THE ROLE OF LEGUMES AND CEREALS IN INCREASING THE BIODIVERSITY AND BIODYNAMICS OF AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

Abstract

Modern agricultural production is increasingly focused on enhancing soil fertility and improving the resilience of agroecosystems. Crop rotations involving legumes and cereals play a crucial role in this regard, contributing to improved soil structure, stimulation of soil biota development, and reduced dependence on chemical fertilizers. An assessment of the bioclimatic indicators of the study area revealed that the first half of the 2025 agricultural year was marked by uneven precipitation distribution during the growing season. Calculations of the hydrothermal coefficient (HTC) based on temperature regimes and total precipitation during the vegetation period (HTC = 0.9), characterize the meteorological conditions as slightly arid. The content of key soil nutrients at the experimental site was determined as follows: humus – 3.13%, available phosphorus (P₂O₅) – 10.22–10.97 mg/kg, nitrate nitrogen (N-NO₃) – 3.12–3.27 mg/kg, exchangeable potassium (K₂O) – 523.1 mg/kg, soil pH – 7.35–7.47. Biometric parameters were analyzed: laboratory germination of chickpea seeds was 97.0%, germination energy – 75%, seed purity – 97.0%. Field germination rates of chickpea plants, depending on the experimental variant with the application of biological products, ranged from 73.3% to 84.2%, while the control variant showed a rate of 70.0%. Plant survival ranged from 72.7% to 84.7%, compared to 79.2% in the control. Chickpea yield was also determined: biological yield across treatment variants ranged from 8.2 to 17.2 c/ha (centners per hectare), actual grain yield varied from 7.79 to 16.3 c/ha, depending on the treatment applied.