Impact of no-till technology on the fertility of degraded and low-humus soils

Abstract

The transition to innovative tillage technologies is currently an effective way to preserve and increase the fertility of agricultural land. The purpose of the work is to study the impact of no-till technology on the fertility of degraded and low-humus soils in the Middle Volga region. The main research method was the monitoring of agricultural lands, where traditional (control), minimum and no-till technologies for cultivating grain crops were used as part of field crop rotations. As a result of research conducted over fifteen years on degraded leached chernozems, light gray forest and low-humus soddy-podzolic soil types, it was found that the introduction of no-till technology contributes to an increase in the number of earthworms by 36% and soil invertebrates by 42%. At the same time, the ratio of different groups of soil mesofauna also changes. In particular, an increase in the number of organized predators (ground beetles, rove beetles, spiders, geofields) capable of regulating the number of harmful species of soil animals (for example, wireworm larvae) was revealed. No-till technology has a beneficial effect on agrophysical, agrochemical indicators of fertility and biological activity of degraded and low-humus soils. The crushing of straw and its use as mulch for fifteen years made it possible to form a positive balance of organic matter and increase the content of mobile phosphorus and exchangeable potassium in the soil by an average of 20% and 15%, respectively. Improving the nutritional regime of the soil contributes to a positive impact on the quality characteristics and grain yield of winter and spring wheat, winter rye, barley and corn. With the introduction of no-till technology as the main method of crop production, grain yield increases by 3 and 6% compared to the minimum and traditional technology.