When to plant fodder beets in open ground. How to plant and grow a great fodder beet crop

Fodder beet is actively used in feeding farm animals during the cold season. The root crop contains in its composition a sufficient amount of fiber, dietary fiber, which not only benefits livestock, but also increases the level of milk production of cows and goats.

Fodder beet is a biennial plant that heads the haze family. In the first year of growth, a thickening of the root crop occurs, and rosettes of the basal part of the foliage. The next year, dormant buds are replaced by flowering shoots that bear fruit and seeds.

As a rule, vegetables rise above the surface of the earth. The formation of fodder beets occurs due to the hypocotyl knee. A large amount of pectins, dietary fiber and mineral salts in the composition can improve the level of assimilation and digestion of hay and silage in animals.

Description and characteristics of fodder beet

Yellow eckendorf or red - which variety is better to plant?

popular in agriculture the vegetable came to our region from the Far East and India. It came from wild beets. Today, the vegetable is grown in all regions of the country.

What kind of beets is better to plant at home? Red, yellow or pink? This question can be answered by reading the most popular varieties of this vegetable:

• Lada. Root crops of an oval-cylindrical shape are painted in white or pink-white tones. Despite the high degree of density, the pulp of the vegetable is quite juicy. The tops are stored until the harvest season. The flowering of the vegetable is short-lived. Variety Lada is resistant to cercosporosis during storage.
• Hope. The elongated oval root crop is painted in red tones. White flesh is juicy. The head is small, slightly convex, grayish in color. The variety is productive, however, it is susceptible to cercosporosis and powdery mildew.
• Milan. Single-seeded hybrid grows small size. The root crop is deepened into the ground, only an insignificant part of its greenish tint rises above the ground. The variety is quite resistant to cercosporosis.
• Vermon is the result of a triploid type crossing, with an average size. The cylindrical-conical vegetable sinks slightly into the ground. The part of the beet that sits in the ground is painted white, the upper part is green.
• Jamon is a triploid hybrid. A medium-sized conical-cylindrical vegetable is colored orange. Root petioles are short. The yield is low, however, only slightly susceptible to diseases.
• Particular attention should be paid to the yellow Eckendorf variety. A very popular variety that is not sensitive to low temperatures. Can be easily planted in open ground on the homestead.

Yellow fodder beet

How to plant in open ground?

Fodder beet can be planted in the ground only when the soil temperature reaches 8 degrees.
As a rule, it is possible to sow already at the end of March. 14 days after sowing, you can see the first sprouts.

It is necessary to process planting material before sowing. For these purposes, a solution of potassium permanganate is usually used.

• Carry out tillage with the use of herbicides, which will reduce the emergence of weeds.
• The depth should not exceed 5 cm.
• Plant with a distance of about 40 cm between seeds.
• Carry out a run-in of crops, which will maintain soil moisture.

fodder beet seeds

To get a rich harvest, you should strictly adhere to the basic rules for caring for fodder beetroot. The vegetable is not picky, so cultivation is affordable and not particularly difficult.

Plant care rules:

• Timely loosening and weeding. In cases where the soil is covered with a crust, this indicates a serious lack of oxygen. According to the root crop planting scheme, a loosening procedure is expected 48 hours after planting. Loosening is carried out using a flat cutter, which is subsequently applied after each watering. Weeds are weeded until the moment when the tops of the beet close up.
• Systematic watering, which directly depends on weather conditions. The most abundant watering must be provided on dry days, when the air temperature exceeds 30 degrees during the period of growth and formation of the root crop.

  A month before harvest, watering is completely stopped, which will increase the shelf life. vegetable crop.

  In the case of a rainy autumn, gaps should be made between the rows that will allow excess fluid to escape.

Fodder beet in the open field

Diseases and pests

Unfortunately, beets are very fond of pests. To protect the plant, it is required to systematically use mineral fertilizers for preventive purposes. Composting is required during the autumn digging of the soil. For each hectare, about 35-37 tons of fertilizer will be required. You can also include wood ash (about 2 centners) in the composition of fertilizers.

Before planting seeds, experts advise plowing the land and applying nitroammophoska and potash fertilizers.

Harvesting can be done using agricultural machinery or by hand. As a rule, the choice of harvesting method depends on the area of ​​beet sowing. A potato digger can be used to collect fodder root crops.

