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Background: In raising quails for meat production, great importance must be given to their nutrition, the use of the right compound feed suitable for them ensuring the achievement of higher performance. The aim of the research was to establish the influence of crude protein in compound feed on production performance in meat-type quails and their productive characterization. Methods: For the research, data were collected and statistically processed from Jumbo meat quails, youth and adults, during the years 2020 and 2021 in a farm specialized in quail growth. Result: It is recommended to use in the meat quail youth a compound feed with a protein value of 24.80% throughout the six weeks of growth because it ensures 15.00% superior performance (265.23±4.13 g/head at 42 days) compared to the reduction of the protein level at the age of 21 days from 24.80% to 22.50%. It is also recommended for laying quails to use a feed with a protein level of 21% which leads to significantly higher results (average 12-month laying percentage of 78.75±2.91%) compared to protein level of 18.20%.

The effects of genotype and diet on growth performance, carcass traits and blood metabolites were investigated. The commercial Ross 308 (R) chickens genotype, a local Black Transylvanian Naked Neck (BTNN) breed, and their crosses were used in an 81-day study. A total of 720 one-d-old chicks were allotted into eight groups in a 4 × 2 factorial design with 4 genotypes: Rmale × Rfemale (R), BTNNmale × Rfemale (BTNN-R), BTNNmale × BTNNfemale (BTNN), Rmale × BTNNfemale (R-BTNN), and 2 diets: control and low-metabolisable energy (LME). Genotype affected performance parameters, namely body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), energy intake (EI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), energy conversion ratio (ECR), and production efficiency factor (PEF), irrespective of growth phase (p < 0.05). Diet had no significant effect on overall BWG, EI, ECR and PEF, except that it increased FI and FCR. Genotype influenced the carcass and organ yields (p < 0.05), except bursa weight, while diet had no significant effect. Blood parameters (total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, albumin and phosphorus) were affected only by genotype (p < 0.05). In summary, results show that from the two crossbreedings obtained between R and BTNN genotypes, the BTNN-R growth performance and carcass traits were superior to R-BTNN, even though both have had a similar improved plasma response. Lowering the ME level did not significantly affect the BWG but increased FI and FCR, whereas the production index was similar regardless of the genotype. Based on the present results, we concluded that the BTNN-R crosses are the most suitable for use in alternative rearing systems for slow-growing chickens.

The issue of nitrate contamination has become increasingly acute, with the awareness of their toxicity on the human body and the identification of increasing sources of contamination. Human intervention in the natural nitrogen cycle has serious repercussions that are manifested by its accumulation at one or more levels. The use of fertilizers in agriculture is crucial to ensure food security, but their unreasonable use causes accumulations of nitrogen in the form of nitrate ions in plants, and from here they reach human intake, over a certain amount becoming harmful. The aim of this paper is to quantify the amount of nitrates present in certain vegetables intensively consumed during spring, sources of food which if does not conform with the current recommendations of EFSA and EU, can become major factors of risk to public health. The studied material consists of 5 types of vegetables products intensively consumed in spring: lettuce (Lactuca sativa), curly lettuce (or Lollo - Lactuca sativa var Crispa), Iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa lime Iceberg), spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and wild garlic (Allium ursinum). The samples were collected from different commercial locations (outlets): hypermarkets (H), open markets (OM), street trade (ST) and house gate trade (HGT). The highest nitrate concentrations were found in lettuce in ST (4306 mg kg-1) and HGT (4175.5 mg kg-1), in Lollo salad in ST (4306.5 mg kg-1) and HGT (4602.75 mg kg-1) and spinach in OM (3469.25 mg kg-1). The study findings suggest that ST and HGT are commercial points that may constitute a danger to public health, the ADI value exceedingly even by 107.21% in the case of Lollo salad purchased from HGT. The issue calls for more drastic controls by the authorities.

In order to determine the effect of average daily lighting duration and battery cages level on the production performance of laying quails, an experiment on 500 quail hens of Balotesti population in 1-15 months laying period was organized. To achieve this, quails were divided into two equal groups (250 heads/lot), the control group was maintained on a 24-hour lighting period and experimental group was maintained in a program with discontinuous illumination, using natural lighting completed with artificial light with a variable duration (12 hours and 30 minutes during the first 6 months of laying curve, 14 hours and 10 minutes in the following). To complete the study on the battery cage effect temperature was recorded on each level in both groups. During the period studied, the results were significantly higher in the experimental group compared with the controls ones. The average production performance regarding the percentage of laying was higher by 10.21% and egg production per capita was higher by 21.92%. Average consumption of mixed feed was 4.33% higher in the experimental group, while specific consumption was 25.51% higher in the control group quail. Average mortality was 10.60% lower in the experimental quails group. In conclusion, the use of a discontinuous lighting with variable duration program depending on the laying curve (lower in the first part of the lay curve and higher in the second part of it) is recommended. The influence of the cages battery was insignificant, but should be considered that temperature fluctuations in the 5 levels were not higher than 4 Celsius degrees in both groups.