Timing of beetroot and sugar beet harvesting

Beetroot - one of the most popular root crops - is grown in our country everywhere. The cultivation of this crop is carried out by both large agricultural enterprises and farmers, as well as ordinary summer residents in their suburban areas. Grown beet, like any other vegetable, with certain technologies. However, getting a good harvest is only half the battle. It is equally important to keep it intact and safe in the winter. And for this you need to know what technologies and terms of beet harvesting.

Root species

All beets cultivated in the fields and private allotments of Russia are divided into two main types: table and sugar. The first variety refers to the cultural. It is this beetroot growers on their sites. Sugar beet belongs to industrial crops. It is not used for food. It is grown only by large farmers and agricultural enterprises and goes for processing to obtain sugar.

Cleaning the beet table

Varieties of root crops of this variety can be early, medium and late ripening. Accordingly, the time of their harvesting will be different. The maturation period of early beets is about 50-80 days. When planting in late April - early May, thus, the harvest can be collected in late June - early July. However, domestic truck farmers usually grow on their sites only medium-ripened or late - ripening varieties of beets. The fact is that only such root crops are well kept in the winter. Ripen these varieties can be 80-100 days after sowing. Consequently, when planting at the end of April, beet harvest periods for medium-ripening varieties occur at the end of August - in September. The late-ripe beet ripens by mid-September-early October.

Of course, the time of harvesting this crop will depend directly on the climate of a particular locality. So, the timing of beet harvesting in the Urals is usually mid-late September. In October, there may be night frosts in this region. The same goes for Siberia. Here the harvest time can be shifted even more.

What you need to know about

The peculiarity of the beet table is that it begins to grow very actively after the weather is cool outside. In addition, it is at this time in the root crops begin to accumulate the maximum amount of nutrients. Therefore, summer residents and farmers try to postpone harvesting as soon as possible. However, it is impossible to delay this procedure too much in any case. Beet harvesting in the suburbs, for example, is usually made no later than October 14. The fact is that in the case of freezing, the roots of this culture become completely unsuitable for storage. Therefore, they should be collected before the onset of frost.

Do not delay with cleaning and in the case of very wet weather in the fall. Otherwise, the roots will become too watery, not particularly tasty, and will be poorly stored. If the autumn is wet, the time for beet harvesting in the Urals and Siberia can be postponed to the beginning and the middle of September, and in the European part of Russia - at the end of the month.

How to dig right

Farmers and large agricultural enterprises, thus, carry out beet harvesting in the fields in September-October. Owners of private dacha plots usually start this procedure in July. At this time, the roots of beets already reach 4-5 cm in diameter, and they can be used for cooking borsch, salads, etc. However, the main terms for harvesting beets in this case are the same: September-October.

When harvesting, you should follow these rules:

• Excavated root vegetables should be slightly dried and immediately put on storage. Leave the beet spread out near the garden on the ground for a long time. Otherwise, it will lose weight and become not so tasty.

• Before laying for storage, the beet is cut off from the beets. On the root, at the same time, petioles should be at least 1.5 cm long.

• Store beets in a cellar or cellar in boxes at a temperature of 1-3 gr.

Beet harvesting should be done correctly. This culture is very good. However, if there are any violations, the crop losses can be significant.

When to remove sugar beet

This variety is usually grown only on chernozem soils in the southern regions of Russia and in Ukraine. The timing of its harvesting coincides with the time of collection of beetroot. Sugar root crops also begin to grow intensively with the onset of cold weather. At the same time, it is in autumn that the sugar content in them sharply increases. And the more it is, the better, of course.

Ways of cleaning

Of course, in the fields this culture is excavated mechanically. Harvesting sugar beet can be done:

• On-line method. In this case, the roots are immediately delivered to the sugar picking point.

• The transshipment way. At the same time, beet harvesting is carried out for storage (temporary). Root crops are unloaded in special kagats, arranged directly on the fields.

• By mixed technology. In this case, beets are laid at night in beets, and in the daytime they are transported to reception points.

The most important procedure during the harvesting campaign is the correct setting of the equipment. Any mistake can lead to a significant loss of harvest. The working design of the combine must be adjusted in exact accordance with the width of the rows on the beet field, as well as the depth of the root crops.

How to process

Thus, the time for harvesting sugar beets is the same as for the dining room, that is, the end of September (around the 20th) - the beginning of October. By that time, sugar must be accumulated in the beet (not less than 13%, on average - 20-25%). From receiving points, root crops grown on the fields enter the processing enterprises. Here, sugar is extracted from them. This is done approximately like this:

• The juice obtained from beets is purified from nonsugars with the help of lime.

• The excess of the latter is removed by carbonation using carbon dioxide.

• Sulfur dioxide is used to reduce alkalinity and remove color .

• Further, the juice is poured into evaporating plants for thickening.

• The resulting syrup enters a special centrifuge.

• The sugar granulated from it is dried with hot air.

Thus, the more sugar in the beet, the more cost-effective it will be. And this means only one thing: to observe the terms of beet harvesting should be as accurate as possible. The same goes for the ordinary canteen of the variety. To not keep root crops on beds, in the same way, as well as to restrain, it is impossible. Delicious large root vegetables can be obtained only in time by digging them out of the ground.