Influence of methods of basic tillage on the dynamics of productive moisture reserves in spring barley crops in the conditions of the northern Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

The yield of spring barley significantly depends on the reserves of soil moisture, which ensures the implementation of all important life processes, including seed germination and rooting of seedlings, transpiration, thermoregulation and supply of nutrients to the plant. The productivity of spring barley is directly proportional to its moisture content. With sufficient soil moisture, favorable conditions for the growth and development of field crops, and ultimately increases their yield. In the northern steppe, high productivity of spring barley, provided timely and full germination, is formed due to moisture reserves accumulated in the deep layers of the soil during the autumn-winter period of the year. The purpose of the study was to study the influence of the methods of basic tillage on the accumulation and dynamics of soil moisture in spring barley crops and the level of its yield. Experimental studies were performed during 2004–2015 in a stationary field experiment at the Institute of Grain Crops of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The presence of wavy nanorelief during chiselling, as well as plant remains on the ridges contributed to a significant reduction in wind speed in the aboveground layer. Snowfall was concentrated in the depressions and was reliably protected from blowing. Due to this, the height of the snow cover here, according to our data, was the highest and amounted to – 14.3 cm, and as a result faster thawing of the soil and better accumulation of water. At the same time, the intensity of wet accumulation during the autumn-winter period when treated with chisel tools outweighed the options of shelf plowing by an average of 17.9 mm, and disking – 9.2 mm. The increased assimilation of cold precipitation during chiselling can also be associated with strip loosening of the soil in the furrows, which is typical for chisel units. It is established that in the northern steppe the use of canning (chisel) with a differentiated tillage system for spring barley increases the accumulation of moisture by 91.0–179.0 m2/ha in the autumn-winter period due to plant residues that retain more snow, especially in warm snowless winters. It is proved that the use of a fine mulching system of tillage, despite the reduction of grain yield, contributes to a more economical consumption of moisture per unit of crop in 1.1–1.2 times when growing spring barley. It was found that the use of annual shelf and differentiated tillage on average over the years of research provides the maximum level of yield, and the minimization of tillage in most years led to its reduction by 0.22–0.55 t/ha. The use of chiseling in a differentiated tillage system is most effective in dry years and even outweighs plowing due to the greater accumulation of productive moisture due to the presence of a significant portion of post-harvest residues of the predecessor that retain moisture under the mulch. Key words: spring barley, tillage, soil moisture, fertilizers, disking, yield.