Project stages:
Stage I: Documentation study regarding the actual status of using polymers in agriculture
The director and partner 1 were responsible for implementing this activity.
The following variants were established:
Variant 1 – non-treated.
Variant 2 – drained soil with ballast drained prisms.
Variant 3 – drained soil with structural stabilized drained prisms.
For a better understanding of the soil changes physical, chemical and biological properties were analysed. The soil air permeability were also determined using Eijkelkamp equipments that are in premiere in our country.
In this way some new indicators were determined that were used for re-calculating the formula of drainage and irrigation schemes and also the discharge coefficients in correlated with the soil type and slope.
Stage II: Experimentation of synthetical improvers in the lab and in the hall of soil modellation
The director and partner 1 were responsible for implementing this activity.
The following variants were established:
Variant 1 – non-treated.
Variant 2 – loosed soil without mineral fertilization application.
Variant 3 – loosed soil without deep mineral fertilization application.
The demonstrative field were organized taking into account the established experimental variants.
Information transfer to the farmers.
For soil and water conservation the traditional deep loosening method was applied (deep loosening correlated with deep fertilization). The deep loosening was applied according to the local conditions.
The proposed soil tillage system consisted of the deep loosening correlated with mineral fertilization that will positively affect the water and air soil regime and finally the crop production.
The experimental variants were included in an adequate crop rotation: soy-bean – wheat – corn – sun-flower – sugar-beat.
Crop irrigation.
The demonstrative field had a working irrigation system. The water ratio application was reccomended by the project director, differentiated by the crop need, yearly hydrologic condition, soil properties and quality of irrigation water. It was established an optimum water ratio for obtaining an adequate crop production and also a high economic water efficiency. An inadequate water ratio application resulted in soil and water table pollution.
Meteorologic conditions. For identifying the evolution of these factors within the experimental field it was designed a agrometeorologic station that willmake daily measures of the air temperature and rainfall. Using these data it was calculated the potential evapotranspiration and after that it was established the real water need of each crop and it was estimated the soil water balance and storage. In the same time it was used the reflectometric method for hydro-physical indiced determination and finally the results obtained will be compared.
Pedologic conditions. The research extent within the demonstrative field compared “in situ” measurements with new methods used for hydro-physical soil indices determination. It was measured the water content on 0-150 cm soil depth before sowing each crop and after sowing on root system development depth.
The results were correlated with that obtained using soil water balance equation soil water storage.
Irrigation water quality. The farmers were informed about the irrigation water quality. Irrigation water samples were taken time to time in order to analyse them and establish its quality. For the conventional irrigation water it was be measured the salt and sodium content and for the residual irrigation water these determinations will be correlated with specific analysis depending on the source of these waters and the potential polutans contents.
Quality of forage. The demonstrative field supplies animal farms and in this order it will be necessary to determine the forage and meat quality.
Fertilizer application. Besides mineral fertilization that was accomplished before seting up the experimental field it was used also organic fertilizers. In this order it was necessary to make agrochemical soil survey for establishing an appropriate ferilization plan based on organo-mineral fertilization.
It was taken plant samples at the main plant growth stages for determining the supplementary need fertilizers crop. An adequate fertilization system resulted in a high crop production and economic efficiency, a soil agrochemical properties improvement and soil and water pollution prevent, especially with nitrates.
It was also used the foliar fertilization that used low nutrients quantities and assures high efficiencies.
For this it was considered the following variants:
Variant 1 – not drained
Variant 2 – drained soil.
The variants were considered from the point of view ot the drainage method novelty. This method was applied just in this area of the experimental field that is about 1000 ha. In these variants it was studied the effect of drainage on soil properties affected by water logging. It was determined the soil air content, that was very useful for the farmers that were able to decide if their land was appropriately or not for drainage. The drainage scheme was re-calculated.
Other elements regarding to information transfer to the farmers.
The proposed project took into account the modern solution transfer from research area to agricultural practice. Besides the modern equipments that the project benefits, new apparatus with high efficiency and precision were taken:
- soil and water sampling probe. This equipment determined soil and water table pollutants loads on 30 cm depth;
- an apparatus for determining soil water retension tension given by a parameter named suction, that told the famers the need of their land reclamation.
The director and partner 1 were responsible for implementing this activity.