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.

Nowadays the heavy-metal pollution of the soil is causing ever greater problems, exacerbated by the fact that the heavy metals accumulated in plants may, either directly or indirectly, find their way into animals and human beings. Maize is one of the world's most important crops, ranking third after wheat and rice, so the changes induced by one of the most toxic heavy metals. The experiment design was randomly with repetition. Prepared seeds are placed on the germinator for germination which was added 10 mL H 2 O. Cultivation lasted 15-20 days at temperature 25°C in vegetative room. During the experiment in growth period are prepared the concentrations of heavy metals (600 mL/1 Kg compost); for lead (Pb , Cd 2+ and Hg 2+ resulted in a reduction of chlorophyll and carotenoids content in leaves compare to control. From our research with different treatments with various genotype and heavy metals the differences in the content of chlorophyll effects and carotenoides was different and significantly higher at level of probability of LSD p = 0.01.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse crop with a wide range of potential nutritional benefits because of its chemical composition. Seeds from seven chickpea genotypes were evaluated for their proximate analysis for quantitative traits, protein, oil and mineral composition. The experimental material comprising 7 genotypes of chickpea was grown in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications during the vegetation periods 2013 and 2014 in Ferizaj locality, in the southern part of Kosova 35 km away from capital city Pristina. The results showed that there was wide variation among chickpea genotypes. Grain yield was 22.72 g plant-1 while protein was 28.85 g/100 g. Genotypes FBV-RA and FBV-FE exhibited the highest protein content (mean = 29.70 g/100 g and 29.66 g/100 g, respectively). Oil content was 2.878 g/100 g. Also genotypic differences for mineral content were statistically significant. It was observed that the first three principal components explained 96.3% of the variability. Based on cluster analyses, the chickpea genotypes were classified into four main groups. Generally, results and findings suggest to be a great chance of genetic improvements in chickpea.

This article presents data of the research in 2017 on the floristic composition of the pastures in the Novobërda area, in the eastern part of Kosovo plain, which is characterized by a medium continental climate. This study gives an outline of the floristic composition of this massive, and also an idea on the producing capacity of the wet and dry mass of the grass in these pastures and their quality. The aim of the investigations was to examine the floristic composition and green fodder yield and quality at a number of representative sites, having in mind the distribution of natural meadows and pastures. From these studies we can survey the pasture capacity, the ratio of the edible versus non-edible vegetation, poisonous plants, and the necessity of pasture upgrading. The data of the study show the presence of variation related to the floristic composition and plant cohabitation. The average presence of grasses was higher, 48.51% compared with legumes of 25.36% and other species 26.13%. The presence of legumes was relatively higher compared with investigation data presented from other authors in the region. Differences of species composition between localities were highly significant at level of LSD 0.01 of probability.

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