Cereals are the basis in agricultural production. They are cultivated everywhere, as they are of great value, as well as a variety of uses. Grain is the main product in the human diet, it provides the body with vital energy. In addition, it is rich in protein, fat, carbohydrates. These crops are widely used in animal husbandry. Concentrated feed, bran, straw, chaff are prepared from them. What types of crops exist and how to grow them, read the article.
Common signs of cereal
These cultures, regardless of their varieties, have much in common:
- The root system of all species is fibrous. There is no main root in it. All roots are thin, branching, covered with very small hairs.
- Inflorescences in cereals are represented by only two types: panicle or spike.
- Flowers have two scales - external and internal. The formation of ovaries occurs between them. Each flower at the base has two films, which are called “lodicules”. During flowering, they swell and the flowers open.
- The spike in the form of a rod consists of their segments, on the protrusions of which spikelets are located. The panicle consists of a central axis and many lateral branches, which also have the ability to branch. Spikelets are located on the tip of each branch.
Development phases
In the process of growth, cereal breads undergo changes that are associated with the formation of organs. This morphological process is called “phases”. From the moment of sowing the crop until the ripening of the grain, the following phases are observed:
- Sprouts. The cultivation of crops begins from the moment the seeds begin to germinate. First, germinal roots appear. Their number is different. During germination, winter wheat has three roots, spring - five, rye - four, barley - from five to seven. Bread of the millet group has only one germinal root, but several more appear in the process of plant development. However, their ability to absorb nutrients is one and a half times lower than that of an embryonic one. Immediately after the roots, seedlings appear enclosed in mutated leaves (coleoptile), which serve as protection for young plants. The fact is that seedlings can be damaged when they pass to the soil surface. The seedling phase is the period when the first unfolded leaf of green appears.
- Tillering. This phase occurs when the first lateral shoots appear in the plants. They look like leaflets. The tillering process differs from branching, as it occurs on a part of the stem located underground one or two centimeters in depth. Its essence is as follows: on the stem there are close nodes, from which roots and lateral shoots appear, each of them forms the same thing, and this continues many times. But everything happens underground, and the place where the lateral shoots exit is called the tillering node.
- Exit to the phone. This phase occurs when the stem begins to grow, and the location of the first node is one and a half to two centimeters above the surface of the soil. The first internode from below grows, almost at the same time as the rudimentary ear. The subsequent one always grows much longer than the previous one; therefore, the last internode is the largest in length. Having reached the exit phase into the tube, plants need enhanced nutrition and water, since an embryonic stem grows inside the spikelets. This process will end when the stems form.
- Earing is the process of ejecting spikelets. It begins with the appearance of the tops of inflorescences. By the time of earing, they judge the maturity of a particular variety.
- Bloom. On this basis, all grains are divided into self and cross-pollinated. The flowering of the ear begins in its middle part and spreads in both directions. In bread with panicles, their upper part first blooms. This phase in plant life is a turning point, at the end of which the vegetative organs cease to grow.
- Maturation. This phase is characterized by a decrease in the influx of substances called “plastic”. In seeds, they become a spare form. There is a gradual separation of the seed from the plant. Their humidity in this period depends on the surrounding space. During the day, the seeds become dry, and in the evening, when the heat subsides, they are moistened.
Cereal Forms
Cereals come in the following forms:
- Winter - these include such breads, the development of which at the initial stage occurs at low temperatures, from 1 ° C below zero to 10 ° C above its mark. This regimen should be maintained for 20-50 days. Winter grains need to be sown in the autumn, until steady frosts have come, and harvest only next year.
- Spring crops are crops that are sown in the spring. Plants grow, but they do not form stems and ears. The vernalization stage takes place at a temperature of 5-20 ° C. This will take from one to three weeks. Grains are sown in the spring, in the autumn of the same year, harvested.
- Two-handed - the vernalization stage in such plants takes place when the temperature reaches 3-15 ° C. The southern regions of our country with a warmer climate have varieties of crops that can be sown in spring and autumn. In any case, their growth and development is normal, yields are high.
