This paper presents the results of a study of the change in the stability of Fe₂O₃/NdFeO₃ nanocomposites when exposed to aggressive media over a long period of time. The main purpose of these studies is to investigate the mechanisms of degradation and corrosion processes occurring in Fe₂O₃/NdFeO₃ nanocomposites, as well as the influence of the phase composition on the properties and degradation resistance. According to the X-ray phase analysis, it was found that the variation of the initial components leads to the formation of mixed composition nanocomposites with different Fe₂O₃/NdFeO₃ phase ratios. During corrosion tests, it was found that the dominance of the NdFeO₃ phase in the composition of nanocomposites leads to a decrease in the degradation and amorphization rate of nanostructures by a factor of 1.5–2 compared to structures in which the Fe₂O₃ phase dominates. Such a difference in the degradation processes indicates the high stability of two-phase composites. Moreover, in the case of an aqueous medium, nanocomposites dominated by the NdFeO₃ phase are practically not subjected to corrosion and deterioration of properties. The results obtained helped to determine the resistance of Fe₂O₃/NdFeO₃ nanocomposites to degradation processes caused by exposure to aggressive media, as well as to determine the mechanisms of property changes in the process of degradation. The results of the study of the absorption capacity of Fe₂O₃/NdFeO₃ nanocomposites in the case of the purification of aqueous media from manganese and arsenic showed that a change in the phase ratio in nanocomposites leads to an increase in the absorption efficiency of pollutants from aqueous media.

The data of daily conveyor production of melilot hay, harvested mainly in early highly nutritious phases of development, branching and budding, are presented. Melilot, possessing a number of important advantages over other feed crops, nevertheless, are not popular among agricultural practitioners because of their coarse stems, low feed intake and high content of coumarin in plants. Undoubted advantages of melilot include: high yield of hay, haylage and green mass, seeds; salt tolerance and possibility of reclaiming saline lands without drainage and soil leaching; sun resistance; drought resistance; winter hardiness; low irrigation rate; high nutritional value and digestibility of feed; high protein content in plants; low cost cultivation; possibility of obtaining high yields without introduction of nitrogen fertilizers, unpretentiousness to soil fertility; excellent phytomeliorant and soil orderly; soil fertility restorer and excellent precursor for many crops. The varieties of melilot created for cultivation on saline lands of the Caspian Sea region provide an extension of conveyor period of pasture use and harvesting of their raw materials up to 188 days per season.

Research work on the radical improvement of pastures with the sowing of prostrate rods (Kochia prostrate) against the background of plowing the soil to the depth of 20-22 cm has been carried out in the CIS countries since 1936 to this day. Despite the long-term study, in modern conditions, there are no industrial sowing of prostrate rods in Kazakhstan. The repeated attempts to introduce rods into production have failed. The long-term experiments (more than 50 years) have shown that Kochia prostrate does not sprout every year (approximately, two years out of five years, and then in places and sporadically). In one place full-fledged seedlings are provided, and in another place they are absent. That is, tillage does not provide the required efficiency. In this review, on the basis of original studies, the development of soil conditions for the growth of Kochia prostrate during soil cultivation is detailed. As known, when plowing, the upper fertile soil horizon is thrown down and it is buried by the less fertile, more structureless soil of the lower horizons. This, firstly, leads to the development of a hard crust impenetrable by Kochia prostrate sprouts and, secondly, when dry, solid soil blocks are formed under the seeds, impermeable by hypocatilny roots of Kochia prostrate. Therefore, sprouts of either die during dump plowing, or full-fledged shoots are not formed on it. The current dead-end situation with soil cultivation can be corrected by developing a new theoretical concept and, on its basis, developing a technology for soil cultivation and Kochia prostrate cultivation.

A system of agriculture is being developed to accumulate and preserve moisture in soil strips (5-10 cm wide, 5 cm deep, repeated every 50-55 cm in virgin soil untouched by vegetation), treated by surface raking of the loose seedbed layer to form a solid compacted bed, where an ideal condition for seed germination is created. With a favorable combination of weather and climatic conditions, this variant provides an optimal fullness of seedlings and a fairly high fruit-bearing weight of 3.9 t/ha on average for four years, including 4,8 tons in 2019. However, in extraordinary 2019-2020 crop year with extremely low precipitation (2,7 times lower than average annual norms), with the warm winter and spring (100 more than the average annual norm), incredibly intense droughts and dust storms (average of 18-19 days a month vs 4-5 mean annual norm) wind erosion dominated and dictated terms everywhere: furrows, sown with seeds of Summer Cypress were completely covered with drifts of dust with a thickness of 2-3 cm, under which the seedlings could not break through to the surface of the soil and died. In the cultivar keeping nursery, where seeds were sown directly without tillage and 15 PCs/m2 of seedlings were obtained only in the dust-inspired areas that make up one third of the area (400 m2).

