Soil acidity
The acidity of is expressed in the degree of concentration of hydrogen ions in the soil solution. The increased acidity of the soil adversely affects the development of many useful soil microorganisms and the plants themselves, which, with increased acidity, significantly reduces the ability to assimilate nutrients, as a result of which they suffer from mineral starvation.
Crop requirements for soil acidity
Neutral and slightly alkaline ( pH 6.5-7.5) Onions, lettuce, spinach, parsley, celery, cucumber, carrots, beets, beans, beans, garlic, cabbage( species).
Neutral and slightly acid ( pH 6.5-5.5) Tomato, radish, peas, rutabaga, turnip, radish, pumpkin, rhubarb.
Slightly acidic and acidic ( pH 5.5-5) Sorrel, potatoes.
For most vegetable plants, soils with a high content of organic matter( humus), a weakly acidic or neutral reaction of the soil medium are necessary. The most sensitive to acidity increase are beet, cabbage of all kinds, onion, garlic, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, celery, especially at a young age. These cultures do not tolerate acidic soils and require a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction of the soil medium. On the contrary, sorrel and potatoes carry somewhat elevated soil acidity. All other cultures require a neutral acid reaction.
To reduce soil acidity, liming - is carried out by lime, which improves soil structure and enhances the vital activity of soil organisms. The most responsive to the liming of the soil are cabbage, beetroot, onion, garlic, lettuce, spinach, celery, peas, which significantly add even slightly acidic soils to the crop, then - carrots, cucumber, beans, turnips, cauliflower, rutabaga. Less need for liming radish, zucchini, tomato, sorrel: they need liming only on strongly acidic soils.
For liming it is very important to determine the rate of lime in accordance with the characteristics of the soil and the cultivated crop. The amount of lime required to reduce the acidity of the soil is called the complete norm. It depends on the acidity of the soil. Liming can be carried out at almost any time, but it is most convenient to apply lime in autumn, under digging, or partially in the spring, before sowing or planting - 1/2 or 1/3 of the dose. Lime is applied depending on the type of soil every 3-5 years, after which again check the acidity of the soil and, if necessary, repeat the liming. Lime materials can not be applied to the soil at the same time as manure, as this increases nitrogen losses.
Soil cultivation
Properly conducted soil cultivation with agrotechnical requirements significantly improves the conditions for plant growth and nutrition. Thus, high-quality soil cultivation is a guarantee of plant health and a good harvest. For vegetable crops, which are highly demanding of moisture and nutrients, it is necessary to create a deep( 35-40 cm) fertile soil layer. It is especially necessary for land with podzolic soils, where the natural natural humus layer does not exceed 5-10 cm. To increase it, the soil is treated with a constant annual capture of the underlying horizon by 2-3 cm and the application of organic fertilizers.
Proper soil cultivation is essential. From the way it is processed, the intensity of germination of seeds, the emergence of seedlings, the penetration of roots into the soil depend. The soil cultivation system should be aimed at creating favorable conditions for the growth and development of plants, the constant increase of fertility, the destruction of pests and certain diseases.
In addition, during the development of any type of soil, it is necessary to carry out their cultivation, implying an improvement in their physical and mechanical properties. Sandy soils can be improved by artificially creating a fertile layer. To do this, use a special agrotechnical technique - clay. It consists in pouring a layer of clay or clay soil 5-6 cm thick( 5-6 buckets per 1 m2) on a site where vegetable crops are supposed to be grown, carefully leveling it, and then - a layer of loamy, sandy loam or peatysoil. The clay does not decompose and has 9632; 9632;with its own water-retaining capacity, organic and mineral fertilizers are not washed out.
Gradually, in the course of further annual treatment, the fertile layer increases to 40 cm.
Clay soils also need to be cultivated, they need to be made more loose. For this, a technique called is used. Add ordinary river sand to the soil. Make it under plowing or digging the site. Clay soil, mixed with sand, becomes physicomechanical properties close to loamy. The introduction of manure, peat, compost promotes its loosening and improving the air regime.
Peat soils have a high content of organic matter. Due to the large amount of organic matter, they are less thermally conductive, especially in the upper dry layer. To eliminate this disadvantage, it is necessary to combine the claying and sanding of peat soils. To do this, clay and sand are evenly scattered over the surface of the site, and then the shovel( about 25 cm) is closed onto the bayonet. On the plot, 4-5 buckets of sand, 2-3 buckets of clay are added per 1 m2.Sanding and clay greatly improve the water-physical properties of peat soils. Their water regime improves, the optimum temperatures in the root zone of the soil are established 15-30 days earlier, the probability of late spring and early-autumn frosts decreases.
