It is impossible to achieve the planned yields, product quality, and economic efficiency in agricultural production using only organic fertilizers. joint application of organic and solid mineral fertilizers solves the problem of replenishing the soil content of nitrogen, phosphorus and other elements used by plants. The authors have carried out the research of new methods of variable-rate application of mineral fertilizers in plant growing, allowing to increase the profitability of agricultural production. (Research purpose) is to develop new methods of variable-rate application of mineral fertilizers in crop production, which will allow increasing the profitability of crop production as compared with the conventional methods of applying fertilizers basing on average field indicators.  (Materials and methods) The authors have developed a calculation technique implemented in the VBA Excel computer program for determining the main indicators: gross output, fertilizer saving, profit, etc. The main variable to change in the calculations is the planned yield based on average field parameters. At the end of the calculation process, the values of the best result for gross harvest output and profit are displayed on the screen. The research objects for the calculation were represented by elementary areas of crop areas of three farms – “Prodresurs”, Agropoligon VIUA, and “Murminskoye” with different soil types: chernozem, loamy, and sandy-loam.  (Results and discussion) The method of proportional variable-rate application of fertilizers on three types of soils gives a stable increase in profit as compared with the application of fertilizers basing on the average field indicators. (Conclusions) Calculations  have shown that under the specified conditions and at the equal yield of 30 c/ha the application of organomineral fertilizers is the most effective, profitability has accounted for 40 percents – on mesopodzol sandy-loam soils; 8.7 percents – on sod-podzolic soils; and 1.3 percents – on black soils. The method of proportional variable-rate application of mineral fertilizers accompanied with variable-rate application of organic fertilizers makes it possible to reduce the amount of mineral fertilizers applied by half.

The fleet of combine harvesters in the Republic of Kazakhstan consists of 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-class harvesters, and 3- and 4- class harvesters make up for almost 82% of the fleet. According to the data provided by the Kazakhstan Ministry of Agriculture, 60% of grain harvesters have a lifespan of more than 10 years. (Research purpose) To determine the range of grain harvesters and headers for Kazakhstan regions in view of ongoing technical re-equipment. (Materials and methods) The range of grain harvesters should be determined according to the yield of harvested crops, the size of crop area on separate farms and in the region, the availability of machine operators as well as climatic conditions of the regions. (Results and discussions). The authors have analyzed the actual yield of grain crops in Kazakhstan regions, determined its possible expected level, and analyzed the number of machine operators required for available crop area, the number of small, medium and large-scale farms and climatic conditions during the harvest period in Kazakhstan regions. The efficiency of harvesters of different classes with headers of various operating width has been estimated taking into account the expected yield. Matching the obtained results to the yield data, organizational-and-economic and climatic conditions, and introducing appropriate limits, the authors have determined the range of grain harvesters for Kazakhstan regions. (Summary) It has been found that the harvesters of class 5, 6 and 4 are more effective under conditions of northern and central Kazakhstan regions provided they are equipped with wide-cut headers for direct harvesting. In southern, western and eastern Kazakhstan regions, where grain crops are cultivated on dry soils with an insufficient moisture content, combine harvesters of class 3 and 4 should be primarily used.

The use of fractional technologies for post-harvest treatment and processing of grain heap delivered from field with further special purpose use of grain fractions leads to a significant increase in grain production efficiency. (Research purpose) Developing a fractional technology for post-harvest treatment and processing of grain with crushing and preservation of feed grain fraction and designing a technological line and machines for it. (Materials and methods) The authors have analyzed the technological level and developed a fractional technology for grain post-harvest treatment and processing by crushing with subsequent preservation of the feed grain fraction. They have offered a technological line and presented the design and technological parameters of the corresponding technical means (МЗУ-20Д - grain cleaning universal machine, МПО-30ДФ - preliminary grain cleaning machine with fractionation, ПЗД-3,1, ПЗД-10 – two-stage grain crusher). (Results and discussion) The authors have designed, manufactured and tested a universal grain-cleaning machine МЗУ-20Д. It efficiently cleans grain material coming from the field after its threshing by combine harvesters, and divides it into fractions: seed and feed grain – 60-70 percent, waste material - up to 10 percent, grain fodder - up to 40 percent. Further on, the grain is sent for crushing (for wet grain), followed by preservation and hermetic storage of the products obtained before their feeding to animals. Tests have shown that the developed feed preparation machine efficiently performs the technological process. The authors have developed a two-stage grain crusher (ПЗД-3,1), performing the crushing of grain material in two stages by three rollers, followed by preservation (for wet grain) of the feed grain fraction. (Conclusions) It has been established that the use of the new fractional technology and equipment contributes to an increase in grain cleaning productivity – by 30-40 percent, and the estimated annual economic effect of the renovation  is 400,000 rubles. The estimated annual economic effect of the use of the two-stage grain crusher (ПЗД-3,1) has proved to be more than 60 thousand rubles, and the level of production intensification has increased by 26 percent as compared to the MURSKA crusher produced in Finland.

