Miroslav Bukan

Response of flue-cured tobacco to reduced fertilization

One of the biggest challenges for the safe maize production is the yield stability in a wide range of environments with different soil fertility, weather conditions, prevailing pests and diseases as well as cultural practices. In order to achieve it, new hybrids with higher tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress are continuously being created. In order to compare performance of maize hybrids in environments with different levels and types of stress, and relate it to the stalk lodging incidence, we compared performance of 64 maize hybrids obtained by crossing 16 inbred lines with four inbred testers in three different environments. Two environments at same location (Rugvica) differed in crop rotation, and the third environment at location Botinec was considered as dry because of low water capacity of the soil. Mixed models that included all design elements and genetic background of hybrids were used to analyze the effect of lodging on yield in different environments. The results show that stalk lodging had a significant effect on yield, but significant lodging x environment interaction indicates that this effect was rather environment specific.Sweet pepper Istra F1 hybrid was grown in a greenhouse on K rich soil. For evaluation of K antagonism, two K rates (55 and 85 kg ha-1) were applied in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Total number of fruits, total number of BER affected fruits as well as average fruit mass were recorded for each harvest. Fruit and leaf K and Ca content were determined at three plant growth stages (at the stage of the first, third and fifth fruit cluster). Higher K rate gave higher : average fruit mass (169.45 g), total number of fruits per plant (7.95), number of BER affected fruits per plant (3.82), K in leaves (5.44% DM), K in fruits (6.35% DM), but negatively correlated with Ca concentration in fruits (0.57% DM) and leaves (3.24% DM). This resulted in decreased marketable yield of sweet pepper fruits.

Stalk rot resistance in Maksimir 3 synthetic maize population after four cycles of recurrent selection

Fusarium stalk rot (FSR) and anthracnose stalk rot (ASR), caused by Fusarium spp. and Colletotrichum graminicola (Ces.) G.W. Wils. respectively, are the two most important stalk diseases in maize which increase the incidence of stalk lodging and reduce grain yield. The aim of the present study was to (1) evaluate the effect of four cycles of recurrent selection in the Maksimir 3 Synthetic (M3S) maize population on ASR and FSR resistance and (2) to investigate the correlation among the different disease rating methods. The experiment included six M3S cycle populations per se and their test-crosses with a single cross hybrid. ASR resistance was estimated on artificially inoculated plant rows using three ratings (the number of infected internodes, the number of internodes rotten more than 75% and evaluation of outer stalk discoloration) whereas FSR resistance was estimated in artificially inoculated rows as well as in naturally inoculated rows by rating severity of disease symptoms on longitudinally cut stalks using the standard resistance scale. The results of the present study showed that four cycles of selection in the M3S maize population, conducted primarily for grain yield improvement, did not significantly affect its resistance to both ASR and FSR. Among the disease ratings a moderate positive correlation was found only between two ASR resistance ratings (the number of infected internodes and the number of internodes rotted more than 75%) in both population per se (r=0.49**) and population test-crosses (r=0.56**).