Improvement of agricultural techniques for growing white sweetclover in the Southern Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

Goal. To study the processes of yield formation and sowing qualities of white sweetclover seeds depending on the main tillage and methods of harvesting in the conditions of the Southern Steppe of Ukraine. Methods. Field — to study the interaction of the object of study with biotic and abiotic factors of the Southern Steppe zone, visual — to fix phenological changes of white sweetclover plants, measuring — to determine the parameters of crop structure, yield, mathematical — to analyze the variance and statistical data processing to assess the reliability of the obtained research results, comparative — to carry out economic and energy assessment of growing white sweetclover. Results. Studies were conducted from 2019 to 2021. It was found that the optimal conditions for growth and development of white sweetclover were for the main tillage — plowing to a depth of 25–27 cm (factor A) — when the average seed yield was 1.04 t/ha. According to factor B (harvesting method), the highest seed yield (0.86 t/ha) was obtained by the direct harvesting method using desiccation. The maximum average yield of crop seeds — 1.12 t/ha was fixed for plowing (25–27 cm) and the use of desiccation (the direct method of harvesting). Conclusions. Improvement of the agricultural techniques of white sweetclover made it possible to obtain maximum seed productivity of the crop. The use of the optimal variant of tillage and harvesting method contributed to obtaining the highest average yield of clover seeds.