The optimal time for collection is the beginning of October. However, it is worth remembering to remove the beets from the ground before the temperature drops to 8 degrees.

beet harvest

After harvesting, the root crops are slightly dried and sent to storage in a storage facility, which is equipped with a ventilation system. The temperature in the room should be within 1-2 degrees.

By following all the recommendations, you can grow a rich beet crop that will delight the vegetable grower. The most important thing is to weed the beds and water the plants in time. As soon as the sprouts become owners of 2-3 leaves, it will be necessary to thin out the plants, leaving only the strongest specimens. In addition, after each soil moistening, urgent loosening between rows is required, which will save natural process air mass circulation. Thus, oxygen will get to the root system of the vegetable crop, which will enable the root crop to develop properly.

Fodder beet is an excellent source of vitamins and microelements for animals in winter period, while the root crop does not cause side effects. For these reasons, the vegetable is included in the diet of cows and goats when it is necessary to maintain milk yield and make up for the lack of nutrients in the body. In addition to dairy cattle, rabbits eat fodder beets with great pleasure; juicy, nutritious leaves, which contain a lot of fiber and dietary fiber, are also added to their diet.

Culture Features

The cultivation of fodder plant species in Asia began much earlier than the cultivation of sugar beets. Thanks to the efforts of breeders, it was possible to develop varieties with improved taste from fodder.

Fodder beet, first of all, is valued by the presence in the chemical composition of:

• mineral and pectin substances;
• vitamin complex;
• light carbohydrates.

The plant develops over two years: in the first year, a root crop and thick, green leaves rich in proteins are formed, and the following year, a peduncle appears, on which seeds develop at the end of flowering. According to the cultivation technology, fodder beet varieties are similar to sugar varieties.

Beets for fodder purposes are distinguished by a variety of colors and shapes. Root crops of rich scarlet, yellow, white and orange hues are considered traditional. Depending on the variety, beets are bag-shaped, cylindrical or cone-shaped.

Growing Secrets: the largest number sugars are present in cone-shaped fodder beet, the most drought-resistant varieties of fodder beet with a slight depression in the ground. The Lada variety is recognized as the highest-yielding variety - with proper care, it is possible to harvest up to 1,700 centners of crops per hectare.

Depending on the shade, mass, shape of the root and the degree of deepening into the soil, the main types of crops are distinguished.

Root shape	Description	Popular varieties
conical	It has a highly developed root system, the root crop is almost completely immersed in the ground.	Poltava semi-sugar; Uman semi-sugar; Tripolsky semi-sugar.
Elongated oval	From a third to a half of the root crop is located above the surface of the earth.	Winner; Lada.
Sack-shaped (cylindrical)	It has a well-developed root collar, most of the root crop develops above the ground.	Eckendor; Timiryazevskaya; Poltava white.
Round (spherical)	Only the root of the plant is in the ground.	Oberndorfskaya; Champion; Sutton; Leitevitskaya.

Soil Requirements

Despite the fact that the cultivation of fodder beet is not a troublesome process, the yield largely depends on right choice soil. The culture is demanding on the degree of soil fertility. You can get the maximum yield only on black soil. Before planting beet seeds on clay, sandy or marsh soils, it is necessary to apply fertilizers that improve the composition and quality of the soil.

The optimal choice for growing fodder beets is a neutral or slightly acidic soil with an acidity level in the range of 6.2-7.5 pH. Also, the plant adapts well to slightly saline soils.

Tip: it is best to plant a plant in areas where legumes, rye, corn, wheat, and vegetables were previously grown.

Site preparation

Preparatory work is determined based on the composition of the soil on the site. If the soil is rich in nutrients (chernozem, sandy and loamy soils), additional feeding is not necessary. Fertilizers are essential for poor soils. You should not even try to grow fodder beet in areas prone to waterlogging, too salty and acidic soils.

With proper site preparation and good composition soil from one hectare can be harvested up to one thousand centners of the crop. Proper preparation involves the following steps.

