A response of cereal mixtures to selected agronomic factors on farms located in Sokolow Podlaski and Wysokie Mazowieckie districts

Abstract

A questionnaire survey on the cultivation technology of spring cereal mixtures was carried out on 108 farms situated in Sokolow Podlaski and Wysokie Mazowieckie districts. The survey was conducted randomly on farms with at least 10 hectares of arable land and 2 hectares of cereal mixture. The aim of the study was to identify the cultivation technology of spring cereal mixtures and to demonstrate the effect of selected agrotechnical factors on their yield. In the studied area mixtures of three species are mostly grown, namely cereal mixtures with oats, barley, and wheat. The cereal mixtures comprising 40% of oats, 40 % of barley and 20% of wheat and those with an equal share of all the components (33% + 33% + 33%) had higher yields than the other mixtures. In Sokolow Podlaski district mineral fertilization of N, P, K, and total NPK as well as the percentage share in the cropland structure had the strongest influence on the cereal mixture yield whereas in Wysokie Mazowieckie district it was nitrogen fertilization that had the biggest influence on their yield. The quality of the soil and cattle stock did not have any clear effect on the percentage share of the cereal mixture in the cropland structure. The larger the farm’s agricultural acreage, the lower the percentage share of the cereal mixture.