Cultivation of fodder beets: the best varieties, planting and care. Common varieties of fodder beets How to plant fodder beets

Fodder beet is a succulent feed for animals grown on agricultural farmsteads. It is characterized by high juice content and good palatability, and its regular inclusion in the diet of animal feeding helps to improve the digestion and digestibility of hay, hay, concentrates and silage.

Root crops are fed to cattle, pigs, sheep and other animals from the moment the beets ripen, from autumn to spring. In particular, the diet for pigs should consist of at least a quarter of fodder beets. For feeding, both ensiled beets and fresh beets are used.

Biological description

This vegetable is a biennial crop belonging to the haze family. In a year, a vegetable forms a root crop and a rosette consisting of basal leaves, and in the second year, vegetative shoots are formed that will give seeds and fruits.

Fodder beet, depending on the varietal type, may have a different color:

• purple
• white-green;
• orange;
• pink
• yellow;
• carmine.

The main role in the formation of the vegetable is played by the hypocotyl (the so-called “neck”) and the epicotyl (called the “head”), they account for from a quarter to 65% of the mass of beets. The root of the vegetable is poorly developed and does not differ in large size. The drought resistance and moisture-loving nature of the variety is determined by the size of the part of the root located above the ground - the more developed the neck and head, the more the variety needs moisture.

The leaves of fodder beet are 23-29% smaller than those of sugar beet, and they are smooth, shiny and ovate-heart-shaped. Seed plants in fodder varieties do not tend to shed quickly and completely.

IN chemical composition The tops of the plant include proteins, fiber, protein, fats, BEV, water (up to 88%) and ash (about 3%). For 100 kilograms, there are 0.7-0.9 kilograms of protein, 40 grams of phosphorus, 260 grams of calcium and about 10.5 feed units.

Root crops contain up to 89% water, about 1% ash and protein, fats, fiber, protein and BEV. There are up to 15 feed units per centner of the product, up to half a kilogram of protein and 40 grams of phosphorus and calcium each.

In addition, fodder beets contain a lot of vitamins, acids, salts necessary for the normalization of digestive and metabolic processes, as well as contributing to an increase in the productivity of farm animals.

Fodder beets: cultivation features (now we know)

The best varieties

Most often, farmers choose the following beet varieties for cultivation:

1. "Centaur Poly";
2. "Eckendorf yellow";
3. "Oberndorf Red".

The vegetable has a tap root that can penetrate the soil up to 2.8 meters. The vast majority of the beet root system is located in upper layers soil (up to 50 cm deep). According to the description of the shape of the vegetable and the depth of immersion of its root in the soil, the following varieties are distinguished.

Cylindrical vegetables, in which from a quarter to 40% of the length falls on the underground part:

• Arnim Krivenskaya;
• Eckendorf yellow;
• hybrid - Harvest and Timiryazevsky 156.

Conical vegetables with no more than 20% above the ground:

• Poltava white;
• Firstborn;
• Semi-sugar white;
• Timiryazevsky 12 (hybrid).

Vegetables that look round, spherical, slightly flattened, half protruding above the soil surface:

• Sugar rounded 7 and 0143;
• Start.

An oval-elongated vegetable, more than half of the size of which is immersed in the soil:

• Northern orange 1033;
• Winner;
• Siberian orange;
• Barres.

Terms and rules of landing

The culture is very demanding on soil fertility, therefore, in the fields where it is planted, a strict crop rotation must be observed. The best yield is observed when sowing beets after:

• legumes;
• winter cereals;
• corn.

Seeds are obtained in the second year of root growth, but only healthy, without signs of spoilage, elastic vegetables are suitable for this. The process of obtaining seeds is:

• digging up root crops after the stem has dried;
• hanging the vegetable in a calm and dry place until the stem is completely dry;
• after that, the seeds are carefully collected and stored until the right moment in paper bags.

