The Role Of Perennial Grasses In The Accumulation Of Organic Matter In Soil-Saving Agriculture

Abstract

In the farms of the Belgorod region, a comprehensive study was conducted to assess the productivity of perennial grasses using soil-saving technologies in comparison with traditional methods of tillage. The results of the dispersion analysis showed that the value of the indicator of the total aboveground and underground productivity of perennial grasses significantly depends on the species composition of the grass stand. It was found that the difference between the site of a perennial fallow and fields with perennial grasses with the use of soil-saving technologies did not exceed 13.9% in terms of the total aboveground productivity. The aboveground productivity of alfalfa was significantly higher than in the control variant (fallow field) and in the experimental fields with soil conservation technologies – by 73.6 % and 101.6 %, respectively. The accumulation of underground mass in the fallow area and in areas using soil conservation technologies is approximately at the same level – 1.91 kg*(m) − 2 in the control and 1.85-2.25 (average 2.04) kg*(m) − 2 in soil-saving crop rotations. At the same time, the Cv in the control variant was 15.78 %, and in grass mixtures, respectively, it was at the level of 16.47 %; 18.74 % and 18.08 %. In alfalfa crops, the accumulation of mass in the underground layer was inferior to the control variant by an average of 27.2 %, and to soil conservation technologies-by an average of 31.9 %. Alfalfa crops, providing greater aboveground productivity, are more intensive in terms of production, but less effective means of increasing the content of organic matter in the soil compared to cereal-legume grass mixtures. In soil conservation agriculture, it is necessary to use cereal-legume grass mixtures as more natural-like, and to increase the intensification of agricultural production, alfalfa crops should be used.