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.

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.

The vitamin content of cultivated mushrooms differs from one species to another, depending on their stage of development, the nutrient substrate used to produce them, and the microclimate in the culture space. Agaricus blazei Murrill is one of the most popular cultivated medicinal mushrooms, with scientifically proven therapeutic properties. Considering that the Agaricus spp. mushrooms culture substrate can be produced using various raw materials, in this paper we have studied the influence of the culture substrate using four types of substrate with different protein additions on the vitamin content of mushrooms. The food qualities of the Agaricus blazei Murrill mushrooms, evaluated by the chemical composition, generally revealed the product obtained on the classic compost, improved with the addition of proteinaceous of corn flour. Mushrooms harvested on this substrate have the highest levels of B₁ (1151 μg 100 g⁻¹ dm), B₉ (671 μg 100 g⁻¹ dm), B₁₂ (906 μg 100 g⁻¹ dm), PP (55.33 μg 100 g⁻¹ dm), and C vitamins (21.67 μg 100 g⁻¹ dm). The content of ergosterol, as a precursor of D₂ vitamin, has higher values in the product obtained on the classic compost, with the addition of wheat bran (90.17 mg 100 g⁻¹ dm) and the addition of corn flour (94 mg 100 g⁻¹ dm).

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.

Precision agriculture is about applying solutions that serve to obtain a high yield from the optimization of resources and the development of technologies based on the collection and use of precise data. Precision agriculture, including camera-guided row detection and hydraulic steering, is often used as an alternative because crop damage can be decreased and driving speed can be increased, comparable to herbicide applications. The effects of different approaches, such as uncontrolled (UC), mechanical weed control (MWC), herbicide weed control (HWC), and mechanical + herbicide control (MWC + HWC), on weed density and yield of sugar beet were tested and evaluated in two trials (2021 and 2022) in South Transylvania Depression at the tested intervals BBCH 19 and 31. Weed control efficacy (WCE) depends on the emergence of the weeds and a good timing of weed controls in all the trials and methods, though the highest yield of sugar beet roots was recorded in the treatment MWC + HWC, with an increase up to 12–15% (56.48 t ha⁻¹) yield from HWC (50.22 t ha⁻¹) and a yield increase of more than 35–40% than MWC (42.34 t ha⁻¹). Our trials show that it is possible to increase yield and have fewer chemical applications with the introduction of new precision technologies in agriculture, including sensor-guided mechanical controls.

Backgroung: Long term storage of spermatozoa is one of the most desirable tools of assisted reproductive technologies. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effect of two antioxidants on sperm kinematic parameters after the freezing-thawing process and the post thawed fertility rate after the trans cervical artificial insemination. Methods: Ejaculates from Lacune rams were collected using artificial vagina, were pooled and diluted using based extender (Biladyl, Minitube) and based extender with antioxidants (Eugenol, Arginine). Trans-cervical artificial insemination was performed with frozen seminal material in straws. Result: No significant differences were observed in samples cryopreserved in a base extender and in the base extender supplemented with Arginine. In Eugenol supplemented extender the kinematic parameters were significantly higher for p=0.5 (30.15% progressive motility after thawing) than in the others groups (23.57%, 24.38%). The fertility rate was higher for the straws conserved in extender supplemented with Eugenol (80%) compared with the base extender (55.55%) and the base extender supplemented with Arginine (60%).