GARDEN PEA YIELD DEPENDS ON SOWING TIME AND APPLICATION OF WATER-RETAINING GRANULES IN THE RIGHT-BANK FOREST-STEPPE

Abstract. The article describes a study of effects of different timeframes of garden pea sowing by standard technology and with water-retaining granules. It was proven that sowing within the second 10 days of March ensured the best conditions for garden pea yield. Water-retaining granules optimized the moisture profile to a greater extent and allowed harvesting a higher yield. Purpose. To evaluate garden pea yield depending on sowing timeframes and application of water-retaining granules in the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe. Methods. The experiments were carried out in the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe in 2020–2022. In the experiments, field, statistical, and laboratory methods were used. The following timeframes of sowing were studied: the second ten days of March, the third ten days of March, the first ten days of April, and the second ten days of April. Results. It was shown that the sowing within the second ten days of March created the best conditions for the growth, development, and yielding capacity of pea plants. Application of water-retaining granules combined with the 'second ten days of March' sowing ensured a yield of 8.1 t/ha. Conclusions. When pea was sown within the second ten days of March, the number of leaves per plant and plant height increased, in particular by 2.0 leaves/plant and 7.6 cm, respectively, during the grain filling phase. In the experiment with water-retaining granules, the 'second ten days of March' sowing raised these parameters by 2.2 leaves/plant and 7.8 cm, respectively. The 'second ten days of March' sowing by standard technology extended the growing period by 3 days in comparison with the control; the 'second ten days of March' sowing combined with application of water-retaining granules extended it by 4 days. Early (the second ten days of March) garden pea sowing increased the yield by 1.1 t/ha and 1.3 t/ha without and with granules, respectively.