Autumn Tillage Research Articles

The Impact of Autumn Tillage Activities on the Development of Weeds in Grape Crops

The article examines the impact of autumn tillage activities on the development of weeds as an element of agrotechnical control technology with integrated weed protection. In order to optimize the measures of autumn tillage in weed control, the main plowing and loosening of the soil around grape bushes in Ganja-Dashkasan district at different depths and at different times were studied. As a result of the research, it was found that if deeper plowing of the soil (25-28 cm) and deeper loosening of the soil around grape bushes (25 cm), depending on soil and climatic conditions, is carried out in October, it has the effect of reducing the number of weeds compared with other options, while the biological efficiency in this option becomes higher.

Accumulation of plastid pigments in the leaves Triticum avestium L. under influence of composite recultivant Trevitan®

Aim. To investigate the efficiency of using composite recultivants TREVITAN® (RCT) according to the parameters of accumulation of the photosynthetic pigments in the leaves Triticum aestivum L. of the varieties Quintus and Licamero. Methods. The experiments were carried out on the plots of the agro-biolaboratory of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatyuk National Pedagogical University in 4 variants (Control, TREVITAN® adjuvant, recultivants TREVITAN®, TREVITAN® adjuvant + recultivants TREVITAN®) and 3 repetitions. The content of chlorophylls a, b and carotenoids in flag leaves was defined by Welburn spectrometric method. Results. The highest content of chlorophylls was found in the leaves of both varieties of wheat in the phases of flowering and milk ripeness during autumn tillage, seeds before sowing and plants in the earing phase with recultivants TREVITAN®. Joint use of TREVITAN® adjuvant + recultivants TREVITAN® also significantly increased the content of chlorophyll in wheat leaves. Increase of carotenoids in the leaves of plants of all experimental variants on 4.2–14.6 % (variety Quintus) and on 43.2–59.5 % (variety Licamero) was defined in the phase of milk ripeness. Conclusions. The use of RCT in the technology of growing soft wheat had a significant impact on the accumulation of photosynthetic pigments in leaves during the generative phases of development.

Effects of autumn tillage with straw return on soil physical characteristics of corn fields in the eastern loess plateau

The implementation of unsuitable tillage practices has the potential to disrupt the structure integrity of the ploughed layer, as well as to influence the physical parameters of the soil. The application of a reasonable tillage method has been demonstrated to result in an improvement in the physical quality of the soil. Three autumn tillage practices have been implemented at the Dongyang Experimental Station of Shanxi Agricultural University since 2016: no-tillage with straw mulch (NTS), autumn rotary tillage with straw incorporation (RTS), and autumn plough tillage with straw incorporation (PTS). The impact of autumn tillage practices on soil physical quality in the 0–30 cm profile of spring corn fields was evaluated following the corn harvest in 2018 and 2019. The results showed that compared to the NTS treatment, the application of RTS was found to have decreased significantly by 9.6%–24.2% in soil bulk density, while it increased significantly by 12.8%–34.0% in total porosity and by 43.5%–146.4% in macroporosity at a depth of 5–10 cm. In comparison to the NTS treatment, the adoption of PTS was found to decrease significantly by 10.7%–30.5% soil bulk density, while it increased significantly by 9.9%–42.7% the total porosity and 23.1%–202.8% the macroporosity at a depth of 0–10 cm. Furthermore, the soil microporosity significantly increase of 7.5%–11.1% under the RTS treatment at the 0–5 cm soil depth and 7.7%–11.2% under the PTS treatment at the 10–20 cm soil depth. Soil physical quality index (SQI) significantly increase under the RTS and PTS treatments, with a 41.26% and 57.57% improvement, respectively, in comparison to the NTS treatment. In summary, the adoption of autumn tillage with straw return (RTS and PTS) demonstrated a reduction in soil bulk density, an increase in soil porosity, macroporosity, and a promotion of capillary porosity, and promoted the improvement of soil physical quality on the Eastern Loess Plateau when compared to no-tillage with straw mulch (NTS).

