Growing and caring for beets in the open field, step-by-step agricultural technology. Secrets and step-by-step agricultural techniques for growing and caring for beets in the open field Beetroot requirements for soil conditions

The beet seed is a seed, consisting of two or three seeds, each of which produces a sprout. In order to achieve an increase in germination when growing a crop, it is recommended to soak the seeds for 2-3 days at home: pour them into a container with a small amount of water (the liquid should only slightly cover the seeds), and then change the water every 4-6 hours. Besides, to increase germination activity, you can soak the seeds for 12-18 hours in a solution boric acid (at the rate of 0.2 g per 1 liter of water).

With direct sowing in the ground, it is necessary to break through the seedlings as early as possible, otherwise the thickening will provoke a weakening of the plants. With the seedling method, thinning is not required, in addition, this method helps to save seeds and accelerate the development of seedlings. Beets are heat-loving, for seed germination, a temperature of at least 8 ° C is required.

When and where are the seeds planted?

Beet is the most heat-loving crop among root crops; its seedlings are damaged at a temperature of minus 2-3°C.

Sowing is carried out approximately two weeks after carrots. Beetroot loves to grow along the edge of the ridge, which is why it goes well in the same space with kohlrabi, celery and cauliflower. It prefers well-lit places, in the initial period of growth (before the root crop is set) it needs moisture. It tolerates transplant quite easily.

How to choose the right variety?

Currently, there are many imported beet hybrids that are characterized by early ripening and disease resistance.

It is important to remember that each has its own characteristics:

Table beets
Vindifolia	Rubrifolia	Atrorubra
Green leaves and petiole (sometimes the petiole is poorly pigmented), roots of an elongated conical shape, have powerful roots.	Dark red leaves and roots. Rounded, rounded-conical or rounded-flat form of root crops.	Dark red flesh and dark green leaf blade with red-violet veins.
Known varieties: Bordeaux (oval or round); Egyptian (round-flat); Erfurt (conical); Eclipse (oval-round and rounded).
New breeding varieties: yellow (Burpee`s Golden, Boldor, Golden Detroit, Golden Surprise); striped (Chioggia).

Sugar beet:

• Clarina;
• Nancy;
• Bohemia;
• Bona;
• Sphinx;
• Mandarin.

fodder beet:

• Lada;
• Milan;
• Hope;
• Barres;
• Record;
• Vermont, etc.

Leaf beet:

• Gorgeous;
• Scarlet;
• Red;
• Green;
• Belavinka;
• White Silver;
• White Silver 2;
• White Silver 3;
• Lucullus, etc.

Mostly table beets are grown in vegetable gardens.

Which variety is better?

Secrets of a Good Harvest

How to grow beets in open field?

• Seedlings should not be overgrown, as small plants take root better.
• The seedling method is especially important for fodder beet, as it increases its yield.
• Beets need trace elements, especially boron.
• For top dressing, it is better to choose wood ash and potash fertilizers.
• Weeding is carried out immediately after the emergence of beet shoots.

step by step care

Watering

Regular watering of beets in hot, dry weather is especially important. It is necessary to spend about 10 liters per 1 m² per week. Excess water is also undesirable, as it can lead to increased leaf growth. and not a root crop. If the site is not mulched, then the next day after watering it must be loosened by 4 cm. The earth around the plantings is loosened with a hoe, without touching the plants themselves. To increase the sugar content of beets before watering in a bucket of water, you need to dissolve a tablespoon of kitchen salt. To improve the keeping quality of root crops, watering is stopped two weeks before harvesting.

top dressing

Beets need to be fed once every two weeks with a solution of potash fertilizer (about 3 tablespoons of fertilizer per 10 liters of water), pouring at least two glasses under each plant. When the growth of leaves slows down, they give a single top dressing with infusion of weeds. You can also fertilize beets with mullein infusion: 1 bucket of mullein and half a bucket of ash per 10 buckets of water.

Cultivation technology

The advantage of growing beets over other vegetables lies in the possibility of using a complex of machines.

1. Seeders. There are automatic and manual seeders. Automatic are used for growing beets in large areas, manual - for growing in your own garden. Automatic seeders are divided into mechanical (with a maximum operating speed of 6 km/h) and pneumatic (7-8 km/h). The manual seeder is designed for single-row sowing of seeds, with its help it is possible to sow a land plot of 10 acres in an hour. Thanks to precise seeding, seed savings are possible, as well as accurate distribution of planting material.
2. Thinners.
3. Row cultivators. Designed for weeding, fertilizing and hilling.
4. . Designed for harvesting sugar and fodder beets. There are two types: pulling type (the roots are removed from the soil in a pulling way, and the tops are cut already in the machine) and with a preliminary cut of the tops.
5. Haulm harvesters
6. Beet loaders. There are stationary and mobile. Carry out the selection of root crops, partial cleaning from the ground, as well as loading.

Mistakes in agricultural technology

Let us consider further why the culture does not always grow well in gardens and what needs to be done to get a healthy and large crop of root crops.

• It is necessary to monitor the weather: if beet crops fall under a strong drop in temperature, then they can go into flowering without the ovary of the root crop.
• It is not recommended to plant beets on acidic and waterlogged soils.
• If white rings are visible on the cut of the root crop, then the beets were overfed with nitrogen fertilizers. It is not recommended to use such beets for food.

Collection and storage of root crops

With early sowing, harvesting can be tried as early as July, but the bulk of the plants will ripen only by August. With late sowing, beets are harvested in the second half of September or October. For storage, root crops are placed in boxes at a small distance from each other, sprinkling them with sawdust. It is necessary to store beets in a room protected from frost.

Diseases and pests

Prevention of various problems

1. When growing chard (leaf beet), it is necessary to constantly remove the marginal leaves, which can be immediately used for food. Otherwise, the plant will bloom.
2. Reddening of beet leaves is an indicator of too acidic soil or a lack of sodium. To get rid of the problem, you need to sprinkle the soil with ash, and then water the plants directly over the leaves with salt water (1 cup of table salt per 10 liters of water). Consume 1 liter. solution per 1 meter plantings.

Beetroot has a beneficial effect on digestion and contains almost the entire set of necessary useful elements. But with excessive consumption of sweets and other foods, it increases the likelihood. We advise you to familiarize yourself with our materials on how an allergy manifests itself and how to eliminate it, as well as whether beets are allowed

Beets are widely used in the preparation of various dishes - a very healthy, tasty vegetable.

Almost all gardeners are engaged in the cultivation of beets in the open field in their own area.

The culture is completely unpretentious and gives a good harvest. It is well cultivated throughout our country.

Depending on the variety, it may be different shapes and hue. Let us consider in more detail what the agricultural technology of growing beets includes.

Each gardener independently chooses certain varieties.

When buying planting material, he focuses on the purpose of growing beets and his preferences.

Beets happen:

sugar; dining room; stern.

All varieties differ in terms of ripening, shape and color of root pulp.

From this classification, you can plant any beets in the garden, but it is important to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the variety.