In addition, in the processing of any type of soil, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied and sealed under the shovel, and if the soil is acidic, then the corresponding amount of lime.
The guarantee of successful digging is the vertical position of the shovel. At an inclined position, the depth of the layer being treated decreases and the work takes longer. The layer of the earth during digging is conveniently cut by a shovel at right angles to the furrow;this facilitates the separation and flipping of each lump.
Garden soils at any stage of development and cultivation should be subjected to annual processing.
Soil treatment provides access to moisture and air in the root layer, creates favorable conditions for the normal life of useful microorganisms that decompose organic matter, clear of weeds, destroy pests and pathogens. It is also necessary for embedding organic and mineral fertilizers after their introduction, for appropriate preparation of the soil for sowing or planting.
Determination of soil readiness for
processing Digging, loosening and leveling of the soil surface is performed when it is ready, or ripeness. You can not start treatment too early, when the soil is waterlogged, smeared, and not friable, it sticks to the shovel, but you can not lag with processing, otherwise the soil will dry up. In both cases, the structure of the soil deteriorates, the surface is lumpy, difficult to reprocess. Practically, the soil is considered ready for processing, or ripe, if a handful of earth, taken from a depth of 10 cm and squeezed into a ball, falls evenly from a height of 1 m evenly.
With autumn and spring soil cultivation, the effectiveness of vegetable care is inextricably linked. The choice of a soil treatment system for them is determined by the type of soils, climatic conditions, the type of cultivated plants, the need to maintain and improve soil fertility. It is assumed that the weed will be destroyed and the moisture reserves in the soil preserved. Depending on the density and texture of the soil, the processing system is not the same.
It should be borne in mind that the roots of a number of crops( carrots, parsnips) usually penetrate deep into the soil. If they run into a compacted layer of soil( the sole), then the growth of the root can stop. Such a sole appears usually as a result of digging a section into the same depth( bayonet bayonet) for a number of years. Destroy the soil sole can be through a two-level digging.
Sod-podzolic and gray forest soils have heavy mechanical composition and increased moisture capacity, so their autumn digging for vegetable crops is mandatory. During the winter, such soils tend to become denser and in the spring they need additional treatment - deep loosening early in the spring and pre-sowing loosening, which, with late planting or planting crops, simultaneously provides for the destruction of weeds.
In the vegetable gardens, deep loosening is carried out by rakes or hoes. This technique was called moisture closure. In order to prevent the germination of weeds, the soil is loosened to a depth of 2-10 cm by cultivators. Deep loosening of the soil compacted during the winter can be replaced by a shallow digging, reducing the depth of digging by 3-4 cm, so as not to turn the fertilizer and the weeds closed in autumn. After the spring digging, the soil surface is carefully leveled.
Development of virgin land
In the spring or summer, the jammed area is dug to a depth of 10 cm, with the inverted turf carefully crushed with a shovel and left until the fall. In autumn the site is dug again to a depth of 20 cm. At the same time, the crushed sod, falling into the soil layer( 18-20 cm), does not germinate and decompose.
Next spring, tillage of the virgin soil is reduced to digging the soil to a depth of 10-15 cm, so that the organic fertilizers and sod in the fall remain in the lower layer and are not turned out by the shovel to the surface. Following the digging, the clods are crushed by rakes, leveled, after which they sow or plant plants. In autumn, after harvesting, the soil is dug to the full depth of the fertile layer. By this time, the sod is already decomposed and the rhizome weeds will die. Further processing is the same as on cultivated cultivated soils.
Because most vegetable crops require loose, well-cultivated soil, pre-sowing( pre-plant) loosening of the soil in 2/3 of the digging depth was practiced in practice. Spring loosening is also necessary for embedding organic fertilizers, if they have not been introduced since autumn. Unlike sod-podzolic meadow floodplain soils do not need systematic deep and thorough loosening. To obtain amicable and complete shoots, it is important to timely close the moisture in the spring. For seedlings it is advisable to cultivate the soil immediately before planting the seedlings, which helps to preserve the moisture necessary for better plant survival. The density of chernozem and dark chestnut soils is optimal for most vegetable crops. The system of their processing is aimed primarily at maximum accumulation and rational use of moisture, as well as on effective control of weeds, diseases and pests of vegetable crops.
There is an opinion that the type of tillage affects the content of nitrates in vegetable products. With fine processing, the concentration of nitrates in vegetables is lower than in deep processing. This is due to the fact that with minor processing, the nitrification processes in the soil are weakened, hence, the amount of nitrate nitrogen in it is reduced. However, yields also decrease.