What is it about?
Maize productivity in Southeastern Europe is increasingly affected by climatic variability, necessitating agronomic strategies to maintain yield under irrigated conditions. This study evaluated the effects of conventional tillage, minimum tillage, and no-tillage on maize yield, yield components, and weed dynamics, and analyzed the interaction between tillage intensity and hybrid performance under irrigated cambic chernozem conditions in Southeastern Romania. A three-year field experiment (2023–2025) was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications using three maize hybrids (P0900, P0937, and P1441) under sprinkler irrigation. Grain yield, kernel weight per ear, kernel number per ear, thousand-kernel weight, plant density, and weed density were analyzed using ANOVA, linear mixed models, and regression analysis. Grain yield ranged from 10.66 to 11.46 t ha−1 across years, with the hybrid exerting the strongest effect on all productivity parameters. P0900 recorded the highest yield (12.43 t ha−1) and the lowest associated weed density. Weed density increased from 207.44 plants m−2 under conventional tillage to 266.11 plants m−2 under no-tillage and was negatively associated with yield components and grain yield. Significant tillage × weed-density interactions indicated steeper productivity declines in reduced-tillage systems, particularly no-tillage. The results suggest that the agronomic performance of conservation-oriented tillage systems under irrigation depends strongly on hybrid adaptability and effective weed-management strategies.
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Why is it important?
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most widely cultivated cereal crops worldwide and plays a strategic role in global food security, feed supply, and agro-industrial production systems. Despite its high yield potential, maize productivity is strongly constrained by environmental stresses, particularly drought and heat episodes occurring during flowering and grain filling
Perspectives
This study demonstrates that under irrigated cambic chernozem conditions, maize productivity is driven more strongly by hybrid adaptability and crop–weed interactions than by tillage intensity alone. Although reduced-tillage systems did not consistently reduce grain yield, their agronomic performance became increasingly dependent on weed pressure, particularly under no-tillage conditions. These findings indicate that the success of conservation-oriented systems in irrigated environments is determined less by the intensity of soil disturbance itself and more by the capacity to maintain competitive crop stands under increasing weed pressure. The superior and stable performance of hybrid P0900 across contrasting tillage systems further underscores the importance of hybrid-specific adaptability in modern maize production. Under conditions in which irrigation partially mitigates water limitation, weed competition may become a dominant factor regulating yield expression and system stability. Consequently, conservation tillage strategies cannot be evaluated independently from hybrid selection and weed-management efficiency. From an agronomic perspective, the results suggest that reduced tillage and no-tillage systems can sustain high maize productivity in Southeastern Romania when integrated with adapted weed management practices and appropriate hybrid selection. The large-scale and multi-year nature of this experiment strengthens the practical relevance of the findings and supports the transition toward conservation-oriented maize production systems capable of maintaining productivity under increasing climatic variability.
Dan Razvan Popoviciu
Universitatea Ovidius din Constanta
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This page is a summary of: Tillage–Weed Interactions and Hybrid Effects Drive Maize Yield Stability Under Irrigated Chernozem Conditions, Agronomy, May 2026, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/agronomy16111022.
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