Soil Requirements

Root crops are demanding on the quality of the soil: rocky, swampy, sandy, swampy soils are unsuitable for their cultivation. Chernozem and floodplain soil is considered ideal. Pre-sowing preparation of the land consists in:

• removing weeds and digging up the earth;
• fertilizer application - compost (5 tons per hectare) or ash (5 centners per hectare) is applied in autumn;
• immediately before sowing, the fields are plowed with the addition of nitroammofoska.

In addition, potash and phosphate fertilizers are added, which are necessary for the growth and ripening of vegetables. After carrying out all the manipulations, the soil should be moist, loose, finely cloddy.

Landing Rules

The growing season for root crops is long - 120-150 days, therefore, planting begins after the soil warms up at a depth of up to 10-12 cm to 6-7 degrees. This time, as a rule, falls on the end of March - the beginning of April.

Before planting, the seeds are disinfected (half-hour soaking in a solution of manganese) and treated with growth-stimulating substances. After that, the material is dried.

Seeding occurs according to the following algorithm:

• furrows are formed on the field with a distance of half a meter;
• the culture is sown in the soil to a depth of 2.5 to 4.5 cm;
• approximate calculation of the number of seeds - 150 grams per hundred square meters;
• the beds are sprinkled with soil from above and, if the soil is dry, is leveled with a roller.

The first shoots can be expected after 4 days if the temperature exceeds 15 degrees and after 12 days if the average daily temperature is about 8 degrees.

Features of care

After germination, vegetables develop slowly. At this time, after the appearance of several leaves, it is important to thin out: on each running meter of the sown area should be at an equal distance from each other no more than 5 sprouts, this is considered the norm.

After thinning, the culture is fertilized ammonium nitrate, the same procedure is repeated after two weeks. For receipt good harvest timely weeding affects, if it is not carried out, there is a high risk of missing up to half of the possible harvest.

Beetroot is moisture-loving, so it should be watered regularly, especially during leaf formation. For light granulometric soils, the average moisture should reach 72-75%, and for heavy soils - up to 80%. Watering is limited or stopped a month before harvesting.

Collection and storage

Closer to the onset of autumn, the vegetable ceases to form new leaves, and the old ones turn yellow and die. The root crop stops growing. Harvesting is carried out by digging grown vegetables.

To keep the fodder beet longer, it is cleaned of soil, the leaves are removed and placed in a cellar or a deep hole in the ground. Optimum temperature, at which the shelf life is maximum - 3-5 degrees Celsius.

Can people eat fodder beets?

Fodder beet tops and the root crop itself are included in the diet:

• pigs, hogs and piglets (over 3 months of age);
• cows and young animals;
• hens;
• rabbits;
• cattle and other farm animals.

How to plant beets (now we know)

People are not shown to eat fodder beets, because they are too heavy to digest and assimilate. For consumption, it is desirable to choose sugar varieties of the root crop.

Fodder beet is grown almost everywhere and plays an important role in providing food for farm animals. Today, 46 hybrids and varieties of this root crop are grown in Russia.

Beets are an excellent way to increase milk yield in goats, cows, while not causing any harm to health. In winter, beet roots almost completely fill the need of animals for vitamins and microelements, when their diet consists mainly of dry and canned feed. In summer, both tops and root crops are used for food.

Fodder beet - culture features

Fodder beet is valued for the presence of a large amount of mineral and pectin substances, easily digestible carbohydrates and vitamins. Even the leaves contain more proteins than cereals - 15-16%. This plant is a biennial: in the first year it forms a large root crop with a cap of lush green leaves, and in the second it produces a tall peduncle with seeds. In general, the agricultural technology of this crop is similar to the cultivation of sugar beets.

Root crops are distinguished by a wide variety of colors and shapes, as well as the degree of deepening in the soil. Traditionally, varieties with scarlet, white, yellow and orange fruit color predominate. According to the shape, varieties with a bag-shaped, cylindrical and cone-shaped elongated root are distinguished, the latter occupying the first place in terms of sugar content. In addition, shallow-burrow varieties, where half or most of the root crop is on the surface, are more drought tolerant. The most popular varieties - Centaur Poly, Eckendorf yellow, Oberndorf red.

