In scope of the Horizon 2020 project “Promoting SMART agricultural WATER management in Bosnia and Herzegovina” – SMARTWATER activities,a joint experimental activities have started at the locations of Aleksandrovac (University of Banja Luka) and Butmir (University of Sarajevo).
Аt the Experimental Educational Centre Aleksandrovac of Faculty of Agriculture (University of Banja Luka) a sowing activity of BL 43 maize hybrid was performed. Sowing was performed with a four-row pneumatic seed drill. The plants were sowed with a row distance of 22.4 cm and a row space of 70 cm. NPK fertilizer was used in a basic treatment and in a sowing period. After the emergence phase, the experimental plots will be defined. For the plots with grass, perennial ryegrass was sown.
The experimental activities are based on the application of common research techniques during the vegetation period of maize cultivation, but also the application of modern techniques that involve the use of remote sensing in order to investigate biophysiological, biochemical and molecular parameters. Experimental activities will be performed by treating hybrid under conditions of different irrigation and nitrogen application.
Experiment process
The experiment will use domestic maize hybrid BL 43, which is recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Management of Republic of Srpska and is on the list of hybrids approved for introduction into production in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a domestic maize hybrid. The proposed irrigation system for the experiment is drip irrigation. The application and evaluation of different models for simulating the crop growth such as BlueLeaf, AquaCrop, DSSAT and SIMDualKc is also planned.
The findings from the research could help in a better understanding the relationship between growth, quality and yield of maize, under a different water and nitrogen regimes. The results could help to define the need for irrigation and emphasize the importance of installing irrigation systems in maize cultivation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Finally, research on the local maize hybrid could help in selecting of drought-resistant maize hybrids for the cultivation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
