Lettuce is very popular in the Russian consumer market. Special conditions for its cultivation determine the need to select modern, inexpensive elements of agro-technology that promote high yields. At present biochar (bio-coal) is considered as a promising organic fertilizer. Its main difference lies in the possibility of using any organic raw material in its production. In Russia, the study on the use of biochar is limited; there is no practice of applying it in the complex of agricultural techniques of various agricultural crops. In the conditions of vegetative experiment, the influence of various doses of biochar in ordinary chernozem on the growth and development of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) cultivar was studied in accordance with the developed experiment scheme: control (without biochar), supplemented with 1, 2 and 5 % of biochar. In the experiment, biochar obtained from birch wood was used, by pyrolysis method in fraction of 0.5-5mm. The following observations and determinations were made: the timing of the onset of the phases of plant development, the length of the roots, the number of leaves, the length of the largest leaf, the height of plants, the diameter of the rosette, the mass of 10 plants. The use of biochar contributed to a reduction of beginning period technical ripeness in plants, particularly in variant with the addition of 2%. The increase in root length, the number of leaves of lettuce plants as compared with to control in variants with 2 and 5% of biocar has been observed. The length of the largest leaf, the height of plants and the diameter of the rosette of lettuce are characterized by a significant improvement, even in variant with 1%. Productivity of lettuce was highest in the variant with 2% of biochar applied to the soil.

Potato and table beet are traditional crops in vegetable growing in Russia. It is important to produce high, environmentally friendly crops. The effect of mineral fertilizers to reduce the accumulation of heavy metals (HM) in beetroot and potatoes was studied in the experiment on ordinary chernozem. The soil was supplied with Cu, Zn and Pb, as a mineral fertilizer, Azofosca (N16%, P16%, K16%) was also used in the experiment. Salts of heavy metals and fertilizer were introduced in accordance with the developed scheme of experiment: 1. Control; 2. Cu100Zn100Pb100; 3. N60P60K60 + Cu100Zn100Pb100. In the soil, the total stock of metals and their mobile forms were determined, and the content of metals and yield were defined in plants. The results of the study showed that for gross forms MRL exceeded in all metals studied, and in mobile forms of Cu and Pb. With the joint application of HM to the soil with fertilizer, the mobility of metals decreased. In the root crops, the excess of MRL for Cu, Zn and Pb was observed. With the joint application of HM with fertilizers, the content of Zn and Pb in the root crops decreased below the MRL. Beet was more likely to accumulate HM than potatoes. The yield of beetroot and potato beets varied greatly in terms of experiment options. Thus, the introduction of HM into the soil significantly reduced the yield of beets. The introduction of fertilizers together with HM contributed to an increase in yield, but for beet, the yield level here was also lower than in the control variant. When growing roots in technogenically transformed conditions, the potato is characterized by sufficiently higher yield stability and does not accumulate toxic amounts of HM on a fertilized ground.