Abstract

Dryland agriculture is the major production system in Kazakhstan. In the rest of Central Asia, irrigated agriculture is predominant. In the northern Kazakhstan, spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the major crop grown traditionally in summer fallow, which occupies 20% of the cropped area. Studies were conducted to find out the possibilities to reduce the area under fallow, since this practice mainly leads to soil erosion and is not efficient for moisture conservation. On the contrary, continuous growing of small grains proved to be efficient both in terms of production and economy at different levels of inputs. In the rest of Central Asia, winter wheat is traditionally grown after summer fallow. In the arid areas, fallow-wheat rotation the best farming practice in case if the wheat price is remunerative. In semiarid areas, the replacement of summer fallow with food legumes or safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) has been found to be economical especially due to prevailing low wheat prices. Alternative crops identified both for the introduction and replacement of wheat are: field pea (Pisum sativum L.), lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), mustard (Brassica junceus L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) and millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) in northern Kazakhstan; whereas chickpea, field pea and safflower in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

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