Soil Tillage for Winter Crops
Winter cereal crops are sown at dates that ensure an autumn vegetation period of at least 45–55 days. Before frost begins, they must develop a sufficiently strong root system, tiller, and accumulate reserves of plastic substances needed for overwintering.
Main tasks of soil tillage for winter crops:
- creation of a finely cloddy, loose seedbed layer with an even surface and a compacted seed bed;
- accumulation of sufficient moisture and plant-available nutrients;
- cleaning fields of weeds, control of diseases and pests.
Depending on zonal conditions and the adopted crop rotation system on the farm, winter crops may be placed after three types of preceding crops: clean fallows, coulisse fallows, occupied fallows, as well as non-fallow preceding crops.
Soil tillage for winter crops is performed taking into account the preceding crop, weed infestation, risk of erosion, soil type, its properties, weather and other conditions. Winter crops are responsive to plowing depth. Deepening of the arable layer is advisable during autumn tillage under the preceding crop with application of increased rates of organic fertilizers.
Soil Tillage for Winter Crops in Clean Fallows
Clean fallows are widespread in arid regions, in zones of unstable moisture, and also after sunflower, millet, barley and other crops that clutter fields because of weak competitiveness with weeds.
In the steppe regions of Siberia and Kazakhstan, which are characterized by severe snowless winters, winter grain crops are almost not cultivated, and spring wheat is sown after fallows. In this case the fallow field is cultivated over a longer period, including the spring of the year in which spring crops are sown.
The system of tillage of clean fallow, including black fallow, includes two periods: summer–autumn in the year of harvesting the preceding crop and spring–summer in the year of sowing winter crops.
Summer–Autumn Tillage
Summer–autumn tillage of black fallow is carried out immediately after harvesting the preceding crop, by the type of autumn tillage for spring crops. Surface treatments with fallow cultivators allow the upper layer to be maintained in a loose state, which promotes intensification of soil microbiological processes and accumulation of nutrients. Destruction of the surface crust prevents evaporation of moisture from deep layers.
On fields infested with annual weeds, stubble discing is carried out to 5–6 cm. When seedlings of weeds and volunteer plants appear en masse, repeat discing is carried out in a crosswise direction. In case of infestation with perennial weeds, the depth of repeat discing is increased to 12–14 cm, using share-type disk harrows.
In arid regions, instead of disk harrows, cultivators-flat cutters of the KPSH-5, KPSH-9 type or erosion-control KPE-3.8 are used, leaving plant residues on the field surface.
When stubble discing is performed in good time, soil drying is prevented, energy costs for plowing are reduced, and the quality of soil crumbling improves.
Autumn plowing is performed with plows with skimmers in moist regions without harrowing; in arid regions, with harrowing and leveling of the soil. During autumn plowing, the arable layer is deepened, especially on soils with low natural fertility and on sloping lands, observing all requirements for the deepening practice. Deep tillage of the soil in clean fallow allows increasing absorption and retention of atmospheric precipitation and meltwater.
On sloping lands, plowing is performed across the slope with simultaneous slotting to a depth of 30–40 cm to reduce water runoff and increase its reserves in the soil profile.
Fields left for fallows are those infested with perennial weeds, whose seedlings appear in late autumn after plowing. To cut the weed seedlings, surface cultivation without harrowing is carried out to 6–8 cm.
The depth of autumn plowing depends on the type and properties of the soil, field infestation and other conditions. For sod-podzolic soils, taking into account the thickness of the arable layer, the plowing depth is 20–22 cm; for gray forest soils and chernozems, as well as on infested fields, the depth is increased to 25–27 cm.
In arid conditions, plowing to a depth of more than 25 cm leads to excessive loosening, large water losses by evaporation, enhanced mineralization of organic matter, and weakening of erosion resistance. Therefore, in these conditions, summer–autumn tillage of clean fallow includes stubble loosening with needle harrows, for example BIG-3A or BMSH-15, BMSH-20, and when weed seedlings appear, flat-cut loosening is carried out with flat-cut cultivators of the KPSH-9, KPSH-11 type to a depth of 10–12 cm.