Root crops in a culture ripen at different times, and depending on this, it is early-ripening, mid-ripening and late-ripening.

The first variety is grown in order to be used for cooking in the summer.

To keep beets for a long time, you need to choose medium or late-ripening varieties. The maturation of such varieties occurs no earlier than after 3 months.

Important! When buying seeds, pay attention to the maturity of root crops.

You need to choose a variety that is suitable for growing in your area. Otherwise, you may not get fully ripe vegetables in the fall.

Beet seeds can be purchased at the market or store.

Bordeaux

The best varieties for open ground among early ripe varieties can be distinguished:

• Red ball;
• Bordeaux 237;
• Bulk;
• cold resistant;
• Egyptian.

Such beets are suitable for eating when they grow more than 2 cm in diameter.

Fresh young leaves are used for salads, soups.

Mid-season varieties:

Mulatto

• Detroit;
• Bohemia;
• Mulatto;
• Bona.

The maturation of such varieties occurs after 90-130 days. Mid-season is more resistant, it does not tolerate temperature changes so well.

Any of these varieties are suitable for winter storage of root crops.

Mid-season varieties are chosen in those regions where it is not possible to grow late-ripening varieties due to adverse weather conditions.

Beet Cylinder

Late-ripening is not suitable for growing in the northern regions, because it takes 130-150 days to fully ripen.

Not in all regions of Russia there is suitable weather for five months in a row, therefore, such beets are grown only in hot climatic zones.

Among the late-ripening varieties, Cylinder and Renova are the most popular.

Site selection

This issue needs to be approached carefully. It is recommended to choose a new place for culture every year.

If this is not done, you can get a bad harvest. Also, the culture can be affected by many diseases when grown in the same place every year.

The best predecessors beets will become cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, legumes, eggplant.

The choice of a new place on the site every year will help to avoid crop problems and crop diseases.

Lighting

Therefore, it is desirable that the bed is not shaded; beets need a lot of sunlight.

What kind of soil does beets like

The crop should not be planted on acidic soils. Areas where moisture stagnates for a long time are also not suitable.

To grow tasty and juicy beets, it is necessary to provide them with abundant watering, sunlight.

The soil should be light, slightly alkaline. Sandy and loamy non-acidic soils are also suitable.

When and how to plant in open ground

Planting beets is an easy process. The main points here are the timing of landing and the technology itself.

Landing dates

Sowing beets in the spring should occur when the soil warms up. At the same time, there should be no night frosts on the street.

The optimum soil temperature at the time of sowing is +7-10°C.

As for the timing of planting beets, they differ depending on the region.

In the southern regions, they are sown already in March-April, in middle lane it is still cold at this time.

The culture belongs to heat-loving plants, so it begins to be sown from the beginning of May.

Regions with short summers and cold springs are distinguished by even later plantings of the crop.

Siberia and the Urals are distinguished by cold and short summers; landing there is usually carried out no earlier than mid-May-June.

The plant variety also affects the timing of planting. Planting time also depends on the rate of ripening of root crops.

Of course, you can ignore this. For example, if you plant an early-ripening variety too late, you can get a rough root crop.

Help to determine the timing of sowing moon calendar.

According to the 2019 calendar, each month has auspicious and bad days for landing. You can get acquainted with them by looking at the table:

Preparing seeds for planting

If you look at the planting material of the culture, you can see several pieces of seeds under one shell.

During germination, from 1 to 5 sprouts can form. Thus, one seed is placed in each well.

The seeds are quite large, wrinkled, their color can be brownish, sandy.

If the seeds are green or bluish, this means that they have already been treated with fungicides, growth stimulants.

Such planting material is already ready for sowing.

It must be dry immediately placed in pre-prepared holes.

Before planting, beet seeds need to be processed, if they have not previously undergone a special processing procedure.

You can do it this way:

1. First of all, they need to be soaked. Pour warm water into a glass or bowl.
2. Put the seeds in there. Wait a while until the seeds begin to sink to the bottom of the container.
3. Floating seeds are removed, as they will give a poor harvest or not germinate at all.
4. The remaining seeds are placed in a growth stimulant solution.
5. They are then kept in warm water for 2 days for germination.
6. The hatched seeds are ready for planting.

Advice! You can prepare your own growth stimulator. To do this, mix 1 teaspoon baking soda, 5 g of superphosphate, 4 g of nitroammophoska, 2 g of boric acid, you can add a little wood ash. Everything is thoroughly mixed and poured with water, the seeds are placed in the solution for 30 minutes.

Soil and garden preparation

The soil for beets is dug up right before planting. Thus, moisture will be stored there more, the seeds will germinate faster.

The soil is loosened, beds are formed with a rake. If the soil is too dry, it must be moistened.

When the weather is warm without frost, you can plant beets in a permanent place.

If the earth has a high level of acidity, it needs to be adjusted. To do this, make lime, dolomite flour or wood ash.

Pay attention not to overdo it with fertilizers during planting and in the future, as their excess leads to the accumulation of nitrates in root crops.

In addition, the beets begin to crack, voids appear in it.

Fertilization

As a rule, beds for planting crops begin to prepare in the fall. Fertilizer for vegetables during planting is applied at this stage. Add rotted compost.

In the spring, you will need to add 2-3 kg of humus per square meter to the soil. m, as well as 100 g of nitrophoska, 30 g of nitroammofoska.

If the soil is heavy, adding wood ash and sawdust will help make it lighter and more breathable.

Some gardeners practice planting beets before winter. To do this, they sow planting material no earlier than November.

This will allow the seeds to get hardened by frost. In the spring, the sprouts will sprout early, they will be strong and healthy.

However, with this method there is a risk of destroying all landings. Sometimes a short-term thaw occurs, the seeds germinate, and upon the arrival of sudden frosts, they freeze out.

Planting process

Planting beets in open ground with seeds experienced gardeners recommend to do on the edge of the beds.

With this method, the heads grow large, regular beautiful shape. Landing looks like this:

1. The bed is being prepared.
2. Beet planting scheme: make holes at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other, leave at least 20-30 cm between rows.
3. Germinated or dry seeds are placed in holes.
4. Fall asleep on top of the earth, watered.
5. To create a greenhouse effect and accelerate seed germination, a film is used. They cover the bed with it.
6. When the first shoots appear, the film is removed.

on a note! Furrows can be easily made with a board. It is placed upside down on the bed, pressed into the ground. You need to deepen up to 2 cm. Retreating 20 cm, make a second groove. By the same principle, they walk with the board throughout the garden.

Sowing seeds for seedlings

As for the question of whether it is possible to plant beets with seedlings, the answer will be in the affirmative. Usually this method is used in regions with a short summer.

At first, at home, gardeners are engaged in growing beet seedlings, and when it becomes warm, they transplant it to a permanent place.

First, seeds are planted in containers with nutrient soil. Then dive into separate containers when 2-3 true leaves appear.

Beetroot seedlings are ready for planting in open ground when the soil warms up to +10°C.

