Abstract:

In recent years, at a global level, traditional agriculture has been gradually replaced by intensive agriculture, in which, through high-performance agricultural technologies, the plants are provided with the optimum water, nutrients, air and carbon dioxide, light, heat, density - space for nutrition, factors that have a direct impact on production. Corn cultivation occupies the third position worldwide after that of wheat and rice, having a special importance in providing raw materials for the food industry and adjacent fields, animal feed or food for the population. In Romania, maize is the second agricultural plant as a cultivated area, assuring the domestic producers the first position as a surface and total maize production at European level in recent years. The research carried out concerned an analysis of the production capacity of the specialized agricultural areas in the North of Bărăgan Plain in the production of maize seeds. The cultivated agricultural areas and the agricultural technologies used were evaluated, with emphasis on irrigated areas, respectively types and quantities of fertilizers and pesticides used, the influence of climatic and pedological factors on the agricultural yields. Following the research, the authors highlighted the presence of high agricultural potential in the North of  Bărăgan Plain and the existence of specialized producers in obtaining certified maize seeds, but the local production capacity is limited by the action of restrictive factors, especially in the sphere of climate change, the absence of an efficient irrigation system, the fragmentation of agricultural land and the lack of specialized workforce.The results of the research are useful to the farmers from Brăila county, the academic environment and the officials and can be the basis for developing local and national strategies in the agricultural sector.