siderate

In the process of soil recultivation, rye used as a siderate has advantages over most annual plants because it also uptakes and neutralizes heavy metals that are leached into deeper layers of soil, apart from giving high biomass yield (Bolinder et al.

Re-carbonization of the depleted soil organic carbon pool, which is essential to numerous functions, requires regular input of biomass-C and essential elements (i.e., N, P, and S) Choice of plant species to be used as siderates for recultivation greatly affects improvement of physical and chemical properties of deposols.

Aim of this research was to determine the possibility of increasing organic matter content in humusless deposol topsoil and to form a more favourable adsorptive complex by introducing siderates, or green manure and growing siderates whose roots have beneficial effect on soil structure besides general increase of soil organic matter.

Crops were grown in monoculture, and in the third year, six months after ploughing of siderates, soil samples were taken to determine organic matter content in deposol.

Average three-year yield of siderates green biomass, t ha-1.

Green biomass yield: The end result of this research was increased organic matter content in topsoil of humus less deposol resulting from incorporation of siderates green biomass.

Value of green biomass yield depended on plant species used as siderates. The lowest values in all nutrition variants were achieved by mix forage pea + rapeseed mustard, significantly higher by mix rye + vetch, and the highest by Sudan grass.

However, the authors give preference to growing siderates whose roots have beneficial effect on soil structure, in addition to the general increase of soil organic matter.

(2008) conclude that introduction of siderates into crop rotation significantly enhanced chemical and physical soil properties.

Content of soil organic matter: After three-year trial of growing combinations of siderates on strip mine deposols in Stanari, organic matter content was analysed in soil samples.