For reliable protection of the soil from wind erosion, at least 0.9 t/ha of stubble should remain on the field. The main treatment to a depth of 25–27 cm is performed in late autumn with flat-cut deep looseners of the KPG-250A, PG-3-100, PG-3.5 type.
On light-textured light chestnut and chestnut soils, the depth of flat-cut loosening in autumn can be reduced to 20–22 cm or moved to spring (Stavropol RIA).
Spring–Summer Tillage
By spring, clean fallows accumulate up to 80–160 mm of water. To avoid large moisture losses in spring, when physical ripeness is reached, harrowing is carried out with tooth harrows in two passes perpendicular to the plowing direction or diagonally.
To control weeds in the spring–summer period, layer-by-layer treatment of black fallow is carried out. In zones of sufficient moisture, black fallow is treated several times with disk harrows, share-type disk harrows or fallow cultivators, gradually increasing the loosening depth by 3–4 cm. The depth of the first discing is 6–8 cm, carried out when weed seeds germinate en masse. Seeds brought up from depth during discing, entering favorable conditions of the upper layer and with moisture and heat available, quickly produce seedlings, which are destroyed by repeat discing.
Repeated cutting of weeds with fallow cultivators sharply reduces field infestation, including with malicious weeds, provoking their germination with subsequent destruction. The weed seed bank is also strongly depleted. In addition to agronomic methods of weed and pest control, chemical and biological methods are used.
In zones of sufficient moisture, with abundant precipitation in the middle of the summer period, especially on slaking soils, their compaction is possible. Therefore, if there is no risk of drying, 3–4 weeks before sowing winter crops, re-plowing (double plowing) of the fallow to the full depth of the arable layer is carried out with plows without skimmers and simultaneous harrowing. Summer re-plowing promotes mixing of previously applied organic fertilizers.
Good results in weed control are given by a combination of layer-by-layer loosening with surface treatment. All types of summer treatments of black fallow are carried out in combination with harrowing; in arid weather conditions, additionally with soil packing. When a soil crust forms or when weed seedlings appear in the white-thread stage, surface harrowing is performed.
Clean fallow is suitable for applying organic and mineral fertilizers, liming or gypsum application. 2–3 weeks before sowing winter crops, organic fertilizers are applied and re-plowing (double plowing) of the fallow is carried out with plows without skimmers or share-type disk harrows on light soils to 16–17 cm, on heavy soils to 14–16 cm, that is, to a smaller depth than during autumn plowing, with simultaneous harrowing or leveling.
In the Non-Chernozem zone, black fallow is the best place in crop rotation for deepening the arable layer with simultaneous application of organic, mineral fertilizers and ameliorants.
In the arid zone and in regions of insufficient moisture, organic fertilizers are applied to the fallow field in autumn under the main plowing. To preserve moisture in the soil in arid regions, double plowing of fallow is not carried out.
In the spring–summer period, 1–2 layer-by-layer surface treatments are carried out with share-type or disk harrows after harrowing. Then, before sowing, the soil is cultivated: the first time to a depth of 10–12 cm; in case of infestation with root-sprouting weeds, to 14–16 cm; with rhizomatous weeds, to 12–14 cm; in case of infestation with creeping knapweed (Rhaponticum repens), chiseling to 18 cm. The depth of subsequent treatments is reduced. Packing after spring–summer deep treatments is also effective. Before sowing winter crops, cultivation is carried out to the depth of seed placement. Spring–summer treatments are carried out when weeds regrow or a surface crust forms.
