Buckwheat cultivation technology from sowing to harvest

Buckwheat is a valuable cereal crop cultivated in many countries of the world. At home, in North India, it is called black rice or black wheat. The plant does not require any special care. However, the technology of growing buckwheat has features that, if followed, get high yields. We will tell you how buckwheat is grown, how it is "extracted" and what varieties are most often chosen.

What is buckwheat and where does buckwheat come from

The diet of many people contains dishes from buckwheat... They have become a traditional addition to meat and poultry, a must-have breakfast for children, and the basis of diets.

Buckwheat and buckwheat are the same thing or not

Buckwheat sowing is a herbaceous annual crop belonging to the Buckwheat family. Buckwheat is threshed buckwheat seeds that are used for food.

The plant can reach a height of 1.5 m. It is a small bush with wide and fleshy leaves. Culture blooms abundantly, buckwheat fields are easily recognizable: white or pink lush inflorescences stand out against a dark green background.

Blooms in July, but only fully ripens in August. After flowering, buckwheat forms seeds. Inside each grain there is a kernel with a root and two folded folds of cotyledons - this is buckwheat.

Buckwheat growing regions

In Russia, buckwheat first appeared in the 9th-10th centuries, was brought from Byzantium. Due to its "Greek origin" this plant got its name.

In Russia, the largest areas of buckwheat are sown in Transbaikalia, Southern Siberia, and the Far East. In these regions, the crop grows on moist fertile soils surrounded by forests that protect the plantings from weathering moisture from the soil. The most suitable growing conditions are in the Volga region, the Urals, in the south of Russia.

Varieties

On the territory of the Russian Federation, more than 60 varieties buckwheat. We offer the characteristics of the most popular.

Bogatyr

Created at the Oryol Experimental Station. Valuable for quality and most common in production. Bogatyr is suitable for growing in almost the entire European part of the country, with the exception of the north and south-west.

Plants are relatively tall - 70-100 cm with average resistance to lodging and drought. The variety is mid-season, demanding on heat. The grain is large, leveled in size, with a high cereal yield. Porridge has a crumbly texture.

Bolshevik-4

Created at the Institute of Plant Development Biology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia... Plants are tall (up to 1 m), powerful, leafy. The fruits are large, leveled. When processing grain, the variety has a cereal yield of up to 86%.

Bolshevik-4 is a variety with an average ripening period; the duration of the growing season is from 68 to 78 days. Resistant to cold weather, lodging and grain shedding. Designed for cultivation in the southern regions of the central black earth zone and in the North Caucasus.

Vlada

The plant is characterized by branching, resistance to lodging and seed shedding. Sowing work is carried out in early terms, avoiding delays, otherwise crop losses are possible.

On average, 16.5 centners are removed from 1 hectare. The growing season of the plant is about 83 days.The output of cereals is 75.6%.

Dikul

The originator is the All-Russian Research Institute of Legumes and Groats. The variety is mid-season, zoned since 1999. The plant has a low-growing stem (70-90 cm) with a light green color and weak pubescence. The leaves are small, heart-shaped, green. The grain is elongated, brown, medium in size.

Ripening period - 2.5 months. Dikul is considered a high-yielding variety. The average indicator is 16.1 c / ha, the maximum is 25.8 c / ha.

Chokeberry

The variety is early ripening, the growing season is no more than 75 days. The culture is tall (about 100 cm), branched. Blooms profusely, amicably, with white flowers. The plant has medium lodging resistance. When implementing agrotechnical recommendations, it gives a high yield on any soils in almost all climatic zones.

Landing dates

Buckwheat is sensitive to low temperatures: at -1 ° C, inflorescences, leaves and stems are damaged, at -6 ° C the plant dies. Therefore, sowing work begins when there is confidence that there will be no return frosts.

When is the best time to sow this crop? Buckwheat sowing time is set in accordance with the average air temperature during flowering and grain filling, which usually occurs 30-40 days after germination and lasts at least a month. During this period, buckwheat needs a moderate air temperature (within + 25 ° С during the day). From the second half of May to early June is the optimal time for sowing.

Crop rotation rules

To obtain high yields, buckwheat is sown on fertile, weed-free fields. For growing crops, tilled fields are suitable, where potatoes, sugar beets, and corn were grown.

Good predecessors are winter cereals, flax, lupine, as well as legumes, which create the most nutritious soil for the plant, accumulating nitrogen in it. Spring grains, sunflowers, and sorghum are less suitable.

Important! You cannot sow buckwheat in fields where millet, oats, barley grew, as well as potatoes affected by a nematode (in this case, the buckwheat yield will significantly decrease).

Preparing for landing

When choosing a place for sowing, they pay attention to the proximity of tree plantations, which will protect the culture from severe frosts and winds. Also, the plantings are inhabited by pollinating insects, which are necessary during the flowering period.

The soil

The main preparation of the sown area is usually carried out in the fall. They carry out stubble cultivation and fall plowing. Thanks to this treatment, moisture loss is reduced, and the number of weeds is reduced.