1. Weed harvesting, the land must be clean and ready for subsequent pre-sowing cultivation. If among the weeds cereal and dicotyledonous annuals predominate, they are weeded. Two weeks later, new shoots repeat weeding. The area clogged with perennials is treated in autumn with herbicides of continuous action. You need to choose systemic herbicides - the active substance of the drug gets on the surface of the weed and moves to the growth points, causing complete death. A distinctive feature of systemic herbicides is their high efficiency against powerful perennial weeds. The best in the product line are recognized as "Hurricane", "Buran", "Roundup".
2. In autumn, simultaneously with digging the soil, compost is added at the rate of 35 tons per 1 hectare and 5 centners of wood ash.
3. Immediately before planting the seeds, they re-dig up the site and add nitroammophoska at the rate of 15 grams per 1 linear meter.
4. It is impossible to grow fodder beets for two years in a row in one area, a large number of pests and pathogenic microflora accumulate in the soil, which negatively affect the quality of the crop and the keeping quality of root crops.

This is important: the soil ready for planting has a finely cloddy structure, loose and slightly moist.

Preparing and planting seeds

Seed preparation.

Before planting, the seeds are treated with any disinfectant solution for 30 minutes. Additional treatment with a growth stimulator contributes to maximum germination seed. After wet procedures, regardless of their purpose, the seeds should be slightly dried. If you are confident in the quality planting material, the growth stimulator can not be used and dry seeds can be planted in the ground without pre-treating them.

Boarding times.

The fodder beet has a rather long growing season - from 120 to 150 days, so it is necessary to plant the plant in the period from the second half of March to the beginning of April. At the time of planting, the soil should warm up at a depth of 12 cm to +7 degrees.

Seeding rate.

Immediately before planting, the soil must be moistened and the seeds dried. The plot is divided into furrows with a distance of 60 cm. The seeds are sown to a depth of approximately 3 cm. Considering that as the beets grow in size, a distance of at least 25 cm must be left between the seeds. The approximate amount of seed per linear meter is 14- 15 seeds. The approximate number of seeds per one hundred square meters is 150 grams. By following the correct planting technology, you can grow the largest possible root crops - up to 12 kg.

After that, the row is sprinkled with earth, compacted a little (by hand or using a special roller). If the average daily air temperature does not fall below +8 degrees, the first shoots appear within two weeks. If the weather is warm - the air temperature is +15 degrees - sprouts may appear after 4-5 days. Considering that landing operations are carried out in early spring, young, weak shoots can damage night frosts.

Technology of growing fodder beet

Further cultivation of fodder beets is no different from the cultivation of table varieties. The plant is considered not demanding, caring for it does not require special knowledge. If you want to grow a good crop, remember that beets, regardless of variety and type, need a lot of water, especially in the first weeks of seed germination and seedling growth. Only under the condition of frequent and plentiful watering it is possible to ensure the active growth of plants and the development of root crops.

In addition to regular watering, fodder beet care involves a set of the following activities:

• weeding the beds - weeds slow down the germination and growth of the plant;
• when two pairs of leaves appear on the plants, it is necessary to thin out dense areas, while leaving the largest and healthiest specimens in the ground, observing the minimum distance between them (25 cm);
• after each moistening of the soil (watering or rain), you need to loosen the area between the rows in order to save natural circulation air and provide oxygen access to the root system;
• as for watering, its need is determined by weather conditions;
• 3-4 weeks before the start of harvesting, it is necessary to stop watering, this “hardens” the roots before long-term storage and increases their keeping quality;
• for the active growth of fodder beets, the use of mineral supplements is recommended, fertilizers are applied twice - immediately after thinning young plants and after two weeks.

Nutrition and fertilization

Fodder beet is a high-yielding crop, so the plant consumes a large amount of nutrients, and is also quite demanding on the chemical composition and quality of the soil.

Regardless climate zone beets respond well to the introduction of manure and mineral dressings into the soil. Throughout the growing period, the plant's need for nutrients changes:

• during the period of active growth of the ground part, more nitrogenous fertilizers are needed;
• the second half of the growing season is characterized by increased potassium intake;
• phosphorus must be applied in uniform doses throughout the growing season.

Percentage of nutrients for fodder beets in different periods of ripening

Harvesting

As the beet mass increases, the tops turn pale, turn yellow, individual leaves die off. By the degree of drying of beet leaves, the process of ripening of root crops is controlled and it is determined when to harvest.

In some cases, the leaves retain a green, juicy hue until harvesting. If you plan to store beets, try to harvest the vegetables before the first frost. In many fodder varieties, the root crop protrudes above the surface of the bed; any exposure to low temperatures reduces the keeping quality of vegetables.

