Search

Simple Summary: The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn., is an annual pest of the Romanian corn crop. The research followed the development of the European corn borer in the context of the climate warming recorded in recent years in Eastern Romania. We monitored the development of the egg, larva, pupa, and moth stages using cage studies and observations in an experimental cornfield. We also analyzed the impact of climatic conditions on developmental time. Our data show that the increase in winter temperatures ensures the survival of a higher percentage of mature larvae, which leads to intense moth flight at the end of June and the beginning of July. However, the high summer temperatures caused an increasing percentage of the larvae to transform into pupae, which led to the recording of a secondary flight in August. Although the insect is known to have one generation per year, it is apparent that a multivoltine ecotype is also present. We conclude that the climate warming we are witnessing affects the species' development and that higher larval infestations could occur. Between 2020 and 2021, we conducted research in eastern Romania to monitor the bioecology of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.), an important pest of corn. The bioecology research established the pest stage duration (egg, larva, pupa, and moth), the flight curve, and the flight peak. The bioecological study occurred in the experimental corn field and a field cage. According to our findings, the insect has one generation per year. The European corn borer hibernates as a mature larva in corn residues and continues developing in the spring, when the weather warms. It pupates from May to July over 37 days. Analyzing the data recorded during the winters of 2020 and 2021, we observed that the warming trend favored the high survival of hibernating larvae (60.7%). Due to the large number of mature larvae that had favorable conditions during the winter, there is an intense flight, starting in June and ending in September. When the first moth was caught in the light trap, the ∑(tn-10) °C (sum of degree days) was 245.6 °C. In 2020, the flight was recorded for 94 days. In 2021, the European corn borer flight lasted 104 days. The initial egg masses were detected when the total of ∑(tn-10) °C reached 351.5 °C. Moths laid the eggs for 25 days, mostly during peak flight in late June and early July. The first larvae hatched when ∑(tn-10) °C totaled 438.4 °C, and stages III–V were recorded in the harvested crop. Understanding the bioecology of the European corn borer can offer valuable insights into managing population levels and identifying optimal timing for addressing infestations in corn crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the climatic conditions of the Center of Moldavia (Romania), there are eight sorghum hybrids cultivated for grains (Arsky, Foehn, Albanus, Shamal, Kalatur şi Armorik, Elan and Alimentar) in order to establish their adaptability to the conditions of the area, by taking into account the current problems of agriculture caused by climate change and the need to find a solutions to fight hunger and improve human health. This study focused on two directions, namely: identifying genotypes that achieve the highest productions and establishing food value and the benefits of sorghum grains on human health by analysing the physico chemical composition of the grains, by determining the mineral content of the grain and by determining the composition in amino acids. The grain production had ranged from 8623 kg/ha to 11181 kg/ha. This production had characterized by a protein content between 8.84 % and 12.80 %, in lipid content between 3.39 % and 4.15 %, in raw fibre content between 2.15 % and 3.95 % and the starch content was between 66.70 % and 74.66 %. The analysed mineral content of the sorghum samples has the following values (mg/100g a.s.): phosphorus - 280 - 330; potassium - 520 - 610; calcium - 2.4 - 3.9; magnesium - 260 - 290; iron - 11.6 - 18.9; zinc - 1.94 - 2.42; copper - 0.23 - 0.36; manganese - 1.60 - 1.97. Analysing the amino acid composition of sorghum samples it can be said that the samples contain all the essential amino acids, in concentrations that, some of them, exceed the recommended daily dose (FAO/WHO/UNU): leucine, isoleucine, histidine, valine. Also the analysed sorghum seeds add an important content of methionine, threonine and phenylalanine.