Canola cultivation: planting and care, harvesting, types and main pests

Rapeseed is an annual oilseed crop that is widely used around the world. This plant is considered practically waste-free. It is grown as a food product and used for technical purposes. The culture is winter and spring, which makes it possible to harvest in summer and autumn. At the same time, agronomists are interested in the cultivation of rapeseed - the features of planting and care, harvesting.

Features of the plant

This annual plant belongs to the cruciferous family. The culture was obtained artificially about 6000 years ago. It is impossible to meet her in natural conditions. Experts believe that rapeseed was first grown in the Mediterranean.

For a long period of time, the plant did not particularly attract farmers. Only during the agrarian revolution of the sixteenth century, rapeseed began to be actively cultivated. Until about the seventies of the last century, the plant was mainly used as feed for cattle. This state of affairs was observed until rapeseed oil was made in Canada. This led to a significant increase in crop production.

Rapeseed is also used to make biofuels. It is actively grown as green manure for soil fertilization. Also, the plant is a wonderful honey plant. From 1 hectare of crops it is possible to get 1 centner of honey.

Types of rapeseed

This plant is divided into 2 main types - winter and spring. The first variety perfectly withstands frost and can be used as feed for livestock and birds. In addition to the main species, there are many hybrid varieties.For example, in Canada, breeders managed to obtain a plant variety that is used to produce canola vegetable oil.

Planting instructions

In order for the cultivation of the crop to give the desired results, it is important to adhere to the rules for planting.

Seat selection

To get a bountiful harvest, when choosing a place for planting rapeseed, it is recommended to focus on the following criteria:

1. Light. Rape needs a lot of light. It does not develop well in shady places and does not withstand thickening. Shading leads to fading of color, thinning of stems, stretching of internodes.
2. Humidity. This plant is considered moisture-loving. With a moisture deficit, rapeseed loses its ability to absorb boron, which adversely affects yield parameters. In addition, drought leads to the spread of pests in the fields.
3. Temperature regime. Rapeseed is resistant to frost.It is able to withstand temperatures down to -15 degrees. If the winter crop is covered with a layer of snow, it is able to tolerate frosts down to -25 degrees. Vegetation begins at the parameters of +1-3 degrees. Return frosts can lead to the death of the plant. At the same time, rapeseed can hardly withstand the heat. If the temperature exceeds +30 degrees, the development of the culture slows down. In addition, such parameters negatively affect its yield.
4. Ground. Rape can grow in almost any soil. This plant is grown even in the poorest soil. However, a high yield can only be obtained in a fertile substrate. As for acidity, neutral indicators are considered the best option.

Seed preparation and planting

When choosing seeds, it is recommended to focus on the following features:

• optimum seed size is 1-3mm;
• planting material should be dressed 14 days before sowing;
• fungicides should be used to disinfect seeds;
• maximum moisture content of treated seeds is 10-12%;
• all small and underdeveloped seeds need to be removed.

The timing of planting depends on the weather and climate. It is important to take into account the variety of the plant:

1. Winter rapeseed is planted in August-September. At the same time, it is important that before the arrival of cold weather, the plant has time to form rosettes of 7-8 leaves. To determine the time of planting, it is worth focusing on winter spiked plants. There should be 3-4 weeks left before sowing.
2. Spring rapeseed is planted quite early, but this must be done in sufficiently warm soil. Its temperature should reach +5 degrees. Usually landing work is carried out in April or early May. The timing depends on the local climate.In light soil, planting is carried out 10 days earlier than in heavy soil.

Sowing is carried out in a continuous row way. In this case, the interval between rows should be 12-15 centimeters. To do this, you need to use seeders with a microseeding function. When carrying out planting work, it is worth focusing on the type of culture:

1. When planting winter rapeseed, the seeds should be deepened by 2-3 centimeters. In dry and light soil, this figure should be 3-4 centimeters. After landing, be sure to roll the ground. On average, 5-6 kilograms of seeds should be planted per 1 hectare.
2. When sowing spring rapeseed, seeds in loamy soil are deepened by 1.5-2 centimeters, and in the lightest - by 2-2.5. At the same time, 6-8 kilograms of seeds are required per 1 hectare.

Aftercare

Rapeseed is considered a fairly hardy crop that thrives well in a variety of conditions. However, to get a good harvest, you should follow some rules.

It is important to consider that this plant is considered to be very moisture-loving. During the growing season, it consumes 1.5-2 times more moisture than cereals. At the same time, the culture hardly tolerates stagnant water. From flowering to maturity, rapeseed needs 300 millimeters of rain.

Before planting, the fields must be cleared of perennial weeds. In this case, it is worth focusing on the type of culture:

1. When planting winter rapeseed, the soil is treated with herbicides for 1.5 months. They are recommended to be used at a temperature of +15-20 degrees and a wind speed of no more than 5 meters per second.
2. When sowing spring rapeseed, the field must be harrowed after heavy rainfall. This must be done in dry weather. At the stage of appearance of 2-3 true leaves, one more harrowing is carried out - post-emergence.

When sprouts appear for weed control, they need to be counted.To do this, diagonally across the field impose frames measuring 50x59 centimeters. This helps to determine the number of weeds and their types. To combat unwanted vegetation, it is permissible to use the following means:

• Roundup - used in the warm season;
• " Treflane" - used to process fields before sowing;
• "Butizan" - applied after the appearance of sprouts;
• " Lontrel" - used when 3-4 leaves appear on plants.

Pest Control

Sometimes rapeseed suffers from pests. Most often, culture is affected by such parasites:

1. Rape leaf beetle - usually hibernates in the leaf phase. At the same time, in the middle of spring, larvae appear that eat leaves.
2. Rapeseed bug - small in size. At the beginning of spring, he absorbs the juices from the plant.
3. Rape beetle - characterized by resistance to frost. At the same time, the parasite begins to damage winter rapeseed at the stage of bud formation.

When signs of insect attacks appear, special preparations should be used. The most effective means include Nurimet Extra, Newstar, Fostran.

Harvesting

Direct combining is used for harvesting rapeseed. Work begins when the seeds reach a moisture content of 9-12%. The process is distinguished by the following features:

1. Cleaning is carried out on green plants. In this case, you need to capture only the pods.
2. Mature pods crack when the header is touched. Therefore, it must be equipped with special attachments.
3. The speed of the harvester should be up to 5-6 kilometers per hour. In this case, the rotation of the drum should be at the level of 600-800 rpm.

Rapeseed is a popular crop grown by many agronomists. At the same time, in order to get a good harvest, it is important to strictly adhere to the rules of agricultural technology.

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