Sourdough fermentation presents several advantageous effects in bread making, like improved nutritional quality and increased shelf life. Three types of experiments aimed to evaluate comparatively the efficiency of two Lactobacillus (Lb.) strains, Lb. plantarum ATCC 8014 and Lb. casei ATCC 393, to metabolize different white wheat flour and soybeans flour combinations to compare their efficiency, together with/without Saccharomyces cerevisiae on sourdough fermentation. For this purpose, the viability, pH, organic acids, and secondary metabolites production were investigated, together with the dynamic rheological properties of the sourdough. During sourdough fermentation, LAB presented higher growth, and the pH decreased significantly from above pH 6 at 0 h to values under 4 at 24 h for each experiment. Co-cultures of LAB and yeast produced a higher quantity of lactic acid than single cultures, especially in sourdough enriched with soy-flour. In general, sourdoughs displayed a stable, elastic-like behavior, and the incorporation of soy-flour conferred higher elasticity in comparison with sourdoughs without soy-flour. The higher elasticity of sourdoughs enriched with soy-flour can be attributed to the fact that through frozen storage, soy proteins have better water holding capacity. In conclusion, sourdough supplemented with 10% soy-flour had better rheological properties, increased lactic, acetic, and citric acid production.

Climate change has become the biggest global challenge, being a real danger especially for crops and an inevitable threat to food security. This paper presents the results of a study conducted in the Transylvanian Plain during 2012–2021, regarding the influence of climatic factors, such as temperature, rainfall, water reserve in the soil and hours of sunshine, on the development stages and yield of maize. During 2012–2021, the soil water reserve determined for maize cultivation was above the minimum requirements (1734.8 m³ ha⁻¹) in the spring months, but fell below this limit in the months when the water consumption for maize was the highest, but without reaching the withering index (1202.8 m³ ha⁻¹). The hours of sunshine in the maize vegetation period have been significantly reduced from 1655.5 h (2012) to values between 1174.6 and 1296.7 h, with a significant decrease in this parameter being observed. The coefficient of determination (R₂ = 0.51) shows the importance of rainfall during the period of emergence of reproductive organs in maize production. During 2019–2021, there was a decreasing trend of temperatures in May compared to the multiannual average of this month, and therefore the processes of emergence and growth of plants in the early stages were affected. During the period of the study, all parameters analyzed (temperature, rainfall, water reserve in the soil, hours of sunshine) deviated from the multiannual average, with negative variations compared to the requirements of maize. Climatic conditions, especially during the growing season, have a significant influence on the yield of a crop, especially when the interaction between several parameters is manifested.

Cadmium (Cd) contamination in agricultural soils originates mainly from atmospheric deposition, irrigation water, fertilizers, pesticides, and industrial waste discharges. This human-induced pollution adversely affects soil fertility and structure, disrupts plant growth and physiological activities, and poses severe health risks through food-chain accumulation. Despite increasing research attention, comprehensive assessments that integrate global patterns, remediation strategies, and knowledge gaps remain limited. Therefore, this literature review critically synthesizes findings from 1060 peer-reviewed studies (screened using PRISMA guidelines) retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science databases, focusing on Cd sources, environmental behavior, plant responses, and soil remediation techniques. Results show that most research has been concentrated in Asia—particularly China—and Latin America. The most frequently investigated topics include Cd accumulation in crops, soil amendments, phytoremediation, and microbial-assisted remediation. Among remediation strategies, assisted phytoremediation and integrated biological–chemical approaches (biochar, PGPR, and soil amendments) emerged as the most promising for sustainable Cd mitigation. In conclusion, this review highlights regional disparities in research coverage, emphasizes the effectiveness of combined remediation approaches, and identifies the need for interdisciplinary and field-scale studies to advance sustainable solutions for Cd pollution control in agricultural systems.

