Almost half of the sown area of the world is allocated for growing grain. Rye is steadily among the ten most popular crops. Of course, she is far from the big three cereals (wheat, rice, corn), but almost 13 million tons of production a year are also impressive. For many years, the leaders in the cultivation of rye are three countries - Germany, Russia and Poland. The gap from the nearest competitor of Belarus is at least 3 times. Among the remaining countries, two more manufacturers can be distinguished - Denmark and China. The rest, including the United States, are significantly behind.
History reference
If the history of wheat with oats goes back to the time of the emergence of human civilization, then this clearly cannot be said about rye. It is only known that she accompanied the crops, perhaps only as a weed. If it was used, then, most likely, as a combination of wheat and rye. It is known for certain that only starting from the Bronze Age a cultivation culture of this cereal plant appeared. It is believed that on the territory of Russia with Western Europe, the plant came from Turkey, through the Caucasus. The self-pollination property allowed this southern plant to adapt to the conditions of the northern climate. She confidently took her place in the grain basket of the peoples of Europe and Russia. With the development of agriculture, the rye fields moved further north.
Biological description
The most common crop is sowing rye, one of nine species of the genus belonging to the cereal family. There are perennial and annual crops.
Grain has a powerful fibrous root system, deepening into the ground up to 2 meters. This allows him to grow successfully even on poor soils. The stem is relatively low. It does not always reach a meter length, only modern hybrid varieties give a plant up to 2 meters high. From the side of the earth, the stem is completely bare; only narrow long leaves appear in the area of spikelets. The inflorescence consists of one spike up to 15 cm long. The rye seeds are elongated, from 5 to 10 mm, with a thickness of 3.5 mm. Color - brownish, yellow, gray; white and greenish shades are possible.
Plant features
Rye seeds begin to germinate at a temperature slightly above zero. At the same time, their tillering node is laid not far from the surface of the earth. When germinated, the plant is able to squeeze out almost all weeds from the field and suppress the spread of most agricultural pests. What makes it a very useful crop for organizing crop rotation. Resistance to frost and drought allows sowing rye to grow in areas of risky farming and at the same time receive sustainable crops.
Cultivation technology
When choosing a place for planting rye, the following facts are taken into account:
- The culture is resistant to a significant drop in temperature. Winter plantings suffer a decrease to -30 ° C, even in low-snow fields.
- It grows well on poor soils. Unlike wheat, it gives good results even on acidified lands.
- Not afraid of most pathogens.
Due to these qualities, winter technologies have become a more common way of cultivating crops.
Winter culture
As was said, rye sowing has a powerful root system with a tillering node close to the surface.
Due to these features, the depth of plowing is recommended within 16-18 cm, only in the steppe zone it is increased by 2 cm. The field is treated twice. The first time using a plow-blade cultivator, the second using a disk mechanism. Cultivation is carried out 2-3 times, each time reducing the depth of cultivation by 2-3 cm. The last plowing is carried out about 3 weeks before sowing the crop.
Seeds are deepened by 2-3 cm, only on light soils an increase in bedding to 4 cm is allowed. After laying the seeds, the earth is rolled. It is useful to use phosphorus-potash fertilizers. Nitrogen should be limited. In winter, activities are held to delay the snow.
In the spring, surface water is drained and the soil is retained by harrowing.
In summer, the main activities are aimed at pest control. The most important thing is to treat the rye field with a special drug that prevents the ear from lodging.
Spring rye
Spring growing technologies are used only in risky farming areas where winter crops can freeze. These are low-snow steppe territories in the regions where it is possible, albeit short-term, but a strong decrease in temperature. In addition, these are areas of Eastern Siberia, with long winters and temperatures below 40 ° C.
Diseases and pests
Despite the fact that rye is a crop that is resistant to disease, it is necessary to highlight some of the dangers characteristic of it:
- Damage to the stem, leaves and spike caused by basidiomycetes. Spread through infected seeds. The main control methods are presowing seed treatment.
- Powdery mildew and sclerotiniosis caused by colonies of marsupial mushroom. In infected fields, productivity decreases by 10-15%.
- Boiling. It spreads on swimming soils, with the accumulation of water under early snow. The reason is a hemisaprophytic mushroom.
- Various types of fungal molds are most often found on heavy soils with high humidity and poor ventilation.
- There is a stem nematode. Unlike fungal diseases, the source of infection is soil.
Useful qualities of the plant
Unlike the southern regions, in the north, rye for many years was the main source of grain. No wonder she was called mother rye. Even today, rye bread is considered more healthy than wheat bread. It has been established that it is richer in vitamins, contains complete proteins and is especially useful for reduced consumption of meat products. It is able to remove harmful substances from the body. Helps in the treatment of colds, allergies, useful for patients with asthma, stomach diseases. It has a beneficial effect on the work of the stomach, liver, and kidneys. Helps to heal wounds, heals burns. Rye products are recommended to restore the thyroid gland and stabilize heart rhythms.
Even a simple listing of the beneficial qualities of rye products can take up a lot of space. Separately, you can write about the quality of rye kvass or the benefits of consuming germinated seeds and much more. The format of the article does not allow to give complete information about this plant. Obviously, more attention should be paid to increasing the proportion of rye products in our diet.