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The study was performed to assess the effect of the main tillage methods and rates of mineral fertilizers on the yield, quality, and economic efficiency of barley grain production under the conditions of the Central Chernozem Region. The work was performed in 2014–2022 in crops of barley in a grain-grass row crop rotation located on a watershed plateau. The soil of the plot was typical medium loamy chernozem. We studied the variants with different rates of fertilizers: without fertilizers, N30Р30K30, and N60Р60K60 and with various methods of basic tillage: plowing to a depth of 20–22 cm, disking to 8–10 cm, and nonmoldboard loosening to 20–22 cm. The experimental data were processed according to the method of optimal planning of a multifactorial experiment. The yield of barley grain increased over the entire range of increased rate of fertilizers. The yield was the greatest (3.32–3.63 t/ha) on the background of plowing. The protein content and grain unit slightly depended on the rate of fertilizers. The mean for the fertilization variants amount of protein was maximal (13.1%) in the variant with soil disking and minimal nonmoldboard loosening (12.7%). The grain unit (631–637 g/L) corresponded to the first class according to GOST 28672-2019. Nonmoldboard loosening is preferable for obtaining better grain unit. The weight of 1000 grains increased parallel to the fertilizer rates. It was maximal (46.9–48.4 g) in the variants with nonmoldboard loosening and disking. The lowest prime cost of grain (4650 rubles/t on average) was recorded for disking. It increased from 4390–4820 to 4990–5540 rubles/t with the rise in the yield of barley grain in variants with higher rates of fertilizers, because yield gain did not cover the expenses for the application of higher fertilizer rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regularities of the influence of crop rotations, methods of basic tillage, and doses of mineral and organic fertilizers on the yield of sugar beet were studied in a multifactorial field experiment established in 1987 in the Belgorod oblast on typical heavy loamy chernozem with a 5.18–5.32% humus content in the 0–30 cm layer and 52–58 and 95–105 mg/kg of mobile phosphorus and potassium (according to Machigin), respectively, pHsalt = 5.8–6.4. The experiment was based on a full factorial 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 scheme, which includes 81 variants. The experiment had three repetitions. The plot size was 4 × 30 m. The regression method was used to describe the action and interaction of factors. The use of a quadratic model showed a close relationship between the actual and calculated values at R = 0.94–1.00. The grain-grass row crop rotation with perennial grasses had an advantage in which the average harvest of sugar beet root crops without fertilizers was 19.0 t/ha, 17.0 t/ha in the grain row crop rotation and 15.7 t/ha in the grain fallow crop rotation with black fallow. The nonmoldboard tillage was mostly used. In the grain-grass row crop rotation, the introduction of N180P180K180 increased the yield by 68.8–103.3%. The use of 80 t/ha of manure provided an increase in yield by 53.7–84.7%. In tilled crop rotations, yield increases from organic and mineral fertilizers were higher. In variants with double doses of mineral fertilizers, depending on tillage, the yield increased by 89.5–130.0%; with manure doses of 40 t/ha, the yield increased by 17.1–42.7%, 80 t/ha gave 86.8–109.3%. The maximum yield in the experiment (48.9 t/ha) was found in the crop rotation with black fallow and double doses of fertilizers against the background of plowing. The efficiency of mineral and organic fertilizers was higher when using deep tillage methods. The largest yield of sugar beet was found in the variants with the combined use of organic and mineral fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]