It does not make sense to start harvesting too early - the nutrients do not have time to flow from the tops to the root crop. If by appearance plants are difficult to determine the degree of maturity, you can navigate the terms set in the agricultural industry. It is customary to harvest fodder beet from the last ten days of September and the entire first half of October.

If beets are grown on an industrial scale, special agricultural equipment is used to harvest them - potato diggers and potato harvesters. If the area planted with plants is small in area, the beets are harvested by hand, carefully digging them up with a shovel or fork.

store harvested crop, as sugar and table varieties, in cellars, cellars in compliance with all necessary climatic conditions. You need to use those fruits that were damaged during the harvesting period.

Fodder beet is an unpretentious plant that always brings a high yield, and growing and caring for it is elementary. Beets contain pectin, fiber, dietary fiber and mineral salts, which are absorbed by proteins and carbohydrates. Fodder beet is an excellent feed for livestock, especially in winter time when animals are given dry and canned food. Thanks to it, the assimilation and digestion of hay, haylage, silage and concentrates improves. In this article, we will look at how fodder beets are cultivated so that they bring large yields.

Beet fodder varieties

To this day, old varieties of fodder beets, such as Eckendorf yellow, Galician, Lvov, are still common and sell quite well. However, more and more new varieties are emerging that are distinguished by quality, resistance to pests and high yields. The most popular of them include:

When and how to plant beets: features of planting a root crop

When the soil temperature at a depth of 8 cm is about 6 ° C, then fodder beets are planted in the ground. This usually happens in late March - early April. After two weeks, you can already see the first shoots, but if the soil temperature was above 5 ° C, then the seeds can germinate on the 5th day. Before planting, a mandatory procedure is the treatment of seeds from pests and diseases. You also need to know how deep to plant beetroot.

The depth of the seed pit should be 5 cm, and the distance between crops should be about 0.5 m. To keep moisture in the soil, crops need to be run in, and in order to have fewer weeds, the soil must be treated with herbicides before planting. Important for a good harvest are temperature conditions. If the soil freezes too much, the entire crop may die. Before the first shoots appear, weeds and a crust may form in the soil. Light loosening of the soil can help avoid a lot of weeds.

Did you know? Fodder beet will feel best if barley, phacelia, alfalfa and other legumes were grown before planting.

The land where the beets will grow must be carefully dug up before planting them from seed. For a better harvest, compost is best applied in the spring, which will help kill weeds and cultivate the soil.

How to care for fodder beets

In order to get a rich harvest, it is necessary to follow the rules for caring for fodder beets. Beets do not require special attention, the cultivation technique is quite simple. The main care is the timely loosening and weeding, proper watering and protection from pests and diseases.

Loosening and weeding

If a crust has formed on the soil, it means that it lacks oxygen. The scheme for planting fodder beets involves loosening the soil a few days after planting. Loosening the surface with a flat cutter is recommended every time after rain.

Important!Weeds need to be weeded a couple of times during the growing season, until the beet tops close up.

Watering the beets

When watering beets, first of all, they are guided by the weather. Abundant watering is necessary at a time when the root crop is growing and forming. 30 days before digging beets, watering must be completely eliminated, otherwise the root crops may contain less sugars and will be stored worse. If it often rains in autumn, then gaps are made between the rows to drain water.

Pest protection

Beets can become food for various pests, so planting and care in the open field are accompanied by measures to protect against pests. Mineral fertilizers are used as a preventive measure. Compost is applied when the soil is dug in the fall. 35 tons of organic fertilizer are needed per 1 ha. Wood ash is also perfect as a fertilizer, you need up to 5 centners per 1 ha.

Important!Before planting fodder beets, it is recommended to plow the soil and apply NPK.

No less useful will be potash and phosphorus fertilizers.

When to harvest, how to determine the ripening of the fruit

The ripening period of fodder beet depends on the weather. Due to the fact that fodder beets are afraid of low temperatures, it is best to harvest before the onset of frost. The root crop must be very carefully removed from the ground without damaging it. It is also necessary to carefully trim the tops, otherwise the storage of beets will be significantly reduced.

Among all varieties of beet fodder occupies a worthy place. It is an indispensable winter food for pets. She is adored by dairy cattle, pigs, rabbits, horses. The plant is rich in fiber, pectin, dietary fiber, carbohydrates, mineral salts and protein.

Beets significantly increase milk yield during the period of feeding animals with dry feed. Moreover, it refers to undemanding plants with high yield. Not only root crops are used, but also the tops of the plant.

