EFFICIENCY OF WINTER WHEAT GROWING DEPENDS ON THE METHODS OF SOIL CULTIVATION AND THE USE OF STRAW FERTILIZER

Abstract

Modern agriculture in Ukraine is at a stage of transition from high-cost tillage technologies to more rational and less energy-intensive ones based on the principles of minimization. Replacing plowing with less energy-, labor-, and fuel-intensive cultivations provides a significant increase in the economic and energy efficiency of growing crops. The aim of the research was to study the impact of minimizing tillage and using predecessor straw for fertilization without and with the application of compensatory nitrogen on the yield and economic efficiency of growing winter wheat in the Western Forest-Steppe. The results of research conducted during 2021–2023 in the stationary field experiment of the Institute of Agriculture of Western Polissіa of the NAAS on the study of the influence of methods of cultivating dark grey podzolized soil and using soybean straw, which was the predecessor of winter wheat, for fertilization, on its yield and economic efficiency are presented. It was found that with plowing at 20–22 cm, discing at 15–17 and discing at 10–12 cm, depending on the methods of using the predecessor straw, the yield varied within the limits of 7.00–7.39; 6.87–7.28 and 6.32–6.82 t/ha, respectively. The use of straw for fertilization without compensatory nitrogen and in combination with it contributed to an increase in yield, respectively, for plowing by 2.1 and 5.6%, for discing at 15–17 cm – by 7.8 and 6.0%, and for discing at 10–12 cm – by 2.7 and 7.9%. Replacing plowing with disking at 15–17 cm or 10–12 cm on average during the years of research contributed to a reduction in total costs for growing winter wheat from 35,573 to 31,652 and 38,345 UAH/ha, respectively, or 11 and 20%, respectively. The highest conditional net profit is 15,051 UAH/ha, and the profitability level of 51.4% was obtained by discing the soil to a depth of 10–12 cm using soybean straw as fertilizer and additional nitrogen at the rate of 7 kg per 1 ton of straw.