Cultivation of fodder beets for animals

Fodder beet is an unpretentious crop grown for livestock feed. Its juicy roots, rich in pectins and fiber, are especially valuable during the absence of green fodder. We will learn about the popular varieties of this crop, how to plant it, grow it and save it until spring.

History of fodder beet

In Europe, beets have been known since the 13th century, and the Germans were the first to grow them for livestock feed. Peasants noticed that feeding livestock with beets has a positive effect on milk yield and taste of milk.

In the 16th century in Germany there was a division of beets into two types – fodder and sugar. The first began to be actively grown for livestock feed. Since the 18th century fodder beets have been cultivated in all European countries.

Description of the culture

Fodder beet is a biennial crop. In the first year, a thickened root crop and a rosette formed by basal leaves grow. In the second year of growth, flower stalks appear, producing fruits with seeds.

Description of the plant:

  • Roots. They can be bag-shaped, oval-conical, cylindrical or spherical. The average weight is 0,5-2,5 kg. Root crops can have different colors – red, pink, yellow, greenish-white, purple, orange.
  • Run away. In the first year of life, the culture grows a lush rosette of heart-shaped green leaves. The height of the outlet is up to 1 m.
  • Inflorescences. Paniculate inflorescences grow on leafy peduncles, in which seeds ripen.

Advantages and disadvantages

The forage crop under consideration has pros and cons, which are useful for livestock breeders to know about.

Advantages of fodder beet:

  • ideal for feeding livestock;
  • high yield;
  • helps to improve the digestion of animals;
  • increases soil fertility, reduces weed infestation;
  • has milk-producing properties.

Disadvantages:

  • regular watering and fertilizing is necessary;
  • exactingness to the quality of the soil;
  • relatively low protein content;
  • if you give a dairy cow more than 10 kg of beets per day, the fat content of milk drops, and its taste worsens;
  • the need to change the place of cultivation every year.

Comparison of fodder and sugar beets

The two related crops have much in common, but there are also enough differences between fodder and sugar beets.

Comparison of fodder and sugar beets:

Signs Forage Sugar Appearance The fruits are dark, the leaves are shiny. Differs in a large number of leaves. Root growth The degree of immersion in the ground depends on the variety. The fruit is completely in the soil. It has a more powerful root system. Use Feed for livestock. Both the root crop and the tops are used. For the production of sugar. Tops and root crops can be used as fodder. Composition Inferior in energy value. More sucrose by 20%.

Fodder beet cultivars

Feed beet varieties cultivated by farmers differ in terms of ripening, shape and color of root crops.

Jamon

Productivity – 80-85 centners per 1 ha. The shape of the root crop is cylindrical-conical. Medium sized fruits. Orange color. Weight – up to 5 kg. immersed in the ground by 30%. The pulp is white and juicy. Root crops are storable – stored until May.

Jamon

Starmon

Productivity up to 70 tons per 1 ha. It does not grow on saline and acidic soils. The rosette of the plant is erect, the leaves are elongated. The shape of the fruit is conical. Fruit color: underground part – yellow, above-ground – green. Average weight – 10 kg.

Starmon

Lada

The variety has good keeping quality. Productivity – 120 tons per 1 ha, maximum – 170 tons per 1 ha. The variety is slightly susceptible to flowering. Weight – up to 10 kg. Color is white or pinkish white. The pulp is juicy, white and firm.

Lada

Milan

Hybrid of the Belarusian selection. The yield of root crops is up to 140 tons per 1 ha. The lower part of the roots is white, the aerial part is green. Rosettes erect, leaves of medium width, with white veins. Root crops are 60% buried in the soil. Differs in low degree of pollution by the earth. Root crops are soft, stored until the end of spring.

Milan

Polly’s record

Multilingual mid-late variety. Productivity – up to 130 tons per 1 ha. Root crops are immersed in the soil by 40% and slightly contaminated with soil. Color – pink-red. The pulp is juicy and white. The weight of root crops is up to 6 kg.

