Influence of agrotechnological growing practices on the formation of biometric indicators of Khorasan wheat (Triticum turanicum) in the conditions of the eastern part of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

Topicality. The popularity of Khorasan wheat among consumers is due to the fact that their grain has more useful properties than traditional wheat types. The distribution of this wheat is restricted by the lack of accurate agrotechnological practices that would allow plants to maximise their genetically programmed productivity. Purpose. To determine the influence of the proposed elements of cultivation technology on the formation of biometric parameters by Khorasan wheat plants in the eastern part of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine. Methods. In 2021–2022, research was conducted in the field crop rotation of the Donetsk State Agricultural Research Station of NAAS, according to the method of B. O. Dospehov. The predecessor was a sunflower. The Khorasan wheat of Sarmat variety was used for sowing. Research methods were used: field, laboratory, mathematical and statistical. Results. Application of mineral fertilisers in the cultivation of Khorasan wheat contributes to the formation of better biometric parameters during the growing season compared to the control variant. At full maturity stage, the habitus of plants exceeds the control variant by 22 cm. The number of nodal roots per plant increases by 0.7 pcs and the productive tillering coefficient– by 0.1. When lower sowing rates are applied (2.0 and 3.0 million seeds/ha), plants form better biometric parameters regardless of nutritional background. The largest number of productive shoots of the Khorasan wheat forms in the nutrition background N30P30. Depending on the seeding rate, the coefficient of productive tillering varied from 1.4 to 1.2. Conclusions. Increasing or decreasing the seeding rate does not significantly affect the physiological ability of the crop to form a high plant density. Economically efficient plant density per unit area can be formed by increasing the seeding rate, which will reduce the number of productive stems per plant, but the total number of productive stems per 1 m2 will increase, as a result, grain yield will increase. Key words: Khorasan wheat, seeding rate, nutritional background, tillering coefficient, number of nodal roots, plant height, productive tillering coefficient, number of stems