Donetsk Regional Center of the State Institution INSTITUTE OF SOIL PROTECTION OF UKRAINE

The Agrochemical Service of Donetsk Oblast, like other regions of Ukraine, originated in 1964, with the creation of a zonal agrochemical laboratory.

The beginning was quite difficult, relying solely on enthusiasm. However, all difficulties were successfully overcome thanks to the outstanding organizational skills and professional competence of the employees.

The first room where the agrochemical laboratory was located was a small one-story building of the research station, completely unequipped for the requirements of the laboratory.

After completing the first round of agrochemical soil testing, thanks to the laboratory's agrochemists, a Fertilizer Application Plan was developed and first implemented in the farms of the region, which allowed, based on the cartograms issued to the farms of the content of mobile forms of phosphorus, potassium, and acidity, to calculate the application of organic and mineral fertilizers for the planned harvest for each specific field and crop in accordance with the standards.

In 1975, the Radiological and Toxicological Department was established. In the same year, another production unit was established in the agrochemical laboratory - the department for the development and production of design and estimate documentation with the use of chemical means, which played an important role in the organization of works on chemical soil improvement.

After the Chernobyl accident, the Department of Radiological and Toxicological Research was busy. The head of the department and specialists from 17 regions of Ukraine carried out radiological surveys of the contaminated areas around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Soil and plant samples taken in the Kyiv region were analyzed by a radiological group during 1986–1988. Radiological studies of soils were also conducted in the Donetsk region.

Based on the results of agrochemical soil testing, the center developed a technology for highly efficient use of mineral fertilizers, optimizing their doses, timing, and methods of application. The laboratory for field research and soil fertility protection worked on improving these issues.

The laboratory's specialists conducted research aimed at studying the effectiveness of using various forms and doses of mineral fertilizers, biological products, and plant growth stimulants.

The Donetsk Regional Center of the State Agricultural Service "State Soil Protection" was a key institution of the regional agrochemical service. After the capture of Donetsk by separatists, the institution continues its activities in the city of Sloviansk. Unfortunately, due to the lack of material and technical base and equipped laboratories, it became impossible to carry out all stages of soil research work.

However, the branch's specialists did not succumb to difficult living and production conditions: the selection of soil samples for agrochemical examination of lands in order to issue an agrochemical passport for a field or land plot in the territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities did not stop, and specialists from other branches joined their analytical research.