Winter wheat is a valuable food crop. Irrigation creates excellent conditions for its full growth and normal development, increases its winter hardiness, which ensures good plant viability.
Winter wheat: high yield potential
Using intensive technologies, an average of 69.56 kg / ha of wheat is grown in the UK, and 81.2 kg / ha in the Netherlands. Many farms that are familiar with the intensive technology of winter wheat cultivation receive sustainable crops on irrigated lands: 60 or even 70 centners per hectare. The highest yield reached 92.4 centners per hectare.
Under favorable agro-climatic conditions, a fairly high yield can be obtained. Winter wheat feels great on irrigated land - it yields up to a hundred centners per hectare. This crop in irrigated crop rotations is also grown for silage or green fodder, and the area freed after it is used after mowing for sowing grain, vegetable and fodder plants.
Biological features of growing winter wheat
Wheat belongs to the family of cereals; by winter it sprouts, hives and undergoes autumn hardening. After overwintering, plant development continues. Differentiation of the growth cone begins . Its strong growth depends on the strength of leaves and roots, on the water content of tissues. Full saturation of the cells with water is necessary to maintain their turgor, stretch, increase the number of embryos of future ears. This is a very crucial period for plant life. The critical period in the life of winter wheat continues from the exit to the tube to the milk ripeness of the grain.
Early watering before laying the germinal spikelets increases the number of grains, and watering at the beginning of the formation of flowers contributes to an increase in the number of developed flowers. During flowering and fertilization, when the plant respiration and the consumption of organic matter are enhanced, the plants are especially sensitive to overheating and dry winds. The optimal temperature rise in this period is 14-19 ° C, at a temperature of 35 ° C, photosynthesis is greatly reduced in plants, yield decreases to 20, and at 40 ° C to 50%. Negatively low air humidity and dry wind also work. The cultivation of winter wheat against the background of exposure to high temperatures and such humidity requires close attention.
Fertilizing winter wheat
Winter wheat has a rather long vegetation period, this allows it to use nutrients from the soil more fully. However, the need for nutrients in her is different, depending on the period of development of plants. Therefore, top dressing of winter wheat in the spring is advisable.
Nitrogen is necessary during the growing season, but the plants absorb it most intensively in the phases when they exit the tube and spike. Top dressing of winter wheat is important in early spring, at this time, due to the low temperature and possible waterlogging of the soil, nitrification processes can be suppressed, and water leaches nitrate nitrogen into deeper soil layers, plants can experience nitrogen starvation even on well-provided soils. This explains the high efficiency of the result when top dressing of winter wheat in the spring is correctly carried out.
During seedlings and at the beginning of development, wheat has a high need for phosphorus nutrition, this stimulates the normal development of the root system. With good moisture supply, the roots can penetrate to a depth of more than 1 meter even in autumn, which contributes to frost resistance of winter wheat. Phosphorus enhances the degree of differentiation and a large number of grains per ear. Its deficiency at the beginning of growth cannot be compensated for by any increased provision of plants with this fertilizer at a later date.
The lack of easily digestible potassium in the soil from the beginning of the growing season to the flowering of wheat leads to a significant lag in plant growth and to a lag in plant development — they become more sensitive to fluctuations in temperature and soil moisture. A satisfactory supply of plants with phosphorus and potassium in the autumn enhances the winter hardiness of winter wheat, and a sufficient supply of them with nitrogen increases the protein content in the grain. Excess of the latter, as well as excessive soil moisture, leads to lodging of plants.
Winter wheat varieties
Breeders always have an individual approach to regions. Varieties of winter wheat grown under irrigation conditions should be marked by a high response to fertilizers, additional soil moisture, as well as resistance to lodging and fungal diseases.
The best for wheat are chestnut and chernozem soils, in their mechanical composition are medium, well aeration. That is, winter wheat is demanding on soils. Unsuitable for it - saline, overconsolidation and wetlands. Modern varieties of winter wheat, used depending on the region, are as follows:
- Tarasovskaya spinous - cultivated in the Voronezh and Rostov regions.
- Dewdrop Tarasovskaya is a high-yielding variety.
- Prestige - for regions with late frosts (Volga region, republics of the North Caucasus).
- Severodonetsk anniversary (grown in the Kuban, in the Krasnodar Territory, on the Rostov lands, in the republics of the North Caucasus).
- Tarasovsky spring - grown in the south.
- Augusta is a drought tolerant variety.
- Governor of the Don.
- Don 105.
- Kamyshanka-3 - cultivated in the Lower Volga region.
- Nemchinovskaya-57 and 24.
- Moskovskaya-39 and 56.
