Productivity of Rainfed Winter Wheat with Direct Sowing and Economic Efficiency of Diversified Fertilization in Arid Region of South Kazakhstan

Reduced soil tillage is a powerful means to mitigate soil degradation. However, in arid climates, no-till rainfed technologies often result in yield drop due to lack of soil moisture and mineral nutrition. Rainfed production of winter wheat using direct sowing and diversified fertilization in South Kazakhstan was studied in 2019–2020. Eight field-scale treatments using nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers were studied for biometric parameters of winter wheat. An economic profitability of the amendments used was assessed. The soil managed to accumulate productive moisture to support plants’ needs during formation of productive organs. Use of phosphorus fertilizer at direct sowing accelerated grain maturation, and the combination of phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizer lengthened the growing season. The highest production cost of 1 tonne of grain was in the plots that did not receive any amendments, and the lowest cost was in the treatment with use of plant growth stimulants together with micronutrient fertilizer. For the first time, optimization of the soil nutritional regime with consideration of the biological and phenological demands allowed for the balance of the plant nutrition and cost efficiency of grain production with direct sowing of winter wheat in dry conditions in South Kazakhstan.

Effect of Amino Acid and Titanium Foliar Application on Smooth-Stalked Meadow Grass (Poa pratensis L.) Macronutrient Content

As plant growth stimulants, Ti and amino acids affect physiological processes of plants, promoting their vegetative and generative development and improving their yield and its quality. An experiment was carried out at the Experimental Station of the University of Agriculture in Krakow on degraded black earth soil formed from loess. Its aim was to determine the effect of two products, one containing amino acids and the other with Ti, on the Poa pratensis yield and its quality. Foliar application of amino acids and Ti, used on their own and together, constituted the main factor of the experiment. It was found that the treatment with both stimulants applied together significantly affected plant parameters. Compared to control, plants treated with those growth stimulants produced higher dry matter yields and contained significantly more phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium in dry matter. The highest effect was recorded on plots where combined application of amino acids and Ti was used. Almost as good results were recorded when amino acids were applied on their own. Regarding the cuts, higher effects were noted in the first and second ones than in the third. The growth stimulants used in the present experiment had a positive effect on the chemical composition of Poa pratensis meadow plants. The results indicated that the treatment significantly increased macronutrient content, compared to control plants. The most favourable effects were recorded for plants on the plot with combined application of amino acids and Ti. Similar results were also obtained on plots where only amino acids were used. Regarding the harvests, better results were noted in the first and second ones than in the third. In view of the potential benefits, it would be advisable to extend and update research on the effects of these stimulants on other common varieties of forage grasses.

The Electrospray (ESI) and Flowing Atmosphere-Pressure Afterglow (FAPA) Mass Spectrometry Studies of Nitrophenols (Plant Growth Stimulants) Removed Using Strong Base-Functionalized Materials

The functional silica-based materials functionalized with a strong nitrogen base TBD (SiO2-TBD) deposited via a linker or with a basic poly(amidoamine) dendrimer containing multiple terminal amine groups -NH2 (SiO2-EDA) and functional polymers containing a strong phosphazene base (Polymer-Phosphazene) or another basic poly(amidoamine) dendrimer (PMVEAMA-PAMAM) were tested as sorbents dedicated to a mixture of nitrophenols (p-nitrophenol and 2-methoxy-5-nitrophenol), which are analogs of nitrophenols used in plant growth biostimulants. The adsorptive potential of the studied materials reached 0.102, 0.089, 0.140, and 0.074 g of the nitrophenols g−1, for SiO2-TBD, SiO2-EDA, polymer-phosphazene, and PMVEAMA-PAMAM, respectively. The sorptive efficiency of the analytes, i.e., their adsorption on the functional materials, the desorption from the obtained [(sorbent)H+ − nitrophenolates–] complexes, and interactions with the used soil, were monitored using mass spectrometry (MS) technique with electrospray (ESI) and flowing atmosphere-pressure afterglow (FAPA) ionizations, for the analysis of the aqueous solutions and the solids, respectively. The results showed that the adsorption/desorption progress is determined by the structures of the terminal basic domains anchored to the materials, which are connected with the strength of the proton exchange between the sorbents and nitrophenols. Moreover, the conducted comprehensive MS analyses, performed for both solid and aqueous samples, gave a broad insight into the interactions of the biostimulants and the presented functional materials.

Influence of foliar fertilization of plants with humid preparations on the productivity of spring barley in the Eastern Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

The article analyzes the current state and improvement of elements of the technology of growing valuable forage and food crops, spring barley in Ukraine. It is noted that in recent years the area under large crops and the yield of this crop have decreased significantly. It is emphasized that further improvement of technologies should be focused on the transition to more use of biological agents to increase yields. Researchers have shown that the effectiveness of the use of humid preparations GK-6M, GK-4MK, GK-MK - on crops of spring barley Dokuchaivsky 15, due to foliar feeding of plants in the tiller ring phase. The main justification of the article is the results of field research conducted in 2015–2019. Maximum indicators, namely: increase in leaf area by 46–38 %, stem height by 8,3 cm; the number of grains in the ear – 4,8 pieces; ear lengths – 1,9 cm; mass of grain in the ear – 0,33 g; masses of 1000 grains – at 12,0 %; nature of grain – 34,9 g – was obtained by treating plants with humid preparation GK-6M. Foliar feeding of plants in the tiller ring phase with the studied drugs provided the largest increase in the yield of spring barley grain – 1,08 t/ha, provided the use of growth stimulant GK-6M. A slightly smaller effect of foliar fertilization of plants on the yield of spring barley was observed from the growth stimulator GK-4MK – the increase in grain yield was 0,83 t/ha and from the growth stimulant GK-MK – the increase in grain yield – 0,66 t/ha. The obtained increments are significant, mathematically proven. Further improvement of agrotechnologies due to wider use of biological means of increase of productivity and quality of production is offered. Keywords: spring barley, plant growth stimulants, foliar feeding, yield.

