The Influence of Vegetation on the Forest Soil Properties in the Republic of Karelia

Eurasian Soil Science - The effect of vegetation on soil properties (acidity, C/N ratio, content of exchangeable nutrients) was assessed for the northern and middle taiga forests in the Republic of...     

Suppression of atmospheric corrosion of brass using volatile inhibitors

It is known that brass is the construction material widely used when manufacturing agricultural equipment. An effective volatile inhibitor is offered to protect it from corrosion in the atmosphere of the livestock premises with 100% and close to it relative humidity of the air containing the stimulators of this process—CO₂, NH₃, H2S—in the concentrations that multiply exceed the background ones. A range of methods—weight corrosion tests and electrochemical measurements (potentiodynamic polarization, polarization resistance, fixed in the automatic mode)—define the conditions under which the inhibitors of the IFKHAN series multiply slow down the corrosion of brass. The general corrosion rate of L62 brass is decreased ten times in the presence of all studied inhibitors of this series in the atmosphere containing up to 20 mg/m³ of H₂S and 100% relative humidity. It is most reasonable to use the IFKHAN-112 inhibitor with the ammonia content up to 30 mg/m₃ in the maximum humid atmosphere.     

Application of IFHAN-118 volatile inhibitor to protect agricultural equipment against atmospheric corrosion

This article suggests a highly effective volatile inhibitor for anticorrosion protection of agricultural equipment stored in closed premises with a highly aggressive atmosphere. The protective efficiency of IFHAN-118 new-generation volatile inhibitor has been studied by weight corrosion tests and electrochemical potential dynamic measurements at corrosion of St3 steel and L62 brass in the atmosphere with 100% relative air humidity and in 0.1 M of NaCl solution. For 1360 hours of exposure to the environment, the rate of steel corrosion dropped hundredfold. The protective effect of the inhibitor on brass is much weaker. In different periods of exposure to the environment, the corrosion rate dropped 6.5-to-9-fold. In neutral 0.1 M NaCl solutions, IFHAN-118 significantly inhibits the anode reaction of metal ionization on steel. Applied to brass, IFHAN-118 also slows down the cathode recovery of dissolved oxygen (500 mg/L); this is the only cathode reaction in the studied conditions. As shown by polarization measurements, IFHAN-118 is an efficient corrosion inhibitor in animal farming premises, tropical and subtropical climate, and marine atmosphere, when the surface moisture phase film can be saturated with alkaline metal chlorides. The optimal inhibitor concentration on steel and brass surfaces is 150 and 5 mg/L, respectively.     

The Role of Microbiological Fertilizers and Green Manures in Increasing the Productivity and Quality of Potatoes

This paper presents the research results of three short-term experiments carried out in 2010–2017 on the impact of green manures and mineral and bacterial fertilizers on potato productivity. The purpose of the study was to increase the productivity and quality of potato tubers while reducing the anthropogenic load on the agrocenosis through the integrated use of binary green manures and lower doses of mineral fertilizers in combination with microbiological preparations. In a stationary field experiment (2010–2012) on leached chernozem, the maximum potato productivity (32.2–35.5 t/ha) was obtained using mineral fertilizers N_45–90P_60–120K_60–120 in the crop rotation link oil radish + vetch–potato, while the efficiency of the treatment of tubers with the bacterial preparations Azotovit + Fosfatovit was 9.2–15.0%. In experiments on sod-podzolic soil, the yield increase from the microbiological preparation Agrinos for the potato cultivar Udacha in 2015 amounted to 12.4% along with higher content of starch and vitamin C in production. In the relatively moist 2016 and 2017, the yield increase in the midearly maturing cultivar Gala reached 8.5 t/ha or 24.5% to the mineral background level (N₉₀P₉₀K₉₀). In the variant with a 30% reduced NPK dose and the use of Agrinos (N₆₀P₆₀K₆₀ + Agrinos A + B (5 + 2.5 L/ha), the yield was 5.8 t/ha or 16.7% higher than with the full dose of NPK, and high starchiness and vitamin C content, excellent culinary qualities, and low levels of nitrates were also observed.     

Rating Fodder Areas on the Systems of Gullies and Ravines in the Central Russian Upland

The article presents the results of inspecting two gully systems with a total area of 800 hectares located on the land of the Tula Research Institute of Agriculture. The purpose of the study was recording the current status of pastures and grasslands exposed to radiation. The experimental data is obtained for the current status of old growth herbage: productivity, botanical and biochemical composition, agrochemical properties of the soil, and the degree of radioactive contamination of the soil and plants with ¹³⁷Cs on the slopes of different exposition and steepness. It is found that the most suitable rhizomatous species for land recultivation is awnless brome (Bromopsis inermis Leyss). Its content in old-growth herbage reached 70–98% on the bottoms of the gullies after more than 35 years since the grass was sown. The content of ¹³⁷Cs in dry matter in the conditions of radioactive contamination did not exceed the standard veterinary regulations (VR 13.5 13/06^–1) for hay (400 Bq kg^–1).     

Esterase spectra and adaptive plasticity in rice varieties

Analysis of the esterase spectra was performed on 27 rice varieties which differ in the duration of the vegetation period (early, medium-, and late-ripening varieties) and in the roots, stem, and leaf blades. Organ-and variety-specific differences were found in 5 esterase loci. Late-ripening rice varieties were characterized by lower resistance to salinization and thickening of crops, but not to higher temperatures. A definite correlation was revealed between these differences and those observed in the tissue-specific esterase spectra. Typical for early and medium-ripening varieties were genotypes with nonzero activity by esterase locus 1 (isoferment with the highest electrophoretic mobility), as well as its expression in various tissues simultaneously.