Acta agriculturae Slovenica, 105 -1, marec 2015 str. 85 -94 COBISS Code 1.01 DOI: 10.14720/aas.2015.105 ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to investigate the effect of salinity stress on seed germination and chlorophyll content in maize. In the study, two maize hybrids were included (Bc 678 and Bc 408) originating from the Bc Institute at Rugvica near Zagreb (Croatia) and two maize populations (LMP-1 and LMP-2) originating from Kosovo. The experiment was conducted in four replicates of 100 seeds, which were germinated on top of double-layered papers, each with 10 ml of salt solution of NaCl and CaCl 2 in Petri dishes. Germinated seeds were counted every 24 h for 15 days. The photosynthetic pigments, chlorophylls 'a' and 'b' as well as carotenoids were extracted with 80 % acetone. Chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were calculated using absorbance values at 662, 644 and 440 nm. The effects of the NaCl and CaCl 2 concentrations accounted for a high proportion of the variance in all analyses. The results showed that both germination percentage and germination index decreased significantly in all cultivars at the highest salt concentrations. The significant differences between different concentrations of salinity were also found in all cultivars for the content of chlorophyll 'a' and 'b' and for the content of carotenoids.

The aim of the presented investigation was to estimate the genetic diversity, and correlation analysis among yield and quality traits in twenty local maize populations. The experiment was based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. In the study we compared grain yield, and quality traits such as protein, oil and starch content in grain. The results showed that there were significant differences among populations. The overall mean grain yield was 79.33 g plant-1 with the highest grain yield in population GBK-7 (105.13 g plant-1). The protein and oil contents ranged between 11.02 to 13.02% and 2.56 to 5.57%, respectively. The starch content varied from 68.58 to 70.92%. The first two canonical discriminant functions were significant at p < 0.01. It is important to point out the great relevance of the first two discriminant functions justifying 95.80% of the variability among populations. There were also big differences regarding phenotypic correlations. The study suggests that the quality traits are phenotypically and genotypically highly variable and therefore very useful for breeding process

SummaryThis paper presents the results of investigation of three newly introduced Italian rice varieties Brio, Ellebi and Opale, in comparison with two standards Prima riska and R-76/6. The field experiment (randomised block system) was conducted during 2010 and 2011 under the agro-ecological conditions of Kocani region. The paddy rice yield, stem height, panicle length and number of productive tillers per m 2 were analysed. In both years of investigation, the paddy rice yield of the standard variety R-76/6 as well as the introduced Brio, Ellebi and Opale varieties was significantly lower compared with standard Prima riska variety. he stem height of the Italian rice varieties was significantly shorter in comparison with standard varieties, in both years of testing. In general, according to the results obtained in this investigation, the newly introduced varieties: Brio, Ellebi and Opale could be included in the rice breeding programmes, especially for breeding short stem rice varieties.

This paper presents the results of head rice yield research of rice varieties and genotypes grown in the Republic of Macedonia, conducted within the period 2009-2014. In the research, in total sixteen rice varieties and five genotypes were included, among which were the following: three Macedonian varieties (Biser 2, Prima riska and Montesa), three introduced Italian varieties, the most widely used in Macedonian rice production (Monticelli, R-76/6 and San Andrea), five newly introduced Italian varieties (Bianca, Galileo, Brio, Ellebi and Opale), five newly introduced Turkish varieties (Kiziltan, Gala, Halilbey, Gönen and Pasali) and five newly bred Macedonian rice genotypes (P1 × M, P2 × M, P × MM, MBL × M and MBL × MM). Laboratory milling (peeling or bleaching or processing) was performed on a paddy processing machine to determine the head rice yield and by-products of milling: brokens, brans and husks. According to the results obtained, the highest head rice yield (percent of whole grains after milling rough rice kernels) of the domestic varieties was achieved with Biser-2 (54.01%), while the lowest one was shown by Prima riska (49.38%). The highest head rice yield of the prevalent Italian varieties was 59,68% (Monticelli) and the lowest one was 43.35% (San Andrea). Regarding the newly introduced Italian varieties, the values of the head rice yield ranged from 35.4% (Galileo) to 64.46% (Ellebi). Among the Turkish varieties, Kiziltan showed the highest head rice yield (62,67%) and Gönen the lowest one (43.34%). In the newly bred Macedonian rice genotypes, the head rice yield ranged from 55.60% (P1 × M) to 63.77% (P × MM). The percentage of brokens, bran and husks (hulls) in all investigated varieties and genotypes varied in different years of production.

The effect of natural multimineral fertilizer Floral microsil (FM) (50 % bio-available amorphous SiO2 + macro-nutrients and trace elements) was investigated on some morphological and productive properties in rice at the environ-mental conditions of Republic of Macedonia, on cultivar San Andrea. Two treatments were studied: control (standard fertilization) with 450 kg/ha complex mineral fertilizers NPK (16:16:16) as basic fertilizer + two splits with Urea 46 % N (200 + 100 kg/ha), and FM treatment: 20 kg/ha FM before sowing, seed treatment with 20 kg/ha FM + three splits of FM + Urea (30 + 100; 20 + 60 and 20 + 60 kg/ha respectively). The field trials were set up in Zade design during 2014 and 2015. Results were analyzed with ANOVA and LSD test.The FM treatment significantly affected plant and stem height (2014), producing shorter plant (103.02 cm) and stem (87.47 cm) compared to the control (111.81 cm and 95.91 cm). Significantly lower biological (20958.34 kg/ha) and straw yield (10769.67 kg/ha) were determined in the FM treatment compared to the control (24852.00 kg/ha and 15101.34 kg/ha). The FM treatment significantly increased the 1000 grains weight (39.97 g against 38.28 g control av-erage). The paddy and white rice yield (9839.99 kg/ha; 5856.75 kg/ha) in FM treatment were statistically on par with the control (9368.60 kg/ha and 5907.91 kg/ha), as well as the panicle length, number of productive and non-productive tillers per m2, the head rice yield (whole grains and broken grains) and the hectoliter weight.The application of FM significantly increased the nitrogen use efficiency estimated thru the partial factor produc-tivity (97.24 kg paddy rice/kg N and 57.88 kg white rice/kg N), as compared to the control average (44.61 kg paddy rice/kg N and 28.14 kg white rice/kg N). Therefore, paddy and white rice yield statistically on par with the standard fertilization were produced with a lower amount of applied nitrogen fertilizer. These findings are of ecological signifi-cance for the rice production in the Republic of Macedonia.