Еconomic efficiency of growing winter barley depending on sowing dates and seeding rates

Topicality. Nowadays, profitable agricultural production requires a comprehensive analysis of the feasibility of each agrotechnical technique of cultivation of field crops, including winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). In market conditions, the main criterion for choosing a technology for growing a particular crop is economic efficiency. Therefore, a competitive technology is the one that provides the highest profitability and profit. Purpose. Investigation of the influence of agrotechnical practices on the level of economic efficiency of growing winter barley. Methods. The field experiments were laid out and carried out in accordance with the generally accepted methodology of research. In the experiments, the winter barley of Deviatyi val variety was sown, followed by sunflower as a predecessor. Sowing was carried out in four dates: 20, 30 September and 10, 20 October with seeding rates of 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0 million germinable seeds/ha. Results. On average, over the years of research (2017–2019), the best economic output was obtained by sowing winter barley on 30 September. As a result, the highest grain yield was 5.28–5.52 t/ha with a profitability level of 71.6–82.6 %. Sowing on 20 October in all variants of the experiment resulted in the lowest cost recovery when growing winter barley on a non-fallow predecessor, and the profitability level ranged from 16.1–21.7 % depending on the seeding rate. Sowing on 30 September resulted in the highest profit of 9321–10562 UAH/ha, which is 7375–7958 UAH/ha more compared to the variants with sowing dates at the end of the second ten days of October. Conclusions. We found that the economic indicators during the years of research were influenced by the grain yield of winter barley depending on the technological practices of its cultivation in the Northern Steppe of Ukraine. The research aimed at determining the economic efficiency of growing winter barley after sunflower, depending on the sowing dates and sowing rates, found that the variant with sowing on 30 September, where the highest grain yield was obtained, was more profitable. The sowing date with a seeding rate of 5.0 million seeds/ha provided the highest profitability (82.6 %), and the net income reached 10562 UAH/ha. Key words: winter barley, sowing dates, seeding rates, yield, economic efficiency