Expanded Reproduction of Chernozem Fertility in Biological Agriculture

The current stage of development of zonal farming systems in the Central Black Earth region involves the creation of balanced, highly productive, and sustainable agricultural landscapes, maximally adapted to the natural conditions of the region and ensuring the preservation and improvement of soil fertility. The solution to the problem of reproduction of soil fertility in traditional agriculture is associated with the use of a large number of energy-intensive resources and, first of all, irreplaceable ones. However, the level and direction of soil/biological processes are not sufficiently taken into account, whereas they to a certain extent ensure the reproduction of soil fertility. In this regard, the problem of the formation of the scientific foundations of the reproduction of soil fertility through the integrated use of methods of biologization of agriculture in the Central Black Earth Region and the activation on this basis of the soil/biological factor in the long-used chernozems acquires special importance. The purpose of the study is to review the changes in soil fertility indicators in conditions of biological agriculture. The paper presents the results of a study to determine changes in soil fertility indicators in typical chernozem of the Belgorod region (Russia) in a field experiment with various technologies of crop cultivation. The study demonstrates the regularities of the transformation of the fertility of chernozem. In terms of its fertilizing efficiency, compost in the applied norm turned out to be equivalent to a half dose of mineral fertilizers since both variants under consideration provided equivalent increases in the corn yield. The full dose of mineral fertilizers on the background of organic matter turned out to be excessive since its introduction did not contribute to a reliable increase in corn productivity.

Effect of growth stimulants on yield and quality of grain corn grown in Piedmont subprovince of Dagestan

Field experiments were carried out on chestnut soils of Piedmont Dagestan in 2018-2020. Hybrids of grain corn treated with different growth stimulants were the object of еру research. The experiments showed that the harvesting ripeness of hybrids ROSS 299 MV and Mashuk 355 MV occurred 2...5 days earlier after treatment with growth stimulants compared to the control. The growth stimulants used in the experiment did not have a significant effect on seed germination rate. Among the studied hybrids, the highest seed germination were observed in Mashuk 355 MV hybrid. The highest values of leaf area and net productivity of crops were in hybrid Mashuk 355 MB. Plants treated with growth regulators had higher leaf surface by 4.4% and 5.5%; 6.0 % and 8.4%, respectively. Approximately the same dynamics was recorded for photosynthesis net productivity and accumulation of dry matter. Mashuk 355 MV hybrid showed the best yield, which was 30.5; 31.5 and 32.5% higher respectively, compared to the standard. Productivity of corn hybrids treated with growth regulators increased significantly. The highest data were observed on plants treated with Megamiks N10 growth regulator, which were higher than the control data by 30.0 and 32.5%, respectively. Aminokat 30% growth regulator increased corn productivity by 23.7 and 24.7%, respectively. Sufficiently high indicators of yield structure were 10 recorded in Mashuk 355 MV hybrid in the variant with the Megamiks N10 growth stimulator.

Biological potential and microencapsulation of Cinnamomum cassia essential oil as an alternative for pest control in stored maize

This study proposes a review of biological potential of cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) essential oil with a focus on microencapsulation as an alternative to control the occurrence of pests in stored maize grains. Due to the demands on corn productivity, there is the need to improve grain storage processes and conditions, since that in this stage there are quantitative and/or qualitative losses, mainly due to the maize weevils (Sitophilus zeamais) and the incidence of mycotoxin-producing fungi (Penicillium crustosum, Alternaria alternata and Aspergillus flavus). The control of these pests is usually carried out with chemical insecticides, which can leave toxic residues in the grain. Therefore, the microencapsulation of essential oils appears as a promising alternative, considering the volatility of aromatic compounds, which are largely responsible for the activity against pests.