The regional agroecological conditions, specific to the Transylvanian Plain, are favorable to soybean crops, but microclimate changes related to global warming have imposed the need for agrotechnical adaptive measures in order to maintain the level of soybean yield. In this study, we consider the effect of two soil tillage systems, the seeding rate, as well as the fertilizer dosage and time of application on the yield and quality of soybean crops. A multifactorial experiment was carried out through the A × B × C × D − R: 3 × 2 × 3 × 3 − 2 formula, where A represents the year (a1, 2017; a2, 2018; and a3, 2019); B represents the soil tillage system (b1, conventional tillage with mouldboard plough; b2, reduced tillage with chisel cultivator); C represents the fertilizer variants (c1, unfertilized; c2, one single rate of fertilization: 40 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen + 40 kg ha⁻¹ of phosphorus; and c3, two rates of fertilization: 40 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen + 40 kg ha⁻¹ of phosphorus (at sowing) + 46 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen at V3 stage); D represents the seeding rate (1 = 45 germinating grains (gg) m⁻²; d2 = 55 gg m⁻²; and d3 = 65 gg m⁻²); and R represents the replicates (r1 = the first and r2 = the second). Tillage had no effect, the climate specific of the years and fertilization affected the yield and the quality parameters. Regarding the soybean yield, it reacted favorably to a higher seeding rate (55–65 gg m⁻²) and two rates of fertilization. The qualitative characteristics of soybeans are affected by the fertilization rates applied to the crop, which influence the protein and fiber content in the soybean grains. Higher values of protein content were recorded with a reduced tillage system, i.e., 38.90 g kg⁻¹ DM in the variant with one single rate of fertilization at a seeding rate of 45 gg per m⁻² and 38.72 g kg⁻¹ DM in the variant with two fertilizations at a seeding rate of 65 gg m⁻².

Soybean is an important crop due to its multiple uses but also due to its agronomic advantages. Regardless of the agrotechnical system practiced, in the success of the crop, a very important role is represented by weed control. Soybeans are sensitive to infestation with weeds both at the early stages of growing season until the plants cover the soil, but also to maturity after the leaves fall. A soil tillage system applied, through its effect on the soil and on weed control, influences the soybean crop. This paper presents the evolution of soybean crop weeds and soybean yield under the influence of soil tillage systems (conventional, minimum tillage and no tillage) and climatic conditions from 2017 to 2021. The soil’s mobilization by plowing significantly reduces the infestation with weeds, especially the perennial ones. Reducing the intensity of the soil tillage system and the depth of tillage causes an increase in the amount of weeding and, especially, perennial weeds. This determines a lower production of soybean crop by 23–243 kg ha⁻¹ in the minimum tillage system and by 675 kg ha⁻¹ in the no-tillage system, compared to the conventional system. Differentiation of the weed control strategy is required depending on the soil tillage system.

Maize is affected by drought and heat, abiotic stress factors that have been encountered more often in recent years in various parts of Europe. In the area of Turda, Romania, extreme temperatures and heat waves combined with an uneven distribution of precipitation have been recorded that had an unfavorable influence on the maize crop. In this study, the ASI (anthesis-to-silking interval), yield, and stability of 35 old and new maize hybrids created at the Agricultural Research and Development Station Turda were studied under drought and heat conditions. An increase in temperature was observed during vegetative growth and grain filling, and rainfall was deficient during and after flowering. These conditions had a negative influence on ASI, grain filling, and, indirectly, yield, which varied significantly during the seven experimental years. The five newest hybrids (Turda335, Turda2020, Turda380, Sur18/399, and HST148) stood out, with average yields of over 8400 kg ha⁻¹ in unfavorable years and over 15–16,000 kg ha⁻¹ under favorable conditions. They generally outperformed the mean by 29–33%. In contrast, the old hybrids achieved yields up to 22% lower than the experimental mean. Yield was 43.1% lower in 2022 and 31.8% lower in 2023 compared to the best year (2021).