Study of the suitability of soils for growing crops on experimental plots
Authors: Glovyn N. M. , Pavliv O. V. 
Published: November 2024

In order to ensure the concept of ‘soil quality’, especially its expanded definition, which includes not only the production functions of soil, but also environmental and social components, is an effective tool for assessing the quality and choosing the party to the process of studying soil cover, assessing the degree of soil degradation, organizing monitoring systems and technical support for observations. In our opinion, such approaches should change the role of agrochemical research in agronomic and natural science education systems, balanced development of agroecosystems and rational use of natural resources. Soil quality is an assessment of its ability to perform its functions in providing ecosystems and social services under changing environmental conditions. Soil, as a natural and historical body, possesses a certain fertility, which is referred to as natural fertility. It is the result of the development of soil-forming processes that led to the formation of this soil as a natural body that has not been touched by any human activity, i.e. it is inherent only in virgin lands. Once humans begin to use soil for economic purposes, it becomes a means of production. Economic activity (tillage, fertilization, land reclamation, etc.) affects the development and change of soil fertility. Fertility is manifested in the yield of cultivated crops. Therefore, the ‘broad’ definition of soil quality, which stems from acknowledging its main functions, shows how well the soil performs the functions of maintaining biodiversity and productivity, regulating water and dissolved substance flows, filtering and nutrient cycling, etc. The organization of agricultural land is the first stage in the transformation of a natural ecosystem into an agroecosystem, and the boundaries of the types of agricultural land organization form the natural boundaries of agroecosystems. The study of the ecological condition of soil suitability in the research plot of SS NULES of Ukraine “Berezhany Agrotechnical Institute” in Ternopil district has been chosen as the basis for conducting the work. This category is known as effective fertility. Its level depends not only on the natural fertility of the soil, but also on the process and nature of agricultural use and farming culture. This is not a new category of fertility, but the same natural fertility that is enhanced by artificial measures. Artificial fertility and natural fertility are interconnected and together determine crop yields. The purpose is to substantiate environmental approaches and analyze practical recommendations for the formation of a mechanism for the development of environmentally friendly agriculture and to provide an ecological assessment of agricultural landscapes to determine the feasibility of organic farming for agricultural crops. Materials and methods were determined in accordance with the methodology of continuous soil and agrochemical monitoring of agricultural land in Ukraine. In most cases, farmers of alternative farms cannot compete with farmers of conventional farms in terms of crop yields. Satisfactory yields are absolutely dependent on the amount of manure and compost used, as well as the area that farmers can allocate to legumes.