Influence of Dosages of Biofertilizers Composed of Mycorrhizae and Diazotrophs on the Corn Productivity

Corn (Zea mays L.) is a crop of world importance, however, one of the problems present during its development is the lack of nutrients or the presence of these in a form not available to the plant. Because of this, the objective of this review article is to gather information on the influence of different dosages of mycorrhiza and diazotroph biofertilizers on the corn crop. A meticulous bibliographic research was carried out, detailing the methods used by various authors; Among the most repetitive and significant factors are the use of mycorrhizae and nitrogen-fixing bacteria plus fertilization with P, the following treatment stands out: 200 gr ha−1 (using mycorrhizae and nitrogen-fixing bacteria); the common response variable of the authors mentioned in methodology was grain yield. The results obtained by the majority of authors show that grain yield improves significantly in the interaction of mycorrhizae and diazotrophs plus chemical fertilization; As a result of the aforementioned treatment, the yield of corn kg ha−1 was increased by 37%, by virtue of these results it is concluded that the most appropriate thing would be to take it into account to apply it on the corn crop. Keywords: Inoculants, Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria, Symbiotic Fungi. Resumen El maíz (Zea mays L.) es un cultivo de importancia mundial, sin embargo, uno de los problemas presentes durante su desarrollo, es la falta de nutrientes o la presencia de estos en forma no disponible para la planta. Debido a esto, el objetivo de este artículo de revisión es recopilar información sobre la influencia de las diferentes dosificaciones de biofertilizantes a base de micorriza y diazótrofos sobre el cultivo de maíz. Se realizó una minuciosa investigación bibliográfica, detallando métodos utilizados por varios autores; entre los factores más reiterativos y significativos están el empleo de micorrizas y bacterias fijadoras de nitrógeno más la fertilización con P, sobresaliendo el siguiente tratamiento: 200 gr ha−1 (usando micorrizas y bacterias fijadoras de nitrógeno); la variable respuesta en común de los autores mencionados en metodología fue el rendimiento del grano. Los resultados obtenidos por la mayoría de autores muestran que el rendimiento del grano mejora significativamente en la interacción de micorrizas y diazótrofos más la fertilización química; producto del tratamiento mencionado anteriormente, se aumentó un 37% el rendimiento del maíz kg ha−1, en virtud a estos resultados se concluye que lo más adecuado sería tomar en cuenta para aplicarla sobre el cultivo de maíz. Palabras Clave: Inoculantes, bacterias fijadoras de nitrógeno, hongos simbiontes.

Effect of different basic tillage and fertilizer systems on corn grain yield, when irrigating in the south of Ukraine

The article presents the results of the research on soil bulk density and permeability as well as weediness of maize crops at the beginning and end of growing season on average for 2016-2019, applying different basic tillage and fertilizer systems. The goal of the research was to determine the effect of different methods and depth of basic tillage and fertilizers on agrophysical properties of soil and crop productivity in grain-row crop rotation when irrigating in the south of Ukraine. The objective of the research was to determine the effects of different methods and depths of basic tillage as well as fertilization on the agrophysical properties of dark chestnut soil and the productivity of corn in short crop rotation. During the experiment, field, quantitative-weight, visual, laboratory, calculation-comparative, mathematical-statistical methods and generally accepted in Ukraine methods and methodical recommendations were used. The research was conducted in the research fields of the Askanian SARS IIA NAAS of Ukraine. Based on the research results it was established that, both at the beginning and at the end of grooving season when applying the tillage up to 28-30 cm within the system of differentiated tillage bulk density was the smallest as 1,14 g/cm3 when using green manure and 1,19 g/cm3 without its use. When applying subsurface different depth tillage, bulk density increased up to 1,18 g/cm3 when using green manure and up to 1,26 g/cm3 without its use. Maximum bulk density of 1,28 g/cm3 was observed when no tillage applied without using green manure and 1,31 g/cm3 when using it that is by 12,3 and 10.1% higher compared to the reference area, respectively. The highest corn productivity was observed when applying subsurface different depth tillage, where the average values by the factor A were about 10,93 t/ha that is higher than those obtained in the reference area by 0,52 t/ha, or 5,0%. The use of zero tillage caused the obtaining of the lowest yield in the experiment as 8,71 t/ha that is less compared to the reference area by 1,7 t/ha, or 19,5%.