LOCAL IRRIGATION METHODS FOR VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN SOUTH OF RUSSIA

In the Southern Federal District, where the Volgograd region occupies a significant territory, cultivation of vegetable crops is impossible without irrigation. There was a large number of wide-spread sprinklers in the USSR. Each unit of this system watered at least 60 to70 hectares, required a lot of water pressure that resulted in high operating costs. Therefore, currently, such local irrigation methods as drip and subsoil irrigation have a broad development perspective. Both irrigation methods favorably differ from sprinkling by a significant increase in yield of vegetable crops, irrigation water saving, ease of operation and rapid investment return. In this regard, the main goal of our research, conducted at Volgograd State Agricultural University, is development of techniques and technologies for drip and subsoil irrigation that allow receiving projected vegetable yields while maintaining soil fertility and environmental safety. The research have shown that it is possible to obtain planned yields of 60, 70 and 80 t/ha of zucchini and table beet using drip irrigation in steppe zone of southern Russia on light chestnut soils. Therefore, it is necessary to observe irrigation regimes with maintaining pre-irrigation moisture (PIM) 75-85-75 and 85% of field moisture capacity (FMC) simultaneously with application of calculated doses of mineral fertilizers. Moreover, it is important to apply increased doses of mineral fertilizers with decrease in intensity of irrigation regime due to reduction in soil moisture content to 75% of FMC. The planned radish yield of 80 tons per hectare with subsoil irrigation can be obtained in variants with differentiated soil moisture 75-85-75% of FMC and 1.4 m distance n t between humidifiers, and also maintaining constant soil moisture at 85% of FMC at plots with 1.2 and 1.4 m distances.