SOYBEAN (GLYCINE MAX) AS AN ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL OBJECT OF INTRODUCTION TO THE NORTHWESTERN REGION OF RUSSIA

Background: The advancement of soybeans to the northern regions is associated with the need to increase the production of plant feed protein. Aim: to improve the soil through biological nitrogen fixation done during the cultivation of soybeans. Methods: The study was conducted in the Kostroma region from 2007-2017. The objects of the study were: the crop soybean varieties Mageva, Svapa, Lancet, Light, Kasatka, and specific microorganisms used to activate the process of nitrogen fixation. Various methods of setting laboratory, field, and production experiments were applied in compliance with the requirements of collecting and processing the obtained data. Laboratory experiments on artificial inoculation of soybean seeds with nitrogen-fixing microflora were carried out according to the method of G. S. Posypanov. Setting, plotting, conducting field and production experiments, and processing of the collected experimental data was carried out according to the generally accepted methods in the Russian Federation by B. A. Dospekhov and V. E. Eshchenko. Results and Discussion: The possibility of obtaining soybean mature seed material up to 1.8-2.0 t/ha, with gross protein yield up to 800 kg/ha, was established. Inoculation of soybean seeds with breeding strains of bacteria increases their yield by 14-30%, while 80-90% of environmentally friendly biological nitrogen was accumulated in the seed mass, increasing the fodder and nutritional quality of products. A local culture (from Russia) of nitrogen-fixing bacteria (K-2) was successfully used. The symbiotic effect leads to the assimilation of atmospheric nitrogen, which is spent both for crop formation and for replenishment of soil reserves of this most important chemical element. Such nitrogen is ecologically clean and is considered as "biological nitrogen" (BN). The supply of biological nitrogen in the soil-plant system (60-70 kg/ha) was calculated. These values do not fully compensate for nitrogen removal with the soybean crop but allow us to reduce the use of more expensive and less environmentally safe mineral fertilizers. Conclusions: The economic costs of producing equivalent feed protein decreased twofold compared to growing traditional crops such as oats and barley. For the first time, specific results on the feasibility of introducing the studied soybean varieties into the Kostroma region of the Russian Federation have been established.