У статті наведено результати трирічних досліджень щодо впливу строків сівби та мінерального живлення на урожайність і економічну ефективність вирощування сортів пшениці м’якої озимої Ластівка одеська та Голубка одеська і твердої Бурштин по чорному пару та після ячменю ярого в Північному Степу. Пшеницю озиму висівали у три строки – 7, 22 вересня та 7 жовтня. Варіанти удобрення: 1 – без внесення добрив (контроль); 2 – передпосівне внесення добрив (по чорному пару – N30P60K30, після ячменю ярого – N60P60K30); 3 – система удобрення (на фоні передпосівного внесення мінеральних добрив: по чорному пару підживлення N30 локально наприкінці фази кущіння рослин, після ячменю ярого – N30 ранньою весною по мерзлоталому ґрунту (МТҐ) + N30 локально). На основі проведених досліджень встановлено, що найвищі врожайність та чистий дохід при вирощуванні всіх сортів пшениці озимої як по чорному пару, так і після ячменю ярого забезпечується застосуванням системи удобрення посівів, що передбачає передпосівне внесення повного добрива та весняні азотні підживлення. Внесення мінеральних добрив після обох попередників сприяло підвищенню урожайності і поліпшенню класу зерна у пшениці м’якої озимої до другого-третього, а у разі вирощування пшениці твердої озимої – в окремих випадках і до першого класу. Мінімальні значення економічної ефективності у всіх сортів пшениці озимої у дослідах отримано у варіантах без добрив. Вища економічна ефективність вирощування пшениці озимої після обох попередників у сортів Ластівка одеська та Бурштин була отримана за умови сівби в оптимальний строк (22 вересня), а у сорту Голубка одеська – в допустимо ранній (7 вересня) та оптимальний строк (22 вересня). Після ячменю ярого найвищу ефективність вирощування забезпечував сорт Голубка одеська, який на удобрених ділянках формував зерно третього класу якості при урожайності 4,81–6,05 т/га та рентабельності виробництва 121–145 %.

Studies conducted on the chernozems of the steppe zone of Ukraine have revealed a direct relationship between thephytosanitary condition of an agricultural ecosystem and the amount of productive moisture used by corn plants from the 0 to 150 cmsoil layer during the period from sowing to harvest. In absolutely cleancrops, corn plants used soil water to the 156 mm depth, while in the plotsfrom which the weeds were not removedsoil water was used to 203 mm and on theherbicide-treated soilto 168–171 mm depth. Full or partial control of weediness of crops makes it possible to save 320–470 m3/ha moisture reserves, which is equal to the average monthly precipitation that fell during the growing season (2018–2019). Effectiveness of the tested crop chemical protection systems was to a large extend determined by the hydrothermal conditions in April - May. High air temperature, lack of agronomically useful rains and dry winds caused drying out of the upper soil layer and decreasedphytotoxicity of pre-emergence herbicides. In this case (2018), the largest percentage of the first wave weeds (89.1 %) was destroyed by a tank mixture of crop protectionagents contained in Frontier Optima (0.8 l/ha + Stellar (0.8 l/ha) + Metolat (0.8 l/ha). In favorable weather, to ensure manifestation of toxicological properties of soil herbicides (2019), the following combined technological schemes for harmful species control in the first stages of corn organogenesis had an advantage: Dual Gold (1.5 l/ha) (before sowing), Stellar (1.25 l/ha) + Metolat (1.25 l/ha) (after emergence of seedlings) and Acris(3 l/ha) (before sowing), Kelvin Plus (0.35 kg/ha) + Hasten (1 l/ha) (after emergence of seedlings). The technical efficiency of the herbicide application reached 98–100 %. In 2018, the highest yield of corn grain (7.85 t/ha) in the protected plots was obtained after application (in the phase of development of 3–5 corn leaves) of the following tank mixture: Frontier Optima (0.8 l/ha) + Stellar (0.8 l/ha) + Metolat (0.8 l/ha). This combination turned out to be the most effective in terms of cost effectiveness of grain production, providing a profitability of 213 %. In 2019, we managed to increase the yields by combining soil and crop protection herbicides. Given the cost and consumption rate of the herbicides used per 1 ha, a combination of synthetic agrochemicals Avatar (2.5 l/ha) (before sowing) + Prima (0.5 l/ha) (after emergence of seedlings) was the best in terms of the main product cost (1579 UAH/t) and profitability (134 %). Key words: weeds, herbicidal system, technical efficiency, productivity, profitability of production.

