The impact of weather conditions on the yield of winter triticale and content of macroelements in grain

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to determine the impact of weather conditions during the spring and summer growth of winter triticale on the yield and content of nutrients in its grain. The research results were achieved from a controlled field experiment carried out at the Experimental Station of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, located in Tomaszkowo near Olsztyn (53o42′ N; 20o26′ E). The impact of weather factors during the spring and summer growth of winter triticale on the yield and content of nutrients in its grain was explained by correlation and multiple regression analyses. The duration of the spring and summer growing season (b′ = 0.929**) and the average daily temperatures during the plant growth (b′ = 0.409*) had the strongest, significantly positive impact on winter triticale yield. A significant linear correlation was found only between the content of nitrogen and potassium in winter triticale grain and the selected weather parameters. The nitrogen content depended on the number of plant growing days and average minimum daily temperature, while the potassium content was affected by the number of spring and summer growing days, average daily temperature, total precipitation volume and the number of days with precipitation. Considering the cumulative impact of the examined weather parameters on the content of macroelements in triticale grain, a significant effect was found for phosphorus and potassium, whose levels depended, to the largest extent, on the precipitation volume and number of days without precipitation ≥10 days, respectively. The content of phosphorus and nitrogen in grain was significantly negatively correlated with the yields of winter triticale.