Transplanted along with a clod of earth. They take containers with seedlings and carefully transfer the plants.

Transshipment provides seedlings with a quick habituation to a new place.

Thus, plants get sick less, adapt faster.

Agricultural technology for growing beets after planting in open ground

Caring for beets, like all other crops, includes regular weeding, abundant watering, removal weeds.

To increase the yield and increase resistance to diseases, plants are fed, treated with special preparations.

thinning

This procedure is necessary in order to remove all poorly developing and densely growing plants. Carry out thinning in cloudy weather.

For all the time of growth, beets need thinning twice.

The first time when shoots appear and grow a little. It is necessary to remove small weak plants if they sprout too often.

The second thinning is done at the stage of formation of 4-5 leaves, while the height of the plant should be about 6-9 cm.

When thinning, the sprouts are carefully examined, the weakest are removed. If they grow too close, also thin out.

This is done in such a way that the distance between individual seedlings is 5 cm.

If there is a lot of space on the site, remote seedlings can be planted there.

Watering

Growing beets in the country is not complete without watering. The vegetable loves moisture, so it is important to provide it with abundant watering.

You need to water in the morning or in the evening, when there is no scorching sun. The plant can get burned if watered in hot weather.

As a rule, beds with beets are watered once a week. However, this is all approximate.

You need to focus on weather conditions. Do not allow the formation of an earthen crust on the surface of the beds.

You can also check whether the crop needs to be watered by touching the ground. Adult plants need watering less often, and the closer to autumn, the less often watering.

Experienced gardeners mulch beds with cut grass. This is necessary so that the moisture evaporates less. This will allow you to water the beds much less frequently.

Mulching also helps to reduce the growth of weeds.

Late-ripening varieties finish watering 2-3 weeks before the expected harvest. Early ripe beets are watered regularly, plucked as needed.

top dressing

Caring for beets in the open field, as well as the timely and correct application of dressings, increases the yield and improves the taste of the crop.

For fertilizing use different fertilizers. Their choice depends on the stage of plant formation.

At the beginning of development, the culture requires nitrogen. It is necessary for the growth of foliage.

When roots begin to form, then potassium, boron, and phosphorus are needed.

At this stage, you can water the beds with mullein infusion. Only it must be diluted 1:10 before watering. A solution of urea, nettle is also well suited.

You can also carry out foliar top dressing. Nutrients are quickly absorbed by the leaves.

To carry out such top dressing, you need to water the tops with a solution of boric acid. 2 g of acid is diluted in 10 liters of water.

What can be planted after beets and what can be combined with its planting

The secrets of growing crops lie not only in proper care, regular top dressing, but also compliance with the rules of crop rotation.

Besides, joint landings vegetables will also save space on the site.

For example, you can plant beets along the edge in the same bed with cabbage, onions, lettuce and garlic.

Beets grow well after onions, garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers.

As for what to plant after beets, there are practically no restrictions. Any crop will grow well after this vegetable.

But still, potatoes, eggplants, cucumbers and tomatoes will be best.

Diseases and pests

Agrotechnics for growing beets is simple. Having provided all necessary conditions, you can get a rich and tasty harvest of healthy vegetables.

Beetroot is one of those plants that rarely suffer from diseases. Most often it can affect:

To preserve the crop, it is necessary to follow the rules of crop rotation, constantly get rid of weeds, and also spray the plants with copper-containing preparations.

The most common pests that threaten the culture:

• Root eater;
• beet fly;
• Flea.

You can get rid of pests with folk remedies, one of which is an infusion of onion peel.

Also good results in pest control are shown by dusting with ash, tobacco dust.

Harvest and storage

Start harvesting depending on the variety. Early-ripening varieties are ready for eating already with a length of root crops that have reached more than 6 cm.

Late-ripening varieties are usually grown for winter storage. Thus, they are collected much later.

When the leaves begin to turn yellow, dry, fall on the garden, after about 7 days you can harvest.

Root crops need to be dug up in dry weather. Beets are dug up with a pitchfork, harvested and left to dry. Next, cut off the petioles, leaving a length of 2.5 cm.

After the root crops are sorted, put away for storage in the cellar or cellar.

For better preservation of the crop, wooden boxes are used. Beets are sprinkled with chalk or sand.

Growing beets in our country is possible in any way.

When buying seeds, it is important to focus on the climatic features of the region and the timing of the ripening of root crops of a particular variety.

Caring for the culture is not difficult, even a beginner can handle it.

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It's hard to imagine country cottage area without beets. Vegetables are considered one of the essential foods in our diet. The benefits of the root crop, beet tops have been known since ancient times. Even a novice vegetable grower knows about growing and caring for beets in the open field. The plant is unpretentious, but to get good root crops, you need to work hard.

The root crop belongs to biennial or annual crops. A representative of the Amaranth family is valued for its fleshy root crops. The plant is topped with a rosette of large basal leaves. They are oblong or lanceolate, dark green in color with burgundy veins.

The first year of life, the plant spends nutrients on the formation of a juicy, fleshy root. In the second year, fruits with seeds are formed. One-seeded nuts grow together with the perianth. They are used to propagate vegetables.

The homeland of vegetable crops is the Mediterranean coast, countries with a temperate climate. The plant is able to withstand light frosts. You can grow beets in any area with both warm and temperate climates.

plant varieties

There are several types of beets. In the wild, they meet up to 11, and the cultivated plant is represented by ordinary and leafy beets. Breeders have bred varieties of root crops. Everyone is familiar with table beets. It is eaten in soups, salads and snacks. The flesh of the red beet is dark in color, and the leaves are painted in burgundy or green. The veins and petioles are dark red.

There are varieties of table beets different terms maturation: from early, medium to late. For cooking, varieties with juicy pulp, tasty root vegetables of dark red or purple color are used. Beets add a bright color to soups. It is used boiled in salads. It serves to decorate second courses. You can pickle small fruits for the winter.

Except table view, varieties of sugar beets are known. This fodder crop is valued for the large amount of sugar in its root crops. It is the raw material for the preparation of beet sugar. Forage vegetables are needed for livestock nutrition.

The specifics of growing crops

To grow high-quality tasty root crops, you need to properly prepare the bed for the vegetable. Beets make high demands on the composition of the soil. Care must be taken in the choice of variety. After all, root crops can be stored for a long time until spring, if you sow those hybrids that have good keeping quality. Only step-by-step agricultural technology of the plant will allow you to get high yields of vegetables.

How to choose a variety

For regions of Siberia, the Urals, early-ripening varieties of beets or those with medium ripening periods are suitable. Variety type Bordeaux, Egyptian, Eclipse are chosen for the brightness and uniformity of color, the sweet taste of the fruit. From frost-resistant varieties, Incomparable A 463 is distinguished.

Large root crops give hybrids Negress, Smuglyanka. By weight, they reach 0.5 kilograms.

In the southern regions, Renova and Cylinder beets are grown. The advantage of varieties is the long preservation of fruits.

