Winter crops with intensive agricultural cultivation are able to yield up to 60-80 kg / ha. To achieve such results, it is necessary to carry out pre-sowing preparation of the soil without disrupting the technology, observe the timing of sowing, use the optimal method of sowing for a particular farm and provide good care for plants during the period of growth and maturation. Then the death of winter crops can be reduced to a minimum.
The concept of winter and spring crops
Winter crops are annual plants of cereals, most often cereal families. Such plants in the course of their life require wintering for a period of several months. It is necessary to sow winter crops in the fall, and after the winter harvest. Such plants include winter wheat, barley and rye.
In addition to winter crops, there are spring breads. Unlike winter crops, spring crops need to be sown in the spring, the crop is harvested in the year of sowing. These annual plants require higher temperatures and a warm spring sun. Such crops include spring species of wheat, barley, rye, oats and many other millet cultivars.
The benefits of winter crops
Spring and winter crops are widely used in agriculture, varieties of these plants are used for animal feed, grinding flour and further consumption by the population.
However, winter forms of plants are much more valuable, because have a lot of biological advantages:
- Winter culture is able to accumulate more useful mass, develops a powerful root system during the wintering period.
- After the experienced winter, plants quickly grow. They take root much earlier and, as a result, mature earlier.
- Weeds are not an obstacle to winter crops: they successfully overtake them in growth and development and simply drown them out with their mass.
In addition, autumn sowing and early harvesting can relieve the tension of agricultural work.
Correct sowing time increases winter hardiness of winter crops
Winter crops have high frost resistance and winter hardiness. Winter hardiness provides adaptation of the plant to winter conditions. Usually this property directly depends on the variety of the crop grown. However, much depends on the human factor: it is important to properly prepare the plants for winter and use high-quality agricultural technology. Winter hardiness is achieved by hardening, which takes place in two stages. The first stage takes place in the fall at warm temperatures of 8-15 degrees. The second stage is the end of the autumn period, it is mild frosts with a decrease in temperature to 5 degrees.
The first phase is responsible for the increased accumulation of carbohydrates in plants. At the end of the first period, various sugars are contained in the culture 2-3 times more than at the beginning of the period. The plant will use carbohydrates in the spring, which will help enhanced growth and development. In addition, sugars perform an important protective function.
During the second phase , plant tissues are dehydrated, and the composition of plant cells changes. Brush juice is also undergoing changes, which helps to achieve frost resistance of plants. In the first frosts up to 5 degrees , plant cells are simple substances, the osmosis inside the cells rises. The culture retains water more and increases its sucking roots. By the time the second stage of hardening is completed, the necessary conditions for hypothermia arise in the cells of winter crops. Complex compounds break down to simpler substances.
Sowing winter crops depends on the climatic characteristics of a particular region. In the northern regions, sowing is carried out in August, in the south - in September or October. The main principle is to allow plants to harden the root system for overwintering and successfully pass the hardening phases. Do not rush with sowing: plants will be more exposed to various diseases and bacteria. However, with late sowing, winter crops do not have time to develop a powerful root system and prepare for wintering before the onset of frost. It was found that for the normal development and rooting of crops, it takes about 45-60 days with an air temperature of less than 5 degrees Celsius.
Sowing wheat should be done much earlier than sowing rye. This is due to the fact that rye after sowing still continues its development, while wheat has already stopped it.
Methods of sowing winter crops
There are several ways to sow winter crops. Basically, you need to adhere to this rule: it is necessary to ensure uniform distribution of seeds throughout the field. The dispersed sowing of winter crops creates the most favorable conditions for the ripening of each of the plants. For this method of sowing, a special device was created - a seeder. However, this method significantly slows down the process of production sowing, which leads to its least use in mass crops.
Private sowing of winter crops can be divided into several types depending on the width between the rows:
- regular (width between rows 15-18 cm);
- narrow-row (width between rows 7.5-9 cm);
- cross (seeder passage along and across);
- wide-row (width between rows 45-90 cm);
- tape (alternating wide and narrow rows);
- dotted (uniform single arrangement of seeds).
There is also a square-nesting type of sowing, in which the seeds are located at the corners of the square.
In production, conventional continuous sowing is usually used, but narrow-row sowing is considered a more successful option. Due to soil compaction from the passage of tractors across the field, sowing with residual width for technological processes began to be practiced. The size of such a rut is 180 or 140 cm. This technique does not harm the crop and does not injure the soil, which improves the conditions for growing winter crops.
