SEED YIELD OF SUNFLOWER HYBRIDS GROWN IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE NORTHERN STEPPE

Abstract

According to the articles results of the research carried out in the conditions of the private enterprise “Agro-Alliance-2007” in Lozivsky district of Kharkiv region, the yield of a number of sunflower hybrids of different maturity on a typical weakly eroded low-humus heavy loam chernozem in water-deficit conditions in 2024 was estimated. This region can be attributed to the zone of risk agriculture due to the lack of moisture and local manifestations of erosion and degradation processes throughout the year. The comparison of the yield level of the crop was carried out for 21 sunflower hybrids from such trademarks as TM “Pioneer”, TM “Lidea” and TM “Limagrain”. In addition to the yield level, the degree of seed moisture at the harvesting time and the value of the actual weight of sunflower seeds at the bunker level were determined with an assessment of the economic efficiency of growing the specified hybrids in the conditions of the past 2024. The results of such characterization of the features of sunflower hybrids growing from different manufacturers, represented by the characteristics of the natural weight and moisture content for the hybrids in the experiment, showed the presence of higher values of natural weight of hybrids from TM “Pioneer” (from 940 to 2 000 kg) compared to relatively lower indicators for the absolute number of hybrids from TM “Lidea” (from 560 to 920 kg) and TM “Limagrain” (from 490 to 940 kg). As for the seed moisture index, according to this index, the average values for hybrids ranged from 8,0 to 9,9% for TM “Pioneer”; from 8,3 to 9,2% for TM “Lidea”; from 8,1 to 10,4% for TM “Limagrain”. These values may be due to the early dates of crop harvesting in conditions of insufficient rainfall during the flowering phase – the beginning of seed filling (from early June to early August). The yield of sunflower hybrids from TM “Limagrain” (29,5–39,5 c/ha) was generally higher than other producers and in the conditions of the dry summer of 2024 covered most of the experimental options for mid-early hybrids, providing a yield at the level of average multi-year yield values in the region in past years. Of the two mid-early TM “Lidea” hybrids, only Belfis was at a similar level of productivity (30,2 c/ha), while Argentik demonstrated almost twice the yield (18,6 c/ha), and only the mid-early hybrid from the TM “Pioneer” hybrid 64F66 had a yield of 30,3 c/ha. TM “Limagrain” hybrids were the highest in terms of profitability in the study, which, given the yield level in the dry summer period of 2024, demonstrated values at the level of more favorable previous years. The vast majority of TM “Limagrain” hybrids corresponded to the yield values even under the early conditions of seed collection, which makes it possible to recommend them for cultivation in the arid conditions of the Lozivsky district of the Kharkiv region, which geographically belongs to the Northern Steppe.