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BACKGROUND The prolonged use of traditional moldboard ploughing often results in soil degradation and, ultimately, has an impact on national food security. Therefore, the implementation of resource‐saving technologies (minimal and No‐till) is a promising approach in the development of agriculture, especially in drought regions. The present study reports the results of long‐term research on the effect of various tillage methods (moldboard ploughing, minimal tillage and No‐till technique) on the nitrogen content of Haplic Chernozem of the European part of Southern Russia. The revealed regularities can be used as a theoretical basis for the effective use of resource‐saving technologies, including No‐till, in the zone of insufficient moisture. RESULTS Long‐term (59 years) cultivation of winter wheat using traditional moldboard ploughing has decreased the soil organic material (SOM) by 35% and total nitrogen by 32% in the soil. Minimization of tillage, in contrast, recovers the nitrogen potential of the soil in winter wheat agrocenoses. There is a statistically confirmed dependence of the content of SOM and total nitrogen on the tillage method of the upper soil horizon, with no significant effect of the tillage methods on intensity ammonification and nitrification. However, the content of nitrate‐nitrogen during resource‐saving tillage methods (22.8–24.4 mg kg−1) was higher than that after ploughing (20.3 mg kg−1) during all the years of the study, indicating the higher content of easily mineralizable nitrogen‐containing compounds in the soil after minimal tillage. CONCLUSION The use of resource‐saving tillage technologies under conditions of insufficient moisture stabilizes the nitrogen content in soil and can improve nitrogen nutrition of plants. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

The article presents the results of a three-year study of the effect of mineral fertilizers on the yield of winter wheat in the No-till system in the soil and climatic conditions of the southern zone of the Rostov region. The combined introduction of ammophos and kalimagnesia before sowing with two fertilizing with ammonium nitrate in the tillering and outlet phases of the tube helps to improve the nutritional regime of the soil and ensures maximum yield of winter wheat.

The paper presents the results of a long-term study on the content and distribution of heavy metals in Haplic Chernozem of agrocenoses in southern zone of Rostov Region. The impact of various agricultural technologies traditional (using moldboard ploughing) and resource-saving (minimum and No-till) on accumulation and mobility of Pb, Zn, Cu in Haplic Chernozem in winter wheat cultivation is considered. The total content of Pb, Zn, Cu in the winter wheat areas corresponds to the background level and does not exceed permissible concentrations. Low mobility of elements (Pb 2.0-3.0%; Zn and Cu up to 1.0% as a percentage of their total forms) is a regional soil feature. In addition, the low availability of Zn and Cu in soils is due to their removal with the crops in the absence of micronutrient fertilizer replenishment. The significant role of soil organic matter in the accumulation of both total and mobile forms of heavy metals in soil has been confirmed. The intensity of the cultivation methods used has a significant effect on the total content of Zn, Cu and on the mobility of Pb, Zn, Cu in Haplic Chernozem.