Influence of agrotechnological factors on the rate of development and progression of phenological phases in maize (Zea mays L.)

Ihor Bezvershuck
Received: 24.05.2025 Revised: 02.11.2025 Accepted: 26.11.2025
Retrieved from Vol. 28, No. 12, 2025 Pages: 18-30
Download article Read article

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of soil tillage system, plant density, and herbicide background on the rate of maize phenological development under the continental climatic conditions of the Polissia region of Ukraine. The experiment was conducted during 2023-2025 and included three tillage systems (deep plowing, disking, and rotary tillage), two levels of plant density (1.1 and 1.3 seed units ha-1), and two herbicide backgrounds (with and without herbicides) arranged in a three-factor design with three replications. Phenological phases (from SeedGerm to FullRip) were recorded based on the calendar dates of their occurrence. Statistical analyses were performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression modelling, and comparison of adjusted means. The results revealed that soil tillage was the dominant factor determining the rate of maize development. Minimal and shallow tillage accelerated the progression of phenological phases by 2-5 days compared with deep plowing. The herbicide background had a critical effect on the middle and late development phases: the absence of herbicides increased the duration of the ThrowPanic-FullRip interval by 6-10 days due to enhanced weed competition. The interaction F1×F3 was statistically significant in most phases and determined the overall developmental rate. Plant density had a secondary effect, expressed only through its interaction with the herbicide background. The fastest development was observed in the S3H1A2 combination (rotary tillage, herbicides, increased density), whereas the slowest was recorded in S1H2A2 (deep plowing, no herbicides, increased density). The study concluded that optimising the soil tillage system in combination with effective weed control is crucial for accelerating maize development and ensuring stable productivity in the Polissia region. Minimal tillage combined with herbicide protection can be recommended as the most effective strategy for improving growth rates, shortening the vegetation period, and enhancing the agrobiological resilience of maize under regional conditions

Keywords

phenological development; soil tillage system; herbicide background; weed competition; plant density

