Development of natural knowledge as a basis for the organization of agricultural research in the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine (1st quarter of the 20th century)

The use of innovations and information technology approaches in the agricultural sphere of Ukraine under conditions of global influence has been based on the results of multifaceted long-term research. Our goal was to reveal the peculiarities of the formation of Ukrainian natural science knowledge in historical retrospect using problem-chronological and comparative-historical methods. The analysis of the development of agricultural zoning of the territory of Ukraine has been justified by its theoretical and methodological content, which has served as the scientific basis for the organization and formation of agricultural science and research in the first decades of the 20th century. Attention has been focused on the need for an in-depth study of the peculiarities of different territorial parts of the Russian Empire of the country in connection with the problem of geographical division and the growing demands of economic development. The first developments of geographers and soil scientists regarding the division and mapping of the soil cover of Ukraine on maps have been disclosed, among which is the work of V. V. Dokuchaev, as the author of the mapping technique and theoretical justification of the phenomenon of natural zoning. The work of his follower G. I. Tanfilieva became one of the first attempts at a comprehensive characterization of Ukrainian lands, taking into account zonal and provincial differences. The works of P. A. Tutkovskyi, K. G. Vobloh and other scientists, developers of agro-soil, agro-climatic, geobotanical, geomorphological and physical-geographical zoning of the territory of Ukraine. Based on the gathered sources, data regarding the attempt to establish an agricultural experimentation structure during the first quarter of the 20th century in the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine, according to the regional principle, are provided. This initiative involved the operation of two regional agricultural research structures in slightly different areas of the Forest-Steppe. In the right-bank part, agricultural experimentation was carried out by the Kyiv Agricultural Research Station with a number of district institutions, while the left-bank part was served by the Kharkiv Agricultural Research Station, district and specialized research institutions. Accumulated in the first decades of the 20th century natural science experience contributed to the development of theoretical and methodological tools for the further development of agricultural science and research in Ukraine.