Продуктивність світчграсу за використання різної ширини міжряддя на схилових угіддях південно-західної частини Лісостепу

Abstract

Goal. To determine the productivity of switchgrass as a raw material for the production of solid types of fuel when it is grown on slopes with different row widths. Methods. Field — to find out the effect of the width of the row spacing on the productivity of switchgrass; laboratory — to determine the content of dry matter; statistical — to assess the reliability of the obtained results; comparative-calculation — to determine energy efficiency. Results. Phenological observations conducted during the growing season on switchgrass plants of the 7th–9th growing season did not reveal any difference in the duration of plant development phases in different variants of the experiment — the factor of row width did not affect that indicator. Plant growth began in the 3rd decade of April, with seed ripening in the 1st decade of October. Research on determining the biometric parameters of switchgrass plants, conducted during the growing season, proved that the plants grew and developed best at a row width of 0.45 m. In this version of the experiment, they had an average height of 195 cm, which was 21 cm more than the plants in areas with a row width of 0.15 m. However, the width of the row did not affect the number of the formed leaves on the plant. When determining the productivity of switchgrass, the highest crop yield was noted in the variant with a row width of 0.15 m: the amount of green mass was 19.5–25.9 t/ha, which was 2.1–6.7 t/ha more compared to the variant where the row width was 0.45 m. At the same time, 12.43–15.54 t/ha of dry matter was obtained, and the energy output was 201.9–274.2 MJ/ha. Conclusions. The highest indicators of productivity of switchgrass in the 7th to 9th years of life were provided by the use of a row width of 0.15 m.