The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the yield potential of 25 different varieties of oat as a reaction to seeding distance and fertilization for improvement of crop technology and identification of the most adapted varieties. Based ANOVA test, the main influence on yield is due to climate, followed by the amount of fertilizers. The sowing distance reveals its influence when combined with the fertilization, this aspect pointing out the differences between studied varieties. The triple interactions gradually reduce the influence of the factors, their combination being very significant in the case year X sowing distance X variety. The spatial comparative analysis of the three experimental years presents an overlap in the median area of the PCA ordering of the 12.5 cm sowing distance, fertilized with N50P50 with the 25 cm sowing distance fertilized with N100P50. There are differences between the oat varieties regarding the reaction to the nitrogen fertilization, highlighting especially the Mureşana variety where comparable yields are obtained on both levels of fertilization: 5.18 t ha−1 (N50P50) and 5.59 t ha−1 (N100P50).

The flag leaf can be an important vehicle for high grain yield due to its position and photosynthetic characteristics. To identify the most adaptive and stable yielding genotype, three winter wheat genotypes were studied during two experimental years under field conditions to quantify the influence of flag leaf removal in different phenological stages on the grain yield and grain quality. To quantify the influence of the flag leaf on the main yield components, the flag leaf was removed every 7 days, starting from the booting stage to ripening. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids were determined from the removed leaves. As a complex trait, the number of grains/spikes and the weight of the grains/spikes were highly influenced by the flag leaf removal during the early generative stages, causing a yield loss from 9% to more than 40%, depending on the variety. It was established that the photosynthetic pigments were highly influenced by the plant phenology stages and the environmental conditions, especially carotenoids, which act as photoprotective and antioxidant agents under stress conditions. Regarding grain quality, flag leaf removal had a significant influence on the accumulation of grain protein and the wet gluten content, the variability of these quantitative traits being also influenced by the climatic conditions.

Carotenoids are important biologically active compounds in the human diet due to their role in maintaining a proper health status. Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the main crops worldwide, in terms of production quantity, yield and harvested area, as it is also an important source of carotenoids in human nutrition worldwide. Increasing the carotenoid content of maize grains is one of the major targets of the research into maize breeding; in this context, the aim of this study was to establish the influence of some fertile cytoplasm on the carotenoid content in inbred lines and hybrids. Twenty-five isonuclear lines and 100 hybrids were studied for the genetic determinism involved in the transmission of four target carotenoids: lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin and β-carotene. The analysis of carotenoids was carried out using high performance liquid chromatography using a Flexar system with UV-VIS detection. The obtained data revealed that the cytoplasms did not have a significant influence on the carotenoid content of the inbred lines; larger differences were attributed to the cytoplasm × nucleus interaction. For hybrids, the cytoplasmic nuclear interactions have a significant influence on the content of lutein, zeaxanthin and β-cryptoxanthin. For the cytoplasm × nucleus × tester interactions, significant differences were identified for all traits.

Taking into account the importance of root and coleoptile and mesocotyl length of maize young plants, we considered appropriate to analyse the variability of these traits in a set of maize local populations. The root system development, the mesocotyl and the coleoptile were studied in a number of 41 local populations at The Maize Breeding Department of ARDS Turda. The average length was 28.42 cm for embrionary roots, 17.37 cm for primary roots, 1.43 cm for mesocotyl, 3.50 cm for coleoptile and 4.92 for plantlets. The variability was low for embrionary roots, coleoptile and plantlets length and medium for primary roots and mesocotyl length. A correlation was noticed between the length of mesocotyl and the length of coleoptile and plantlets. The size of roots, mesocotyl and coleoptile is in luenced by the area where the local population is formed. Local populations with high root and coleoptile length such as Tulca, Lapusneac and Biertan can be used for obtaining some valuable inbred lines of maize.

In the last 40 years, pre-breeding works induced, in more and more centers of maize breeding, full-sib reciprocal recurrent selection programmes to identify some heterotic pairs which can be sources for obtaining performance inbred lines. The aim is to identify the heterotic pairs with the best results according to the yield potential of maize, the breaking and falling resistance, and the grains moisture at the harvesting time. The creation programme of A and B composite population started at ARDS Turda in 1985. Inside of A composite came the next inbred lines: B73, A632, M117, TC209, T291, being from the B SSS heterotic group, and inside of B composite came the inbred lines Mo17, C103, TC 208, T248, W633, appreciated by us or being related to Lancaster Sure Crop heterotic group. The experimentation was done in two orientation comparative cultures, each one with 49 variants, in 4 repetitions; the comparative culture was a balanced quadratic grid of 7x7 type. From each culture were chosen the first six variants, which were evaluated according to the next characters: production potential, breaking and falling resistance, grains moisture at harvest. The presented results are a part from the second cycle of full-sib reciprocal recurrent selection. Test crosses and self-pollinations were made on plants from the two composites which had two cobs; on the first cob from A Composite realised the cross with the corresponding plant from the B Composite, and from the plant panicle of the B Composite was collected pollen to pollinate the chosen plant from the A Composite. At the both plants from the crossing, the second cob was self-pollinated and kept in reserve until 2010, when the test crosses was experimented and were selected the pairs with the best results according to the above characters. Using the full-sib reciprocal recurrent selection, we can successfully harnessing, simultaneously, the additive and non-additive gene effects.