Creation of Maize Hybrids for Early Sowing, with Superior Adaptability to Adverse Climatic Conditions, with High Agronomic Performances

 Horia Lucian Iordan, Daniela Horhocea, Teodor Martura, Ion Ciocăzanu, Caterina Băduț

National Agricultural Research and Development Institute Fundulea

Keywords: diverse genetic material, maize hybrids and inbred lines, adaptability to climatic conditions.

Abstract: Studies to date predict a global warming era caused by the blocking of solar energy by gases in the atmosphere: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and other gases that absorb reflected radiation from the earth's surface. If current trends continue, the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere will double in the next 50-80 years, leading to an increase in average temperature by 2.0-2.5°C.

Increasing the global average temperature by 2°C will lead to drastic decreases in plant yield. Over time, there will be a gradual increase in average air temperatures in all seasons but more pronounced in the summer and winter seasons. Climate change will lead to changes in the structure of field plants in terms of land cultivation practices, especially the earlier sowing of spring crops and the late sowing of autumn crops in order to avoid thermal and water stresses during vegetation period. Analysts of meteorological phenomena make more or less optimistic predictions about the potential of crops to provide food and conclude that only the success of agricultural research will be able to meet future challenges. Biological and agricultural research shows that there are many possibilities for improving the drought and heat tolerance of genetic material in the main field crops, including maize (Zea mays L.). The identification of maize genotypes with high adaptability to adverse climatic conditions is an important goal for plant breeding research. The objective of this experiment (2019-2021) is to analyze the evolution, adaptability, growth and stability of maize genotypes to temperature and humidity variations during critical periods of vegetation.