Identifying the contributions of climate factors and fertilization to maize yield is significant for the assessment of climate change impacts on maize production under semiarid conditions. This experiment was conducted with an overall objective to find how N fertilization and cultivar interactions along with climatic conditions determine the mineral composition and maize yield responses of four divergent maize cultivars grown under eight different fertilization levels. The results showed that element contents were significantly affected by year (Y), cultivar (C), N fertilization, and N × C interaction. The element contents of grains were mainly influenced by N rate or N × C interactions. The results showed that maize yield was significantly affected by year (Y), genotype (G), N fertilization (N), and Y × G × N interaction. These results implied that the maize yield was significantly affected by changes in genotypes and environments. Overall, our findings are a result of the interactions of genetic, environmental, and agronomic management factors. Future studies could evaluate more extreme plant densities, N fertilizer levels, and environments to further enhance our understanding of management effects on the mineral composition and maize yield in calcareous soil.

Pseudogley soils in Serbia are characterized by poor chemical and physical properties that limit maize yields. Nevertheless, they are still used on large areas due to their favorable topographic position and lack of better-quality soils. It is common practice to regularly apply mineral fertilizers to these soils, but this does not increase maize yields to an economically sufficient level, although the doses are increased. At the same time, the inappropriate application of mineral fertilizers deteriorates soil chemical properties. Lime is only moderately used in Serbia despite its known benefits, whereas manure is not satisfactorily used. Therefore, a two-factorial experiment was set up as a randomized block design with three replications and conducted near Kraljevo, Serbia, to investigate the effect of mineral fertilizers, manure and lime on maize growth. The experiment included three fertilization regimes: F—application of common fertilizer doses, LF—application of the same fertilizer doses with 3 t·ha⁻¹ of lime, and LMF—application of the same fertilizer doses with lime and 30 t·ha⁻¹ of manure. The response of four maize hybrids to different fertilization practices was investigated. The soil was acid, poor in humus, and contained an increased content of mobile aluminum. There was a significant increase in the 3-year average yield of all hybrids in LMF- and LF-treatments compared with F-treatment, 30.7 and 25.6%, respectively. The increase in yield was accompanied by an improvement in soil chemical properties after three years, i.e., increased soil reaction in LF- and LMF-treatments, increased content of available phosphorus, an increase in base saturation by 61 and 75%, and aluminum immobilization by 2.55 and 4.19 fold, respectively, compared to initial conditions. The hybrid NS 640 demonstrated the highest yield when only mineral fertilizers were used, which indicated its tolerance to the unfavorable physical and chemical soil properties and suggested that it can be recommended for growing on pseudogleys without applying amelioration practices. The hybrids NS 6030 and ZP 606 achieved statistically significantly higher yields than the other hybrids when lime and manure were applied, which indicates that adequate fertilization coupled with soil improvement practices should be used in order to achieve satisfactory yields. The obtained results showed that liming can be considered as a longer-term sustainability practice in maize production in Serbia on pseudogley soils, and that there is an array of maize hybrids which can be grown depending on management strategies applied.

Lime application combined with complementary sustainable management practices increases crop yields, but liming is only modestly applied in Serbia. This study investigated the influence of liming (1000 kg/ha) combined with the common application of mineral fertilizers on maize yield and the chemical properties of pseudogley soil. The experiment was conducted near Kraljevo, Western Serbia, on the maize hybrid ZP 606 sown in a two-year monoculture. The experiment had three treatments: fertilizer, fertilizer + lime, and a control treatment. The soil is acid, poor in humus, and contains an increased content of mobile aluminum. There was a significant increase in yield under the fertilizer and lime + fertilizer treatments, compared to the control. The yield of maize in the limed treatment was 4.4–9% higher than in the fertilizer treatment. The positive effects of liming on soil are related to an increase in pH, base saturation, and available phosphorus, and a decrease in available aluminum. In the fertilizer treatment, there was a small decrease in pH and base saturation, whereas the amount of aluminum remained high, indicating that the further application of fertilizers without lime can increase aluminum content and foster its toxicity. The long-term sustainability of maize production in Serbia should include liming as a regular management practice on pseudogley soil, with the utilization of smaller doses of lime because of the potential CO₂ effects. To improve soil health, food, and environmental security, and to incorporate new crops, developing a framework promoting liming as a sustainable management practice is of high importance.

The tests were performed on the property of the Agricultural and Chemical School “Doctor Djordje Radic” in Kraljevo, on pseudogley soil, during a two-year period (2015/16 and 2016/17). Based on the analysis of production value and total variable costs, a production calculation was made. Elements of economic efficiency (productivity, economy and profitability) were calculated for all four variants of fertilization. The tests showed a significant variation in grain yield in the tested fertilization variants. During the two-year research, the T2 variant fertilized with mineral nutrients with increased phosphorus dose (NP2K) had the most favorable values of economic efficiency indicators. Variant T2 can be considered the most profitable and most cost-effective, regardless of the fact that the yield and production value were the highest in variant T4, which is fertilized with a combination of mineral nutrients with increased doses of phosphorus, lime and organic fertilizers.

Concern over the harmful impacts of heavy metal pollution in soil has increased dramatically on a global scale. For the sake of environmental preservation, accurate estimates of the heavy metal concentrations in soil are essential. This study provides valuable data regarding heavy metal concentrations in soil collected from field crops production area in Central and Western Serbia. Five wider localities in the zones of Central and Western Serbia were selected for the collection of soil samples. Based on our research, focused on determining the total contents of heavy metals in the soil and the degree of pollution in the environment caused by their behavior, distribution, and origin, it can be concluded that there is pronounced variability in relation to localities. Heavy metal contents were mostly within the same ranges as those in similar soils from Europe and around the world. Any pollution control system must include heavy metal monitoring, including the methodical collection of data on the concentrations of heavy metals in a particular environment. Before environmental degradation occurs, it is crucial to set pollution limits and implement efficient monitoring procedures.

Lime application with other complementary sustainable management practices increases crop yield, but liming is modestly applied in Serbia. This study investigated the influence of liming (1000 kg/ha) combined with the common application of mineral fertilizers on maize yield and the chemical properties of Pseudogley soil. The experiment was conducted near Kraljevo, Western Serbia, on maize hybrid ZP 606, sown in a two-year monoculture. The experiment had three treatments: fertilizer, fertilizer+lime, and control treatment. The soil is acid, poor in humus, and contains an increased content of mobile aluminum. There was a significant increase in yield under the fertilizer and lime+fertilizer treatments, compared with the control. The yield of maize in the limed treatment was 4.4–9% higher than in the fertilizer treatment. The positive effects of liming on soil are related to an increase in pH, base saturation, and available phosphorus and a decrease in available aluminum. In the fertilizer treatment, there was a small decrease in pH and base saturation, whereas the amount of aluminum remained high, indicating that further application of fertilizers without lime can increase the aluminum content and foster its toxicity. The long-term sustainability of maize production in Serbia should include liming as a regular management practice on Pseudogley soil, with the utilization of smaller doses of lime because of the potential CO2 effects. To improve soil health, food, and environmental security, and incorporate new crops, developing a framework promoting liming as a sustainable management practice is of high importance.