Features of soil tillage in the Southern zone of Kazakhstan

Based on the results of the research, advanced soil tillage technologies and equipment have been developed for the cultivation of agricultural crops, aimed at preserving soil fertility and moisture. The objective of this study was to investigate erosion processes, agro-physical and hydrophysical parameters of light chestnut and sierozem soils under the influence of various types of tillage machine components, and to design machinery adapted to local soil conditions. With the participation of the article's authors, several tools were developed: RCh-2.4 and RCh-4 chisel plows, and OKN-3.6 and OKP-4 combined implements. Field trials were conducted in both irrigated and rainfed agricultural zones of Kazakhstan to assess the impact of different tillage tools, including: the moldboard plow type PLN-4-35; sweep cultivator type KPS-4 for full-width tillage; flat shank cultivators type KPN-4; chisel cultivators type PCh-4 and RCh-2.4; and the combined implement OKN-3.6. The effectiveness of traditional vs. advanced soil tillage technologies was also evaluated.According to the study, the advanced technology resulted in erosion-prone particle content (fraction <1 mm) remaining below the critical threshold of 26%, while soil moisture reserves increased by 17%. In contrast, under the traditional technology, achieving an agronomically optimal soil structure required six passes of machine-tractor aggregates (MTA), whereas only two passes were needed with the advanced technology. The increased number of MTA passes under traditional practices extended the time required for spring fieldwork and led to further soil desiccation. The advanced technology developed in this study can be recommended for use across all soil types in the Republic of Kazakhstan.