THE IMPACT OF SOWING TIME AND SEED RATE ON WINTER WHEAT YIELD STRUCTURE COMPONENTS AND YIELD

Abstract

In 2023–2024, a field experiment was conducted at the Vytautas Magnus University Agricultural Academy Research Station. The study focused on the winter wheat variety ‘Skagen‘, which was sown at different times using two seed rates—2 and 5 million seeds per hectare. The objective of this research was to determine the impact of sowing time and seed rate on the yield structure elements and productivity of winter wheat. The findings indicated that different sowing times and seed rates significantly influenced the crop density of winter wheat at various growth stages. It was observed that delaying the sowing with a seed rate of 5 million seeds per hectare resulted in an increased crop density in the spring. The maximum number of productive stems (662 stems m^-2) was recorded in the winter wheat plots sown on September 28, compared to the earliest sowing date. The highest 1000-grain weight was found in the early sowing plots (September 7) - 44,46 g. Delaying the sowing from September 7 to September 28 significantly increased grain yield in plots with a seed rate of 5 million seeds per hectare. The later sowing date (September 21) resulted in the highest yield, reaching 9.26 t ha^-1. Conversely, the significantly lowest yield (7.58 t ha^-1) was recorded in plots sown at the optimal sowing time (September 14) with a seed rate of 2 million seeds per hectare.