The influence of technological elements on the formation of the seed productivity of the white sweet clover

Abstract

Goal. To determine the influence of the application of the elements of growing technology on the processes of seed productivity formation of white sweet clover depending on the variety composition, the width of the rows, and doses of nitrogen fertilizer in non-irrigated conditions of the South of Ukraine. Methods. Field — to study the interaction of the research object with biotic and abiotic factors of the Southern Steppe zone; visual — to fix phenological changes in crop plants; mathematical and statistical — to conduct dispersion analysis and statistical processing of data to assess the reliability of the obtained research results; comparative calculation — to carry out economic and energy assessment of the cultivation of sweet clover. Results. Experimental and field studies on the improvement of the technology of growing white sweet clover in non-irrigated conditions in the South of Ukraine were substantiated and summarized. Factors such as variety composition, row width, and doses of nitrogen fertilizers were rationally combined. It was proven that during the years of research (2019–2021), on average, the best structural indicators of the culture were achieved by sowing the Pivdennyi variety with a row width of 45 cm and a dose of nitrogen fertilizer N60, when the culture plants formed the largest number of branches — 25.3 pcs. In this variant of the experiment, the highest yield of conditioned seeds and the yield of the white sweet clover were also obtained. Conclusions. The research established that the maximum seed productivity of white sweet clover on dark chestnut soils in non-irrigated conditions in the South of Ukraine can be obtained by sowing the Pivdennyi variety with a row width of 45 cm and a dose of nitrogen fertilizer N60. The use of optimal technology parameters provided the highest yield of conditioned seed of the crop — 86.9% and the maximum average seed productivity — 556 kg/ha.