Maize is the most widely cultivated crop on arable land in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yields are quite inconsistent due to several factors, with one of the most significant being the lack of moisture during the growing season, particularly during the pollination period. Irrigation is a measure taken to mitigate the harmful effects of drought. A maize field trial was conducted over two growing seasons (2022/2023) with three replications. The local hybrid BL-43 was sown in three irrigation treatments and two fertilization variants. During the season, morphometric parameters of maize plants were measured. Statistically highly significant differences were observed between yields and yield components. The greatest differences were found in plant height among the irrigation treatments, as well as between the two years of study. Maize yield showed high variability under the influence of the applied treatments. The highest yield (11,031 kg ha-¹) was achieved with the 100% irrigation treatment combined with a higher rate of mineral fertilizer. Irrigation treatment had a much greater effect on yield components and total maize yield than fertilization. Applying irrigation at 50% and 100% of the required norm increased the values of yield components and overall maize yield in 2023 by about 27%. In the drought year (2022), the increase was 27% with 50% irrigation and 37% with 100% irrigation. In the dry year of 2022, when total precipitation was 35% lower compared to the multi-year average, irrigation had a stronger effect on maize yield components. Besides the irrigation, further research should consider the improvement of soil organic matter content and soil health as tools for improved drought resistance.

This paper analyzes the influence of foliar fertilizer based on humus extract on some of the elements central to the quality of the Polka raspberry variety in the area of the city of Bihać. The research was conducted in 2015 according to the control and treatment system. A foliar fertilizer based on humus extract was used for the treatment. A total of 12 quantitative and qualitative properties were analyzed: content of total sugars, reducing sugars, invert sugars, sucrose, water content, dry matter, total acidity, vitamin C, total phenols, total flavonoids, antioxidant capacity, and fruit mass. After the analyses were completed, it can be concluded that fruits of raspberry plants treated with humus extract have an almost identical value of total acidity (1.65%) as found in control. However, treatment with a humus extract slightly lowered the content of total phenols and vitamin C. Based on the results obtained, it was shown that the foliar fertilizer based on the humus extract did not have a positive effect on certain chemical and antioxidant properties of the raspberry fruit.

Agricultural practices in Bosnia and Hercegovina demand different improvements, including smart management of land and water resources. A new H2020 project started in 2021 in this regard. The objective of this publication is to spread knowledge about SMARTWATER project by describing different achievements in two years of implementation (2021-2022), to invite target groups to participate in the action and to promote smart agricultural practices. Presented results indicate that the implementation is at a satisfactory level. Project consortium will continue with efforts, including twinning, networking, research, dissemination and increasing competency and fund rising skills.

Rational use of available land is of great importance for the economic development of every society, especially considering the fact that soil is the primary production resource, thereby placing an even greater importance on its protection and conservation, but also on the correct use of it. This paper focuses on the municipality of Bužim, located in the north/western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the soil suitability for the purposes of corn cultivation were assessed and examined by using the FAO (1976) methodology of AEZ (agroecological zoning), which uses input data such as soil characteristics, climate change, relief patterns of the investigated area, and the requirements of the agricultural crops. Within the municipality of Bužim, 13,026.27 ha of the land is used for agricultural purposes. In regards with the corn, one distinguishes between two categories ofsoil suitability: the suitable classes (S1, S2, S3), which occupy more than 43.44% of the land surface, and the unsuitable class (the N class), which only occupies 0.94% of the land surface. Thus, it can be concluded that conditions necessary for corn do exist within the municipality of Bužim, in the form of land resources, and higher yields can be achieved by implementing landscaping measures and introducing new corn varieties in accordance with the latest scientific and expert achievements.

The consequences of improper land management are long-term, inadequate for agricultural production, and reflected through the loss of land, reduced yields, soil erosion, etc. In order to determine the optimal role or suitability of the land for apple cultivation within the Bužim municipality, a survey was conducted according to the FAO method of AEZ (FAO, 1976), and based on the obtained results, an assessment of the suitability of the land for apple cultivation was carried out. It was found that a significant land portion of the total of 13,026.27 ha agricultural land within the Municipality of Bužim is suitable for fruit production marked from S1 to N suitability class. Thus, the areas with the best graded class S1 cover only 1.23% or 159.52 ha, the S2 class occupies 5.51% (717.24 ha), the S3 class occupies 2.29% (298.24 ha). However, the largest areas are marked as the unfavourable N-class with 36.68% (4,772.60 ha). It is evident that pre-existing conditions for apple production within the municipality do exist. With the implementation of the necessary measures of soil/ land regulation, education of agricultural producers, and mindfulness of constraint factors hindering intensive production such as terrain slope, depth, rockiness and soil response, progress in production can be made. Key words: municipality of Bužim, soil suitability, apple, AEZ.

The aim of the investigation is to determine water resources available in the Bratunac municipality as an opportunity for irrigation in agriculture, one of the most important economic sectors in that municipality at the present time. The study area covers almost the whole Bratunac municipality and includes 20 of the total of 27 local communities. Research of the hydrogeological characteristics and the required quantities of water for irrigation in the studied local communities showed that in 10 local communities, irrigation can be provided using underground water withdrawn by means of excavated or drilled wells. Adequate water supply in many other local communities could be obtained from nearby surface water streams. In five local communities, the surface water from local rivers is not sufficient to ensure adequate water supply; therefore, an alternative solution consisting in the catchment of water from the Drina river has been proposed. The alternative solution for all local communities situated in the Glogovac river valley could consist in securing the required amounts of water from that water stream.

Rational use of available land is of great importance for the economic development of every society, especially when considering the fact, that the soil is a primary production resource, thereby placing an even greater importance on its protection and conservation, but also on the correct use of it. This paper focuses on the municipality of Bužim, located in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where we assessed and examined the soil suitability for the purposes of potato cultivation by using the FAO methodology of AEZ (agro-ecological zoning), which uses input data such as soil characteristics, climate changes, relief patterns of the investigated area, and the requirements of the agricultural crops. Within the municipality of Bužim, 13,026.27 ha of land is used for agricultural purposes. In regards to the potato cultivation, one distinguishes between two categories of soil suitability: the suitable classes (S1, S2, S3) which occupy more than 45% of the land surface, and the unsuitable class (the N class) which only occupies 1.43% of the land surface. Thus, it can be concluded that conditions necessary for potato production do exist within the municipality of Bužim in the form of land resources, and higher yields can be achieved by implementing landscaping measures and introducing new potato varieties in accordance with the latest scientific and expert achievements.