In steppe arid regions subject to wind erosion risk, needle harrows of the BIG-3A type are used for spring harrowing; in the summer period, treatments are carried out with fine-loosening but non-inverting working tools, for example, flat-cutters, erosion-control cultivators, disk harrows with removed moldboards. The first cultivation to a depth of 10–12 cm is carried out when weed seedlings appear en masse. In case of infestation with perennial weeds, the depth is increased to 12–14 cm.
The number of cultivations in the summer period for care of clean fallows can be reduced from 4–5 to 1–2 through the use of herbicides, which is especially important for preserving moisture and reducing soil pulverization in arid conditions.
When abundant summer precipitation falls, it is recommended to alternate treatment of the fallow with flat-cut cultivators and cultivation with rod cultivators.
After 4–5 summer treatments of fallow, by autumn little stubble and plant residues remain, which sharply increases the risk of wind erosion. For this reason, fallow fields are treated in strips 100–200 m wide, oriented across the direction of prevailing winds. Fallow strips alternate with strips of grain crops; in the following year the strips are swapped, and each field passes through fallow not in one year but in two.
Treatment of Early Fallow
The effectiveness of early fallow can be increased if autumn post-harvest stubble discing or flat-cut treatment is carried out to control weeds. In this case, early fallow is called improved fallow.
In arid conditions and on light soils subject to wind erosion, early fallow has advantages over black fallow. According to the Prikumsk experimental station of Stavropol Krai, winter crops after early fallow show a yield 0.16–0.3 t/ha higher than after black fallow.
The stubble left after the preceding crop protects the soil from wind erosion, promotes accumulation and preservation of moisture, and also allows energy costs for autumn treatments to be reduced by 25–27%.
After stubble, in spring harrowing is carried out with needle harrows. Plowing of early fallow is carried out early in spring at physical ripeness of the soil to 20–22 cm using combined plowing units with simultaneous harrowing and packing. For this, plows are equipped with devices of the PVR-2.3 type (narrow-wedge and ring disks) for better crumbling of clods, leveling and soil packing. Early lifting of fallow prevents soil drying in arid conditions and helps control pests of winter crops, for example, sawfly and cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus).
On sod-podzolic soils in spring, early fallow is disked, and in case of severe infestation with rhizomatous weeds, cross disking is carried out. Plowing with plows with skimmers is performed when weed shoots appear in the awl stage, to the depth of the arable layer. If plowing must be postponed to summer, then during the spring–summer period several diskings or disk treatments are carried out with simultaneous harrowing. Before plowing, organic fertilizers are applied; for better mixing, the field is disked. Treatments for care of early fallow are carried out according to the same scheme as for black fallow. As weed seedlings appear, fields are cultivated with simultaneous harrowing and packing. When a soil crust forms, it is destroyed by harrowing.
Treatment of Coulisse Fallow
Fields of coulisse fallow after harvesting the preceding crop are treated as black or early fallow. Soils subject to wind erosion risk are left without treatment in autumn. When the field is infested with perennial weeds, shallow flat-cut treatment is carried out to a depth of 10–14 cm or replaced by treatment with herbicides.
In spring, after cover harrowing with needle harrows of the BIG-3A type, when mass weed seedlings appear, plowing is carried out to a depth of 20–22 cm with harrowing and packing. The plowing depth on heavy soils is increased to 25–27 cm. When there is a risk of wind erosion, deep loosening is performed with flat-cut deep looseners.
In the summer period, care of coulisse fallow is similar to care of clean fallow.
Coulisse plants, for example, mustard, rapeseed, maize, are sown 1–1.5 months before sowing winter crops, in such a way that they do not have time to form seeds and do not clutter the field. Sowing is carried out with coulisse drills of the SKN-3 type, combined with the next cultivation of the fallow. For sowing coulisses, it is possible to assemble a unit consisting of three cultivators, with a three-row coulisse drill attached to the middle cultivator, sowing three rows of plants with an inter-row spacing of 30 cm. The coulisse width is 0.6 m.
