Resource-saving techniques for increasing tomato productivity

The purpose of the research was to substantiate feasibility and effectiveness of cultivating promising tomatoes varieties and hybrids in the Lower Volga region to obtain high-quality yields of 150 t/ha and more. It was the first time for chestnut soils, when comprehensive research on resource-saving techniques increasing vegetable crop productivity in an extremely arid climate under drip irrigation by regulating physiological and biological processes was conducted, and a system for applying these techniques was developed. The experiments were carried out according to generally accepted methods. The study revealed that in order to obtain the planned productivity of 110, 130, 150 t/ha in all the tomato varieties and a hybrid (Volgogradsky 5/95, Fokker F1 and Gerkules), differentiated irrigation regime was used. It resulted in yield increase up to 18.8 t/ha (when compared to planned 130 t/ha) and up to 10.2 t/ha (when compared to planned 150 t/ha) in the variants where Energiya-M growth regulator and Rastvorin water-soluble fertilizer were used with complete mineral fertilizer. Hercules tomato variety treated with N285P115K145 + Rastvorin + Energiya-M was the most economically viable for cultivation. According to the variants, a return on production costs of 6.87 rubles of income was achieved.