Improvement of technology elements for growing miscanthus under the conditions of the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine for the production of solid biofuel

Purpose. To improve the elements of growing technology for miscanthus under the conditions of the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine for the production of solid biofuel by identifying the characteristics of growth and development of plants and substantiating mineral fertilization.Methods. Field, analytical and statistical.Results. The article highlights the results of a study on the productivity of Miscanthus × giganteus rhizomes, as affected by weight, density of planting and doses of mineral fertilizers under the conditions of the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. It is established that the number of shoots increased with increasing fertilizer rate from 14.0 to 20.8 per plant. In this experiment, the following trend was observed: increasing the dose of fertilizer from N0P0K0 to N60P25K30 increased dry biomass yield, on the average, from 1.3 to 2.8 t/ha. Increasing the weight of rhizomes from 20 to 90 g has increased the dry biomass yield from 1.7 to 2.9 t/ha. Dry biomass yield also was increased along with the increasing planting density. These trends were kept in the second and third years of growth.Conclusions. Climate change (drought conditions) negatively affects the growth and development of plants, leading to reduced productivity of miscanthus plants. It was established that in the zone of unstable moistening of the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, the maximum energy yield (147.8 GJ/ha) was provided by planting 61 to 90 g miscanthus rhizomes at a density of 20,000 per hectare against the background of fertilizers N120P50K60.