Effect of lime fertilizer on reducing the larvae harmfulness of the beetles of the Elateridae family and sunflower productivity

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.