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Melon
Melon (Cucumis melo) is a gourd crop of food value.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org©Wilfredor (CC0 1.0)
Economic importance
Melon fruits contain 6-12% sugars, vitamins B1, B3, C, PP (folic acid) and iron. The content of vitamin C is 3 times higher than watermelon .
In terms of the absorption of iron from melon, it is 17 times greater than milk and 2 times chicken meat.
The fruits are eaten fresh, dried and dried, used in the canning and confectionery industry for the manufacture of honey, candied fruits, marmalade, marshmallows, jams.
Melon fruits can be used for medicinal purposes in diseases of the heart, liver, kidneys, anemia, nervous system, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract.
Cultural history
It has been known in culture for more than 4 thousand years. Cultivated in Ancient Egypt, China, Persia, Central Asia.
It appeared in Russia in the second half of the 16th century. in the Volga region, from the beginning of the XVIII century. also began to be grown further north in greenhouses.
Cultivation areas
Melon is grown in Central Asia and Transcaucasia.
Yield
The melon yield ranges from 10 t/ha to 50 t/ha.
Botanical description
Melon is an annual herbaceous plant, represented by a sufficiently large number of species. Melons are common in Russia:
- with soft fruit pulp:
- handalak – Melo chandalak Pang.;
- adana, or Cilician, – Melo adana Pang .;
- cassaba – Melo cassaba Pang;
- with dense pulp:
- charjou – Melo zard Pang.;
- ameri – Melo ameri Pang.;
- cantaloupe – Melo cantalypa Pang.
The species differ little from each other.
The root system is less developed than that of watermelon, taproot, penetrates deep into the soil up to 1-4 m, has numerous lateral branches, spreading in a horizontal direction by 2-3 m.
The stem is creeping, cylindrical, hollow, heavily branched, has stiff hairs.
Leaves are kidney-shaped, rounded, triangular, pentagonal or heart-shaped, entire, on long petioles. The area is smaller than that of a watermelon.
Flowers are orange-yellow. There are bisexual and dioecious. There are usually up to 100 male flowers for 15 female flowers. Dioecious flowers are prone to cross-pollination, bisexual – to self-pollination.
Fruits – multi-seeded pumpkin, of various shapes (flattened, spherical, cylindrical) and colors (from yellow or white to green), are formed mainly on lateral shoots of the first and second order. The pulp is loose or dense, the sugar content is 12%. The color, thickness of the pulp and the size of the seed nest are varietal characteristics of the melon.
Seeds are ovoid, flat, white-yellow, 0.5-1.5 cm long, up to 5 mm wide, up to 2 mm thick. Oil content 25-30%. Weight of 1000 seeds 35-50 g.
Biological features
Melon is similar to watermelon , but differs in high heat requirements, less drought-resistant, easier to grow on loamy soils.
Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 15-16 °C. The optimum temperature for growth and development is 25-30 °C.
Light-loving plant.
Does not tolerate excessive soil moisture, which provokes decay and death of the roots.
Soil properties also affect fruit quality and fruit sugar content.
Vegetation
Vegetation phases:
- seedlings;
- first true leaf;
- 5-6 leaves;
- bloom;
- removable ripeness of fruits.
Agricultural technology of cultivation
General recommendations for the cultivation of melons are similar to those for all gourds.
Fertilizer
Under the melon with deep autumn tillage, 15-20 t/ha of manure are applied. Higher doses may delay fruit ripening and reduce fruit quality.
Sowing
The optimal time for sowing melon seeds is when the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm is 12-14 °C. Seedlings appear in 8-9 days.
Recommended sowing schemes are 2.5×0.8-1.0 m or 2.1×0.8-1.2 m.
Seeding rate – 2-4 kg/ha. The depth of sowing seeds is 4-6 cm.
Harvest
Melon harvesting is carried out in 2-3 doses as they ripen.
Signs of ripe melons are the acquisition of the color characteristic of the variety and the manifestation of the pattern.
Undamaged fruits are suitable for storage. The melon storage temperature is 0-2 °C and the maximum air humidity is 75-85%.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.
Watermelon
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)is a melon crop of food and fodder value.
Depending on the purpose, they are divided into table watermelon and fodder watermelon.
Source: flickr.com©Len Worthington (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Gourds
- Watermelon (Русская версия)
Economic importance
Table watermelon fruits contain 6-12% sugars, 1-2% pectin, 1.5% fiber, vitamins B 1 , B 3 , B 9 , C, PP (folic acid), minerals (iron), citric acid, malic, succinic and nicotinic acids. The protein content is small, but it is represented by all the essential amino acids.
Table watermelon can also serve as a medicinal plant. Due to the content of iron, it is useful for anemia and anemia, liver disease, gastroenterocolitis and atherosclerosis, with metabolic disorders and insufficient blood circulation. One of the best
diuretics. Recommended for diseases such as nephritis, cystitis, constipation, overweight. Watermelon seeds produce an oil used to treat rickets.
The fruits are eaten fresh, used in the canning and confectionery industry for the manufacture of honey (nardek), candied fruits, molasses, marmalade, marshmallows.
Forage varieties of watermelon are used for livestock feed, they have a milk-producing property. 100 kg of fodder watermelon fruits correspond to 9-10 feed units and contain 40-200 g of digestible protein. For feed it is used fresh, ensiled and frozen. The fruits of fodder watermelon are characterized by good keeping quality.
Whip is also suitable for silage, usually in a mixture with corn , straw and sex crops and grass seeds. 100 kg of whips correspond to 19 feed units. 100 kg of silage from a mixture of watermelon and corn correspond to 13.5-14.2 feed units, contain 1.1-1.8 kg of digestible protein, from a mixture with straw – 12.5 feed units and 0.8 kg, respectively.
Cultural history
Table watermelon is one of the ancient agricultural crops that was known in ancient Egypt 4 thousand years ago. Later, watermelon began to be cultivated in the Arabian Peninsula, Palestine, Syria and Central Asia.
The place of origin is considered to be Central and South Africa, where it occurs in the wild.
In Russia, this culture was known in the VIII-X centuries. It was grown in the Volga region, but it became widespread at the beginning of the 17th century. Watermelon was cultivated as a greenhouse crop even in the northern regions, for example, in Moscow, Vladimir, Kazan, St. Petersburg.
Cultivation areas
Watermelon is grown in the Middle and Lower Volga regions, the North Caucasus, as well as in Ukraine and Moldova.
Yield
The yield of table watermelon on non-irrigated lands is 20-30 t/ha, on irrigated lands – 40-50 t/ha.
The yield of fodder watermelon is 30-60 t/ha.
Botanical description
Watermelon (Citrullus) is an annual plant represented by two species:
- table watermelon (Citrullus edulus Pang. (Lanatus));
- fodder watermelon, or candied fruit (Citrullus colocynthoides Pang.).
Table watermelon
The root is taproot, highly branched, penetrates deep into the soil up to 1-5 m, spreads to the sides up to 7 m, and has a large suction capacity. The formation of the root system is completed in the flowering phase.
Stem creeping, creeping, long climbing up to 2-5 m, with 5-10 branches (up to 50), pubescent with stiff hairs, rounded-pentagonal.
The leaves are dissected into pinnatifid lobes, gray-green, stiffly pubescent, long-petiolate.
Flowers are quinary, yellow, dioecious, sometimes bisexual. The plant is monoecious. Cross pollination, with the help of insects (entomophilous). One plant can have up to 150 male flowers, female flowers are about 5 times less. The flowering of male flowers begins earlier than female ones.
The fruit is a multi-seeded false berry (pumpkin) on a long stem, spherical, oval or oblong, painted white-greenish or dark green, usually with a marbled pattern. The bark of the fruit is leathery, fragile, 0.5 to 2 cm thick. The pulp is of various textures, carmine-red, pink, sometimes white or yellow, tastes sweet or slightly sweet. The sugar content in the pulp is 5.7-13%. Fruit weight varies from 2 to 20 kg.
The seeds are flat, ovoid, 0.5-2 cm long, up to 10 mm wide, up to 3 mm thick, with a scar along the edge and a hard skin that has a white, cream, yellow, gray, red, brown and black color, sometimes spotted. pattern of various shapes. Weight of 1000 seeds 60-150 g.
Fodder watermelon
The root system of fodder watermelon is more powerful than that of table watermelon, it penetrates into the depth of the soil by 2-5 m. With sufficient moisture in the upper soil layer, adventitious roots can form from the nodes of the lashes.
The stem is pentagonal, creeping, lashes up to 2-5 m long, strongly branched, pubescent with stiff hairs.
The leaves are deeply dissected, have larger shortened segments, rigidly pubescent.
The flowers are large, dioecious, with a pale yellow or yellow corolla. Male flowers are located on long pedicels, female – on short ones.
The fruits are from spherical to oval-oblong, green or light green in color with dark stripes of a marbled pattern, thick crust. The pulp is pale green, dense, unsweetened, sugar content 1.2-2.6%. Fruit weight from 10-15 to 25-30 kg.
Seeds without rib. Weight of 1000 seeds 100-200 g.
Biological features
Table watermelon, in comparison with fodder watermelon, is more demanding on growing conditions.
Temperature requirements
Watermelon is a thermophilic and heat-tolerant plant.
In moist soil, seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 15-17 °C, seedlings appear after 8-10 days. Seedlings die at a temperature of -1 °C.
The optimum temperature for the growth of stems and leaves is 20-22 °C, fertilization – 18-25 °C, fruit development – 25-30 °C. At temperatures below 15 °C, photosynthesis and growth processes are inhibited.
The sum of active temperatures above 10 °C is 2200-2500 °C.
Moisture requirements
Watermelon is a very drought-resistant plant due to its powerful developed root system, but it is responsive to irrigation.
Light requirements
Watermelon is a photophilous plant of a short day, does not tolerate shading.
Soil requirements
Sandy and sandy loamy chernozem soils are optimally suited.
Loamy and clayey soils are of little use, as they firmly retain moisture and do not warm up well.
Optimal soil acidity pH 6.5-7.5.
Soil properties also affect fruit quality and fruit sugar content.
Vegetation
Vegetation phases:
- seedlings;
- first true leaf;
- 5-6 leaves;
- bloom;
- removable ripeness of fruits.
Agricultural technology of cultivation
General recommendations for the cultivation of watermelon are similar to those for all gourds.
Fertilizer
Under watermelon with deep autumn tillage, 15-20 t/ha of manure are applied . Higher doses may delay fruit ripening and reduce fruit quality.
For watermelon, it is recommended to apply N90P135K60 or separately N60P45K50 for autumn processing and N10P15K10 in rows when sowing. The introduction of mineral fertilizers increases the yield of fruits by 25-30%, the sugar content – by 2-3%. (Donetsk Vegetable and Melon Experimental Station).
It is also recommended to fertilize with N30P45K45 during the flowering phase.
Pre-sowing seed treatment
Warming up the seeds helps to increase the yield of watermelons by 11-20% (Donetsk vegetable and melon experimental station, Ukrainian research institute of vegetable and melon growing).
Sowing
The optimal time for sowing watermelon seeds is when the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm is 12-14 ° C. Seedlings appear in 9-10 days.
Recommended sowing schemes:
- 2.5×1.5-1.7 m;
- 2.1×2.1-1.4 m;
- 1.8×1.8-1.4 m.
The seeding rate is 1.5-3 kg/ha (2.3-4.6 thousand seeds/ha). The depth of sowing seeds is 6-8 cm. 1-2 plants are planted in one nest.
Harvest
Cleaning of table watermelon is carried out in 2-3 steps as it ripens, fodder – in one step, before the onset of frost.
Signs of ripening watermelon fruits are drying of the stalk, coarsening of the bark and the appearance of a clear pattern on it.
When harvesting watermelons on fruits, it is recommended to leave the stalks for better keeping quality.
During the last continuous collection of watermelon fruits, one-time harvesting for seeds, it is economically justified to mechanized collection of fruits into swaths using a УПВ-8 swather, followed by the selection of swaths by a ПБВ-1 picker and their soft laying in vehicles. The technology reduces labor costs by 5-8 times compared to harvesting fruits with the removal to the side of the field.
Undamaged fruits are suitable for storage. The storage temperature of watermelons is 2-3 °C and the maximum air humidity is 75-85%.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.
Gourds
Gourds are a group of agricultural crops of food, fodder and technical importance belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family.
Melon growing is a direction of agricultural production for the cultivation of gourds.
Gourds include:
- watermelon;
- melon;
- gourd;
- zucchini.
Luffa can also be grown on private farms.
Sometimes, gourds are classified as vegetables.
- Gourds (Русская версия)
Economic importance
Table varieties of gourds are cultivated to obtain juicy fruits with high taste qualities.
Forage varieties of watermelon , pumpkin and zucchini are used for livestock feed, they are distinguished by their milk-producing properties. They can also be used ensiled in a mixture with corn, beet or potato tops, legumes.
Edible oil is obtained from the seeds of gourds, especially pumpkins.
Luffa may be of interest for agricultural production for technical purposes.
Due to the high sugar content in fruits, gourds can serve as an additional raw material for the production of sugar.
Gourds are of agrotechnical importance, since after them the fields remain clean from weeds.
Cultural history
Melon growing in Russia has been carried out since antiquity, as evidenced by archaeological finds of watermelon seeds near the Tsimlyansk Sea dating back to the 8th century AD. On the territory of Central Asia, melon seeds were found , which were grown in the 3rd century BC.
Industrial melon growing appeared in the middle of the 19th century, when gourds became widespread in the Lower Volga region, Kuban, Ukraine and Central Asia. Now the boundaries of the cultivation of melons and gourds have significantly advanced to the north and east.
Cultivation areas
The sown area occupied by gourds in the world is over 1 million hectares. Producing countries of gourds are China, India, Japan, countries of Africa, Central and South America, Europe (Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Italy).
In the period of the USSR, the sown areas of melons and gourds amounted to 201-224 thousand hectares. In 1997, the area on the territory of Russia was 170 thousand hectares, in 2001-2005. – 145 thousand hectares. Russia occupies one of the leading places in the world in terms of sown areas under gourds.
Conventionally, melon growing areas in Russia are divided into two zones:
- the North Caucasus, the Lower and Middle Volga regions, where approximately 90% of all cultivated areas of gourds are concentrated, mainly watermelon;
- The Central Black Earth zone, the central regions of the Non-Chernozem zone, the Trans-Urals, Siberia and the Far East, where mainly early ripe varieties of watermelon and pumpkin are cultivated .
The conditions of Russia, where the share of arable lands in the steppe and dry steppe zones is large, make it possible to significantly expand commercial melon growing, that is, not only to supply gourds to the domestic market, but also to significantly increase the share of exports, taking into account quality control and environmental safety.
Yield
The largest yields of gourds on non-irrigated lands are obtained in the North Caucasus, on irrigated lands – in the Lower Volga region.
Botanical description
Gourds belong to the Cucurbitaceae family. The family includes more than 100 genera and over 1000 species of heat-loving plants, distributed mainly in the subtropics.
In Russia, 4 types are cultivated:
- watermelon (Citrullous);
- melon (Melo);
- pumpkin (Cucurbita);
- zucchini.
