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Sustainability in the agricultural field suggests the conservation and maintenance of a natural environment of soil. Nevertheless, in the potato production chain, the mechanized harvest is carried out with the concurring removal of impurities and fertile soil. The authors have developed a new spiral potato cleaner which is able to capture and efficiently remove soil lumps of various sizes and shapes, as well as various plant residues. Theoretical and experimental studies have been performed on this soil clod cleaner to determine the structural and kinematic parameters that provide efficient capturing, motion and sifting down of the soil, through the gaps between the helices of its cleaning spirals. An analytical description of the motion of the clod of soil has been made and a system of differential equations has been compiled, whose numerical solution made it possible to determine the indicated reasonable operative parameters of the developed spiral potato cleaner. The results of the experimental research confirmed those ones obtained through the numerical solution of the mathematical model, i.e., rational angular speed ω of the rotation of the spirals from 20.0 to 30.0 rad s−1 and the radius R of spirals between 0.12 and 0.15 m.

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The commodity output of parsnip was formed in the conditions of the Right‑Bank Forest-steppe of Ukraine within the limits of the sum of active temperatures 1356‑1495 °С, the amount of precipitation 171‑318 mm and relative humidity 57‑64 %. The crop yield had an invert dependence on the sum of temperature and the direct dependence on the amount of precipitation, relative humidity of air and hydrothermal coefficient. The highest yield in the conditions of the Right-bank Forest-steppe of Ukraine provided the Stymul and Pulse varieties with a total yield of 46,2 and 44,8 tons/hectare, and the commodity output of roots of 89 and 88 %, accordingly. It was calculated that the varieties Pulse and Stymul had the highest selective value of the genotype (SCGi = 46,2 and 44,8 accordingly) for yield, high ecological stability (Sgi = 3,43 and 1,96 accordingly) and plasticity (bi = 1,47 and 0,89 % accordingly). The highest indicator of the total adaptive capacity for plant productivity was noted in the Stymul (ZAZ = 3,12) and Pulse (ZAZ = 1,76) varieties. According to the indicator of specific adaptive ability, the Stymul variety (SAZ = 2,52) and Pulse (ZAZ = 0,78) was distinguished. According to the biochemical composition of roots, the investigated varieties did not exceed the control. However, in Boris variety the content of dry matter (25,1 %), dry soluble substance (15,8 %) and sugar (6,4 %) was at the control level. All varieties showed high levels of vitamin C – 8,9‑10,1 mg/100 g. The varieties were not susceptible to accumulation of nitrates and their content varied from 67 to 80 mg/kg and was below the maximum acceptable level (MDR 250 mg/kg). The highest tasting score of 5,6 points got the Pulse. To obtain a consistently high root crop yield at the level 44,8‑46,2 tons/hectare and marketability of roots at the level of 88‑89 % with a high content of major biochemical components in the conditions of the Right‑Bank Forest-steppe of Ukraine on medium-podzolic, roughly dusty, easy loamy soil with the usage of high-yielding of the varieties parsnips Pulse and Stymul.

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The article presents the results of studies of two samples of fenugreek: blue (Trigonella coerulea (Desr.) Ser.) and hay (Trigonella foenum graecum L.) on the set of economic, biological and biochemical parameters. The researched samples of fenugreek have a wide range of variability of indicators depending on the terms of sowing and weather conditions. More rapid development was shown by fenugreek species on the summer sowing dates (III decade of June) with a vegetation period of 36–37 days. To obtain a high yield of green mass of fenugreek plants, the early spring (II–III decade of April) and late spring (I decade of May) sowing terms were more suitable. The obtained green mass yield was: 5.7–6.9 t∙ha–1 – blue fenugreek, and 7.3–9.3 t∙ha–1 – hay fenugreek, with the content of the dry matter being 12.4–28.4%, the sum of sugars 2.5–5.0% and vitamin C – 38.0–51.8 mg∙(100 g)−1. To obtain spices called “mushroom grass”, it is promising to use hay fenugreek with early spring (II–III decade of April) and late spring (I decade of May) terms of sowing, as a more developed vegetative mass is formed with the dry weight yield of plants 1.3–1.4 t∙ha–1. An increase in the amount of precipitation by 1 mm resulted in fluctuations of green mass yield from 15.0 to 77.3 kg∙ha–1 and dry mass yield from 0.693 to 25.9 kg∙ha–1.

Silicon plays the significant role in the growth and development of plants, their resistance to stress conditions. However, there is limited research on the content of various forms of silicon in soils, the relationship with soil cations, which is particularly relevant in the context of intensive agriculture and climate aridization in Ukraine. The purpose of the present study was to determine the content of silicon compounds of different mobility in the arable soils of the Khmelnytsky region, the spatial variation of these parameters, and to detect the dependence between the content of silicon compounds and soil particle size. The study was performed at the area of LLC "Lotivka Elit" of Shepetivka district of Khmelnitsky region in field crop rotation. We determined for soil samples: particle size distribution and content of fractions of granulometric elements of different sizes, pH of salt extraction (1,0 M KCl solution), humus content, calcium and magnesium exchangeable compounds by extraction with 1,0 M KCl solution. The results showed that the content of silicon compounds in soils depends on the particle size distribution of soil, the value of exchangeable acidity, humus content, and the composition of exchangeable cations.

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