The influence of cultivation technologies on moisture supply, phytosanitary condition of crops, yield and quality of soybean seeds

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate the impact of minimum tillage cultivation technologies on moisture availability, crop phytosanitary condition, yield, and soybean seed quality. The work was carried out in 2023-2025 in the Kursk region. The experimental design involved studying the following primary tillage options: traditional (ploughing to 23-25 cm); differentiated (chisel tillage to 23... 25 cm); minimum tillage (disking to 6-8 cm); and direct seeding (seeding without tillage). Mineral fertilizers (N17P45K45) were applied as a general background fertilizer in autumn under primary tillage (Amazone ZA-M 900) for traditional, differentiated, and minimum tillage technologies, and in the spring during soybean sowing (Don 114) for direct seeding. The soil is typical deep, heavy loamy chernozem with a humus content of 5.28%, available phosphorus and potassium of 200 and 127 mg/kg, respectively, and a pH of 5.3 units. Traditional soybean cultivation contributed to more efficient use of soil moisture compared to other studied options (a decrease in the water consumption coefficient by 57...123 m3/t). At the same time, the most favourable phytosanitary conditions were observed with its use (a decrease in the number of soil pest larvae by 28.3...41.9%, a decrease in the number of weeds during the critical period for the crop by 1.3...3.4 times, and a decrease in the number of weeds during the pre-harvest period by 2.0...2.2 times). This increased the thousand grain weight by 3.4...11.6 g, yield by 0.16...0.29 t/ha, and seed protein content by 0.47...2.12%. Key yield structure parameters were inversely related to the weed infestation indicators during the critical period for the crop: the number of weeds relative to the number of beans per m 2 (r=-0.51); weed dry matter relative to the thousand grain weight (r=-0.56).