Role of soil fertility and varieties in increasing the yield of grain crops

A review of publications devoted to the study of the effect of mineral fertilizers on the yield of various varieties of grain crops on various soils is presented. At the same time, special attention is paid to the assessment of the equity participation of various factors in the formation of their productivity. It was found that the greatest contribution to the formation of yield falls on soil fertility, which on sod-podzolic highly cultivated soils amounted to 68–90%, depending on nitrogen doses and varieties, and the share of nitrogen fertilizers varied from 10 to 32%. The coefficient of variation between varieties in terms of yield was in the range of 16–20%. The increase in winter wheat yield from nitrogen application in comparison with the standard Zarya variety ranged from 64 to 146%. In the experiment of VNIPTIHIM, where 33 varieties of winter wheat and 17 varieties of spring barley were tested, the share of the soil fertility factor in the formation of the winter wheat harvest was 81–82, spring barley – 83–89%, the contribution of the variety, respectively, was 6, 13 and 6%.

On ordinary chernozem, its participation in the formation of winter wheat yields slightly exceeded the indicators of sod-podzolic soils, as well as the contribution of fertilizers, despite the introduction of higher doses of mineral fertilizers. The variation in yield depending on the variety was 5–6%. In the experiment on leached chernozem, which was characterized by average agrochemical cultivation, the most productive variety of winter wheat showed a yield 2 times less than that of the previously considered varieties.