Can Modification of Sowing Date and Genotype Selection Reduce the Impact of Climate Change on Sunflower Seed Production?

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Author

The paper needs a through revision, the effect of high temperature and soil moisture during seed filling alone may be presented.

The effect of genotype, and climate change impacts may be avoided.

Please check the methodology and statistics. No need to explain the reason for the variation, and this is a agriculture paper.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Language may be improved.

Author Response

Please, find the answer to your valuable comments attached. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript entitled “Can a Modification of Sowing Date and Genotype Selection 2 Reduce the Impact of Climate Changes in Seed Sunflower Pro- 3 duction?” emphasis on the importance of modification of sowing dates in optimizing the sunflower seed yields. The study holds great importance in the era of climate change. There are a few queries to be addressed in the manuscript.

The research objective need to be refined by giving importance to sowing dates than genotypes as the authors tried to understand the effect of sowing dates.

Since, six different genotypes were used in the experiment, how the authors ruled out the effect of genotypes while concluding the effect of sowing dates? This should be clarified critically.

As the post hoc test in the table 3 showing, the mean variations of genotypes are more than the mean variations of sowing dates. how authors interpret results, it is not discussed in the manuscript.

Authors may include the sowing dates as a variable in biplot to visualization of effect of sowing dates.

It is suggested to add a correlation graph of variables recorded across different years to see the effect of change in climate over the years through similarity or high correlation otherwise the highly variable growing seasons over years.

The manuscript has a great scope in the field of agriculture and this will be interest to many agronomist across the globe. The manuscript may be accepted after a round of revision.  

Author Response

Please find the answer to your comments attached.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The combination of climate warming and destabilization creates difficult conditions for the adaptation of agricultural assortment and technologies. The earlier onset of temperature minima of crops in an unstable climate does not always allow for earlier sowing in order to use heat and moisture resources, due to the risk of frost. This gives relevance and practical significance to the study of earlier sunflower sowing in the conditions of modern climatic risks.

In the proposed article, 6 sunflower genotypes of different vegetation duration were studied when sowing in 4 terms for 3 years. It is shown that in different years the optimal sowing dates are different, and depending on the genotype and the target indicator. The work is certainly interesting and practically significant.

However, there are several comments of varying degrees of significance.

The results of the correlation analysis are questionable. Three years is not enough to identify climate dependence. In the Methods authors say that ‘Pearson's correlation coefficient, as an average for all three years of the study’, i.e. the studied variation depending only on the genotype. The later the genotype, the greater the sum of temperatures and precipitation for any period. If the late genotypes are low–yielding (like G3), and the early ones are high-yielding (like G1), then the relationship between yield and the sum of temperatures may be negative. Are such small values of coefficients as shown in Fig. 3 are significant? This calls questions about the conclusion in Lines 481-483 ‘High temperatures from emergence to bud stage have a negative impact on seed yield but a positive effect on plant height’, etc.

ANOVA. Why wasn't a three-factor analysis of the DS x Year x Genotype performed? This would give an answer to the question of what is the reliably best date for sowing sunflower. In the current version there is no clear answer to the question posed in the title of the article.

Fig. 1: There are no names of axes – Temperature (°C) and Precipitation (mm). The legend is difficult to read, it may be better not to write "Rimski S" in the legend 8 times.

Line 383. ‘Figure 2 (a,b,c,d)’: there is no decryption of (a,b,c,d).

Good luck!

Author Response

Please find the answer to your comments attached.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Author

No comments

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Authors made suggested changes. Manuscript may be accepted for publication.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors took into account the comments made. The text can be published in this form