Agriculture in the Non-Chernozem Zone

Climate

The climate is moderately continental, with continentality increasing from west to east. The average annual precipitation decreases from excessive in the northwest to insufficient in the east and southeast. In the western regions, 700–750 mm of precipitation falls during the year, the sum of active temperatures during the growing season reaches 2000–2200 °C, and the growing season lasts 140 days. In the eastern regions of the zone, annual precipitation is up to 400–500 mm, the sum of active temperatures is up to 1400–1500 °C, and the growing season lasts 100 days.

Precipitation varies greatly from year to year and within the year. Deviations from the long-term average in individual years reach 50–60%. It is often too low in the first half of summer, that is, during the most critical phases of plant growth, and too high in the second half, that is, during harvest.

Droughts occur in the eastern, southeastern, and southern regions. For this reason, the system of agronomic measures should include techniques to provide crops with moisture during critical periods of development and to combat excess moisture in the second half of summer, and in the western and northwestern regions in spring and summer.

A large amount of precipitation in winter determines large water reserves in spring during snowmelt. Therefore, erosion-control measures against water erosion must be taken into account.

High snow cover, often more than 20 cm, reliably protects winter crops from frost. The average minimum soil temperature at the depth of the tillering node for most regions is -5...-8 °C, that is, close to the optimal value.

Soil cover

The soil cover is diverse. Sod-podzolic soils of varying degrees of podzolization and thickness of the sod horizon predominate. In the north and northwest of the taiga-forest zone, bog, podzolic-bog, podzolic-gley, peat-gley, and meadow soils are widespread. In the south, gray and dark gray forest soils occur. In river floodplains, floodplain alluvial soils occur.

The soils of the Non-Chernozem Zone are characterized by low natural fertility: acidic reaction, low supply of nutrients, and the presence of mobile aluminum in the arable and subarable layers. On such soils, liming of acidic soils, maximum use of organic fertilizers, and application of high doses of mineral fertilizers become very important. According to particle-size composition, the soils of the Non-Chernozem Zone are represented by loams, sandy loams, and sandy soils. This determines the methods of basic soil tillage and crop cultivation technologies. Often the depth of the arable layer is 18–20 cm and requires improvement.

Most soils of the Non-Chernozem Zone contain a small amount of humus, which determines their low microbiological activity, poor physical properties, and nutrient regime. Sod-podzolic, podzolic, and sod-gley soils are poor primarily in nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc. Sandy and sandy loam soils contain even less organic and mineral nutrients than heavy soils.

Sod-podzolic soils contain 0.8–2% humus, acidity pH 4.0–5.5, base saturation up to 80%, and are poor in nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium. The biological activity of uncultivated sod-podzolic soils is low. Significant areas of natural forage lands and arable land in the northwestern and northeastern regions are stony.

The humus content in gray forest soils is from 2 to 4%; they are less podzolized than sod-podzolic soils.

Relief

The taiga-forest zone is characterized by heterogeneous relief. In the north, west, and center of the zone it is relatively calm; in the south and southeast it is more dissected and erosion-prone. Strong dissection of the relief leads to large runoff of meltwater and stormwater, up to 700–1000 m³/ha, washing away up to 25–50 t/ha and soil erosion, accelerated gully formation, drainage and drying of fields, reduced fertility, and crop shortfalls.

A major disadvantage of land use by enterprises in this zone, especially in the north and northwest, is the small-contour nature of the land, which complicates mechanization of field work.

Vegetation cover

The taiga-forest zone is characterized by high forest cover, up to 70–90%, especially in the northern and northeastern regions, which helps protect the soil from water and wind erosion.

Diverse herbaceous vegetation is represented by legumes, grasses, and mixed herbs, well adapted to local growing conditions, and helps increase soil fertility.

Basic fertilizer

The fertilizer system for individual crops in crop rotation in the Non-Chernozem Zone includes basic application, pre-sowing application, and top dressing. Organic fertilizers, lime, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers are applied as basic fertilizer under autumn plowing. When cultivating spring grain and row crops, nitrogen fertilizers are applied in spring during cultivation; for winter crops, they are applied as top dressing. When applying increased doses of nitrogen fertilizers (90–120 kg/ha) on loamy soils, 1/3 of the norm is applied under autumn plowing. Fertilizer applied in spring also belongs to basic application.

It is especially important to determine doses of nitrogen fertilizers for winter and spring crops under whose cover leguminous grasses are undersown. A powerful stand and high grain yields of the cover crop worsen the water and nutrient regimes of the grasses, as well as solar insolation, which weakens their growth, leads to thinning, and reduces yields. In the Non-Chernozem Zone, applying high doses of nitrogen, more than 90 kg/ha at one time or in one application, is inappropriate. Split application increases the utilization coefficient of nitrogen fertilizers, their effectiveness, and improves the quality of agricultural products.

On sandy and sandy loam soils, nitrogen fertilizers for spring cereals and row crops are applied only in spring. For winter crops on all soil types, 1/3 of the nitrogen fertilizer norm (30–40 kg/ha) is applied before sowing. When winter crops are placed in crop rotation after grain legumes and leguminous grasses, applying nitrogen before sowing often does not produce a positive result.

If the farm has a sufficient amount of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, the fertilizer system can provide for their application under perennial grasses "in reserve," that is, for 3–4 years, since phosphorus and potassium are well fixed in the soil and are less effective when applied superficially as top dressing. This especially applies to phosphate rock.