Crop rotation
Gourds are demanding on soil fertility and cleanliness of fields from weeds. They give a good harvest on virgin, floodplain and fallow lands, according to the layer and turnover of the layer of perennial grasses. After perennial grasses, gourds suffer less from fungal diseases and give higher yields of better quality. For fodder purposes, they are recommended to be placed in near-farm crop rotations.
In field crop rotations, winter crops, corn, annual grasses, legumes are considered the best predecessors.
For farms specializing in gourds, special crop rotations are recommended , for example, 1 – winter rye + grasses; 2 – herbs of the 1st year; 3 – herbs of the 2nd year; 4 – herbs of the 3rd year; 5 – gourds; 6 – gourds; 7 – spring wheat; 8 – corn for silage. The share of melons is 25%.
In Central Asia, a melon-lucerne-grain crop rotation is recommended: 1 – melons; 2 – gourds; 3 – spring cereals; 4 – gourds; 5 – alfalfa of the 1st year; 6 – alfalfa of the 2nd year. The share of melons is 50%.
For the placement of melons and gourds, the fields after the predecessors, on which herbicides were used, are unsuitable.
Gourds in crop rotation can serve as precursors for spring grain crops, and in conditions of sufficient moisture in the Kuban and Stavropol Territory – winter wheat.
Fertilizer
The use of mineral and organic fertilizers helps to increase the yield and quality of fruits (sugar and dry matter content), accelerate their ripening.
Under gourds, it is important to apply organic fertilizers on light soils.
Phosphorus and potash fertilizers significantly accelerate the development and maturation.
For melons and gourds it is recommended to apply manure, compost or other local organic fertilizers in autumn for deep plowing. The optimal application rates for mineral fertilizers are N30-60P45-90K30-60.
For top dressing, slurry diluted with water at the rate of 3-4 t/ha or bird droppings – 300-500 kg / ha are suitable.
Tillage
Soil cultivation for gourds is similar to that used for spring crops of late sowing and includes plowing to a depth of 8-10 cm and plowing with plows with 23-30 cm skimmers. They respond well to deep tillage.
In the spring, harrowing and at least two cultivations are carried out, followed by harrowing. In the northern areas of melon growing on heavily compacted soils, the first cultivation is usually replaced by plowing.
When the upper soil layer dries up, rolling is carried out.
Sowing
Pre-sowing seed treatment
For sowing, seeds obtained from ripened healthy fruits are used. Seed germination should be at least 90%. 6-8 days before sowing, air-thermal heating of seeds is carried out in the sun for 3-5 days or heated at a temperature of 50-60 °C for 4 hours . station, Ukrainian Research Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing).
1-2 days before sowing, the seeds are soaked in water at room temperature for 24 hours.
Seeds are treated in advance with 80% TMTD at the rate of 5 g/kg of seeds or 65% fentnuram – 4 g/kg of seeds.
In practice, dried seeds 2-3 years old are usually used, since the plants from them develop better, and the yield is higher.
Sowing dates
The optimal sowing time is determined by the heating of the soil at a depth of 10 cm to 12-16 °C. If the optimal timing of sowing seeds of melons and melons is not observed, that is, in insufficiently warmed soil, they will rot, giving sparse shoots and reducing yields.
Sowing is carried out by melon seeders of the type СБН-3 and СЗУ-2.4. With nested and dotted sowing methods, the СПЧ-6М seeder can be used. It is also possible to use corn or cotton planters.
The area of plant nutrition depends on the variety, climatic conditions, soil fertility.
The Donetsk vegetable and gourd experimental station proposed a tape-nesting method of sowing, which provides for sowing with a distance between tapes of 2.1 m or 1.4 m, between lines in the tape – 0.7 m, in a row (line) between nests – 0.7- 1.4 m. The method allows to ensure optimal sowing density, while the yield increases by 26-29%.
On light soils, the depth of planting seeds of melons and gourds is 5-6 cm, in dry spring conditions – 7-9 cm.
Crop care
Care of crops of gourds and gourds consists in harrowing (before germination and after germination) and loosening with rotary hoes until germination appears to destroy the soil crust and destroy weed sprouts, as well as tillage between rows to a depth of 12-15 cm at the first and 8-10 cm – during subsequent loosening. In the 1-2 leaf phase, a breakthrough of seedlings or replanting of germinated seeds into empty nests can be carried out.
During inter-row cultivation, the overgrown lashes are removed to the side so as not to damage them by the wheels of the processing equipment, for which a lash stacker is installed in the unit with the cultivator, which shifts the lashes from the middle of the row spacing to a width of 50-60 cm.
For inter-row cultivation, cultivators KRN-4.2, KRN-5.6, as well as the melon cultivator KMB-5.4 are used, for weeding in rows – the weeding unit PAU-4.
To prevent entanglement of the lashes by the wind, they are sprinkled with moist soil, which also contributes to the formation of additional adventitious roots to improve plant nutrition.
Pinching (chasing) of the ends of the lashes is effective until the last developed leaves in the flowering phase of male flowers. The chasing of fodder watermelon contributes to an increase in yield by 6.7 t/ha (Voronezh Agricultural Institute).
In the fight against anthracnose, melon crops are treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture, the consumption of the working solution is 600 l/ha. Against powdery mildew – ground sulfur, at the rate of 15-20 kg / ha.
Harvest
The ripening of melons and gourds occurs unevenly.
For selective harvesting of gourds, a wide-cut conveyor ТШП-25 is used. Ripe fruits are plucked and placed in the cells of the conveyor belt, which guides and stacks them in vehicles.
When transporting fruits, it is recommended to use the container method of transportation, which reduces the use of manual labor in loading and unloading operations, improves product quality and reduces transport delays.
Melons begin to be fed to animals from late autumn.
For use in winter for fodder purposes, gourds can be ensiled. To do this, a layer of cutting bean or corn straw (30-40 cm) is laid at the bottom of the trench, on top of it – pumpkins , watermelons or zucchini with a layer of 2-3 fruits. Then the layers of straw cutting and fruits alternate. When tamping with heavy equipment, the fruits knead well and moisten the straw. Silage is well eaten by all farm animals.
Irrigation
Irrigation is used to obtain high yields in the cultivation of gourds. Due to drought tolerance, watering is rarely carried out. The effectiveness of irrigated melon growing has been confirmed by many experimental institutions: Bykovskaya experimental station of melon growing (Volgograd region), Biryuchekutskaya vegetable breeding experimental station (Rostov region), Moldavian Research Institute of Irrigated Agriculture and Vegetable Growing, Crimean Agricultural Institute.
Table. The effect of irrigation on the yield of watermelons, on average for 3 years (Crimean Agricultural Institute)
| Without irrigation and fertilizer | ||
| Moisture-charging irrigation | ||
| Moisture-charging irrigation + N40P60 | ||
| Moisture-charging irrigation + 1 vegetative irrigation | ||
| Moisture-charging irrigation + N40P60 + 1 vegetative irrigation | ||
| Moisture-charging irrigation + N40P60 + 2 vegetative irrigation |
Carrying out only irrigation leads to a decrease in the sugar content of fruits by 1%, while joint irrigation with the application of fertilizers significantly increases it, compared with non-irrigated and unfertilized options.
In the European part of Russia, for melons and gourds, 3-5 vegetation irrigations are carried out with an interval of 10-15 days. They start long before flowering. In the flowering phase, they are temporarily stopped and resumed at the beginning of fruit set. Irrigation rate is 600-800 m3/ ha.
In Central Asia, autumn water-recharging irrigation is the most effective. They allow sowing without pre-planting irrigation and reduce the number of irrigations during the growing season. The first vegetative watering is carried out 20 days after germination, the next – at intervals of 10-15 days. Watering is stopped 15 days before the first harvest of fruits. The number of vegetation irrigations is from 5 to 11. The irrigation rate is 500-700 m3/ha.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.
Jerusalem artichoke
Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), or earthen pear, is a technical fodder crop.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org©Darkone (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder kale
- Jerusalem artichoke (Русская версия)
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- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder kale
- Jerusalem artichoke (Русская версия)
Economic importance
Jerusalem artichoke is mainly cultivated as an industrial crop in order to obtain inulin, the content of which in tubers is up to 30-40% of dry matter. Hydrolysis of inulin yields fructose. The tubers also serve as raw materials in the production of alcohol, wine and wine vinegar, fodder yeast, and beer.
Jerusalem artichoke is also used for food purposes. For example, in France, tubers are eaten in the same way as potatoes. The tubers of table varieties of earthen pear are eaten boiled, baked, fried, sometimes raw.
Tubers and green mass of earthen pear can be used for fodder purposes.
The stems and leaves are rich in vitamins, the dry matter content reaches 25-30%, which includes most of the carbohydrates with a small amount of fiber. The dry matter protein contains all the essential amino acids. The green mass is also rich in inulin, which, under the action of the gastric juice of animals, turns into fructose.
Green mass for feed is used fresh, which is relatively well eaten by all animals. On average, 100 kg of green fodder corresponds to 20-25 feed units and contains 1.8 kg of digestible protein. The green mass of Jerusalem artichoke is of great importance as a top dressing in fur farms and hunting farms.
Hay and grass flour, silage are made from green mass. Due to the fact that the stems of Jerusalem artichoke contain up to 25-30% (dry matter) carbohydrates, and with leaves – 15-20%, the green mass is easily ensiled. Silage is well stored and eaten by cattle, sheep, goats and other animals. 100 kg of silage correspond to 18-25 feed units. 1 feed unit contains 80-90 g of digestible protein. The chemical composition of the silo: water – 75.2%; protein – 2.6%; fats – 0.5%; fiber – 6.6%; BEV – 13.7%; mineral substances – 3.0%.
Jerusalem artichoke tubers contain up to 21-30% dry matter, including 10-18% inulin, 5-7% fructose, about 2-4% protein, carotene, B vitamins and minerals. The content of vitamins is 2 times more than in potato tubers. In terms of nutritional value, they are not inferior to potatoes: 100 kg contain 23-30 feed units and 1.5 kg of protein, they are well eaten by animals and birds. In terms of quality and nutritional value, it is not inferior to corn and sunflower silage.
Jerusalem artichoke gives the earliest feed for pigs. Their grazing on earthen pear plantations in early spring makes it possible to almost completely abandon other types of feed. The weight gain of piglets when they are fed with tubers increases by 20-30%, and when fattening animals, the quality of fat increases. For this reason, in our country, at the stage of introduction into production, this crop was most widely used in pig farms, and in the 80s. the Baltic States, where (was) developed bacon pig breeding.
Tubers for feed are used raw, steamed or boiled. In winter, combined silos are prepared from them, thereby lengthening the period of feeding with tubers and avoiding their long-term storage, which is often difficult.
It can be used for medicinal purposes for people with diabetes, anemia and atherosclerosis, as it helps to reduce blood sugar and restore vision.
Jerusalem artichoke is known in culture – a hybrid of Jerusalem artichoke and sunflower, which almost does not differ from Jerusalem artichoke. It is also used as an earthen pear. Unlike the latter, it does not clog the crops of subsequent crops and allows you to place them in crop rotations.
Jerusalem artichoke can be used as a green manure.
Cultural history
In the wild flora, Jerusalem artichoke grows in North America, from where it was brought to Europe in the 17th century. Came to Russia in the 18th century.
Cultivation areas
Large cultivated areas of earthen pears are found in France, Poland, Hungary, Scandinavian countries, Great Britain, USA, Japan and China.
The area under crops in the world is approximately 0.5 million hectares.
In the USSR, this crop was cultivated everywhere, but in limited areas.
In Russia, it is grown in small areas in the North Caucasus, in the Non-Chernozem and Central Black Earth zones, the Volga region, Siberia and the Far East. As an ornamental plant, it can be found everywhere.
Due to the peculiarities of the light regime, Jerusalem artichoke in the north of Russia is cultivated mainly as a silage crop, in the south – as a technical one for obtaining tubers, in the middle lane both take place.
Yield
The yield in Russia is 50-60 t/ha of fodder mass, or 10-15 thousand fodder units per 1 ha. In the Caucasus and the countries of Central Asia, the yield of green mass is 20-100 t/ha, tubers 20-130 t/ra, depending on nutrition and moisture conditions.
In the central regions of Russia, in Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine, the yield of green mass varies from 20 to 75 t/ha, tubers – from 20 to 45 t/ha. In the Non-Chernozem zone and the north of the European part of Russia, as well as the Baltic countries, Jerusalem artichoke produces 35-80 t/ha of green mass and 4-14 t/ha of tubers. In some regions of Siberia and the Far East, the yield of green mass is 30-140 t/ha, tubers – 9-20 t/ha.
Botanical description
Jerusalem artichoke is a tuberous perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, genus Helianthus L. The genus Helianthus includes over 100 species, but only two of them are of agricultural importance: Helianthus annus L. (sunflower) and Helianthus tuberosus L. (ground pear).
Jerusalem artichoke has erect, branching, well leafy stems of green or slightly purple color and up to 1.5-4 m high. Bushiness is from 1 to 5 stems.
The leaves are pointed, large, stiffly pubescent, serrated at the edges, ovate, oblong-ovate or broadly ovate on long petioles. In the seedling phase, they look like a rosette; in the budding phase in the lower part of the shoot – whorled, in the middle and upper – next.
The inflorescence is a basket, just like a sunflower, but smaller, 1.3-5 cm in diameter. The flowers are bright yellow inside the inflorescence – tubular, marginal – reed. Inflorescences are located on the tops of the main and side shoots. Depending on the degree of branching, the number of inflorescences varies from 1 to 50 pieces per plant. Pollination is cross-pollinated by wind and insects.
The fruit is an achene, smaller than that of a sunflower, conical-angular in shape, gray or brown with specks in color. Transcaucasia); early ripening – in the Central Black Earth zone, sometimes near Moscow. Seed propagation is possible only in hot climates; in our country it is practiced only for selection.
The root system is fibrous, with seed reproduction – rod, well branched. The roots penetrate deep into the soil by 2 m; the working surface is 6-8 times larger than that of potatoes. The roots account for 4.6-8% of the total mass of the plant.
Branching of the shoot is possible aboveground and underground. The above-ground branching of the shoot is acropetal, that is, from the axils of the lower opposite leaves, and basipetal – from the axils of the next leaves. In the underground part of the shoot, stolons are formed – underground lateral shoots. 4-6, the upper internodes of the stolon thicken, turning into a tuber. In varieties, the length of the stolons is 5-40 cm. The shorter the length of the stolons, the more compact the tuber nest.
Tubers are pear-shaped, oblong-oval or spindle-shaped, with a smooth or bumpy surface. The color varies from white to red-violet. The eyes are convex. On one plant of breeding varieties, the number of tubers reaches 20-30 pieces, in semi-wild forms – up to 70. The mass of the tuber is 10-100 g, depending on the variety and region of cultivation. Unlike potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke tubers do not have a cork layer (covered with a thin peel), therefore they are stored worse and are most often harvested in the spring. When planted in the soil, it usually produces one sprout.
Biological features
Temperature requirements
Jerusalem artichoke is resistant to high and low temperatures.
