Maize is one of the top five field crops worldwide and is indispensable as animal feed, serves as a raw material in many industries, and is a staple for human food. However, its production is under increasing pressure mainly due to abiotic stress. Drought and excessive precipitation, air temperature fluctuations, and reduced soil fertility due to inadequate soil pH reactions are among the biggest challenges that must be overcome. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the effects of these combined stressful abiotic conditions on maize grain yield and quality and to determine the genetic-specific response of maize genotypes in such conditions. The experiment was set up in eastern Croatia according to the randomized complete block design in four replications. A total of 10 maize hybrids of different FAO maturity groups were evaluated across four diverse environments, each subjected to one or two abiotic stresses (extreme precipitation, drought, high air temperatures, and acidic soil). Analysis of variance revealed that all treatment effects were statistically significant, except for the effect of hybrids on grain yield. Depending on the effect of abiotic stress, the variations among environments were up to 51.4% for yield and up to 12.1%, 18.9%, and 0.81% for protein, oil, and starch content, respectively. Differences among hybrids were less pronounced for yield (7.9%), while for protein (13.5%), oil (17.3%), and starch content (1.5%) were similar. However, the largest variation was found for the interaction effect. In the conducted research, ENV2 recorded the highest grain yield, along with the highest oil and starch content, as well as the second-highest protein content, while the hybrid effect remained unclear. Generally, ENV4 had the greatest negative impact due to the combined effects of extreme abiotic stresses, including soil acidity, drought, and high air temperatures.

Selenium (Se) biofortification may improve the nutritional value of microgreens, but its effect depends on the chemical form and application method. This study evaluated selenium applied as selenate or selenite through seed nutri-priming, foliar application, or their combination on the growth, biomass, mineral composition, and estimated selenium intake of popcorn maize microgreens. Roots and aboveground tissues were analyzed separately to assess the potential use of both plant parts as sources of nutritionally valuable biomass. Seeds were treated with 40 µmol Se L⁻¹, and microgreens were harvested nine days after sowing. Selenium treatments significantly affected plant growth, fresh biomass, and the concentrations of P, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Se. Seed nutri-priming with selenite produced the best growth response, with the highest total plant length of 48.5 cm and the highest total fresh mass of 1.31 g per plant. The greatest selenium accumulation was obtained with seed nutri-priming using selenate combined with foliar application, reaching 890.90 µg kg⁻¹ d. m. in roots and 1389.80 µg kg⁻¹ d. m. in leaves. This treatment also resulted in the highest estimated daily intake (EDI), with 1.95 µg day⁻¹ from leaves and 1.25 µg day⁻¹ from roots. In contrast, the lowest EDI values were recorded after hydropriming followed by foliar selenate application, with 0.05 µg day⁻¹ in the leaves and 0.09 µg day⁻¹ in the roots. In general, selenite seed nutri-priming was more suitable for improving growth and biomass, whereas combined selenate application was the most effective strategy for selenium enrichment. The results also indicate that both roots and aboveground tissues may have potential value, although the use of root biomass requires further assessment of selenium bioavailability, safety, and suitability for food applications.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of human life including consumer behavior. The main aim of this paper was to identify basic patterns of changes in consumer attitudes towards agri-food products under the influence of the 2020 pandemic and to better understand to what extent and what kind of food market problems appeared for the inhabitants of the Danube microregion. For this purpose, an explorative study was elaborated. Assuming that the experience of COVID-19 affected consumer attitudes and sense of food security, a hybrid survey was conducted in the Danube microregion (Croatia, Serbia and Romania) during 2022. Data collected from a total of 903 respondents were statistically analyzed in SPSS. Descriptive statistics, PCA, ANOVA and t-Test were employed. The main results have shown that although the surveyed population of the Danube microregion during the pandemic in 2020 was generally not afraid of food shortages, food was in most part available for their families and their shopping habits have not changed to a large degree, the experience of the pandemic has raised the level of awareness about some issues related to food and specifically the prices of food products. Also, three different patterns of attitude and behavior towards food and agriculture, which emerged as a result of the experience of the pandemic in 2020, were identified. These patterns also proved to be different for different segments of the population. The findings suggest the need for stronger support for the development of locally affordable food systems with the use of ICT as a coping mechanism in crises.