This study examined the influence of agroecological conditions on the ontogenesis and production yield traits of black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.). Understanding the agronomic and phenological properties related to productive properties of black oats can enable more successful introduction into new areas of oat cultivation. Field microexperiments were performed during the three consecutive years (2017–2019) on the two localities in South Banat, in Serbia, which differed in soil type: carbonate chernozem and humogley, respectively. The results showed that all investigated traits of oat in the chernozem soil type were higher when compared with measured traits obtained from the humogley soil type. The average value of yields of aboveground biomass, yield and protein content were significantly higher in relation to the humogley, by 13%, 17% and 11%, respectively for all three seasons. Observed by years, all productivity parameters differed significantly, which confirmed that the productivity of the cultivated plants was strongly influenced by different agroecological, soil and climatic conditions in Pannonian environments. The aboveground biomass and grain yield obtained from the humogley soil type indicate that this species can be successfully grown and utilized in production as a cover or fodder crop even in less favorable soil conditions.

The objective of this study was to estimate genotype by locality, by year, by treatments (G×LxYxT) interaction using AMMI model, to identify maize genotypes with stable number of rows of grains performance in different growing seasons. The trials conducted with seven maize lines/genotypes, four treatments, two years and at the two locations. The results showed that the influence of genotype (G), year (Y), locality (L), and G×L, G×T, G×L×T, G×Y×T, G×Y×L×T interaction on maize number of rows of grains were significant (p<0.01). The genotype share in the total phenotypic variance for the grains number rows of was 53.50%, and the interaction was 21.15%. The results also show that the sums of the squares of the first and second major components (PC1 and PC2) constitute 100% of the sum of the squares of the interaction G×L. The first PC1 axis belongs to all 100%, which points to the significance of the genotype in the total variation and significance of the genotype for overall interaction with other observed sources of variability. The highest stability in terms of expression of the grains number of rows had the genotype L-6, followed by the genotypes L-4, L-5 and L-3. The lowest stability was demonstrated by the genotypes L-2 and L-1, which confirmed that these genotypes are not important for further selection in terms of this trait.

Maize ranks first among worldwide production and an important source of human and animal feed. Its production can be affected by management practices and climatic conditions. The objective of this study was to estimate stability of yield and hundred grains weight of six maize genotypes during two growing seasons at two locations, subjected to four different treatments: T₁ treatment—without herbicide, Control; T₂ treatment—active substance Nicosulfuron and Motivell commercial preparation; T₃ treatment—active substance Rimsulfuron and Tarot; and, T₄ treatment—active substance Forasulfuron and Equip. Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction—AMMI model and genotype × environment interaction—GGE biplot were used to estimate GEI—genotype by environment interaction. The results showed that the influence of genotype (G), year (Y), locality (L), treatment (T) and all interaction on hundred grains weight were significant. The share of genotypes in the total phenotypic variance was 64.70%, while the share in total interaction was 26.88%. The share of IPCA1 in terms of G × T interaction was 50.6%, while share of IPCA2 was 44.74%, which comprised together 94.80% of interaction. The first IPCA1 axis showed high share in the total interaction, which indicates out significance of genotype in total variation and interaction, while high level of IPCA2 indicates a significant treatment effect. Genotype L-6 had the same mass of 100 grains (37.96 g) during both years of testing, while genotype L-1, with 4.46 g, had the largest difference between years. This clearly indicates the influence of genotype but also stress under the influence of sulfonylureas and environmental factors. The maize genotype with the highest values of hundred grains weight, L-5 and L-6, expressed the highest values of grain yield (4665 kg ha⁻¹ and 4445 kg ha⁻¹).

Even though peonies are highly valued as ornamental, medicinal, and edible species and are also considered to be long-lived and relatively disease and pest resistant, they are becoming rare or endangered in their natural habitats. This could be primarily associated with climate change and unsustainable wild collecting practices. So far, in situ conservation efforts have received little attention. In addition, very little is known about the cultivation of herbaceous peonies, particularly their propagation from seeds. What is known is that their seeds possess double dormancy, often accompanied by a low germination rate, which, together, make the cultivation of herbaceous peonies more difficult. Based on a comprehensive analysis of relevant literature, this paper summarizes, analyzes, and discusses all available studies on the seed traits of herbaceous peonies associated with the effect of seed harvest time on dormancy and seed germination, with a strong focus on dormancy breaking procedures. Improving our understanding of dormancy release modalities (impacts of temperature, moisture, light, hormones, various pre-treatments, etc.) will aid the establishment and management of in situ and ex situ collections of valuable species of herbaceous peonies and enable further studies for their successful propagation, breeding, and cultivation.

Composting of mixed medicinal plant waste was performed with the addition of mixture of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB), including Streptomyces sp., Paenybacillus sp., Bacillus sp., and Hymenobacter sp., and portions of spent coffee grounds (SCG). To assess the maturity and quality parameters of the compost, chemical and biological parameters (C/N ratio, loss of organic matter, CO₂ production, dehydrogenase activity (DHA), and phytotoxicity) were evaluated during the three months of the composting process. The results revealed that the control sample (without the addition of SCG and PGPB) had evidently lower values of DHA during the entire monitoring period in comparison to other samples, indicating lower microbial activity in the compost mixture. Also, according to the released CO₂, the composting process was accelerated in all samples where the SCG and PGPB were added, enabling a reduction in time needed for mixed plant waste to decompose. The germination index (GI) of the tested seeds indicated that the produced compost was acceptable and safe, with regard to all of the evaluated samples. However, at the end of the process the samples contained SCG and PGPB, which caused an increase of more than 50% of the GI in comparison to the control sample, expressing a high phyto-stimulant effect and improving the biofertilization impact.

During the period 2010-2011 about 2.113 million ha of buckwheat was sown annually worldwide. Average yield of buckwheat during the monitored period was 913 kg ha-1. Areas and average yield have a rising tendency. The most significant producers of buckwheat in the world are: China, Russia and Ukraine. In Serbia buckwheat is produced on small areas. The paper presents results of testing of four buckwheat varieties, produced on plots of the Institute for crops and vegetables as follows: Novosadska, Godijevo, Bamby and Češka. Analysis of average yield has shown that Novosadska variety produced statistically significant higher yield (2626 kg ha-1) compared to the other varieties tested (p <0.05). From the results shown we can see that buckwheat yield in Serbia is significantly higher compared with the world average yield, which tells us that this plant can be successfully produced in our agro-ecological conditions of growing.