The requirements of earth pear of early ripening varieties for heat are similar to the requirements of medium and late ripening varieties of potatoes, that is, the sum of active temperatures for the growing season is 2000 °C; in mid- and late-ripening varieties – 2500-2800 °С (Department of plant growing of Moscow Agricultural Academy).
Above ground organs can withstand short-term frosts down to -8 °C, tubers – up to -12 °C in air and up to -35 °C in soil under snow cover. These properties determine the possibility of growing Jerusalem artichoke up to 65°N.
Germination begins at a soil temperature of 5-6 °C, more uniform germination occurs at 8-10 °C. Shoots appear in 3-4 weeks.
This culture also tolerates high temperatures well. Unlike potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke does not suffer from heat degeneration.
Moisture requirements
The earthen pear, thanks to its powerful deep-penetrating root system, is cast with increased drought resistance among tubers. However, earth pear gives high yields of tubers in a warm climate and sufficient moisture or irrigation.
The greatest resistance of plants to a lack of moisture in the soil is manifested in the phase of seedlings and the beginning of the formation of stolons. Critical periods occur at the beginning of the thickening of stolons and the formation of buds, that is, in the second half of summer, when moistening conditions improve in most regions of Russia.
Light requirements
Jerusalem artichoke does not have high requirements for light, however, a strong thickening can lead to a decrease in the yield of green mass, but especially tubers.
Refers to plants with a short daylight hours. The longer the growing season, the stronger the response of the variety to the reduction in day length. Therefore, early ripening varieties react little to short daylight hours and can form inflorescences and mature achenes even near Moscow. In the conditions of a relatively long day in the central and northern regions of the country, the yield of green mass increases, while tubers for most varieties decrease.
Soil requirements
Jerusalem artichoke can grow on all types of soils and soil varieties, except solonetzes, solonchaks and waterlogged soils. Loamy and sandy loamy soils with a deep cultivated arable layer, loose, permeable, are considered optimal for its cultivation.
Poorly tolerates acidic soils, optimal acidity pH 6-7, responsive to liming. It does not grow well in heavy, highly moist soils.
Plant nutrition
Despite unpretentiousness, earthen pear responds well to improved nutritional conditions.
With 1 ton of green mass of Jerusalem artichoke, 3 kg of N, 1.2-1.4 kg of P2O5 and 4.5 kg of K2O are removed from the soil . With 1 ton of tubers – 2-2.5 kg of N, 2-2.5 kg P2O5 and 7 kg K2O (G.V. Ustimenko).
Yields are greatly increased by fertilization. When applying 30 t/ha of manure in the first year, it led to an increase in the yield of green mass by 9.6 t/ha, tubers – by 1.5 t/ha, in the second year by 17.1 t/ha and 3.7 t/ha. ha, respectively (Moscow Agricultural Academy).
The supply of nitrogen to Jerusalem artichoke plants is not as intense as that of potatoes (Peoples’ Friendship University named after Patrice Lumumba). Its maximum content is noted only at the time of harvesting. In plants, there is an intensive outflow of phosphorus from above-ground organs and roots to tubers. By the end of the growing season, up to 50% P2O5 is concentrated in the tubers. The maximum amount of potassium enters the plants by the end of the summer period. As the growth and aging of tissues in plant organs ceases, the potassium content begins to decrease. Together with the harvest of tubers, up to 70% of the potassium that enters the plants is removed.
Vegetation
The growing season of Jerusalem artichoke varies from 120 to 200 days.
Jerusalem artichoke tubers can winter in the soil, which gave reason to classify it as a perennial plant. Every year, at the end of the growing season, the aerial organs of the earthen pear die off, and the tubers endure winters everywhere due to the polysaccharides contained. In spring, they germinate, giving 1-3 shoots from each tuber and forming a bush.
Plant organogenesis is determined by the formation of two storage organs at the ends of the axial shoot – vegetative (tubers) in the underground part of the stem and generative – baskets at the top. In the initial period of vegetation – before the thickening of the stolons – the growth of shoots is slow, before the formation of tubers, the daily growth of the stem increases, and during the period of thickening of the stolons they slow down. The greatest growth of stems is observed in the second half of summer, when up to 50% of the green mass yield is formed, the daily growth of plants in height reaches 4-5 cm. After that, growth processes slow down, plants form buds and flowers, and the outflow of plastic substances from leaves to shoots and tubers.
In the central and southern regions of Russia, tuberization begins in June-July, in the northern regions – in August. The period of onset of thickening of stolons depends on hereditary varietal characteristics, changes in the length of daylight hours and temperature fluctuations during the day and night. The formation of the tuber crop occurs mainly in the autumn months – in September and October (in the south and in November) before the onset of frost.
Jerusalem artichoke is characterized by high ecological plasticity. High yields of green mass under optimal water and nutrient conditions are possible in almost all regions of Russia, while high yields of tubers are possible only in regions with a hot summer period and a long warm autumn.
Crop rotation
Varieties and hybrids of Jerusalem artichoke are cultivated in near-farm and field crop rotations, as well as in hatching fields. A small shoot after the liquidation of plantations is destroyed by herbicides or other methods.
The term of use of perennial plantations is from 5 to 15 years.
Optimal predecessors when laying a perennial plantation are considered perennial and annual legumes, row crops, cereals, and legumes. In a perennial crop, varieties with short stolons, such as Nakhodka and Skorospelka, give the highest stable yields.
Ground pear is not placed after sunflower , root crops and other crops affected by sclerotinia. To prevent the spread of this disease, the plantation is laid no earlier than 4-5 years after these crops. In pig farms, Jerusalem artichoke plantations should be located near farms in order to be able to graze pigs.
Fertilizer
Fertilization rates for Jerusalem artichoke are determined by soil fertility, planned harvest, moisture conditions.
When laying a perennial plantation, it is recommended to apply 30-60 t/ha of manure (preferably for a predecessor) or other organic fertilizers, as well as 60-90 kg/ha of a.i. nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. For the forest-steppe zone – N 60-90 P 90 K 90 .
Organic, phosphorus and potash fertilizers, also calcareous on acidic soils, are applied in the fall for the main plowing, nitrogen fertilizers – in the spring for plowing or cultivation.
In subsequent years, mineral fertilizers are applied annually. Organic fertilizers are applied after 4-5 years.
Tillage
Soil cultivation for laying a perennial plantation of Jerusalem artichoke is similar to processing for potatoes and root crops.
After peeling, autumn tillage is carried out to a depth of 23-25 cm, on soddy-podzolic soils – to the depth of the humus layer.
In the spring, after the onset of the physical ripeness of the soil, the fallow is harrowed. Then, in the southern regions, non-moldboard processing is performed, in the northern regions, shallow moldboard plowing or deep disking. On heavy loamy soils, it is recommended to carry out deep non-moldboard loosening, on light and medium loams – cultivation or disking. On heavy soils, layer-by-layer cultivation can be carried out.
Cultivate before planting.
Planting
Sowing dates
Usually Jerusalem artichoke is planted in spring, in the southern regions it is possible to plant in autumn.
Planting in the spring begins early, simultaneously with the start of sowing early spring crops, or 7-10 days earlier than potatoes. A delay in planting dates leads to a decrease in the yield of tubers and green mass.
Planting method and rates
The main planting method is wide-row with a row spacing of 60-70 cm.
The distance between tubers in a row is determined by soil fertility, tuber size, moisture conditions, varietal characteristics and is 30-60 cm (usually 30-35 cm).
In areas of sufficient moisture on fertile soils, the recommended planting density is 50-60 thousand tubers/ha, on medium-fertile soils – 40-45 thousand/ha, in dry conditions – 30-35 thousand/ha.
With increased branching of the variety, the distance between plants is increased or a square planting pattern of 60 × 60 cm or 70×70 cm is used. With small planting material, several large tubers can be planted per unit area, which allows you to get the same yield as when planting large tubers.
The most appropriate planting is whole tubers weighing 40-50 g. In the southern regions, where most of the tubers are usually larger, cut tubers can be used for planting. When planting in autumn, cutting tubers is not recommended. In the north, where the size of the tubers is usually 10-15 g, planting is carried out with a thickening of 30-50%.
The planting rate varies from 0.6-0.7 to 2.0 t/ha.
For planting, freshly dug tubers are used, which are dug out no earlier than 5 days before planting. When planting is delayed, they are sprinkled with earth or sand to prevent drying. Dried tubers can be placed in water for 1-1.5 days, after which their mass is restored.
Planting is usually carried out with potato planters, in small areas – manually into the furrows, previously cut with a hiller.
On heavy soils in terms of granulometric composition, the planting depth is no more than 5-6 cm, medium – 6-8 cm, on light soils – 8-10 cm. The depth is increased by 2-3 cm during autumn planting.
Crop care
Due to the long germination period , 2-3 pre-emergence harrowings are carried out to control weeds on crops. Also, one harrowing is recommended to be carried out on seedlings with light harrows.
At the beginning of the growing season, it is possible to carry out fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers at the rate of 45 kg/ha of a.i.
When the plants reach a height of 10-15 cm, inter-row cultivation begins, at a height of 30-40 cm – hilling.
To increase the yield of green mass, chasing plants, or mowing the tops, is recommended. This technique helps to increase the branching of the stems and their foliage.
Harvest
The harvest of green mass increases before the formation of tubers. However, it is not recommended to mow it during this period due to a sharp decrease in the collection of tubers. When determining the optimal harvesting time, they are guided by the maximum production of feed units. Thus, for the southern regions of Russia, the recommended time for mowing green mass is October – early November, in the northwestern regions – at the end of September, in the northern regions – at the end of August – early September. Green mass can be harvested for silage in the south – during the period of mass flowering, in the Non-Chernozem zone – 2-3 weeks before the onset of frost.
For harvesting green mass, silo harvesters are used. The cutting size for ensiling is 5-6 cm. It is recommended to mow at a high cut up to 15-30 cm, this is especially important in the northern regions, where by the time the green mass is harvested, the tubers do not have time to grow yet, remaining underdeveloped. As a result of the outflow of plastic substances from the remaining part of the stems of little nutritional value, the yield of tubers increases.
For current feeding to livestock and for harvesting combined silage, part of the tubers is harvested in the fall. But usually they are dug up in the spring (or the remaining most) before the buds begin to germinate in the eyes. In pig farms, pigs are grazed on plantations in early spring for 10-15 days.
On light soils, tubers can be harvested with potato diggers or combines; on heavy soils, they are plowed.
After harvesting, cultivation or 1-2 harrowing is carried out, followed by a selection of the remaining tubers.
Storage
Jerusalem artichoke tubers are poorly stored in winter, quickly wither, and are affected by fungal diseases. Therefore, usually a small part of the tubers is harvested in the fall and used for animal feed or silage, and the main part is harvested in the spring so as not to store a large number of tubers.
To store the tubers of autumn harvest, piles, trenches or special rooms are used. For better storage, they are laid in layers of 10 cm, alternating with soil or sand.
Agrotechnics of cultivation in subsequent years
In the case of cultivation on a perennial plantation in the spring, before harvesting the tubers, fertilizers N90P90K90 are applied, every 3-4 years, 20-30 t/ha of rotted manure . Fertilizers in this case are well sealed with harvesting equipment. If crops are for grazing, fertilizers are applied after grazing is over.
When harvesting, some of the tubers are left to renew the plantation, approximately 8-10 pcs/m2. To prevent thickening of plantings, some experience in harvesting in relation to a particular variety is required in order not to leave an excess number of tubers in the soil.
Seedlings on crops of the second and subsequent years of plantation use appear somewhat earlier than in the first, but less evenly due to the difference in the depth of tubers in the soil. Before germination and after germination, harrowing is done.
When the plants reach a height of 15-20 cm, the plantings are treated with row cultivators, after the passage of which the plants remain only in the untreated places, thus marking the rows. Sometimes a different technique is used: after harvesting the tubers, the ridges are cut with a hiller cultivator, outlining the beds. During pre-emergence harrowing, the ridges are not completely leveled, in the far-off they serve as a guide for “blind” (pre-emergence) cultivations. The third way: with a plant height of 15-20 cm, bouquets are cut with a width of 10-12 cm and a row spacing of 60-70 cm using cultivators in cross directions.
Further care is the same as in the first year of use.
Plantation liquidation
On the 5-8th year of use, the plantation begins to thin out, the yield of green mass and tubers decreases. Therefore, in the last 1-2 years, annual grasses or their mixtures can be sown at the rate of 100-120 kg/ha, which contributes to a good harvest of green mass. When harvesting in June – early July of the last year of use with oversowing, the nutrients of the tubers are completely consumed, therefore, if plowing is carried out immediately after early harvesting, then Jerusalem artichoke (sunflower artichoke) shoots usually do not appear. However, for reinsurance, annual grasses can be sown on this site for another year.
If it is necessary to quickly liquidate the plantation, the above-ground mass is mowed in June-July, the tubers are dug up and autumn plowing is carried out. The following year, crops are sown on which it is planned to use herbicides.
After a full harvest, a small residual shoot is destroyed in the following ways:
- when sowing after a ground pear, a grain crop is treated with herbicides of group 2,4-D;
- sowing peas, pelushka, vetch, vetch-oat or other feed mixture for 1-2 years, followed by their harvesting for silage at the beginning of the formation of stolons;
- mowing the overgrowth at the moment when the nutrient reserves in the old tubers run out, and new tubers have not yet formed, this period falls on June – early July, followed by plowing and sowing of annual grasses for green fodder and silage.
Any of these methods allows you to clean the soil well from tubers without using bare fallow.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.
Fodder kale
Fodder cabbage (also Fodder kale) is a fodder crop used for green fodder or silage.
- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder kale (Русская версия)
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- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder kale (Русская версия)
Economic importance
Fodder kale is one of the most valuable fodder crops; it is eaten by all animals fresh and ensiled (mixed with roughage) or fed on the vine.
Due to cold resistance (adult plants withstand frosts, according to various sources, from -8 to -15 °C), fodder kale allows you to extend the pasture period by 2-3 weeks, and the period of feeding with green fodder by 1.5-2 months. When grown in seedlings, its crops can move far north or be used for cutting or stubble.
In 100 kg of green mass of fodder kale corresponds to 13-16 feed units and contains 1.8 kg of digestible protein. More complete in terms of protein balance than the green mass of corn or beets. In addition, the green mass contains approximately 60-100 mg% of vitamin C, 80 mg/kg of carotene, B vitamins, and minerals. In terms of nutritional value, it surpasses all fodder root crops.
The norms for giving green mass and silage from fodder kale should not exceed 20-25 kg/day per head for cattle. Exceeding this norm twice leads to the disease of animals with anemia due to the glycosinolates contained in the green mass. Large norms of giving silage have a negative impact on the taste of milk.
In modern economic conditions, fodder kale can play an important role due to its high yield and fodder qualities, with low seed consumption and a high multiplication factor, which is especially important for peasant (farmer) households and the private sector.
Cultural history
Kale originates from the Eastern Mediterranean.
Cultivation areas
Currently distributed in Europe, America, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The culture of fodder kale was intensively introduced into production during the Soviet era in more than 40 regions and republics.
In Russia, the area of its cultivation, due to the wide variety of morphological and biological types, can extend from the Arctic Circle to the subtropics. The main region of cultivation is the Non-Chernozem zone and the north of the Chernozem zone, the middle Volga region, the Urals and Siberia.
