Formation and productivity of the assimilation apparatus of corn under different sowing and fertilization rates

Abstract

Purpose. Establishing the influence of the elements of cultivation technology (fertilizer and sowing rates, different hybrids of corn), as well as their combination on the formation and functioning of the assimilation apparatus of corn plants in the Forest Steppe. Methods. Field research was carried out at the Agronomic research station of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (Pshenychne, Vasylkiv district, Kyiv region), located in the Forest Steppe, in 2017–2019. Different methods were used to achieve the goals of the study: field, laboratory methods (measurement and weight analysis to establish biometric parameters of plants) and statistical methods (comparative-calculation analysis and analysis of variances). Results. It is determined that all hybrids differed significantly in terms of the average maximum leaf area. Over the years of research, the hybrid ‘Splendis’ formed an average of 37.8 thousand m2/ha of leaf area, ‘ES Concord’ – 38.7 thousand m2/ha, and ‘MAS 36.A’ – 40.6 thousand m2/ha. The maximum leaf area was in ‘P8816’ – 41.5 thousand m2/ha. The dependence of the leaf area on the sowing rate was also significant: when the sowing rate increased from 75 to 80 thousand seeds/ha, leaf area increased from 38.2 to 40.0 thousand m2/ha. It was established that the photosynthetic potential of hybrids with FAO 250 (‘Splendis’ and ‘ES Concord’) did not differ significantly, as well as in hybrids with FAO 300 – ‘MAS 36.A’ and ‘P8816’. Conclusions. All the studied factors had a significant impact on the formation of the leaf apparatus, and the variation of the maximum leaf area was 36.2% depending on the hybrid, 35.5% on fertilization and 26.2% on the sowing rate. A separate significant effect was the interaction of hybrid with fertilizer, which accounted for 1.3% of all variations, while other interactions were insignificant.