HARMFULNESS OF WEEDS ON WINTER WHEAT CROPS IN THE FOREST-STEPPE ZONE OF NORTH OSSETIA-ALANIA

Winter wheat occupies an important place in the structure of acreage, in the raw materials and feed balance of the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania. The agro-climatic conditions of the forest-steppe zone of the republic are favorable for the cultivation of winter grain crops, but no less favorable for the growth and manifestation of harmful weeds in the absence of a scientifically based crop protection system. Surveys of winter wheat crops have shown their average and severe contamination with an extensive species composition of weeds and with a tendency to their growth. As the centuries-old practice of agriculture shows, weeds constantly accompany cultivated plants. The harm from weeds is constant, and as soon as attention to control measures is weakened, the contamination of crops and the harmfulness of weeds in relation to the main dominants of argophytocenoses increases - to cultivated plants. Severe contamination of winter crops is caused by a violation of the structure of acreage, crop rotations, tillage systems, fertilizers, care methods and other issues of agricultural technology. Weeds negatively affect the growth of cultivated plants and their yields; they make it difficult to cultivate the soil and harvest crops. The decrease in field crop yields caused by weeds is estimated at 20-25%, which leads to a significant shortage, and sometimes to a complete loss of harvest. Currently, the contamination of winter wheat crops with wintering, early and late types of weeds is one of the limiting factors hindering the increase in crop yields and grain quality indicators. To effectively protect winter grain crops from weeds, it is necessary to determine the stocks of weed seeds in the soil and their species composition.