Current trends in the cultivation of leguminous fodder crops in the south of Ukraine under the conditions of climate change

Abstract

Goal. To study the possibility of improving the biological fertility of chestnut soils in the South of Ukraine due to the use of white annual clover. Methods. Field — to observe the growth and development of plants, weather and climate conditions of the environment and other factors under research; visual — to detect phenological changes in agricultural plants; measuring and weighing — to determine the biometric parameters of plant growth and development; laboratory — to determine the content of trace elements in the soil and grain quality; mathematical and statistical — for conducting dispersion analysis and statistical processing of data to assess the reliability of the results obtained; calculation and comparison — to determine the economic and energy efficiency of the elements of crop cultivation technology in crop rotation. Results. The research conducted in 2020–2022 established that the cultivation of annual white clover on alcalinized lands contributed to positive changes in the agrochemical composition of elements and desalination, as indicated by the amount of absorbed Ca+2 from the sum of cations in all variants of the experiment. The optimal conditions for the growth and development of leguminous crops were under irrigation (factor A), when the average seed yield was 0.47 t/ha (SSD05A — 0.12 t/ha). According to factor B (sowing rate), the highest yield — 0.42 t/ha — was obtained at the seeding rate of 1.5 million pcs/ha (SSD05B — 0.07 t/ha). The maximum average rate of seed productivity — 0.50 t/ha — was established for irrigation and the use of the seed rate of 1.5 million pcs/ha. Conclusions. The use of white annual clover in crop rotation contributes to the improvement of the environmental improvement and phytosanitary condition of chestnut soils by using water with increased mineralization for irrigation. To obtain the maximum yield of crop seeds in the conditions of Southern Ukraine, it is necessary to sow them at the rate of 1.5 million seeds per hectare and use irrigation.