Ensuring sustainable grain production in the conditions of the Southern steppe of Ukraine.

Abstract

A significant share in providing the total amount of grain belongs to the most productive crop - corn. It is grown mainly on irrigated lands, but corn is a fairly drought-resistant plant. Research with corn, conducted in the same zone on the fields of the Institute of Irrigated Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kherson region) on dark chestnut soil, established that the level of grain yield fluctuated significantly depending on the components of cultivation and the maturity group of the hybrid. Thus, depending on the climatic conditions and the amount of precipitation during cultivation without irrigation, the grain productivity of corn in dry years ranged from 3.54 to 7.83 t/ha of grain, and in more favorable years, from 5.74 to 9.87 t/ha Ha. At the same time, it should be noted that in years with insufficient rainfall during the growing season, higher productivity is formed by corn hybrids of early ripening groups, and in years with favorable moisture and irrigation, on the contrary, mid-ripening and medium-late groups. Of course, the highest grain yield (17-20 t/ha and more) can be formed under drip irrigation, which fully satisfies the plants' need for moisture without excessive evaporation. Optimizing their nutrition, which is based even on the principles of resource conservation, contributes to the effective use of moisture, increasing the productivity of all agricultural crops. We will show this on the example of growing corn hybrids of different maturity groups.