It is not for nothing that Belarus is called a zone of risky farming: cold May gave way to hot June, and in the first days of July, the thermometers rise above the 30-degree mark. How to save the future harvest of vegetable crops under such conditions, the Mayak journalist found out.
On the territory of the district, only three farms have the main specialization – growing vegetables: KSUP “Brilevo” and “Teplichnoye”, OJSC “Combine” Vostok “. The areas occupied by these crops amount to hundreds of hectares. How to help plants survive the abnormal heat, said the chief agronomist of KSUP “Brilevo”, Honored Worker of Agriculture Alexander Zaparovanny:
— To ensure the irrigation of vegetable crops in abnormal heat conditions, the farm has several sprinklers of the Reinke pivot irrigation system. Two of them can irrigate an area of 40 hectares, and the remaining 3 – half that. In this case, the length of the pipe is from 250 to 350 meters. They get water from a well on the territory of the agricultural enterprise.
A sufficient amount of moisture is received by onions, table beets, carrots, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, peas and asparagus beans. Existing sprinklers can provide irrigation for only a third of the areas occupied by vegetable crops.
The operation of sprinkling machines is regulated not only by an external factor – high air temperature, but also by technical capabilities: they cannot all work at the same time.
- Therefore, the irrigation regime is regulated: part of the crops is irrigated in the evening, the rest – in the morning, – adds Alexander Borisovich.
In KSUP Teplichnoye, whose products are known under the Beryozkino brand, only one field has a sprinkler.
“A special mobile unit has been placed in the Ulukovye region, which, if necessary, we launch at night, which allows us to avoid sunburn on plant leaves,” says Alexei Polevikov, chief agronomist of the agricultural enterprise. We closely monitor both the air temperature and the condition of the soil. And only in the event that vegetable crops require additional moisture, we start the sprinkler.
The energy engineer of the farm is responsible for maintaining it in working order, and the head of the agronomic service gives instructions on what parameters are needed for a particular start of the sprinkler, taking into account the state of soil moisture.
In Teplichnoye, only a third of the total area occupied by onions, beets, carrots and cabbages is provided with additional irrigation. In general, vegetable crops, including potatoes, occupy 290 hectares.
