THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT SOIL TILLAGE METHODS AND THE USE OF BIOLOGICAL PREPARATIONS ON WINTER BARLEY YIELD AND GRAIN QUALITY

Abstract

The experiment was conducted in the years 2022–2023, in the Jurbarkas district, in the Veliuona eldership, in the village of Česnakynė, on the farm of farmer A. Ambručius. A two-factor field experiment was conducted to investigate how soil preparation and a biological preparation affect the productivity of winter barley. Factor A – tillage method: shallow plowing (up to 10 cm) and shallow plowing (up to 15 cm). Factor B – biological preparation for agricultural plants (Biomas Grow 0.1l ha^-1). The control crop was winter wheat. The soil plowing layer had a neutral to weakly alkaline reaction (pH – 7.4), medium humus content (2.41proc.), low phosphorus content (P₂O₅ – 59 mg kg^-1), and a high amount of available potassium (K₂O – 244 mg kg^-1). In autumn, one part of the field (1.5 ha) was plowed, while the other part (1.5 ha) was plowed using a disc plow. Winter barley was sown on September 5th. The seeding rate was 4.5 million seeds ha^-1. When vegetation resumed (BBCH 27), barley was fertilized with micronutrient mixtures. In part of the winter barley crop where shallow plowing was used for soil preparation before sowing and in part where plowing was used, the biological preparation Biomas Grow 0.1 l ha^-1 was added to the micronutrient mixture.

Winter barley sown in soil prepared by plowing showed significantly higher yield (5.2 t ha^-1) compared to barley sown in soil prepared by shallow plowing. The use of the biological preparation did not affect the yield in plowed soil, while in shallow plowed soil, the yield was significantly lower. Winter barley sown in soil prepared by plowing formed grains with significantly higher protein content (2.3 and 2.1proc. units) and 1000-grain weight (1.0 and 2.3 g) compared to barley grown in soil prepared by shallow plowing.