No abstract

In developed countries, the ideas of ecological agricultural production, continuous cycle, and waste-free production technologies have gained popularity. The effect from the production and consumption of ecological agricultural products is determined by the least harm to the environment, increasing the competitiveness of products, and receiving additional profit from increasing prices for higher quality products. The production of organically safe products is based on the principle of biologization, i.e., the widespread use of biological preparations, a high proportion of legumes (sources of nitrogen), and avoiding chemical plant protection products, transgenic plants, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This study aims to increase the productivity of safflower and improve the physicochemical and biological indicators of dark chestnut soils through the use of biologized technologies in the organic farming system. Standard methods for assessment and statistical analysis of physical and chemical parameters of soils were carried out in zone 1 of West Kazakhstan. This made it possible to identify the most optimal technology for the cultivation of safflower. The study results showed that under the influence of the phytomeliorative action of safflower in the 0–20 cm layer of dark chestnut soils, one could note an increase in the content of nitrate nitrogen by 5.95%, an increase in the content of mobile phosphorus by 5.22%, and soil loosening by 0.010 g/cm3, with the structure of the soil being 64.43%. Strong biological activity of the soil was established by the crops of safflower. The highest yield of safflower oil about 0.23 t/ha with an oil content of 30.1% was obtained using the biologized technology option. The use of biological technology, along with biological yields, increases oil yield by 0.06 t/ha or 28.06%.

The purpose of this paper was to assess the impact of grazing methods on the indicators of vegetation and soil cover of pastures located in the semi-desert zone in the West of Kazakhstan. The experiment was carried out on 3 pastures with different grazing methods, and a reference plot with no grazing served as a control variant. Transects measuring 100*50 m were laid on pastures, where all regime observations of herbage indicators were carried out. Soil samples were taken in layers of 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm with 3-fold repetition. The lowest indicators of yield (0.38 t/ha), projective coverage (45%), species composition (12 pieces), and herbage height (22 cm) were established on pastures with intensive grazing. Intensive grazing also reduced the quality of the soil, where a low content (0.83 percent) and reserves of humus (34.19 t/ha) and phosphorus (0.65 mg/100g) were found, and the soil compacted to 1.38 g/cm 3 , its structure decreased to 53.15%, the soil degraded to the 3rd degree and became moderately solonetzic. High values of vegetation and soil cover indicators were obtained on pastures with rotational grazing. In the rotational grazing variant, the yield difference compared to the control variant amounted to 0.41 t/ha, and the yield of feed units (0.07 t/ha), digestible protein (0.011 t/ha), and exchange energy (1.08 GJ/ha) had increased. A higher content of available phosphorus (0.95 mg/100g of soil), agronomically valuable structural aggregates (67.55%), a looser density (1.24 g/cm 3 ), and weak salinity were found in the soil cover of rotational grazing pastures.

Managing pasture resources of Western Kazakhstan is complicated due to the deterioration of the physicochemical parameters of soils, manifesting degradation, and alkalinization as a result of intensive grazing. The research has been aimed at studying the technology of cattle grazing for preserving the physicochemical parameters of soils and increasing the efficiency of pasture use. The assessment and statistical analysis of physicochemical indicators of soils were carried out with standard methods during 2018 – 2019, which allowed identifying the most optimal grazing technology. The results of the research showed that under the influence of intensive grazing, physicochemical parameters worsened, a decrease in the humus reserves by 10.88-12.35% was detected, soil degraded to the third degree, and became alkaline as a result of the increase in exchangeable sodium to 1.65 cmol (equiv.)/kg. The technology of moderate cattle grazing favorably affects the physicochemical parameters of the soils of pasture ecosystems. The chestnut soils of the pastures, where moderate grazing technology was applied, remained resistant to degradation and salinization. With this technology, the soil humus was reliably preserved at the level of 1.15-2.50%, mobile phosphorus was within the optimal range of 0.87-1.60 mg/100 g. It has been concluded that it is important to use the technology of moderate cattle grazing to improve the management of pasture resources, which is the scientific novelty of the research.

We carried out the research in 2020–2021 in Western Kazakhstan on medium-loamy dark chestnut soils. The purpose of the research is to identify changes in physico-chemical, biological parameters of soil cover, productivity, and quality of safflower (Carthamus tincforius L.) under the influence of different technologies of agrarian landscape shaping, for rational management of organic agrocenoses. The field experiments showed that in the conditions of Western Kazakhstan, the use of the biologized technology of organic farming increases the yield of safflower in comparison with the traditional technology by 26.66–35.38%, with a high oil content of 30.0–39.95%. The phytoameliorative role of safflower in improving agrophysical, agrochemical, and biological parameters of dark chestnut soils is proved.