Harvest. Timing. Agricultural machinery

A high and high-quality harvest is the dream of any gardener and gardener, during a whole season spending time, labor, material and money for culture cultivation. How pleasant is the moment when the crop justifies all expectations or surpasses them! Therefore, it is important to know the harvesting time, which for each culture is individual, because any deviation directly affects the quality of the fruit.

When to clean potatoes?

Everyone's favorite and almost indispensable potato ... Timely and proper harvesting of such a garden culture determines the degree of its storage. With premature or late digging out of root crops, their quality is markedly reduced, which leads to significant crop losses. This is due to the presence of thin coating fabrics, characterized by poor development and high susceptibility to mechanical damage. Overripe potato tubers reduce resistance to disease and deterioration of commodity and nutritional qualities.

Terms of potato harvesting depend on many factors:

• Variety (short-, medium- and late-ripeness);
• Landing time: spring or summer;
• Economic purpose (use in the current period or long-term storage).

Terms of potato harvesting

• End of June - beginning of July . The harvesting of early varieties intended for use during the summer period is carried out.
• The beginning of September . During this period, harvesting of varieties of medium and late maturation is made. Cleaning is recommended to be done in dry weather, preferably in a short time, in order to be in time before the onset of permanent frosts. It is noted that if at the time of harvesting the temperature of the soil does not exceed 3 ^о С, then there is a risk of death of 80% of the crop. If the cleaning period coincides with night frosts that occurred earlier than the due date, then you should wait for complete thawing of the soil. It is not advisable to be late with potato harvesting in the years when there is a strong overmoistening of the soil. In this case, the resistance of the culture to late blight and other diseases is greatly reduced, and this negatively affects the quality and shelf life.

Signs on which it is possible to determine the maturation of potatoes while observing the right growing conditions:

• Theoretical knowledge of the characteristics of planted varieties and the timing of their harvesting.
• Yellowing of the foliage and its natural dying, after which, as a rule, the growth and vegetation of the plant ceases . It is worth knowing that summer varieties of potatoes can be dig out even if the tops have not yet completely withered. To accelerate the maturation of potatoes of early planting time, the green tops are recommended (in 2-3 weeks) to be mowed, this will cause the formation of coarse crusts on root crops and the ingestion of nutrients from the aerial part to the tubers. The skewed green mass must be burned, buried or removed from the site in order to avoid the development of diseases. It is important that at the beginning of harvesting the tops have a healthy appearance, was not affected by late blight.
• Trial digging. Ready to harvest tubers in diameter should exceed 3 cm and have a dense skin.

Features of preparation of potatoes for storage

The harvested potatoes, which have been harvested in a timely and qualitative way, should be dried - this will cause the skin to become rough. It is proved in practice that post-harvest potato drying reduces the exposure to late blight 9 times. When harvesting the potato, the site is plowed about 2 hours before collecting the tubers, which is not recommended to remain in the furrow for a long time, otherwise it is fraught with burns of the peel. Digested in damp weather, potatoes must necessarily be dried (under a canopy, in vaults or temporary collars with the use of a ventilation system). Dried potatoes are required to sort out, culling sick and damaged root crops, which need to be used up first. The laying in the cellar is required not immediately after harvest, but after 15-20 days.

In industrial horticulture, a potato harvester is often used to facilitate harvesting. Modern agrotechnics have stepped forward a lot - in the process of harvesting not only dig out the potatoes, but also clean it, weed out small clods of earth. Potato harvester is suitable for harvesting potatoes on light and medium dense soils; Collection of potatoes occurs with minimal mechanical damage and simultaneous cleaning from tuber contamination.

