Variation of winter wheat grain yield and its quality in fields with different soil cover

Abstract

The experiment was carried out in 2018–2021 in the Baltic Upland of the Eastern Lithuania, where the soil cover was very different. The objective was to determine the yield and grain quality of winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) in fields with a different soil cover, their variation and dependence on soil texture and typology. For the experiment, three fields with a different soil cover were selected and 30 observation sites were set up. The results showed that the field with light-textured soils of sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam produced a lower number of productive stems and a lower grain yield of winter wheat compared to the field with heavier-textured soils. The average grain yield in sites, where the sandy loam fraction predominated, was 7.22 t ha -1 compared with 5.55 t ha -1 for loamy sand and 4.33 t ha -1 for loamy sand and sand fractions. The yield and productivity of winter wheat in the experimental field with the heavy-textured subsoil depended on the distribution of soil particles throughout the soil profile. Eutric Planosol , where the sand and loamy sand fraction in the top layer, and sandy clay at 60–70 cm depth dominated, produced the highest grain yield of 9.20 t ha -1 . The variation in winter wheat yield of the field in the hilly terrain was as much as 2.3 times. Winter wheat yield was higher in Gleyic Luvisol and Eutric Fluvisol in the lowlands, while yield was lower on the hilltops and slopes, where Haplic Luvisol predominated. Winter wheat was less fertile in organic soils in the lowlands due to the intensive growth and lodging of the vegetative part. The content of crude protein in winter wheat grains was influenced by the annual weather conditions and soil properties. In dry years, in the fields, where the lightest-textured loamy sand and sand, sandy loam and sandy clay loam prevailed, the grains were finer and at the same time had a higher level of crude protein.