Effects of spring and autumn tillage, catch crops, and pig manure application on long-term nutrient leaching from a loamy sand

A field experiment with separately tile-drained plots was established on a sandy loam soil in 1993 to investigate management practices that can reduce nutrient leaching. Practices tested included timing of tillage in autumn or spring (ploughing with or without preceding cultivation) and catch crops in systems with mineral fertilizer alone or in combination with pig manure. Drainage water from each plot was collected separately and analyzed for total nitrogen (tot-N), nitrate-N (NO3-N), total phosphorus (tot-P), phosphate-P (PO4-P), and potassium (K). Biomass of catch crops, soil mineral N content, and yield of the main crop were also determined. The experimental set-up was modified after 14 years, but the core research questions were the same and the results from the two periods (1993–2006, 2007–2021) were comparable. Spring tillage and undersown catch crops (perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne L.) reduced tot-N leaching and concentrations in drainage water compared with autumn tillage. However, a combination of spring tillage and catch crop increased tot-P leaching and concentrations in drainage water compared with autumn tillage and no catch crop. Use of pig manure increased tot-N leaching and concentrations in drainage water compared with treatments without pig manure, both with and without a catch crop. Treatments without a catch crop showed substantial growth of biomass during autumn in terms of weeds and volunteer plants, but growing a catch crop resulted in more biomass in most years. A catch crop was more effective in reducing N leaching than only weeds and volunteer plants, probably mainly due to its ability to survive winter and take up and store N over a longer period. Leaching of K increased with a catch crop, while the other treatments did not influence K losses. Yield of main crops was not affected by the different treatments.

The effectiveness of technologies without autumn tillage

The article shows the yield of spring soft wheat in different technologies in the absence of autumn tillage. Technologies differ in the place of wheat in crop rotation and the use of fertilizers. Soil tillage in experiment No. 1 in a four-field grain-fallow crop rotation and on permanent wheat is zero. In experiment No. 2, stubble was left in autumn on long (24 yields) repeated wheat crops, where the soil loosens only when sown with a seeder SKP-2,1 with a cultivator-type coulter. With zero tillage with the removal of crops from fallow, the yield from 1,7 t/ha in the 1st field in the following crops decreased by 1,31-1,44 times, against the background of fertilizer in 1,08-1,12. Permanent sowing of wheat on stubble, compared with the yield of fallow, reduced grain harvest on backgrounds N0 and N40 by 1,60 and 1,42 times. Yield of 2,5 t/ha were obtained in the 1st field after fallow only in a favorable year, as in the following field. Due to fertilizer N40 in such a year, grain harvest increased in three crops of the crop rotation to 2,7-3,0-3,3 t/ha in up to 2,9 t/ha of permanent wheat. The formation of a high yield of wheat by fallow was facilitated by the preservation of the number of productive stems at an average level of 291 pieces per 1 m2, whereas on other backgrounds there were 274-265 and 243 with permanent cultivation. The number of grains in the ear was of great importance, which reached 18,1-20,2 pieces in fallow with 14-15 in other technologies.

The effectiveness of technologies with autumn tillage

The article shows the yield of spring soft wheat in 16 different technologies, differing in its place in the crop rotation, the type of basic tillage and the use of nitrogen fertilizer. When plowing with the removal of sowing from fallow, the yield decreased from 2,24 t/ha by 1,4-1,5 times – to 1,63 and 1,52 t/ha, and with permanent cultivation, grain harvest in relation to wheat by fallow decreased by 1,6 times to 1,38 t/ha. On a fertilized background, on the 2nd and 3rd wheat, the decrease occurred by 1,2-1,4 times: from 2,33 t/ha per fallow to 1,86 and 1,88 t/ha. The permanent crop provided grain harvest in t/ha of 1,38 in the control and 1,60 against the background of N40. During surface autumn tillage, the place of wheat in the crop rotation was also of great importance, since the yield without fertilizer decreased from 1,89 t/ha for a couple to 1,42-1,22 in the following fields and to 1,16 t/ha for permanent cultivation. When applying fertilizer, the yield dropped from 2,13 t/ha per fallow to 1,60-1,73 in the following crops and to 1,45 in permanently grown wheat. The preservation of the number of productive stems at the level of 362 pieces per 1 m2 contributed to the formation of a high yield of wheat by fallow during plowing. The number of grains in the ear was of great importance, which equaled 18,7-19,5 pieces in fallow with 13-17 in other technologies.