When choosing fodder beet seeds for sowing, you need to know that the most productive varieties are cylindrical, bag-shaped and elongated-cone-shaped. Conical cultivars of white, pink and yellow color famous for their sugar content.

Consider the most common varieties of fodder beets.

"Centaur"

Fodder beet "Centaur" was bred by Polish breeders and belongs to multi-germ varieties of semi-sugar type. Root crops are white, elongated-oval in shape, weighing 1.2-2.7 kg.

A feature of this variety is the absence of lateral branching of root crops and the rapid growth of roots and leaves. The root furrow of this variety is shallow, so the root crops are slightly contaminated.

An important advantage of the variety is resistance to cercosporiosis and bolting. The plant is not demanding on the composition of the soil and is drought-resistant. Root crops are immersed in the ground by 60% before harvesting, so they can be harvested both mechanically and manually. The crop is well preserved in cool rooms at a temperature of 0 to 4 ° C until May. The vegetation period is 145 days, the yield is 100-110 t/ha.

Did you know? Seeds of most varieties of fodder beet are multi-germ. This is due to the fact that we do not sow seeds, but seedlings, so several plants grow from one glomerulus. In this regard, the seedlings must be broken through. At present, breeders have bred quite a few single-sprout varieties and hybrids, the seeds of which do not form seedlings.

"Ursus"

The hybrid variety of Polish breeders is a multi-germ semi-sugar type. The root crop is yellow-orange in color, cylindrical in shape, weighing up to 6 kg. juicy pulp, white color. Root crops have smooth surface, are slightly polluted and immersed in the soil by 40%, so remove them manually it will be easy.

The plant is not demanding on the composition of the soil, it is drought-resistant and is characterized by the rapid growth of roots and leaves. Plant resistance to diseases is good, low tendency to bloom. Root crops are well preserved until December and contain a lot of dry matter and sucrose. The vegetation period is 145 days, the yield of root crops is 125t/ha.

"Record"

Fodder beet "Record" refers to varieties of Polish selection and is a multi-germ plant of semi-sugar type. In terms of maturation, it belongs to the medium-late culture. Root crops of a cylindrical-conical shape without lateral branches, Pink colour, weighing up to 6 kg.

Its surface is smooth, immersed in the soil by 40%. The pulp is white, juicy. Resistance to diseases and flowering is high. The fruits keep well. Vegetation period 145 days, yield 125 t/ha.

"Kiev Pink"

The variety was bred by the Institute of Agriculture of Ukraine. It belongs to the popular multi-germ mid-season varieties. The root crop is cylindrical-oval, orange in color. The variety is characterized by a small and shallow root furrow, so the root crops are slightly contaminated. Its immersion in the soil is 50%, which allows mechanized harvesting.

It reacts positively to the introduction of fertilizers into the soil and shows high yields. The variety is drought-resistant, resistant to diseases and pests. The fruits keep well. Productivity is 120 t/ha.

"Foreman"

Beet fodder "Brigadier" refers to varieties of German selection. Root crops are oval-cylindrical, orange-green in color with a smooth shiny surface and weighing about 3 kg. The sugar content is high.

Distinctive feature variety is the preservation of green and juicy tops until harvest. The plant is not demanding on the composition of the soil and is drought-resistant.

Seedlings withstand short-term frosts down to -3 °C, in adult plants up to -5 °C. Beet "Brigadier" has a good trade dress and is resistant to coloring. Harvesting can be carried out both mechanically and manually. Root crops contain a high percentage of dry matter, so they are stored for a long period. Vegetation period 120 days, yield 150 t/ha.

"Lada"

Fodder beet "Lada" was bred by Belarusian breeders and belongs to single-sprout varieties. The root crop is white or pinkish-white in color, oval-cylindrical in shape with a pointed base, weighing up to 25 kg. The pulp is white, juicy, dense. The immersion of the root crop in the soil is 40-50%. A distinctive feature of this variety is resistance to drought and disease. The seeds of the plant are treated with a complex of protective and stimulating substances. This allows seedlings not to be afraid of adverse weather conditions, pests and diseases.

The variety is low-flowered. Plant resistance is observed throughout the entire period of growth to cercosporosis and rope rot during storage. The fruits keep well. The advantage of the variety "Brigadier" is also the preservation of green and juicy tops throughout the growing season and the saving of seed, because only 4 kg of seeds are needed per 1 ha. Suitable for manual cleaning. The average yield is 120 t/ha.