The distance between coulisses should be a multiple of the working width of the tillage unit; for example, for coulisse sowings of mustard and rapeseed it is 6–16 m, for maize 16–24 m.
Care of coulisse fallow in the inter-coulisse strips is carried out in such a way that the working tools of cultivators do not damage the plants.
For optimal effect, coulisses are placed across the winds prevailing in winter.
Grain crops are sown across the coulisse strips, partially damaging the coulisses themselves.
Soil Tillage in Occupied Fallows
Soil tillage in occupied fallows can be divided into two periods:
- the first — from harvesting the preceding crop to sowing the fallow-occupying crop;
- the second — from harvesting the fallow-occupying crop to sowing winter grain crops.
Soil tillage under the fallow-occupying crop is similar to tillage for spring crops. The choice of soil tillage practice for winter crops after harvesting the fallow-occupying crop is determined by field infestation, soil moisture, and the length of the period from harvesting the preceding crop to sowing winter crops. Heavy soils and infested fields with sufficient moisture are plowed immediately after harvesting annual grasses, since drying of such soils leads to great cloddiness, which prevents the soil from settling before sowing. With early plowing, before sowing, harrowing or 1–2 cultivations in combination with harrowing are carried out to destroy weed seedlings. For crumbling clods and leveling plowed soil, combined units of the RVK-3.6, RVK-5.4 type are used, which create good conditions for uniform seed placement, increase the completeness of seedlings, and as a result achieve an increase in winter crop yield by 0.15–0.2 t/ha.
Under fallow-occupying crops, for example annual grasses, deepening of the arable layer is possible so that winter crops can use the aftereffect of deep treatment. At the same time organic fertilizers and ameliorants are applied. Instead of plowing for winter crops, shallow treatment to a depth of 8–10 cm is used with disk tools in one or two passes with harrowing and subsequent pre-sowing cultivation. In dry weather the soil is additionally packed. On well-cultivated soils, weakly infested with perennial weeds, after harvesting annual crops the use of disk or share-type discing with harrowing is effective. To prevent soil drying before sowing winter crops, rotary tillage is carried out to a depth of 8–10 cm using cultivators of the KFG-3.6 type with simultaneous leveling and packing of the soil. This practice provides good loosening and mixing of the soil with mineral fertilizers. With surface tillage for winter crops, field infestation may increase, so it is combined with the use of herbicides.
Under conditions of high agricultural intensification, combining pre-sowing soil tillage with sowing winter crops has become widespread. For this, combined tillage and sowing units of VIM design are used, for example KA-3.6, KA-7.2, including a rotary tiller and a grain drill. On sod-podzolic and gray forest soils, this tillage technology ensures winter crop yields up to 4.5–5 t/ha; in dry years it increases by 0.2–0.4 t/ha.
On chernozems in dry years, after harvesting annual grasses, plowing is replaced by share-type discing to a depth of 12–14 cm, for example PPL-10-25, or shallow plowing with harrowing and packing. Subsequent treatments include 1–2 cultivations to a depth of 6–8 cm with harrowing and leveling of the surface. With severe soil drying, characteristic of steppe arid regions, plowing is replaced by treatment with heavy disk harrows to 10–12 cm followed by cultivation to 6–7 cm using fallow cultivators of the KPE-3.8, KRG-3.6 type, additionally equipped with needle harrows for good soil crumbling. The use of such units allows increasing the yield of winter wheat by 0.17–0.21 t/ha.
Fields after perennial grasses, as well as infested with perennial weeds, are first disked to a depth of 8–10 cm 12–15 days before plowing. When mass regrowth of weeds occurs, plowing is carried out with plows with skimmers. For plowing, combined plowing units of the PKA-2 type can be used, combining a plow, a soil leveler, and a section of ring-spur roller. The plowing unit allows plant residues and sod to be incorporated, the field surface to be leveled, the soil to be packed, and the soil to be prepared qualitatively for sowing.