Polly's record

Eckendorf yellow

Cold hardy variety. Productivity – up to 150 tons per 1 ha. The variety is resistant to flowering and does not form arrows. Root crops are yellow, immersed by 30% in the soil. Weight – up to 900 g.

Eckendorf yellow

Preparatory work

To grow large root crops of fodder beets, it is necessary to properly prepare the soil and seeds.

Where to plant beets?

The culture grows well on soils with a neutral and slightly acidic reaction (up to 7,5 pH). On swampy, clayey, stony and sandy soils, the cultivation of fodder beet does not bring the expected yields.

Beets grow well after cereals, corn and vegetables. In fodder crop rotations, the best predecessors are:

  • silage corn;
  • cereal-bean mixture;
  • melon cultures.

It is possible to re-plant fodder beets in one field after 3 years, not earlier.

Soil preparation

The culture is demanding on the fertility of the land, therefore, before sowing, it is necessary to carefully prepare the soil, improve its structure and composition.

The procedure for preparing the soil for sowing:

  1. Clear the area of ​​weeds. Water the weeds, and after two weeks, when new shoots appear, repeat weeding. To get rid of perennials – wheatgrass and thistle, treat the area with herbicides, for example, “Buran” or “Roundup”.
  2. In the fall, add organic matter for digging. For 1 ha – 35 tons of humus or compost and 0,5 tons of ash.
  3. Before planting, re-dig the soil, introducing nitroammophoska – 15 g per 1 running meter.

The ideal soil for sowing fodder beets is loose, moist with small clods.

Seed preparation

So that the seeds do not rot in the ground, they must be processed. Processing will also prevent many diseases.

Processing order:

  • Soak the seeds in a saturated solution of potassium permanganate. Enough 30 minutes.
  • In order for the seeds to sprout at the same time, place them in a growth stimulator.
  • Dry the seeds.

Landing

The success of growing forage crops largely depends on the timeliness of sowing activities and adherence to the sowing scheme.

Deadlines

Fodder beet has a fairly long growing season – 120-150 days, so it should be planted early – as soon as favorable weather conditions develop. Sowing of fodder beet begins after the soil warms up to + 7 ° C, not earlier.

Determining the timing of sowing, take into account the characteristics of a particular variety and climate:

  • Regions with a temperate climate. Sowing is carried out from 15 to 30 March. In case of adverse weather conditions, sowing work is postponed to the beginning of April.
  • Northern regions. Beets are sown here from early April to mid-May.

Sowing

If the soil has warmed up to +7..+8°C, and the seeds are processed, you can start sowing.

Sowing order:

  • On the site, make furrows at intervals of 60 cm from each other.
  • Deepen the seeds into the soil by 3 cm. For 1 running. m – 15 seeds.
  • Cover the seeds with soil.

At a temperature of +8°C shoots appear after about 12-14 days, at +15°C – after 4-5 days. If the air temperature drops to minus 3°C, seedlings may suffer.

Beet sowing

Features of care

Agrotechnical activities:

  1. Watering. The frequency of watering depends on the weather and the growing season. Watering rules:
    • the water rate increases during the period of growth and formation of root crops;
    • watering should be stopped a month before harvesting.
  2. Weed control. Due to weeds, up to 80% of the crop can be lost. Weeding the rows is carried out until the tops of the plants close.
  3. Thinning. Culture during the first 1,5 months grows slowly. But as soon as the seedlings have a pair of true leaves, thinning is carried out. On one running meter, 4-5 plants should remain, no more. The interval between adjacent sprouts is 25 cm.
  4. Loosening. The first time the soil is loosened 2 days after sowing, and then after each watering. For loosening use a flat cutter.
  5. Application of fertilizers. To increase the yield during the growing season, the crop is regularly fed. The composition of fertilizers and their quantity depends on the type of soil. Usually use:
    • nitrogen fertilizers – 130 kg per 1 ha;
    • potash-phosphorus mixtures – up to 150 kg per 1 ha;
    • boron-containing fertilizers – 180 kg per 1 ha.