Landing dates

The soil before planting a vegetable should warm up to 10 degrees above zero. Seeds can lie in cold ground for a long time and sprout when warm. But some of them will still die.

The optimal time for sowing is mid-May. At this time, the threat of frost has already passed.

Site selection, crop rotation

A suitable place for beets will be well lit, where there are no strong cold winds.

Root crops prefer clean, loose soil. In terms of acidity, the soil is better neutral, with a pH of 5 to 8. For the growth of a vegetable, a place is selected where cucumbers, onions, tomatoes grew on the site before, leguminous plants. Beets grow poorly after cabbage, potatoes. A vegetable crop is cultivated in the same place for 3 years.

Preparing the soil for beets

Beets grow better on deeply cultivated soils plowed in autumn. Nutrient mixtures of humus and peat are introduced into loamy soil. It is necessary to add coarse sand, wood ash for looseness. From fertilizers, it is necessary to feed nitrophoska.

Improve the nutritional value of clay and sandy soil you can 1-2 buckets of humus on square meter beds. It is advisable to mix the fertilizer with soddy soil.

Be sure to dig the site first in the fall, and then in the spring before planting the vegetable.

Planting material preparation

Purchased seeds of a vegetable plant do not need to be processed. They are ready to land. But collected independently pass soaking in:

• potassium permanganate solution;
• warm and then hot water;
• growth stimulator "Epin".

If the plants were sick last season, then it is necessary to treat the seed material in a fungicide solution.

Planting process

Before planting, ammonium nitrate (20 grams), superphosphate (40 grams), ammonium sulphate (20 grams) are added to the soil of the beds. During digging, acidic soils are neutralized with fluffy lime (0.5 kg per square meter).

Beet sowing density plays a role in obtaining large root crops. It is better to place the seeds at a distance of 4-5 centimeters from each other. Then the root crop will not outgrow, but will be of medium size. If grown through seedlings, then it is necessary to shorten the central root by a third when planting. If there is a danger of frost, cover the bed with non-woven material.

Is it possible to grow beets in a greenhouse

In the greenhouse soil where tomatoes are planted, early varieties of beets can be placed. Choose varieties with small root crops that are suitable for making summer vitamin soups, botvinia. The root crop grows best at home in the light, so it is advisable to harvest before the tomatoes grow. Tomato bushes will shade beet plantings and inhibit their growth.

Further care for beets

The secrets of obtaining juicy and sweetish root crops lie in the proper care of the crop. It must be remembered that plants love watering. In dry areas without moisture, the plant will stop growing and dry out.

It is especially important to regularly monitor the growing conditions of the root crop in June, when the increased growth of tops begins.

If there is a lot of nitrogen, then the fruits will not form in July. All food will go to the green mass. Care should be taken of the seedlings of the vegetable before harvesting.

Watering rules

The juiciness and sweetness of the red root crop depends on competent hydration. Not all varieties of vegetables tolerate drought. It is necessary to water at the first sign of drying of the top layer of soil in the garden. They use the sprinkling method, trying to water not only the root, but also refresh the tops.

To get a good beet harvest at a minimum cost, you can mulch the beds with peat. Then they will be clean, without weeds, and moisture will last longer. Delicious sugar beets are harvested when watered with table salt (1 tablespoon per bucket).

In order not to flood the garden, you need to use up to 20-30 liters of water per square meter.

Irrigation is stopped half a month before harvesting root crops.

thinning

Usually a vegetable plant sprouts on the 10-14th day after planting. You should thin out the sprouts up to 2-3 times. First, seedlings are pulled through 1-2 centimeters, leaving a good, strong part of the shoots. The second time thinning takes place by 10-15 centimeters.

It is correct not to throw out uprooted plants. They can be planted instead of the fallen ones. But at the same time, it is worth shading the landings for the first 3 days.

Fertilizers and top dressings

For thinned out sprouts for the first time, fertilizers are needed. Beetroot responds well and loves complexes containing nitrogen at the beginning of the growing season. Therefore, a solution of mullein or bird droppings is used.

As soon as the tops grow and close in the garden, it's time to apply potash and phosphorus fertilizers.

Wood ash should be used by dissolving 1 cup in 10 liters of water. Beet foliage is sprayed with saline, taking 60 grams per bucket of water. Foliar top dressing will help protect vegetable plants from pests, nourish them with sodium.

Diseases and pests of culture

Like all garden crops, beets get sick under adverse growing conditions. The cause of infection may be improperly applied care methods. A lot of nitrogen in the soil, excess and insufficient watering makes plants vulnerable to pathogens.

Diseases

Most often, diseases of the culture are associated with the activity of fungi. Their spores can remain in the ground, plant waste or seeds for a long time. When favorable conditions arise, the spread of microorganisms begins.

Root beetle seedlings

Young seedlings cannot resist pathogenic fungi. There is a thinning and blackening of the stems, which indicates the defeat of the root system of seedlings. A disease occurs due to the increased density of the soil, when food and moisture, air does not reach the underground part of the beets. It is necessary to loosen the soil in a timely manner, apply lime to deoxidize the soil.

downy mildew

Symptoms of peronosporosis, or false powdery mildew is the appearance of a pale purple bloom on the back of the leaf plate. As the disease spreads, the leaves curl. If the summer is hot, without rain, then the tops dry out and crumble. During rains - rots.

It is necessary to soak the vegetable seeds before planting in Apron. Sick bushes are sprayed three times with solutions of fungicidal preparations.

Leaf mosaic

Mosaic coloring of leaves with alternating dark areas with light ones on them is a sign of a viral disease. If the disease has developed strongly, then the foliage becomes ugly, curly, threadlike.

To prevent the appearance of mosaic disease, it is necessary to select healthy seeds, disinfect them in a one percent solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes. After that, the seeds are washed and dried.

fomoz

The disease develops due to the fact that there is little element of boron in the soil. As a result, the bottom of the leaves are all in brown spots. Black pycnidia then appear on them, where the spores of the fungus are located. Beet fruits are also covered with dry spots. You can replenish the reserves of boron in the soil by watering the plants under the root with water with the addition of borax or spray beets with boric acid from above, diluting half a teaspoon in 10 liters of water.

Pests

Pests appear on beet beds when plantings are thickened. Failure to comply with the rules of harvesting, burning plant residues leads to the fact that insect larvae successfully winter in the ground or old foliage. In the spring, they come out and begin to feed on young plants.

vegetable flies

Harm flies at the stage of larvae. Worms hibernate in the soil, then, coming out in the spring, turn into adult insects. Females lay their eggs between leaves or under clods of earth.

The emerging larvae reach the roots through the base of the leaves. Hence the rotting of the beets.

To scare away insects, apply naphthalene or creolin. It is necessary to treat the seeds with insecticidal preparations before sowing.

beet aphid

Plants affected by aphids are sprayed with infusion of onion peel. To do this, take 20 grams of husk and insist in a liter of water. The affected bushes should be sprayed three times at intervals of 10 days.

