Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Specialty 201 – Agronomy. National Scientific Center “Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine”, Chabany, 2026.
The dissertation is devoted to the scientific substantiation of the formation of productivity of common millet (Panicum milaceum L.), cultivar Zapovitne, under the conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine through the optimization of plant nutrition and the enhancement of growth and development processes. The effectiveness of combining mineral fertilization, foliar application of organomineral fertilizers during critical growth stages, and pre-sowing seed treatment with a complex bacterial preparation was investigated.
The research results revealed the patterns of millet plant growth and development, the duration of interphase periods and the growing season depending on weather conditions and the technological factors studied. The peculiarities of the formation and functioning of the photosynthetic apparatus, grain yield and quality, as well as the economic and bioenergetic efficiency of the proposed technological elements, were determined.
Chapter 1 summarizes literature data on the importance of millet, the dynamics of its sown areas, its botanical and morphological characteristics, and modern cultivation technologies. The role of mineral fertilizers and biological preparations is highlighted, and the need to improve millet cultivation technology is substantiated.
Chapter 2 presents the characteristics of the soil and climatic conditions of the research site, analyzes the hydrothermal indicators during the growing seasons, and describes the experimental designs, research objects, and methods.
Chapter 3 presents the results on field seed germination, plant survival, the duration of interphase periods, plant height, and aboveground biomass. A direct relationship was established between the duration of the sowing–emergence period and the average daily air temperature (r = 0.965) and the sum of active temperatures above 10 °C (r = 0.974), while an inverse relationship was found with precipitation (r = −0.803). The duration of the growing season was closely correlated with the average daily air temperature (r = −0.991), precipitation (r = −0.761), and the sum of active temperatures (r = −0.674). The greatest plant height, 133.3 cm, and aboveground biomass, 36.8 g per plant, were obtained with the application of N60P60K60 in combination with Master Agro.
Chapter 4 presents the results of studying the dynamics of leaf area formation, crop photosynthetic potential, net photosynthetic productivity, and dry matter accumulation. Under the treatment involving N45P60K60+N15, pre-sowing seed treatment with Azogran, and foliar application of Braman Multicomplex at the tillering stage, the leaf area index reached 7.60 m²/m². The maximum photosynthetic potential, 1.59 million m²·day/ha, was recorded during the grain filling–ripening period with the application of N60P60K60, seed treatment with Azogran, and foliar application of Braman Multicomplex at the panicle emergence stage. The highest net photosynthetic productivity, 9.2 g/m² per day, was observed with the application of N45P60K60+N15, seed treatment with Azogran, and foliar feeding at the tillering stage.
Chapter 5 establishes the effects of the studied factors on yield components, grain yield, and grain quality. The maximum yield, 5.08 t/ha compared with 3.37 t/ha in the absolute control, was obtained with the application of N45P60K60+N15, pre-sowing seed treatment with Azogran, and foliar feeding with Braman Multicomplex at the tillering stage. Under this treatment, panicle length was 29.8 cm, panicle weight was 6.66 g, the number of first-order branches was 16.2, the number of second-order branches was 89.1, the number of grains per panicle was 624, and grain weight per panicle was 6.01 g. In the control, these indicators were 26.0 cm, 4.92 g, 13.1 and 64.7 branches, 410 grains, and 3.28 g, respectively.
Chapter 6 presents the results of the photometric diagnosis of plant supply with 14 nutrients during critical growth stages. It was established that balanced nutrition at the panicle emergence stage was of the greatest importance. The most effective system involved split nitrogen application: N45 as basal fertilization and N15 as top-dressing at the stem elongation stage against a background of P60K60. The application of Braman Multicomplex contributed to balancing the macro- and micronutrient nutrition of plants.
