Reducing the environmental risks of using mobile energy-saturated units during seed potatoes growing taking into account the patterns of heat and moisture transfer within the root spreading zone in the soil

Abstract

Because potato is a crop, demanding moisture supply conditions its yield depends on the ability to use the moisture accumulated during the calendar year by the root system during the growing season. However, the intensification of technological methods of potato production using powerful energy-saturated mobile agricultural units leads to a significant deterioration of the soil condition due to over compaction of the arable and subsoil horizons which hinders the normal mode of movement of intrasoil moisture and the development of the root system of plants. Reducing the number of passes of agricultural units across the field is possible when using combined units that perform several technological processes in one pass. For this purpose, a multifunctional combined potato-planting unit has been developed at St. Petersburg State Agrarian University that combines preplant tillage, planting potato seeds, the use of agrochemicals, pesticides and water-retaining agents, as well as deep loosening of interrow spacing and the formation of full-volume ridges. The conducted studies have shown the effectiveness of the use of such a combined unit by providing favorable soil conditions for the growth and development of plants.