Effect of Pesticide and Humic Preparation on the Soil Structure during Pea and Chickpea Cultivation

Olga Bezuglova,Andrey Gorovtsov,Elena Polienko,Semyon Kartashev,Vladimir Lykhman,Evgeny Patrikeev,Alexander Klimenko,Artem Grinko

doi:10.3390/agronomy11102053

Abstract

The article presents the results of a 3-year experiment to study the soil structure with the combined use of insecticides and a humic preparation. Crops were peas (Pisum sativum) and chickpeas (Cicer arietinum). The experiment was carried out in 2019–2021 at the experimental fields of the Federal Rostov Agrarian Scientific Center, located in the Rostov region in the south of the European part of Russia (47°21′ N, 39°52′ E). Soil was Calcic Chernozem Loamic. The studies were carried out both without fertilization and with the use of mineral fertilizers (N40P40K40). Sowings of leguminous crops were treated with a mixture of insecticides and a humic preparation in the phase of bean formation. The humic preparation BIO-Don10 was obtained according to the authors’ technology by alkaline extraction from vermicompost—a product of manure processing by compost worms of the Eisenia foetida species. The preparation contains salts of humic acids and fulvic acids in the amount of 1.9 g/L; the concentration in the mixture with the insecticide was 0.002%. An increase in the structure and water resistance coefficients was observed. A decrease in the block fraction and an increase in the total number of agronomically valuable aggregates were substantiated. It was found that in the cultivation of legumes, the application of mineral fertilizers had a negative effect on the structure of the soil, while, when using pesticides, the structure was preserved better by the end of the growing season. The revealed patterns can be associated with the activity of microorganisms participating in the hydrolysis of organic compounds that stabilize soil aggregates.

Highlights

At the present stage of human development, large-scale agricultural production is impossible without the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides
The emergence of these organic compounds from decomposing plant and animal remains with the participation of soil microorganisms was noted as early as the first half of the 20th century in works that emphasized the role of microorganisms in structure formation [39,40,41]
The results of the study showed that both the use of pesticides and humates have an indirect effect on the structure of the soil

Summary

Introduction

At the present stage of human development, large-scale agricultural production is impossible without the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides. Their use has negative environmental consequences and, agriculture is currently focused on the use of resource-saving technologies and methods of biological farming in order to ensure environmental safety. Humic preparations can increase the availability of nutrients in the soil, thereby stimulating plant growth and development [4,5,6,7,8,9]. Humic fertilizers are used to neutralize toxic aromatic hydrocarbons and reduce pesticidal stress in plants [14,15,16]

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