Maize is the most widespread and, along with wheat, the most important staple crop in the Republic of Serbia, which is of great significance for ensuring national food security. With the increasing demand for food and forage, intensive agricultural practices have been adopted in the maize production systems. In this direction, considerable research efforts have been made to examine the effects of different types of cover crops as a green manure on maize productivity; however, no consistent conclusions have been reached so far. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to examine the possibility of predicting the effects of winter cover crops (CC) integrated with different management practices on the morphological traits, yield, and yield components of maize. The experiment was carried out on chernozem soil from 2016 to 2020 as a randomized complete block design arranged as a split-split-plot with three replicates. The pea as a sole crop (P) and the mixture of pea and triticale (PT) are sown as winter CC with the following subplots: (i) CC used as green manure, and (ii) CC used as forage and removed before maize sowing. The artificial neural network is used for exploring nonlinear functions of the tested parameters and 13 categorical input variables for modeling according to the following factors: CC, way of using CC, N fertilization, and year. The computed maximums of plant height, number of leaves, number of internodes, plant density, number of ears, grain yield, 1000-grain weight, hectolitre weight, dry matter harvest residue, harvest index, leaves percentage, stems percentage, and ears percentage are as follows: 232.3 cm; 9.7; 10.2; 54,340 plants ha⁻¹; 0.9; 9.8 t ha⁻¹; 272.4 g; 67.0 kg HL⁻¹; 9.2 t ha⁻¹; 0.52; 18.9%; 36.0%, and 45.1%, respectively. The optimal result is obtained with peas used as green manure, with 50 kg N ha⁻¹ and in the climatic conditions of 2018. Consequently, maize production under subsequent sowing periods can be successfully optimized by adapting selected management options for higher yield accomplishment.

With the greening of agriculture, there is a need to better link the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and organic agriculture in developing countries. However, in Serbia, there is a huge gap between the potential of their implementation and the actual situation. This paper assessed the strengths and weaknesses of SDGs and organic agriculture in Serbia and how their relationship can contribute in the development of sustainable agriculture. Key data and indicators of the economic, agricultural and social development of Serbia from international and national databases, as well as recent publications related to the selected topic, were assesed. The results showed that the restricted development of organic agriculture in Serbia stems from the undeveloped awareness of consumers, slower acceptance of alternative agricultural systems and the volatility of mainstream conventional agricultural production. The integration of organic agriculture into the largest conceptual and strategic frameworks, such as the SDGs, can offer a true transformation of local food systems and could result in positive feedback to the environment and society. In the long term, the SDGs framework can help connect various dimensions of sustainable agriculture, stakeholders and policymakers. The future focus should be on how to create entry points for agricultural transformation based on certified organic methodologies and how to integrate agricultural heritage into the realisation of SDGs.

The development of irrigation schedules based on water balance implies a study of daily plant water requirements. A properly selected irrigation method is also of most importance. The objective of this study was to find out how surface drip irrigation (SDI) and shallow subsurface drip irrigation (SSDI), as well as different ET-based irrigation scheduling for maize (reference evapotranspiration (ET_o), pan evaporation (E_o), and local climatic coefficients (l_c)), affect grain yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and yield response factor (K_y) of maize. The field experiments were conducted in Vojvodina, a northern part of the Republic of Serbia, on the calcareous gleyic chernozem soil, using a complete block design in three replicates in 2019–2021. The water balance method was used for irrigation scheduling. The nonirrigated treatment was used as a control. The yield in irrigation conditions was statistically higher as compared with the nonirrigated control variant. Concerning the tested parameters, especially the maize yield, reference evapotranspiration (ET_o) should be recommended as the most acceptable method for assessing maize evapotranspiration. Preference should be given to SSDI compared to SDI because the installation of laterals can be performed together with the sowing, which can ensure the uniform and timely emergence of plants. Based on the K_y coefficient of 0.71, it can be concluded that maize is moderately tolerant to water stress in Vojvodina’s temperate climate. The results can contribute to precise planning and efficient irrigation of maize in the region, implying high and stable yields.

