Assessment of adaptability and yield formation in wheat winter under different nitrogen levels in the North-Eastern Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

Berdin Sergii*, Skliar Yurii, Radchenko Mykola, Rozhko Valentina, Karpenko Olena, Hotvianska Anna, Tsyliuryk Оlexander, Tishchenko Volodymyr and Zoia Hlupak

The aim of the research was to conduct a comparative evaluation of winter wheat varieties regarding their ability to consistently realize yield potential depending on the level of mineral nutrition and the mechanisms of formation of the main yield components. It was established that winter wheat yield was most closely related to productive tillering density and grain weight per spike, whereas the effect of thousand kernel weight was variety-specific. A two-factor regression model including productive tillering and grain weight per spike demonstrated high explanatory power (R²=0.98-0.99) for all studied varieties. However, the magnitude of residual variance differed significantly, indicating different yield formation mechanisms. The obtained results justify the feasibility of a differentiated approach to mineral fertilization of winter wheat considering varietal peculiarities of yield formation.