Typical bread
Field crops are represented by a huge variety of species. They come in three groups, one of which is typical bread: rye, wheat, barley, triticale, oats. The grain has a crest and groove, when it sprouts, several roots appear. Their number is different: in oats - three, in rye - four, in wheat - three-five, in barley - five-eight. Inflorescences are also different: in wheat in the form of a complex spike, in oats they are similar to a panicle. Inside the straw is hollow. Cereal crops come in two forms: spring and winter. Light and heat are not of particular importance to them, but higher demands are made on moisture.
Prospective bread
This group includes rice, millet, sorghum, corn, chumisa, buckwheat. Inflorescences have the appearance of a panicle, but in maize they are of a female type and are cobs. Grains do not have grooves and tufts, during germination, only one root appears. Inside the straw is the core. Tillering comes from nodes located at the surface of the earth. For these crops, short daylight hours are considered optimal. Prospective are only in spring form; they like light and warmth. They have high drought tolerance (with the exception of rice), do not impose special requirements on soil fertility. At the beginning of growth, before the tillering period, plant growth is slow.
Bean Bread
The list of crops in this group includes: peas and soybeans, beans and chickpeas, lentils and chinas, fodder beans, lupins and vetch. All of them are widespread, since the nutritional value of the grain and its digestibility by the body are very high at low production costs. Cereals, the list of which is presented above, are more plastic and environmentally friendly, they have a high reproduction rate, for the calculation of which the harvested seeds are related to the sown. The cultures of these three groups have different environmental characteristics. Plants of the first group are grown in regions belonging to the temperate zone, the second - in tropical and subtropical climates.
Wheat
This cereal for the majority of the world's population is the main grain crop. Huge areas are occupied under its crops. Wheat production in the world is 30% of the total grain. Among the leaders in growing is our country. Wheat provides raw materials for the food industry. From it produce flour, bakery and pasta. Greens and waste products are used as feed for livestock and raw materials for other industries. Possessing biological and ecological features, wheat is grown everywhere, with the exception of Antarctica.
Rye
Sown areas of this type of grain in our country occupy vast territories, second only to wheat fields in size, and in the world are in fourth place after wheat, rice and corn. Rye prefers sandy and sandy loamy soils, has high frost resistance. This is evidenced by the fact that today its crops are not uncommon in territories outside the Arctic Circle. This crop is spring and winter, but the yield of the last form of grain crops is higher. It is better if the rye field is fertilized and left under steam. Next year, you can harvest a rich harvest from it.
Grain is used to make brown bread, and straw is used for bedding for cattle and mats in greenhouses. In addition, it is used as raw material for the production of cardboard, paper. Winter rye goes to feed livestock, as it early gives high-quality greens in large quantities.
Oats
This crop is mainly livestock feed. Food products are also produced from it: cereals, oat-flakes, oatmeal. Oat grain has a high nutritional value; animals, especially young animals, are well assimilated of flour, straw feeds livestock, it is very nutritious. Fiber is a diet product for babies.
Most species grow in the wild. Large yields are produced by oats growing in regions with a mild climate and high rainfall. The composition of the soil, this crop does not impose requirements, so any crop rotation ends with its sowing. Compared to other types of cereals, oats are not such a valuable crop.
Barley
Smaller areas are allocated for crops of this culture, although the areas of its application are quite diverse. From barley produce cereals, prepare livestock feed, coffee, it is used in brewing. However, in some countries, for example in Tibet, this culture is the main bread plant, as others here do not have time to ripen. The culture has found wide application in medicine, it is used as a cleanser. In ancient times, buckwheat was used to treat consumption, today it is diabetes, lungs, bronchi, intestines, stomach, and much more. Barley is the oldest agricultural crop. It adapts well to growth under various conditions, due to which it is grown in all countries of the world.
Millet
This crop belongs to cereals. No flour is made from it and no bread is baked, but cereals are prepared. In culture, cereals are divided into groups. Depending on the shape of the panicle, they are spreading, drooping and compact. The grains are coated in the form of films, but after cleaning they produce a food product - millet. Millet is the most drought tolerant crop of all cereals.