The earlier studies about the efficiency of the main tillage showed that at the overall tillage for Kochia prostrate sowing don not guarantee the uniformgermination throughout the field, both in space and in time. It is due to theunsatisfactory water-physical conditions of the subsurface soil where seeds lie. Taking it into account, a farming system is being developed. It is aimed at accumulating and preserving moisture in the soil strips (10-15 cm wide, repeatedin 45-50 cm in the virgin soil), treated with a help of the method of a surface excavation of a loose soil layer with the formation of a solid compacted bed where seeds of Kochia prostrate are placed. The research results showed a high efficiency of harvesting the upper loose soil layer in strips with a width of 10-15 cm to a depth of 5-8 cm with the creation of a highly compacted solid seed bed, without conducting basic soil cultivation. In this variant, the optimum completeness of seedlings and a rather high yield of forage by fodder mass of Kochia prostrate were obtained 3.12 g / ha on average over three years. Earlier, before the development of this research, Kochia prostrate with annual sowing provided only 2 years of full-fledged germination from five years of sowing. Then as a result of the conducted research, a number of years providing full-fledged germination has reduced to 4 years of sowing.

Опыты по подбору культур в полевых условиях были заложены трижды (в 2016, 2018 и 2020 годах) на почвах, различающихся степенью засоления верхнего профиля. Цель исследований — подбор двулетних и многолетних трав при создании орошаемых культурных пастбищ на почвах с различной степенью засоления верхнего слоя. В аридных экосистемах основным фактором, определяющим рост и развитие культур при орошении, выступает засолённость почв. После освоения засолённых земель в течение длительного времени (более 50 лет) была установлена неэффективность их улучшения посредством промывки солей на фоне коллекторно-дренажных систем, и в связи с этим основным направлением борьбы в современных условиях остаётся подбор солеустойчивых культур на рассредоточенных освоенных мелких участках (40–100 га) среди не используемых под орошение земель, с коэффициентом использования (КЗИ) не более 0,4. Неорошаемые участки в данном случае служат зоной аэрации и аккумуляции минерализованных вод, поступающих с соседних орошаемых участков. Таким образом, поддерживается положительный баланс солевого режима в верхних (0–70 см) горизонтах почвы до средней степени. Посредством подбора культур, сочетающих высокую солеустойчивость с высокой продуктивностью, удаётся осваивать засолённые до средней степени почвы под орошаемые культурные пастбища. Проведённые длительные эксперименты с большим набором культур подтвердили высокую эффективность освоения засолённых земель под орошаемое культурное пастбище. Из подбираемых культур высокой солеустойчивостью и климатически обусловленной продуктивностью отличились донник и его травосмеси с участием костреца безостого и ежи сборной, которые обеспечивали стабильную высокую продуктивность зелёной массы — от 49,2 до 53,1 т/га. Field trial took place on three field plots varying in salt content (in 2016, 2018 and 2020). The aim was to select biennial and perennial grasses for irrigated farm lands with different salt content in top layers. In arid ecosystems soil salinity plays a key role in crop growth under irrigation. For over 50 years saline soil showed insignificant improvement in its quality when washing out salts by drainage systems. Therefore, salt-resistant crops are of high value cultivated on small separated plots with land use ratio of up to 0.4. Non-irrigated areas in this case perform as an aeration zone accumulating mineralized water coming from the neighboring irrigated areas. Thus, a positive balance of salt concentration is maintained in top (0–70 cm) soil layers. High-productive salt-resistant crops can be grown on medium saline soil. Long-term experiments showed effective cultivation of the large number of crops grown on saline irrigated lands. Melilot as well as its mixtures with smooth brome and cocksfoot showed high salt-resistance and productivity providing green mass yield from 49.2 to 53.1 t ha-1.