Beet shield-bearer

The representative of the Leaf beetle family has a body 5-7 millimeters long. The whole body is covered with a shield, behind which the black head of the insect is hidden. The yellow-green larvae overwinter in the leaves and then feed on the leaves of young seedlings. Larvae pupate in late May - June. Then the beetles come out, feeding on beet crops.

It is necessary to fight the insect by removing weeds that are carriers of the shield-bearer. The pest can be repelled by infusion of tobacco.

Potential Growing Problems

Problems with growing vegetables arise with improper care:

1. If the beets wither in the garden, then the reason lies in the lack of nutrition and moisture. Evaporation from tissues is more intense in hot weather, and there is no moisture in the soil. So the leaves are drooping. It is worth watering the bed, as the water balance is restored.
2. The lack of manganese is visible by twisting the leaves, spots on them gray, and then brown.
3. Beets disappear when they lack nitrogen and potassium. With iron deficiency, young leaves die off.

You can eliminate the causes of leaf wilting by fertilizing, regular watering.

Cleaning and storage

Early beet varieties begin to be harvested in July. You don't have to wait for the fruit to grow. It is optimal to choose root crops 10-15 centimeters in diameter. Large and medium beets are used for storage. Smaller ones can be preserved.

Usually they dig up those specimens of a vegetable whose tops have dried up. Forks are needed for cleaning. They dig up the fruits, pulling the beets out of the ground with their hands. Harvest must be dried. The tops must be cut with a sharp knife, leaving a stump of 20 millimeters.

Before laying for storage, the harvested fruits are sorted out. The damaged ones are used for livestock feed, the rest are thoroughly dried in a well-ventilated area.

To preserve beets in the basement in the country, you need to maintain an air temperature of 0 degrees. The fruits do not dry out at a humidity of 90%. You can store beets with potatoes. It is advised to place the crop in boxes, covered with wet sand.

Table beets are one of the traditional products of the Russian national cuisine and therefore widely used in home cooking. Although the cost of this vegetable in the retail network is quite low, almost all amateur gardeners try to grow at least a little beet in their backyard. In general, this vegetable can be considered quite simple to grow, but you should still be aware of some features of caring for it.

It may come as a surprise to many gardeners, but table beets are by no means independent view, but only a variety of the species "common beet". That is, both table, and sugar, and fodder beets are all one and the same plant species, which is part of the botanical genus Beetroot.

Beets of all varieties have a core, dense, very fleshy root crop, slightly protruding above the ground. It is this root crop that is the main product in the artificial cultivation of table beets.

Being a biennial plant, in the first year the beetroot forms a large root and several large leaves. In the second year (occasionally by the autumn of the first), an upright stem covered with leaves grows from 50 to 125 cm high from the center of the leaf rosette. Small pale flowers are formed on this trunk in the axils of the uppermost leaves, grouped into complex spikes. Cross-pollination is performed by small insects. Subsequently, these spikelets turn into infructescences containing a small amount of complex-shaped seeds.

As for the sweet table beet itself, here it is necessary to note only some of its differences from other varieties. First, table beets are distinguished by a rich burgundy color of the leafy stems and roots (especially the pulp and juice, since the outer skin of many varieties is red-brown or gray-brown). Secondly, the average weight of the root crop is relatively small and ranges from 0.3 to 1 kg. Thirdly, in most varieties, the root crop does not have a rod (inverted cone) shape, but a spherical-flattened one. Finally, only table beet is used for human consumption in its original form, since it has a delicate sweetish taste.

Beets prefer fertile well loosened soils with neutral acidity. Classical chernozems, as well as gray podzolized soils, are optimally suited for this crop. In addition, a good harvest can be grown on carefully cultivated low-lying peatlands.

Red beetroot is a fairly cold-resistant plant. Its seeds are able to sprout even at a temperature of about 4-5 ° C. In such temperature conditions, seedlings make their way to the surface in about 22-23 days. But this does not mean that such low temperatures are preferable for her. If the temperature is raised to 10 ° C, germination occurs 2-3 days earlier, and at 25 ° C and other things being equal, seedlings can be observed in less than a week - only on the fifth or sixth day. But an increase in temperature above this value is already undesirable, since it has a detrimental effect on the condition of seeds and seedlings.

In the initial period of plant formation (from germination to the start of root formation processes), a moderate temperature of 15-18 °C is preferable. In the case of frosts during this period of seedling development, a significant part of the crops or even all shoots in general die.

After the young beetroot vegetable forms four to six leaves, it becomes much more resistant to possible cold snaps. But if the frosts are prolonged, this will lead to a decrease in the rate further development root crop and the appearance of a significantly larger number of flowering stems.

In addition to spring frosts, one should also be attentive to autumn frosts if the beet crop has not yet been harvested. Root crops will survive a short-term cooling down to 2-3 ° C relatively painlessly, but if the cold intensifies or drags on, this will affect the state of the whole plant extremely negatively. Long-term autumn frosts are especially dangerous for those varieties of table beet, in which a significant part of the root crop is located above the soil surface.

The need for soil moisture in the garden where table beets grow is determined by the weather and climate conditions and the characteristics of the applied agricultural technology (for example, the use of mulch or its absence). It is estimated that beets require about 350 units of soil moisture to form one unit of root dry matter.

It is obvious that it is pointless to count on a high yield of table beets with a shortage of water in the soil. The lack of moisture has an extremely negative effect on the growth rate of the root crop, especially in conditions of high summer temperatures. At the same time, the excess water content in the soil, including due to the proximity of groundwater, affects the state of crops no less negatively. In too damp soil, root crops are massively ill, and the harvest is very meager.

Thus, in conditions of normal soil and the middle lane, table beets should be watered regularly. This should be done whenever the top layer of soil is completely dry. That is, about once a month or even more often, spending about 20-30 liters of water per square meter of crops. However, two to three weeks before harvesting table beets for storage, watering is stopped in order to increase the keeping quality of root crops.

Table beet is one of the light-loving crops. Despite the fact that the main product is a root crop, plants need light throughout the entire growing season, and a lack of lighting reduces the yield by a third or even more. In addition, the lack of light affects chemical composition root crops.

The optimal light regime for table beets is 13-16 hours of sun per day. With a reduction in daylight hours to 10-11 hours, plants sharply slow down the growth rate of root crops, forming only the aerial part.

In view of this, for table beet crops, it is necessary to choose such areas of the field that are open to the sun throughout the day. If in the morning or in the evening many hours of thick shadow from trees, structures or terrain folds fall on the beds, good harvest should not wait.

Even novice amateur gardeners do not need to talk about the importance of observing the rules of crop rotation. Without this, it is simply impossible to count on a more or less good harvest.

As for the predecessors for table sugar beets, all types of cabbage, peas and beans, dill, coriander, parsnips and onion. good neighbors in the garden for beets are potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots, cucumbers. It is strictly forbidden to plant beets after spinach, parsley, corn, celery, cucumbers, potatoes and turnips. Bad neighbors for table beets are other subspecies of beets, as well as cabbage and tomatoes.