The effect of tillage methods on the cellulose-decomposing activity of the soil and on crop yields in crop rotations

In the conditions of the Chuvash Republic in a long-term stationary experiment there has been studied the effect of crop rotations (grain- fallow and green manure) and methods of primary tilling of soil (by the plow PLN-3-35 to the depth of 24-26 cm; by the combined unit KOS-3.0 to 14-16 cm; by the disc header BDM-4-3.2 to 10-12 cm without autumn tilling) on the cellulose-decomposing activity of the soil by the method of setting up flax linen and on the crop yield. The article provides 2016-2020 data. It has been established that plowing increased the total soil porosity (55.3…63.5 %) and provided maximum decomposing of flax linen (42.9…51.3 %). Absence of primary soil tilling led to the statistically significant decrease in the porosity (50.8…59.3 %) and cellulose-decomposing activity (36.1…43.9 %). Maximum yield of crops in crop rotation was obtained by cultivation according to traditional plowing. When replacing plowing by subsoil tillage the use of combined stubble cultivator KOS-3.0 was the best variant. Primary tillage of soil to the depth of 14-16 cm using KOS-3.0 unit instead of plowing led to the significant yield decrease (by 0.29 t/ha) of spring vetch only. Among other cultures of crop rotation there was no significant yield decrease. Complete rejection of autumn soil tillage led to 16-25 % yield loss in grain crops. Plowing to the depth of arable layer (24-26 cm) as primary autumn tillage of soil increased the fertility indicators of dark-gray wooded soil (its total porosity, cellulose-decomposing activity) and yield of cultures in crop rotation. But when changing over to resource saving technologies for primary autumn tilling of soil under grain crops the combined unit stubble cultivator KOS-3.0 should be used.

Mulch tillage – principle of preservation of chernozem of the northern steppe of Ukraine

Reclamation and intensive utilization of chernozems of the steppe zone of Ukraine over a long period led to loss of a significant amount of organic matter, agrophysical degradation, and dramatic decrease of soil fertility. Organic products of plant origin – byproducts of field crops (straw, frondiferous residues of arable crops) – play an important role in the renewal of fertility, protection of soils from erosion and accumulation of efficient moisture in the soil. The article presents the results of studying of the agroeconomic efficiency of board, differentiated and shallow (mulching) tillage systems when growing field crops under the conditions of the northern Steppe of Ukraine. There is substantiated the expediency of use of a shallow (mulching) tillage system, which, in terms of crop rotation efficiency against a fertilized background, is highly competitive with board and differentiated systems, as well as has a positive effect on the structural state of the arable layer (the content of agronomically valuable aggregates is 76 %), provides additional (71-85 m3 ha-1) accumulation of efficient moisture in the autumn-winter period. The most of conditional stubble on the surface remains, of course, in the early fallow (without tillage in autumn) – 630 pcs m-2. A significant amount of it was also after disk processing – 333 pcs m-2. Early fallow is a reliable method to wind erosion (deflation) combat in the spring. Even strong winds with a speed of more than 15 m s-1 in early fallow are not able to blow out more than 5-12 g m-2 of soil in 5 minutes of exposure, while in case of board tillage these figures increase by 11-26 times and amount to 134 g m-2.

