AGROECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF COMPOST FROM WASTE WATER SEDIMENT WHEN GROWING BARLEY
Problem and purpose. A distinctive feature of the 21st century is the intense anthropogenic impact on the environment, the accumulation of organic municipal and industrial waste that is growing from year to year, which has a negative impact on the living conditions of people and the ecosystem. The aim of the work was to conduct an experimental agroecological assessment of the effect of compost, developed by the authors, on the basis of sewage sludge on the formation of agrophytocenosis in barley, including the main elements of the production process, plant resistance to root rot, drought, as well as soil biological activity. Methods. The work was experimental in nature, carried out in laboratory and field conditions. The experiments were carried out on 2 varieties of barley. Conditioned seeds were used. The response of barley was assessed in terms of sowing qualities of seeds, morphometric parameters of seedlings, dynamics of phytomass accumulation, productivity of photosynthesis, and the value of yield. The sowing qualities of seeds were determined according to GOST 12038-84, plant damage by root rot was determined according to VIZR-2002 method, as well as phytosanitary examination of grain crops (plant diseases) [10]. Results. The introduction of compost in doses from 5 to 20 t/ha contributed to intensification of the production process in the agrophytocenosis of barley. The response of this crop was accompanied in laboratory conditions by stimulating the growth of seedlings, increasing the germination energy from 5 to 11 %, depending on the variety, the trend of increasing laboratory germination. In the field, the use of compost promoted an increase in field germination by 6-7 %, the accumulation of phytomass by 11.3-13.5 % and the productivity of photosynthesis by 6.6-25.7 % compared to the control. The increase in the yield of barley grain, depending on the doses of WWS, was 6.4-28.4 %. There was a steady tendency to increase the resistance of plants of experimental variants to root rot and drought. Conclusion. The results obtained indicate a significant improvement in the mineral nutrition of barley plants on gray forest soils under the influence of the applied doses of compost, the activation of plant growth and development, an increase in the productivity of agrophytocenosis and its resistance to biotic damaging influences are provided.