THE METEOROLOGICAL FACTORS’ PART IN WINTER DURUM WHEAT PRODUCTIVITY FORMATION

Abstract

In the regions of insufficient and unstable moisture, hydrothermal conditions are the main natural factors that determine the level of crop productivity. The purpose of our study was to identify the role of the main meteorological factors in the formation of winter durum wheat productivity at different periods of its growth and development. The study was carried out in the southern part of the Rostov region in the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” in 2003–2014. The objects of the study were winter durum wheat varieties and breeding lines of competitive variety testing, sown in black fallow, in four replications, with a plot area of 25 m². The current paper presents the analysis results of the average daily temperature, precipitation, hydrothermal index (HTI) by the periods of winter durum wheat growth and development through the years of study, average varietal productivity for each year. It has been established that the characteristic features of the studied years are a temperature rise, especially in the pre-sowing and sowing periods, during the wintering period and the resumption of spring vegetation, and irregular precipitation, their shift in the fall from November to October, in the winter from February to January, in the spring from April to March, and its decrease or absence during the active growing season. The conducted correlation analysis between main meteorological factors and productivity showed a decisive role of the temperature regime in winter durum wheat productivity formation. It turned out to be less significant in relation to precipitation. This indicates that winter durum wheat productivity does not depend on the total amount of precipitation, but on its distribution, moisture presence in soil, and temperature. According to the analysis of the main meteorological factors, their connection with productivity, there have been identified positive and negative points in the ontogenesis of winter durum wheat associated with climate change, which must be taken into account in breeding and growing technology. There have been determined the main objectives for winter durum wheat breeding, aimed at improving such adaptive properties as drought resistance, heat resistance, especially at the initial stages of growth and development, winter tolerance, disease and pest resistance occurred due to climate change (septorisis, pyrenophorosis, bacteriosis and fusarium of heads and kernels).