Soil water regime and crop yields in relation to various technologies of cultivation in the Kulunda Steppe (Altai Krai)

Abstract

This article presents the results of crop yield in areas with different technologies of cultivation based on the network of automatic stations that provide data on climatic and soil-hydrological monitoring in the dry steppe during the vegetation period of May–September 2013–2016 . These data on regional ecological and climatic parameters are of great interest to the ecologists, plant physiologists, and farmers working in the Kulunda Plain (Altai Territory). We compared the following options for cropping technologies: the modern system, which is the "no-till", technology without autumn tillage;the intensive technology of deep autumn tillage by plough PG-3-5 at a depth of 22–24 cm. Cultivation of crops was carried out using the following scheme of crop rotation: the modern system: 1–2–3–4 (wheat – peas – wheat – rape); the intensive system: 5/6 – 7/8 – 9/10 (fallow – wheat – wheat). We believe that the use of modern technology in these conditions is better due to exchange between the different layers of soil. When the ordinary Soviet system , the so-called "plow sole" , was used , at a depth of 24 cm , we observed that this creates a water conductivity barrier that seems to preclude the possibility of lifting water from the lower horizons. Results of the study of infiltration of soil moisture at the depth of 30 and 60 cm have shown in some years the advantages of the modern technology over the ordinary Soviet system: in the version with the use of modern technology we can trace better exchange between the various horizons and , probably, moisture replenishment from the lower horizons. Differences in individual observation periods are comparatively large due to the redistribution of soil moisture, depending on the weather conditions, the crops used in the crop rotations, and cultivation techniques. Moreover, the average moisture reserves within the one meter layer did not show any significant differences during the growing seasons of 2013–2016 . In terms of soil moisture usage and productive grain yield according to the four year experiment, the application of the modern technology with crop rotation "wheat – rape – wheat – peas" was more effective than the ordinary Soviet system with crop rotation "wheat – fallow – wheat – wheat". The four-year observation period is clearly insufficient to identify the advantages of the modern system, as during this time it is impossible to significantly improve soil quality indicators, which will continue to determine its water-retaining properties and moisture accumulation.

Influence of row spacing and seeding rate on crop yields cultivated by “No-Till” technology in Kulunda steppe (Altai Region)

“…The weather conditions of the growing season over the years of research are described in detail in other articles (Belyaev et al, 2014(Belyaev et al, , 2016(Belyaev et al, , 2017a. The analysis shows that in the period of May -August the amount of precipitation ranged from 123.0 to 180.0 mm with average value of 148.2 mm.…”

“…It is determining the parameters of the sowing complex during seeding, the distribution of seeds on the field, the further development of plants, the soil water regime and the yield. All these issues were studied in the framework of the International Russian-German Research Project "Kulunda" in 2011-2016 (Belyaev et al, 2014(Belyaev et al, , 2016(Belyaev et al, , 2017a(Belyaev et al, , 2017b(Belyaev et al, , 2017c.…”

Short-term isolation of the bunchgrass steppes of the Southern Kulunda

“…To obtain the results we mainly used the method of comparing the indicators of the species composition abundance, structure and productivity on fenced sites and outside them, where cattle were grazed during the growing season. A more detailed description of the monitoring sites, research methods and intermediate results are given in the works of Elesova et al, 2014;Silantyeva et al, 2015;Elesova et al, 2018; indicators of the temperature and water regimes of soils are given in the works of Belyaev et al, 2017;Meissner et al, 2017.…”

Effects of Agricultural Cropping Systems on Soil Water Capacity: The Case in Cross-Border Altai

“…There was mechanical fallow in the CT plot and rape in the NT plot. Thus, there were both moisture accumulation in fallow field and high-water consumption in rape field (Beliaev et al, 2016), that led to the decrease of soil water under NT especially at the depth of 30 cm.…”

“…Under CT, (i = 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). Source: Authors' calculations based on the results (Beliaev et al, 2016). Besides, there were no pF-values higher than the limit of sustainable wilting under CT.…”