Comparative effectiveness of the humidification regime during the transition to no-till in agrocenosis

Abstract

Goal. To determine the effectiveness of accumulation of productive moisture reserves in the spring period and their use during the growing season of crops in a 5-field grain rotation in the first years of the use of no-till systems compared to their accumulation and use during plowing and systematic surface cultivation in conditions of unstable moisture in the central part of the Forest Steppe of Ukraine. Methods. Generally accepted methods of research were used: field, laboratory, mathematical, and comparative calculation. Results. During the growing season of crops in a 5-field crop rotation with almost the same reserves of productive moisture in a meter layer in April, under the no-till systems in June and July, 10–15 mm and 10–12 mm higher reserves were formed, respectively (+20–27 mm per growing season), which improved the humidifying regime of a meter-thick layer of chornozem in the agrocenosis. In the second year of using no-till systems in crop rotation (2023), productive moisture reserves in July amounted to 104 mm, which was higher than for plowing and surface cultivation by 17 mm and 31 mm, respectively, in June, the highest moisture reserves were for no-till systems after plowing (55 mm), which was 13–14 mm more than for plowing and surface cultivation. This affected the total costs of productive moisture reserves from a meter-thick layer of podzolized chornozem, which were 9–19 mm lower than for plowing and surface cultivation. Determination of the humidity of the surface layer of the air under crop rotation, depending on the tillage system, showed that the highest humidity (75.8–76.6%) was for surface tillage and no-till after surface tillage, for no-till after plowing the air humidity was 79.3%, which was higher than for plowing by 3.5%. Conclusions. The transition from systematic plowing and long-term surface tillage to no-till systems in a 5-field grain crop rotation, secured sufficient yield of by-products for standard coverage of the field surface with a layer of plant mulch (enabled 75–90% covering of the field surface, depending on the crop in the crop rotation). This affected the hydrothermal conditions in the surface layer of the air and the 0–10 cm layer of the soil and contributed to the improvement of the humidification regime of the meter-thick layer of degraded chornozem during the growing season of crops.