The flag leaf can be an important vehicle for high grain yield due to its position and photosynthetic characteristics. To identify the most adaptive and stable yielding genotype, three winter wheat genotypes were studied during two experimental years under field conditions to quantify the influence of flag leaf removal in different phenological stages on the grain yield and grain quality. To quantify the influence of the flag leaf on the main yield components, the flag leaf was removed every 7 days, starting from the booting stage to ripening. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids were determined from the removed leaves. As a complex trait, the number of grains/spikes and the weight of the grains/spikes were highly influenced by the flag leaf removal during the early generative stages, causing a yield loss from 9% to more than 40%, depending on the variety. It was established that the photosynthetic pigments were highly influenced by the plant phenology stages and the environmental conditions, especially carotenoids, which act as photoprotective and antioxidant agents under stress conditions. Regarding grain quality, flag leaf removal had a significant influence on the accumulation of grain protein and the wet gluten content, the variability of these quantitative traits being also influenced by the climatic conditions.

Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a major crop worldwide. It occupies the second place after cereals (corn, rice, and wheat). This important crop is threatened by the Oomycete Phytophthora infestans, the agent of late blight disease. This pathogen was first encountered during the Irish famine during the 1840s and is a reemerging threat to potatoes. It is mainly controlled chemically by using fungicides, but due to health and environmental concerns, the best alternative is resistance. When there is no disease, no treatment is required. In this study, we present a summary of the ongoing efforts concerning resistance breeding of potato against this devastating pathogen, P. infestans. This work begins with the search for and selection of resistance genes, whether they are from within or from outside the species. The genetic methods developed to date for gene mining, such as effectoromics and GWAS, provide researchers with the ability to identify genes of interest more efficiently. Once identified, these genes are cloned using molecular markers (MAS or QRL) and can then be introduced into different cultivars using somatic hybridization or recombinant DNA technology. More innovative technologies have been developed lately, such as gene editing using the CRISPR system or gene silencing, by exploiting iRNA strategies that have emerged as promising tools for managing Phytophthora infestans, which can be employed. Also, gene pyramiding or gene stacking, which involves the accumulation of two or more R genes on the same individual plant, is an innovative method that has yielded many promising results. All these advances related to the development of molecular techniques for obtaining new potato cultivars resistant to P. infestans can contribute not only to reducing losses in agriculture but especially to ensuring food security and safety.

Maize will continue to expand and diversify as an industrial resource and a feed and fuel crop in the near future. The United Nations estimate that in 2050 the global population will reach 9.7 billion people. In this context, food security is increasingly being discussed. Additionally, another threat to food security is global warming. It is predicted that both the quantity and the quality of crops will be seriously affected by climate change in the near future. Scientists and breeders need to speed up the process of creating new maize cultivars that are resistant to climate stress without diminishing yield or quality. The present paper provides a brief overview of some of the most important genomics tools that can be used to develop high-performance and well-adapted hybrids of maize and also emphasizes the contribution of bioinformatics to an advanced maize breeding. Genomics tools are essential for a precise, fast, and efficient breeding of crops especially in the context of climate challenges. Maize breeders are able now to develop new cultivars with better traits more easily as a result of the new genomic approaches, either by aiding the selection process or by increasing the available diversity through precision breeding procedures. Furthermore, the use of genomic tools may in the future represent a way to accelerate the processes of de novo domestication of the species.

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).

Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide. Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary is the oomycete pathogen responsible for the famous Irish famine (1840s). It is still the most important pathogen affecting potato crops, causing the late blight disease on potato and tomato. It is mainly controlled by fungicides. Breeding for disease resistance is the best alternative to chemical control of the disease. One of the strategies used is to stack many resistance genes in the same genotype. Here, we wanted to test the effect of the stacked resistance gene (R) from S. demissum on the infection process by the virulent race EU_13_A2. Four potato genotypes were tested, each one harboring, respectively, one, two, three or four R genes. All the tested genotypes were sensitive. However, the sensitivity degree was negatively correlated with the number of genes harbored by each genotype. There was a delay of two days of symptoms manifestation for the genotype with 4Rs, and the pathogen produced less spores on the detached leaf test. In addition, the amount of phenolic compounds produced is higher in the genotypes with multiple R genes.

The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the yield potential of 25 different varieties of oat as a reaction to seeding distance and fertilization for improvement of crop technology and identification of the most adapted varieties. Based ANOVA test, the main influence on yield is due to climate, followed by the amount of fertilizers. The sowing distance reveals its influence when combined with the fertilization, this aspect pointing out the differences between studied varieties. The triple interactions gradually reduce the influence of the factors, their combination being very significant in the case year X sowing distance X variety. The spatial comparative analysis of the three experimental years presents an overlap in the median area of the PCA ordering of the 12.5 cm sowing distance, fertilized with N₅₀P₅₀ with the 25 cm sowing distance fertilized with N₁₀₀P₅₀. There are differences between the oat varieties regarding the reaction to the nitrogen fertilization, highlighting especially the Mureşana variety where comparable yields are obtained on both levels of fertilization: 5.18 t ha⁻¹ (N₅₀P₅₀) and 5.59 t ha⁻¹ (N₁₀₀P₅₀).