Ukraine loses up to three million tons of grain annually due to soil acidification

Now in Ukraine more than 11.5 million hectares of arable land under agricultural crops have high acidity.

08.09.2020 10:10 | ProAgro Group

This was announced at a press conference by Professor, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Sergei Veremeenko, according to "ProAgro Group" with reference to UNIAN.

According to him, now in Ukraine more than 11.5 million hectares of arable land under agricultural crops have high acidity.

"The problem is very acute. There are no state liming programs, farmers have stopped applying organic fertilizers and switched to acidic mineral and nitrogen. Soybeans, corn, canola, sunflower and other major crops do not tolerate soil acidity. According to modest estimates, we lose 2-3 million tons of grain a year, that's hundreds of millions of dollars, "he said.

Olga Khodakovska, head of the department of land relations and nature management at the Institute of Agrarian Economics, noted that in 1990 farmers contributed limestone to 1.5 million hectares of land, and in 2019 - only 137 thousand hectares. According to her, high soil acidity can reduce grain yields by up to 50%. But it will also affect the value of plots after the opening of the land market in Ukraine.

"Such land will pay less taxes, respectively, less money will go to local budgets," - added the scientist.

The Ukrainian Association of Lime Industry (UALI) considers it necessary to promote the idea of ​​soil deoxidation in Ukraine. "Large-scale soil restoration programs are being used all over the world. Therefore, we need to draw the state's attention and start working together to solve the problem," said Roman Gladunenko, executive director of the UALI.

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