To ensure a positive humus balance on sod-podzolic soils, it is necessary to apply annually from 15 to 20 t/ha or more of organic fertilizers, and on sandy soils up to 30 t/ha or more. Bedding-free semi-liquid manure from industrial livestock complexes is used for direct application to the soil and for preparing composts. Bedding-free chicken manure must be composted with straw, peat, crop residues, or soil. Liquid organic fertilizers are used when irrigating crops in fodder crop rotations located near livestock complexes.

Pre-sowing fertilizer

Pre-sowing fertilizer is intended for application in rows when sowing spring and winter crops: granulated superphosphate, ammophos, nitrophoska, and other compound fertilizers. On well-fertilized soils, the effectiveness of this technique decreases, but it remains advisable, since fertilizers applied at sowing promote good emergence, increased tillering, and overwintering of winter crops.

Top dressing

Top dressing with nitrogen fertilizers is intended primarily for winter crops, which come out weakened after overwintering and need nitrogen first. Top dressing with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers is carried out when the crop received an insufficient amount of these fertilizers during basic application. Top dressing with nitrogen for perennial grasses with a large proportion of legumes is inappropriate. As the proportion of the legume component in the grass mixture decreases below 50%, which happens in the second year of grass use, spring nitrogen top dressing N_40-60 is provided.

In crop rotations with flax, a complete mineral fertilizer is applied for this crop, but the nitrogen dose is significantly lower than that of phosphorus and potassium. Excess nitrogen leads to lodging of flax and worsens the quality of flax fiber. This is especially important when flax is placed after high-yielding perennial grasses with a predominance of clover. In this case, the nitrogen dose should be no more than 30 kg/ha. After other predecessors, including after turnover of the sod layer, the nitrogen dose is no more than 40–60 kg/ha. On cultivated soils where there is a risk of flax lodging, flax sowings after clover sod with a hay yield of 5 t/ha will not ensure a high-quality harvest. In this case, flax is placed after turnover of the sod layer or after other predecessors.

In crop rotations on sandy and sandy loam soils, a large share is occupied by sowings of leguminous crops: lupine for fodder and grain, green manure, and also serradella. These plants have good nitrogen-fixing ability and need phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. The effectiveness of macronutrients, especially at increased doses, is affected by the supply of micronutrients.

The fertilizer system for crops grown on peat-bog soils, which have high productivity, is based on the use of soil nitrogen reserves and the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Nitrogen fertilizers are used for top dressing winter grain crops and perennial cereal grasses, especially on shallower, poorly cultivated peat-bog soils.

Liming

Liming is carried out with full doses in areas with strongly and moderately acidic soils. On slightly acidic soils, planned maintenance liming is carried out, which compensates for the natural loss of carbonates, preventing a large time gap between limings. In areas where the area of acidic soils constitutes 30–60% of the total arable land area, along with maintenance liming, intensive liming of strongly acidic soils is carried out. In field and fodder crop rotations, lime is optimally applied under cover crops.

Northwest

The soils of the northwestern region of the Non-Chernozem Zone are characterized by low fertility, excessive moisture, and a tendency to waterlogging. Under conditions of heat deficiency and poor soil aeration, agromeliorative techniques are necessary to eliminate excessive moisture and improve aeration and thermal regime.

To eliminate excessive moisture, narrow-strip plowing, creation of ridge and bed surfaces, deep chiseling, and slotting are used.

Subsoil loosening is one of the techniques for improving the water and air regimes of the lower soil layers.

Where there is a risk of water erosion, plowing across the slope, deep loosening, slotting, and pitting are used.

Northeast

A significant part of the sod-podzolic soils of the Northeast of the Non-Chernozem Zone is formed on mantle loams, more saturated with bases and underlain by porous carbonate rocks. Their cultivation level is low.

The most effective methods of basic tillage for poorly cultivated sod-podzolic soils with increased acidity are plowing with plows with subsoil looseners and plows with cut-out bodies. The effectiveness of subsoil loosening is higher the thinner the arable layer and the lower the degree of soil cultivation. On poorly cultivated sod-podzolic soils, mineral fertilizers and lime are used to increase fertility.

With sufficiently deep cultivation of the arable layer and systematic application of organic and mineral fertilizers and lime, it is possible to alternate methods of moldboard, nonmoldboard, deep, and surface tillage in crop rotation.

To combat water erosion, plowing across the slope, deep loosening, slotting, and pitting are used.

Central region

The Central region of the Non-Chernozem Zone has a longer warm period; the share of cultivated soils is higher than in the northwestern region. Therefore, agriculture is more intensive, with a greater range of cultivated crops, crop rotations, and technologies used.

The system of basic soil tillage in the Central region provides for regular turning of the arable layer. Along with plowing to a depth of 20–22 cm for grain crops and 25–27 cm for row crops, the soil tillage system in crop rotations is supplemented by surface and deep loosening (chiseling).

After harvesting grain crops and flax, autumn tillage is carried out, including postharvest stubble discing and subsequent, after 2–3 weeks, plowing with plows with skimmers to the depth of the arable layer with deepening.

On fields free of weeds after row crops, plowing is replaced by surface tillage for winter rye and wheat, vetch-oat and pea-oat mixtures. On light sandy loam and sandy soils, nonmoldboard tillage is promising, helping protect soils from wind erosion and accumulate organic and mineral substances.

For the Central region, early autumn tillage is most effective; depending on tasks and conditions, it can be supplemented by subsequent cultivation, discing, creation of water-retaining devices, loosening, furrowing, slotting, etc.