Preparing the ground

Growing fodder beet on clay, waterlogged and sandy soils will not bring the expected results. Stony soils are also unsuitable for the growth of root crops. The most suitable for beets is considered to be a land with a neutral and slightly acidic reaction (up to 7.5 pH), while slightly saline soils are quite acceptable. As practice has shown, the best forage crop precursors are wheat, rye, corn, peas and vegetables.

It is possible to get good yields of fodder beet - up to 1000 centners per 1 ha - only on rich chernozems, as well as floodplain areas. The culture is very demanding on fertility, therefore, preliminary improvement of the soil is required.

Only timely preparation of the soil will ensure the appearance of friendly shoots.

1. The area overgrown with weeds must be cleared and released for further pre-sowing processing. When infested with cereal weeds and dicotyledonous annuals (amaranth, chicken millet, quinoa), they are disposed of by weeding after harvesting their predecessors. After 14 days, the emerging shoots are destroyed again. The autumn treatment of the vegetative mass with continuous herbicides ( Hurricane, Roundup, Snowstorm).
2. In autumn, for digging on 1 hectare of land, ripened organic fertilizer or compost is applied - 35 tons, wood ash - 5 centners.
3. The areas are plowed before planting with the introduction of nitroammophoska at the rate of 15 g / linear meter. Ideally, the soil should be finely cloddy, loose and slightly moist.

Cultivation of fodder beet - seed preparation, sowing

Fodder beet is not grown for more than two years in one area, as pathogenic formations and pests accumulate there. The growing season of the crop is from 125 to 150 days, so it is planted in early spring, from the last days of March to mid-April. Sowing beets begins when the soil at a depth of 12 cm warms up to 5-7 o C.

1. Seeds are best treated with any disinfectant, for example, soak for half an hour in a saturated solution of potassium permanganate.
2. Optimum seedling density can be achieved with the help of additional treatment with growth stimulants. Just remember, after wet procedures, the seed needs to be slightly dried.
3. Grooves are made on the site with a row spacing of 60 cm. The balls of fodder beets are sown to a depth of 3 cm, trying to ensure that 14-15 seeds fall per linear meter. Approximately 150 g of seeds will be needed per hundred square meters.
4. The rows are sprinkled with earth and waiting for the first shoots. If the soil is dry, the crops need to be compacted with a smooth roller: this way moisture from the deep layers will be pulled closer to the surface. At an air temperature of 8 ° C, sprouts will appear on average after 12 days, and at temperatures above 15 ° C - after 4 days. Before the appearance of true leaves, seedlings may suffer from frosts down to -3 o C.

plant care

The first one and a half months after germination, fodder beet develops rather slowly. During this period, the thinning procedure is very important, which is carried out after the growth of a pair of true leaves. No more than 4-5 sprouts are left per running meter, keeping 25 cm between them. Simultaneously with watering, you can immediately feed the sprouts with ammonium nitrate (12 g / meter running meter). Two weeks later, a second top dressing is carried out with mineral fertilizer.

Fodder beet is quite moisture-loving throughout the growing season. Irrigation directly proportionally affects the size of the emerging root crop and contributes to high yields. However, a month before harvesting, the need for water decreases sharply, as the plants begin to accumulate dry matter. In addition, fodder root crops suffer greatly from weeds and, if heavily infested, may not reach about 80% of the crop. Regular weeding between rows will be the key to successful beet cultivation.

Harvesting

Already in September, fodder beet ceases to form new leaves, and the old ones begin to turn yellow and die off. Root crops also do not grow, so excessive moisture can simply worsen their taste and keeping quality. It is recommended to harvest fodder beets before the first frost, approximately from the first decade of October. Plants will be able to withstand a slight drop in temperature to -2 ° C, but remember that frozen root crops will not be stored for a long time.

