Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the main agricultural crops grown worldwide under very diverse climate and soil conditions. For maize cultivation in a conventional tillage system, autumn plowing is a mandatory condition. Minimum soil tillage or no tillage has been applied in recent years, both in research and in production, for reasons relating to soil conservation and fuel economy. This paper presents the results of the research executed under pedoclimatic conditions at the Agricultural Research and Development Station Turda (ARDS Turda, Romania; chernozem soil) regarding the behavior of the maize hybrid Turda 332 cultivated in four tillage systems and two levels of fertilization during the period of 2016–2022. The following soil tillage systems were applied: a conventional tillage system (CT) and unconventional tillage systems in three variants—a minimum tillage system with a chisel (MTC), a minimum tillage system with a disk (MTD), and a no-tillage system (NT). They were applied with two levels of fertilization: basic fertilization (350 kg ha⁻¹ NPK 16:16:16, applied at sowing) and optimized fertilization (350 kg ha⁻¹ NPK 16:16:16 applied at sowing + 150 kg ha⁻¹ calcium ammonium nitrate with additional fertilization in the phenophase of the maize with 6–7 leaves). The results highlight the fact that under the conditions of chernozem soils with a high clay content (41% clay content), maize does not lend itself to cultivation in MTD and NT, requiring deeper mobilization, with the yield data confirming this fact. This is because under the agrotechnical conditions for sowing carried out in MTD and NT, the seeder used (Maschio Gaspardo MT 6R) does not allow for the high-quality sowing of maize, especially under dry soil conditions. Instead, the MTC system could be an alternative to the conventional tillage system, with the yield difference being below 100 kg ha⁻¹.

Biological and integrated pest management strategies have recently been widely adopted in crop protection, with one of the key approaches involving the use of natural enemies (predators and parasites). In order to identify and monitor beneficial arthropod species associated with winter wheat crops, an experiment was conducted between 2022 and 2024 in two locations in the Transylvanian Plateau: Turda, within an open-field agroecosystem, and Bolduţ, within an agroecosystem with protective agroforestry shelterbelts. The research aimed to evaluate the diversity of beneficial arthropod fauna in two agroecosystems, as well as the impact of insecticide treatments on the natural enemies of wheat pests. According to our findings, it can be stated that the beneficial arthropods identified in the two agroecosystems belonging to the same groups, but the abundance in all three years is higher in the agroecosystem with agroforestry shelterbelts. Among all the analyzed arthropods, the order Araneae was characterized by the highest abundance, recording 995 individuals in an insecticide-free variant in 2022. The treated variants with insecticide showed a decrease in both abundance and diversity in agroecosystems with and without shelterbelts during all three experimental years, compared to the variant without insecticides. Regarding abundance, the largest difference was recorded in 2024 in the shelterbelt agroecosystem with a reduction of 781 individuals. In terms of diversity, the lowest value was observed for the Shannon_H index in open-field agroecosystem in 2024 for the variant treated with insecticides (1.426), compared to the untreated variant, where the index reached a value of 1.841. The application of insecticide treatments caused an increase in the mortality of beneficial arthropods, reaching its highest level in 2024.

In temperate regions, Fusarium ear rot (FER) caused by Fusarium spp. is among the most important limiting factors to maize yield and kernel quality. The role of genotype and sowing date in mitigating FER risk remains insufficiently explored, particularly under the variable climatic conditions of the Transylvanian Plain, Romania. A three-year field experiment (2021–2023) was conducted to evaluate twelve early to semi-early maize hybrids across four sowing dates (very early—SD1, early—SD2, optimum—SD3, late—SD4). FER incidence and severity were assessed at harvest, and yields were analyzed in relation to genotype, disease pressure, and seasonal climate variability. Mean FER incidence reached 74.9% and severity was 3.4%, with significant variation among years, sowing dates, and hybrids. Early sowings (SD1, SD2) recorded the highest infection levels (up to 83.6% incidence and 4.6% severity). In contrast, the latest sowing (SD4) exhibited the lowest disease pressure (59.1% and 2.5%, respectively) and achieved the highest yield (9.1 t ha−1). Significant differences were noted between hybrids: Turda 332, Turda Star, and Turda 165 were highly susceptible, whereas Turda 380, HST 149, and Turda 2020 displayed higher levels of tolerance. A strong correlation between yield losses and FER severity was observed for very early sowing (r = 0.72, p < 0.01); this relationship was not evident under later sowing. These results indicate that choosing the sowing date according to seasonal climatic conditions, together with the use of the most tolerant hybrids, represents an effective strategy to reduce the risk of FER and to obtain stable maize yields in temperate regions.

