The formation of biometric indicators of common bicolor sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) in the conditions of the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

Cultivation of sorghum bicolor in different soil and climatic conditions, namely varieties of different groups of ripeness, is one of the main tasks that will form high productivity of the culture. The article presents the results of research on the formation of biometric indicators of common sorghum bicolor in the conditions of the Right Bank Forest Steppe The purpose of the research is to investigate the influence of soil and climatic conditions on the formation of biometric indicators of common bicolor sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) in the conditions of the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine. The research was conducted in 2020–2022 in conditions of unstable moisture in the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine. Cultivation of varieties of ordinary sorghum bicolor different in terms of maturity in conditions of unstable moisture in the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine showed that it is advisable to grow early- and medium-ripening varieties, in which the vegetation period was 108 and 116 days. In the late-ripening variety, the growing season was the longest and amounted to 123 days. It was established that field seed germination was lower than laboratory seed germination by 5.0–8.0 %. Correlation-regression analysis of the data showed a strong correlation between laboratory and field seed germination of the studied varieties, while the correlation coefficient was R=0.8734, the coefficient of determination, respectively, was R2=1. The plant height of the studied varieties was 102 cm in the Swat hybrid, 109 cm in the Smotrych variety, and 91 cm in the late Yaron variety. The stem diameter was between 1.50 and 1.65 cm. The studied varieties are capable of forming up to 2 panicles per a plant On average, in the Swat hybrid, tillering was 1.6 pcs./plant, in the Smotrych variety – 1.4 pcs./plant. And the lateripening Yaron variety was the least bushy – 1.2 pcs./plant. The area of the leaf surface during the harvesting period was the smallest and amounted to 4.21 thousand m2/ha in the early-ripening hybrid, 4.76 thousand m2/ha in the medium-ripening variety, and 4.16 thousand m2/ha in the late-ripening variety. According to the results of the correlation-regression analysis, a strong correlation was established between the area of the leaf surface and the height of the plants, while the correlation coefficient was R=0.838, the coefficient of determination, respectively, was R2=1. Key words: varieties, field germination, vegetation period, plant height, leaf surface area.