Harvest by lightly digging the fruit with a pitchfork or shovel. For long-term storage, the fodder vegetable is thoroughly cleaned of tops, adhering earth. Root crops damaged during harvesting are fed to livestock first. They store beets in cellars, basements or earthen pits, in which they try to maintain a temperature of 3 to 5 ° C. In winter, this unique culture will delight pets and remind them of summer lush greenery.

Fodder beet is cultivated in many regions of our country and is considered one of the most productive agricultural plants in fodder production, not only on an industrial scale, but also in household plots. Root crops are perfectly eaten by agricultural animals - pigs, rabbits, chickens, as well as cattle.

Fodder beet in the diet of cows allows you to increase milk yield up to 5000 kg per year, as it has a milk-producing property. This article will focus on the features of growing fodder beet, its most popular varieties.

The history of fodder beets

The progenitor of the fodder beet, as well as its counterparts - table and sugar, is considered to be the wild beet of India and Far East. Since time immemorial, man has used the tops of wild beetroot for food and as medicine. One of the oldest references to leaf beet can be found in the list of plants of the Babylonian gardens of King Merodach-Baladan, which dates back to the 8th century BC.

In the Middle Ages, the root forms of the beet occupied a dominant position. In the 16-17 centuries Western Europe became the center of chard cultivation - France, Holland, Germany, in order to provide the population of growing cities with food and developing livestock forage. In Russia, beet at the same time becomes a neighboring plant and is cultivated everywhere. In the twentieth century, fodder beet becomes the recognized leader in the production of food crops for animals and spreads to all continents.

Interesting: Hippocrates, in his medical writings, gives more than ten recipes where beets are mentioned as component and is considered a healing food for the sick.

Popular varieties of fodder beet

Eckendorf yellow- the variety created by Russian breeders is highly productive, the yield is stable and amounts to 1000 - 1500 kg / ha, mid-season - the time from germination to the start of harvesting is 140-155 days. The fruit of Eckendorf yellow beet is small in weight, does not exceed 1.6 - 2.0 kg, buried in the ground by a third of the length.

The root crop is pale yellow in color with a gray head, cylindrical in shape. pulp white color with a high content of juice and dry matter up to 12%. Culture has undeniable advantages:

• low demands on soil quality;
• cold resistance;
• increased resistance to shooting;
• root evenness;
• excellent fodder properties.

Eckendorf yellow is stored for a long time without damaging the fruit. Centaur poly (Polish selection) is a multi-germ variety, semi-sugar. The harvesting campaign can be started in 145-160 days, so this type belongs to late-ripening plants. In white oval root crops weighing up to 2 kg, lateral branches are completely absent.

A shallow root groove contributes to minimal soil contamination, although 2/3 of the root is in the soil. Centaur poly tolerates drought very well, and resistance to cercosporiosis and flowering is very high. nutritional value represent not only fruits with a yield of up to 1100 c/ha, but also powerful nutritious tops, the gross yield of which is 380 c/ha. The duration of storage (until the end of May) with minimal losses in warehouses with low temperatures (+4 - 0 degrees Celsius) adds to the variety's prospects.

poly record- a multi-seeded mid-season hybrid, the growing season is 118-123 days. Unlike its counterparts, the massive (up to 5 kg) cylindrical root crop of this variety is very little buried in the soil. Great for manual cleaning. The color of the smooth skin of the root is from red (lower part) to pink (from ground level to foliage).

It is the owner of erect, slightly sprawling tops and pale pink, almost white flesh. The yield is quite high and amounts to 1000-1250 q/ha. The variety is responsive to, disease and bolting resistant, well stored.

Ursus poly- large-fruited (up to 6 kg), multi-germ fodder beet of Polish selection. The period from sowing to technical maturity is 123-135 days.

The cylindrical fruit is distinguished by a bright orange color and creamy, juice-rich pulp. The penetration of the root into the soil is not large (40%), therefore, when harvesting, the root crop is little polluted by the earth.