In turn, a good solution would be to plant peas, strawberries (garden strawberries), red cabbage, potatoes, cucumbers, celery, dill, garlic, or spinach after table beets. But what you don’t need to plant after table beets is onions and all types of cabbage, except for red cabbage.

Planting beetroot

Before sowing table beets, it is advisable to enrich the soil with fertilizers. They have been doing this since autumn, introducing about 40-60 tons of humus per hectare for autumn plowing. In spring, on poor soils, during presowing cultivation, it is also desirable to fertilize the fields with nitrogen (60-90 kg/ha), phosphorus (90-120 kg/ha) and potassium (90-120 kg/ha).

If the site is heavily littered with weeds, it will also be useful to treat the field with soil herbicides.

Table beets are sown in two stages using calibrated seeds. The first sowing is carried out immediately after the sowing of early cereals, the second - in the second decade of May. Beets of early sowing ripen by the middle of summer and can be used for food immediately, but they have very poor keeping quality. Beets sown in May ripen only by autumn, but can be stored all winter without any problems.

Table beet is sown in two ways - wide-row (spacing of about 50 cm), or tape. The seeding rate of table beet is about 9 kg per hectare for single-sprout seeds and about 13-14 for multi-sprout ones.

Beet seeds close up to a depth of three to four centimeters. In conditions personal plot for this, it is most convenient to use simple mechanical manual seeders, since it becomes very tiring to sow beets manually at a scale of more than a hundred square meters. After sowing, it is highly desirable to roll the beds.

If the sowing turned out to be too thick or a dense crust has formed on the bed, it is also very desirable to harrow the crops. For these purposes, you need to use light harrows and perform the procedure strictly across the rows. Harrowing can thin out crops by 16-17% and destroy young weeds.

At the beginning, it was already said about the relationship between temperature and the time of emergence of seedlings. In practice, while observing the elementary rules of agricultural technology, the seeds of table beet give mass seedlings already in the second week after sowing.

After the shoots give the first two true leaves, you need to thin out the crops so that there is an average of about 3-4 cm between plants. After a few weeks, when the diameter of the root crops of most plants reaches 3 cm, you need to re-thinning so that there is no more than 15 plants per linear meter.

If this is not done, a too thickened bed will give a lot of small, non-marketable root crops. This will happen both because of the lack of free space for the formation of large root crops, and because of the lack nutrients in soil for all plants.

Throughout the growing season, watering should be carried out at least once a month and inter-row loosening of the soil should be performed to ensure normal gas exchange between the soil and atmospheric air. If necessary, you can fertilize the plants with fertilizers.

Harvesting of table beets of May sowing should be carried out before the onset of the first serious frosts, since root crops exposed to low temperatures not only lose some of their taste, but are also stored much worse.

During the collection, it may turn out that a certain number of root crops are still very small and immature. If you remove them from the ground with the utmost care, trying not to damage the small suction roots and tops, then such root crops can be grown to a marketable appearance in the greenhouse.

Growing beetroot is only half the battle, you still need to be able to save it so that all the work is not in vain.

Root crops extracted from the ground are recommended to be left to dry in the garden for several days, if the weather permits. The earth must be cleaned carefully, trying not to damage the skin. In this case, in no case should you wash the roots with water. The tops must be carefully cut with scissors, secateurs or a knife, leaving centimeter "stumps". If you cut off the leaves with your hands, then at the junction of the leaves with the root crops, a damage site is formed, which then turns into a rotting site.

Dried and cleaned from the ground and leaves, the beets are stored in a basement or cellar with a humidity of not more than 90% and a temperature of about 2 degrees above zero. If the temperature and humidity are higher, the keeping quality of root crops will drop sharply.

Otherwise, the storage of table beets is similar to other root crops. It is best to use boxes or wooden bins, as vegetables will spoil faster on a bare floor.

It is allowed to store beets with the top layer on potatoes. In this case, the beets will absorb excess moisture, which is harmful to the potatoes, but does not harm the beets themselves.

Increasingly, amateur gardeners complain that the beets are not sweet, the pulp is woody and do not find the reasons for such a change. The reasons are caused mainly by low-quality seeds, the purchase of fodder varieties instead of table varieties, violation of agricultural technology and growing conditions. Therefore, before moving on to table beet farming, let's get acquainted with its requirements for growing conditions.

Beet requirements for growing conditions

Temperature regime

Table beet belongs to the group of heat-loving crops, but it is quite cold-resistant. Sowing it in open ground begins with the establishment of a constant soil temperature in a 10-15 cm layer not lower than +8 .. + 10 ° С. With early sowing with the return of cold weather, after germination, it may go into the arrow and not form a quality crop. Root vegetables will be small with dense woody tissue, insipid or with a grassy flavor. An ambient temperature of +4..+6°С is sufficient for the emergence of seedlings. Early shoots can withstand short-term frost down to -2 ° C, but the roots will be small. Do not rush to sow beets or sow in several periods with a break of 7-10-15 days. One of the crops will fall into optimal conditions and form the desired yield of the expected quality.

Light regime for table beets

In order to obtain high-quality high yields of any crop (not only beets), it is necessary to know its biology, including its attitude to the light regime. Beets are a typical long-day plant. Beet cultivars at the level of genetic memory have fixed this biological feature, and the maximum yield is formed during cultivation with a day length of 13-16 hours. A change in the duration of daylight by 2-3 hours mainly causes the growth of the aerial part, and the development of the root crop slows down.

Remember! The shorter the ripening time of the culture, the less the beets react to changes in the length of daylight hours.

Old, resistant varieties are more strongly attached to the light regime than young ones and react negatively to changes in the length of light illumination. To obtain high-quality yields, it is more practical to buy modern zoned seeds that are most adapted to the length of the light period of the region and react little to the duration of illumination. In addition, breeders have now bred varieties and hybrids that practically do not respond to longitude of lighting. Therefore, it is better to buy modern varieties and hybrids (F-1) of table beets.

The ratio of beets to moisture

Beets are sufficiently able to independently provide themselves with moisture. But with insufficient rainfall, it needs watering. Irrigation rates should be moderate, since excess moisture at a rarefied standing density forms large root crops, often with cracks.

Soil Condition Requirement

Beetroot is a soil plant with a neutral reaction. On acidified soils, the crop is formed insignificant with low taste qualities of the root crop. The culture prefers floodplain soils, light loams, chernozems. Does not tolerate heavy clay, stony, saline soils with high standing water.

Requirement for predecessors

The best predecessors are early-harvested crops, including cucumbers, zucchini, early cabbage, early potatoes, early varieties of eggplant and sweet pepper, early tomatoes. The time of harvesting the predecessor is especially important during the winter sowing of table beets. The soil must be fully prepared for sowing.