Marine Organisms for the Sustainable Management of Plant Parasitic Nematodes

Plant parasitic nematodes are annually responsible for the loss of 10%–25% of worldwide crop production, most of which is attributable to root-knot nematodes (RKNs) that infest a wide range of agricultural crops throughout the world. Current nematode control tools are not enough to ensure the effective management of these parasites, mainly due to the severe restrictions imposed on the use of chemical pesticides. Therefore, it is important to discover new potential nematicidal sources that are suitable for the development of additional safe and effective control strategies. In the last few decades, there has been an explosion of information about the use of seaweeds as plant growth stimulants and potential nematicides. Novel bioactive compounds have been isolated from marine cyanobacteria and sponges in an effort to find their application outside marine ecosystems and in the discovery of new drugs. Their potential as antihelmintics could also be exploited to find applicability against plant parasitic nematodes. The present review focuses on the activity of marine organisms on RKNs and their potential application as safe nematicidal agents.

Chiral Alkaloid Analysis

Alkaloids are distributed in plant kingdom and play important role in protection, germination as well as plant growth stimulants. Most of them are chiral compounds and are clinically administered as the racemic mixture, even though its enantiomers have been known to exert different pharmacological activity. Liquid chromatography using chiral stationary phases (CSP) proved to be an essential tool with a wide range of applications, including analysis of the stereochemistry of natural compounds. This review gives an overview of chiral separation alkaloids that were used in theoretical studies and/or applications in recent years. It shows the possibilities of polysaccharide CSPs have now also been established as the first-choice of chiral phases for enantiomer separation.

Influence of humic fertilizers on growth and biochemical parameters of lettuce plants

Humic fertilizers (HF) are a separate group of organic fertilizers, which include humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA), their salts, as well as some mineral componenrs. They combine the beneficial properties of macro- and microelements, adaptogens, biofungicides, plant growth stimulants. The aim was to study the effect of the introduction of a humic preparation obtained from peat into the soil and fertilizers “Sotka Potassium Humate” (Sotka) on the growth and biochemical parameters of lettuce plants. In the course of the work, a humic preparation was obtained from milled peat of the production site “Gorokhovsky” (Kotelnichsky district of the Kirov region) of the branch of VyatkaTorf JSC by the method of leaching of humic substances (HS). The HS content in the obtained preparation was 23.4% (18.6% HA and 4.8% FA). It was found that the humic preparation from peat had a greater effect on the accumulation of pigments by plants than the Sotka HF. The effect was especially pronounced with a single application of the drug to the soil; over time, this effect decreased. The effect of using Sotka fertilizer was manifested when it was applied as a top dressing on the 30th day after planting the seeds. Based on the results of the study, a series of photosynthetic pigments in descending order of HFs effect on their accumulation has been constructed: chlorophyll a > chlorophyll b > carotenoids. Along with the accumulation of pigments, the introduction of HF into the soil led to an increase in growth parameters and lipid peroxidation in lettuce leaves, which indicates a greater intensity of biochemical processes occurring in plants under the influence of HS.

Economic justification for the use of biological fungicides and plant growth stimulants for growing sunflower

The study presents economic substantiation of applying environmentally friendly plant growth stimulators in combination with biological fungicides in sunflower production under conditions of the South of Ukraine. The field research was conducted at Kherson State Agricultural University (Ukraine) in 2017 – 2019 under conditions of dark chestnut alkaline soils with the humus content of 2.5% in the plough layer. The results of the three-year field research prove that the net profit reached the absolute maximum in the variant of the hybrid LG 5580 under conditions of applying the bio-fungicide Fitotsyd-r with the stimulator Ahrostymulin at the stage of budding and amounted to $1081/ha. In this case the cost price was the least – $141.6/ha, and the profitability level was the highest – 196%. In the areas sown with the hybrid Tunca the variant with the combination of Fitotsyd-r and the growth stimulator Ahrostymulin also provided a positive result, but it yielded a little to the combination of the preparations Fitosporyn / Ahrostymulin: the net profit was $579.7/ha, the price cost made $203.4/ha and the profitability was 106 %.On the whole this analysis makes it possible to maintain that additional costs related to purchasing and applying fertlizers are totally compensated owing to the cost of an increase in the yield.

Ionic Liquids in Agrochemistry

: In this review article, we present the latest research in the field of ionic liquids containing biologically active anions and cations, their potential application in the field of agrochemistry and agriculture. The article describes examples of the use of ionic liquids as herbicides, fungicides, antimicrobial agents, deterrents and plant growth stimulants. It also indicates the advantages and disadvantages of using ionic liquids, such as their multitasking, toxicity, thermal stability and solubility in water in comparison with commercial chemicals. Readers will find in the article the prospects for the use of ionic liquids in agriculture, as well as the high value of using ILs as multifunctional biologically active substances.