ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE DRY SUBTROPICS TERRITORY FOR CULTIVATING POMEGRANATE CULTIVARS

The purpose of the research is a critical analysis and generalization of the experience of pomegranate cultivation in Southern Dagestan in connection with the soil and climatic conditions specific for certain areas. Long-term research was carried out in 2018–2022 using research programs and methods adopted in research institutions on subtropical horticulture. When determining the meteorological conditions of the research area, data on average monthly and annual air temperatures, monthly and annual precipitation amounts and maximum daily precipitation amounts at the meteorological stations "Derbent" (-17 m above sea level), "Kasumkent" (477 m above sea level) and "Akhty" (1 015 m above sea level) were used for 2017–2022. For the first time, from the standpoint of pomegranate farming development in the region, agricultural land use has been analyzed in areas where the percentage of arable land use varies from 58.0 to 100 %. The analysis of land resource availability of Southern Dagestan’s population by districts has been carried out, which shows the number of all agricultural land per one inhabitant (0.49–8.63 ha), including arable land from 0.16 to 0.25 ha. Soil factors limiting growth and fruiting in the coastal lowlands, southeastern foothills and in the southeastern middle mountains (humus, Р2 О5 , К2 О, total nitrogen) have been determined. The productivity of seed and stone fruit crops (apple, pear, quince, peach, apricot, plum, alycha, cherry) on various soils of enlarged soil groups common in the region has been determined. The work carried out develops a new direction in pomegranate farming – the implementation of the concept of greening the industry when placed in various growing conditions. Four districts with varying degrees of suitability for cultivation of the introduced pomegranate cultivars have been identified, in which the estimated cost of marketable products ranges from 25.8 to 461.5 thousand rubles, and the average annual expected effect ranges from 7.9 to 139.9 thousand rubles. The calculation of economic efficiency showed high cultivation profitability of the introduced pomegranate cultivars of Azerbaijan (‘Agdashskiy’ – 170.0 %) and Uzbek breeding (‘Kazake Anor’ – 180.1 %) due to their high productivity and fruit quality