Technology for restoring virgin and fallow lands

Abstract

The soils that are subject to restoration include virgin and fallow lands, neglected pastures, soils overgrown with shrubs and young trees, swampy, with admixtures of hummocks and debris. The article shows the shortest period of restoration of virgin and fallow lands. (Research purpose) The research purpose is in comparative analysis of the need for equipment, economic and labor costs for the restoration of fallow lands using traditional and proposed by VIM technologies. (Materials and methods) Authors determined the indicators that characterize the properties of the soil for its restoration. It has been taken into account that for the treatment of this fallow soil, it is preferable to use combined aggregates or equipment with replaceable working bodies. Authors have compiled a set of aggregates for the proposed by VIM technology for soil recovery. The article shows the most productive and economically viable technology. The calculations of the cost of the necessary units, fuel and lubricants consumption, and labor costs are presented. (Results and discussion) It was determined that the restoration of fallow lands using the technology proposed by VIM reduces the cost of using the machine and tractor fleet by 35 percent by reducing the number of agricultural machines, fuel and lubricants by 17 percent, and the labor costs by 12 percent. The article shows that the efficiency of implementing the technology proposed by VIM for restoring virgin and fallow lands without shrubs and trees can reach 28 percent or more. (Conclusions) From the point of view of ecology, resource and energy saving, the most preferable are soil-processing combined units or agricultural machinery with changing working bodies (including those that perform various tasks). When restoring a 200-hectare section of fallow land with a heavy clay mechanical composition on soils that have not been treated for four consecutive years, according to the proposed VIM technology, the cost of restoration decreased by an average of 28 percent.