Pre-sowing  seed treatment by various energy methods is used as an effective way of stimulating the seed material. (Research purpose) The authors have studied the effect of a low-frequency electromagnetic field on the seed properties of sunflower (Helianthus), soybean (Glycine max) and maize (Zea mays L.) seeds. (Materials and methods) Parameters of the electromagnetic field: induction of 16 mT, pulse repetition rate of 16 Hertz I; exposure time of 15 and 20 minutes. The experiment has been conducted in two stages. The first stage is the determination of the germination and germination energy of irradiated and non-irradiated seeds, as well as the biometric characteristics of seedlings: the mass of stems and leaves, the length and mass of the root system. The second stage is the phenological observations of the growth and development of plants according to the phases of their development in the VIM climatic chamber. (Results and discussion) It has been shown that the sowing qualities of maize seeds after 15 min of irradiation are higher than the control ones. It has been determined that germination energy has increased by 10 percent as compared to the control sample, germination by 8 percent, seedling weight by 6.4 percent, weight of stems and leaves by 16, root system by 3.4 and stem height by 30 percent. It has been found that there is no influence of low-frequency electromagnetic radiation on the germination of soybeans both in the laboratory and in the climate chamber. It has been found that at the end of the growing season, the mass of plants irradiated for 20 minutes has turned out to be greater than the control values by 20%, the root mass by 25%, and the root length by 16%. The authors have determined that the treatment of sunflower seeds (Helianthus) with a low-frequency electromagnetic field has no stimulating effect on germination energy and germination capacity, but contributes to an increase in the mass of plants when they are grown in a phytotron. It has been calculated that a 15-minute irradiation of sunflower seeds before sowing resulted in an increase in the mass of plants by 34.9%; the mass of the root system – by 22%; length of roots – by 3.65%; the head (anthodium)  diameter – by 5.3% and their weights – by 25.3 %. (Conclusions) The response of plants to the energy impact depends on the type of crop. It has been determined that low-frequency magnetic radiation without changing the sowing properties of seeds can positively influence the growth and development of plants.

Mine and column grain dryers are a fairly complex object of control in the production line. The process of grain drying is characterized  by a large number of parameters, quantitatively and qualitatively characterizing the dryer operation. First of all, this includes the criteria of maximum performance and minimum deviations of the moisture content of the dried grain from the standard values. These criteria, as studies show, are interconnected with each other: an increase in the performance П of the dryer leads to an increase in the moisture content of the grain coming out of it, and, conversely, an attempt to reduce the moisture content of grain causes the need to reduce the performance П. (Research purpose) The research purpose is to develop the expression for the transfer functions of the of grain flow control depending on perturbations of the initial moisture content and the maximum grain temperature, as well as to conduct experimental studies. (Materials and methods) The authors have developed simplified mathematical models of moisture perturbation compensation of grain coming in for drying and its heating temperature in a drying chamber by changing the dryer performance on the basis of theoretical-and-experimental studies. (Results and discussion). The authors  have obtained  expressions to control the process performance when the current humidity and temperature change through the dryer performance parameters as a function of grain moisture flow and heat used to grain heating up to an acceptable temperature. Farm tests of developed transition management functions have been implemented for dryer SZT-16 controlled by PLC S7-1200 Siemens and operating in an automatic mode. Tests have been conducted on the “Babachev” farm, Karachev district of the Bryansk region in the process of drying food wheat grain. (Conclusion) It has been confirmed that the dryer performance is determined not only by the rated capacity but also by the deviation of the current moisture content of grain from the specified values and by the ratio of the amount of heat used for evaporating and heating. The dryer performance at constant initial humidity is determined by its rated performance, the maximum specified difference of grain temperatures, as well as the ratio of the amounts of heat used for evaporating and heating.

Oil flax grows in many countries of the world. Fibre production on its basis can significantly increase the profitability of flax-growing farms. At the present stage, taking into account the real possibilities of the national economy, for its effective development  it is necessary to introduce advanced technologies. Cur-rently, processing enterprises may choose among different technological equipment lines to process oil flax into fibre and thus get additional profit. (Research purpose) The determination of a technologically and economical-ly effective line for oil flax processing. (Materials and methods) The main materials for calculation were represent-ed by the indicators of production capacity, the average annual value of fixed as-sets, the amount of money spent on salaries and wages, etc. The main research method is the balance method that allows making a plan in the form of a balance sheet that takes into account the sources of inputs and the requirements for these inputs. (Results and discussions) The authors have considered low-cost lines for oil flax processing into short fibre on the basis of disintegrators of various brands (from domestic and foreign producers), offered characteristics of the fibre obtained in the lines, and analyzed technical and economic indicators of various technologi-cal lines under different conditions, and the payback period of capital expenditures for different oil flax acreages. (Conclusions) The authors have determined that the most effective is the pro-cessing of oil flax from an area of at least 1000 hectares, with a throughput capaci-ty of raw materials of at least 1000 kg/h and a distance of the transportation of straw rolls to a processing site of 50 km. They have also obtained technological and economic data that can be used in the organization of oil flax processing into marketable fibre.