Maize is one of the most important agricultural crops worldwide, due to its high production potential and the multiple uses of its products. In the context of the need to maintain high yields and preserve soil fertility, the use of green manures together with mineral fertilizers can represent a sustainable solution. For this purpose, during the period 2024–2025, at the Turda Agricultural Research and Development Station (Cluj, Romania), a field experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of two cover crops used as green manures, white lupin (Lupinus albus) and phacelia (Phacelia sp.), on the Turda 344 maize hybrid. Within each agrofund (classical, after lupin, and after phacelia), five fertilization variants were tested, consisting of basic fertilization and the supplementary application of mineral fertilizers and biostimulants. The results highlighted the major influence of climatic conditions on yield and grain quality, with the experimental year having a significant effect on the main parameters analyzed. In 2024, under basic fertilization, lupin and phacelia increased grain yield by 8.0% and 1.4%, respectively, compared with the classic agrofund, while in 2025, phacelia maintained a yield advantage of 1.4%. The highest yields were obtained in 2025, when climatic conditions were more favorable, and additional fertilization with ammonium nitrate determined the highest values, reaching 9748 kg/ha in the phacelia agrofund (+6.3% compared with the basic fertilization), 9544 kg/ha in the lupine agrofund (+7.2%), and 9612 kg/ha in the classical agrofund (+6.3%). Additional nitrogen application also led to the highest values of thousand kernel weight, highlighting the essential role of nitrogen in the grain filling process. Grain quality analysis showed that variations in starch and protein content had an inverse evolution between the two experimental years, suggesting the influence of climatic conditions and nitrogen availability on grain composition.

Spring barley is a crop of major agronomic and industrial importance, widely used for malting and well suited to short crop rotations due to its reduced vegetation period. Under current climate change conditions, the identification of genotypes that combine high yield potential with stable performance across diverse environments is of increasing importance. During the period 2021-2023, a total of 25 spring barley genotypes were evaluated at the Agricultural Research and Development Station (ARDS) Turda in a comparative field trial arranged in a randomized block design with five replications. Grain yield was assessed in relation to key agronomic traits and grain quality parameters. Two advanced breeding lines, To 2033/18 and To 1990/18, recently registered as the varieties Ioana and Dumbrăvița, were additionally tested within the national SITRV multilocation network. The variety Ioana achieved grain yields ranging from 6,000 to 7,700 kg/ha, with maximum values recorded at the Dej and Sibiu locations, indicating a high yield potential under favorable conditions. Dumbrăvița recorded yields between 5.500 and 6.800 kg/ha and showed a high degree of yield stability across environments. Protein content varied between 10.28% and 11.38%. Compared with the standard variety Romaniţa, both newly registered cultivars demonstrated clear genetic progress. Ioana is a high-yielding malting-type variety recommended for intensive cropping systems, while Dumbrăvița is characterized by high stability and ecological plasticity, being well adapted to variable pedoclimatic conditions.

Sustainable alternatives to conventional seed treatments require validation under field conditions. This study compared two conventional chemical seed treatments (a fungicide and an insecticide) and three alternative treatments (a microbiological formulation, a plant-extract-based formulation and a biostimulant) with an untreated control in winter wheat over two growing seasons at ARDS Turda, Romania. The field experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Germination, crop establishment, cereal fly damage, yield components, grain quality and economic performance were evaluated. Data were analysed using linear mixed-effects models and Tukey-adjusted pairwise comparisons. All treatments significantly increased germination energy and germination capacity relative to the untreated control. Seed treatment significantly influenced field emergence and cereal fly damage but not tiller density or productive spike density. Biosem produced the highest field emergence (89.58%), whereas Bioseed was associated with the lowest incidence of cereal fly damage (4.02%). The overall treatment effect on grain yield was not significant (p = 0.063), although Signal 300 ES produced the highest yield (7909 kg ha⁻¹) and differed significantly from the untreated control in the Tukey-adjusted comparison. Seed treatment significantly influenced thousand-kernel weight but not test weight, protein content, wet gluten content, or Zeleny sedimentation value. No significant growing season × treatment interactions were detected. Signal 300 ES generated the highest estimated net benefit, whereas Redigo Pro 170 FS achieved the highest return on investment. The alternative treatments did not differ significantly in grain yield from either conventional reference treatment, although this should not be interpreted as evidence of equivalence. Further multi-environment validation is required.