Growing Lentils In The Northwest

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

In our country, as in the rest of the world, common lentils (cultivated) are grown. This is an annual plant with a height of 25-60 cm in the varieties common in production.

Stem almost erect or slightly lodging, tetrahedral, branched. Leaves are compound, paired with 2-8 pairs of leaflets, ending in a tendril or tendril rudiment. Leaflets are oval or linear. Flowers are small, 5-8 mm long, white, pink, violet-blue.

Pod is unilocular, bivalve, flattened, rhombic, 1-3 seeds. Seeds are flat, plate or almost spherical, 3-9 mm in diameter. Seed color varies from light green to black. Cotyledons are orange or yellow, rarely green. The mass of 1000 seeds in the varieties common in production ranges from 25 to 80 g.

The total warmth demand of the most common varieties of lentils during the growing season is 1500-1800 ° C of effective temperatures (> + 10 ° C). In the Leningrad region, this figure is 1600-1800 ° C, that is, within the ripening of the culture. Lentils begin to germinate at a temperature of 3-5 ° C, but friendly shoots appear in 7-10 days only when sown in soil heated in a layer of 10 cm to 7-10 ° C. Seedlings tolerate frosts at 5-6 ° C easily. Not only young, but also adult lentil plants are resistant to frost.

After the emergence of seedlings, lentils are more demanding for heat, grows normally and develops at an average daily temperature of 17-19 ° C. During the period of filling and ripening of seeds, the optimum temperature is 19-20 ° C. When seeds swell and germinate, lentils are demanding on moisture. However, during the period of flowering-seed formation, it reacts negatively to excessive moisture, in this case, its growing season lengthens, it is strongly affected by diseases - gray and white rot.

Growing lentils in garden and backyard plots

Now in our country 9 varieties of lentils are zoned: Vekhovskaya, Vekhovskaya 1, Niva 95, Penzenskaya 14, Petrovskaya 4/105, Petrovskaya 6, Petrovskaya greenozernaya, Petrovskaya jubilee, Rauza. All of them are large-seeded, plate, which is appreciated for growing and as vegetable plants. Of these, the most attractive variety for these purposes is the Petrovskaya Zelenozernaya variety, since it has green-colored cotyledons. Small-seeded lentils are usually grown for feed. In more northern regions, it can be sown for food purposes, since it is less demanding on growing conditions and is less affected by diseases. Here the varieties Stepnaya 244, Severnaya, Novourenskaya 3565 are useful.

Correct placement of lentils in the crop rotation is essential for obtaining sustainable yields.… On a personal plot, it is best to sow it after potatoes. In turn, lentils are a good predecessor for many crops, since they enrich the soil with nitrogen by fixing it from the air. It also leaves behind weed-free soil and in good physical condition. Since ancient times, lentils have been called the culture of the poor, since their plants are among the most unpretentious. Therefore, its culture was within the power of the poor strata of the population, whose farming was carried out most extensively, poor tillage did not make it possible to cultivate other more demanding plants. However, lentils give a high yield only on chernozems, well humified light loams or sandy loams rich in lime. On heavy acidic and saline soils with a high level of groundwater, it is low-yielding. When cultivated in more northern regions of Russia, the southern and southwestern slopes should be allocated for the sowing of lentils.

Manure is not applied directly to this crop, since it contributes to the development of the green mass of the plant to the detriment of the seed yield, therefore, organic fertilizers are used under the previous crop. Lentils are responsive to mineral fertilizers. Fertilization doses depend on the content of mineral nutrients in the soil. On household plots for autumn digging, you can add 30-40 g / m² of simple superphosphate, 6-10 g / m² of potassium chloride, in the spring when sowing, granulated superphosphate 6-7 g / m² is added to the rows. On acidic soils, liming is necessary. To do this, use lime, dolomite, phosphate rock, shale ash. Doses are set taking into account the acidity of the soil. If lentils are sown on the site for the first time, then to enhance its nitrogen-fixing ability before sowing, it is necessary to treat the seeds with bacterial preparations: nitragin or rhizotorfin. Although the same type of root nodule bacteria can infect peas, vetch and lentils, so if you sow lentils in an area where these legumes have successfully grown,then she will quickly find a partner for herself. Also, before sowing, the seeds are moistened with micronutrient fertilizers: ammonium molybdenum at the rate of 0.5-1.6 g per 1 kg of seeds and boric acid in the same dose.

Lentils are sown in the early stages simultaneously with early spring crops, when the soil temperature at the depth of seeding (5-6 cm) reaches 5-6 ° C. They are sown mainly in a continuous row method with row spacing of 15 cm. The seeding rate of lentils is 14-16 g or 200-250 seeds per m² for large-seeded varieties and 7-10 g / m² (270-320 seeds per m²) for small-seeded varieties. To ensure friendly emergence and leveling the surface of the field, the site must be rolled after sowing.

Caring for lentil crops is to create a favorable air-water regime for plants, to combat weeds, pests and diseases. To destroy weeds, harrowing is carried out with a rake along the shoots across the rows or along the diagonal of the plot, when the plants reach 6-7 cm in height and root well in the soil. You need to harrow in the afternoon at noon, when the plants are not so fragile, and they are less damaged. On household plots, harrowing can be carried out using a rake, and then weeding is carried out manually from weeds. In dry weather, the lentils are watered.

In household plots, lentils can be removed by simple pulling, that is, pulling out plants by the roots, tying them into sheaves. And after drying under a canopy, you can thresh with a flail or a stick, placing sheaves in a bag.

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