Agriculture and forestry

Palamarchuk Inna Ivanivna – Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Crop Production and Horticulture, Vinnytsia National Agrarian University (21008, Vinnytsia, Soniachna Str.3, e-mail: pal_inna@vsau.vin.ua).

Manzhos Maksym Mykhailovych – postgraduate student of Vinnytsia National Agrarian University (21008, Vinnytsia, Soniachna Str. 3, е-mail: metal19981230@gmail.com).

The current state of sugar corn production in the conditions of Ukraine was studied, and a comparative description of sugar corn hybrids was also made. A comparative assessment of the yield of sugar corn hybrids in different soil and climatic zones of Ukraine was carried out. An analysis of weather conditions depending on the growing zone was made. Average long-term meteorological data indicate significant differences in climatic conditions in the three main zones of Ukraine – Forest Steppe, Steppe and Polissia. In terms of temperature, the warmest is the steppe zone, where the average annual temperature is +11.9 °C, while in the Forest Steppe this indicator is +10.1 °C, and in Polissia – is only +8.7 °C. The highest values of average monthly temperature are recorded in July (24.6 °C in Steppe, 22.9 °C in Forest Steppe and 21.1 °C in Polissia), and the lowest – in January (from –2.6 °C in Steppe to – 4.9 °C in Polissia). As for the provision of precipitation, the wettest region is Polissia with an annual amount of 691.0 mm. In the Forest Steppe, this figure is 587.7 mm, while in the Steppe it is only 380.2 mm. The most precipitation occurs in the summer months (June – July), and the least – in the winter period, especially in the steppe zone (18.6 mm in January – lutom). Thus, the Steppe is characterized by the highest average annual temperatures, but also by the lowest level of moisture, which creates conditions for risky agriculture. Polissia is distinguished by a cool and humid climate, and the forest-steppe occupies an intermediate position. According to the statistics of sweet corn production in Ukraine, since 2021 there has been a tendency to decrease the area of crops. In 2024, they decreased by 1,721.9 thousand hectares, which is due primarily to the war events in the country. Gross collection directly depended on areas and yields: the highest figure was recorded in 2021 – 42109.8 thousand tons, which exceeded the level of the following years by 11079.4–17949.3 thousand tons. The highest average crop yield was in 2023 – 7.81 t/ha, which is 0.14–1.46 t/ha more than in 2021, 2022 and 2024. The productivity of sweet corn hybrids also varied significantly depending on the climate zone. In the Steppe, the Jubili F1 hybrid (12.5–13.8 t/ha) provided the largest harvest, which is 2.8–3.8 t/ha more than in Polissia. Similar dynamics were demonstrated by the hybrid Spirit F1 – in the Steppe, it gave 12.0–13.5 t/ha, which is 3.0–3.5 t/ha higher than in Polissia. In the Forest Steppe, their yield was stable at 10.5–11.5 t/ha in Spirit F1 and 11.0–12.0 t/ha in Jubilee F1, only 1.0–1.5 t/ha below the Steppe. The Delicia F1 hybrid in the Steppe provided 11.5–12.5 t/ha, which exceeded Polissia's performance by 2.7–3.5 t/ha; in the Forest Steppe, its yield was 10.0–11.2 t/ha, that is, 1.3–1.5 t/ha lower than in the Steppe. The Lacomque F1 hybrid formed 10.8–12.0 t/ha in the Steppe, 9.5–10.8 t/ha in the Forest Steppe and 8.0–8.5 t/ha in Polissia. The F1 Trophy had a similar picture: in Steppe – 11.0–12.2 t/ha, in Forest Steppe – 9.8–10.5 t/ha, in Polissia – 8.2–9.0 t/ha. The hybrid Early Gold F1 showed the lowest results: 10.0–11.5 t/ha in Steppe, 9.0–10.0 t/ha in Forest Steppe and only 7.5–8.0 t/ha in Polissia. On average, the yield of hybrids in the Steppe exceeded that of Polissia by 2.5–3.5 t/ha. The forest-steppe occupied an intermediate position with a lag behind the Steppe of only 1.0–1.5 t/ha, which once again confirms its transitional nature between the warm and arid Steppe and the cool and wet Polissia.

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