In spring, work begins with early harrowing and 2-3 cultivations. With early sowing, the field is cultivated by 10-12 cm, the second cultivation is carried out after 1.5-2 weeks by another 6-9 cm, and the presowing cultivation is performed to the depth of seeding. To accelerate the germination of weed seeds and level the soil surface after treatment, rolling is carried out with ring spur rollers.

Compared to cereals and other cereal crops, buckwheat builds up a large vegetative mass, so it is important to fertilize the plant in a timely and balanced manner in order to achieve high yields.

To form 1 centner of grain, add:

• nitrogen - 4.4 kg;
• phosphorus - 3 kg;
• potassium - 7.5 kg.

Planting material

For sowing, planting material is used, adapted to the climatic conditions of the area. In addition, yields are increased if the seeds are trained:

• selection of large and heavy grains of the first class according to the sowing standard (diameter - 3.5-4 mm);
• pickling with fungicides for resistance to fungal and bacterial diseases;
• processing with microfertilizers containing molybdenum ammonium or boric acid;
• drying - seeds are scattered on a dry surface in a lighted dry room and mixed periodically.

Sowing technology

Two methods are used:

1. Wide-row - with row spacing of 45-60 cm (row-crop seeders).They are used for sowing mid- and late-ripening varieties on highly fertile fertilized soils. The seed rate is about 50 kg / ha (2-3 million grains).
2. Private - with row spacing of 15 cm (row seeders). The method is used when sowing early varieties on light and non-saline soils with low fertility. The norm is about 90 kg / ha (3-5 million pcs.)

The seed placement depth depends on the type of soil. On clay, heavy, prone to swimming - from 3 to 5 cm.On cultivated, well-groomed areas - 6 cm.When the soil is dry, the seeds are buried even lower - up to 8 cm.

Further care

Depending on the stage of the growing season, buckwheat is in need of different care measures.

Watering

At the time of sowing and emergence of seedlings, the plant has enough soil moisture (25 mm). To preserve it, the crops are rolled up. But since the beginning of bud formation, this need has more than doubled. It is important that at this moment and in the first half of flowering in the soil layer up to 0.5 m deep, the moisture reserve is 60-90 mm.

Top dressing

The crop responds well to fertilization. After the appearance of the first leaf and before the beginning of budding, foliar feeding with nitrogen-containing fertilizers and growth regulators is recommended. At the beginning of flowering - boric superphosphate. After flowering, fertilizer is not applied.

Loosening

They loosen the soil after each watering and precipitation. The row spacings are loosened until the rows close. This action removes the crust on the soil surface, which contributes to the normal flow of moisture and oxygen to the root system.

Disease protection

Significant losses in the yield of this valuable cereal, melliferous and fodder crop cause diseases of various etiologies and harmful insects.

Late blight

It manifests itself in brown spots, more often on buckwheat seedlings. During the flowering and fruiting period of the culture, the disease causes complete browning and death of leaves, flowers and young fruits. Processing is carried out with 1% Bordeaux liquid.

Peronosporosis

At the beginning of flowering, yellowish blurry oily spots appear on the leaves. To combat the fungus, a suspension of colloidal sulfur (1%) is used.

Gray rot

External signs of the disease appear on seedlings and adult plants in the form of brownish spots on the root collar, leaves, stems and inflorescences, which rot in wet weather and become covered with a gray bloom. The plantings are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid (1%) or other copper-containing agent.

Pest control

Harmful insects interfere with the growth of a healthy culture: aphids, buckwheat fleas, weevils. On the affected plant, the leaves curl, deform and die off. Crops are treated with systemic insecticides: "LF-Ultrafit", "LF-Humate List".

Important! When growing buckwheat, the use of pesticides is limited, which poison and scare away bees.

Harvesting and storage

Buckwheat ripens 25-35 days after flowering. And they remove it after 70% of the fruits turn brown. The grains ripen unevenly, so it is almost impossible to wait until they reach full ripeness. During this period, it is important not to allow plants to stagnate, which will lead to the loss of a significant part of the crop.

How is harvested

The crop is harvested in the morning or evening hours, when the air humidity is maximum. When mowing, the combines simultaneously perform the initial processing of the grain. Cleaning lasts no more than 5 days.

The optimum cutting height is 16-20 cm. For drill sowing, mow along the rows. If buckwheat was sown according to the wide-row principle, it is mowed at an angle of 45 °. This method significantly reduces crop losses.

Processing into buckwheat

Cleaning, drying and sorting are carried out after threshing, delay causes self-heating of grain... Cleaning is carried out in three stages on special machines. If the grain is heavily contaminated, additional processing is carried out on pneumatic sorting tables.

The seeds packed in bags are stored in a dry and ventilated room with an air humidity of no more than 15% on a wooden floor. At home, buckwheat is stored at a temperature of + 5 ... + 15 ° C and a humidity of 60% in a place protected from light for no more than a year.

Conclusion

When sowing a crop, farmers follow the recommendations for choosing a location, soil preparation, timing, depth of planting seeds, and subsequently provide high-quality care. Adherence to the rules of agricultural technology allows you to get stable yields of buckwheat in all growing zones.