Commodity producers collect up to 1250 centners of beets from one hectare. The variety prefers fertile soil and is responsive to fertilization.

One kg of fruit contains up to 14% dry matter and about 7-8 g of protein. The keeping quality of the crop is high and storage in cool rooms can be carried out until February without loss of nutritional value.

Brigadier- fodder beet of the German selection, belongs to the polyploid species. Mid-season variety - the growing season ranges from 108 to 118 days. The brigadier has a high yield - up to 1500 centners per hectare. The root crop is large (weighing about 3 kg), cylindrically elongated, its surface is smooth, olive-orange in color. The flesh of the fruit is yellow-white with a significant content of sugars and dry matter. The feed made from beets is juicy, with excellent nutritional quality. A distinctive feature of the brand is:

• increased marketability;
• long keeping quality;
• drought invulnerability.

For your information: beets are poured most intensively with a decrease in the duration of daylight hours.

Lada- single-sprout variety with high performance productivity. Fruits are powerful cylindrical-oval shape with a pointed base. Individual specimens reach a mass of 25 kg and are immersed in the ground for a third or half of their length. The peel of the root crop has a pinkish-greenish color, and the dense pulp is white and very juicy.

The normative yield of the variety is in the range of 1100-1250 centners/ha, and in some farms record collection rates of rhizomes were noted - 1750 centners/ha. The tops remain and grow until harvest. Variety Lada is a little blooming, not vulnerable to diseases during the growth period and clamp rot in tuber stores.

Milan- one-seeded, semi-sugar simple hybrid, widely distributed in the Central Black Earth region. The oval-shaped fruit is deeply buried in the soil (more than half), its aerial part is olive-colored, and the soil part is white.

The pulp contains up to 13% sugar. The optimal yield is 784 c/ha, but in the presence of fertile soils and proper cultivation, it reaches the bar of 1400 kg / ha.

It is distinguished by a high content of dry matter in the fruit, resistance to cyclosporosis, excellent keeping quality during long-term storage.

Growing technology

Beet growing technology is a simple process. To obtain a high yield, a number of rules must be observed:

• : rye, wheat, potatoes, perennial grasses or legumes. After them, there are no diseases and pests characteristic of beets on the field;
• the land for fodder beets is prepared in advance and should be fertile, relatively dense, preferably with a neutral reaction. To provoke the growth of weeds, immediately after the predecessors, the fields are loosened and milled, and in the spring the fields are only harrowed and leveled for uniform seed placement. Also, since autumn, organic matter is introduced (peat-manure compost or rotted manure) and potash and phosphorus mineral fertilizers are embedded in the soil;

Important: introduction mineral fertilizers and the presence of fertile soils are the main conditions for obtaining high fodder beet yields.

• the sowing campaign of fodder beet begins in early April, when the soil warms up to 6-8 degrees Celsius to a depth of 7-8 cm. . Seeds are planted in the soil to a depth of 3-4 cm at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other. Learn more about planting beets in spring;

Advice: it is preferable to sow with pre-prepared seeds - with a nutritious and protective coating, which includes growth stimulants and fertilizers.

• Care of fodder beet crops consists in loosening the soil, thinning plants, removing weeds and fertilizing. After the emergence of seedlings, the first loosening of the row spacing is carried out, and after 8-10 days it is repeated. At the phase of closing the tops, the last loosening with the application of fertilizers is carried out. In dry areas, if necessary, irrigation / watering of crops is carried out;
• harvesting is carried out manually or mechanically in October-November. Root crops can be stored in farm conditions on the field in heaps, covered for the winter with three to five layers of straw. IN industrial production harvested beets are stored in vegetable stores at a temperature of 0-5 degrees.

Fodder beet fruits are an important component in the diet of farm animals. It contains a large amount of easily digestible carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins that have a beneficial effect on milk production and provide livestock with energy.

