Weather Factors and Their Influence on the Adaptive Properties of Winter Wheat Varieties in the Western Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

The yield potential of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is formed in changing weather conditions and depends on the proposed agro-technological measures, to which the response of a particular variety is different. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of weather factors on the field germination of soft winter wheat seeds, the growth and development of plants in the autumn and wintering in the zone of the Western Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, by sowing high-quality basic seed, careful soil preparation and the presence of optimum environmental factors. A sufficient level of productive soil moisture, which protects young shoots from possible deficiency after germination and is a long-term source of moisture at the next stages of organogenesis, has a great influence on obtaining friendly and timely shoots. Often overwintering conditions, when plants suffer from low negative temperatures at the beginning and at the end of the winter period, ground ice crust, resumption of vegetation in winter are the causes of freezing, loss, and ultimately a decrease in yield and seed quality. It has been confirmed that an increase in the temperature regime in 244-247°C in the autumn-winter period and the optimal amount of precipitation contribute to sufficient (31.6-34.6 mm) productive soil moisture (0-20 cm), which positively influences the process of germination of soft winter wheat, provides a high percentage of field germination of seeds of varieties (93.8-94.5%), lengthens the autumn development of plants by 3-12 days, which causes 3.5-5.7% higher accumulation of sugar content in the tillering nodes and a high percentage of overwintering (up to 95.5-96.4%). Varieties of the forest-steppe ecological type of soft winter wheat have insignificant phenotypic variability of adaptive traits, therefore, in the production of grain and seed products, it is recommended to give preference to the plant varieties listed in the Register, suitable for distribution in Ukraine for the Forest-Steppe zone, Polissya. The recommendations set out in this scientific work will help agricultural producers of the studied soil and climatic zone to carry out an effective, more ecologically plastic, highly productive variety replacement

Keywords

• air temperature
• precipitation
• soft winter wheat
• field germination of seeds
• autumn development of plants
• overwintering