Cabbage is one of the most commonly produced vegetable crops worldwide due to its ability to adapt to a range of climatic conditions and soil types. As an intensive vegetable crop, cabbage can be produced all year round. Regarding the fact that cabbage needs optimum agroclimatic conditions during growing period for better yielding results, the paper aims to clarify and define the specific agroclimatic requirements, such as temperature, water, light and soil, suitable for cabbage production. Cabbage production should take place on a seasonal basis, as an early, summer, autumn, or winter production. Production goals should take into consideration whether the cabbage is intended for fresh consumption, pickling, storage or another specific method of consumption or processing. Growing the same cultivar in two different temperatures during one year should be avoided. The combination of suitable production conditions, intensive cultivation practices and mechanisation, can boost the genetic potential of the cabbage cultivars. Local climate conditions greatly affect cabbage production, primarily plant growth, occurrence and development of diseases, harmful insects, and weeds. Production planning must take into consideration both the regional (mean annual temperatures and precipitation) and the local climate conditions (frost occurrence). Cabbage is currently produced in the open field throughout the year, but we may be forced to change the course of cabbage production due to the increase of extreme local climate change. For this reason, the aim of this paper was to give recommendations of agricultural practices that could minimize the detrimental effects of climate change in cabbage production.

Drip irrigation is gaining importance in mitigating the consequences of water scarcity even in regions with abundant rainfall. The transition from surface to subsurface drip irrigation is accompanied by numerous problems. To overcome these issues, shallow subsurface drip irrigation can be potentially used as an effective drought control tool that brings additional benefits compared to conventional surface drip irrigation techniques. This research investigated the effects of different calculations of daily crop water requirements, reference evapotranspiration (ETo), and pan evaporation (Eo) on the yield and water use efficiency of pepper irrigated with a surface and shallow subsurface drip irrigation system. The experiment was conducted in field conditions in the Vojvodina region, the northern part of Serbia. The irrigation scheduling was based on the water balance approach. The calculated evapotranspiration rate was about 400 mm for the pepper growing period, regardless of the calculation method. The highest yield of pepper and evapotranspiration water use efficiency was obtained on the Eo variant with surface drip irrigation. However, irrigation water use efficiency showed no statistical significance concerning the calculation of evapotranspiration and irrigation type. The results indicated that both calculation methods and irrigation types can be used in pepper production, but priority should be given to pan-evaporation-based calculation.

In soybean production, numerous strategies are utilized to enhance seed quality and mitigate the effects of biotic and abiotic stressors. Zn-based nutrient priming has been shown to be effective for field crops, and biopriming is a strategy that is becoming increasingly important for sustainable agriculture. On the other hand, there is a lack of information about the effect of comprehensive nutrient priming and biopriming techniques on soybean seed quality and viability and seed health. This study was performed to assess the benefits of nutrient priming with Zn, biopriming with Bacillus megaterium and Bradyrhizobium japonicum (single and co-inoculation), and combination of nutrient priming and biopriming on the seed quality and viability, as well as seed infection caused by Alternaria spp. and Fusarium spp. Three different laboratory tests were employed: germination test, accelerated aging test, and seed health test. The results revealed that all tested priming treatments have a beneficial effect on seed germination, initial plant growth, and reduction of seed infection in normal and aged seeds. Additionally, comprehensive priming with Zn, Bacillus megaterium, and Bradyrhizobium japonicum reduced the occurrence of Alternaria spp. (−84% and −75%) and Fusarium spp. (−91% and −88%) on soybean seeds in the germination and accelerated aging tests, respectively, as compared to the control, which proved to be the most effective treatment in both optimal and stressful conditions.

The effects of plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria on soybean growth and yield were tested in field conditions using four treatments: (A) Bradyrhizobium japonicum strain 526, combined with cell-free supernatants (CFS) of Bacillus sp. strain Q10 and Pseudomonas chlororaphis strain Q16; (B) B. japonicum 526 + Bacillus sp. Q10; (C) B. japonicum 526 + P. chlororaphis Q16 and (D) commercial fertilizer containing B. japonicum, which served as a control. The average values of dry weight per nodule and shoot dry weight had the maximum values in the B treatment. In dry shoots collected at the flowering stage, nitrogen and carbon content was similar across all treatments, while that of sulphur decreased in treatment A. Relative to the control (D), all treatments showed positive effects on pods number and grain mass per plant, with the best results yielded by treatment A. Nitrogen and sulphur content in grain were significantly higher in treatment C, whereas maximum carbon content was measured in treatment B. In the control, it was obtained the yield of 4,000 kgha^-1, which was in accordance with data reported by the seed producer for the same growing conditions (the maximum value). The yields of 4,229, as well as 4,286 and 4,400 kg ha^-1 were measured for variants C, B and A, respectively, which were statistically significant higher (5.73 to 10%) than the commercial fertilizer (D). The improvement in soybean growth and yield in the field trial achieved by addition of PGP strains Bacillus sp. Q10 and P. chlororaphis Q16 to B. japonicum 526 can result in more productive agricultural practices.

Bacterial canker and leaf spot caused by plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas is among the most destructive cherry diseases worldwide. Nowadays in Serbia, sweet cherry production significantly increased and the new plantations, mainly grown from imported planting material are being raised every year. During spring, 2018 and 2019, occurrence of bacterial canker and leaf spot symptoms was observed on a newly planted sweet cherry plantations in two localities, Zitoradja (Southern region) and Karavukovo (Northern region-Vojvodina). Typical P. syringae colonies were isolated on Nutrient Sucrose Agar supplemented with 5% sucrose (NSA). A total of fifteen isolates were selected and identified. Results of the LOPAT test (+---+) determined them to belong to fluorescent Pseudomonas Group Ia, while results of G+A+T-Ta- tests indicate presence of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. Pathogenicity was confirmed on immature sweet and sour cherry fruitlets by forming of black, sunken lesions for all tested isolates. Genes syrB and syrD were successfully detected in all tested isolates. DNA sequencing using gapA, gltA, gyrB and rpoD housekeeping genes determined tested isolates to belong to P. s. pv. syringae using the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) nucleotide BLAST. The Serbian isolates shared 99.47% to 100% (Zitoradja) and 99.38% to 100% (Karavukovo) identity with bacterium P. s. pv. syringae. Phylogenetic analysis grouped isolates from Zitoradja in one tree cluster, separate from the Karavukovo isolates, indicating presence of two genetically diverse groups of causal pathogen P. s. pv. syringae, obtained from two geographically distinct localities in Serbia. Phylogeographic analysis grouped isolates from Zitoradja in multilocus haplotype coded as REz and isolates originated from Karavukovo in multilocus haplotype coded as REk. Considering that during last few years P. syringae continuously occurs mainly in young sweet cherry plantations, where imported material is used for raising, health status check is recommended to be included as obligatory measure when nursery material is used from import.

In recent years, sweet and sour cherry production in Serbia has increased. Under Serbian agroecological conditions, pathogens causing leaf diseases threaten the success of sweet and sour cherry production. In the period 2012-2019, the health status of cherries was monitored in more than 30 locations. Depending on the production system, the following leaf pathogens were identified: Blumeriella jaapii, Wilsonomyces carpophilus, Mycosphaerella cerasella, Phoma prunicola, Podosphaera clandestina and Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and morsprunorum race 1. Leaf pathogens caused premature defoliation, which adversely affected bud formation for the next growing season and increased susceptibility to freezing. Therefore, attention should be focused on correct leaf pathogen identification, and proper selection, application and rotation of fungicides.