AGROTECHNOLOGICAL MEASURES FOR IMPROVING THE ECONOMIC AND BIOENERGETIC EFFICIENCY OF CULTIVATING SUNFLOWER HYBRIDS OF DIFFERENT MATURITY GROUPS UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF THE NORTHERN STEPPE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

Under current agricultural production conditions, sunflower remains the leading oilseed crop in Ukraine, and improving the efficiency of its cultivation in the Northern Steppe zone is becoming especially relevant due to increasing abiotic stresses, considerable variability of weather conditions, and rising costs of material and technical resources. Under such conditions, it is important not only to obtain high seed yields, but also to ensure the economic feasibility and bioenergetic justification of individual technological measures. One of the promising ways to optimize the cultivation technology is the foliar application of growth stimulants; however, their effectiveness depends on the genotypic characteristics of hybrids and yearly growing conditions, which requires a differentiated assessment. The aim of the study was to determine the peculiarities of the formation of economic and bioenergetic efficiency in the cultivation of sunflower hybrids of different maturity groups depending on the application of growth stimulants under the conditions of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine. The analysis was carried out in 2023–2025 on the basis of field experiment results involving sunflower hybrids of different maturity groups (factor A): BELVEDERE, SUOMI, ES ELENIS, ALCANTARA, NK KONDI, and SY AMAZONE. The agrotechnological treatments were based on studying the effectiveness of foliar treatment of sunflower plants (factor B): untreated control, Vympel 2 (0.5 L/ha), Avanhard Grow Amino (1.5 L/ha), and Avanhard Grow Humate (1.0 L/ha). Economic efficiency was determined by gross production value, production costs, conditionally net profit, and profitability level, while bioenergetic efficiency was assessed by total energy input, gross energy output, energy intensity per 1 t of seeds, and the energy efficiency coefficient. It was established that the application of growth stimulants in all studied hybrids ensured an increase in yield and, consequently, improved economic and bioenergetic indicators compared with the control. The highest economic efficiency was recorded with the use of Avanhard Grow Humate, where conditionally net profit amounted to 59.5–70.3 thousand UAH/ha, and profitability increased to 251.0–296.7% depending on the hybrid. The maximum values were obtained for the medium-early hybrid ALCANTARA, where profit reached 70.3 thousand UAH/ha and profitability 296.7%. Bioenergetic analysis showed that, with only a slight increase in total energy input to 18.20–18.24 GJ/ha, the use of stimulants significantly increased gross energy output in seeds, reduced the energy intensity per unit of production, and raised the energy efficiency coefficient to 3.55–4.38. The best bioenergetic efficiency indicators were also provided by Avanhard Grow Humate, especially in the hybrids ALCANTARA, ES ELENIS, and NK KONDI. Prospects for further research and practical implementation lie in improving the differentiated use of growth stimulants in sunflower crops in order to increase the profitability of seed production and the energy efficiency of the technology.