VARIABILITY OF THE DENSITY OF TYPICAL CHERNOZEMS WHEN USING DIRECT SEEDING

Abstract

Density is one of the key soils features that determine their fertility. In modern
agricultural production, a number of agrotechnical techniques are used to maintain soil
density in optimal condition, but they lead to a disturbance of soil. One of the modern ways to
improve soil structure is the introduction of soil-conserving technologies such as direct
seeding. Based on the results of scientific and practical experiments, it can be affirmed that
when using direct seeding, one can observe an increase in soil density to permissible values;
however, water stability and aggregation improve. This research considers the results of
studying the effect of tillage and direct seeding on the density of typical chernozems on the
example of a long-term field experiment located in the Kursk Region (Cheryomushki village)
in 4-fold replication. On the territory of the field experiment, detailed soil and topographic
mapping was carried out in 2013-2016 and re-mapping in 2017-2020. As a result of
processing the obtained data, it was found that after the first rotation, the difference in soil
density between the layers of direct seeding and traditional tillage decreases. It should be
mentioned about general increase in density for all variants of the experiment, which is
associated with a change in the soil structure with direct seeding and the features of deep
moldboard plowing with traditional technology. There is a special focus on a visual change in
the soil quality in 4 years with direct seeding, which involve the formation of large blocks
bounded by cracks that contribute to an increase in stored moisture by reducing evaporation
from the soil surface.