Yield of winter wheat after non-traditional predecessors in short-term forage crop rotations

Abstract

Topicality. Winter wheat is the leading grain and food crop in Ukraine, which is often grown without considering requirements for its predecessors. This crop is widely used in short-term crop rotations, in which there are a number of problems arise in obtaining a high and stable winter wheat yield after non-traditional predecessors. Purpose. To determine the winter wheat yield in specialised fodder short-term crop rotation after the non-traditional predecessors for small farms. Methods. In 2018–2021, field trials were conducted in the Vinnytsia region on leached medium loam chernozems with a humus content of 4.2 %. Winter wheat was sown after three predecessors: fodder beet, pumpkin and potato. Results. The longest period from harvesting potato to sowing winter wheat was 49 days. After harvesting the pumpkin, 16 days remained before sowing winter wheat. The shortest period from harvesting fodder beet to sowing winter wheat was 6 days. The plant density of winter wheat after the potato was by 12.0 % higher than after the pumpkin and by 17.7 % higher than after the fodder beet. During the spring regrowth, the highest plant density of winter wheat was observed after the potato, which was 11.9 % more than after the pumpkin and 18.4 % more than after the fod-der beet. At the end of the growing season, the highest number of productive stems was formed by winter wheat plants after the potato –773 pcs/m2, after fodder beet – by 7.8 % less productive stems, and after the pumpkin – by 42.2 % less than after potato. Conclusions. The highest actual grain yield of winter wheat grown after potato amounted to 7.63 t/ha. After fodder beet, the winter wheat yield was 11.3 % lower than after potato and amounted to 6.77 t/ha. The winter wheat yield after the pumpkin was 40.6 % lower than after potato and 33.1 % lower than after fodder beet. Key words: winter wheat, yield, predecessors, fodder beets, pumpkins, potatoes