Influence of composition species of green manure crops on soil fertility

The selection of green manure crops for the zones with insufficient and unstable moisture is an urgent issue of agriculture. The purpose of the work is to establish the influence of the species composition of green manure on soil fertility. The research on southern low-humus chernozem was conducted in FSBI “Research institute of agricultural chemistry” in 2016-2019. The climate of the area is continental, semi-arid. The average annual air temperature is 10.8°C, the amount of precipitation is 428 mm. Conducting the experiment, statistical processing of data was performed according to B.A. Dospekhov. Layout of the variants - systematic, repetition is three times. The area of the plots is 720 m2. The subject of the research is agrocenoses of green manure crops. The object of the study is the soil fertility change processes. Agrocenoses of winter rye and triticale, melilot and sainfoin ensured the highest dry matter yield (6-6.3 t/ha). The maximum entry of organic matter into the soil occurred when using agrocenoses of winter rye - 5.88 t/ha and triticale - 5.72 t/ha. Mixture of crops on the entry of organic matter into the soil was inferior to rye and triticale, but outperformed vetch by 17.9%. The greatest amount of nitrogen was contained in the biomass of melilot and Sainfoin - 156 and 142 kg/ha, and in the mixture of winter crops - 108 kg/ha of nitrogen. The mixture combined the positive properties of its constituent crops: high and stable yield of dry and organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Due to mineralization of the organic matter of green manure crops, there was an increase in nitrate nitrogen in the arable horizon from 1.0-2.4 to 12.0-22.8 mg/kg of soil.

Efficacy of Different Forms of Green Manure Crops to Reduce Verticillium dahliae in Different Soils

The efficacy of green manure crops to reduce the number of Verticillium dahliae microsclerotia in different soils was investigated. Green manures tested were Indian mustard with a high glucosinolate content and sorghum-sudangrass as biocidal plants, and Indian mustard with a low glucosinolate content and rye as non-biocidal plants. The green manure plants were applied in fresh, dried, and ensilaged form. When applied as fresh plants, the glucosinolate content determining the biocidal activity of Indian mustard was only important in loam soil but not in sandy loam soil. In the latter soil, the non-biocidal rye had significantly higher efficacy than the Indian mustard. Volatiles released by fresh and dried, but not ensilaged, Indian mustard with a high glucosinolate content strongly decreased the number of living V. dahliae microsclerotia. When the same green manure crops were added to sandy loam and clay loam soil, the effect of the high glucosinolate content Indian mustard in fresh and dried form disappeared, whereas the ensilaged green manure crops had the highest efficacy. This effect was based on the increase of the soil microbial activity and the Streptomyces population size, which were negatively correlated with the number of living V. dahliae microsclerotia in the soil.

Organic Vegetable Cultivation

Present day agricultural practices are posing a serious threat to the human population due to unscrupulous use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Conventional agricultural practices wherein large quantities and unscrupulous use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are no longer safer as it directly enter the food chain. Hence, organic cultivation of vegetables is gaining momentum among the growing population. Organic practices rely on crop rotations, crop residues, plant and animal manures, growing of legume and green manure crops and biological control of pests and diseases. It aims to combine tradition, innovation and science in a balanced proportion to utilize the environment in safer manner and maintain ecological balance. Organic cultivation assures protection of the environment and plays a major role on the economy of a nation. Sustainable production of organic vegetables needs to be ensured to fetch premium price in the domestic as well as international markets. Organic farming has shown expansion in the recent years in the European countries offering scope for a better price in the international market.

Zonal features of the dynamics of humus content in soils of Chernihiv region

The humus condition of soils of Chernihiv region has been studied. The dynamics of humus content in the soils of the region during six rounds (1986–2015) of agrochemical certification of agricultural lands is generalized and analyzed. In comparison with the 5th round (1986–1990), there was a discrepancy between the processes of stabilization and increase of humus content in most districts and in the region as a whole in the ninth round (2006–2010), and in some districts in the tenth round (2011–2015) against the background of a sharp decrease in the application of organic fertilizers. It was found that the stabilization of humus content in the soils of the region during the V–VIII rounds of agrochemical certification and a sharp increase in its content in the ninth round, against a significant reduction of organic matter, correlates with the withdrawal of eroded, low-yielding lands with low humus content (r=0.76). Analyzing the dynamics of humus content over thirty years of research,it was found that its content has increased in all climatic zones, as well as in nineteen of the twenty-two districts of the region. The increase of the indicator is in the range of 0.01–0.72%, while in all districts there is a significant reduction of the surveyed areas and only in three districts of the region there is a decrease in the humus content. According to the results of the 10th round of agrochemical certification, the soils of Chernihiv region are characterized by an average humus content of 2.41%. The highest humus content is characterized by the soils of Bakhmatsky (3.56%), Talalaivsky (3.33%) and Pryluky (3.32%) districts, and the lowest — NovgorodSiversky (1.57%). Increasing the sown area of green manure crops, plowing straw and the use of other elements of biologization of agriculture are important factors in increasing the weighted average humus content in the soils of Chernihiv region.

MACHINE FOR SEEDER CROPS

Recently many agricultural producers have begun to take care of environmental aspects and are gradually switching to the use of organic farming elements in the cultivation of agricultural crops, which include green fertilizers - siderates. Many experts recommend cutting the green mass of green manure crops with a mower and embedding it in the surface layer of the soil as mulch. However, not all termination methods are equally effective. In particular, when passing through a field with a rotary harrow’s green manure, the circular knives have to simultaneously perform two functions: chop and embed the vegetative mass of plants, which negatively affects the depth of processing. Therefore, the goal of our research is to develop a combined unit for mowing, crushing and embedding green mass of green manure crops into the soil. To achieve this, it is proposed to attach a plant chopper to the front of the tractor, which will mow and chop the plants, and two discator batteries installed on the rear hitch of the tractor will close the chopped organic mass. To determine the efficiency of using the proposed combined unit in different regions of the Republic of Tatarstan on different soils, comparative field tests were carried out, which consisted in determining the completeness of incorporation of green mass. The value of this indicator without using the mower on the front hitch was 65%, and with mowing and chopping - 95%, this is 1.5 times more than in the version with the compared unit, which should favorably affect the decomposition of the embedded organic matter