Features of agricultural technology of table beets

Selection of seeds for sowing

As a botanical plant, the beet is interesting in the way the fruit is formed. The beet fruit is a one-seeded nut. When the seeds ripen, the carpels grow together with the perianth and form a seed-glomerulus, which also has the second name “beet seed”. Each glomerulus contains from 2 to 6 fruits with seeds. Therefore, during germination, several independent, easily separated sprouts appear. When sowing seedlings seedlings need thinning. Reception is usually carried out manually, which is accompanied by high labor costs and, accordingly, an increase in the cost of products when cultivated in large specialized farms.

Breeders bred single-seeded(single-sprout) varieties of table beets. In terms of their economic features, they do not differ from the varieties that form seed seed clusters. Their main difference is the formation of 1 fruit, which excludes thinning during care. Seedlings at home are ground with sand before sowing. When grinding, the seed is divided into separate seeds.

Of the single-sprout (single-seeded) varieties, the most famous and used in home cultivation are Single-sprout G-1, Bordeaux single-seeded, Virovskaya single-seeded, Russian single-seeded, Timiryazevskaya single-seeded. The above varieties are mid-season, high-yielding. The pulp of root vegetables is tender, juicy. They are distinguished by good keeping quality, long-term storage. Used fresh and for winter preparations.

It is more convenient to buy seeds for sowing in specialized stores of seed companies. In this case, there is no need to prepare seeds for sowing (treatment, loitering, drageeing, etc.). When buying seeds, be sure to read the recommendations on the package. Sometimes treated seeds do not need pre-soaking. They are directly sown in moist soil. In other cases, seeds are germinated in wet wipes, which speeds up germination.

Soil preparation

After harvesting the predecessor, it is necessary to provoke the autumn shoots of weeds by watering, followed by their destruction. If the site is depleted in organic matter, then mature humus or compost is evenly scattered at 2-5 kg ​​per square meter. m. plot area. To neutralize acidified soil, fluffy lime is added 0.5-1.0 kg per 1 sq. m and mineral fertilizers- nitroammophoska 50-60 g per 1 sq. m. Instead of nitroammophoska, you can prepare a mixture of mineral fertilizers. Ammonium sulphate, superphosphate and potassium chloride, respectively 30, 40 and 15 g / sq. m. mix, scatter over the site and dig up by about 15-20 cm. In spring, the soil is loosened by 7-15 cm, the surface is leveled with a rake and lightly rolled. Rolling is necessary for uniform sowing depth.

Dates of sowing table beets

Beets are sown in the spring when the soil warms up in a 10-15 cm layer to +10°C. Approximately sowing in warm regions and the North Caucasus is carried out after April 15. In the Volga region, other non-chernozem and central regions, in Kazakhstan - sowing in open ground is carried out in the first half of May. On Far East- in the last decade of May-first decade of June. The above sowing dates are more suitable for early varieties beets. Medium and late varieties are sown in warm regions at the end of May. Part of this crop is laid for winter storage.

In the Urals and in the Northern regions, late beets are usually not sown in open ground. In central Russia, due to the temperate climate, it is possible to grow all sortotypes of table beet - from the early ones with obtaining root crops in technical ripeness in mid-July to the latest varieties with harvesting in September and the first half of October. In these regions of Russia, including non-chernozem, winter beet sowing is widely used (late October-early November, November-December) with cold-resistant varieties that are resistant to bolting. When winter sowing is removed early harvest root crops at the end of June.

Technology of spring sowing of table beet seeds

Sowing seeds in spring can be done with dry and germinated seeds. Seeds are sown in furrows on a flat surface of the field. Sprouted seeds are sown in moist soil. In dry soil, almost all sprouts die.

Furrows are cut through 15-30 cm. Sowing on heavy soils is carried out to a depth of 2 cm, on light soils - 4 cm. It is impossible to deepen crops. The distance in the row is 2-3 cm, which, when thinned, is increased to 7-10 cm, which ensures the production of standard (10 cm in diameter) root crops. On single-seeded crops, thinning is combined with harvesting a beam crop, and when sowing with seedlings, 2 thinnings are carried out.

Technology of planting beet seedlings

Table beet seedlings are usually grown in short summer conditions, combining the initial development in greenhouses and hotbeds with further development in the open field. Beets can be grown on warm ridges, covering with 1-2 layers of spandbond from early cold weather. Seeds are sown in greenhouses or a greenhouse in prepared soil 10-12-15 days before the period of planting in open ground. Sowing ordinary. To obtain more seedlings, sowing is carried out in glomeruli. The distance in a row is 12-20 cm, depending on the variety, and between the rows is 30-40 cm. In the phase of 4-5 leaves (about 8 cm in height), a pick is carried out, leaving 1-2 plants in the nest. Dive plants are planted in the ground or in separate peat-humus and other containers for growing, if the weather has not settled. When transplanting beets, it is necessary to treat the central root as carefully as possible. Damage to it will retard the growth of the transplanted plant. With the onset of stable warm weather, young plants are planted in open ground. Peat-humus immediately planted in the ground with plants. If the pots are reusable, transplantation is carried out by transshipment. With this method, only a small number of non-standard root crops (deformed) are obtained. When transplanting, the following rules are observed:

• transplanted to a permanent seedling no more than 8 cm in height. The older the seedlings, the more non-standard root crops in the crop,
• to prevent shooting, it is impossible to deepen the seedlings when transplanting,
• leave a distance in a row of at least 12-15 cm, and between rows, to reduce shading, up to 25-30-40 cm.

Winter beet sowing technology

For winter sowing, the ridge method of planting is most suitable. It provides better warming of the soil in spring, and hence obtaining an ultra-early harvest of root crops and early beam production. Podzimny sowing is carried out in October-November, or rather, when a steady cold snap sets in, without the return of warm days. At the tops of the ridges, the seed is sown in furrows to a depth of 4-6 cm, to protect against sudden frosts. The seeds in the furrows are sprinkled with humus soil by 1-2 cm, slightly compacted and additionally mulched on top by 2-3 cm for warming.

Compacted crops

If the garden is small in size, but you want to have a large list vegetable crops, then beets can be grown in compacted beds, that is, several crops can be combined on one bed. This technique is especially good in the southern regions, where during a long warm period, 2-3 crops of various early ripening crops can be harvested from one compacted bed. Spring crops of beets can be combined on the same bed with carrots, onions for greens, radishes, radishes, spinach, salads, including cabbage, leaf, watercress. When harvesting early beets in the first decade of July, the vacated area can be occupied by repeated crops of onions for greens, radishes, lettuce, dill. After harvesting the greens, peas or other crops can be sown as green manure.

Beet care

Beetroot care consists of:

• in keeping the site clean of weeds, especially in the initial post-emergence period (before the appearance of the first 2 pairs of leaves). At this time, the beets develop very slowly and do not tolerate clogging;
• in the maintenance of row spacing free from soil crust, to ensure free gas exchange;
• carrying out timely top dressing;
• maintaining the optimal humidity of the site.

Beetroot begins to germinate at soil temperatures of +8..+10°С and +5..+7°С of the environment. However, seedlings at this temperature appear late and very unevenly. The optimum air temperature is +19..+22°С. Shoots appear on the 5-8th day and by the 10-12th day the culture enters the fork phase. In the next 10 days goes powerful development the aerial part of the culture (leaf apparatus), and then the development of the root crop begins.