In regions of sufficient moisture, when infested with annual weeds, plowing is carried out to the full depth of the arable layer with a plow with skimmers and simultaneous harrowing. Subsequently, as weeds regrow, surface loosening is carried out in dry years with a cultivator, in wet years with moldboard disk harrows in a unit with harrows. The first treatment is carried out to a depth of 10–12 cm, the second to 6–8 cm. Before sowing winter crops, the soil is cultivated to the depth of seed placement with simultaneous harrowing.
When fields are infested with rhizomatous and root-sprouting weeds, before plowing discing is carried out to 10–14 cm. Discing is especially effective on clayey and loamy soils, in dry weather, to facilitate and reduce energy costs of subsequent plowing. Plowing is replaced by discing when the fallow-occupying crop is harvested late and the soil does not have time to settle before sowing winter crops. The same is done in case of severe soil drying.
The timing of plowing the sod layer and methods of its treatment affect the field germination of winter crop seeds and the nature of their overwintering. Plowing immediately after mowing perennial grasses creates more favorable conditions for decomposition of root and crop residues in the arable layer and, accordingly, for providing plants with available nutrients. Plowing is carried out no later than 2–3 weeks before sowing winter grain crops. Early dates allow measures to control germinating weeds using surface cultivations. After plowing and until sowing winter crops, the soil is maintained in a loose state, using harrowing or shallow cultivations with harrowing. Before sowing winter crops, cultivation with harrowing is carried out to the depth of seed sowing.
In years with sufficient moisture, when the soil crumbles well during treatment, plowing is more effective in weed control. In dry years, plowing leads to soil drying, and therefore it is replaced by shallow treatment, which does not lead to a decrease in yield. The main thing in these conditions is the creation of a good loose seedbed layer with a compacted seed bed and leveled soil surface, and improvement of moisture supply for germinating seeds.
Table. Yield of winter crops under different methods of occupied fallow treatment, t/ha.
| Crop, cultivation region | Number of trials | Plowing to 20–22 cm | Disk or flat-cut treatment to 10–12 cm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter rye, Non-Chernozem zone | 34 | 31.3 | 32.7 |
| Winter wheat, Central Chernozem zone | 26 | 34.0 | 36.2 |
| Volga region | 47 | 22.6 | 23.2 |
| North Caucasus | 38 | 42.8 | 43.3 |
Soil Tillage after Fallow-Occupying Row Crops
As preceding crops for winter crops, maize for silage or green fodder, early varieties of potato, etc. are used. Under row crops, deep tillage is often carried out, including autumn plowing with plows with skimmers, deep chiseling or non-moldboard loosening. On soils with a shallow humus horizon, the arable layer is deepened using chiseling or plowing with cut-out bodies and other methods.
In the zone of sufficient moisture, row-crop potato fallow is widespread. Organic fertilizers for potatoes are applied under autumn deep autumn tillage. In cases when manure is not applied in autumn, it is taken to the field in winter, placed in large stacks, and incorporated in spring to a smaller depth than in autumn. Spring re-plowing of the fallow is combined with harrowing to prevent soil drying.
Early potato varieties are sown in the fallow, which manage to produce a yield 3–4 weeks before sowing winter crops. Potato care includes pre-emergence and post-emergence harrowing, inter-row cultivation and 1–2 hillings. After harvesting, the field remains sufficiently loose and clean of weeds, so plowing is not carried out; surface treatment is limited to loosening to 10–12 cm with heavy cultivators KPE-3.8, chisel cultivators KPCH-5.4, or discing with simultaneous harrowing and subsequent pre-sowing cultivation to the depth of seed sowing. If the field is infested and there are plant residues of the preceding crop, plowing with harrowing and subsequent packing is carried out.
