Influence of the main agrotechnical techniques of cultivation on the yield of plague seeds (Setaria Italica (L.) P. Beauv) in the Lower Volga Region

Russian Research and Design Institute of Sorghum and Maize «Rossorgo», 410050, 4, 1-st Institutskiy proezd, Saratov, Russian Federation

^* Corresponding author: rodina008@mail.ru

Abstract

For the arid conditions of the Lower Volga region, plague is a promising forage crop. The article presents the results of assessing the study of the effect of the seeding rate and sowing methods on the yield of seeds of the plague variety Stachumi 3, which made it possible to identify the optimal option for obtaining the maximum yield. The study was carried out on the experimental field of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution of the Russian Research Institute of Sorghum and Corn Rossorgo, which is located in the suburban microzone of the Saratov region and is geographically located in the southern part of the chernozem zone of the Lower Volga region. The climate of the region is sharply continental and dry. The soil of the experimental field is southern chernozem. The results obtained were confirmed by the analysis of variance of a two-factor experiment on the study of six gradations of factor A (seeding rate from 1.25 to 7.50 million pcs./ha) and three gradations of factor B (seeding method with row spacing 70, 30 and 15 cm), according to the data of which revealed significant differences in the influence of the seeding rate on the yield of plague seeds. On average, over four years of study (2013-2016), the highest yield in the experiment was obtained at a seeding rate of 1.25 million pcs./ha with a wide-row sowing method with a row spacing of 70 cm - 2.13 t/ha, when sowing the same the norm with a decrease in the width of the row spacing to 30 cm, the yield decreased by 22.6 %. In the most favorable year in terms of moisture in 2013 (GTC = 1.7), the maximum yield in the experiment was obtained at a seeding rate of 2.50 million pcs./ha and amounted to 3.81 t /ha. The tendency of decrease in the yield of plague seeds with an increase in the seeding rate has been established. The lowest yield in the experiment was obtained with an ordinary sowing method (15 cm) and a seeding rate of 7.50 million pcs./ha - 0.36 t/ha. The main share in the manifestation of the trait over the three years of study was made by factor A (seeding rate) and amounted to 77.6-80.7% of the total sum of squares, and in 2016 the share of the influence of this factor was 29.5 % only. Factor B (sowing method) in 2013-2015 accounts for from 8.0 % to 13.8 %, and in 2016 the share of the studied factor increased upto 62.1 %. The proportional participation of the interaction of AB factors varied insignificantly over the years of the study.