Productivity of crops of carrot depending on soil water and nutritional regimes under drip irrigation under the conditions of the Lower Volga region

From the perspective of biological requirements, carrots are considered to belong to light-loving, cold-resistant, and relatively drought-resistant crops, with special demands for soil fertility and moisture during seed germination, the initial growth phase, and the period of root formation. In terms of soil physical properties, sandy loam or light loamy soils rich in organic matter and with a deep plowed layer are most suitable for carrot cultivation. The aim of the research was to develop carrot cultivation technology ensuring the formation of 90-130 tons per hectare of standard roots. To achieve this result, it is proposed to regulate the soil's water and nutrient regimes with minimal irrigation water costs. Currently, such a technology is absent for achieving the specified productivity in the arid conditions of the Lower Volga region. Materials and research methodology. The experiment was conducted in the Volgograd region on the fields of the individual farm "Zaytsev V.A." The experiment was set up according to a three-factor scheme: factor A - water supply conditions, factor B - mineral nutrition, factor C - sowing density. For each variant of factor A, maintaining a differentiated threshold of pre-sowing moisture content of 70% of the water capacity (WC) is envisaged until the phase of the formation of 2 leaves, with a subsequent increase in the water capacity level to 80%. For variant A1, the wetting layer is 0.3 m, for variants A2 and A3, it is 0.4 m and 0.5 m, respectively. Regarding the nutritional regime (factor B), the introduction of various doses of fertilizers is provided to achieve a yield level of 90, 110, and 130 tons per hectare, respectively: B1 - N165P70K190; B2 - N210P95K260; B3 - N255P120K330. Different distributions of the sowing material in the strip are provided for the third factor: C1 - uniform distribution, C2 - an increase of 10% in the outer rows and a decrease of 10% in the center of the sowing strip.