Autumn Tillage Reduces the Effect of Plant Cover on Topsoil Nitrogen Leaching

Keeping cover crops to reduce nitrogen leaching often conflicts with timing tillage operations before the soil becomes un-trafficable during winter, while leaving cover crops in the field until spring raises concerns over pre-emptive competition with the following crop. Therefore, farmers may resort to tilling their fields in autumn after letting cover crops remain in the fields for only a short period of time. We explore the effects of this practice in a laboratory lysimeter setting by analyzing the leaching of nitrate from intact topsoil cores. Cores were extracted from no-till (NT) plots and plots tilled in autumn (AuT), in areas kept bare (B) and with volunteer winter rye plant cover (V) after harvest. Nitrate breakthrough curves show that V significantly reduced N leaching by 61% relative to B in NT, but did not have a significant effect in AuT. Dissection of leached cores and undisturbed reference cores indicated a significant removal of mineral N from the soil during the lysimeter experiment for all treatments except V in NT. This indicates that volunteer cover removed a crucial amount of leachable N and suggests that tillage counteracted the effect of V in AuT, likely due to a combination of reduced uptake and re-mineralization of N in cover crop residue.

THE CONDITIONS OF SOYBEAN MINERAL NUTRITION IN CROP ROTATIONS IN CASE OF DIFFERENT METHODS AND SYSTEMS OF PRIMARY SOIL TILLAGE IN THE FOREST-STEPPE OF THE CENTRE OF RUSSIA

In order to increase soybean yield, methods and systems of primary tillage are of vital importance, their usage doesn’t only allow to improve many soil properties and phytosanitary state of crops, but it also improves mineral nutrition conditions. The influence of various methods and systems of autumn tillage on the content in the layers of 0-20 and 20-40 cm of available forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the forest-steppe conditions of the Central Federal District of Russia was studied on soybean crops in a stationary field experiment in the years of the first rotation (2015-2018) of crop rotation (soybean, winter wheat, spring rapeseed and barley). The soil type of the experimental plot is leached heavy loamy black soil. The name of the studied four systems of the main tillage was contingent: plowing, deep subsurface loosening, shallow and surface tillage were carried out directly for soybeans. On average, over the years of the first rotation, the studied methods and systems of the main tillage had an unequal effect on the conditions of the mineral nutrition of soybeans in the phase of 2-3 trifoliate leaves. It was revealed that in case of plowing and the moldboard-surface tillage, the supply of mineral nitrogen, mobile phosphorus and exchangeable potassium in the analyzed layers did not differ significantly. In case of usage of non-moldboard methods in soybean cultivation and the systems of autumn tillage, the content of available forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium increased in the upper soil layer of 0-20 cm, and decreased in the layer of 20-40 cm.

Density Estimates as Representations of Agricultural Fields for Remote Sensing-Based Monitoring of Tillage and Vegetation Cover

We consider the use of remote sensing for large-scale monitoring of agricultural land use, focusing on classification of tillage and vegetation cover for individual field parcels across large spatial areas. From the perspective of remote sensing and modelling, field parcels are challenging as objects of interest due to highly varying shape and size but relatively uniform pixel content and texture. To model such areas we need representations that can be reliably estimated already for small parcels and that are invariant to the size of the parcel. We propose representing the parcels using density estimates of remote imaging pixels and provide a computational pipeline that combines the representation with arbitrary supervised learning algorithms, while allowing easy integration of multiple imaging sources. We demonstrate the method in the task of the automatic monitoring of autumn tillage method and vegetation cover of Finnish crop fields, based on the integrated analysis of intensity of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) polarity bands of the Sentinel-1 satellite and spectral indices calculated from Sentinel-2 multispectral image data. We use a collection of 127,757 field parcels monitored in April 2018 and annotated to six tillage method and vegetation cover classes, reaching 70% classification accuracy for test parcels when using both SAR and multispectral data. Besides this task, the method could also directly be applied for other agricultural monitoring tasks, such as crop yield prediction.

