Formation of sunflower hybrid productivity by resource saving cultivation technologies in southern Ukraine

Abstract

The implementation of resource-efficient technology in contemporary agricultural production enhances the productivity and efficiency of sunflower farming while mitigating environmental harm. The research aimed to examine the impact of various tillage techniques on sunflower farming in southern Ukraine. A field study was undertaken from 2021 to 2023 at the Educational and Research Centre of Mykolaiv National Agrarian University to achieve this objective. The research established that traditional tillage yields the lowest density of the topsoil (0-10 cm), signifying good soil aeration. At the same time, no-till cultivation is characterised by the highest soil density, but it helps to increase the reserves of productive moisture at all depths. Before sunflower harvesting, the no-till moisture content was 134 mm in the 0-100 cm layer, which is 26 mm more than in conventional tillage. The study showed that plant height and vegetative mass growth of sunflowers were higher than no-till in all growth stages. In the phase of two pairs of true leaves, the height of the plants under no-till was 16.8 cm, and during flowering – 176.2 cm. The growth of vegetative mass in the phase of two pairs of true leaves under no-till reached 135 g/m2 and in the phase of seed formation – 1,380 g/m2. The leaf area index under no-till was the highest in all phases of sunflower growth, in the flowering phase it was 4.8 m2/m2, which is 10% higher than under conventional tillage (4.2). The chlorophyll content was also the highest under no-till and in the flowering phase at 46 (SPAD units). In addition, the sunflower yield under conventional tillage was 3.56 t/ha, under minimum tillage – 3.85 t/ha, and no-till was the highest at 3.95 t/ha. The practical value of the study is to provide scientifically based recommendations for agricultural enterprises on the choice of the optimal method of soil cultivation, which can increase the competitiveness of Ukrainian sunflowers on the world market