Author:
Semerenko S A,Bushneva N A
Abstract
Abstract
The article presents the research results on the effect of lime mud (lime fertilizer from sugar beet waste during processing) in doses of 3.9 and 5.9 t/ha on the yield and infestation of sunflower sowings with the beetle larvae of the Elateridae family. We carried out the research in 2016-2018 at V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops (Krasnodar, Russia). We established that lime mud applied 30 days before crop planting resulted in a significant decrease of wireworm population from 15-21 to 6-10 specimens/m2. Recording of plant density at the stage of full sprouts showed considerable thinning of sowings due to pest damage; in the control variant, it reached up to 80 % whereas plant death under fertilizer application at the doses of 3.9 and 5.9 t/ha was 42 and 32 %, respectively. The application of lime mud at a dose of 3.9 t/ha resulted in the highest increase in yield - 0.58 t/ha. The oil content of sunflower seeds in the experiment was 48.9-52.1 % but we noted the decrease of this indicator in the variant with the lime mud at a dose of 3.9 t/ha. Oil acid value was at the same level in both variants (3.9 and 5.9 t/ha) of lime application and reached 1.5 mg KOH.