The hydroponic production of microgreens has potential to develop, at both an industrial, and a family level, due to the improved production platforms. The literature review found numerous studies which recommend procedures, parameters and best intervals for the development of microgreens. This paper aims to develop, based on the review of the literature, a set of procedures and parameters, included in a test protocol, for hydroponically cultivated microgreens. Procedures and parameters proposed to be included in the trial protocol for evaluating platforms for growing microgreens in hydroponic conditions are: (1) different determinations: in controlled settings (setting the optimal ranges) and in operational environments settings (weather conditions in the area/testing period); (2) procedures and parameters related to microgreen growth (obtaining the microgreens seedling, determining microgreen germination, measurements on the morphology of plants, microgreens harvesting); (3) microgreens production and quality (fresh biomass yield, dry matter content, water use efficiency, bioactive compound analysis, statistical analysis). Procedures and parameters proposed in the protocol will provide us with the evaluation information of the hydroponic platforms to ensure: number of growing days to reach desired size; yield per area, crop health, and secondary metabolite accumulation.

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.

Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), including other species and cultivars, is an excellent source of nutritional compounds, the accumulation of which can be stimulated by exogenous factors (environmental and nutritional conditions). Although best practices are relatively established for mature basil plants, microgreens production requires further research to optimize quality and quantity. The study objectives are (i) to provide an overview of the many uses of basil, (ii) collate and present common hydroponic systems available in the market, (iii) review effects of key production environment parameters on basil yields in hydroponic systems, and (iv) summarize the effects of the growth environments on yield quantity and quality of basil microgreens. The paper analyzes in detail key production parameters of basil microgreens in hydroponic systems, such as temperature, humidity, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrient solutions, and the influence of light (quantity, quality, and photoperiods). The collated literature review has shown that basil, grown hydroponically, can tolerate high variations of environmental parameters: pH 5.1–8.5, temperature 15–24 °C, relative humidity 60–70%, electrical conductivity up to 1.2 mS cm⁻¹, depending on the developmental stage, dissolved oxygen at 4 mg L⁻¹ (optimally 6.5 mg L⁻¹), and light intensity between 200 and 400 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹. The study has synthesized an overview of different production parameters to provide guidance on the optimization of environmental conditions to ensure the quantity and quality production of basil microgreens. Improving the quality of basil microgreens can ideally spur continued gastronomic interest in microgreens in general, which will encourage more entrepreneurs to grow basil and other microgreens. Hence, the study findings are a great resource to learn about the effects of different environments on basil microgreen production. This information can inform research for successful production of different species and cultivars of basil microgreens, and establishing testing protocols to improve the quantity and quality of the harvest.

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.

Technological and climatic factors significantly influence the expression of quality and quantity properties of spring wheat. This study aims to quantify the effects of weather conditions and fertilizer systems on spring wheat yield, quality (protein content), and physiological indicators (leaf vapor pressure deficit, evapotranspiration, surface temperature of the flag leaf) and to identify a suitable spring wheat genotype for the Transylvanian Plain. The experimental factors were: Y represents the year (Y₁, 2019; Y₂, 2020); F represents the fertilizer variant (F₁, a single rate of fertilization: 36 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen; F₂, two rates of fertilization: 36 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen + 72 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen; F₃, two rates of fertilization: 36 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen + 105 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen); and S represents the genotype (S1, Pădureni; S2, Granny; S3, Triso; S4, Taisa; S5, Ciprian; and S6, Lennox). This multifactorial experiment with three factors was conducted on Phaeozem soil. Regardless of weather conditions, fertilization with N_100–110 at the head swollen sheath (stage 10, Feeks Growth Scale for Wheat) is deemed the most suitable variant because it yields an average grain yield of 5000 kg ha⁻¹ of good quality (13.84% protein) with a considerable flag leaf area (29 cm²) where physiological processes can optimally support the well-being of the spring wheat plants. Beyond this level of fertilization, the average grain yield tends to plateau, but the protein content considerably increases by 13–23%, depending on the genotype. High yields were achieved in the Lennox and Triso genotypes.