Cultivating lentils with precipitation of 250-320 mm peryear: soil tillage system, soil fertility, productivity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51452/eaj.2026.3(131).2258Keywords:
lentils; direct seeding system; minimum tillage system; traditional tillage system; soil fertility; yieldAbstract
Background and Aim. Given fluctuations in grain market prices, the introduction of lentils into crop rotation is considered a means of improving soil fertility and the economic sustainability of agricultural producers. The soil and climatic conditions of Northern Kazakhstan are a limiting factor for stabilizing lentil yields. The objective is to increase the sustainable productivity of lentils in a crop-rotation system by minimizing tillage systems, improving soil water-physical properties, and preserving soil fertility
under unstable weather conditions.
Materials and Methods. The studies were conducted in 2023–2025 on southern carbonate chernozems of the Akmolinskaya oblast in a long-term stationary field experiment of the A.I. Barayev Research and Production Center for Grain Farming (Shortandy; coordinates 51°12′N, 71°02′E), established in 1979. Soil water-physical properties were studied during lentil cultivation under conventional, minimum and no-till systems within a soil- cover crop rotation: lentils, spring wheat, spring wheat, flax, spring wheat. The main soil fertility parameters affecting lentil productivity were analyzed. The research included evaluation of no-till, minimum (reduced), and conventional tillage systems for lentil cultivation in a soil-cover crop rotation.
Results. Minimization of tillage systems based on reduced mechanical soil tillage and no-till decreases financial costs per hectare without negatively affecting soil density and moisture. Weed infestation did not increase. No-till and reduced tillage systems increase lentil yield by 55.6–61.2%
compared to conventional tillage. The yield of spring wheat sown after lentils was 3.11–3.33 t/ha,
compared to 3.26–3.44 t/ha after fallow. The yield potential of lentils reaches 1.80–1.91 t/ha.
Conclusion. New scientific data on soil water-physical properties, soil fertility status, and lentil productivity were obtained to substantiate the minimization of tillage systems for lentil cultivation in a soil-cover crop rotation under arid conditions.
