CHANGE IN SOIL PRODUCTIVITY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF TRUCK WHEEL SYSTEMS

Heavy agricultural machinery used for field work has a negative impact on the soil, reducing its physical, chemical and biological potential as a result of over-compaction. Over-compaction negatively affects key soil functions, the main one of which is productivity. Although compaction is a wellrecognized problem, it is still difficult to quantify the level of environmental damage caused by the chassis of various equipment to the soil-crop system. This is especially true for vehicles operating in harvesting and transport units. The paper offers a comparative assessment of the impact of the chassis of ZIL-MMZ-554, KAMAZ-53205 and KAMAZ-65207 trucks on the yield of subsequent crops in the crop rotation. It was found that under typical winter wheat harvesting conditions in the central zone of the Krasnodar Territory (1000 m track length and 60.4 c/ha yield), the studied trucks cover an average of 15.1 to 18.1% of the entire field area with tracks. Soil compaction by the running gear of vehicles may cause a decrease in its productivity. Thus, using a vehicle in a harvesting and transport unit that serves one combine harvester per transport cycle may reduce the yield of the next crop in the crop rotation by 3.1%, serving two combine harvesters - by 6.7-7.2%. When driving empty vehicles over stubble, the risks of reducing soil productivity are minimal: the predicted overall decrease in the yield of the next crop in the crop rotation will not exceed 1%.