The objective of the research is to determine the optimal combination of irrigation regime (intensive, water saving, minimum), method of primary tillage (moldboard, subsurface, minimum), and level of mineral nutrition (recommended full rate NPK, 0.5 NPK, without fertilizing) for red beet growing in terms of resource saving. The research was carried out at the farm "Semikarakorskoye" in 2012-2013 using conventional experimental methods. On the basis of the research it was established that maximum yield of red beet was obtained under intensive irrigation on the background of the full rate of mineral fertilizers, the yield was 31.98 t/ha at moldboard primary tillage, and 32.98 t/ha at subsurface tillage. At water saving irrigation regime along with the full rate of fertilizers and moldboard tillage, the yield decrease was marked by 17.3 % compared with intensive irrigation, but irrigation water saving was 1260 m³/ha. The most rational use of soil moisture was also marked here and the lowest coefficient of water consumption, 65 t/m³, was received. This variant can be recommended for practical use at water scarcity. The highest yield increase from fertilizers was received at applying the full rate (NPK) on the background of different variants of irrigation and primary tillage. The yield increase in comparison with plots without fertilizing was 29.0-37.0 %. However, the efficiency of fertilizer use was higher at the variant with 0.5 NPK, where one kilogram of fertilizers provided 29.9 kilograms of additional production. This variant also can be recommended for practical use at the deficit of mineral fertilizers.
Keywords: red beet, irrigation regime, primary tillage, yield, irrigation water saving, resource conservation.
