WAYS TO IMPROVE THE HYDROLOGICAL REGIME IN CHERNOZEM UNDER HONEYSUCKLE PLANTATIONS
At present, berry crop growing in the orchards of the Altai Region is mainly rainfed although there are some exceptions. In the territory of the Research Institute of Gardening in Siberia, drip irrigation is performed in the areas under garden strawberries and other berry crops. Nevertheless, the hydro- and thermophysical regimes in soil profiles under berry crops are understudied. Our data indicate that the weather conditions of 2012 were diverse. A small amount of snow caused poor soil moisture at the beginning of the growing season. There was very little rain in the spring and summer. The rainfall of July reduced the water deficit in the soil, but the summer turned out to be extremely hot with a maximum temperature of 34°C. The moisture content of the arable humus horizon A throughout the growing season was unsatisfactory. In the AB horizon, the amount of productive moisture in July dropped to the area of negative values. There was soil moisture deficiency in the illuvial layer and in the parent rock. In the summer of 2014, there was also a drought. It was in May only when the productive moisture storage in the chernozem profile under honeysuckle plantations was satisfactory. But already in mid-June in the topsoil, it dropped to 2 mm. In the illuvial horizon B and in the parent rock, the moisture conditions were very poor. In one meter soil layer, the moisture deficit reached 180 mm by July 10; that required irrigation of at least the arable layer of chernozem. Thus, the peculiarities of weather conditions on the dry years of observations were reflected in the processes of accumulation and migration of soil moisture in the profile of chernozems under the berry crop. As a result, the hot dry conditions of the studied years in the absence of irrigation significantly worsened the taste quality of berries due to the presence of bitterness, and reduced the normal weight of fruits one-and-a-half times.