  1. Bezvershuck, I., & Fedoniuk, T. (2025). Sustainable weeds management in maize cultivation: Evaluating agroecological practices and tillage systems. Scientific Horizons, 28(7), 22-33. doi: 10.48077/scihor7.2025.22.
  2. Cagnola, J.I., Rotili, D.H., Otegui, M.E., & Casal, J.J. (2025). 50 years of breeding to improve yield: How maize stands up to climate change. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 380(1927), article number 20240250. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2024.0250.
  3. Cao, Z.Y., Chen, Z.H., Tang, B., Zeng, Q., Guo, H.L., Huang, W.H., Luo, Y., Shen, S., & Zhou, S.L. (2024). The effects of sowing date on maize: Phenology, morphology, and yield formation in a hot subtropical monsoon region. Field Crops Research, 309, article number 109309. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109309.
  4. Convention on Biological Diversity. (1992, June). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/ show/995_030#Text.
  5. Dixit, M., Ghoshal, D., Kumar, S., & Dutta, D. (2024). Enhancing agriculture through strategic tillage and soil management: Unleashing potential for sustainable farming. In Strategic tillage and soil management – new perspectives. IntechOpen. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.113038.
  6. Dong, B., Wang, Z., Evers, J.B., Stomph, T.J., van der Putten, P.E., Yin, X., Wang, J.L., Sprangers, T., Hang, X., & van der Werf, W. (2024). Competition for light and nitrogen with an earlier-sown species negatively affects leaf traits and leaf photosynthetic capacity of maize in relay intercropping. European Journal of Agronomy, 155, article number 127119. doi: 10.1016/j.eja.2024.127119.
  7. DSTU 4289:2004. (2005). Soil quality. Methods for determining organic matter. Retrieved from https://online. budstandart.com/ua/catalog/doc-page.html?id_doc=56400.
  8. DSTU 4730:2007. (2008). Soil quality. Determination of particle size distribution using the pipette method modified by N.A. Kachinsky. Retrieved from https://online.budstandart.com/ua/catalog/doc-page?id_doc=95597.
  9. DSTU ISO 11272-2001. (2002). Soil quality. Determination of dry mass density (ISO 11272:1998, IDT). Retrieved from https://online.budstandart.com/ua/catalog/doc-page?id_doc=58941.
  10. Fedoniuk, T., Zhuravel, S., Kravchuk, M., Pazych, V., & Bezvershuck, I. (2024). Historical sketch and current state of weed diversity in continental zone of Ukraine. Agriculture and Natural Resources, 58(5), 631-642. doi: 10.34044/j.anres.2024.58.5.10.
  11. Fedoniuk, T.P., Pyvovar, P.V., Topolnytskyi, P.P., Rozhkov, O.O., Kravchuk, M.M., Skydan, O.V., Pazych, V.M., & Petruk, T.V. (2025b). Utilizing remote sensing data to ascertain weed infestation levels in maize fields. Agriculture, 15(7), article number 711. doi: 10.3390/agriculture15070711.
  12. Huang, S.S., Islam, M.U., & Jiang, F.H. (2023). The effect of deep-tillage depths on crop yield: A global metaanalysis. Plant, Soil and Environment, 69, 105-117. doi: 10.17221/373/2022-PSE.
  13. IUSS Working Group WRB. (2022). Retrieved from https://wrb.isric.org/.
  14. Jankowski, K.J., Sokólski, M., Szatkowski, A., & Załuski, D. (2024). The effects of tillage systems on the management of agronomic factors in winter oilseed rape cultivation: A case study in north-eastern Poland. Agronomy, 14(3), article number 437. doi: 10.3390/agronomy14030437.
  15. Kumar, S., et al. (2025). Dual-stage herbicide regimen for tackling weed menace in wheat under multiple crop establishment systems. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 9, article number 1624283. doi: 10.3389/ fsufs.2025.1624283.
  16. Mahajan, S., Thakur, P., Das, S., Sharma, R.P., Manuja, S., Jha, P.K., Saini, A., Sahoo, Ch., & Fayezizadeh, M.R. (2025). Impression of contemporary heat stress complexities in agricultural crops: A review. Plant Growth Regulation. doi: 10.1007/s10725-025-01382-8.
  17. Molina-Herrera, F.I., Jiménez-Islas, H., Sandoval-Hernández, M.A., Maldonado-Sierra, N.E., Domínguez Campos, C., Jarquín Enríquez, L., Mondragón Rojas, F.J., & Flores-Martínez, N.L. (2025). Modeling temperature and moisture dynamics in corn storage silos with and without aeration periods in three dimensions. ChemEngineering, 9(4), article number 89. doi: 10.3390/chemengineering9040089.
  18. Naruhn, G.P., Hartung, J., Schulz, V., Möller, K., & Gerhards, R. (2025). How equal space seeding in maize (Zea mays L.) influences weed competition, crop growth, and grain yield. Crop Science, 65(5), article number e70152. doi: 10.1002/csc2.70152.
  19. Nedeljković, D., Božić, D., Malidža, G., Rajković, M., Knežević, S.Z., & Vrbničanin, S. (2025). Influence of time of weed removal on maize yield and yield components based on different planting patterns, pre-emergence herbicides, and weather conditions. Plants, 14(3), article number 419. doi: 10.3390/plants14030419.
  20. Pradhan, S., Garnayak, L.M., Dash, R., Behera, R.D., Bharteey, P.K., Dandasena, S., Priyadarshini, S., Hazarika, N., Hussain, S., Borah, S.R., Rai, S., Pandey, S., & Gupta, R. (2025). Innovative conservation tillage and weed management techniques under rice-maize-cowpea system for higher productivity, resource use efficiency and healthy soil in coastal Odisha. Plant Science Today, 12(sp4), 01-10. doi: 10.14719/pst.9984.
  21. Savić, A., Popović, A., Đurović, S., Pisinov, B., Ugrinović, M., & Todorović, M.J. (2025). A framework for understanding crop-weed competition in agroecosystems. Agronomy, 15(10), article number 2366. doi: 10.3390/ agronomy15102366.
  22. Shevchenko, S., Derevenets-Shevchenko, K., Desyatnyk, L., Shevchenko, M., Sologub, I., & Shevchenko, O. (2024). Tillage effects on soil physical properties and maize phenology. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 81(1), 393-402. doi: 10.1080/00207233.2024.2320032.
  23. Shi, X., Li, C., Li, P., Zong, Y., Zhang, D., Gao, Z., Hao, X., Wang, J., & Lam, S.K. (2024). Deep plowing increases soil water storage and wheat yield in a semiarid region of the Loess Plateau in China: A simulation study. Field Crops Research, 308, article number 109299. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109299.
  24. Skydan, O.V., Dankevych, V.Y., Fedoniuk, T.P., Dankevych, Y.M., & Yaremova, M.I. (2022). European Green Deal: Experience of food safety for Ukraine. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 9(2), 63-71. doi: 10.21833/ijaas.2022.02.007.
  25. Vâtcă, S.D., et al. (2021). Agrometeorological requirements of maize crop phenology for sustainable cropping: A historical review for Romania. Sustainability, 13(14), article number 7719. doi: 10.3390/su13147719.
Bezvershuck, I. (2025). Influence of agrotechnological factors on the rate of development and progression of phenological phases in maize (Zea mays L.). Scientific Horizons, 28(12), 18-30. https://doi.org/10.48077/scihor12.2025.18