- Galina.
The last varieties in this list are bred for non-black soil, their grain has high baking qualities.
Winter wheat fertilizer
With the correct use of fertilizers in irrigated agriculture, the yield increases from 40 to 70%. Fertilizers for winter wheat dramatically increase yield as well as grain quality. In the experiments of the Institute of Agriculture on irrigated lands, the yield of winter wheat increased from 28.3 to 51.9 centners per hectare.
The increase in yield from the optimal norm of nitrogen fertilizers in the south of the country was 10-10.6, from phosphorus fertilizers - 1.2-1.6, and from their combined action - 12.1-16.9 kg / ha. That is, winter wheat for - differently reacts to individual batteries. According to scientists, potash fertilizers should be applied only when less than 300 mg / kg of potassium is present in the soil.
The fertilizer application rate is calculated by the balance method, based on the level of the planned crop, the availability of nutrients in the soil and the coefficient of their absorption by plants. Weediness of winter wheat significantly reduces the effectiveness of the fertilizers used, yield reduction reaches 12-15%.
An important reserve for increasing the efficiency of applying various fertilizers for winter wheat is their very uniform spacing across the field. This condition must be approached carefully. Nitrogen fertilizers for winter wheat should be used selectively, taking into account local soil and climatic conditions, as well as the biology of cultivated varieties, and the planned yield.
When growing on heavy and medium soils with a very deep occurrence of groundwater and low nitrogen content in the soil, fertilizing is better fragmented - two thirds of the norm for the main treatment, and the rest - in top dressing at the end of spring tillering.
On light soils, as well as on heavy, with fairly close groundwater occurrences, nitrogenous fertilizers may be lost, so 30% of its annual rate must be used for pre-sowing cultivation, the remainder in spring as a top dressing. In areas where nitrogen reserves in the soil are increased, it is not advisable to apply nitrogen fertilizers in autumn, as this will lead to overgrowing of plants and thickening of crops. In such cases, 40% of the annual norm of nitrogen is applied in the early spring, and 60% - later.
Scientists in Germany, Belgium, the UK and Austria believe that to obtain 80-95 c / ha of winter wheat, it is undesirable to apply nitrogen fertilizers in the pre-sowing period, therefore it is recommended to distribute the entire norm of nitrogen for 3-4 fertilizing, and the use of fertilizers should be combined with the application of fungicides.
To improve the quality of grain, winter wheat crops are fed with urea in the heading phase. In Germany, liquid manure is applied for winter wheat at the rate of 20-30 cubic meters per hectare, it is used before sowing or during the growing season of plants. Scientists in France and the United States argue that to obtain a crop of more than 80 kg / ha, foliar fertilizing with liquid fertilizers for complex crops, which consist of macro- and microelements (Zn, Mg, Fe, B), is necessarily required together with irrigation water. Such top dressing of winter wheat improves the quality of the crop and ensures its growth by 2-6 centners per hectare.
Sowing wheat
The cross-sowing method on each hectare saves 50-60 kilograms of seeds, increasing the grain yield, compared with the narrow-row sowing method, reaches seven centners per hectare. Therefore, winter wheat is sown by cross, narrow-row, ribbon and scattering methods. The most common routine is with 15 cm row spacing, following the tramline.
When the farm cultivates winter wheat of semi-dwarf varieties, three-line tape sowing is recommended, which provides an increase in yield compared to horizontal sowing. Two-tier sowing, which is carried out with a mixture of dwarf seeds and ordinary varieties, has proven itself well. Due to the tiers and the improvement of the sowing structure, the phytoclimat is improved by 10-15%, which leads to a more complete, economical and productive use of moisture reserves, a decrease in the negative effects of high temperatures, while the resistance of wheat against, for example, root rot increases by 8-24%.
Harvest of winter wheat is highly dependent on the timing of sowing. Each day of the lost term reduces the grain yield by 20-60 kg. Winter wheat should be sown on time. Especially sharply reduces the sowing crop in October; short-stalked varieties, which require earlier dates, react most of all to this. Small seeds need to be sown shallow, and large - deeper. Shallow seed placement in the soil, carried out by pneumatic seeders or combined units, contributes to a fairly significant increase in the crop yield.
Seeding rates in principle depend on the variety, seed size, timing of sowing and the region of cultivation. The seeding rate must also be differentiated depending on the degree of contamination of the field itself.
