Characteristics of growth and development of winter wheat plants depending on the variety, sowing date and predecessor in the Northern Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

Topicality. Researches aimed to determine the optimal conditions for the formation of highly productive crops with the introduction into production of new intensive winter wheat varieties with various biological characteristics and due to significant climatic changes are becoming increasingly important. Issues. The plant growth and development in natural conditions depends on a complex of external factors. A favorable combination of these factors enhances growth processes, while a lack or excess of them weakens the development of plants. At the same time, the root system and aboveground vegetative mass development of winter cereals is significantly influenced by predecessors and sowing dates. In addition, each of the varieties responds differently to these factors. Purpose. To study of the characteristics of plant growth and development of different varieties of soft and durum winter wheat depending on sowing dates and predecessor in the conditions of the northern Steppe of Ukraine. Materials and methods. During 2016–2018, Lastivka Odeska and Holubka Odeska varieties of soft winter wheat and Burshtyn variety of durum winter wheat were sown. Field researches were conducted according to generally accepted methods. Results. It was found that when winter wheat was sown on September 7, plants were higher, the number of shoots, nodal roots, leaves and above-ground vegetative mass was significantly greater. In the conditions of 2017, at the growth cessation in the autumn, no tillering plants of the late sowing (October 7) occurred. At the growth resumption in the spring, the leaf surface area and plant weight decreased in the crops of the early sowing. Conclusions. Among the agrotechnical methods of winter wheat cultivation, the sowing dates influence significantly on the biometric indicators of plants. Early sowing led to overgrowth of plants, and thus the leaf area and weight of plants decreased during the winter. In the spring, at the time of growth resumption, it was observed that the number of shoots and nodular roots increased for all sowing dates. The plants grew and developed better on the black fallow compared to the stubble predecessor. The height, leaf area and weight of 100 dry plants of the Lastivka Odeska and Holubka Odeska varieties of soft winter wheat exceeded similar indicators of durum wheat Burshtyn. Keywords: winter wheat, sowing date, variety, predecessor, biometric indicators, leaf area.