Among the huge variety of flora there are interesting plants of the legume family with unique unpretentiousness - the genus lupine, with more than 600 species. One of the subspecies of culture, yellow lupine, is very popular among gardeners and agricultural technicians, due to its special qualities and widespread use. We will consider it in more detail in this article.
Lupine is yellow. Description
A common annual in nature, also known as "wolf beans." Homeland - Mediterranean countries. The ability of lupine to grow on any soil and rapid reproduction leads to the fact that the plant can be seen even in abandoned areas. Grows everywhere: in Africa, California, Sahara, Chile, Peru. Perhaps that is why for a long time was considered a weed.
A plant with good foliage and a branchy lower part reaches a height of 60-90 cm. The aboveground part consists of an upright stalk and leaves arranged alternately. Dark green leaf plates have 9 leaves with a narrowly elongated base, resemble a fan in appearance and are covered with dense hairs on both sides.
Inflorescences in lupinus luteus are elongated, in different shades of yellow, exude a strong pleasant aroma. Flowers on short pedicels. The growing season lasts an average of 95-105 days. The flowering period lasts more than a month. As they mature, the flowers transform into hairy beans with seeds of white-pink color in a dark speck. The root root, can grow up to 2 meters in depth. In open sunny areas, it responds with rapid growth, although the shaded places for lupins are not a problem. It is resistant to fusarium and is practically not susceptible to attack by natural pests.
There are annual, biennial and perennial varieties, grassy and shrubby. All species are similar to each other: flowers in the form of candles, palm leaves. With rare exceptions, they differ in the structure of inflorescences.
Varieties of yellow lupine
There are hybrid species of lupine of various types of use, derived as a result of selection selection. Universal grades include Prestige and Reliable. Demidovsky, Peresvet, Academic-1, Narochansky are characterized mainly by grain use. New varieties of yellow lupine are resistant to many diseases and can be cultivated in one place for 3-5 years.
The use of lupine
The plant is widely used in agriculture for quick cultivation of the soil, in decorative gardening and is especially appreciated in agriculture. Lupins are sweet and bitter. If sweet varieties with a high protein content are used as animal feed, then bitter varieties are used as fertilizer.
Annual lupine is considered the best green manure crop and is specially grown as a natural fertilizer that improves soil structure, which naturally leads to increased fertility. A powerful root system increases soil drainage, and beneficial bacteria that live on the roots reduce its acidity and enrich it with biological nitrogen.
During the period of greatest growth of green tops, lupine feed varieties are used for silage for animals. Fish farms feed fish on lupine seeds.
In some countries, lupine beans are used as an appetizer, mainly in pickled form. And fried seeds perfectly replace coffee beans.
Also used in the manufacture of cosmetics and medicines, in the manufacture of soaps and medical plasters. Decorative items are made from stems, and straw is used in the pulp and paper industry.
Breeding lupine
The plant is propagated in several ways: seedlings, seeds and cuttings. When planting seeds, you should adhere to a distance of 30 to 50 cm between rows and depths of 4 cm, if heavy soil is buried by 2-3 cm. With proper soil preparation, seedlings appear after 12-14 days.
For the cultivation of lupine seedlings using pre-prepared soil from a mixture of turf land, peat and sand in equal proportions. Seeds are laid to a depth of not more than 2 cm and sprinkled with a thin layer of peat on top. The container is covered with a damp cloth and cleaned in a warm place. Two weeks later, you can observe the first shoots. After the first pair of leaves appear on the shoots, the seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place.
In the spring, at the 3-4-year-old bush, a basal rosette is cut out at the base of the stem. In summer, after flowering is complete, lateral shoots that are formed in the axils of leaf plates are suitable for cuttings. After the roots appear on the shoots, and this happens within a month, they are transplanted to a permanent place of cultivation. Such a flower blooms in the first year.
When planting seeds or seedlings, you can get pink flowers or purple, but to achieve a white color is obtained only by the method of cuttings, which makes it possible to preserve the plant's native color.
Landing
Plants are completely unpretentious in growing and can grow on any soil, but in loose soil, like any flowers, they will grow better. They do not like acidic soils and strong shading. Although lupine can withstand drought, it needs moderate watering during root formation, flowering and setting buds. Landing is advisable to prepare in the fall. Planting material is planted in early spring, in April: seeds, seedlings and cuttings. It is possible to plant a lupine in October, before winter, then the lupine will bloom in the summer. Seeds can grow already at a soil temperature of 4-5 degrees. Withstand even a slight drop in temperature. In this case, the lupine planting should be mulched.
Seed collection
In order to procure high-quality planting material, it is important not to miss the collection time. Lupine seeds begin to be harvested as soon as the pod has dried and turned yellow. It is advisable to prevent the moment of cracking of the leaflets, as when ripening the pods usually curl up and spread light, flattened beans on both sides up to 20 meters.
The weight of 1000 pieces of seeds is within 150 grams. The pods of some types of lupine are not prone to cracking, so they are torn selectively, as they mature. After collecting, the lupine seeds are cleaned of various weed impurities, dried and stored.
Care
The main care for seedlings of lupine is to control weeds. Perennial decorative species require a little more attention for normal growth and beautiful flowering. Like any plant, it needs regular moderate watering, without excessive dampness, so as not to provoke the development of root fungus. It is necessary to loosen the earth after watering, make sure that the root neck is covered with earth. After flowering, lupins are pruned and seeds are harvested. With a large number of leaves and flowers, the stem must be tied to a support, so that the plant does not break under the wind and weather. Perennial varieties for the winter to sprinkle with frost sprinkled with peat or sawdust. After 3-4 years of flowering, such plantings are completely renewed. Timely dressing, weeding and watering - that's all that is required for this in its own way a beautiful plant.
Nutrient Feeding
Although lupine itself serves as fertilizer, in the first year in autumn it is advisable to introduce phosphate-potassium fertilizers into the ground, and in the second year - complex mineral fertilizers. Nitrogen fertilizers are not necessary, since tubers of the lupine root system are capable of independently accumulating nitrogen.
Annual lupine itself has the ability to give nutrients to the soil, this becomes possible when the green mass is fully ripened into the ground. Cut biomass only after decomposition is the fertilizer that will subsequently be easily absorbed and saturate the soil with humus and organic matter.
Diseases and Pests
Like any culture, decorative lupine can be affected by diseases and the appearance of pests on the flowers. When buds are formed before flowering, the plant may be attacked by aphids and chafers, which eat flowers. To avoid this, spraying the soil and planting with insecticides.
Bacterial diseases can be avoided if you follow the basic rules of cultivation:
- treat the seeds before planting;
- observe crop rotation;
- lupine grows well after cereal;
- Do not plant in the same place for 3 years and close to other plants of the same legume family.
With all its beauty, usefulness and undemanding to growing lupins, it deserves due attention. It will become not only the best green manure for the soil, but also a real decoration of any site, flower bed or park area.