Formation the productivity of castor plant depending on row spacing and standing density

Abstract

Selection of plant species, their varieties or hybrids and the formation of their productivity is an urgent need today due to the shortage of biofuel production at the world level. The purpose of the research was to reveal the influence of technological measures (row spacing and density of plant standing) on the formation of elements of the crop structure of castor varieties. Research was conducted during 2020-2021in field conditions to study the influence of plant stand density and row width on the elements of the structure of the castor crop of Khortytska 3 and Olesia varieties in the educational and scientific laboratory "Demonstration Field of Agricultural Crops" of NUBiP of Ukraine. Following methods were used: theoretical (statistical processing) and practical (descriptive, comparative). The following indicators were evaluated: weight of 1000 seeds, number of fruits per plant, weight of seeds per plant. Results. Seed yield of castor variety Khortytska 3 was 1.27–1.46 t/ha with a maximum at a stand density of 50,000 plants/ha and a row width of 70 cm. Seed yield of castor cultivar Khortyts’ka 3 was 1.27–1.46 t/ha with a maximum at the option of standing density 50,000 plants/ha and a row space at 70 cm. Seed yield of cultivar Olesya was 1.34–1.42 t/ha with the selection of the two most productive options: first is row space 45 cm and 37.5 thousand plants/ha; alternative is row space 70 cm and standing density of 50 thousand plants/ha. Seed productivity of one plant can increase almost twice when the standing density is reduced from 50 to 25 thousand plants/ha, with the simultaneous formation of larger seeds. Thousand seeds weight of cultivar Khortyts’ka 3 ranged from 268 to 283 g and it was 294–316 g in cultivar Olesya, It was established that the correlation between seed yield and elements of yield structure is negative or absent at all, and positive with stand density. Research results indicate a high compensatory ability of castor cultivar Khortytska 3 and Olesya varieties in the formation of productivity elements under different stand densities and row widths in the conditions of the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine. This makes it possible to carry out further research on the influence of sowing parameters in a wider range and to use the obtained results for growing castor in atypical soil and climatic conditions