development of seedlings, in the subsequent phases of vegetation increase the intensity
of photosynthetic activity of plants, in general, positively affect the yield and quality
of grown products. Moreover, due to higher levels of crop yields due to use for power
optimization growth-regulating substances, after the end of the growing season in the
soil and remains much more plaintive-root residues, which in turn serve as organic
fertilizer for the next crop. Thus, growth-regulating substances have a positive impact
on the preservation of the main indicators of soil fertility.
For the southern Steppe zone of Ukraine, the presence of organic matter in the
soil is extremely important for the accumulation, retention and further economical
consumption of moisture by plants for crop formation. In compacted and depleted
organic matter soil differences water in the rain and especially for high temperature
conditions practically do not wet the soil, and evaporates quickly, that is, moisture is
lost unproductively. The specified negative sign is not shown on fertile soils at high
culture of agriculture. Consequently, even after prolonged drought, the moisture in
these soils is retained and better used by plants. The importance of organic farming in
this case increases, because in the South of Ukraine the main limiting factors for
obtaining high yields of crops is the presence of moisture.
Our studies have determined that organic fertilizers in their properties can
significantly improve the water-absorbing and water-retaining capacity of the soil, they
act as mulch for the top layer of the soil, prevent evaporation of moisture and its
unproductive losses. We show the above on the example of the influence of different
types of organic fertilizers on the water-clay ability of the soil (Table 5).
Table 5 Water-absorbing ability of soil under the influence of organic fertilizers
(average for three years)
Experiment variant
Water absorbed, mm/h
% before control
Without fertilizer
11,69
100,0
Manure 30 t / ha
13,60
116,0
Green manure (peas)
15,30
130,9
Green fertilizer (rapeseed)
14,73
126,0
Much more effectively moisture is used to optimize nutrition, which can be traced
at the example of sunflower, which was grown without the introduction of organic and
mineral fertilizers, and during the growing season only foliar feeding growth regulating
substances were used.
For the conditions of the southern Steppe of Ukraine, which is characterized as a
zone of unstable moisture and risky agriculture, when in some periods in the region for
100-120 days there is no precipitation, it is important to use moisture with the greatest
efficiency – its reserves in the soil during the sowing of crops and precipitation that fell
during its growing season. We have determined the total water consumption of
sunflower plants in the years of cultivation, its data are shown in table 6.
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