Yield
The yield is high. In production experiments in the Nonchernozem zone, which is the main region for the cultivation of fodder cabbage, the yield was 50-80 t/ha of green mass with a dry matter content of 12-14%.
In production, the yield reaches 40-50 t/ha, seeds – 0.8-1.2 t/ha.
Botanical description
Cabbage (Brassica subspontanea Lizg) is a biennial plant of the Cabbage family (Brassicaceae).
In the first year of life, the fodder kale plant forms a rough, cylindrical or spindle-shaped stem, erect, from 30 cm to 2 m high and 3-5 cm thick. Numerous large petiolate succulent leaves with wax-coated plates are placed on the stem. The shape of the leaves is lyre-shaped, ovate-elongated, broadly lanceolate, flat or curly. The stem and leaves are colored green or purple to varying degrees (due to the presence of anthocyanin). Petioles long below, short above.
The root is taproot, thickens in the upper part, branched.
In the second year of life, branched and slightly leafy flower-bearing shoots develop from the buds located in the axils of the leaves of the stem plant. Their height reaches 120-160 cm. The inflorescence is a loose brush 50-80 cm long. The flowers are yellow or whitish. Cross pollination. The fruit is a smooth, cylindrical pod up to 8-10 cm long, does not crack. Seeds are round, smooth, shiny, larger than those of turnip and rutabaga. The color of the seeds is bluish, dark gray or black. The mass of 1000 seeds is from 3 to 6 g.
Unlike table cabbage plants, larger fodder plants have an elongated stem and large leaves that do not roll into a head.
Biological features
Temperature requirements
Seed germination begins at a temperature of 3-6 °C.
Young plants withstand frosts down to -3…-6 °C, adults – up to -8…-10 °C (up to -10…-15 °C). Vegetation continues at temperatures up to +3-5 °C. The optimum temperature is 17-20 °C.
Relatively well tolerates summer heat, but growth slows down. With the onset of cool weather, intensive growth continues, while the increase reaches 1.5-2 t/ha per day.
Moisture requirements
Fodder kale is moisture-loving, but does not tolerate excessive moisture. The lack of moisture leads to a delay in development, however, a well-developed root system helps the plant to endure short-term droughts.
Intensive growth occurs in the autumn period and coincides with rainy weather, which, as a rule, ensures good productivity. In warm and humid years, fodder cabbage gives high yields, while in hot and dry years, the formation of above-ground phytomass slows down, and yields are low.
Soil requirements
All types of soils are suitable for growing fodder cabbage, including strongly podzolic ones. According to the granulometric composition, light loamy and fertilized loamy soils with a high content of organic matter are more preferable.
Strongly acidic soils with a pH less than 4.5 are unsuitable, as plants are severely affected by clubroot.
Floodplain lands, drained and cultivated peatlands are well suited.
Vegetation
In the first year, the growing season is 140-160 days. Feeding to animals during stubble or stubble crops is possible after 70-80 days.
The period from planting stem crops to harvesting seeds, that is, the duration of the second year of vegetation, is 70-130 days.
Crop rotation
It is economically feasible to place a place for sowing fodder kale not far from livestock farms.
In crop rotation, it is placed, as well as rutabaga and turnip, after fertilized winter, annual cereal-bean mixtures for hay and green fodder, legumes, corn for silage, layer or layer turnover of perennial legume grasses of the 1st year of use, potatoes, fodder beet, silage crops.
You can return this culture to its original place no earlier than after 3-6 years.
In crop rotations, fodder kale is not placed after crops of the Cabbage family.
In poke and stubble crops, winter crops for green fodder, early vegetable or other early-harvested annual crops can serve as predecessors. At the same time, the vegetation period of fodder kale should remain at least 85-90 days with an average daily temperature above +5 °C.
Fertilizer
With 1 ton of green mass of fodder kale, 2.86 kg of N, 1.0 kg of P2O5, 4.6 kg of K2O and 2.8 kg of CaO are removed from the soil (V.R. Williams All-Russian Research Institute of Feeds).
On soddy-podzolic soils, 30-40 t/ha of manure or compost is applied for this crop for the main autumn tillage , as well as 60-90 kg/ha of a.i. nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. In general, the recommended fertilizer application rate is N60-90P45-60K45-60. From this rate, 20-25 kg/ha of granulated superphosphate is subtracted, which is applied in the spring when sowing in rows, and 100-150 kg/ha of ammonium nitrate (35-50 kg/ha of nitrogen) for top dressing.
Fertilizer application rates are adjusted taking into account the applied fertilizers for predecessors and soil fertility.
Fodder kale responds to the introduction of boron and molybdenum microfertilizers.
Tillage
The soil for fodder kale should be loose and fertilized, the field surface should be leveled.
Following the harvesting of the predecessor, peeling is carried out, followed by plowing to the depth of the arable layer (22-30 cm).
In the spring, harrowing, cultivation, leveling of the soil surface are carried out, on the day of sowing – rolling. In wet conditions, on soils floating in the spring, milling is carried out by 16-18 cm or loosening with plows with the mouldboards removed.
Fodder kale responds well to deep pre-sowing loosening of the soil, followed by rolling. Milling promotes earlier emergence of shoots, field emergence and productivity increase in comparison with ploughing.
Sowing
Seed preparation
Seed preparation consists in dressing and treatment with microfertilizers.
Sowing dates
The timing of sowing fodder kale with the seedless method is the same as for early spring cereals (breads of group I).
Sowing is carried out with vegetable seeders in an inter-row way with a row spacing of 60 or 70 cm.
Seeding methods
Kale can be grown from seeds and seedlings. The seedless method, which is more economical, is more common. However, when growing without seedlings, sites that are clean from weeds should be chosen. The sowing method in this case is wide-row with a row spacing of 60-70 cm. When sowing, the seeds can be mixed with ballast at the rate of 10 kg of fine sieved granular superphosphate per 1 kg of seeds.
Usually, the layout of plants with a seedless method is 70 × 20-30 cm (50-70 thousand/ha of plants) or 60×40 cm (40 thousand / ha of plants), seedlings – 70×25-30 cm.
The seedling method allows you to get higher yields, grow fodder kale in the northern regions by lengthening the growing season, reduce the seeding rate to 60%, simplify the fight against weeds and pests, but the costs are higher and the increase in yield is not always ensured. For planting, 35-40-day-old seedlings with 4-5 leaves are used. The hectare norm of seedlings corresponds to 75-100 m 2 of nursery and 0.6-0.7 kg of seeds. Seedlings are grown in insulated ridges or cold greenhouses. Transplanters are used for planting seedlings.
On clean fields or when using herbicides, sowing can be carried out in a continuous (ordinary ordinary) way without subsequent thinning (SZNIISKh, Leningrad region). At the same time, in such thickened crops, plants form a greater number of leaves and thin stems valuable in terms of fodder.
Seeding rates
The seeding rate is 1.5-4 kg/ha. With a high level of agricultural technology, the rate can be reduced to 1 kg/ha, in this case, thinning of plants is not required.
Seeding depth
The depth of sowing seeds is 1-3 cm.
Crop care
Care for fodder cabbage when sowing in a wide-row method consists in harrowing with light mesh harrows 2-3 days after sowing. When a soil crust is formed, it is destroyed by processing with rotary hoes. Harrowing of seedlings is carried out with heavily thickened crops.
After the emergence of seedlings and after planting seedlings, to control weeds and maintain the soil in a loose state, inter-row loosening begins, the number of which during the growing season is from 2 to 4. Loosening is combined with fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers.
To form the density of standing fodder cabbage, thinning is carried out. Depending on the density and uniformity of seedlings, for this, transverse harrowing of crops in the phase of 2-4 leaves is used using:
- with a density of more than 30 plants per 1 m – with a net or light tooth harrow or bunching according to the scheme: a bunch of 20 cm, a cut of 40 cm, followed by harrowing by bouquets with mesh harrows and manual checking;
- with a density of 20-30 shoots per 1 m – bouquet according to the scheme: cutout 40 cm, bouquet 20 cm or cutout 27 cm, bouquet 18 cm.
Mature plants can be damaged by caterpillars of cabbage whitefish, meadow moth, and winter scoop. To combat these pests, spraying is carried out with a suspension of 80% chlorophos at the rate of 0.8-1.5 kg/ha of a.i.
To control weeds, in addition to inter-row treatments, herbicide treatment is carried out, for example, ramrod in the amount of 4-6 kg/ha a.i., before germination.
Typical pests of fodder cabbage: cruciferous fleas, cabbage moth, rapeseed beetle, cabbage white and fly). Characteristic diseases: clubroot, black leg, gray mold, leaf and pod spot.
Harvest
Harvesting of fodder cabbage begins in August, but it is advisable to leave it until the beginning of November (sometimes December), since even frozen plants after thawing are well eaten by animals, and other green fodder is no longer available.
Harvesting is carried out with the help of silage harvesters or mowers-choppers. The cutting apparatus of silo combines is equipped with a device that allows cutting stems of any thickness and preventing them from being pierced on the finger beam. When harvesting with chopper mowers, 15-20% of straw, straw cutting, chaff, corn cobs or other dry fodder is added to the silage mass to reduce the loss of dry matter along with the juice. Harvesting with a silage harvester can be performed without shredding the plants, which reduces the loss of dry matter during ensiling.
Uncut fodder cabbage in fresh form is eaten by animals better than chopped.
Growing kale for seeds
Cultivation of fodder cabbage for seeds is similar to seed production of cabbage.
Well-fertilized areas are allocated for mother liquors. 20-30 thousand stem crops are planted per 1 ha under a cultivator, plow or manually. When planting, the stem crops are tilted in one direction along the row spacing, the planting pattern is 70×70 or 70×60 cm.
Care for plantings of uterine cabbage consists in loosening row spacings, tying, pest and disease control, fertilizing and irrigation. Seed plants protect from birds when seeds ripen.
Seed harvesting is carried out in two phases in 2-3 doses. With proper agricultural technology, the seed yield is 0.8-1.2 t/ha.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.
Turnip
Turnip (Brassica rapa L. ssp. rapifera), or fodder turnip, is a fodder crop, belongs to the group of fodder root crops.
Source: flickr.com©thebittenword.com (CC BY 2.0)
- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder beet
- Fodder carrot
- Rutabaga (Русская версия)
Navigation
- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
Economic importance
Turnip is a high-yielding, early ripening, cold-resistant crop, less demanding on soil fertility than other root crops. Has a milky effect. It can be grown as a cut or stubble crop after early-harvested crops. It is promising when used in a green conveyor, while sowing is carried out in several terms.
The tops are also used for fodder in fresh, dried or ensiled form, which contains a sufficient amount of protein, minerals, ascorbic acid and carotene.
Cultural history
Turnip was used as a vegetable crop in ancient Greece and Rome. It comes from wild turnip, which is common in Eurasia.
In Russia, this culture began to be cultivated in the 19th century. It was especially widely grown in the pre-war period. Small, flattened root crops were used for food purposes, large – for fodder.
Cultivation areas
Due to its unpretentiousness, it can be cultivated in regions where other root crops do not grow well, including beyond the Arctic Circle.
Currently, in Russia it is grown in small areas and in personal subsidiary plots.
It is promising to grow turnip in the southern taiga-forest and forest-steppe zones with sufficient moisture as a cut and stubble crop.
Yield
Under favorable conditions (cool and humid summer) turnip yield reaches 40-50 t/ha.
Under irrigation conditions, the yield increases by 1.5-2 times.
Botanical description
Turnip (Brassica rapa L. ssp. rapifera Metzg.) is a biennial plant of the Brassicaceae family .
In the first year it forms a raised or semi-raised rosette of large leaves.
During germination, the seeds bring cotyledons to the surface, while it is difficult to distinguish from rutabaga.
The root crop is formed as a result of the development of the hypocotyl knee, to a lesser extent – the root itself. The shape depends on the varietal characteristics, it can be flattened, oval, oval-rounded, elongated-elliptical, elongated-fusiform, irregularly cylindrical. The pulp is loose. The color of the upper part is green, gray-green, brown, red-violet or purple, the lower part is white, grayish or yellow. The color of the pulp is white, yellowish, pink-yellowish.
The root system penetrates to a depth of 1-1.5 m, 40-50 cm wide. The assimilation ability is low.
Real leaves are simple, lyre-shaped, dissected, pubescent to varying degrees, shiny, up to 50 cm long, without wax coating.
In the second year of life, flower-bearing stems up to 80-150 cm high appear from the buds on the head of the root crop. The leaves on them are sessile, lanceolate, light green in color.
Inflorescence – shield (simple brush). Yellow, lemon yellow or cream flowers, four-petalled corolla, 6 stamens and pistil. Cross pollination. Can be pollinated with cabbage and radish.
The fruit is a long multi-celled pod with a large spout. Seeds are spherical, small, brown, dark brown or black. Weight of 1000 seeds 1.5-3.5 g.
Biological features
Temperature requirements
The cold hardiness of turnip exceeds rutabaga. Seeds germinate at a temperature of 2-3 °C. At a soil temperature of 8-10 °C at a seeding depth, seedlings appear in 4-5 days. Seedlings can withstand frosts down to -3…-5 °C, adult plants – up to -6…-9 °C.
A long cold spring contributes to the manifestation of flowering in plants.
It does not tolerate heat and lack of moisture. As well as swede, in hot conditions it is more damaged by pests, especially the earthen flea.
Moisture requirements
Turnip is a moisture-loving crop. The greatest need is noted during germination in the first year of life and during the rooting of uterine roots.
Does not tolerate drought. The lack of moisture leads to the formation of very small root crops.
Light requirements
Turnip is a long daylight culture that prefers intense lighting.
However, when used as a subsowing crop for winter rye for silage or green fodder, it yields 15-16 t/ha, when oversown for winter rye for grain – 12 t/ha (Belarusian Research Institute of Agriculture).
Soil requirements
Turnip is less demanding on soils than rutabaga. It grows well on light-textured soils, heavy soils are not suitable for cultivation. Soil acidity – pH 6-6.5, acceptable up to pH 4.3.
Fertile floodplain, cultivated sod-podzolic, drained peatlands and swamps (after the introduction of boron and copper microfertilizers), moderately moist loamy and sandy loamy soils rich in organic matter are optimally suited.
Vegetation
The vegetation period in the first year of life is 70-110 days, in the second – 65-90 days.
Crop rotation
It is better to plant turnip crops in low relief areas, where moistening conditions are better.
The best predecessors in the turnip crop rotation are fertilized winter, annual cereal-bean mixtures for hay and green fodder, leguminous, corn, potatoes, fodder beets, perennial legumes of the 1st year of use, silage crops. In vegetable crop rotations, it is not placed after crops of the Cabbage family. Fields infected with wireworm are not suitable for the cultivation of turnip. It is not economically feasible to place its crops far from livestock farms.
Can serve as a good predecessor for cereals, legumes and silage crops.
Fertilizer
The removal of nutrients from 1 one ton of root crops and the corresponding amount of tops for turnips is 2.5 kg N, 1 kg P2O5, 3.8 kg K2O.
