The impact of primary tillage and soil herbicides on sunflower productivity in the right-bank forest-steppe zone of Ukraine

Sunflower is one of Ukraine’s most important oil crops, which is of great economic importance due to the export of sunflower oil. The growth in sunflower sowing areas is due to high profitability and market demand. At the same time, sunflower cultivation technology is complex, and production efficiency depends on many factors, including primary tillage and herbicide protection systems. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of different options for primary soil cultivation and herbicide protection on the yield and quality of sunflower seeds in the conditions of the right-bank forest-steppe of Ukraine. The research was conducted in 2022-2024 on typical low-humus chernozem at the private enterprise “Shans” (Cherkasy region). Ploughing and non-ploughing soil cultivation were used, as well as various herbicide protection options, including manual weeding. The main indicators were yield, basket diameter, weight of 1,000 seeds and seed quality. It was found that the use of effective herbicide schemes and mouldboard tillage significantly increased sunflower yield (up to 4.1 t/ha) compared to the control. Weeds significantly reduced crop yield (by 0.4-1.1 t/ha), reducing yield parameters and seed quality. Manual weeding provided a high level of control, but was labor-intensive and economically inefficient. The best results were obtained with the use of Primextra TZ Gold (4.5 l/ha) and Challenge (5.0 l/ha) herbicides in combination with mouldboard tillage. It was found that combining mouldboard tillage with an optimally selected herbicide protection scheme resulted in better indicators of basket diameter, seed weight per basket, and weight of 1,000 seeds. The results demonstrated the importance of integrating soil cultivation and chemical protection techniques to increase sunflower crop productivity. The results of the study can be used to optimise sunflower cultivation technologies in the region and increase production efficiency