A. A. Guseynov1, M. A. Arslanov1, G. N. Gasanov1,2, H. M. Mirzaeva1
1Dzhambulatov Dagestan State Agrarian University, ul. M. Gadzhieva, 180, Makhachkala, 367032, Russian Federation
2Daghestan Federal Research Centr of the Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. M. Gadzhieva, 45, Makhachkala, 367032, Russian Federation
Abstract. Research aimed to determine the optimal time for alfalfa ploughing up before corn cultivation. The work was carried out in 2014–2017 in the Republic of Dagestan. The soil of the test plot was light-chestnut with a humus content of 2.77% in the arable layer, the content of mobile phosphorus and potassium (according to Machigin) – 22.1 and 328 mg/kg, respectively. The following ploughing dates were studied: in the summer after the fifth mowing in the aftergrass branching phase (August); in spring, at the onset of physical ripeness of the soil in the alfalfa branching phase (April); in spring after the first mowing of alfalfa (May). The transfer of the alfalfa ploughing period to spring provided additional formation of 2.00 t/ha of air dry phytomass by the branching phase, 5.24 t/ha – by the first cut, with which 427.6–503.7 kg/ha of nitrogen, 77.6–78.8 kg/ha of phosphorus and 215.0–219.5 kg/ha of potassium enter the soil. The density of the arable soil layer in the phase of corn ear formation in the case of the May ploughing date decreased, in comparison with the August one, from 1.26 to 1.17 g/cm3, the degree of weed infestation of crops decreased from medium to low, soil porosity increased from 51.9% to 55.3%, structural coefficient rose from 1.5 to 2.3, the content of water-stable aggregates increased from 36.5 to 41.3%, and the yield of corn expanded by 18.8%. Under the conditions of the Western Caspian region with irrigation, alfalfa ploughing up for subsequent sowing of corn is possible not in autumn, but in spring of the next year in the phase of alfalfa’s branching or after the first mowing. This allows to accumulate a greater amount of the organic mass of the forecrop and the nutrients contained in it.
Keywords: alfalfa (Medicago sativa); number of cuts; dates of ploughing; corn (Zea mays L.); agrophysical properties; agrochemical properties; yield.
Author Details: A. A. Guseynov, Cand. Sc. (Agr.), assoc. prof.; M. A. Arslanov, D. Sc. (Agr.), prof. (e-mail: Этот адрес электронной почты защищён от спам-ботов. У вас должен быть включен JavaScript для просмотра.); G. N. Gasanov, D. Sc. (Agr.), prof.; H. M. Mirzaeva, postgraduate student.
For citation: Guseynov AA, Arslanov MA, Gasanov GN, et al. [Dates of alfalfa ploughing up before corn cultivation in the Western Caspian region]. Dostizheniya nauki i tekhniki APK. 2022; 36 (2):61-4. Russian. doi: 10.53859/02352451_2022_36_2_61.