Studying  the wear of soil-cutting working tools in the field conditions has certain difficulties associated with the impermanence of soil properties. The paper presents the results of a laboratory study of the power characteristics in the process of wearing of a soil-cutting wedge in an artificial abrasive soil medium. (Research purpose) To determine the nature of changes in cutting forces in vertical and horizontal planes depending on the conditions and a degree of wear of a soil-cutting wedge. (Materials and methods) For the experiment, use was made of quartz as an abrasive material, paraffin with additives of ceresin and petrolatum as binding components; cement was additionally introduced to change the granulometric composition of a soil model, and a cross-planer was used as a drive mechanism. (Results and discussion) It has been shown that the horizontal component, or traction resistance, increases linearly with increasing the depth of cutting. An increase in the soil-cutting velocity also leads to an increase in the traction resistance of the wedge, and its magnitude increases in a power-law dependence on the velocity. It has been established that the cutting angle affects not only the variation of the wedge traction resistance, but also the shearing pattern, which changes as it increases and changes from shear shavings into shift shavings, which contributes to the traction force growth. It has been found that an increase in traction resistance is affected by an increase in the hardness of abrasive material and a decrease in the distribution density of solid particles in its volume. As the width of the back chamfer and the angle of its inclination to the furrow bottom increased, the traction characteristics both in the vertical and horizontal planes increased as well, the back chamfer width having the greatest influence on the vertical component. As the blade worn out depending on the friction path, the vertical component of frictional forces increased sharply, while the horizontal component increased insignificantly. (Conclusions) The results of the conducted studies have shown that the wedge depth mainly depends on the back chamfer width. The traction resistance of the wedge is greatly influenced by physical and mechanical properties of an abrasive medium, cutting conditions and a degree of the blade blunting.

Cultivator  sweeps are placed remotely relative to each other or as parts of combined working tools with spherical discs, chisels and other parts, so the propagation of a zone of soil deformation during their operation at different depths and at different speeds is studied by designers for the calculation of technological runs in order to avoid their clogging with soil. (Research purpose) To determine the dependence of the width of the soil loosening zone with a cultivator sweep on the depth of travel and the speed of travel. (Materials and methods) Studies have been conducted on a stubble soil background after harvesting of winter wheat. Humidity and hardness of soil at a depth of 0 to 30 centimeters varied accordingly from 9 to 13 percent and from 0.28 to 0.87 MPa. The structure of the unit has been represented by the tractor MTZ Belarus 1221,2 and the cultivator KRN-5,6. Each section of the cultivator housed a universal sweep with a design working width of 220 mm. (Results and discussion) It has been found that a sweep forms a loosened strip and a strip of soil scattering, the width of which depends linearly on the tillage depth ranging from 10 to 22 cm and varies in the range from 31 to 42 and 38 to 58 cm, respectively. The unit travel speed ranging from 3 to 13 km/h does not affect the width of the loosening zone, and the zone of soil scattering increases according to the law of a weakly expressed quadratic parabola. The authors present empirical dependences of the width of the loosening and scattering zones on the tillage depth, the travel speed and the sweep width. (Conclusions) It has been found that the interval between the sweeps in one row should not be less than the specified width of the loosening zone, which has been confirmed as exemplified by a successful arrangement  of working elements with a width of 410 mm on the combined units of the RVK series. Combined tools work with high technological reliability for sunflower stubble, without being clogged with soil and plant residues during the main field operations performed according to the minimal impact technology.

Disk-type spherical working tools are widely used in soil-cultivating machines, where they serve as an element base for combined units and disk harrows, including the multi-row ones with disks on individual racks. The tools are used in the implementation of traditional technologies based on reversible plowing, with surface tillage after late-harvested predecessors, for example, corn, sunflower, and also in NO-TIL technologies. (Research purpose) To determine the arrangement of working tools on the disk harrow frame, which reduces the required number of disks and improves the quality of soil cultivation. (Materials and methods) The authors have analyzed the arrangement of disk harrow working tools and determined their rational arrangement and mutual positions in the rows, which increases the tillage width between adjacent soil strips, thus improving the completeness of soil shearing and loosening over the entire operating width with simultaneous decreasing of the required number of disks. (Results and discussion) The authors have determined the interrelated arrangement of disks in their rows, aimed at improving soil shearing, so that the number of strips tilled into a ridge by adjacent disks increases. It has been shown that the arrangement of working tools of the consecutive row determined by the orientation of the adjacent disks of the previous row, allows to economize one working tool for every 400 mm of its operating width when shearing the soil all the way across the entire width of the disk harrow. (Conclusions) It has been established that when soil is tilled with a disk and moved toward the already processed adjacent strip, the technological width of the disk coverage increases due to the deformation of soil tearing and shearing. The authors have proposed the arrangement order of spherical disks and their mutual orientation, which improves the quality of soil cultivation, the completeness of soil shearing along the entire operating width, and leads to a reduction in the number of disks.