The scientific and practical conference “Soil and Soil Improvers” was held at the site of the Moscow regional branch of Business Russia. The moderator of the discussion, which brought together the most prominent Russian soil scientists, was the Chairman of the Committee on the Agro-Industrial Complex and Development of the Agricultural Industry of the Moscow Business Russia, Sergei Merzlyakov.
The conference participants noted that in order to preserve and develop soils of great agricultural importance, it is necessary to use natural soil improvers competently, which not only allows for a significant increase in productivity, but also for faster reclamation, as well as for longer preservation of fruitful properties soil At the moment, this process is complicated by the absence in the legislation of the Russian Federation of the concept and definition of soil as such. Accordingly, it is not possible to introduce soil improvers into laws and concepts.
“Land in Russia is measured in hectares, but not the quality of the soil, while there are hundreds of types of soil with different characteristics, and each needs its own care,” notes Chairman of the Committee Sergei Merzlyakov. “Even the legendary chernozems and then they are not eternal. They are also going out of use. Now about 22 million hectares of land have turned into salt marshes, in fact, they have become deserts. If we want to return this land to agricultural use, they need to be deacidified only using an acidic peat substrate with minerals and other substances. “, – said Sergei Merzlyakov. – If we don’t take steps right now, then in a few generations, in 50–100 years, we will have nothing to grow agricultural products on. For example, the application of fertilizers is about 10 million tons. But this means that we are losing soils by 10 million tons annually.”
Chairman of the RF CCI Committee for the Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Pyotr Chekmarev also delivered a welcoming speech to the conference participants.
Mikhail Ovcharenko spoke about the factors of increasing soil fertility. The manager spoke about the possibilities of using peat and products made from it in Russian agriculture. Department of Technologies for the Production of Organic Fertilizers and Peat of the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Organic Fertilizers and Peat Tatyana Anisimova. In her speech, the chief researcher at the soil liming laboratory of the All-Russian Research Institute of Agrochemistry named after A.N. D.N. Pryanishnikova, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Natalya Akanova.
The use of artificial structure-forming agents in the reclamation and reclamation of agricultural lands was the topic of the report by the head. Laboratory of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “VNIIGiM named after A.N. Kostyakova” by Snezhana Menshikova. And the deputy Director for Science of the All-Russian Research Institute of Agrochemistry named after. D.N. Pryanishnikov Alexey Naliukhin touched upon the topic of preserving soil fertility in the context of food security in the Russian Federation in his speech.
Following the results of the event, it was decided to prepare another scientific and practical conference with the participation of representatives of the Academy of Sciences and relevant departments, based on the results of which to formalize the position in an official letter to the Government of the Russian Federation with recommendations from the academic community.
It was also decided to create a joint working group of the Committee on Agriculture of the Moscow “Business Russia” and the All-Russian Research Institute named after. D.N. Pryanishnikov to create manuals on the use of soil improvement on open ground.