If organic fertilizers were not applied under the previous crop, they are applied under autumn cultivation at the rate of 30-40 t/ha.
To obtain a root crop of 40-50 t/ha, P40K60 is also applied under the main plowing .
In the spring, N60-90P20K30 is also applied for cultivation.
It is recommended to use row application of phosphate fertilizers when sowing turnips in rows of 20-25 kg/ha of granulated superphosphate.
Part of the nitrogen fertilizers can be transferred to top dressing at 30 kg/ha, which is carried out after thinning seedlings.
Tillage
In general, tillage for turnips is similar to that for rutabaga.
Turnip is responsive to early autumn processing, which, depending on the thickness of the arable layer, is carried out to a depth of 20-30 cm using plows with skimmers.
In areas of insufficient moisture in winter, it is recommended to carry out snow retention techniques.
In the spring, harrowing and polishing are carried out to close the moisture and level the soil surface for uniform sowing of seeds. Cultivation is recommended before sowing. Heavy and floating soils are plowed with plows with removed mouldboards and simultaneously harrowed or milled. Lungs according to the granulometric composition of the soil are rolled before sowing.
Sowing
Seed preparation
To treat turnip seeds before sowing against ascochitosis, blackleg, peronosporosis, phomosis, bacteriosis, olive blotch, seed mold and black mold, TMTD is used. Processing is carried out 2-15 days before sowing or in advance.
Sowing dates
When summer feeding turnip, it is sown in early spring. For the purposes of autumn and winter use, as well as for mowing or stubble crops, the sowing dates are shifted to the summer period.
Seeding methods
Turnips are grown only by sowing seeds, as they do not tolerate transplanting.
For uniform sowing, it is recommended to mix seeds with granulated superphosphate and granulated phosphamide to combat cruciferous flea with a fraction of 2-4 mm as ballast. The ratio of ballast substances: 2.5 kg of phosphamide and 20-25 kg of superphosphate per hectare seeding rate. Calcined millet seeds or dried sifted sawdust are also suitable as ballast.
When sowing at a given plant density, it is recommended to replace up to 20 seeds per 1 meter of row (LSHI).
Sowing of turnips is usually done in a wide-row way, with a row spacing of 45, 60 or 70 cm, or a two-line method with a row spacing of 50 cm and a tape width of 18-20 cm. ).
In regions of excessive moisture or with a shallow arable layer, for example, in the north-west of Russia, sowing is carried out on ridges or ridges.
For sowing seeds, vegetable seeders are used, for example, СОН-2,8, СКОСШ-2,8, СОН-2,8А, СО-4,2, СКОН-4,2.
Seeding rates
The sowing rate of turnip seeds is 1-2.5 kg/ha (according to other sources, 3-4 kg/ha), adjusted depending on the soil and climatic conditions and the weediness of the fields.
When using the dotted method of sowing with calibrated and coated seeds, the sowing rate can be reduced to 0.8 kg/ha (LSHI).
The seeding rate is increased in the case of turnip sowing or stubble sowing, since the period of nutrient consumption by plants is reduced.
Seeding depth
Sowing depth 1-3 cm.
Crop care
After sowing, rolling is carried out. When the topsoil dries up, harrowing is carried out with light toothed or mesh harrows, then – processing with rotary hoes or ribbed rollers when a soil crust is formed.
When caring for crops, they are shoveled to a depth of 4-6 cm. During the growing season, 2-3 inter-row loosening is done to a depth of 8-12 cm.
Density of turnip standing is 70-100 thousand/ha of plants. To form the density of standing, depending on the uniformity of seedlings, apply:
- with a plant density of more than 30 per 1 m – transverse harrowing in the phase of 3-4 leaves using a net or light tooth harrow;
- with a density of 20-30 plants per 1 m – bunching according to the scheme: cutout 40 cm, bouquet 20 cm, followed by manual disassembly of bouquets.
Harrowing on seedlings and bunches of turnips is carried out with caution, in dry weather it is limited only to bunching. On uniform non-thickened seedlings, fields clear of weeds, you can use longitudinal thinners.
To control weeds in turnip crops, pre-sowing treatment with ramrod herbicides at a dose of 4-6 kg/ha a.i. is carried out. or pre-emergence butizan (against annual grasses and dicotyledonous weeds).
To combat fleas and horseradish leaf beetle, spraying is carried out during the growing season with Actellik.
Harvest
Usually cleaning is carried out in a separate way. For cutting leaves, haulm harvesters УБД-3А, КИР-1,5Б are used. Then the roots are dug up by potato diggers, converted potato harvesters or a ККГ-1.4 machine.
Turnips can be harvested together with the tops and ensiled after preliminary crushing and mixing with sex crops .
Storage
It is stored poorly because of the friable pulp and wateriness of the root crop, therefore cattle are fed at the beginning of the stall period.
Turnip root crops are stored in ground heaps, trenches or storages. Storage temperature 1-2 °С at relative humidity 85-95%.
Growing turnip for seeds
When growing uterine crops of turnip, they are thickened in such a way that 80-90 thousand uterine root crops are obtained from 1 hectare of crops, which corresponds to 3-4 hectares of testes. The uterine roots should be protected from wilting during harvesting, storage and during the planting period.
Planting pattern – 70 × 35 cm. Elongated turnip roots are planted using ВПГ-4 or ВПГ-4Б, rounded varieties – under a plow or cultivator. The planting depth should ensure that the head of the root crop is covered with soil by 2-3 cm.
Turnip seed plants are spread across the fields from plantings of rutabagas and other plants of the Cabbage family to a distance of at least 2 km in order to prevent cross-pollination.
Seed harvesting is carried out manually or with headers (depending on the size of the plot) in a two-phase method. Harvesting begins when the seeds in 25-30% of the pods turn light brown, while the pods themselves turn yellow-green or light yellow. Seed plants during maturation protect from birds.
Turnips for seeds begin to be harvested at the end of June – July. Threshing is carried out using combines or threshers. With good agricultural technology, the seed yield is 1-1.5 t/ha.
After harvesting the turnip seed plants, it is possible to sow stubble fodder crops or winter grains of group I.
In the southern regions, for example, in Georgia or Armenia, a non-planting method of growing turnip for seeds is possible. The uterine crops are left before winter in the field, in the spring they carry out the necessary care measures, and in the summer they harvest the seeds. This approach significantly reduces the cost of seeds.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.
Rutabaga
Rutabaga (Brassica napus L. ssp. rapifera) (also swede) is a fodder agricultural crop, belongs to the group of fodder root crops.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org©Seedambassadors (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder beet
- Fodder carrot
- Rutabaga (Русская версия)
Navigation
- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder beet
- Fodder carrot
- Rutabaga (Русская версия)
Economic importance
Rutabaga is considered a high-yielding, cold-resistant crop, unlike other root crops, it is less demanding on soil fertility.
Rutabaga roots contain 10-16% dry matter, including 5-10% carbohydrates, a small amount of protein, carotene, ascorbic acid and minerals.
Also, like other fodder root crops, it is a milk-producing feed.
The tops are used for fodder purposes in fresh and ensiled form, mixed with drier fodder, haylage and vitamin grass meal.
Cultural history
Rutabaga in the wild is unknown. The culture was introduced much earlier than potatoes.
The supposed place of origin of the culture is the Mediterranean. It came from a spontaneous crossing of kale and turnip , followed by a doubling of the number of chromosomes.
Cultivation areas
Rutabaga is not widely used in Russia. It is grown in small areas mainly in the southern taiga-forest zone and Western Siberia, as well as in private farms. It can be cultivated in the forest-steppe zone.
In the southern regions, swede does not tolerate heat and lack of moisture, and is more affected by pests.
Yield
The yield of swede on fertile loamy soils reaches 30-40 t/ha of root crops.
Under irrigation conditions, the yield increases by 1.5-2 times.
Botanical description
Rutabaga (Brassica napus L. ssp. rapifera Metzg.) is a biennial plant of the Brassicaceae family.
In the first year of life, plants form roots with simple, weakly and strongly dissected, large, fleshy, smooth leaves of dark green color with a wax coating, more than 60 cm long.
The shape of root crops is round, flattened-round, round-flat, oval and cone-shaped. The pulp of root crops is dense, yellow or white. The neck and head are well developed, so a significant part of the root crop is above the soil level.
The root crop is formed due to the hypocotyl knee (mainly) and the root itself. The root system penetrates to a depth of 1-1.5 m, extends to 40-50 cm in width, and is characterized by poor absorption capacity.
Varieties can also differ in the color of the upper part of the root crops – red-headed, green-headed and bronze-headed.
In the second year, a flower-bearing stem, branched at the top, is formed from the root crop, the height of which is 80-150 cm. Leaves of various shapes: basal – lyre-shaped, petiolate; stem – sessile.
The inflorescence is an elongated, simple, many-flowered raceme. The flowers are quaternary, yellow, cream or orange. The flower has 6 stamens and a pistil. Cross pollination.
The fruit is a multi-seeded pod with a spout that cracks when ripe. The seeds are small, rounded, black-brown, gray-black, brown-black or dark gray in color. Weight of 1000 seeds – 2.2-3.8 g.
Biological features
Temperature requirements
Rutabaga belongs to cold-resistant plants, makes moderate demands on heat, does not tolerate heat and drought.
Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 1-3 °C, uniform seedlings appear at 5-7 °C. Seedlings tolerate frosts down to -4 °C, adult plants – up to -5…-7 °C. A prolonged cold spring can provoke plants to flower. At soil temperature at the depth of seed sowing, seedlings appear in 4-5 days.
The optimum temperature for growth and development is 15-18 °C.
Moisture requirements
Rutabaga is a moisture-loving crop. The greatest need for water is observed during the rooting of seeds in the initial phases of growth, as well as at plantings. This period of culture is critical in terms of water needs.
Light requirements
Rutabaga is a light-loving plant with a long daylight hours.
Soil requirements
Cohesive, with a high content of calcium, non-acidic soils (pH 6-6.5), with good water-holding capacity, are preferred for swede crops. It tolerates heavy, excessively moist soils, drained peatlands (with the introduction of boron and copper microfertilizers) and plowed lands. Optimal are fertile floodplain and cultivated soddy-podzolic soils.
Withstands acidity up to pH 4.3. In a more acidic environment, branching of the roots and the growth of heads of root crops are noted.
Acidic soils are lime.
It is not recommended to grow on sandy soils.
Vegetation
The vegetation period in the first year of life is 110-130 days, in the second – 90-120 days.
Rutabaga sprouts bring to the surface of the soil green, wide, with a notch at the end of the cotyledon. In the cotyledon phase, the seedlings are indistinguishable from the turnip.
Crop rotation
It is desirable to place crops of rutabaga on lowered areas of the relief, where moistening conditions are better.
Rutabaga can be placed in field, vegetable and fodder crop rotations. The last near-farm crop rotations, due to their economic importance and economic feasibility, are the most preferable.
Fertilized winter, annual cereal-bean mixtures for hay and green fodder, leguminous, corn, perennial legumes of the 1st year of use, potatoes, silage crops are considered the best predecessors of swede in crop rotation.
In vegetable crop rotations, rutabaga is not placed after crops of the Cabbage family.
Areas infected with wireworm and remote from livestock farms are not suitable for cultivation.
Fertilizer
1 ton of rutabaga roots and the corresponding amount of leaves removes 4 kg N, 2.5 kg P2O5, 7.5 kg K2O from the soil.
Organic fertilizers are applied under the predecessor, but if this was not done, then they are applied under autumn plowing in the amount of 30-40 t/ha. P40K60 is also added to the main fertilizer to obtain a root crop of 40-50 t/ha .
In the spring, N60-90P20K30 is applied for pre-sowing cultivation. The general application rate is 0.9-1.0 t/ha of mineral fertilizers. On podzolic soils N60-80P60-80K60-90 is recommended .
When sowing for better phosphorus nutrition of plants in the initial phases of development, it is recommended to use row fertilizer in the form of granulated superphosphate in the amount of 20-25 kg/ha.
Half of the nitrogen fertilizer (30 kg/ha) can be added to top dressing, which is carried out after thinning seedlings.
When growing rutabaga by cutting or stubble, the soil is fertilized with increased rates of fertilizer application due to the shortened feeding period, and the seeding rate must be increased by 10-15%.
Tillage
Rutabaga responds well to early autumn tillage. Plowing is carried out depending on the thickness of the arable layer to a depth of 20-30 cm with plows with skimmers.
In areas of insufficient moisture, snow retention is carried out.
Spring tillage includes harrowing and plowing to close moisture and level the surface for uniform sowing of seeds. Cultivation may also be required before sowing. Heavy and floating soils are plowed in spring with plows with removed mouldboards or replaced by milling. Light soils are rolled before sowing (according to other sources, rolling before sowing is recommended on all soils).
Sowing
Seed preparation
To treat seeds against ascochitosis, black leg, peronosporosis, phomosis, bacteriosis, olive spot, seed mold and black mold, TMTD is used. Processing is carried out 2-15 days before sowing or in advance.
Sowing dates
Very early sowing leads to an increase in the proportion of flowering plants.
The sowing of rutabaga begins simultaneously with the sowing of early spring cereals. Early sowing reduces ground flea damage to crops.
Seedlings are planted in the phase of 5-6 leaves with the help of transplanters in the prepared soil. It is advisable to plant on cloudy cool days or in the morning and evening.
Seeding methods
Rutabaga can be grown from seeds or seedlings. The seedling method of sowing is used to reduce the growing season, especially in the northern regions. In the southern regions, the seedling method is used when sowing as a mowing or stubble crop.
Seedlings are grown in cold nurseries in the same way as seedlings of late varieties of cabbage. For 1 hectare, 200-300 m 2 of nursery and 0.5-0.6 kg of seeds are needed.
For sowing seeds, vegetable seeders are used, for example, СОН-2.8, СКОСШ-2.8, СОН-2.8А, СО-4.2, СКОН-4.2.
For uniform sowing of seeds, it is possible to add to the seeds as ballast granulated superphosphate of a fraction of 2-4 mm and granulated phosphamide to combat the cruciferous flea at the rate of 2.5 kg of phosphamide and 20-25 kg of superphosphate per hectare seeding rate. Calcined millet seeds or dry sifted sawdust can also be used as ballast.
According to the experimental data of the Leningrad Agricultural Institute, it is possible to sow round-fruited rutabaga varieties at a given standing density. For this, it is recommended to sow up to 20 seeds per 1 meter of row.
Sowing is carried out in a wide-row way, the row spacing is 45, 60 or 70 cm. On soils with a shallow arable layer, as well as with excessive moisture, for example, in the northwestern regions of agriculture, swede is sown on ridges or ridges.
Seeding rates
The seeding rate for swede seeds is 1.5-2.7 kg/ha (according to other sources, 3-4 kg/ha), adjusted depending on the soil and climatic conditions and the weediness of the fields. With a high level of agricultural technology, the seeding rate can be reduced to 1.5 kg/ha without reducing the yield (All-Russian Research Institute of Forage named after V.R. Williams).
When using the dotted sowing method using calibrated coated seeds, the sowing rate is reduced to 0.5-0.8 kg/ha (LSHI).
When growing by cutting or stubble, the seeding rate is increased by 10-15%.
