Effect of fertilisers on yield and biochemical quality indicators of table root crops

Relevance. High rates of growth and development of Russian industry, as well as population growth, create the need for increased harvesting of vegetables, including carrots and beetroot. Nowadays, for successful development of vegetable production it is important to improve not only yields but also the quality of products. The population requires ecologically clean and balanced nutrition, and vegetables contain carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, enzymes, hormones, organic acids, minerals and other substances, and also serve as a rich source of natural antioxidants. The aim of the study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the effect of different systems of fertiliser application on the yield of root crops and on their biochemical quality indicators. Material and Methods. The effect of different systems of fertiliser application on biochemical quality indicators of red beet variety Mulatka and table carrot variety Losinoostrovskaya 13 was studied on alluvial meadow soil in the conditions of the non-Black Earth region of Russia. Four variants of fertiliser application were considered in the experiment: mineral fertilisers as a standard conventional system of fertiliser application for the given region; organic fertilisers (biocompost); organic fertilisers in combination with root feeding with macroelements (NPK) according to the results of plant and soil nutrition diagnostics (plant and soil diagnostics of mineral nutrition was carried out according to the methods of Zerling V.V. (1990) and Magnitsky K.P. (1972)). Results. As a result of the conducted research carrot yield was 51.2-63.9 tonnes/ha with standard yield 87.4-94.6%, red beet yield 41.7-54.2 tonnes/ha, with standard yield 80.7-92.3%. According to the results of biochemical studies during the harvesting period it was found that the content of dry matter in carrot root crops was within 11.4-12.3%, sugars 7.26-8.22%, carotene 6.38-8.16 mg%, nitrates 73-172 mg/kg; in red beet root crops respectively 13.1-15.0% dry matter, 10.12-11.68% sugars, 112.1-156.2 mg% betanin, 507-969 mg/kg nitrates. The highest yield of root crops was obtained when mineral fertilisers were used and when they were used in combination with organic fertilisers. The quality of root crops increased when organic fertilisers were used in combination with fertilisation with mineral fertilisers.