The influence of primary tillage methods on the dynamics of moisture reserves and the yield of peas in the forest-steppe of the European part of Russia

Abstract

Relevance and methods. The studies were carried out in 2017–2019. on podzolized chernozem in the forest-steppe zone of the European part of Russia on the territory of the Republic of Mordovia. Weather conditions during the years of research varied from humid to extremely arid. Intensive methods of tillage helped to reduce soil moisture before sowing peas.

Results. Compared to direct sowing, humidity decreased by 11–39% in the upper soil layer, by 5–12% in the arable horizon. Productive moisture reserves were lower for plowing and discing than for direct sowing: 21–33% before sowing, and 27–34% in the budding phase. The maximum differences in the reserves of productive moisture between the methods of tillage were noted in 2018 during the phase of pea budding. In the cases with plowing and discing, the moisture content decreased in the horizon of 0–30 cm to critical values of 0–10 mm/ha. Significant differences in pea productivity between options with tillage were revealed only in 2019. The maximum yield was observed on plowing – 5.54 t/ha, the minimum on the option with direct sowing — 5.54 t/ha. Under drought conditions, maximum yields were observed in the variant with direct sowing of pea seeds.