High yields are achieved by sowing seeds on virgin lands or after grasses with a long life cycle. You can cultivate plants on soft soils, but in this case there should be no weeds on them, otherwise seedlings will slowly develop. Millet grows well in the area after potatoes or sugar beets. But the culture itself is a good predecessor for oats, barley, and wheat.
Rice
If you ask which crops are preferable, the population of a good half of the planet will answer that this is rice. This cereal has the same meaning for them as bread for others. Rice is considered the main grain crop for Japan, India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Burma. The fields where rice is grown are flooded with water, but this plant is not swampy, but refers to mountainous. In the wild, it grows in regions with a humid climate on soils that are not flooded with water. In countries such as Vietnam, Burma, India, mountain slopes were used for rice cultivation, where monsoon winds brought a lot of rainfall. But this phenomenon is seasonal in nature, so the crop was removed once a year. So that the earth would not be swept away, they began to build shafts of earth and stone, which surrounded the crops in order to retain water after the rains. With such moisture, yields increased significantly. But if rice is constantly in the water, microorganisms reduce beneficial activity. Therefore, the use of shortened flooding is considered the best option. This means that after the seeds have been sown, they need to be watered three to four times, and when the rice enters the stage of wax maturity, which occurs at the beginning of the harvest of crops, it is necessary to dump water from the fields.
Buckwheat
The chemical composition of the grain of this culture is similar to cereals. Refers to annual plants. The ribbed stem with a reddish tinge branches strongly, does not lie, its height is about one meter. All countries with a temperate climate are engaged in the cultivation of buckwheat. Grain has a high nutritional value, rich in iron and organic acids, proteins and carbohydrates.
Buckwheat is a honey plant. The first inflorescences begin to bloom, this continues until the harvest. Therefore, the flowering period is extended in time, and hence the honey collection lasts a long time. Grains ripen unevenly, often crumble. Therefore, harvesting begins when not all grains are ripe, but only 2/3 of the total volume.
Growing
Agricultural enterprises are engaged in this. To grow spring varieties of grain, the field should be plowed in the fall. Every year it is necessary to change the rotation according to a plan developed in advance. For example, wheat has a weak root system; it will not grow in any soil, but only with a certain composition. This plant is often not able to fully absorb nutrition.
But you can get a good harvest if you plant seeds in the area where legumes, potatoes, oats, corn, and rapeseed were grown before. After growing wheat in this field, the next three years cannot be cultivated. If the plot is not intended to be used for other crops, then it is sown with lupine, which increases the fertility of the earth, since this plant is considered a “green fertilizer”.
When spring comes, the field plowed in autumn needs to be loosened. For this, a cultivator is used. This procedure improves the soil, it becomes loose, it passes air and water well. For spring work, caterpillar-based tractors are used, since they are less heavy and do not compact the soil very much.
How to sow seeds?
Planting of crops related to the spring form is carried out in the spring, in the early stages, when the air warms up to a temperature of three to five degrees heat. Grooves are made on the entire field with the help of special machines at a distance of 8-15 cm. Free space is left, which is called the “technical track”, necessary for the passage of the machines when caring for plants. Seeds are laid to a depth of 3.5-5 cm. If the weather fails and the sowing dates are moved aside, the seeds are planted to a shallower depth, otherwise the sprouts will not appear for a long time.
Growing crops is accompanied by weed control. You cannot see the crop without this. The first weeding is done a week after sowing. To do this, the soil is harrowed, and with the advent of green seedlings, the entire field is subject to treatment with herbicides, from which weeds die.
To obtain a rich crop, plants need good lighting, so a planting scheme is determined in advance. It may not be the same for all types of cereals. If the shadow from the neighbors constantly falls on the plants, they will develop poorly. The temperature does not really matter for cereals. They are not afraid of short-term cooling and drought.
Harvest
Grain is collected from the fields in two ways: solid and separate. The latter method is used when the grain has ripened unevenly or the vegetative development was incorrect, for example, stalks have died or have different lengths. In all other cases, the harvest is harvested in a continuous way using mechanized labor, that is, combines.