The efficiency of the herbicide ‘Ballerina’ on grain sorghum

Abstract

The current paper has presented the study results of the effect of different dosages of the herbicide ‘Ballerina SE’ on the weediness of sorghum sowing, as well as the economic efficiency of the application. The purpose of the study was to estimate the efficiency of the use of the herbicide ‘Ballerina’ on grain sorghum and its effect on the weediness of the sowing and the amount of productivity. The field trials were carried out in 2017–2019 in the laboratory for cultivation technology of row crops of the FSBSI Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” (Zernograd). The experimental plot is located in the southern agricultural zone of the Rostov region (with insufficient and unstable moisture). The soil of the experimental plot was ordinary heavy loamy blackearth (chernozem) on forestry loams, with 3.2% of humus, 18.5–20.0 mg of P₂O₅ and 342–360 mg of K₂O per kg of soil. The hydrothermal coefficient during the years of study ranged from 0.32 to 0.89, which characterized the insufficient moisture supply of the growing season. There was presented the information on the varietal composition of grain sorghum in the southern zone of the Rostov region. The applied dosages of the herbicide had a significant effect on the reduction of the weediness of grain sorghum after their application (the decrease ranged from 78.3 to 96.7%). The greatest decrease in weediness was noted for dicotyledonous weeds. When using 0.5–l of the herbicide ‘Ballerina SE’ per ha, there was obtained the highest conditional net income of 22,230 rubles/ha, with the lowest production cost of 4,329 rubles/ha and the highest profitability level of 163%.