Аннотации:
To study the influence of plant density and foliar applications of micronutrients on the oil content in the grains of DEKALB maize hybrids from different FAO maturity groups under the conditions of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine in 2022–2024, a three-factor field experiment was conducted. Factor A – maize hybrids: DKC 4098, DKC 4109, DKC 4391, DKC 4598, DKC 4712, DKC 5075, DKC 5206. Factor B – plant density: 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 90, and 110 thousand plants/ha. Factor C – foliar applications: control (water treatment); Amino Ultra Maize; Micro-Mineralis Maize. It was established that the oil content in the grains ranged from 3.80% to 4.00%. A decrease in the indicator was observed in 2023, followed by an increase in 2024, which was attributed to weather conditions, particularly water deficit, which increased oiliness while decreasing grain protein content. The highest oil content in the grains was consistently formed by hybrids DKC 4712, DKC 5206, and DKC 4391. The oil content depended on plant density, decreasing from 4.00% (55 thousand plants/ha) to 3.78% (80 thousand plants/ha), with a subsequent increase when planting density was raised to 110 thousand plants/ha (3.94%). Foliar applications slightly reduced the oil content. The lowest value was provided by the micronutrient Amino Ultra Maize. The micronutrient Micro-Mineralis Maize proved to be more effective in terms of grain oiliness across all years of research. The highest average oil content over the three years was obtained from growing hybrids DKC 4712, DKC 5206, and DKC 4391 at densities of 55–70 thousand plants/ha without foliar fertilization. At the same time, the calculated oil yield per hectare ranged from 0.26 to 0.37 t/ha and tended to increase with the use of microfertilizers due to higher grain yields, despite a slight decrease in percentage oil content. The highest calculated oil yield (0.36–0.37 t/ha) was achieved by growing high-yield hybrids at a plant density of 55–70 thousand plants/ha with Amino Ultra Maize application. The results of the research confirm that optimizing plant density and nutrient background allows for realizing the genetic potential of corn hybrids regarding oiliness and increasing oil yield per unit area.
