YIELD AND QUALITY OF WINTER WHEAT GRAIN DEPENDING ON SOWING TIME AND CULTIVATION CONDITIONS

Abstract

In solving the food problem, the leading role belongs to the main crop - winter wheat. At observance of the cultivation technology, modern varieties of wheat provide yields of 10–12 and more tons per 1ha. Climate warming, emerging in the second half of the twentieth century, necessitates the improvement of individual elements of the technology of cultivating new winter wheat varieties and, above all, the scientific substantiation of the choice of sowing date. Based on this, the study of the timing of sowing new varieties of winter wheat in the context of climate change is very important, and is an important condition for a steady increase in yield and improving the quality of grain. The studies were conducted in 2013–2015. in the three soil-climatic zones of Kabardino-Balkaria: steppe, foothill and mountain. The experiments were laid on varieties of winter common wheat of Yuzhanka and Cheget, joint breeding of the P. Lukyanenko National Grain Center and the Institute of Agriculture of the KBNC RAS. Sowing was carried out in four terms for each zone. Research results showed that the varieties responded differently to the terms and conditions of cultivation. As a result, optimum sowing dates were established for varieties and zones, which ensured a high yield of high-quality grain. At the same time, in the best options, the yield varied in varieties and zones from 5.00 to 5.85 tons / ha. High yields were obtained in the foothill and mountain zones, and better grain was formed in the steppe zone. So, in terms of the protein content and gluten in the studied varieties of Yuzhanka and Cheget, these indicators were respectively: 14.5 and 30.4% and 14.2 and 30.6%, which is higher than in other zones. This is due to the soil-climatic conditions of cultivation zones of varieties.