The aim of this study was the restoration of hydrophysical and agrochemical properties of degraded irrigated arable soil after composite water sorbents application. Field experiments were conducted in 2014–2016 in OAO “Maloorlovskoe” Martynovsky district of Rostov region In various options (the optimal dose of water sorbents composition t/ha) in irrigated fields with low – 1.0 t/ha (field 15), average – 3.5 t/ha (field 13) and high – 8.5 t/ha (field 14) intensity of process violations in 0–20 cm layer. Application of water sorbents composition was carried out by continuous method before sowing crops at the beginning of the growing season and contributed to the restoration of hydrophysical and agrochemical properties of topsoil. Restoration of hydrophysical properties of soil was reported in reducing its compactness to 1.18; 1.17; 1.19 tonnes per cubic meter, restoring the soil structure – in increasing the amount of water-stable aggregates 0.25–10.00 mm to 45.56–75.36 % relative to control (26.12–48.78 %) and the total amount of agronomically valuable structural units to 68.12–74.12 % (control – 28.25–39.56 %). The increase of both total humus content to 3.31 %, and the main nutrients (nitrate nitrogen – up to 78.5 mg/kg soil; labile phosphorus – up to 52.2 mg/kg, exchange potassium – up to 572.7 mg/kg) proves recovery of agrochemical properties of topsoil. The increase of vegetation index NDVI on field 15 from 0.53 to 0.62; on field 13 from 0.34 to 0.45; on field 14 from 0.30 to 0.49 on average during the growing season contributed to the improvement of the maize crop.
Keywords: composition of water sorbents, degradation, remediation, irrigation erosion, dehumidification, the vegetation index NDVI.