Seeding depth
Sowing depth 1-3 cm.
Crop care
Crop care includes:
- post-sowing rolling (with rapid drying of the topsoil);
- harrowing with light tooth or mesh harrows;
- processing with rotary hoes or ribbed rollers during the formation of a soil crust;
- ball to a depth of 4-6 cm;
- 2-4 inter-row layer-by-layer loosening during the growing season to a depth of 8-12 cm.
To form the density of standing, thinning is carried out, which should form a density of 50-90 thousand/ha of plants. Depending on the density and uniformity of seedlings, for this, transverse harrowing of crops in the phase of 2-4 leaves is used using:
- with a density of more than 30 plants per 1 m – with a net or light tooth harrow or bunching according to the scheme: a bunch of 20 cm, a cut of 40 cm, followed by harrowing by bouquets with mesh harrows and manual checking;
- with a density of 20-30 shoots per 1 m – bouquet according to the scheme: cutout 40 cm, bouquet 20 cm or cutout 27 cm, bouquet 18 cm.
Harrowing on seedlings and bouquets is carried out carefully, in dry weather it is limited only to bunching. With uniform, non-thickened seedlings and fields clear of weeds, longitudinal thinners are used.
To control weeds in swede crops in the spring, pre-sowing treatment with ramrod is performed at a rate of 4-6 kg/ha a.i. Also, pre-emergence spraying of Butizan herbicides is used against annual grasses and dicotyledonous weeds.
To combat fleas and horseradish leaf beetle, spraying is carried out during the growing season with Actellik.
Harvest
For harvesting rutabagas, separate harvesting is usually used. The leaves are cut using UBD-3A or KIR-1.5B haulm harvesters. The root crops are then dug up by potato diggers or converted potato harvesters. The use of the KGP-2 potato harvester for harvesting swede root crops increased labor productivity by 6 times compared to manual harvesting (Kholmogorka state farm, Volokolamsky district, Moscow region).
For cleaning, the ККГ-1.4 machine can be used.
Turnip leaves are well ensiled.
Storage
Rutabaga root crops are stored in ground heaps, trenches, storages. Storage temperature 1-2 °C, relative air humidity 85-95%.
Growing rutabagas for seeds
The uterine crops of swede should thicken up to 80-90 thousand uterine root crops per 1 ha, that is, 3-4 ha of testes. When harvesting, storing and planting uterine root crops, their wilting is not allowed.
The recommended planting pattern is 70×60 or 70×70 cm. Rutabaga can be planted under a plow or cultivator. The planting depth should cover the head of the root crop with 2-3 cm of soil. Rutabaga testes should be at least 2 km away from other areas of the Cabbage family in order to prevent cross-pollination.
The stalks of swede grown for seeds are fragile, often lodging, so they are tied up if possible.
Seed harvesting is carried out manually or using headers in two phases, when the seeds in 25-30% of the pods become light brown, the pods themselves become yellow-green or light yellow (at the end of August). During the maturation period, the testes protect from birds. Threshing of beveled seed plants is carried out by combines or threshers. The yield of seeds with good agricultural technology is 1.0-1.5 t/ha.
In southern countries, for example, Georgia or Armenia, it is possible to plant rutabagas without planting for seeds. To do this, the uterine crops are left in the field for the winter, care is taken in the spring, and the seeds are harvested in the summer. The cost of seeds obtained by the non-planting method is significantly lower.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.
Fodder carrot
Fodder carrot is a fodder crop, belongs to the group of fodder root crops.
- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder beet
- Fodder carrot (Русская версия)
Navigation
- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder beet
- Fodder carrot (Русская версия)
Economic importance
Carrot roots are used for food and fodder purposes, as a raw material in the production of fortified juices.
Due to the high content of carotene, it is a valuable product for humans and all animals. Carrots help to improve the carbohydrate-protein balance in diets. 100 kg of root crops corresponds to 12 feed units and contains 0.8 kg of digestible protein, 31 g of calcium, 40 g of phosphorus, from 8.0 to 14.7 g of carotene. 1 feed unit contains 67 g of digestible protein.
For fodder purposes, carrot leaves are used in fresh, dried and ensiled form. 100 kg of carrot tops corresponds to 13 feed units and contains 1.4 kg of digestible protein, 460 g of calcium, 65 g of phosphorus, from 3.2 to 6.9 g of carotene.
Cultural history
Cultivated carrots come from a wild form that is found in different regions, mainly on calcareous soils of Western and Southwestern Asia. Starting from the 1st millennium, it served as a source of easily digestible carbohydrates, mineral salts and carotene for humans.
Cultivation areas
Currently, fodder carrots are grown in almost all countries of the world.
In Russia it is cultivated everywhere.
Yield
The yield of carrots reaches 30-50 t/ha.
As a subsown crop, carrots showed a yield of 17.8 t/ha after harvesting rye for grain, after harvesting rye for green fodder – 59.5 t/ha (Belarusian Research Institute of Agriculture).
Botanical description
Forage carrot (Daucus carota L.) is a biennial plant of the Celery family (Apiacea). In the first year of life, it forms an elongated cone-shaped root crop and a rosette of leaves.
Lateral roots are arranged in four rows. Types of root crops: cone-shaped, short-oval, spindle-shaped, elongated-conical with a blunt or sharp end. Color varies from white to red-orange.
Seeds are brought to the soil surface by narrow linear cotyledons.
True basal leaves are 3-5 times pinnately dissected, have a large number of narrow lobules and a long petiole.
Stem leaves are pinnatisected in the second year of life. In the second year of life, several branched stems up to 1-1.5 meters in height, covered with hairs, appear from the root crop.
The inflorescence is a complex umbrella with a large number of small white flowers of the five type. The flowers are bisexual, small, pinkish or white. Cross-pollination occurs with the help of insects.
The fruit is a dry two-seeded, when ripe it splits into two lobes. The surface of the seeds is equipped with thin spines (hooks) that prevent flowability during sowing. The seeds have ribs with passages filled with essential oil.
Before sowing, seeds are freed from thorns by rubbing. The weight of 1000 seeds without spines is from 1.1 to 1.3 g, with spines – up to 2.5 g.
Biological features
Temperature requirements
Carrots are cold-resistant plants. Seed germination begins at a temperature of 2-4 °C, but slowly.
The optimum temperature for the formation of leaves is +10 °C, the root crop is 18-20 °C.
Shoots are able to withstand frosts down to -4…-6 °C (according to other sources -3…-4 °C), adult plants in the first year of life – up to -4…-5 °C, seed plants when planting – up to -2…-4 °С.
Carrots tolerate elevated temperatures well due to the developed root system, and the root crop is almost completely immersed in the soil.
Moisture requirements
Carrots are the most drought-resistant of all root crops, but respond well to sufficient moisture and watering. The critical period of moisture consumption is from sowing to germination, as well as during the thickening of the root crop. The lack or uneven flow of water during the growth period leads to a change in the shape of the root crop, cracking of its bark.
Seed plants need plenty of moisture when planting for good rooting.
Light requirements
Carrots are a long daylight crop, demanding on light.
Soil requirements
Carrots succeed on soils of various textures. Loose loamy chernozems and sandy loams are optimal for it.
Carrot planting soils are especially well suited to light-textured soils.
High yields of fodder carrots are possible on drained lowland cultivated peatlands and floodplain lands.
Carrots do not tolerate an acidic soil solution with a pH below 5.
Vegetation
In the first year of life, the vegetation period is 110-120 days, in the second – 110-130 days.
Technical maturity in the first year occurs 80-90 days after germination.
For the transition of carrots to the state of flowering, a long period of exposure to low temperatures from 100 to 140 days is necessary. For this reason, even with very early sowing and when sowing before winter, the flowering of carrots is practically not observed.
Crop rotation
It is cultivated mainly in fodder near-farm crop rotations.
In field crop rotations, fertilized winter crops, legumes and potatoes are considered the best predecessors of fodder carrots. In fodder and vegetable crop rotations, carrots are placed after row crops, cereals, leguminous, silage or vegetable crops, annual grasses.
It is possible to grow fodder carrots as a subsowing crop in crops of early harvested cereals in regions with a long frost-free period and sufficient moisture supply.
Fertilizer
Nutrient intake is stretched. In the initial phases of development, carrots primarily have nitrogen in their nutrition. Potassium, phosphorus and calcium are consumed throughout the growing season.
In terms of nutrient removal, carrots are similar to sugar beets: one ton of root crops and the corresponding number of leaves removes 3.5 kg/ha of N from the soil; 1.5 kg/ha P2O5; 7 K2O kg/ha and 1.6 kg/ha CaO.
Recommended application rates of mineral fertilizers:
- on soddy-podzolic soils – N45-60P30-45K60-90 and 40 t/ha of rotted manure;
- on chernozems – N30-45P30-45K30-45 and 20 t/ha of rotted manure.
Manure is applied for autumn cultivation or plowing, if sowing is carried out on an unfertilized predecessor. Organic fertilizers (manure and composts) are effective primarily on soils of light granulometric composition and poorly cultivated sod-podzolic soils.
On drained peatlands, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and microfertilizers containing manganese, boron and copper are primarily applied.
Tillage
Like all root crops, fodder carrots respond well to deep early autumn plowing, which is carried out after stubble peeling.
Pre-sowing tillage consists in early spring harrowing, cultivation and leveling of the soil surface.
On peatlands with a regulated water regime, it is possible to sow in autumn on frozen-thawed soil.
Sometimes soil is rolled before sowing.
Sowing
Seed preparation
Seeds of fodder carrots are ground before sowing to remove hooks (thorns) for better flowability.
Before sowing, it is recommended to soak the seeds in order to accelerate the emergence of seedlings. To do this, they are soaked for 1.5-2 days with a periodic change of water.
Seed sorting can be carried out using a 5% sodium chloride solution (NaCl). Then the seeds are washed with running water and dried. Sometimes they resort to pelleting carrot seeds to facilitate sowing and achieve uniform distribution of seeds in a row. The mixture for drageeing can be prepared from peat, lime, mineral fertilizer fertilizers, molasses is used as an adhesive.
When preparing seeds, they are also calibrated and treated with Fentiuram or TMTD, as well as sanding.
Sanding – mixing carrot seeds with coarse sand, which acts as a ballast, in a ratio of 1 : 4. The mixture is kept in a warm room, then in a glacier. Sanding helps to accelerate the emergence of seedlings (L.A. Sinyakova).
Sowing dates
Carrots are considered the crop of the earliest sowing period.
Possibility of winter sowing. In this case, the harvest may be higher, and the harvesting start time may be earlier.
Seeding methods
Sowing is carried out with vegetable seeders. Seeding methods:
- wide-row single-line with row spacing 45 cm;
- wide-row two-line, the distance between the lines is 15 and 20 cm, between the ribbons – 45 and 50 cm;
- broadband, stripe width 8-20 cm, distance between stripes 40-60 cm;
- for coated seeds also dotted method.
With the broadband method of sowing, special coulters are used.
In areas of excessive moisture and a small arable layer, fodder carrots can be cultivated on ridges or ridges; in this case, special seeders-bed-makers ГС-1.4 are used for sowing.
Seeding rates
The sowing rate of fodder carrot seeds is 2-5 kg/ha and is adjusted depending on the sowing method:
- with a wide-row single-line method, 2-3 kg/ha of seeds are sown;
- wide-row two-line – 3-4 kg/ha;
- broadband method – 5-7 kg/ha;
- dotted method – 1.5-2 kg/ha.
Seeding rates can be reduced to 2 kg/ha when using density graded or calibrated seeds.
In conditions of high agricultural technology, the use of herbicides, the seeding rate can be reduced to 1 kg/ha, while the need for thinning disappears (Leningrad Agricultural Institute).
The seeding rate is increased by 25-30% in case of winter sowing. For uniform sowing, it is advisable to add ballast to the seeds, for example, sand, dry sawdust, granulated superphosphate.
Seeding depth
The depth of sowing seeds is 1-2 cm.
Crop care
Caring for fodder carrot crops consists in:
- post-sowing rolling with ribbed rollers in arid growing regions, as well as on light soils, especially peat ones;
- harrowing 4-5 days after sowing to control weeds;
- destruction of the soil crust using rotary hoes, mesh or light tooth harrows;
loosening row spacing; - weed control by mechanical (agrotechnical) or chemical methods;
- thinning;
- top dressing;
- irrigation.
With a single pre-emergence harrowing, sharovka is carried out – the first along-row loosening to a depth of 3-5 cm with flat-cutting razors.
At the beginning of its development, carrots grow slowly, so their crops are susceptible to weeds. From herbicides use:
- pre-emergence treatment with propazine in the amount of 1-2 kg/ha of a.i.;
- pre-emergence or post-emergence treatment with prometrin (against annual cereals and dicots) in the amount of 1-1.5 kg/ha a.i.;
- pre-emergence treatment or linuron – 1-2 kg/ha a.i.;
- preparations: against annual cereals and dicotyledons – Stomp (pre-emergence soil spraying), Gezagard (pre-sowing, pre-emergence spraying and processing in the phase of 1-2 true leaves), Treflan (pre-sowing soil spraying), Racer (pre-emergence soil spraying).
Thinning seedlings of fodder carrots are performed in the phase of 4-5 leaves at a distance of 4-5 cm. To facilitate this operation, bouquets are carried out with a row cultivator according to the scheme: the cut is made 27-30 cm, the bouquet is 30 cm, after disassembly, 6-8 plants are left in the bouquet , or use a longitudinal thinner.
By the time of harvesting, the plant density should be 300-400 thousand/ha. This density is achieved without the use of manual labor, if small seeding rates are taken for sowing and seedlings are harrowed.
Top dressing of crops is advisable in case of insufficient application of the main fertilizer. It is usually performed after a breakthrough by cultivators-plant feeders. When top dressing, 20-30 kg/ha of fertilizers are applied, primarily nitrogen.
Carrots respond well to watering. It is optimal to irrigate depending on the moisture content of the soil after the breakthrough, when the root thickens, and also a month before harvesting.
Harvest
Harvesting begins before the onset of autumn frosts.
For harvesting carrots, the Department of Mechanization of the North-Western Research Institute of Agriculture recommends using the КИР-1.5Б and УБД-3А hauling machines. Then root crops are dug up by СНУ-3С machines, ОКПШ-1.4 bracket or potato diggers. Harvesting of dug out root crops is carried out manually. For digging and loading into vehicles, converted potato harvesters can be used.
Currently, there is a set of machines that can reduce labor costs for harvesting carrots by 3.5-4 times, for example, dig up ММТ-1 or ЕМ-11 root crops, sort them into ПСК-6. In beet-growing areas, carrot harvesting, if it is sown with a row spacing of 45 cm, can be carried out with a complex of beet harvesters (БМ-6, РКС-6).
Storage
Fodder carrots are stored in trenches, piles or storages. When laying for storage, it is recommended to layer the root crops with wet sand or earth. This technique allows to reduce losses in storage by 2 times, in trenches – by 5 times (I.V. Yakushkin).
Storage temperature under controlled conditions – 1-2 °C, relative humidity – 90-95%.