Heavy and infested soils should be treated with share-type disk harrows to a depth of 14–16 cm or shallow plowing with harrowing and packing should be performed. For this, 5- and 6-furrow plows are used, equipped with special devices for crushing clods, leveling and packing the soil, for example PVR-2.3, allowing qualitative preparation of the soil for sowing.
In the southern regions of Russia, fallow occupied by maize or sunflower for green fodder or early silage is successfully used. To shred crop residues and loosen the upper soil layer well before plowing, the field is treated twice with heavy disk harrows of the BDT-7 type to a depth of up to 10–12 cm in a crosswise direction. In dry years after harvesting maize or sunflower, 2–3 treatments with disk harrows to 8–10 cm are carried out. To shred coarse plant residues, it is effective to use root-and-stem shredders.
Shallow treatment of fallows occupied by row crops is more effective than plowing. For example, plowing of chernozems in the steppe and forest-steppe zones often leads to great soil cloddiness, which settles poorly, requires high energy costs for additional treatments, negatively affects seed germination and uniformity of seedlings, and worsens overwintering conditions.
On less compacted chernozems after row crops, double disk discing is carried out to a depth of 10–12 cm followed by cultivation with KPE-3.8 or KRG-3.6 in combination with a needle harrow BIG-3. Before sowing, pre-sowing cultivation is carried out to the depth of seed placement with simultaneous packing.
Replacing plowing with shallow treatment saves 12.8 kg/ha of diesel fuel; the yield of winter wheat increases from 3.58 to 4.13 t/ha, soil preparation time is reduced, and it allows sowing winter crops at optimal dates.
After row-crop preceding crops, in case of insufficient time, dry weather and weed-free fields, plowing is replaced by discing to 10–12 cm and harrowing.
Treatment of Green-Manure Fallows
Soil tillage for sowing fallow-occupying crops is carried out similarly to tillage for spring crops. For the deep-penetrating taproot system of green-manure crops, a thick arable layer is required. Therefore, in the system of autumn tillage, deepening of the arable layer is possible with simultaneous application of low-moor peat, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. To reduce the intensity of organic matter mineralization on light soils, plowing is carried out in late autumn or moved to the spring period.
Annual lupine and serradella are sown in spring at the optimal dates for these crops, and perennial lupine and sweet clover under a cover crop preceding the fallow.
Green-manure crops develop slowly in the initial phases of vegetation and weakly compete during this period with weeds, therefore infested fields are first disked before plowing or herbicides are used. Deep plowing is also highly effective in weed control.
Spring pre-sowing soil treatment consists of harrowing and 1–2 cultivations to a depth of 6–8 cm with harrowing. The depth of the first cultivation on strongly compacting soils is increased to 10–12 cm.
The plant mass of annual non-alkaloid lupine is mowed for green fodder, and the crop and root residues are plowed in with moldboard plows without skimmers 15–20 days before sowing winter crops on light soils, and 30–35 days on heavy soils, which usually corresponds to mid-July. For better incorporation of green-manure plants, before plowing they are packed or mowed. After plowing, the field is packed with ring rollers.
The green mass of green-manure plants is plowed in to the depth of the arable layer in the flowering or bean formation phase. For better incorporation, the plant mass is first packed along the plowing direction or disked in two directions. For these purposes, plows are equipped with disk knives instead of a skimmer, and before each body a metal bar is installed that presses the plants to the soil. The disk knives cut the plant mass and facilitate the work of the plow. To eliminate excessive looseness of the soil, after plowing the field is packed to prevent drying and accelerate decomposition of the green mass.
The long period from plowing in the green mass to sowing winter crops is accompanied by the appearance of weed seedlings, which necessitates additional harrowing or shallow cultivation. In the absence of perennial weeds, before sowing winter crops, disking the soil to 6–8 cm with simultaneous leveling is effective, so as not to bring undecomposed plant mass to the surface.
