INFLUENCE OF SOME AGROTECHNICAL FACTORS ON THE PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF WINTER COMMON WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.) IN THE VARNA REGION

Abstract

For three years (2021-2023) winter common wheat was grown at the educational and experimental field of the Department of Plant Production at the Technical University – Varna. The experiment was carried out by the split plot method with the size of the experimental area of 10 m2 in two replicates with a seeding rate of 600 germinating seeds/m2. Three levels of nutrition were included in the study: variants without fertilization (To), variants with soil and foliar fertilization (Tls) and variants with only soil fertilization (Ts). Soil fertilization was carried out with ammonium nitrate, and foliar feeding was carried out twice during the spring vegetation of wheat in the booting and heading phases. Grain yield (Yields), weight per 1000 grains (TGW) and some structural elements of yield were determined. Some quality indicators were also studied: moisture, protein, starch and ash content. Under the conditions of a short-term monoculture (for a period of three years), the independent effect of the conditions of the year is most strongly expressed on the formation of the grain yield, and the applied fertilization has the greatest influence on the protein content of the wheat grain. The combination of weather conditions in the first two years of the study was more favorable and wheat formed a higher productivity. The lower amounts of precipitation, their uneven distribution and higher temperatures during the growing season of the third studied year led to a decrease in the formed yield of grain. The combined application of soil fertilization and foliar feeding during the spring vegetation is most favorable for the formation of maximum productivity and high protein content in wheat.