Simona Florina Isticioaia

Climate change increasingly challenges winter wheat production, making balanced nutrient management essential for maintaining crop productivity and grain quality. In this context, fertilization remains a key factor determining crop productivity and yield stability. This study was conducted during 2022–2025 within a long-term field experiment established in 1975 at the Agricultural Research and Development Station Secuieni, Romania, to evaluate the cumulative effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization on winter wheat yield, yield components, grain quality, and soil chemical properties. The experiment was established on a medium-textured cambic chernozem using a two-factor split-plot design with five replications. Five phosphorus (P₀, P₄₀, P₈₀, P₁₂₀, and P₁₆₀ kg ha⁻¹ active ingredient) and nitrogen (N₀, N₄₀, N₈₀, N₁₂₀, and N₁₆₀ kg ha⁻¹ active ingredient) treatments were evaluated using the winter wheat cultivar Otilia grown in a bean–wheat–maize rotation. Fertilization significantly increased grain yield and improved grain quality. The highest winter wheat grain yield, 6897 kg ha⁻¹, was obtained with the N₈₀P₁₆₀ fertilization treatment, indicating that this nitrogen and phosphorus combination provided the most favorable response under the experimental conditions. Higher nitrogen rates significantly increased grain quality parameters, with protein content rising from 9.15% at N₀ to 14.20% at N₁₆₀, wet gluten content increasing from 17.29% to 28.97% and starch content decreasing from 70.95% at N₀ to 66.91% at N₁₆₀; however, the application of higher fertilizer rates did not result in further increases in grain yield. These findings emphasize the importance of balanced nitrogen and phosphorus management for improving winter wheat productivity and grain quality under changing climatic conditions.

In addition to generating rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, climate change has contributed to the increasing instability in agricultural yields. Under these conditions, farmers are compelled to adopt more resilient crop species, and due to the traits inherited from its two parent species, triticale represents a promising option. Research conducted at ARDS Secuieni aims to adapt cultivation technologies to emerging climatic challenges. To assess the effects of the preceding crop and genotype on winter triticale grain yield, a field experiment was established at ARDS Secuieni over two growing seasons (2022–2024). This study employed a randomised block design with three replications and included two Romanian winter triticale genotypes (‘Haiduc’ and ‘Utrifun’), grown after three preceding crops: soybean (Glycine max L.), maize (Zea mays L.), and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Both genotype and preceding crop had significant effects on grain yield. The Utrifun genotype exhibited superior adaptability, achieving an average yield of 5941 kg/ha, compared to 5013 kg/ha for Haiduc. The highest yields were recorded following soybean (5929–6902 kg/ha), whereas sunflower as a preceding crop resulted in the lowest yields (4303–4554 kg/ha). These findings highlight the importance of selecting appropriate genotypes and preceding crops to optimise winter triticale productivity under the pedoclimatic conditions specific to the Secuieni region.

Research regarding the influence of some technological factors on sorghum Capacity to form shoots, under the Center of Moldavia conditions