FERTILIZING GARDEN CARROTS ON LEACHED CHERNOZEMS OF WEST SIBERIA
Garden carrot is one of the most wide-spread vegetable crops in Russia and the Altai Region. By applying fertilizers, its yields in the region may reach the level that would meet the standard rate of carrot consumption by the Region’s population. Proper balanced application of fertilizers in combination with trace elements when growing carrots ensures both yield increase and obtaining sufficient amount of high-quality environmentally safe products. This paper presents the research results on garden carrot fertilizing with potassium chloride on leached chernozems of West Siberia on average for 2014 and 2015. The effect of mineral fertilizers on yield, biochemical composition and biometric indices of garden carrot is shown. The research goal is to study the effect of potassium chloride on the yield and quality of garden carrot roots and determine the most optimal application rate. The trials were conducted in the fields of the West-Siberian Vegetable Experimental Station in 2014 and 2015. The agro-chemical characteristics of the plot were determined before conducting the trial. The trial arrangement included 5 variants. It was found that of all the variants of potassium chloride application, the greatest yield increase as compared to the control was obtained in the variant with doubled application rate. In this variant, the total carrot yield increase made 14.4 t ha; this was by 24.4% more as compared to the background. Marketability increased up to 90% on the plots fertilized with potassium chloride. Marketability rate of 91% was obtained in the variant with K<sub>90</sub> application.