Beetroot - one of the most popular root crops - is grown everywhere in our country. The cultivation of this culture is carried out by both large agricultural enterprises and farmers, and ordinary summer residents in their suburban areas. Beets are grown, like any other vegetable, in compliance with certain technologies. However, getting a good harvest is only half the battle. It is equally important to keep it intact in the winter. And for this you need to know what the technology and timing of beet harvesting.
Varieties of root vegetables
All beets cultivated in the fields and private plots of Russia are divided into two main types: table and sugar. The first variety is cultural. That is the beet growers summer residents on their sites. Sugar beet is an industrial crop. They do not eat it in food. It is grown only by large farmers and agricultural enterprises and is processed to produce sugar.
Harvesting beetroot
Varieties of root crops of this variety can be early, middle and late ripening. Accordingly, their cleaning time will be different. The maturity of early beets is about 50-80 days. When planting in late April - early May, thus, the crop can be harvested in late June - early July. However, domestic gardeners usually grow on their sites only mid-ripening or late - ripening beet varieties. The fact is that only such root crops are well stored in the winter. These varieties can ripen on 80-100 days after sowing. Consequently, when planting at the end of April, the harvesting dates for mid-ripe beets begin at the end of August - in September. Late ripe beets ripen by mid-September - early October.
Of course, the harvest time of this crop will directly depend on the climate of a particular area. So, the time of harvesting beets in the Urals is usually the middle - the end of September. In October, night frosts can occur in this region. The same goes for Siberia. Here, the harvest time can be shifted even more.
What you need to know
The peculiarity of the beet of the dining room is that it begins to grow especially actively after cool weather settles on the street. In addition, it was at this time that the maximum amount of nutrients began to accumulate in root crops. Therefore, summer residents and farmers are trying to postpone harvesting as late as possible. However, it is impossible to delay too much with this procedure in any case. Harvesting beets in the suburbs, for example, is usually done no later than October 14. The fact is that in the event of freezing, the roots of this crop become completely unsuitable for storage. Therefore, they should be collected before the onset of frost.
It should not be delayed with cleaning in the case of very wet weather in the fall. Otherwise, the root crops will become too watery, not particularly tasty and will be poorly stored. If the autumn is wet, the beet harvesting dates in the Urals and Siberia can be moved to the beginning - mid-September, and in the European part of Russia - to the end of the month.
How to dig out
Farmers and large agricultural enterprises, thus, harvest beets in the fields in September-October. Owners of personal summer cottages usually begin this procedure in July. At this time, beet root crops already reach 4-5 cm in diameter, and they can be used for cooking borscht, salads, etc. However, the main dates for harvesting beets in this case are the same: September-October.
When harvesting, the following rules should be observed:
The dug out root crops need to be dried a little and immediately put into storage. Leave the beets spread near the beds on the ground for a long time. Otherwise, she will lose weight and not become so tasty.
Before laying for storage at the beets, the tops are cut. At the same time, petioles should remain at least 1.5 cm long.
Store beets in a cellar or basement in boxes at a temperature of 1-3 g.
Harvesting beets for storage should be done correctly. This culture is very good at keeping quality. However, with any irregularities, crop losses can be significant.
When to harvest sugar beets
This variety is usually grown only on chernozem soils in the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine. The terms of its harvest coincide with the time of harvesting the beets. Sugar root crops also begin to grow rapidly with the onset of cold weather. Moreover, it is precisely in the fall that their sugar content sharply increases. And the more of it, the better, of course.
Cleaning Methods
Of course, in the fields, this culture is dug up in a mechanized way. Harvesting sugar beets can be made:
By flow method. In this case, the root crops are immediately delivered to the beet-picking station.
Transshipment method. At the same time, beets are pre-harvested for storage (temporary). Root crops are unloaded into special kagats, arranged right in the fields.
By mixed technology. In this case, at night, beets are laid in kagaty, and during the day they are transported to collection points.
The most critical procedure during the harvesting campaign is the proper setup of the equipment. Any mistake can result in significant crop loss. The working design of the harvester must be adjusted in strict accordance with the row spacing in the beetroot field, as well as with the depth of the root crops.
How to recycle
Thus, the time for harvesting sugar beets is the same as the dining room, that is, the end of September (from about the 20th) - the beginning of October. By this time, a lot of sugar should have accumulated in beets (at least 13%, on average - 20-25%). From the reception points, the root crops grown in the fields go to the processing enterprises. Here, sugar is extracted from them. This is done like this:
The juice obtained from beets is cleaned of non-sugar using lime.
Excess of the latter is removed by carbon dioxide saturation.
Sulfur dioxide is used to reduce alkalinity and remove color .
Next, the juice is poured into evaporation plants for thickening.
The resulting syrup goes to a special centrifuge.
Sugar coming out of it is dried by hot air.
Thus, the more sugar in beets, the more profitable it will be. And this means only one thing - to observe the beet harvesting time should be as accurate as possible. The same goes for the regular dining variety. It is impossible to overemphasize root crops in the beds, just like overexposing. Tasty large root vegetables can be obtained only by digging them from the ground in time.