Floating farming systems, developed for crop cultivation in swampy areas during high water levels, typically utilize organic matter from aquatic vegetation as planting media. Therefore, selecting the appropriate materials for creating these media is crucial. This study aims to quantify the nutrient-providing capabilities of various aquatic vegetation, both with and without ameliorants, for plant growth and production in floating farming systems. Three types of aquatic vegetation—Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes, and Mimosa pigra—were incubated on floating rafts for one week, with and without the addition of ameliorants (cow dung or chicken manure). After the incubation period, pH levels and available nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were measured, and 3-week-old Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa Var. Chinensis) seedlings were then transplanted into the planting media. The results showed that chicken manure improved NH4+ by 4-53%, NO3 by 22-123%, and available P by 98-672%, while cow manure increased NH4+ by 2-37%, NO3 by 5-43%, and available P by 9-94%. Plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, and dried stem weight varied depending on the type of vegetation used as planting media. The effectiveness of these vegetation types in supporting plant growth and production increased in the order: E. crassipes < P. stratiotes < M. pigra. These findings underscore the importance of selecting appropriate vegetation types and ameliorants to enhance nutrient availability, thereby supporting sustainable floating farming in swampy areas.

Fly infestation is a significant problem for dairy farms. The aim of our work was to study changes in cow behavior at different levels of fly infestation. The study was conducted on a dairy farm with an average annual milk yield per cow of about 8,000 kg. The intensity of infestation and fly defense behavior of cows was studied in March (low intensity of infestation) and July (high intensity of infestation). It was found that the intensity of fly infestation in March was 0.7±0.21 (n=25), in July - 38.4±2.39 (n=25) flies per cow. At low intensity of fly infestation, cows made only one movement by one of the body parts. At high intensity of fly infestation, cows standing near the feeding table made 21.6±0.84 tail switching, 9.1±0.61 skin twitching, 2.59±0.2 head tossing, and 2.59±0.24 and 2.29±0.19 pelvic and thoracic foot movements per minute, respectively. During milking, cows threw their heads less (0.6±0.12 moves/min, p<0.001), compensating for this with more forelimb stomps (3.4±0.2 strokes/min, p<0.001) and skin twitching (17.2±1.12 moves/min, p<0.001). Fly swatting movements in lame cows are 1.7-4.6 times less frequent than in healthy cows, indicating the development of the “acquired helplessness” syndrome.