Soil loosening

The first loosening is carried out 4-5 days after germination. Loosening is carried out very carefully, gradually deepening the treated layer from 2-4 to 6-8 cm. Timely destruction of young weeds slightly injures beet plants and provides the culture with optimal conditions for growth and development. Loosening is stopped after the leaves close.

thinning

Thinning is carried out when sowing table beets with seedlings (balls). From seedlings 3-5 seedlings develop. Single-seeded varieties generally do not need to be thinned unless tufting is provided. Thinning is carried out in cloudy weather after preliminary watering. It is easier to pull out a plant from moistened soil without damaging the neighboring one. Thinning beets is carried out twice.

The first time a breakthrough is carried out with the development of 1-2 leaves, removing the weakest and underdeveloped plants. A gap of 3-4 cm is left between plants. Beets are negatively related to greater sparseness. When thinning multi-seeded crops, 1-2 seedlings are left in place. In this case, thinning is carried out in the phase of 2-3 leaves. Pulled plants are used as seedlings, planting plants along the edges or in the sides of high ridges.

The second thinning is performed, with the development of 4-5 leaves. In this phase, the culture has already formed a 3-5 cm root crop. In the second thinning, the tallest, most developed plants are removed. They reach beam ripeness and are used for food. At the same time, the state of plants is monitored and diseased and twisted plants are removed along the way. The distance in a row for the normal development of the root crop is 6-8-10 cm.

Beet top dressing

During the growing season, at least two top dressings of medium and late beet varieties are carried out. Early beets, with good autumn dressing with fertilizers, are usually not fed. Gardeners, especially beginners, find it difficult to calculate the right amount of fertilizer. The culture is often overfed, and it has the ability to accumulate nitrites, which determine the carcinogenicity of the culture and nitrates.

The first feeding is carried out after the first thinning or rooting of seedlings. You can carry out top dressing with nitroammophos - 30 g sq. m or a mixture of mineral fertilizers at the rate of 5-7 g / sq. m, respectively, sodium nitrate, superphosphate and potassium chloride.

On depleted soils, it is better to carry out the first top dressing with a solution of mullein or bird droppings in a ratio of 1 part mullein to 10 parts, and bird droppings to 12 parts of water. 5 g of urea can be added to the solution. The solution is applied at a distance of 6-10 cm from the row of beets in a 3-4 cm furrow. Use a bucket of solution for 10 running meters. Watering is carried out from a watering can close to the soil, so as not to burn the leaves. After making the solution, it is covered with a layer of soil, watered and mulched. Top dressing with liquid organic matter is carried out only in the initial period of beet development. Later, not having time to process the mineral form into an organic one, plants accumulate nitrates in root crops. The first sign of the accumulation of nitrates and nitrites in the root crop when overfed with nitrogen is the appearance of voids in the root crop.

The second feeding is carried out after 15-20 days or after the second thinning. For top dressing, superphosphate and potassium magnesia or potassium chloride are used at a dose of 8-10 g / sq. m (1 teaspoon with top). Mineral fats can be replaced with wood ash, spending 200 g per sq. m of area, followed by embedding in a 5-8 cm layer of soil.

Foliar top dressing

Microfertilizers boron, copper and molybdenum are best applied in the form of foliar liquid top dressing by spraying. Above ground mass. You can buy a ready-made mixture of microfertilizers or replace it with infusion of ash.

In the phase of 4-5 leaves, it is good to sprinkle the beets with a solution of boric acid. Dissolve 2 g of boric acid in hot water and dilute in 10 liters of water. This technique will protect beet roots from heart rot. The finished preparation of microfertilizers is diluted according to the recommendation and the plants are treated.

If there are no ready-made microfertilizers, they will be successfully replaced by an infusion of wood ash. Infusion of ash can be spent 2 foliar top dressing: in the phase of 4-5 leaves and in the phase of active growth of root crops (August). An infusion of 200 g per 10 liters of water must be filtered before spraying.

Approximately 25-30 days before harvesting, it is advisable to spray the plants with a solution of potash fertilizers, which will increase their keeping quality.

Do you want beets to be sweeter? Do not forget to salt it with ordinary table salt. Dilute 40 g (2 tablespoons without top) of non-iodized salt in 10 liters of water and pour over the beets, spending a bucket of solution per square meter. m of plot area. To reduce the amount of top dressing, combine the salt solution with a solution of trace elements, and spray in June and early August.

Watering

Juicy root crops with tender pulp are obtained with regular watering, especially in arid regions. The first watering is carried out with mass shoots. Water the culture 3-4 times a month. During the period of intensive development of root crops, watering is increased. The first sign of a delay in watering is the wilting of beet leaves. Beets are very fond of watering on the leaves. The culture does not tolerate an increase in soil temperature. From overheating, constant mulching is necessary until the leaves close. Watering is stopped 3-4 weeks before harvest.

Protection of beets from diseases and pests

The most dangerous beet diseases are fungal and bacterial damage to the root system and root crop. The disease usually affects weakened plants and mechanically damaged roots and roots. The fight against rot (fusarium, brown, dry) is complicated by the fact that all plant organs are used for food - root crops, petioles, leaves. Mean application chemicals protection is excluded. The fight is carried out by agrotechnical measures and treatment with biological products.

• Sowing is carried out only with healthy seed treated with bioprotectants. It is more expedient to buy ready-made seed, processed and prepared for sowing.
• Remove from the field all the remains of the crop, weeds, in which fungi, bacteria and other sources of diseases overwinter.
• Timely lime acidified soil, providing normal conditions for the development of culture.
• They constantly monitor the state of the crop and remove diseased plants from the field.
• They provide the culture not only with macro-but also with microelements, which protect plants well from diseases.

Of the biological products for combating rot, planriz is used for tillage, and with diseases of the aerial parts of plants - phytosporin, betaprotectin, phytodoctor, agrofil.

The most common pests of table beets are leaf and root aphids, beet and mining flies, beet shieldworm, beet flea, etc. Biological preparations against pests are bitoxibacillin, dendrobacillin, entobacterin, lepidocid, etc.

Dilution of biological products, doses and period of use are indicated on the packaging or on the accompanying recommendations. Biological products can be used in tank mixes after a preliminary compatibility check. Despite their safety, when processing plants with biological products, personal protection measures must be observed. Be careful! Biological products can cause an allergic reaction (in more dusty forms - powders).

Harvest

Root crops must be harvested before the onset of frost (end of September - first half of October). Start harvesting when the leaves turn yellow. Frozen root crops are poorly stored and in storage are affected by fungal rot and other diseases. After harvesting, the root crops are sorted, separating absolutely healthy ones. The tops are cut, leaving stumps up to 1 cm. Healthy root crops are dried and stored for storage. Storage temperature is +2..+3°С. Storage methods are varied: in boxes with sand, sawdust, dry peat; in polyethylene bags, in bulk, etc.