In the northern Steppe of Ukraine at the State Institution Institute of Grain Crops of NAAS for 2016–2019, we studied the influence of plant feeding with different types of nitrogen fertilizers (ammonium nitrate, urea ammonium nitrate mixture (UAN-32), ammonium sulfate) on the economic efficiency of winter wheat cultivation after black fallow and after sunflower. It was established that the lowest cost of one grain ton, the highest net income per hectare and profitability level were in the trial variant where after both predecessors against the background of pre-sowing fertilization (N30P60K30 – after black fallow and N60P60K60 – after sunflower) feeding crops with nitrogen fertilizers was locally applied on two dates: N30 on freeze-thawed soil + N30 at the end of plant tillering stage. The above indicators among the studied varieties of winter wheat, such as Kokhanka (valuable variety), Nyva odeska and Uzhynok (strong varieties), were the best in the Nyva odeska variety, and they achieved at cultivation after black fallow depending on the type of nitrogen fertilizers 2055– 2222 UAH, 28470–30089 UAH per hectare and 200.2–224.6 %, respectively. When growing the same variety after sunflower with nitrogen feedings on two dates, the indicators ranged depending on the fertilizer type: the cost of one grain ton – 2813–2953 UAH, net income – 16802–17821 UAH/ha and profitability level – 125.9–137.1 %. The Uzhynok winter wheat variety after the non-fallow predecessor had the lowest economic indicators and produced lower yield compared to Nyva odeska and Kohanka varieties. It was found that Urea Ammonium Nitrate mixture (UAN-32) fertilizer for nitrogen feedings provided the higher economic cultivation efficiency of all winter wheat varieties, and the more expensive ammonium sulfate had the lower efficiency after both predecessors. Keywords: winter wheat, variety, predecessor, mineral fertilizers, nitrogen feedings, yield, economic efficiency.

Topicality. Nowadays, profitable agricultural production requires a comprehensive analysis of the feasibility of each agrotechnical technique of cultivation of field crops, including winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). In market conditions, the main criterion for choosing a technology for growing a particular crop is economic efficiency. Therefore, a competitive technology is the one that provides the highest profitability and profit. Purpose. Investigation of the influence of agrotechnical practices on the level of economic efficiency of growing winter barley. Methods. The field experiments were laid out and carried out in accordance with the generally accepted methodology of research. In the experiments, the winter barley of Deviatyi val variety was sown, followed by sunflower as a predecessor. Sowing was carried out in four dates: 20, 30 September and 10, 20 October with seeding rates of 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0 million germinable seeds/ha. Results. On average, over the years of research (2017–2019), the best economic output was obtained by sowing winter barley on 30 September. As a result, the highest grain yield was 5.28–5.52 t/ha with a profitability level of 71.6–82.6 %. Sowing on 20 October in all variants of the experiment resulted in the lowest cost recovery when growing winter barley on a non-fallow predecessor, and the profitability level ranged from 16.1–21.7 % depending on the seeding rate. Sowing on 30 September resulted in the highest profit of 9321–10562 UAH/ha, which is 7375–7958 UAH/ha more compared to the variants with sowing dates at the end of the second ten days of October. Conclusions. We found that the economic indicators during the years of research were influenced by the grain yield of winter barley depending on the technological practices of its cultivation in the Northern Steppe of Ukraine. The research aimed at determining the economic efficiency of growing winter barley after sunflower, depending on the sowing dates and sowing rates, found that the variant with sowing on 30 September, where the highest grain yield was obtained, was more profitable. The sowing date with a seeding rate of 5.0 million seeds/ha provided the highest profitability (82.6 %), and the net income reached 10562 UAH/ha. Key words: winter barley, sowing dates, seeding rates, yield, economic efficiency

According to the results of economic analysis, the tendencies of development of grain legume crop production in natural and climatic conditions of the Steppe zone of Ukraine for the period 1990–2020 are established. The place of grain legumes and peas in the structure of sown areas, both in the Steppe zone and Ukraine whole is determined. The dynamics of indicators of harvested areas, yield and gross yield of peas in the Steppe zone for the last five years are analyzed; the reasons of instability of annual gross yield of pea grain and dynamic fluctuations of its productivity are established. The pea grain production efficiency was investigated. Peculiarities of territorial location of pea production in the regions of the Steppe zone of Ukraine were analyzed. According to the economic analysis, the need for measures to improve the efficiency of pea grain production, in particular, the implementation of progressive agricultural measures was established. For chemical load mitigation and ecologization of growing grain legumes crops, it was determined that the primary direction is an application of effective biological products. The article presents the results of the production inspection on compliance of application of biological products and their combinations under the cultivation of peas, which was conducted during 2013–2017 on the areas of the Hryvas farm of Piatykhatky district of Dnipropetrovsk region. The following biological preparations were used: Reacom-C-Beans – for seed incrustation; phosphorus-mobilizing bacteria – for inoculation of sowing material; a three-component mixture of Krystalon, Agat-25K and Aktofit for spraying vegetative pea plants. It was carried out a substantiation of cost standards on production of pea grain, which was grown under the different variants of biological products application, on the basis of process flow diagram of cultivation. According to the results of the production inspection, the most effective variants of biological products application were identified both in terms of productivity and economic efficiency. Key words: peas, production, economic efficiency, biological products, yield, cost, profitability.