In addition, juicy beet tops serve as an auxiliary source of food, both fresh and ensiled. The agrotechnical significance of the beet is also great - it is an excellent predecessor for subsequent agricultural crops, increasing the productivity of crop rotations.

We invite you to watch a video on how to properly plant fodder beets:

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 shortage. useful substances in organism. 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.

Secrets of growing: the greatest amount of sugars is present in the cone-shaped fodder beet, the varieties of fodder beet with a slight depression in the ground are most resistant to drought. 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.

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 soil composition, up to one thousand centners of crops can be harvested from one hectare. Proper preparation involves the following steps.

1. Weed removal, the ground must be clean and ready for the next pre-sowing treatment. 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. Distinctive feature systemic herbicides - 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 beet 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 minimum distance between them (25 cm);
• after each soil moistening (watering or rain), you need to loosen the area between the rows in order to maintain natural air circulation 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 of the climatic zone, beets respond well to the introduction of manure and mineral supplements 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 impact low temperatures reduces the keeping quality of vegetables.

It doesn't make sense to start harvesting too early - nutrients do not have time to go 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.

They store the harvested crop, like 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 a succulent feed for animals grown on agricultural farmsteads. It is characterized by a high content of juice and good taste, and its regular inclusion in the diet of feeding animals improves the digestion and digestibility of hay, hay, concentrates and silage.

Root crops are fed to cattle, pigs, sheep and other animals from the moment the beets ripen, from autumn to spring. In particular, the diet for pigs should consist of at least a quarter of fodder beets. For feeding, both ensiled beets and fresh beets are used.

Biological description

This vegetable is a biennial crop belonging to the haze family. In a year, a vegetable forms a root crop and a rosette consisting of basal leaves, and in the second year, vegetative shoots are formed that will give seeds and fruits.

Fodder beet, depending on the varietal type, may have a different color:

• purple
• white-green;
• orange;
• pink
• yellow;
• carmine.

The main role in the formation of the vegetable is played by the hypocotyl (the so-called “neck”) and the epicotyl (called the “head”), they account for from a quarter to 65% of the mass of beets. The root of the vegetable is poorly developed and does not differ in large size. The drought resistance and moisture-loving nature of the variety is determined by the size of the part of the root located above the ground - the more developed the neck and head, the more the variety needs moisture.

The leaves of fodder beet are 23-29% smaller than those of sugar beet, and they are smooth, shiny and ovate-heart-shaped. Seed plants in fodder varieties do not tend to shed quickly and completely.

The chemical composition of the tops of the plant includes proteins, fiber, protein, fats, BEV, water (up to 88%) and ash (about 3%). For 100 kilograms, there are 0.7-0.9 kilograms of protein, 40 grams of phosphorus, 260 grams of calcium and about 10.5 feed units.

Root crops contain up to 89% water, about 1% ash and protein, fats, fiber, protein and BEV. There are up to 15 feed units per centner of the product, up to half a kilogram of protein and 40 grams of phosphorus and calcium each.

In addition, fodder beets contain a lot of vitamins, acids, salts necessary for the normalization of digestive and metabolic processes, as well as contributing to an increase in the productivity of farm animals.

Fodder beets: cultivation features (video)

The best varieties

Most often, farmers choose the following beet varieties for cultivation:

1. "Centaur Poly";
2. "Eckendorf yellow";
3. "Oberndorf Red".

The vegetable has a tap root that can penetrate the soil up to 2.8 meters. The vast majority of the beet root system is located in the upper layers of the soil (up to 50 cm deep). According to the description of the shape of the vegetable and the depth of immersion of its root in the soil, the following varieties are distinguished.

Cylindrical vegetables, in which from a quarter to 40% of the length falls on the underground part:

• Arnim Krivenskaya;
• Eckendorf yellow;
• hybrid - Harvest and Timiryazevsky 156.

