Increasing the yield of barley cultivated in crop rotations and by sowing permanently is a major problem in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals. This requires to study factors affecting an increase in the crop yield. The aim of the study is to identify the effect of nitrate nitrogen, the biological activity of soil and the aftereffect of predecessors on barley productivity at different levels of mineral nutrition. In the experiment, methods such as field, ionometric and decomposition of flax fiber were used. The methods used make it possible to obtain new original results on the factors and experimental options. Over 18 research years, the highest barley yield was observed in millet and pea rotation using fertilizers. It amounted to 1.42 and 1.43 tons per 1 ha. These results were achieved due to the consumption of nitrate nitrogen up to 2.3 mg and accumulation in the amount of 7.7 mg per 100 g of soil with an activity of microorganisms of 8.3 and 8.1 %. The results are of scientific and practical importance in the field of agriculture and crop production.

Agriculture continues to move forward confidently. Before our eyes, the agrarian industry is reviving, becoming stronger, taking a strong position at the forefront of the Russian economy. The most important achievement of 2017 was a record grain harvest of 130 million tons. This result was achieved not only by increasing the cultivated areas, which increased by 620 thousand hectares in 2017, but also thanks to the record yield, which amounted to 28 kg / ha, which is 80% higher than in 2000. The maximum harvest in the history of new and Soviet Russia, which will ensure our country a strong leadership in the world wheat market. Russian agriculture remains a driver of the country’s economic development. For the second year in a row, we get a record harvest of not only grain, but also sugar beets and sunflowers, the production of soybeans, rapeseed and greenhouse vegetables is growing. In the new season, grain exports will reach 45 million tons, including more than 35 million tons of wheat. Russia is expanding the geography of its presence, having mastered new directions for the supply of agricultural products. At the end of 10 months of 2017, grain exports increased by 22% compared to the same period in 2016 and amounted to 32 million tons. During the same time, the export of Russian wheat exceeded 24 million tons, which is 23% more than a year earlier. … In Russia, over 17 years, the volume of grain production increased 2 times, sugar beet and sunflower - 2-3 times, soybeans and rapeseed - 10, greenhouse vegetables - 1.8, poultry meat - 6, pork - 2. Fish - 2 times. Greenhouse vegetable growing and horticulture are developing intensively. Progress is being made in the development of animal husbandry and aquaculture. The dairy industry is undergoing a significant transformation, and production volumes on farms are growing. These are new growth points for the agro-industrial complex. Thanks to the achievements of domestic scientists, grain production of agricultural crops can be increased due to many factors. One of the factors is foliar dressing with liquid micro- and macro-fertilizers. Therefore, we studied various combinations of liquid micro-, macrofertilizers, as well as the bio-logical product Albit, in order to identify the best option and recommend it for produc-tion.

The relevance of the topic of scientific research is associated with the biological characteristics of the studied grain crops in specific natural and climatic conditions. The purpose of this work was to identify the potential capabilities of various grain crops in terms of yield and quality indicators of grain in the central zone of the Orenburg region. Food security of the population in the overwhelming majority of countries is most often associated with the provision of grain. At present, despite the active introduction of modern agricultural equipment and innovative technologies into the world agricultural production, it is not possible to achieve a significant increase in gross grain harvests. The level of its production is still insufficient to fully meet the growing needs of the rapidly growing population. According to the expert assessment of domestic scientists, in the conditions of modern natural and anthropogenic changes in the environment, Russia can play an important role in stabilizing the world grain production, which has sufficiently high natural, intellectual and technical resources for this. Their effective and rational use on the basis of nature-like, ecologically-oriented agricultural technologies can make a significant contribution to increasing food stability. Meeting the needs of cultivated plants in the elements of mineral nutrition was reduced mainly to the mobilization of soil fertility, i.e. depletion of humus reserves. As a result, in most of the grain-sowing regions of Russia, and primarily in the regions of the steppe zone, its negative balance has developed. It is quite obvious that these circumstances are a serious obstacle to sustainable grain production and can lead to even greater degradation of disturbed soils, disruption of the biological balance in agroecosystems and a reduction in biological diversity.

Spring wheat is one of the most important food grain crops. Hard spring wheat is used to produce cereals, pasta and vermicelli. The grain of this crop contains a lot of protein (14-16%soft, 15-18% hard) and gluten-28-40%. This crop is grown mainly in the following regions: the Volga region, the Southern Urals, Western and Eastern Siberia. Average yields are obtained here due to lack of moisture, but the grain contains a lot of protein and gluten. When growing it in the Non-Chernozem zone, higher yields are obtained, but the quantity and quality of gluten is usually lower. In those regions (the North Caucasus, the Central Asian Republic) where winter wheat yields higher yields, spring wheat is considered one of the insurance products in case of its re-sowing in case of poor wintering.