Growing fodder carrots for seeds
For planting seed plants of fodder carrots, converted transplanters are used or manually into slots cut by a cultivator. On large areas, a ВПГ-4Б landing machine with additional cones is used.
Landing patterns: 60×30, 60×60 or 70×30 cm.
Seed care consists in removing late-appearing umbrellas, leaving 12-16 strong inflorescences on the plant. Seeds are harvested in two phases: first, the stalks are cut with headers of the ЖНУ-3.2, ЖНУ-3.5 type. After 12-14 days they are picked up by combines. A sign of ripeness of umbrellas is their browning and bending inside the inflorescence.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.
Fodder beet
Fodder beet (Beta vulgaris L. v. crassa) is a fodder crop belongs to the group of fodder root crops.
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- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder beet (Русская версия)
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- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops
- Fodder beet (Русская версия)
Economic importance
Fodder beet has good fodder qualities: it is eaten by all farm animals, it is easily digestible, it surpasses silage.
The culture is well stored, used for feeding livestock during the stall period. Without fodder beets, it is difficult to achieve milk yields of 4000-5000 kg of milk per year from one cow.
100 kg of fodder beet roots correspond to 15 feed units and contain 0.9 kg of digestible protein, 61 g of calcium and 60 g of phosphorus. There are 60 g of digestible protein per 1 feed unit.
For fodder purposes, tops are also used, the yield of which is 20-40% of the mass of root crops. For feed it is used fresh, dried and ensiled. 100 kg of fresh tops corresponds to 10 feed units and contains 1.2 kg of digestible protein, 230 g of calcium, 43 g of phosphorus, 2.0-6.4 g of carotene. 1 feed unit of haulm contains 120 g of digestible protein.
Cultural history
The plant was first introduced into cultivation in the Mediterranean. In the XI century. spread in Russia.
Cultivation areas
Fodder beets are cultivated throughout Russia. It accounts for 90% of the total area occupied by fodder root crops.
Due to the rapid development with long daylight hours, fodder beet crops have moved further north than sugar beet.
Botanical description
The fodder beet (Beta vulgaris L. v. crassa) belongs to the same Chenopodiaceae family as the sugar beet. According to morphological and biological features, these cultures are very similar.
The subcotyledon of fodder beet is distinguished by a greater variety of colors than that of sugar beet, it can be white-green, yellow, pink, carmine, orange and purple.
Root
The epicotyl (head) and hypocotyl (neck) play an important role in the formation of fodder beet roots. In different varieties, they account for 25-65% of the mass of the root crop, while the root itself is relatively poorly developed. The root penetrates the soil to a depth of 1.5-2.0 m.
The differences between fodder and sugar beet root crops are reduced to a variety of shape, color of the head, neck and root itself, as well as penetration into the soil. The development of the aerial part of the root (head, neck) and penetration into the soil determine the drought resistance of the variety and the dry matter content in the root crops. The more developed the aerial part of the root, the more moisture-loving the variety is and contains less dry matter. By color, root crops are distinguished by white, pink, raspberry, red, yellow and orange flowers.
According to the anatomical structure, the roots of sugar and fodder beets also differ. Fodder beet has fewer rings of vascular-fibrous bundles, which can be 5-8 pieces, larger parenchyma cells with a lower sugar content are located between the rings.
Aboveground part
The leaves of fodder beet are heart-shaped ovoid, large, with developed petioles, smoother and more lofty than those of sugar beet, their number is 20-30% less.
Seed plants of fodder beet crumble much less compared to sugar beet.
In the second year of life, the leaves are smaller. The stem is ribbed, powerful, branching, erect or oblique, slightly leafy, 150 cm high. Inflorescences are spicate whorled racemes. Cross pollination.
The flowers are bisexual, quintuple type, greenish with a reddish or yellowish tint, 2-4 flowers in whorls.
The fruit is a dry nutlet, when fused, it forms infructescences (balls) of 2-6 fruits. Weight of 1000 glomeruli 20-30 g.
In the same way as in sugar beet, in the first year of life, three periods of growth and development are distinguished.
Varieties
According to the form of root crops, fodder beet is divided into varieties:
- with a bag-shaped or cylindrical shape;
- elongated oval shape;
- conical shape;
- round shape.
Varieties of bag-shaped (cylindrical) form of the root crop have a developed neck, immersed in the soil by 20-25% of the length of the root crop. Thanks to shallow immersion, manual cleaning is facilitated. They differ in increased requirements for moisture due to an underdeveloped root system. The foliage is small (18-20%), the dry matter content is 10-13%. Varieties of this variety are common in production.
Varieties with an elongated-oval shape of the root crop are immersed in the soil by 30-35% of the length, while maintaining the ease of pulling out of the soil. The color of the roots is orange or light yellow, the flesh is white or yellowish. The content of dry matter in root crops is 12-15%. Varieties of this variety are common in production. Moisture demanding.
Varieties of cylindrical and elongated root crops are more common in the Non-Chernozem and the north of the Central Chernozem zones.
Varieties with a conical shape of the root crop are predominantly semi-sugar. Dry matter content 13-19%. Root crops are immersed in the soil at half the length. They are distinguished by a higher collection of dry matter per unit area. Can be cultivated using a set of machines for sugar beet. There are single-seeded varieties in the group.
Round-shaped varieties develop most of the root crop above the soil surface. The content of dry matter in root crops is 15-17%.
Biological features
Temperature requirements
Seeds of fodder beet begin to germinate at a temperature of 2-5 °C. Viable seedlings appear at 6-7 °C. However, uniform seedlings occur at 12-15 °C.
Shoots withstand frosts down to -4…-5 °С (according to other sources, for a short time up to -1…-3 °С and -2…-4 °С). The leaves of adult plants are able to withstand short-term morning frosts down to -6 °C (according to other sources, for a short time down to -3…-4 °C). At the same time, root crops dug out of the soil and uncovered can be damaged by frosts of -2 °C, becoming unsuitable for storage.
The optimum temperature for the growth of leaves and roots is 15-20 °C. Growth stops at an average daily temperature of 6 °C in autumn.
The minimum sum of active temperatures is 1500-2400 °C during the growing season.
Moisture requirements
Fodder beet is a moisture-loving plant. Prefers a warm humid climate. The amount of atmospheric precipitation per year must be at least 400 mm. Withstands short droughts.
Light requirements
Fodder beet belongs to light-loving agricultural crops with long daylight hours.
Soil requirements
Feed beet makes high demands on soil fertility. Chernozem soils with loose subsoil, loamy and sandy loamy soils with a high content of organic matter are optimal.
It grows poorly on poor acidic and marshy soils. Optimal acidity pH 6-7.
Vegetation
The vegetation period of fodder beet in the first year of life is 125-150 days, in the second – 100-130 days.
In the first year, it forms a root crop and a rosette of leaves. In the second year after the high, stems, leaves, inflorescences and seeds are formed in the form of glomeruli.
Crop rotation
Fodder beet is usually grown in farm rotations, due to the small distance from the farm, it is possible to apply organic fertilizers to the soil and reduce the cost of transporting the crop.
The best predecessors of fodder beet in fodder crop rotations are early harvested crops, for example, winter rye for green fodder, annual grasses for hay or green fodder, perennial grasses of the 1st year of use, leguminous, vegetables, corn, potatoes. When using perennial grasses for more than one year, fodder beets are sown along the turnover of the formation.
Good results are shown by the placement of fodder beets on floodplain lands in vegetable crop rotations.
In field crop rotations, fertilized winter cereals, annual grasses, early potatoes, perennial grasses (preferably the 1st year of use) can be predecessors.
Fodder beet is a good precursor for spring cereals, annual grasses and silage crops.
Fertilizer
With 1 ton of root crops and the corresponding amount of fodder beet tops, 2.5-3.5 kg N is removed from the soil; 0.9-1.2 kg P2O5, 4.5-5 kg K2O, 3 kg CaO. Fodder beet needs, first of all, nitrogen and potash fertilizers. However, an excess of nitrogen fertilizers leads to the accumulation of nitrates in the dry matter of root crops over 0.5% (in terms of KNO3), which can cause animal poisoning.
The introduction of organic fertilizers in the amount of 20-40 t/ha directly under the fodder beet is required on light sandy loamy and weakly structured soils (All-Russian Research Institute of Forage named after V.R. Williams). The simultaneous application of manure and mineral fertilizers increases the yield of root crops by 30%.
Acidic soils are lime.
Basic fertilizer
The effectiveness of fertilizers depends on the timing and methods of application. Manure, phosphorus and potash fertilizers are applied in the fall for autumn tillage, with the exception of light soils, on which phosphorus and potassium are applied in the spring for pre-sowing cultivation. Nitrogen fertilizers are usually applied in the spring before sowing in the amount of N100-120, on chernozems – N30, gray forest – N90-120.
The application rate of organic fertilizers is up to 60 t/ha.
Recommended application rates of basic fertilizers in the area of sufficient moisture: P2O5 – 60-80 kg/ha, K2O – 100-120 kg/ha. On drained peatlands, K2O – 140-180 kg/ha.
Under irrigation conditions in the central regions of the Nonchernozem zone, it is recommended to apply 150 kg/ha N, 100 kg/ha P2O5, 240 kg/ha K2O (V.R. Williams All-Russian Research Institute of Feeds).
In the experiments of the Tambov Regional Experimental Station, the application of 90 kg/ha N, 120 kg/ha P2O5 and 90 kg/ha K2O made it possible to obtain an increase in fodder beet yield without irrigation of 15.5 t/ha of root crops with a yield without fertilizers of 53, 7 t/ha. Under irrigation (three irrigations of 600 m3/ha), the optimal rates of application of mineral fertilizers were 270 kg/ha N, 360 kg/ha P2O5 and 270 kg/ha K2O.
On chernozems, 30-40 t/ha of manure, P120K90, are applied.
Row fertilizer
The recommended application rates for row fertilizers for the Non-Chernozem Zone N are 20 kg/ha, P2O5 – 20 kg/ha, K2O – 20 kg/ha. Compound fertilizers are better suited , for example, nitrophoska or nitroammofoska. The application dose of nitrophoska is 1.5, nitroammophoska is 1 centner/ha.
For the Central Black Earth Zone, the recommended norms are the same as for sugar beet – N10P20K10.
Top dressing
Top dressing is carried out after bunching, along-row thinning or after the second harrowing on seedlings.
When an insufficient amount of fertilizer is applied in the fall and the soil is well moistened, a second top dressing is carried out. It is performed until the rows close.
The fertilizer application rate for top dressing is 30 kg/ha N, 20 kg/ha P2O5 and 40 kg/ha K2O.
Fertilizers are applied using row cultivators with simultaneous processing of row spacing.
Tillage
Fodder beets, especially semi-sugar varieties, place high demands on the quality of tillage. It is responsive to deep plowing with loosening of the subsurface horizon. Soil cultivation for this crop should provide optimal water, air, thermal and nutrient regimes of the soil, as well as a sufficient volume of the arable layer for the development of the root crop, effective agrotechnical control of weeds, pests and diseases.
The tillage system for fodder beet includes autumn autumn and spring pre-sowing tillage.
Basic tillage
In the main beet-growing regions (where fodder beet is also grown), the main tillage system in the summer-spring period is carried out according to the semi-fallow type.
When cultivating in conditions of a long and warm summer-autumn period, the following is carried out:
- after harvesting winter crops 2-3 plowing the soil to a depth of 6-9 cm with disc cultivators, for example, ЛД-20, ЛДГ-5, ЛДГ-10, ЛДГ-15;
- after 10-15 days – repeated peeling with share cultivators ППЛ-10-25;
- after the germination of weeds, plowing is carried out.
In the short autumn period they carry out:
- soil plowing with disc cultivators;
- after 15-20 days – autumn plowing to a depth of 25-30 cm or to the depth of the arable layer.
Peeling can be omitted after tilled by the predecessor on fields that are free from weeds.
On soils with a small thickness of the arable horizon, ridges are cut to increase the root layer. Beets are sown on ridges with a row spacing of 60 and 70 cm (Osmakov, 1962; Sinyakova, 1967).
On heavy and floating soils, deep plow processing with removed mouldboards or milling is carried out.
Pre-sowing treatment
On loose structural soils, harrowing is carried out in early spring to preserve moisture. Then, depending on weather conditions, 1-2 cultivations are carried out to a depth of 2-3 cm more than the depth of sowing seeds, that is, on light soils – by 5-7 cm, on bound soils – 4-6 cm.
In cold, prolonged spring and overgrowing of the field with weeds, the first cultivation on heavy loamy and compacted soils is carried out 3-5 days after the moisture is closed by 8-10 cm with simultaneous harrowing, the second pre-sowing cultivation is carried out by 4-6 cm.
A prerequisite for pre-sowing soil preparation is the leveling and compaction of the upper layer with the help of harrows, rollers, levelers.
Presowing rolling is carried out to obtain uniform seedlings, especially in dry spring. Loamy soils of high humidity do not roll, as this leads to strong compaction.
If necessary, they are treated with the same herbicides as those recommended for growing sugar beet.
Sowing
Seed preparation
Preparation of fodder beet seeds includes calibration for fractions: 3.5-4.5 and 4.5-5.5 mm for the possibility of using precision seeders.
Seed germination of diploid and triploid fodder beets must be at least 60%.
Dressing is carried out with 65% fentiuram at the rate of 4 kg of the drug per 1 ton of seeds or 80% TMTD, 5-6 kg/t of seeds. As for sugar beet, it is recommended to carry out grinding, dragging, soaking, segmenting fodder beet seeds in order to accelerate the emergence of seedlings, obtain strong seedlings, and evenly distribute seeds in rows.
Sowing dates
Sowing dates are the same as when growing sugar beets.
Sowing can be carried out in the early and middle periods when the soil warms up to 6-7 °C.
Seeding methods
Fodder beet is sown in a wide-row way with a row spacing of 45, 60 and 70 cm. Pelleted and one-seeded seeds are dotted.
Sowing is carried out using beet precision seeders, for example, ССТ-8А, ССТ-12А, ССТ-12Б, or vegetable – СКОН-4.2, СО-4.2, СОН-2.8A, or СУПН-8.
Seeding rates
The seeding rate of multi-seeded varieties is 8-16 kg/ha of seeds.
For the dotted method of sowing single-seeded varieties – 3-4 kg/ha.
Seeding depth
The sowing depth is the same as when growing sugar beets (3-4 cm).
It is also recommended for multi-seeded beets sowing depth of 2-4 cm, single-seeded – 1.5-3 cm.
Seedling growing method
The seedling method of growing fodder beets is used in heavily weedy areas in intermediate crops during irrigation. The technology was tested in 1979-1980. Donetsk Regional Agricultural Experimental Station and showed high performance. The seedling method of growing eliminates the need for thinning seedlings, facilitates the fight against weeds, while the yield increases by 7-8 t/ha.
Fodder beet seedlings are grown on ridges or without them. Sowing is carried out in the early stages in a continuous way. Seedling selection, sorting, root pinching, leaf picking are performed manually in the 4-5 leaf phase. Planting of seedlings is carried out by transplanting machine СКН-6А, row spacing is 60 or 70 cm.
1 ha of a nursery allows you to get seedlings for 10-12 ha. 4-5 plants are planted per 1 m of row.
