More effective breeding and development of new wheat genotypes depend on an intricate analysis of the complex relationships among many different traits. The objective of this paper was to determine the interrelationship, direct and indirect effects, and stability of different yield components in wheat. Forty divergent genotypes were analyzed in a three- year study (2005-2007). Highly significant correlations were found between grain yield per plant and all the other traits analyzed except spike length, with the only negative correlation being that with plant height. Path analysis revealed highly significant direct effects of grain number per spike, grain mass per spike and 1000 grain weight on grain yield per plant. Analysis of stability parameters showed that the stability of grain yield per plant depended for the most part on the stability of grain number per spike, grain mass per spike and harvest index. Cluster analysis identified genotypes with a high performance for grain yield per plant and good stability parameters, indicating the possibility of developing wheat varieties with a high potential and high stability for a particular trait

Soil and water conservation benefits of cover crops have been hypothesized as a way to mitigate and adapt to changing climatic conditions, but they can also have detrimental effects if rainfall is limited. Our objective was to quantify effects of winter cover crops on soil water storage and yield of silage maize under the agro-ecological conditions within Vojvodina Province in Serbia. The experiment was conducted under rain-fed conditions at three locations and included a control (bare fallow) plus three cover crop and two N rate treatments. The cover crop treatments were common vetch (Vicia sativa L.), triticale (x Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus) and a mixture of the two species. All were managed as green manure and subsequently fertilized with either 120 or 160 kg N ha −1 before planting silage maize (Zea mays L.). Cover crop effects on soil water storage were calculated for two periods, March-May and May-September/October. A Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) used to characterize drought severity for 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, showed values of 3 and 9, respectively, for the two periods. Soil water storage was reduced by all cover crop treatments, with the greatest deficiency occurring during the extremely dry year of 2012. Previous studies have shown cover crop growth reduced by soil water depletion during their growing season and negative effects on early-season growth and development of subsequent cash crops such as silage maize, but if rainfall is extremely low it can also reduce cash crop yield. This detrimental effect of cover crops on soil water balance was confirmed by correlations between soil water storage and maize silage yield.Atmosphere 2018, 9, 492 2 of 18 precipitation [8], which is more likely to be mitigated on fertile and well-structured soils. The level of soil organic matter, and therefore soil carbon content, positively influence the stability of soil aggregates and soil moisture retention under extreme precipitation or drought [9][10][11]. Several management practices can be the bond between the requirements to adapt to the weather changes and to stop the reduction or to increase soil fertility, such as by reducing or eliminating tillage, growing cover crops, and applying organic fertilisers.Because livestock production in Serbia and, therefore, the availability of organic fertilisers are low, research focuses on cover cropping. Additionally, reduced or no tillage is uncommon because of requirements for adequate machines, which significantly limit its application on small and medium farms. Cover crops have several uses, including preventing erosion, increasing organic matter content, improving nitrogen balance and soil properties, and suppressing weeds, among others [12,13]. Cover crops in crop rotations are not a common practice primarily because growing cover crops usually includes crops that do not result in economic return and often do not allow sufficient time for soil preparation for cash crops. Additionally, cover crops may reduce soil moisture for the subsequent crop in specifi...

Until as recently as a century ago, the exposure of biological systems to radiation was limited only to the natural sources. Today, however, a broad range of radiation types and doses have found a wide variety of uses and applications, so much so that it would be difficult to make a list of all the areas of human activity in which radiation is used for one purpose or another. The study of radiation effects on individuals and populations as a whole has become important only with the development of methods and sources of man-made radiation. Given that what is present in this case are physical effects on biological systems (living organisms), all these methods can be placed under the heading of biophysical influences. In the last 50 years, the effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) have been studied with great diligence. These fields are the ones most commonly found in the human environment and they have been used in our studies in this field. The present paper provides a brief review of the literature data and our findings on the effects of ELF-EMF on various crop species using the RIES (Resonant Impulse Electromagnetic Stimulation) method, developed at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Novi Sad

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Anise (Pimpinella anisum L.) is an annual plant of the Apiaceae family, widely cultivated for the seed and essential oil. Under field condition, anise is cultivated in a vast number of countries including Serbia. Field experiments were carried out during two growing seasons, at three localities, in order to determine the effect of different soil and climatic conditions on the quality of anise seed principal traits (thousand seed weight, germination energy and total germination) as well as on the content and quality of its essential oil. During the experiment it was found that the value of aniseed principal traits was significantly lower in hotter and drier year in comparison to the year with moderate conditions, because of more favourable weather conditions for seed development during this year. A significantly higher concentration of essential oil was also accumulated in the moderate year in comparison to the dry and hot one. This can be attributed to a longer period of fruit formation and synthesis of essential oils and better climatic conditions. It can be concluded that drought caused a significant decrease in thousand seed weight, germination energy and total germination as well as essential oil content in anise. Contrary to this, the content of trans-anethole was significantly higher in the dry year. It can be assumed that under stress conditions the amount of trans-anethole in the essential oil increases, because in such conditions the plants produce more secondary metabolites, substances that prevent oxidation processes in the cells.