Spelt wheat (Triticum spelta L.) is regarded as a crop with high nutritional properties. Cultivar Nirvana was analyzed on nine locations in semiarid conditions of northern Serbia in order to assess the effects of different agroecological conditions on the organic spelt wheat production, grain yield and yield components, as well as the quality of the spelt wheat. The highest dehulled grain yield was obtained in Nadalj organic farm (3.98 t ha-1) on a carbonated chernozem, and the highest protein content in whole grain flour was found in organic spelt wheat from Pančevo (13.94%). Correlation analysis showed significant positive correlations among grain yield, spike length, spike weight, number of grains per spike, 1000-grain weight and harvest index and among plant height, spike length, weight spike, and grain weight per spike. Our study indicated that growing spelt wheat in northern Serbia could result in higher grain yield, but protein content depended on crop management on each location.

The study was aimed at determining the most suitable irrigation schedule program for hemp grown for fibers by using evaporation from the free water surface (E_o), measured by a Class A pan and related crop plant coefficient (K_c). The experiment, carried out in Vojvodina, a northern part of the Republic of Serbia, included three irrigation regimes: I₁, I₂, and I₃ corresponding, respectively, to daily evaporation from an open water surface (E_o), two interrow spacings: RS₁ (12.5 cm) and RS₂ (25 cm), and topped (T) and not topped (NT) variants. The K_c values used for the calculation of daily evapotranspiration (ET_d) were 0.42 for April and May and 1.00 (I₁), 0.80 (I₂), and 0.60 (I₃) from June to the harvest. In addition, the nonirrigated (I_o) control variant was also included in the trial. The dioecious fiber hemp variety Marina was used for the trials. Irrigation was carried out by a drip irrigation system and was scheduled based on the water budget method. It started when readily available water (RAW) in the soil layer of 0.4 m was completely depleted by the plants. In the first year of the study, irrigation did not influence the yield of hemp fiber, but in the second one, the best result was achieved for the irrigation variant I₁. Interrow spacing did not have a statistically significant effect on both the hemp fiber yield and the quality. The topping of plants significantly decreased the yield of hemp, and it is not recommended when the hemp is cultivated for fibers. The quality of the hemp fibers was not influenced by irrigation, inter-row spacing, and topping. The rate of hemp evapotranspiration was in an interval of 312 mm (ET_a) to 520 mm (ET_m). The highest values of IWUE and ETWUE in both years and the bark yield in the first year were detected for the I₃ irrigation variant, which suggested that the crop plant coefficient (K_c) of 0.6 could be recommended for the correction of E_o values in the calculation of the daily evapotranspiration of hemp (ET_d) from June to August. The yield response factor (K_y) with values of 0.22 and 0.60 for the total growing season reveals that, in rainy years, hemp for fiber production could be grown without irrigation in the temperate climate of the Vojvodina region. However, such years are rare. Without doubt, irrigation of fiber hemp is recommended in the mentioned region in order to obtain high yields of good quality product.

In the agroecological conditions of Vojvodina, there is not enough research on the influence of plowing cover crops as a green manure on the content of labile organic carbon soluble in hot water (HWOC). The aim of the study was to determine the influence of crop rotation of different species of winter cover crops (CC) and spring crops in the subsequent sowing period (corn, soybeans and Sudan grass) on the content of organic matter (OM) levels as well as the dynamic of labile OM. Research was carried out at the Rimski Šančevi experimental station under Chernozem soil type. The winter CC consisted of the combined intercrops: winter pea (Pisum sativum ssp. Arvense L.) + triticale (×Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus) (PT) and single-species CC winter pea (P) and control (without CC). Plowing of CC and control plots was carried out at a depth of 27 cm in the last decades of May 2018, and the sowing of maize, soybean and Sudan grass in early June with addition of 50 kg N ha-1 . Sampled was done in October at depth of: 0-20 cm, 20-40 cm. The analysis of variance determined a significant effect of cultivated crops (maize, soybeans and Sudan grass) in the subsequent sowing period on the changes of the HWOC content, as well as the interaction of cover crops and fertilization. The highest value of HWOC was measured in maize (658 µg g-1 ) on the variant P N0 (0-20 cm), and the lowest in the Sudan grass P N50 (20-40 cm). The highest share of HWOC in the total OM content was found in maize (2.56%), while the lowest share was measured in Sudan grass (1.87%).