Agriculture and forestry

Aleksidze Guram – Academician, Doctor of Biological Science, Professor, Georgian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, (0102, 51 I. Javakhishvili str., Tbilisi, Georgia, e-mail: guram_aleksidze@yahoo.com)

Lolishvili Revaz – Doctor of Agricultural Science, Georgian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, (0102, 51 I. Javakhishvili str., Tbilisi, Georgia, e-mail: rezo. lolishvili@gmail.com)

 The issues of soil fertility reduction in Georgia are reviewed in the article. The paper deals with the causes of soil degradation and presents figures showing current situation about degraded land areas and its fertility level. The role of pulse crops in soil fertility enhancement is evaluated. Legumes help in improving the soil physical environment, increasing soil microbial activity, and restoring organic matter, and also has smothering effect on weed.

In 91 years after the development of mountain and steppe black soil, percentage of humus of these soils decreased by 21-27%. Annual losses of humus 0.30-2.0 t/ha. Much less than the annual losses of humus in soils with relatively low fertility: the black earth of South – 0,30-0,80 t/ha, sod-carbonate – 0,50-1,5 t/ha, brown-carbonate – 0,40-1,60 t/ha, meadow-brown-washed – 1,10 t/ha, taupe – 1,30 t/ha and meadow-alluvial-carbonate – 0,80-1,80 MT/ha. For the period through anthropogenic load reserves of humus mining and ordinary Chernozem decreased by 22-25%, and the nutritional elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, respectively, at 32-16, and 24%. Stocks of humus of chernozems of the South, grey-brown, meadow brown and alluvial soils decreased respectively 22-20-17 and 24%. It should be noted the fact that through the implementation of farming and the large number of returned plant residues on the space occupied vegetable crops the contents and stocks of humus more than on land mastered under crops. Sowing of perennial grasses and introduction as fertilizer straw and green manure legumes increases soil fertility and provides an increase in reserves of humus 2-3 shades within three years. The sowing of winter crops and legume mixtures (clover-bluegrass-bentgrass) on the slopes of 150% is the best way to restore and improve the erosion properties of soils. The use of alfalfa with bollaram contributes to the demineralization of saline soils, an increase in grain yield from 1.5 to 3.0 t/ha. 2 years after use of alfalfa salinity reclamation of soils is not marked. The efficiency of recovery of soils polluted by pesticides is evident in the third year of the experiment, after planting corn.

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