No abstract

The influence of agricultural methods and soil and climatic conditions on soybean cultivation in the southern regions of the Amur Region was researched. Schemes of two-factor experiments to study the effectiveness of deepening the arable layer of soil during crop cultivation in 2014–2016 included the following options. Factor A – tillage: autumn – disk plowing or cultivation; spring disk plowing or cultivation; summer – inter-row cultivation with or without para-plowing. The options were combined in different ways, whereby the option of soil tillage with a disc harrow in autumn and spring was taken as control. Factor B: sowing with seeders SZ-5.4 and SP-3.6 L with row spacing (options – 15, 45 and 60 cm) with various tillage systems. In 2017–2018 experiments were carried out according to the following schemes. Factor A – tillage: in autumn tillage depth at 0.12 m with a disc harrower PM-8; in spring, before sowing – at 0.10 m (cultivator Case Tiger Mate 225 – control); autumn – tillage depth at 0.28 m (cultivator Lemken Karat 9/400); spring, before sowing – at 0.10 m (Case Tiger Mate 225). Factor B – seeding units included Amazon DMC 9000 (control); Amazon DMC 1200, Case Pro Disk 500 AFS, John Deer 1890, Lemken Solitair 12, Horsch Pronto 9 DC, Tom’ 12, SP-3.6 L. Deep autumn cultivation, in contrast with disk plowing, ensures a more favorable waterair regime for plants and an increase in soybean yield. Seeding units Case Pro Disk 500 AFS, John Deer 1890, Amazon DMC 9000 and SP-3.6 L used in combination with Lemken Karat 9/400 + Case Tiger Mate 255 machines for deepening the arable layer provided an increase in soybean yield by 25.0–38.3% compared to soil tillage with discs. It is recommended to use wide-span seeding units for soybean cultivation in large and medium-sized farms in fields with subdued relief in accordance with high-intensity technology. It is advisable to use SP-3.6 L seeder with a seed shoe for organic crop production in small-scale agricultural enterprises.

The authors showed that a rotary plow deepened the arable layer and destroyed the plow bottom, simultaneously crushed plant residues, green manure crops and embedded them in the soil upper layer that was active for the cultivated plants roots and microorganisms, which allowed providing them with available nutrients, maintained fertility and increased soybeans yield.(Research purpose) To determine the soil deepener and the plow rotor agrotechnical parameters when working after different predecessors, to establish the dynamics of nutrients, soybean yield and to compare the technical indicators of various tillage implements.(Materials and methods) The authors studied rotary plow indicators when cultivating the soil after green manure, wheat and soybeans: the tillage depth and the tooth linear speed, the rotor rotational speed and depth, crumbling, hardness and ridging of the soil surface, the presence of plant residues, specific fuel consumption, productivity. They conducted a comparative field experiment, meadow-chernozem-like soil was treated with tools: discs BDT-3.0 – control; plowshare PLN-3-35 and rotary plow PRN-2.5 M.(Results and discussion) The authors determined that the tillage depth with the rotor was 0.143-0.149 meters, with the soil deepener – 0.25 meters, 25-27 percent of crop residues remained on the soil surface. It was found that the rotary plow details provided good soil cultivation, as a result of the incorporation of stubble and green manure, they contributed to a content increase of phosphorus in it by 11.8-13.3 percent, potassium – by 18-21.8, nitrogen – by 48.1-48.9 percent, which had a positive impact on the soybeans yield.(Conclusions) The authors found a regular increase in soybean yields when processing the soil with a rotary plow by 0.32 tons per hectare compared to discs and by 0.06 tons per hectare compared to a share plow. It was suggested to use a rotary plow PRN-2.5 M. for soil cultivating for soybeans in the Amur region. They calculated the economic and energy feasibility of soil cultivating with a rotary plow in organic crop production.

The article considers the compliance of the applied minimum technologies of soybean cultivation with the rules of organic crop production. The table of indicators of points of rules of GOST R 56508-2015 of conducting organic plant growing and compliance to them of technologies is resulted. A table showing the advantages and disadvantages of modern minimal technologies is given. It is established that the minimum technologies of soybean cultivation partially or completely do not comply with the rules of organic crop production in Russia, especially in terms of chemical load. When conducting organic crop production in the Amur region, they must be brought into compliance with the rules.

The article considers the need for the use of minimum technologies for growing soybeans in the Amur region, which is due to: saving resources, increasing productivity and product quality, preserving and improving fertility, and preventing soil erosion. Possibility of application of the minimum technologies–correspondence of need of culture to soil and climatic conditions, machines and mechanisms to the sizes of fields and their relief, availability of the enterprises, material base and manpower. For soybean cultivation in the Amur region, minimum technologies in the recommended volume and sequence of technological operations are not applicable, but for other regions they are applicable. For their adaptation in the field it is necessary to combine different elements of the analyzed technologies.