Picking tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers

• Tomatoes . Mass ripening of these vegetables occurs in August - early September, harvesting is carried out gradually, as the fruit ripens. When planning transportation or laying for long-term storage, the vegetable is ripped somewhat unripe. For storage, healthy fruits (preferably one size and variety) are laid, not exposed to low temperatures. Stacking tomatoes is required in shallow drawers, without peduncles, in one or two layers.
• Cucumber . Collecting all the beloved vegetables in the mass of his hurrying is required to produce daily (morning and evening), not letting the fruit grow. During harvesting, it is necessary to control the quality of the fruit, the condition of the plant itself, removing the damaged ovaries and leaves.
• Pepper . For sweet peppers, growth is optimal in the southern regions; In the northern it is required to grow in greenhouses or certain agricultural technology, adapted to these regions. Pepper is a continuously fruit-bearing plant, the collection of fruits which is required to produce as they mature. Pepper should be cut off carefully, otherwise it may be unintentionally damaged or pulled out the stem.

When to clean onion and pumpkin?

• Onions . Mass harvesting of onions is carried out in August. Determine its ripeness can be by lodging the leaves, drying them, changing the color of the outer flakes in certain varieties. Fruits must be collected carefully; For relief it is recommended to dig them up and shake them off the ground. After it is required to dry in the shade (about 3-7 days) and selected by grade and size, the leaves need to be cut, leaving up to 3-4 cm.
• Pumpkin: watermelons, pumpkins, zucchini and melons . Cleaning is done in September, when the vegetation period at the plant is over, the fruits do not receive nutrients and moisture and mostly dry up. Determine the ripeness of a pumpkin can be by tapping; For a ripe product, the sound will be hollow and deaf. Also about maturity will tell the crooked stalk, hardened bark with a clear pattern formed on it. Late-ripening varieties of pumpkin can be removed unripened; They will appear in the process of storage.

Carrots and beets: harvesting

Cleaning of these roots is done at the very last turn, before stable frost begins. Approximately in the central regions - this is the second half of September, in the southern - the second half of October. Be sure to clean before the rainy season, otherwise it will crack the fruit. If the fall is too warm, it is also not recommended to keep the beet long on the bed, otherwise the fruits can become fibrous and even ligneous. Exterior signs of beet maturity:

• The size of the root crops reached the required value, which is indicated on the sachet with seeds;
• Yellowed and dried lower leaves.

Many gardeners carrots are cleaned after frosts and even after falling of snow, it is important before it to crush the plant tops to the ground. Carrots dug from under the snow, according to observations, will have time to cool before laying for storage, which will significantly extend its terms. In warm weather, carrots are not recommended to be removed - the vegetable will be worse kept.

In order to facilitate the harvesting process, it is recommended that the vegetables be gently tampered with, shaking off from the ground when pulled out. The stump must be broken off or cut off, leaving a 2-centimeter stem. Storage of carrots, beets, celery, turnips, radishes is recommended to be done in small boxes mixed with a 3-centimeter layer of wet sand or peat. Before storing for the purpose of preventing disease, root vegetables should be powdered with chalk or ash.

Cabbage: collection and storage

Later varieties of cabbage should be removed from the beds before the onset of frost, tentatively - until mid-October. It is recommended when cutting cabbage to leave long stumps and several covering green leaves. It is recommended to store vegetables in cellars on wooden decks or in boxes of 2-3 layers, laid with cobs up. You can also store cabbage in nets and bags that are suspended from hooks or poles. This will ensure good ventilation and prolong storage.

Harvesting of cereals

Winter wheat harvesting is performed in the middle of the waxy ripeness (with grain moisture of 20-35%) by direct combining and separate methods, lasting no more than 10 days, otherwise loss of grain from shedding is possible.

Spring wheat (its growing season is about 90 days), cleaned in early July in the southern regions, in August - the second half of September - in the eastern and northern. In the phase of wax ripeness cleaning is done in a separate way, with full ripeness - by direct combining.

Harvesting of sugar corn is made in the phase of milk ripeness of grain, the external sign of which is the formation on the outer layers of the wrapper drying edge. The grain is full, has a yellow color, its rows are tightly closed. When pressing on it with a fingernail the shell bursts, white milk liquid flows out of the grain. Harvesting of corn is done gradually, in 2-3 hours, as it ripens.