Increasing the productivity of soybean and winter wheat by improving water supply of crops

The aim of the research at the Armavir experimental station of V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops was to identify the most efficient way to preserve productive moisture reserves in the root layer of the soil, by reducing its unproductive losses in the cultivation of soybeans and winter wheat. In field experiments on ordinary chernozem, we studied the complex use of subsurface and mulching materials and their impact on crop productivity in crop rotation. The polymeric moisture absorbent (hydrogel) was introduced to a depth of 9-10 cm at a dose of 400 kg per ha simultaneously with soybean sowing. After receiving seedlings, the rows were covered with mulching materials. The black-and-silver film was the most efficient of the tested materials, which has high reflective properties and contributes to an increase in soybean productivity by 13.5%. In variants using non-woven materials and finely divided chalk, the increase in productivity was not so significant...