OPTIMIZING THE USE OF BIOHUMUS IN ENVIRONMENTAL HORTICULTURE (ON THE EXAMPLE OF TOMATOES)
The article deals with influence of biohumus on various indicators of tomatoes grown in the open ground on gray forest soils in the horticultural farm of the Penza region. The positive effect of biohumus on agrochemical properties of soils, quality and yield of agricultural products has been proved. The research was carried out on determinant and indeterminate table, technical and winter varieties of tomatoes. The morphological parameters (length of the first leaf, stem thickness, bush height), productivity indicators (average fruit weight, number of suitable fruits, maximum fruit weight, yield per bush), drought resistance in the rate of wilting (twisting) of leaves at the top of the bush for winter varieties, storage keeping quality characteristics in the the proportion of fruits not rotted were under study. It has been established that the average effect of vermicompost on the increase of morphological parameters for all varieties amounted to 54.1 %, an increase in productivity amounts to 76.9 %. The significant influence of vermicompost on drought resistance and storage keeping quality of tomato plants has been revealed. Yield increase when introduced 0.5 liters of vermicompost per bush amounted to an average of 34.5 %.