ASSESSMENT OF MOISTURE CONSUMPTION DURING SPRING RAPE CULTIVATION IN THE SOUTHERN CHERNOZEM ZONE OF WESTERN SIBERIA
The article presents the results of two years of measuring and analyzing soil moisture obtained during experiments on growing rapeseed in the southern chernozem zone of Western Siberia with the use of fertilizers in rainfed agriculture in the Novosibirsk region and Altai Territory. Soil moisture was measured with a Delta-T Devices HH2. Initial moisture reserves were measured and evaluated in a meter layer of soil on experimental plots. Moisture reserves corresponded to low and average moisture supply indicators for the Novosibirsk region (2020) and average values for the Altai Territory (2021). To assess the effectiveness of the applied agrotechnical techniques, the yield and the calculated volume of moisture consumption, as well as the coefficient of moisture consumption of the crop, were used. In the steppe zone of the Novosibirsk region, the water consumption of spring rapeseed for the entire growing season in 7 plots varied in the range from 206 to 234 mm. Variants of using fertilizers on plots with a maximum yield of 33.2 and 31.4 dt/ha and with the lowest moisture consumption coefficient of 69 mm/t and 67 mm/t, respectively, received an indisputable advantage. In the forest-steppe zone of the Altai Territory, the water consumption of spring rapeseed for the entire growing season on 5 plots varied in the range from 246 to 262 mm, while the lowest water consumption coefficients of 76 and 79 mm/t were given by the plots with the highest yield of 32.3 and 32.2 dt/ha respectively.