Impact of research on maize production challenges in Hungary.

Maize (Zea mays L), as a major cereal crop produced in Hungary in addition to wheat, attracts enormous research from both educational and non-educational institutions. Research is aimed at addressing the key abiotic, biotic and social economic constraints. The stakeholders and institutions involved in research are spread all over Hungary. Currently, no review has been done to comprehensively reveal the trend of maize research in Hungary, as well as key players such as institutions, universities, industry and researchers. Hence, this bibliographic review was conducted to: i) identify the major research institutions and their contribution towards maize research in Hungary; ii) evaluate the major maize research areas in Hungary between 1975 and 2022. Literature search was conducted in Web of Science (WoS) database using keywords; 'maize' OR 'maize' + 'Research' + 'Hungary'. Bibliometric analyses were performed using the VOSviewer software. Changes in the publication trend of documents was tested using Mann Kendall Test. A total of 947 publications related to the topic were published by 441 institutions between 1975 and 2022. There was a significant (p = 0.001) positive increase in the number of published documents. Hungarian Academy of Science (210 documents) and University of Debrecen (132 documents) recorded the highest number of publications contributing 58.7% of the maize research literature in Hungary. The major research areas included: increasing maize yield, hybrid development, pests and diseases, irrigation, fertilization (nitrogen), drought, temperature, gene expression and climate change. The increasing number of published documents signifies an improved response to addressing maize production challenges through research in order to boost its productivity.

Irrigation Management Strategies to Enhance Forage Yield, Feed Value, and Water-Use Efficiency of Sorghum Cultivars.

Water scarcity is a major obstacle to forage crop production in arid and semi-arid regions. In order to improve food security in these areas, it is imperative to employ suitable irrigation management techniques and identify drought-tolerant cultivars. A 2-year field experiment (2019-2020) was conducted in a semi-arid region of Iran to assess the impact of different irrigation methods and water deficit stress on forage sorghum cultivars' yield, quality, and irrigation water-use efficiency (IWUE). The experiment involved two irrigation methods, i.e., drip (DRIP) and furrow (FURW), and three irrigation regimes supplied 100% (I100), 75% (I75), and 50% (I50) of the soil moisture deficit. In addition, two forage sorghum cultivars (hybrid Speedfeed and open-pollinated cultivar Pegah) were evaluated. This study revealed that the highest dry matter yield (27.24 Mg ha-1) was obtained under I100 × DRIP, whereas the maximum relative feed value (98.63%) was achieved under I50 × FURW. Using DRIP resulted in higher forage yield and IWUE compared to FURW, and the superiority of DRIP over FURW increased with the severity of the water deficit. The principal component analysis indicated that, as drought stress severity increased across all irrigation methods and cultivars, forage yield decreased, while quality increased. Plant height and leaf-to-stem ratio were found to be suitable indicators for comparing forage yield and quality, respectively, and they showed a negative correlation between the quality and quantity of forage. DRIP improved forage quality under I100 and I75, while FURW exhibited a better feed value under the I50 regime. Altogether, in order to achieve the best possible forage yield and quality while minimizing water usage, it is recommended to grow the Pegah cultivar and compensate for 75% of soil moisture deficiency using drip irrigation.

Nutrient Composition Analysis of Maize Hybrids Affected by Different Nitrogen Fertilisation Systems.

Maize is one of the most widely used plants in the agricultural industry, and the fields of application of this plant are broad. The experiment was conducted at the Látókép Crop Production Experimental Station of the University of Debrecen, Hungary. Three mid-ripening maize hybrids with different FAO numbers were used in the present study. The effects of different nitrogen supplies were examined as a variable rate of abiotic stress and the interrelationship among the essential nutrients through the nutrient acquisition and partitioning of the different vegetative and generative plant parts. The results showed that NPK application compared to the control treatment (no fertilizer application) increased DM in all tissues of maize, while increasing nitrogen application from 120 to 300 kg ha-1 had no significant effect on this trait. The highest protein content was obtained with the nitrogen application of 120 kg ha-1, and the higher nitrogen fertilizer application had no significant effect on this trait. Seeds and leaves had a maximum zinc and manganese value in terms of nitrogen content (protein). Dry matter was positively correlated with nitrogen, potassium, and manganese content, while the dry matter had a negative correlation with nickel content. In general, to achieve a maximum quantitative and qualitative yield, it is recommended to use NPK fertilizer with a rate of 120 kg ha-1 N for maize cultivation.

Analysis of Nutrient-Specific Response of Maize Hybrids in Relation to Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Remote Sensing.

Leaf area index (LAI) indicates the leaf area per ground surface area occupied by a crop. Various methods are used to measure LAI, which is unitless and varies according to species and environmental conditions. This experiment was carried out in three different nitrogen ranges (control, 120 kg N ha-1, and 300 kg N ha-1) + PK nutrient levels, with five replications used for leaf area measurement on seven different maize hybrids. Hybrids had different moisture, protein, oil, and starch contents. N (1, 2) + PK treatments had a desirable effect on protein, starch, and yield. P0217 LAI had a minimal response at these fertiliser levels. LAI for Sushi peaked at different dates between control and fertiliser treatments. This result showed that Sushi has an excellent capacity for LAI. LAI values on 15 June 2020 showed minimum average values for all hybrids, and it had a maximum average values on 23 July 2020. LAI had maximum performance between the average values treatments in Sushi, Armagnac, Loupiac, and DKC4792 on 15 June 2020. This study also provides insights for examining variably applied N doses using crop sensors and UAV remote-sensing platforms.

