EFFECTIVENESS OF GROWTH REGULATORS ON IRRIGATED SORGHUM CROPS
Abstract
In the conditions of increasing climatic aridity of the southern region of Ukraine, the relevance of improving grain sorghum cultivation technologies aimed at increasing the efficiency of water use and forming stable crop productivity is increasing. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of growth regulators and complex Nanovit super fertilizer in chelate form on water consumption, the formation of crop structure and grain productivity of grain sorghum under irrigation conditions.
Field studies were conducted in 2016-2018 at the experimental field of the Institute of Climate-Oriented Agriculture of the NAAS on dark chestnut medium loamy slightly saline soil. The object of the study was the early-ripening grain sorghum variety Pivdenne. The effect of growth regulators Regoplant, Grainactiv-C and Vermystym on the background of N₉₀ application, as well as their combination with foliar feeding with the Nanovit super complex fertilizer, was studied.
It was found that the use of the studied preparations did not cause significant changes in the total plant water consumption (4104-4296 m³/ha), but contributed to an increase in the efficiency of water use. The lowest water consumption coefficient was obtained with the combined use of the Regoplant preparation and the Nanovit super fertilizer – 477,3 m³/t, which is 32,5% less compared to the control. The use of biostimulants had a positive effect on the formation of crop structure, in particular, it increased the length of the panicle, the number and weight of grains in it, as well as the weight of 1000 seeds. The highest grain productivity was provided by the combined use of the Regoplant preparation with foliar feeding with Nanovit super fertilizer on the background of N₉₀ application, when the grain yield was 9,2 t/ha, which was 55,9% higher than in control variant. Under these conditions, the feed value of the products also increased: the yield of feed units reached 12,4 t/ha, digestible protein – 0,59 t/ha, and the protein content in grain – 10,8%.
The results obtained indicate the high efficiency of using growth regulators in combination with chelate microfertilizers in the technology of growing grain sorghum under irrigation conditions and confirm the feasibility of their use to increase crop productivity and optimize the use of water resources.
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