Soil Tillage after Non-Fallow Preceding Crops
Late harvesting dates, compaction and drying of the soil require higher-quality treatment in a short period of time, as a result of which treatment after non-fallow preceding crops is strictly differentiated, taking into account soil moisture, the preceding crop, field infestation and the length of the post-harvest period. In conditions of insufficient moisture after maize for grain and sunflower, plowing is replaced by treatment with heavy disk harrows to 10–12 cm in longitudinal and transverse directions. The first disking is carried out immediately after harvesting the preceding crop, the second simultaneously with packing.
After harvesting maize, sunflower or cereal crops, with sufficient moisture, plowing is carried out to 16–18 cm with simultaneous harrowing and packing. Deep plowing with preliminary discing is effective only when the soil is infested with rhizomatous and root-sprouting weeds. Discing is carried out when the soil is severely dry to facilitate the work of the plowing unit. Before sowing winter crops, cultivation or disking is carried out as weeds regrow, with pre-sowing cultivation.
In case of a long post-harvest period, the soil is additionally treated with a needle harrow or cultivated in a unit with needle harrows to improve the quality of soil crumbling. Before sowing winter crops, cultivation is carried out to the depth of seed placement.
In regions subject to wind erosion risk, after grain crops treatment is carried out leaving stubble on the field surface, for which flat-cut cultivators of the KPSH-5, KPSH-9, KPSH-11 type are used to a depth of 10–12 cm. Combined units of the AKP-2.5, AKP-5 type, including a flat-cutter, disk tools, needle harrows and ring-spur or ring rollers (ZKKSH-6A), provide better quality of soil treatment and help protect the soil from erosion, while reducing the number of machinery passes over the field and soil compaction.
In the zone with unstable moisture, after stubble preceding crops, semi-fallow soil treatment is effective, combining shallow plowing with subsequent surface treatments. For plowing, combined plowing units are used, equipped with devices for crumbling, leveling and packing the soil. For better crumbling of overdried soil, it is advisable to carry out treatment with needle harrows of the BIG-3 type after the plowing unit.
If the soil is dried out in the post-harvest period, plowing is replaced by treatment with share-type disk harrows without moldboards or a heavy disk harrow to a depth of 10–12 cm. Pre-sowing cultivation is combined with sowing by combined tillage and sowing units, with the SZS-2.1 drill. However, surface and flat-cut treatments increase the infestation of winter wheat plants by root rots and pests to 40–45%, especially when winter crops are placed after cereal preceding crops in zones with sufficient and unstable moisture.
In the Non-Chernozem zone, after stubble preceding crops, share-type discing is carried out to a depth of 12–14 cm or shallow plowing with harrowing. Incorporation of stubble of grain crops protects winter crops from root rot damage. Subsequent treatments consist of loosening and leveling the soil with combined units RVK-3.6. Before sowing, pre-sowing cultivation is carried out with harrowing and packing of the soil. The latter prevents soil settling, which leads to exposure of the tillering node of winter crops and freezing out.
In flax-growing regions, winter rye is sown after fiber flax, which follows perennial grasses. When placed after turnover of the sod layer, plowing is, as a rule, impractical, so it is replaced by shallow treatment with disk or share-type disk harrows to 10–12 cm or heavy cultivators KPE-3.8. Heavy and infested soils are plowed immediately after harvesting the preceding crop with simultaneous harrowing. Before sowing, the soil is cultivated with harrowing to the sowing depth.
In the case of sowing winter grain crops after the sod layer of perennial grasses of the 2nd year of use, after harvesting the grasses, disking and subsequent plowing with a plow with skimmers are carried out.
List of Sources
- Bazdyrev G. I., Loshakov V. G., Puponin A. I. et al. (2000). Agriculture. Textbook for universities. Moscow: Kolos Publishing House.
- Niklyaev V. S. (2000). Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Moscow: Bylina.
- Evtefeev Yu. V., Kazantsev G. M. (2013). Fundamentals of agronomy: textbook. Moscow: FORUM.