"Hope"

Fodder beet "Nadezhda" is intended for growing in the conditions of the North-Western, Middle Volga and Far Eastern regions of Russia and belongs to single-sprout varieties.

The root crop is oval-cylindrical, red. The leaf blades of the plant are green in color with a slight anthocyanin coloration. The pulp is white, juicy. The immersion of the root crop in the soil is 40%. Resistance of plants to powdery mildew and cercosporosis is average. The yield of the variety is high.

Did you know? Anthocyanin leaf color is caused by the anthocyanin pigment. It has a blue light in an alkaline environment and red in an acidic environment. Anthocyanin-containing leaves, compared to green ones, absorb more energy sun. The temperature difference between red and green leaves in sunny weather is 3.5 degrees, and in cloudy weather - 0.5-0.6 degrees.

"Milan"

The variety of fodder beet "Milana" belongs to single-sprout hybrids of semi-sugar type, bred by Belarusian breeders. A distinctive feature of the variety is its rapid growth in the initial period.

The root crop is oval, medium in size, white at the bottom and green at the top. The leaves are medium in size, green in color with white veins, rounded in shape.

It is intended for cultivation on all types of soils. Immersion in the soil of the root crop is 60-65% with low pollution. Harvesting can be carried out mechanically and manually. The plant is resistant to flowering and cercosporosis. The crop is suitable for long-term storage. The yield is 90 t/ha.

"Vermont"

Fodder beet "Vermont" refers to one-seeded hybrid varieties grown in the Central region of Russia. The root crop is cylindrical-conical in shape, medium in size, white in the lower part and green in the upper. The average yield is 90 t/ha.

It has the greatest value for dairy cattle, being a wonderful means of increasing milk yield in cows and goats.

In the winter season, when the diet of animals consists mainly of canned and dry feed, beet root crops are able to fill the need for trace elements and vitamins. In summer, in addition to root crops, tops are also eaten.

Fodder beet - extraordinarily healthy vegetable, which includes a huge amount of pectin and minerals, vitamins and easily digestible carbohydrates. This is a biennial plant, the fruits of which can reach 15 kg.

A bit of history

Fodder beets, along with table and sugar beets, originated from wild beets that grew in North Asia and the Far East. Initially, this culture was not divided into subspecies, and therefore there was only one name - beets. The history of the appearance of a fodder variety as an independent agricultural culture has its roots in the 16th century, in Germany.

German peasants at that time noticed that if a cow is fed with beets, then her milk yield increases significantly, and the milk itself becomes much tastier. It is this time period that is usually associated with the emergence of such a crop as fodder beet. Soon, specialists began to study this phenomenon. And already from the beginning of the 18th century fodder beets flooded all European countries.

Varieties of fodder beet

Beet roots grow in a wide variety of colors, shapes and degrees of immersion in the ground. Depending on the specified parameters, fodder beet is divided into the following varieties:

1. The conical shape of the vegetable, in which up to 80% of the length of the roots is located underground (Uman semi-sugar beet, Poltava semi-sugar beet);
2. Elongated-oval shape of a vegetable, when 50-70% of its length is in the soil (Winner);
3. The cylindrical shape of the vegetable, when underground is located from 25 to 40% of the length (Ekkendor yellow beet, Poltava white beet);
4. The rounded shape of a vegetable, in which most of the root crop is on the surface.

The stronger and better developed the aerial part of the root, the more easily the vegetable tolerates drought. The most popular varieties of fodder beet: Eckendorf yellow, Centaur Poli, Oberndorf red.

Features of crop rotation

In fodder crop rotations, the best predecessors of fodder beets are cereal-bean mixtures, corn for silage. In field crop rotations, it is recommended to plant beets in the place where annual legumes, tilled crops and winter grains were previously located.

As practice shows, best harvests fodder beets were obtained when rye, wheat, peas, corn and vegetables were located in the place of this crop last year. It is impossible to place fodder beets after various perennial grasses. It is allowed to return this crop to its former field no earlier than after 3 years.

Getting seeds

Beets are among those plants, the seeds of which can be obtained no earlier than the 2nd year of cultivation. In the first year, it forms tops and root crops, and the next year, when planting a vegetable, you can get fodder beet seeds suitable for growing plants.