The mass water content of paddy soil after harvest is strongly associated with the accumulation of organic matter as the source of available nitrogen

ABSTRACT Paddy soils are the dominant source of nitrogen for rice via mineralization, and knowledge about the available nitrogen (AN) in paddy soil is important for rice cultivation. Although the relationship between AN and soil physicochemical parameters has been studied, no systematic studies of the relationships between AN and the soil moisture content of various soil types in Japan have been studied. Therefore, we examined the impacts of soil types and treatment of organic matter application or paddy–upland rotation on these relationships. We sampled topsoils from 30 paddy fields throughout Japan. We compared the relationships between AN and soil physicochemical properties, such as total nitrogen (TN), cation exchange capacity, soil water-holding capacity (WHC), mass water content after harvest (MWH), and water content after harvest (WCH). The scatter diagram revealed that AN and either MWH or WCH (p < 0.01) had the highest positive linear correlation coefficient; the pattern became clearer after separating Andosols and non-Andosols. We analyzed the relationship between AN and either TN or MWH in 100 topsoils, including soils from treatment plots with successive organic matter application or paddy-upland rotation. A significantly positive correlation between AN and TN was observed, although the regression slopes for volcanic or non-volcanic soils differed. The decrease in AN due to frequent paddy–upland rotation was greater than that for TN. On the other hand, a highly positive correlation between AN and MWH was observed, and the coefficient of determination was higher than that for AN and TN. TN and the WHC increased when the accumulation of organic matter in paddy soil was greater. As there was a positive correlation between WHC and MWH, a positive correlation was also observed between AN and MWH. Additionally, we investigated year-to-year variation in MWH using topsoil samples collected before autumn tillage, for 3–5 consecutive years in 24 plots, for various soil types throughout Japan. In order to eliminate the effects of precipitation and to minimize the fluctuation of MWH in paddy topsoil, it was desirable to collect topsoil samples within 24–96 hours of the last precipitation of 1 mm h−1 or more, for the measurement of moisture content.

ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ АЛЬТЕРНАТИВА ВОЗДЕЛЫВАНИЯ КАРТОФЕЛЯ В МОСКОВСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

Due to the need to replace worn-out mechanization tools with more modern high-performance brands, the search for alternative technologies for growing potatoes is rather relevant. Tha author made a comparative analysis of the production efficiency of the ridge-band and ridge technologies of potato cultivation for CJSC Lenin State Farm in the Moscow Region. The area of potato cultivation of the “Pirol” variety was 400 hectares. With the ridge-band technology, the main and pre-sowing tillage was carried out by the MTZ 1025 and K744R1 tractors, while ZA1500 was used for fertilization. The PLN-5-35 plow and a KSS-9 cultivator were used as tillage tools. When shifting to the ridge technology of potato cultivation, alternative means of mechanization can be considered. Tractors MTZ 1025 and K744R1 are proposed to be replaced by John Deere 8295R. During autumn tillage, plowing was replaced by deep loosening, carried out by the Digger N Fert + COMPACT deep loosener with the simultaneous application of complex fertilizers. The GL 430 was chosen as the sowing machine instead of the energy-saturated Grimme VL20 KLZ machine. Potato harvesting is proposed to be carried out with a Ventor 4150 self-propelled harvester, which is less productive than the DR-1500, but more fuel efficient; moreover, it cuts the tops while harvesting. The proposed measures made it possible to reduce the production cost of one centner by 10.8% or by 33.5 rubles per 100 kg, increase profit by 16.0% and production profitability by 9.8%, thus reaching 43.7%. The practice of using new machines exemplified by this enterprise can be useful for other potato farms operating in the Non-Chernozem Zone of Russia.

Application of the Chow method for evaluation of morphometric parameters of the sunflower root system

When growing sunflower, great importance is provided to the issue of accumulation and preservation of moisture in deep soil horizons, which in turn affects the productivity of crops. In arid regions, providing plants with moisture is of particular importance. The technologies of conservation agriculture in relation to sunflower cultivation allow varying the depth of autumn tillage from 17 to 33 cm, which, in combination with the metered use of mineral fertilizers and considering the difference in moisture consumption for the growing season from a meter layer of soil, provide an increase in yield compared to the traditional main autumn tillage. Moreover, the ratio of income from the sale of sunflower seeds grown in an arid steppe to production costs depends on the combination of the depth of strip processing and the dose of fertilization. Wherein, in the main zones of commercial sunflower production, high yield increases are provided by the application of nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers, which contribute to the intensive formation of underground vegetative organs, which has unlimited growth in length and positive geotropism. The article presents the results of the application of multivariate regression analysis to study the morphobiological features of formation of the root system of sunflower grown using Strip-Till technology on the experimental field of the Povolzhye Educational and Scientific Production Association of the Saratov State Agrarian University named after N.I. Vavilov. The results of the morphometric assessment indicate a better development of the root system of plants in the treated strips compared to traditional types of basic tillage. To determine the limits of applicability of the piecewise linear regression model and develop practical recommendations for implementation of resource-saving potential of the Strip-Till technology in the dry steppe zone of the South-East of Russia used a reliable and sensitive criterion based on the method of J. Chow.

ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ ПЕРЕХОДА НА РЕСУРСОСБЕРЕГАЮЩИЕ ТЕХНИКО-ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ РЕШЕНИЯ ПРИ ВОЗДЕЛЫВАНИИ ПРОПАШНЫХ КУЛЬТУР

The planned strategy to reduce costs and produce competitive agricultural products required significant efforts. It is necessary to improve tillage systems. The experience of managing the economy, the introduction of combined tillage systems of individual elements of resource-saving technologies for tillage, direct sowing, which have already been mastered in regions prone to erosion, the advanced countries of the world, are analyzed. The results of studies of new domestic technical and technological solutions in the field of combining production operations are considered. The analysis of the features of the transition to Strip-till technologies was carried out. It was revealed that such technologies have a number of agroecological advantages: reducing dependence on weather conditions, increasing biota, soil moisture reserves, saving soil from water and wind erosion, reproducing soil fertility, improving mineral nutrition of plants, increasing the efficiency of cultivated crops and arable land, rational use and increasing the productivity of agricultural machinery. An analysis of the experience of implementing Strip-till technology in farms showed an increase in yield, a reduction in the cost of fuel and lubricants, and a decrease in the use of fertilizers. It seems organizational-economically and technically-technologically effective to combine the operation of autumn tillage with the simultaneous application of mineral fertilizers. It is concluded that it is necessary to develop combined tillage units with the simultaneous application of mineral fertilizers using the Strip-till technology.

Routine On-farm Soil Tillage Helps Control Asparagus Fly (Plioreocepta Poeciloptera)

Asparagus fly (Plioreocepta poeciloptera (Schrank, 1776)) is a serious pest in German asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) production. To evaluate the effects of different routine on-farm soil tillage measures on the number of flies emerging the following spring, asparagus fields in Lower Saxony, Germany, were investigated. Soil samples were taken before and after tillage in autumn 2017 and autumn 2018. Investigations were also conducted in both years on the effect that the soil depth at which asparagus fly pupae were buried had on the emergence of adult flies.This study revealed that the number of emerging flies was not reduced by mulching, but was significantly reduced by subsequent tillage and/or tillage and dam formation. The emergence rate of adult flies was significantly reduced the deeper the pupae had been buried the previous autumn. The effects also depended on the year. The highest mean emergence rate observed was 68% and 45% for pupae buried at a depth of 10 cm and 20 cm, respectively. In conclusion, the key mechanism causing a decrease in asparagus fly population the following spring through routine on-farm tillage could be the burial of pupae when forming dams. Routine on-farm soil tillage can be regarded as a physical measure for controlling asparagus fly and is therefore an essential tool in the integrated pest management of asparagus production.

Winter cover crops favor cereal crop in N competition against creeping thistle Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop

Weed control is important to improve crop yield in organic farming. In Northern Europe, the use of mechanical weed control restricts the ability to use green manure-cover crops that could be a key source of N supply. In a two-year experiment repeated twice, the objective of this study was to compare the effect of cover crop- and autumn tillage-based systems on N uptake of the succeeding barley crop (Hordeum vulgare L.) and creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.). Each autumn, a 15NO3- tracer was applied to the topsoil, and in spring its recovery was measured in the soil, barley and thistle. The effect of cover crops on soil N distribution was significant: 66–85% of the total recovered 15NO3- was in the upper 0.5 m after the cover crop treatments, while after the autumn tillage treatment only 4–8% of the recovered 15NO3- was in this soil layer. The 15NO3- retained by cover crops in the topsoil postponed its availability to the deep-rooted thistle, while making it available to the shallow-rooted spring barley, thus strengthening the barley’s ability to compete against thistle. In contrast, following autumn tillage, 15NO3- clearly leached downward; much of it leached below the barley root zone, but remained at depths where it could be taken up by thistle. Cover cropping was found to have a post-harvest control effect on perennial weeds.

