The effect of peat and manure tablets on the quality of vegetable crops when cultivated on meadow-chernozem soil

Most vegetable crops (peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, eggplants, cucumbers, etc.) can be grown as seedling. Previous experience shows that thanks to seedlings it is possible to obtain crop yields with a long growing period even in areas with a short summer. Field experiments were conducted in 2015-2018 on the territory of the Experimental Field of Omsk State Agrarian University named after P.A. Stolypin in order to study the effect of peat and manure tablets (PMT) on vegetable seedlings and, after transplanting them on meadow-chernozem soil, on the quality of peppers, tomatoes and eggplants. Vegetable seedlings were grown under greenhouse conditions using PMT (“pure” and in combination with various doses of mineral fertilizers). Meadow-chernozem soil and soil used in the greenhouse were taken as a control option for determining the effectiveness of the tablets on the chemical composition, growth and development of the seedlings. The research regarded the following crops: pepper (variety “Victoria”); tomato (variety “Volgogradsky 5”); eggplant (variety “Universal 6”). Seedling were transplanted in open ground after 35-40 days for tomatoes, after 45-50 days for pepper and eggplant. Among the quality parameters, the content of dry matter and ascorbic acid in the fruits of peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants were studied. The amount of dry matter depends on the fertilizers applied and the nutrient mixtures used as a substrate. The lowest amount of dry matter was noted in vegetables in the options with pure soil: for tomatoes 4.95%, for peppers 8.4% and for eggplants 7.25%. These options showed the lowest content of ascorbic acid in the fruits of the studied vegetable crops as well. The highest accumulation of ascorbic acid was obtained in the options using peat and manure tablets and mineral fertilizers. The relationship between the level of provision of seedlings of peppers, tomatoes and eggplants with mineral nutrition elements and the content of vitamin C in plant fruits was established.