It is very important that the roots that go to the seeds are resilient and healthy. When the beet stalk begins to dry out, the vegetable is dug up and then hung in a dry place protected from the wind. Under such conditions, beets should be kept until the stem of the plant is completely dry. After that, the seeds should be collected and dried in a small paper bag.

Soil preparation

The cultivation of fodder beet is a rather complicated process that requires certain knowledge and skills. So, it is important to know that growing this vegetable on sandy, swampy and clay soils will not bring positive results. Stony soils are also unsuitable for the growth of root crops.

Favorable for obtaining a good harvest of fodder beet is considered to be lands with a slightly acidic, neutral reaction and slightly saline soils. Ideally, this vegetable is planted in floodplain areas and rich black soil.

The plant is very demanding on the fertility of the earth, and therefore it is impossible to do without preliminary improvement of the soil. Only with timely preparation of the land can one count on the appearance of friendly seedlings. So, fodder beet, the cultivation of which is familiar to many farmers, needs soil preparation at the initial stage of planting.

It is necessary to clear the area overgrown with weeds and free it for pre-sowing processing. The weeding method will help to get rid of infestation with dicotyledonous annuals (quinoa, chicken millet, amaranth) and cereal weeds. It is possible to free the site from perennials such as wheatgrass or thistle with the help of autumn processing (Roundup, Buran, Hurricane).

Fertilization

For autumn digging, it is necessary to apply compost or mature organic fertilizer to the site at the rate of 35 tons per 1 ha. Wood ash is also an excellent fertilizer, which is applied in the amount of 5 centners per 1 ha.

Before planting, it is necessary to plow the areas with the introduction of nitroammofoska. Also, the culture needs phosphorus and potash fertilizers. After all the manipulations done, the soil should be loose, finely cloddy and slightly moist.

Planting fodder beets

Fodder beets vary from 125 to 150 days, and therefore they begin to plant the crop in the spring, from the last days of March until mid-April. It is recommended to sow this vegetable when the soil at a depth of 12 cm has already warmed up to 5-7 degrees.

On the eve of planting, the seeds should be treated with a disinfectant. So, for example, you can keep them for half an hour in a saturated solution of manganese. To achieve the most optimal seedling density, their additional treatment with growth stimulants will help. It is important not to forget that the seed after wet procedures must be slightly dried.

On the prepared site, it is required to make grooves with row spacing of approximately 60 cm. The crop should be sown to a depth of 3 cm, and 14-15 seeds should fall on average per linear meter (approximately 150 g of seeds will be needed per hundred square meters of land).

The beds need to be sprinkled with earth and wait for the first shoots. If the ground is dry, then it will not be superfluous to compact it with a smooth roller. This is necessary so that moisture from deep layers can be drawn closer to the surface. At temperature regime at 8 degrees on average, sprouts will appear in 12 days, but if the temperature is more than 15 degrees - after 4 days.

Features of care

The fodder, which is a real art, develops quite slowly in the first month after germination. Of great importance during this period is the thinning procedure, which should be carried out after the growth of several true leaves. Yes, on running meter there should be no more than 5 sprouts, the distance between which is at least 25 cm.

Fodder beets are quite moisture-loving, and therefore watering has the most direct impact on the size of the emerging root crop and, as a result, on the entire yield indicator. But at the same time, a month before the expected start date of harvesting, the need for liquid decreases sharply, due to the fact that the vegetable begins to accumulate dry matter.

In addition, fodder root crops often suffer from weeds and, due to heavy infestation, often do not get from 30 to 80% of the crop. Therefore, regular row-spacing weeding is the key to successful fodder beet cultivation.

Harvesting

In late summer - early autumn, fodder beet stops forming new leaves, while the old ones begin to gradually turn yellow, and then die off. The growth of root crops also stops, and excess moisture entering at this time can only worsen the taste of vegetables.

Fodder beets, which farmers love to take photos of, thus capturing the results of their work, are removed from the beds in early October, before the first frosts. Harvest, digging up the fruits a little with a shovel or pitchfork. For long-term storage, fodder beets are cleaned of adhering earth and tops and stored in earthen pits or cellars at a temperature of 3 to 5 degrees.

Knowing not only what fodder beet looks like, but also how to grow successful harvest of this vegetable, any farmer will be able to make wonderful food supplies for the winter. In addition, in the cold season, this valuable and useful culture will bring real pleasure to animals.