Application of water suspension of saponite on sod-weak podzolic loamy sand continuous-cultivated soil as ameliorant

One of the main problems of agricultural development in the Northern territories is increased soil acidity. The main method of reducing acidity is chemical reclamation of agricultural land soils. Lime materials from quarries in the Arkhangelsk region are not registered in the list of agrochemicals allowed for use in the Russian Federation. Ameliorants included in this list are mined or manufactured at a significant distance from the territory of the region, which leads to additional costs for delivery and is affected in the cost of final products of agricultural producers. We are studying the possibility of using as ameliorant calcium-containing by-products of the processing plant for diamond mining of "Severalmaz" from the Deposit named after M.V. Lomonosov, represented by water suspension of saponite. Rich amounts of this clay mineral are due to the geological features of the Deposit, and the unique properties of saponite suggest the possibility of its use as a mineral fertilizer, including for improving the physical and chemical properties of the soil. In this study, the possibility of using water suspension of saponite as ameliorant was studied. The experiment was conducted in the Kholmogorsky district of the Arkhangelsk region, on a naked fallow. The effect of water suspension of saponite on the exchangeable and hydrolytic acidity, on the amount of aluminum equivalents in the soil solution was established. Differences in the effect of spring and autumn application of saponite-containing materials were recorded and their proportion were established, which showed the best results of using saponite as ameliorant.