Crop Care
Crop care includes rolling, top dressing, spring harrowing, combating lodging, as well as weeds, various pests and diseases. In areas with sufficient snow cover, snow retention should be carried out, which improves the wintering of plants and increases the moisture reserves in the soil. Spring care for crops begins with fertilizing and harrowing seedlings. In fields that are prepared for vegetation irrigation, harrowing must be carried out taking into account the characteristics of the irrigation network. In the presence of irrigation strips it is necessary to harrow only along the sowing; at the intervals, harrowing with a rotary hoe gives the best results.
In the presence of weeds in crops, the treatment of winter wheat with herbicides should be carried out. Before the plants exit into the tube, the crops are sprayed. In the same period, crops should be treated against powdery mildew or brown rust. Winter wheat diseases are treated with systemic drugs, these are Bayletonomil and Fundazol.
If in the crops there are bugs-turtles, aphids, trips, leeches, then the means Metafaz or Fosfamide are used, 40%. Operations to care for wheat crops must be combined and carried out two or three times, which saves money, labor and time. It is desirable to carry out the processing of crops during irrigation, combining the application of the above preparations with irrigation water.
The decrease in the yield of winter wheat depends on the intensity and duration of lodging of crops and can reach 25-50% under irrigation conditions, the cost of labor and funds for harvesting grow three times, and the quality of the crop decreases sharply. The use of TUR on irrigated lands is mandatory, the optimal rate of the drug is three kg / ha a.v. Processing is carried out at the end of tillering. On varieties prone to lodging, a large norm is introduced, and on others - a smaller norm. TUR treatment of short-stalked winter wheat varieties is impractical.
Irrigation
Irrigation is the main factor in the high yield of winter wheat in all regions of its cultivation. An increase in grain yield by irrigation is a technology for cultivating winter wheat, while the effectiveness of crop irrigation increases with its combined action along with fertilizers.
When growing winter wheat, it is necessary to ensure optimal soil moisture for friendly seedlings and normal autumn plant development. This is achieved by pre-sowing or traditional irrigation. Their value is not the same in different areas of agriculture. In areas where rainfall often falls in the autumn and the soil is deeply moistened until spring, the intensity of irrigation is reduced. In areas with a dry autumn and insufficient soil moisture with autumn rains, watering is crucial for high winter wheat yields.
When establishing the norm of irrigation, it is necessary to take into account the depth of salt horizons and the level of groundwater. Irrigation water should not reach the saline horizon, since the salts dissolved in it can rise with a capillary current and salt the soil layer where the roots are. Irrigation is ineffective at close groundwater levels. Excessive irrigation rates can cause waterlogging of the soil. Watering is effective at a depth of ground water of 3 m or more. With a depth of up to one and a half meters, watering is replaced by irrigation of the soil before planting. The need for watering after germination occurs in dry autumn and on lands with a deep level of groundwater. The timing of irrigation should be determined by the time of sowing winter wheat, the availability of water, irrigation equipment and the time of harvesting.
Harvesting
The optimal harvesting period for winter wheat is the so-called wax ripeness of wheat grain. This stage occurs when the content of dry matter in grains is already high. Senication (spraying before harvesting) of crops contributes to a better ripening of the crop, the productivity of winter wheat increases, so you need to try to harvest in a short time and with the lowest possible losses.
Rapid harvesting will reduce its losses and maintain the high quality of the resulting grain. It should be remembered that a delay in harvesting winter wheat by more than ten days leads to an inevitable decrease in the grain yield by seven centners per hectare, and the protein content in the grain decreases by one and a half percent.
Environmental approach
The cultivation of winter wheat implies, like any agricultural production, many factors:
- natural resources - direct solar energy, atmospheric heat, water in the form of precipitation, soil;
- direct energy costs for the production of a particular technology or company;
- indirect energy costs that are used in technologies for cultivating plants in the field, collecting, processing and storing products.
There is a tendency in the world to overspending energy capacities. For the growth of 1% of the gross product in the village, the use of energy increases by 2-3%. Tillage by traditional methods is the most costly. This technology over the past years has led to a decrease in humus and soil degradation. World trends in the development of winter wheat, changes in cultivation technologies indicate the path to economical farming.
More than 124 million hectares of land in the world have been converted to gentle technology. One of the measures to increase energy efficiency and energy conservation is the arrangement of innovative new farms - models of environmental and economic efficient production with a concentration of modern energy and resource-saving technologies. Such technologies include: mulching of crops, direct sowing, effective irrigation. The development of winter wheat involves the introduction of these technologies.
The use of waste generated in agriculture is becoming possible through the implementation of renewable energy projects around the world. In particular, when growing wheat for each ton of grain, 2 tons of straw is obtained. Pre-shredded straw is predominantly plowed to restore land fertility. But part of the straw can also be used to turn it into energy fuel briquettes.
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