Crop care
Caring for fodder beet crops did not differ much from caring for sugar beet crops (see the article Сultivation of sugar beets).
Fodder beets are cultivated more sparsely, leaving 80-90 thousand/ha of plants when breaking through, so by the time the root crops are harvested, the standing density is 65-80 thousand/ha of plants. The optimal standing density is considered to be 60-90 thousand/ha of plants.
After sowing, pre-emergence and post-emergence harrowing is carried out in the phase of the first pair of true leaves to destroy the soil crust, control weeds and thin out dense seedlings.
The formation of the standing density of fodder beet plants is carried out at the beginning of the formation of the second pair of true leaves. The bouquet scheme is determined by the density and distribution of plants in rows. With a row spacing of 45 cm, plants are left in rows after 20-25 cm, with a width of 60 cm – after 18-20 cm.
Depending on the contamination of crops and the formation of a soil crust, 3-4 inter-row cultivations are carried out during the spring-summer period.
In fodder beet crops, the same herbicides are used as in sugar beet crops.
Cultivation under irrigation
Under irrigation conditions with sufficient food supply, fodder beet yields can reach 150 t/ha.
The need for fodder beet in water in different periods of development is different:
- in the first period, that is, within 1.5-2 months after sowing, the root system and leaf surface develop, the need for water during this period is 20-25% of the total;
- in the second period, that is, in July – August, intensive growth of the root and leaf surface begins, the need for water is 60-65% of the total;
- in the third period (September – October), there is an accumulation of dry matter, moisture consumption during this period is minimal.
Irrigation of fodder beet is carried out taking into account the need in the corresponding period of development, weather conditions and the moisture reserve in the soil.
Optimum soil moisture should be maintained at a level of at least 70-80% of the lowest moisture capacity, especially during the formation of root crops.
The first vegetation irrigation is carried out during the active growth of the assimilation surface, the rest – as needed. Irrigation rate 600-700 m3/ha. In the zone of insufficient moisture, the number of irrigations is 4-5, unstable moisture – 3-4, in the zone of sufficient moisture – at least 3 vegetation irrigations. After irrigation, deep inter-row loosening of the soil is carried out.
Irrigation methods: furrow or sprinkling. Furrow irrigation makes it possible to distribute water more evenly and moisten the soil, while maintaining the soil structure, reducing water losses due to evaporation from the soil surface, however, labor costs with this method are higher due to the need for field planning, cutting and leveling of irrigation furrows. Sprinkler irrigation is mechanized, carried out by sprinkler units, for example, ДДА-100МА, ДДН-100, ДДН-70, however, it leads to greater soil compaction.
Harvest
Harvesting of fodder beet is started when the leaves turn yellow before the onset of frost. Early harvesting is associated with a lack of mass of root crops, since the increase in their mass ends in autumn.
Beet leaves are cut by КИР-1,5Б, УБД-ЗА, БМ-4 or БМ-6А. The height of the medium is set in such a way that the length of the petioles is 2-5 cm. However, the use of mechanized removal of the tops is often associated with cutting off some of the root crops of the head, sometimes the neck, or, conversely, leaving leaf petioles 5-8 cm long. According to production experiments, conducted by All-Russian Research Institute of Fodder them. V.R. Williams and state farms. Telman and “Podmoskovny” (Moscow region), the remaining petioles do not affect the storage of root crops in heaps or storages.
For digging and harvesting root crops, potato diggers or converted potato harvesters can be used. In the first case, manual selection of root crops is required. Root crops are sorted out before being stored for storage, cut and broken are rejected.
For harvesting, a forage root crop digger (semi-mounted two-row screening) of the ККГ-1.4 brand can be used, which is designed for harvesting roots of semi-sugar and fodder beets, turnips , rutabaga . When using it, the leaves are first removed by haulm harvesters; root crops are continuously loaded into a nearby transport. The productivity of the digger is 0.3-0.5 ha/h.
For harvesting, a converted СКД-2К combine can also be used, for semi-sugar varieties and varieties of the Barres type – a root harvester КС-6 (Lithuanian Research Institute of Agriculture).
Storage
The main task in beet storage is to reduce nutrient losses, prevent leaf regrowth and rot development. Healthy, undamaged and unshriveled root crops are suitable for storage. It is not allowed to bookmark frozen root crops for long-term storage.
It is economically expedient to place storages or heaps of fodder root crops near livestock farms. Thus, the cost of transporting root crops is reduced, the cost of feed and, accordingly, livestock products is reduced.
Root crops, in the absence of permanent, equipped storage facilities, can be stored in heaps. Their size should be 3 m wide, 2 m high and up to 30 m long. Root crops are better preserved when installing top and bottom ventilation. To do this, a pipe or a bundle of brushwood is installed at the top of the collar (upper ventilation), and a longitudinal groove is arranged at the bottom (lower ventilation). The piles are covered from above with a layer of earth 10-30 cm thick along the ridge, at the base – 20-50 cm, then they are covered with straw 20-50 cm thick. When negative temperatures occur, the piles are additionally insulated with a layer of earth, increasing the thickness along the ridge by 10-15 cm , at the base – by 10-20 cm. It is not recommended to immediately cover the piles with straw, since evaporating moisture saturates the straw, which leads to rapid decay. The thickness of the earth and straw is calculated taking into account the winter freezing of the soil.
To protect the collars from the northern winds, they are located in the direction from the southwest to the northeast or from the north to the south.
Storage temperature 0-3 °С.
Growing fodder beets for seeds
Culture of uterine fodder beet
In contrast to sugar beet, fodder yields much more wet weight. This feature is taken into account when growing mother beets: queen cells should not be large, otherwise they are not suitable for mechanized planting by planters. For example, the uterine root crop of the Eckendorf yellow variety should be no more than 8 cm in diameter.
Of great importance in the culture of uterine fodder beet is the plant density, which should be at least 160-180 thousand / ha of plants, on fertile soils with a sufficient supply of moisture – up to 200-220 thousand / ha of plants. The optimal time for sowing mother beets in the zone of sufficient moisture is June, in the zone of unstable moisture – May (V.R. Williams All-Russian Research Institute of Forage). The yield of seeds at late sowing periods increases by 0.14-0.28 t/ha.
To reduce the cost of manual labor when caring for crops of mother fodder beet, they try to reduce seeding rates, carry out pre-emergence and post-emergence harrowing, and use longitudinal thinners. Unlike sugar beets, 2-3 plants located side by side do not produce twisted roots and have a normal planting weight.
P 60-100 K 80-120 is applied under the mother beet culture for normal winter storage . Nitrogen fertilizers are limited.
The output of suitable root crops from 1 hectare of uterine sowing should be at least 4-5 hectares of testes.
The dug out uterine root crops should be immediately delivered to heaps or stored in storage, since dried root crops are poorly stored, the proportion of “stubborn” is increasing.
Testis culture
The root system of the seed plants differs from the root system of the mother beet in that it is shallow, and the water and nutrient intake comes mainly from the topsoil. The seed plants have a large evaporating surface and intensively consume water for evaporation.
In the crop rotation, the best place is chosen for fodder beet seedlings: winter crops – for grain or green fodder, annual grasses – for green fodder and hay.
In the spring, fall plowing or deep cultivation with harrowing is carried out.
Since beet seed plants remove a large amount of nutrients from the soil, 300-330 kg/ha of a.i. is applied to obtain a seed yield of 2.5-2.8 t/ha. mineral fertilizers. Fertilizers are applied to the main reception and top dressing. Since the root system of the seed plants is characterized by a small assimilation capacity, fertilizers must be applied in a form that is easily accessible to plants.
Planting pattern 60×60 cm or 70×50 cm.
Harvesting fodder beet seeds is similar to harvesting sugar beet seeds.
No-drop method
In the south of Russia, fodder beet seeds can be obtained by a non-planting method, which eliminates the stages of harvesting, winter storage of queen cells and spring planting in the soil. Seeds in this way ripen more evenly 8-10 days earlier. The cost of seed production by the non-planting method is 2-2.5 times lower.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.
Forage root crops
Forage root crops are a group of crops whose roots are used for feed purposes.
Forage root crops include:
- fodder beet;
- fodder swede;
- turnip;
- fodder carrots.
- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops (Русская версия)
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- Forage crops
- Perennial grasses
- Annual grasses
- Annual leguminous grasses
- Annual cereal grasses
- Forage root crops (Русская версия)
Economic importance
In the structure of Russian fodder production, forage root crops account for 2%, among succulent fodder – 17% (All-Russian Research Institute of Feed named after V.R. Williams). In farms of dairy specialization, the share of root crops in succulent feed reaches 35-50%.
Despite the low content of dry matter in root crops, which varies depending on the variety, species, growing conditions from 9 to 23%, the value of fodder root crops is significant. Basically, they serve as an easily digestible food with a high carbohydrate content. The introduction of root crops into the diets of animals allows you to balance the carbohydrate-protein balance of feed, which should contain 120-150 g of carbohydrates per 100 g of digestible protein. Usually this balance is disturbed in the spring and autumn periods, and often in winter. Haylage and especially silage cannot eliminate the lack of carbohydrates.
Root crops have both a good mineral and amino acid composition. The ash substances of root crops contain on average up to 3.4% potassium, 1.1% phosphorus, 0.7% calcium and 0.35% magnesium, as well as trace elements (cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese).
The share of protein accounts for 1-2.2%, however, it includes essential amino acids: lysine, methionine, arginine.
The leaves of root crops also have nutritional value. They contain more than root crops, protein, vitamins, solids, can be used fresh and ensiled or used as a raw material for the production of herbal flour and granules (Kireev et al., 1977).
According to Tomme, the nutritional value of 100 kg of root crops is:
- fodder beet – 12 feed units, the content of digestible protein is 0.9 kg;
- feed carrots – 14 feed units, the content of digestible protein is 0.9 kg;
- swede – 13 feed units, the content of digestible protein is 0.9 kg;
- turnip – 9 feed units, the content of digestible protein is 0.7 kg.
Feed value of 100 kg of leaves:
- fodder beets – 10 feed units, the content of digestible protein is 2.0-2.1 kg;
- feed carrots – 17 feed units, the content of digestible protein is 2.3 kg;
- rutabaga – 10 feed units, the content of digestible protein is 1.6 kg;
- turnip – 11 feed units, the content of digestible protein is 1.6 kg.
In semi-sugar beet varieties, the feed value of 100 kg of root crops is 15 feed units, the content of digestible protein is 1.4 kg, and the tops are 11 feed units.
Root crops and leaves serve as a source of vitamins: C, B1, B2, PP and carotene. The greatest content of vitamin C 31-47 mg/100 g of raw weight of root crops is distinguished by swede. 1 kg of carrots contains 104-254 mg of carotene (All-Russian Institute of Plants). The content of vitamin C in the green mass of leaves is (Sinyakova et al., 1980):
- swede and turnip – 120-130 mg/100 g fresh weight;
- carrots – 70 mg/100 g of fresh weight;
- beets – 50 mg/100 g wet weight.
The digestibility of root crops is not inferior to the digestibility of young pasture grass. In the production of milk, they serve as milk-producing feed, promote the assimilation of roughage. The presence of root crops in the diet of root crops contributes to an increase in the life expectancy of animals, fattening, the time of their use, improves the quality of the offspring and reproductive capacity, and saves concentrated feed.
The type of fodder root crops is not of great importance for dairy cattle, provided that the daily norms for feeding feed are observed in the diets. Feeding more than 20-25 kg of swede or turnip per day per cow can lead to a deterioration in the taste of milk due to the presence of mustard oils in the feed. The daily norm of semi-sugar beets should also not exceed the indicated norm, so as not to harm the health of animals. Feed norms for fodder beets have not been established.
All fodder root crops are tilled crops, therefore they are of agrotechnical importance.
Cultivation areas
In the USSR and Russia fodder root crops are cultivated almost everywhere.
The sown areas in the USSR amounted to over 1.4 million hectares, 85-90% of them were for fodder beets, the rest – for rutabaga, turnips and fodder carrots. Gross harvest of root crops – 20 million tons.
Fodder beet crops are widespread in the north-west of Russia, in the central and southern regions. Turnip and rutabaga – in the north-west of the country, in the north of the Non-Chernozem zone. Turnip is also cultivated in the south as a catch crop. Carrot crops are ubiquitous, mainly in the farms of large fruit and vegetable associations and poultry farms. In the structure of sown areas of farms, fodder root crops occupy a small share. When determining the area of crops, they proceed from the needs of farms for feed, depending on the number of livestock, for example, at least 5-6 tons of root crops per year are required per head of cattle.
In 2001-2005 in Russia, the area under fodder crops was 140-250 thousand hectares, the gross harvest was 2.9 million tons, that is, the reduction was more than 7 times after the collapse of the USSR. The average yield is 20 t/ha. There is no official statistics on the types of fodder root crops in Russia.
Yield
“Cultivating root crops and potatoes is the same as getting three ears where one used to grow.”
D.N. Pryanishnikov
First D.N. Pryanishnikov had in mind the high potential productivity of potatoes and root crops, including fodder crops. For example, in the conditions of the south of Ukraine, when irrigated, the yield of fodder beet can reach 100-120 t/ha, on rainfed crops 45-50 t/ra.
In the period of the USSR, they received crops of fodder beets:
- in the Belozersky district of the Kherson region (collective farm named after Kirov, Ukraine), the maximum yield reached 256.3 t/ha (1982);
- in the Gomel region (collective farm named after Lenin, Belarus) on drained lands – 103.0 t/ha of root crops;
- in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan (state farm “Nazarbek”) in 1983 – 80 t/ha;
- in Chuvashia – 78-96 t/ha;
- in the Moscow and Leningrad regions – over 100 t/ha.
Forage carrot yields were:
- in the Moscow regions (state farm “Zaoksky”) – 70.4 t / ha (1982);
- in the Kyiv region (state farm “Buchansky”, Ukraine) – 100 t/ha.
High yields of turnip and rutabaga were obtained in the Leningrad, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov regions, as well as Belarus and the Baltic states. The yield of rutabaga, according to the SZNIISKh, averaged over 6 years over 6 years, was more than 63 t/ha, turnip – more than 88 t/ha, together with leaves – about 100 t/ha. In Estonia (state farm “Adavere”) annually received from the area of 50-60 hectares fodder rutabaga crop of 80 t/ha. In the Moscow region (state farm named after Telman), the yield of rutabaga was more than 80 t/ha
In the conditions of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the yield of swede is more than 50 t/ha, turnip – 90 t/ha of turnip.
Botanical description
All fodder root crops are biennial plants. In the first year of life, they form a root crop, in the second – fruits.
Sources
Crop production / P.P. Vavilov, V.V. Gritsenko, V.S. Kuznetsov and others; Ed. P.P. Vavilov. – 5th ed., revised. and additional – M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. – 512 p.: ill. – (Textbook and textbooks for higher educational institutions).
V.V. Kolomeichenko. Crop production / Textbook. — M.: Agrobusinesscenter, 2007. — 600 p. ISBN 978-5-902792-11-6.
Fundamentals of agricultural production technology. Agriculture and crop production. Ed. V.S. Niklyaev. – M .: “Epic”, 2000. – 555 p.