Problems of sour soil fertility increasing in Tomsk region

Abstract

The paper reveals the experimental results of long-term agroecological monitoring of agricultural land, conducted by Tomsk state agrochemical service, and experiments on designing the measures to improve efficiency of acidic arable land. In Tomsk region, 83% of arable land is acidic and the degree of acidity increases annually. Every 10 years weighted average pH is reduced on 0.1-0.2 units; the area of acidic soils increases. There is an urgent need for liming these soils in order to improve efficiency of agricultural production in Tomsk region. According to the calculations, the region requires 3,248 million tons of chalky flour. The region has its own large deposits of limestone, for example Kamenskoe (61 million tons), located 50 km from Tomsk, where it is possible to produce valuable meliorant, increasing efficiency of agricultural production. The authors make case, that for successful development of agricultural production in Tomsk region, it is necessary to design and implement long-term target program “Chalking of acid soils in Tomsk region”, which assumes compensation for agricultural producers for the part of the cost of liming; design and technical support of works; local production of limestone meliorants. Implementation of the acidic soil liming program will increase annual crop production in Tomsk region on 54.9 - 129.2 thousand tons of grain units, therefore it will increase annual income on 494.1 - 1162.8 million rubles (in 2017 prices), as well as ensure further increase in agricultural land fertility with high fertilizer efficiency, product quality and profitability.