feasible, fast, and cost-efficient way of producing completely homozygous lines in maize. Many factors contribute to the success of this system including the haploid induction rate (HIR) of inducer lines, the inducibility of donor background, and environmental conditions. Sixteen inducer lines were tested on eight different genetic backgrounds of five categories in different environments for the HIR to determine possible interaction specificity. The HIR was assessed using the R1-nj phenotype and corrected using the red root marker or using a gold-standard test that uses plant traits. RWS and Mo-17-derived inducers showed higher average induction rates and the commercial dent hybrid background showed higher inducibility. In contrast, sweet corn and flint backgrounds had a relatively lower inducibility, while non-stiff stalk and stiff stalk backgrounds showed intermediate inducibility. For the poor-performing donors (sweet corn and flint), there was no difference in the HIR among the inducers. Anthocyanin inhibitor genes in such donors were assumed to have increased the misclassification rate in the F-1 fraction and, hence, result in a lower HIR.

In the current context of environmental requirements, solid renewable biomass is becoming one of the main viable energy sources that can replace fossil fuels. This paper focuses on evaluating the morphological structure and properties of three fruit trees that are widely grown on the territory of Moldova, both on the left and the right banks of the Prut River: the apricot, the peach, and the plum. The wood biomass was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM Quanta 200 3D), X-ray analysis (Xpert PRO MPD), and FT-IR analysis. A chemical analysis including the determination of extractive substances, lignin content, and the detection of hemicelluloses content was carried out for all wood samples. In addition, the net calorific value was determined by measuring the calorific value at constant volume, in compliance with the requirements of the EN ISO 18125:2017 standard. According to the obtained results, in terms of maximum calorific output and lignin and minimum ash content, plum appeared to be the best solid biomass resource. However, the other two trees also showed promising results for becoming important sources of wood biomass for pellet production.

ABSTRACT Spirulina platensis is a microalga with biological activity used to produce nutritional supplements rich in proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. The current study aims to prove the impact of the product ZooBioR2 (obtained from Spirulina platensis) on health, and on the histology of duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and cecum in laying hens. The experiment was performed in duplicate on 5 groups of hens (14 birds/group), one control and four experimental, in which the feed was supplemented with ZooBioR2 in different doses (5.0; 10.0; 15.0; 20.0mg active substance/kg of fodder). Inclusion of the supplement in the diet have determined a significant decrease of height of intestinal villi, the depth of the crypts and the thickness of muscular layer of mucosa in the experimental groups receiving 15.0 and 20.0mg/kg. The decrease of crypts depth is an indicator of a higher rate of turn-over of epithelial tissue. The morphological changes of intestinal mucosa could be involved in a better digestibility of the fodder.

The aim of this work is to improve the efficiency of the dehydration process of seeds of agricultural plants by applying the fluidized bed treatment method. In order to achieve the aim of the work, an experimental plant for the dehydration of seeds in fluidized layer was developed, based on which the research was carried out. Convection and SHF were used as sources of fluidized bed seed treatment. The efficiency of the dehydration process with the application of the developed experimental plant was estimated for 3 types of seeds of agricultural alleaginous plants: grape seeds, flax seeds and white buckthorn seeds. These types of seeds were selected for research because at present their dehydration is a problem and they have a great potential for the food industry, traditional medicine, cosmetic industry, pharmaceutical industry, etc. The main results obtained in the application of the developed plant to the treatment of seeds of agricultural plants in a fluidized layer are: increase of the dehydration process speed, reduction of the treatment time, reduction of electricity consumption, increase of the seed quality and reduction of the processing costs. Again, the plant is simple in terms of construction, easy to use, low in cost and during operation has demonstrated a high level of operational safety. The significance of the results obtained lies in the efficiency of the process of dehydration of oilseeds of agricultural plants, based on fluidized bed treatment, mainly with a reduction in the cost of technological processing and an increase in the quality of these seeds, for subsequent use in the food industry, traditional medicine, cosmetics industry, pharmaceutical industry, etc.