Comparison of Maize Genotypes Using Drought-Tolerance Indices and Graphical Analysis under Normal and Humidity Stress Conditions.

This study aimed to identify drought-tolerant genotypes and to evaluate and compare the response of genotypes under normal conditions and humidity stress. The experiment was conducted in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) on 12 commercial single cross hybrids of maize (Zea mays L.) with three replications in two separate experiments under normal and stress conditions. GT biplot was used to compare genotypes under normal conditions and humidity stress. Based on the polygon diagrams' graphical analysis, KSC206, KSC704, KSC705 and KSC706 genotypes were identified as desirable hybrids. The ranking diagram of genotypes based on ideal genotype also showed that the KSC704 genotype had high desirability in all evaluated traits in normal and stress conditions. TOL, MP, HARM, GMP, SSI and STI indices were used to identify drought-tolerant genotypes, and the genotypes were ranked based on this index. Based on this, KSC260, SC302 and KSC400 hybrids were selected as resistant hybrids. Based on the correlation analysis between drought-tolerance indices, a positive correlation was observed between MP, GMP, HARM and STI indices. Based on the analysis of the PCA on the indices, the first and second principal components were given the titles of grain yield tolerance component under humidity stress conditions and grain yield stability component under normal humidity conditions, respectively. KSC704 was superior to other hybrids in terms of grain yield under normal conditions and stress, and the KSC260 hybrid was identified as a tolerant hybrid in terms of all studied traits under drought stress.

Genotype by Trait Interaction (GT) in Maize Hybrids on Complete Fertilizer.

We investigated the interaction between genotype by trait, and an experiment was conducted at the University of Debrecen. Two maize cultivars, FAO340 and FAO410, were studied in a randomized complete block design with four replications. This experiment was applied to the six fertilization treatments. Fertilizer levels were NPK0 (control) (N:0, P2O5:0, K2O:0), NPK1 (N:30, P2O5:23, K2O:27), NPK2 (N:60, P2O5:46, K2O:54), NPK3 (N:90, P2O5:69, K2O:81), NPK4 (N:120, P2O5:92, K2O:108), and NPK5 (N:150, P2O5:115, K2O:135). The first principal component showed 54.24%, and the second principal component showed 20.75%, which explained the total squares interaction using the AMMI model in the case of the FAO410 hybrid. As regards the FAO340 hybrid, the first principal component showed 58.18%, and the second principal component showed 18.04%, explaining the total squares interaction using the AMMI model in the FAO410 hybrid. In the GGE biplot on FAO410, the first and the second principal components covered 91.20% of the total data in this analysis. Accordingly, the desirable treatment was NPK5, followed by NPK4, NPK2, NPK3, NPK1, and NPK0. NPK4 and NPK5 had the most desirable treatments for the number of seeds per row, chlorophyll, weight of 1000 seeds, and stem diameter in the case of the FAO410 hybrid.

The Physiological and Biochemical Responses of European Chestnut (Castanea sativa L.) to Blight Fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica (Murill) Barr).

The most important disease of European chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is chestnut blight caused by the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica (Murrill) Barr which induces yield reduction in Europe and North America. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of C. parasitica infection on the physiological and biochemical characteristics of European chestnut at two different growth stages, 3 and 6 weeks after the infection. The amount of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, and carotenoids), the relative chlorophyll content, and the photochemical efficiency of the photosystem II (PSII) were measured in the leaves above and below the virulent and hypovirulent C. parasitica infections. The highest values were measured in the control leaves, the lowest values were in the leaves of the upper part of virulent necrosis. Antioxidant enzyme activities such as ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), proline, and malondialdehyde concentrations were also investigated. In each of these measured values, the lowest level was measured in the control leaves, while the highest was in leaves infected with the virulent fungal strain. By measuring all of these stress indicator parameters the responses of chestnut to C. parasitica infection can be monitored and determined. The results of this study showed that the virulent strain caused more pronounced defense responses of chestnut's defense system. The measured parameter above the infection was more exposed to the blight fungus disease relative to the leaves below the infection.

Yield Stability Analysis of Maize (Zea mays L.) Hybrids Using Parametric and AMMI Methods.

The present study investigated the stability and adaptability of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids. In this study, 12 maize hybrids were planted and examined considering the grain yield. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in four research stations in Iran during two crop years. The combined analysis of variance showed that genotype-environment interactions were significant at one percent probability level. The grain yield can stabilize, and hybrids with specific adaptability are recommended to each environment. Hybrids with specific adaptability can be recommended to all types of the environment. Means comparison yield of the genotypes identified DC370 as a high-yield genotype. Regarding AMMI analysis, genotype × environment interactions (GEIs) and two first components were found significant. The SC647 genotype was identified as the most stable genotype. Regarding the stability parameters, SC647 and KSC705 genotypes were selected as the most stable genotypes. From AMMI1 and AMMI2 graphs, the SC647 genotype was identified as the most stable genotype compared with other hybrids.