YIELD AND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF SOYBEAN CULTIVATION UNDER DIFFERENT SOWING METHODS AND SEED RATES IN THE WESTERN FOREST-STEPPE CONDITIONS

Abstract

Improvement of the complex of agrotechnical factors that contribute to obtaining high soybean grain yield and quality, as well as maximizing profit from product sales, is an extremely relevant issue. The article presents the results of studies by the scientific community concerning the influence of sowing methods, seed rates, and soil tillage on the productivity of soybean varieties differing in maturity when grown under various soil and climatic conditions. The aim of our research was to determine the effect of sowing method and seed rate on yield and economic efficiency of soybean varieties with different maturity groups under the conditions of the Western Forest-Steppe. The experiment studied the influence of the following factors: A – variety (Mozart (ultra-early), Siaivo (early-maturing), Sensor (medium-maturing); B – sowing method: wide-row (45 cm), twin-row (19 × 38 cm); C – seed rate (400, 500, 600, 700 thousand seeds/ha). The variety standard Moravia (medium-maturing), wide-row sowing method (45 cm), and seed rate of 500 thousand seeds/ha were used as the control. As a result of the conducted research, the soybean varieties most adapted to the growing conditions, the optimal sowing method, and seed rate were determined. Indicators of economic efficiency were calculated for the studied variants. The highest yields were obtained for the Siaivo variety sown using the twin-row method with a seed rate of 600 thousand seeds/ ha, yielding 3.7 t/ha, and for the Sensor variety sown using the twin-row method with a seed rate of 500 thousand seeds/ha, yielding 3.95 t/ha. The lowest yield was recorded for the Mozart variety, amounting to 1.96 t/ha under the wide-row sowing method with a seed rate of 400 thousand seeds/ha. The profitability level of soybean cultivation varied within a wide range of 26–157 %. The highest profitability levels of 132 % and 157 % were obtained for the Siaivo variety sown by the twin-row method (19 × 38 cm) with a seed rate of 600 thousand seeds/ha and for the Sensor variety sown by the twin-row method (19 × 38 cm) with a seed rate of 500 thousand seeds/ha, respectively.