Features of soybean cultivation under the soil and climatic conditions of Western Polissia, Ukraine

Oleksii Polishchuk*

oleksii.polishchuk.mail@gmail.com

Received: 14.05.2026 Revised: 02.09.2026 Accepted: 23.09.2026 Published: 02.10.2026
Retrieved from Vol. 29, No. 3, 2026 Pages: 9-19
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Abstract

The relevance of this study lies in identifying the optimal soybean maturity group for cultivation in Western Polissia under the current thermal conditions of the growing season. The study aimed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the feasibility of soybean cultivation on sod-podzolic and peat soils in Western Polissia. To achieve this aim, a series of field experiments was conducted to examine interactions between the study object and biotic and abiotic factors. Laboratory and mathematical-statistical methods were also applied, including analysis of variance and statistical data processing, to assess the reliability of the research findings. Limited thermal resources were found to be the main constraint on soybean cultivation in Western Polissia. An analysis of current hydrothermal resources, based on data from the meteorological station of the Sarny Research Station, showed that the thermal resources of sod-podzolic soils in Western Polissia were sufficient to produce physiologically mature seed of ultra-early and early-maturing soybean varieties with a growing season of up to 100 days. On peat soils, however, only ultra early varieties with a growing season of up to 85 days can reach physiological maturity. Under favourable conditions on sod-podzolic light loamy soils of Western Polissia, the yields of the ultra-early soybean variety Yunka and the early-maturing variety Astor, bred by Sevita Genetics (Canada), reached 3.67 and 4.36 t/ha, respectively. The application of the microbial inoculant Rizofix in combination with the phosphatemobilising preparation Rice Pi increased soybean yield by up to 0.67 t/ha. The results also showed that soybean yields on peat soils were unstable and did not exceed 2.64 t/ha, which was associated with a less favourable hydrothermal regime than that of the adjacent sod-podzolic soils. The practical significance of the findings lies in determining the optimal soybean maturity group for cultivation on sod-podzolic and peat soils in Western Polissia, thereby enabling the production of physiologically mature seed under current hydrothermal conditions

Keywords

drained land; sod-podzolic soils; peat soils; hydrothermal conditions; fertilisation system; inoculant; phosphate-mobilising preparation

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Polishchuk, O. (2026). Features of soybean cultivation under the soil and climatic conditions of Western Polissia, Ukraine. Scientific Horizons, 29(3), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.48077/scihor3.2026.09