Sugar Beet Harvest Depending on Crop Rotation, Method of Basic Tillage, and Dose of Mineral and Organic Fertilizers

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.