Conical vegetables with no more than 20% above the ground:

• Poltava white;
• Firstborn;
• Semi-sugar white;
• Timiryazevsky 12 (hybrid).

Vegetables that look round, spherical, slightly flattened, half protruding above the soil surface:

• Sugar rounded 7 and 0143;
• Start.

An oval-elongated vegetable, more than half of the size of which is immersed in the soil:

• Northern orange 1033;
• Winner;
• Siberian orange;
• Barres.

Terms and rules of landing

The culture is very demanding on soil fertility, therefore, in the fields where it is planted, a strict crop rotation must be observed. The best yield is observed when sowing beets after:

• legumes;
• winter cereals;
• corn.

Seeds are obtained in the second year of root growth, but only healthy, without signs of spoilage, elastic vegetables are suitable for this. The process of obtaining seeds is:

• digging up root crops after the stem has dried;
• hanging the vegetable in a calm and dry place until the stem is completely dry;
• after that, the seeds are carefully collected and stored until the right moment in paper bags.

Soil Requirements

Root crops are demanding on the quality of the soil: rocky, swampy, sandy, swampy soils are unsuitable for their cultivation. Chernozem and floodplain soil is considered ideal. Pre-sowing preparation of the land consists in:

• removing weeds and digging up the earth;
• fertilizer application - compost (5 tons per hectare) or ash (5 centners per hectare) is applied in autumn;
• immediately before sowing, the fields are plowed with the addition of nitroammofoska.

In addition, potash and phosphate fertilizers are added, which are necessary for the growth and ripening of vegetables. After carrying out all the manipulations, the soil should be moist, loose, finely cloddy.

Landing Rules

Therefore, planting begins after the soil warms up at a depth of up to 10-12 cm to 6-7 degrees. This time falls on the end of March - the beginning of April.

Before planting, the seeds are disinfected (half-hour soaking in a solution of manganese) and treated with growth-stimulating substances. After that, the material is dried.

Seeding occurs according to the following algorithm:

• furrows are formed on the field with a distance of half a meter;
• the culture is sown in the soil to a depth of 2.5 to 4.5 cm;
• approximate calculation of the number of seeds - 150 grams per hundred square meters;
• the beds are sprinkled with soil from above and, if the soil is dry, is leveled with a roller.

The first shoots can be expected after 4 days if the temperature exceeds 15 degrees and after 12 days if the average daily temperature is about 8 degrees.

Features of care

After germination, vegetables develop slowly. At this time, after the appearance of several leaves, it is important to thin out: on each linear meter of the sown area, no more than 5 sprouts should be at an equal distance from each other, this is considered the norm.

After thinning, the culture is fertilized with ammonium nitrate, the same procedure is repeated after two weeks. Getting a good harvest is affected by timely weeding, if it is not carried out, there is a high risk of missing up to half of the possible harvest.

Beetroot is moisture-loving, so it should be watered regularly, especially during leaf formation. For light granulometric soils, the average moisture should reach 72-75%, and for heavy soils - up to 80%. Watering is limited or stopped a month before harvesting.

Collection and storage

Closer to the onset of autumn, the vegetable ceases to form new leaves, and the old ones turn yellow and die. The root crop stops growing. Harvesting is carried out by digging grown vegetables.

To keep the fodder beet longer, it is cleaned of soil, the leaves are removed and placed in a cellar or a deep hole in the ground. The optimum temperature at which the shelf life is maximum is 3-5 degrees Celsius.

Is it possible for people to eat fodder beets

Fodder beet tops and the root crop itself are included in the diet:

• pigs, hogs and piglets (over 3 months of age);
• cows and young animals;
• hens;
• rabbits;
• cattle and other farm animals.

How to plant beets (video)

People are not shown to eat fodder beets, because they are too heavy to digest and assimilate. For consumption, it is desirable to choose sugar varieties of the root crop.

Fodder beet is grown almost everywhere and plays an important role in providing food for farm animals. Today, 46 hybrids and varieties of this root crop are grown in Russia.