Characteristics of soil tillage for rice after alfalfa

The purpose of the research was to study the effect of harvesting time and methods of using alfalfa biomass on soil fertility and rice yield at different times of the main tillage. Field experiments were conducted in the Kizlyar district of the Republic of Dagestan according to the scheme: 1. autumn plowing after harvesting the 3rd mowing of alfalfa 3 years of use, control; 2. the overlapping of chopped green mass of alfalfa-3rd cut alfalfa 3 years of use; 3. spring plowing after harvesting the 1st cut alfalfa 4 years of use; 4. the overlapping of chopped green mass of alfalfa 1st cut alfalfa 4 years of use. The results shown that the best time for cutting the layer of perennial alfalfa is spring plowing of the green mass of alfalfa 1 mowing, which allows you to get a yield of 6 t/ha without reducing the quality indicators of rice grain. The data on the rice yield shows that in the spring tillage the yield was 5.41 t/ha, and in the autumn tillage only 4.91 t/ha. Carrying out sideration at both terms of the main tillage contributed to an increase in yield by 0.81-1.11 t/ha.

Effects of autumn and spring primary tillage on soybean yield and 1000-grain weight in the agro-ecological conditions of Serbia

Soybean yield depends on the selection of cultivars, soil fertility, applied cultivation practices, and agroclimatic conditions over the years. High-quality and timely primary tillage is essential for stable development and high yields of soybean plants. The effect of autumn and spring primary tillage on soybean yield and 1000-grain weight was examined in a three-year study (2013-2015). The trial included cultivars with different maturity periods, developed at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops Novi Sad: Valjevka and Galina 0 maturity group, Sava and NS Maximus I maturity group, Rubin and Venera II maturity group. Trial subplots were prepared using different periods of primary tillage, which was conducted in autumn (November, 01–05) and spring (March, 25–31). The highest yields and 1000-grain weight were obtained after autumn primary tillage in all the three study years. Yield decrease by 2.72% to 38.91% and 1000-grain weight decrease of 1.33%-11.93% were recorded after spring primary tillage.

Influence of fertilizers and of the autumn tillage method on potato yield and phytopathologiс characteristics of tubers

The field experiment on identifying differences in the effect of the herbicide and foliar feeding of plants with liquid nitrogen fertilizer (UAN-32) against the background of autumn tillage with a cultivator or plow on potato yield and phytopathologic characteristics of tubers during storage was carried out in 2019-2020 in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The experiment was laid on sod-podzolic sandy loamy soil in production conditions on two varieties of potato ‒ the super-early Сolomba variety and the medium-early Innovator variety grown for seeds. The variants under study were surface application of the soil herbicide Gezagard in a tank mixture with UAN-32 and foliar feeding of plants with UAN-32 (N42) during the growing season against the background of N42P42K169 (calcium chloride in autumn + ammonium nitrate phosphate in spring). The results indicate that the background fertilization provides the yield of Colombа variety potato of 20.7-29.0 t/ha, the Innovator variety – 17.4-23.1 t/ha. The use of the herbicide is more effective during autumn tillage with a cultivator, providing an increase in yield of 28-37 % on both potato varieties, feeding of plants with UAN-32 contributes to an increase in yield (8-10 %) only on the Сolomba variety. Plowing the soil for potatoes helps to avoid the pest damage of tubers and to reduce their susceptibility to rhizoctonia by 6-27 %, to wet rot ‒ up to 55 %. In general, it has been established that due to autumn plowing with fertilization at a dose of N42P42K169, it is possible to obtain an increase in potato yield exceeding the increase provided both by herbicides and the use of foliar feeding of potatoes.