White mustard (Sinapis alba L.) is considered a suitable alternative crop for agricultural systems increasingly affected by climatic variability, due to its short growing season and efficient use of soil resources. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of sowing date, crop density and fertilization level on crop establishment, vegetative growth and seed yield of white mustard under the pedoclimatic conditions of the Dobrogea region, in the Mereni area, Constanța County, during the 2024–2025 agricultural year, characterized by severe water deficit. The experiment was conducted under a minimum tillage system on a typical vermic chernozem soil, with winter vetch as the preceding crop. A total of 24 experimental variants were tested, resulting from the combination of four sowing dates (24 February, 1 March, 6 March and 11 March 2025), two row spacings (12.5 and 25 cm) and three mineral fertilization levels (N40P40, N60P60 and N80P80). The evaluated parameters included plant density at emergence, plant height, average number of siliques per plant, average seed weight per plant and seed yield. The results revealed clear differences among sowing dates, mainly driven by soil water availability during early growth stages. The third sowing date (6 March 2025) provided the most favorable conditions for crop establishment and yield formation. Despite a high number of siliques per plant, the severe precipitation deficit during March–April and the lack of rainfall in June negatively affected seed filling. The highest performance was obtained for the variant sown on 6 March 2025, at 25 cm row spacing and with the N80P80 fertilization level, which recorded an average seed weight of 6.8 g plant⁻¹ and a maximum seed yield of 2134 kg ha⁻¹. The study provides updated experimental data supporting the optimization of white mustard cultivation technology under limiting climatic conditions specific to south-eastern Romania.

Sinapis alba L., sowing date, crop density, mineral fertilization, seed yield, climatic conditions.

agronomy

Presentation: poster