Pre-sowing preparation of soil after steam crops
Tillage for winter crops is performed according to the method of autumn tillage. This type provides for autumn plowing and 1-2 peeling. Plowing the field should be carried out to a depth of at least 20-22 cm. Spring work for winter crops should begin with the closure of moisture. During this period, it is desirable to conduct about 4-5 cultivations with harrowing or in dry time with rolling. The final cultivation should take place at a depth of seed placement.
Winter crops require special soil preparation: plowing with the help of plows and skimmers with harrows and ring rollers. After carrying out such work, the soil must be maintained in a clean and loose form before sowing winter crops. This type of pre-sowing tillage is carried out after steam precursors.
Pre-sowing preparation of soil after unpaired crops
It is necessary to cultivate the soil after unpaired plants in accordance with the technologies for growing previous crops. After the spike species, it is customary to use semi-steam cultivation of the soil if the conditions of soil moisture are met. Works should include about 2-3 cultivations. On dry soils, preliminary peeling is carried out, and then a field with harrowing and rolling is plowed several times. After collecting perennial plants, it is necessary to plow the plow with a skimmer if the soil moisture is at a sufficient level.
If peas, flax, or other cereal crops were growing on the field before, it is necessary to plow, and before starting sowing, cultivation should be carried out using the same method as usual.
Minimum Tillage Method
There is a method of minimal tillage for winter crops. In this case, the soil is processed at the lowest possible depth while performing other operations. This type of processing allows you to reduce the time and energy consumption for processing, as well as reduce the number of passes of equipment in the field. This greatly improves the agrochemical and water-physical characteristics of the soil.
To implement this type of processing, special combined machines with disk or flat-cutting parts are used. Such devices in one pass are able to loosen, and level, and compact the soil.
What can cause the death of winter crops?
The causes of death of winter crops are very different. Both environmental conditions and mechanical damage can affect plant life. Natural conditions are caused by sharp changes in temperature, a large amount of precipitation, severe and long frosts, stagnation of moisture and water on the soil surface. In addition, winter crops may be susceptible to fungal diseases.
Freezing. How to prevent?
The most common cause of death of winter crops is freezing. Due to prolonged low temperatures, ice forms in plant cells. As a result, the cytoplasm of the cell is left without water, and the protein is destroyed. The formation of ice inside the cells has a detrimental effect on the vital activity of plants. Spring frosts are especially dangerous because winter plant species do not withstand temperature drops of 8-10 degrees during this period.
To prevent the death of winter crops due to their freezing, it is necessary to sow only frost-resistant varieties adapted to a specific sowing region, or to plant using forest shelterbelts.
Boiling. How to prevent?
Another common reason for the death of winter plants is mowing. This happens if the snow on the surface of the soil does not melt for a long time, as well as with incomplete freezing of the soil. In conditions of incomplete freezing of the soil or the formation of an ice crust on the surface, winter plants come to life under the influence of light, but sunlight cannot break through the ice crust. When warmed up, winter plants die from a lack of light under the snow. In addition, weakened by a lack of nutrients, plants become infected with snow mold.
So that the plants do not suffer from aging, the soil should be compacted with rollers if early snow has fallen. Nitrogen fertilizers and early crops should be avoided. In case of heavy rainfall, it is necessary to accelerate the process of melting by loosening the snow.
Soaking. Methods of struggle
Soaking, as another cause of plant death, usually occurs in lowlands on clay soils or in places where water often accumulates. Plants die due to impaired respiration: carbohydrates are excessively spent to maintain life. After 2 weeks, in such conditions, the plants finally die. In order to avoid the harmful effects of excess water, sow flooding-resistant varieties and, if possible, drain the accumulated moisture.
Often, plants die due to the formation of ice crusts. The most dangerous to the life of plants is a transparent crust. It is formed during the thaw, when melt water freezes when the temperature drops. Ice can form both on the surface of the soil and deep in it. Plants find themselves in an ice trap. So that the formed ice crust does not harm the plants, it is necessary to destroy it in parts or completely.
In order to save dehydrated plants and avoid other serious problems for crop growth, it is necessary to cultivate the soil in a timely manner, and also use spring rolling.
The death of winter crops from diseases and pests
To prevent the death of winter crops from diseases or the invasion of pests, it is required to conduct such measures in a timely manner:
- avoid the processes of getting wet and aging;
- dress seeds before planting;
- carry out preventive treatment of crops with pesticides of the lowest concentration;
- random inspections of crops to monitor crop health;
- if there is damage to crops by pests or diseases, assess the risk of damage propagation and death of crops;
- depending on the degree of risk, treat crops with pesticides of the required concentration.
Summary
Spring and winter crops should be grown using intensive technologies. A competent, scientifically based approach to growing grain will allow you to get high yields with maximum profitability.