The influence of soil-drying inputs on the soil and the productivity of crops

Abstract

In Kazakhstan, agricultural land has been degraded for decades, leading to an overall decline in crop yields. The purpose of the study is to conduct an environmental assessment of the current state of Kazakhstan’s soils to increase crop yields using soil protection methods. The following methods were used in the study: cartographic, analysis and synthesis, systematization, abstraction, specification, and forecasting. Agriculture accounts for 86% of Kazakhstan’s land. Active land use has led to various forms of degradation, resulting in 90 million hectares of eroded soils, of which 29.3 million hectares are almost completely eroded. In 2023, the average yield of grain crops was 9.3 c/ha, oilseeds – 7.1 c/ha, and vegetables – 275.4 c/ha. It is noted that the yield of grain crops in 2023 is 28% lower than in the previous period of 2020-2022, despite the increase in sown areas. Drought and soil degradation are the main reasons for the decline in grain yields. It is noted that the main biological constraints to grain production are soil drought, windstorms, degradation and extreme temperatures, especially in rainfed irrigated farming systems in arid lands such as southern Kazakhstan. In the northern and central parts of Kazakhstan, agricultural land is dominated by black and chestnut soils, and in the south by brown semidesert soils. The largest areas of eroded agricultural land are located in Almaty, Atyrau and Turkestan regions – over 30%, and the smallest – in Akmola, Karaganda, Kostanay and North Kazakhstan regions – 5%. Productive grain growing requires soil monitoring for the main mobile elements that affect plant yields. The average values for the Republic of Kazakhstan are: nitrogen content – 37.5 mg/kg, phosphorus – 16.8 mg/kg, potassium – 419.5 mg/kg, humus – 2.8%. The practical significance of the study is to expand and supplement the theoretical basis of research in the field of soil degradation, and the results obtained are proposed for a comprehensive environmental assessment of soils in Kazakhstan