Cover crops as the main element of biologization of agriculture in the no-till system for reproduction of soil fertility

Abstract

The goal is to develop the main elements of biologization of the No-till system in the conditions of the Piedmont-steppe zone of Crimea, to study the effect of various types of ground cover crops on soil fertility, yield and grain quality of agricultural crops in conditions of insufficient and unstable moisture. When intermediate crops were cultivated as ground cover crops in the No-till system, the available moisture reserves in the meter layer were at a satisfactory level after vetch cultivation - 107.6 mm and in the control (without ground cover crops) - 99.6 mm. The highest yield of green mass of ground cover crops was in all variants with the use of multicomponent mixtures, which was 2 or more times higher than the yield of intermediate ground cover crops from 1–2 and 3 spring crops and almost 10 times higher than that of winter rye. This made it possible to fix 30–33 kg of nitrogen, 4–5.9 kg of phosphorus and 13.9–16.7 kg of potassium in plants and in the root system annually by the end of the growing season of spring crops per hectare of sowing.

Ways to improve the reproduction of fertility of southern chernozems

“…Plant residue retention and minimal tillage (including no tillage, NT and repeated tillage, RT) are common conservation tillage methods that are widely used to improve soil health and reduce the negative environmental impact caused by intensive farming [15].…”