If you do not stop watering 30 days before harvesting, the sugar content in the root crops will decrease and their keeping quality will deteriorate.

Diseases and pests

They try not to treat fodder beets with insecticides and fungicides so as not to harm the animals. To combat diseases and pests, mainly preventive measures are used.

Common beet diseases:

  1. Powdery mildew. It appears as a dirty white coating on the leaves. To resist a dangerous fungal disease helps:
    • timely destruction of plant residues;
    • observance of crop rotation;
    • application of mineral fertilizers;
    • spraying with fungicides;
    • timely watering.
  2. Cercosporosis. It affects the leaves – light spots with a brown-red border appear on them. The fight comes down to the timely destruction of plant residues, fertilizing beets with mineral fertilizers and taking measures to preserve moisture in the soil (loosening, snow retention, weeding).
  3. Phomosis. It usually appears at the end of the growing season, therefore it mainly harms root crops. The causative agent, penetrating inside, leads to rotting of the core. The cause of phomosis is often a lack of boron in the soil. Control measures – seed dressing with polycarbacin and the introduction of boron into the soil (3 g per 1 sq. M).
  4. Korneed. This disease causes rotting of shoots and roots. It develops on waterlogged soils, poor in humus. It is necessary to observe crop rotation, loosen the soil, dress the seed material.
  5. Rope rot. It affects root crops during storage. The causative agent may be bacterial or fungal in origin. Affected root crops first rot from the inside, later a gray or white coating appears on top. To prevent clamp rot, it is important to prevent wilting and freezing of root crops, to ensure optimal storage conditions.

The main pests of beets:

  1. Beet fleas. They gnaw through leaves, can kill seedlings. Events:
    • compliance with agricultural technology – early sowing, loosening, top dressing;
    • seed dressing;
    • with a mass attack of fleas – spraying with Phosphamide 40%.
  2. Beet aphid. It sucks juices from the above-ground parts of plants. It is recommended to spray plantings with 50% karbofos (800 liters per 1 ha).
  3. Beet fly. Its larvae damage the leaves. Deep autumn plowing and spraying with insecticides are necessary.
  4. Beet weevil. Eats leaves and roots. Control measures include loosening the soil, autumn plowing and spraying with insecticides. You can also lay out poisonous baits.

Harvesting and storage of crops

In order for root crops to be stored for a long time and not deteriorate, it is necessary to remove them in time, as well as create favorable storage conditions.

Recommendations:

  • Cleaning is completed before frost.
  • Root crops are dried, tops are cut off and adhering soil is removed.
  • Root crops are stored in well-ventilated cellars, in clean containers. The temperature is maintained at +2…+4°C.
  • Beets can also be stored in heaps – large piles. The width of the piles is 3 m, the length is 25 m, the height is 1,5 m. Straw and earth are applied over the root crops with a layer of at least 60 cm.

Collection of fodder beets

How does fodder beet affect animals?

Fodder beet is a valuable source of nutrition for a variety of animals. It can be given to cows, goats, pigs and chickens.

Fodder beet affects the body of animals in different ways:

  • Cows Regular inclusion of beets in the diet increases milk yield. The maximum norm is 10-18 kg per day. Half a month before calving, feeding with beets is stopped.
    Root crops are given in a steamed form. They are crushed and poured with boiling water, and then mixed with hay or straw.
  • Goats. Improves digestion. Increases milk yield and fat content. For a goat, 3-4 kg of beets per day is enough.
  • Chickens. Compensates for the lack of calcium in the body of birds. Eggs acquire a dense shell, their color becomes more saturated, the yolk becomes bright yellow. One individual per day should not exceed 40 g.
  • Pigs They are served raw and boiled. Pigs are happy to eat root crops. Beetroot normalizes digestion in animals and promotes weight gain. The root crop improves fat metabolism – this leads to a decrease in the fat content of meat.

Agrotechnics for growing fodder beet is simple and does not require large investments. Under favorable growing conditions, this crop gives high yields, which become the key to high milk yields and the successful fattening of animals for meat.

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Anna Evans

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