Timing and norms of sowing millet using the row sowing method and further care of the plantings
Millet is one of the most widely grown crops in the world. It is cultivated in Asia, Europe, Africa, and America. In terms of the content of nutrients, millet is indispensable in human nutrition. It is especially useful for people with diseases of the cardiovascular system, as it contains a large amount of easily digestible potassium.
The agricultural technology of millet allows it to be cultivated in a wide variety of climatic zones. This crop is drought-resistant, has high yields and low costs. The article will tell you about the technology of cultivating the crop and planting millet seeds in an ordinary way.
What is the ordinary sowing method?
Compliance with the technology of cultivating agricultural crops is a guarantee of a rich harvest. The most important steps include determining the optimal sowing method.
The row method is more often used for cereals, since it provides better conditions for seed germination, allows the grain to receive maximum nutrition per unit area, is evenly illuminated for plants and does not shade each other.
In addition to grains, this method is also adopted for many vegetable and industrial crops.
The main characteristic of row sowing is the row spacing. It depends on the crop requirements for agricultural technology. For example, row crops are planted less often - with a width sufficient for the passage of cultivators. Potatoes, buckwheat, corn, beets, sunflowers and others are planted this way.
For grains, including millet, 15 cm is sufficient. This method is called narrow-row. The shape of the sown area is a rectangle. On slopes, rows are built transversely to prevent soil erosion and reduce moisture loss. The sowing spacing, as a rule, for grain crops is 1.2-1.5 cm. The rows are located from north to south for maximum illumination.
The cross method consists of a double pass of the sowing area: along and across with a reduced rate of seed placement. In this way, better placement of plants in rows is achieved, which will subsequently allow them to receive sufficient lighting, nutrition and moisture.
The belt row method consists of sown crops in 2-3 lines with wide row spacing. This allows the plants to develop well and allows them to be processed mechanically.
With the row sowing method, coulter or disc seeders are used.
Reference. The Chinese were the first to simply cultivate it 7,000 years ago.
other methods
Depending on the crop being sown, climatic conditions and soil characteristics, other types of sowing can be used:
| Way | Peculiarities | Cultures |
| Solid | Grain is scattered using airplanes and seeders without coulters.
A rarely used method due to large losses of seeds and poor placement of them in the soil. |
Rice, winter grasses, lupine |
| Dotted | Produced by precision seeders for uniform distribution of calibrated seeds. This allows you to replace manual cutting of plants with mechanical thinning. | Row crops: sugar beets, corn |
| Grebnevoy | Seeds are planted in rows on the tops of ridges in northern areas with waterlogged soil. | Potatoes, vegetables |
| Square | Plants are planted in the corners of the square, which completely eliminates manual labor when caring. | Seedlings of vegetables (tomatoes, eggplants), melons |
| Gnezdovoy | Seeds are planted in nests of several pieces in each. | Row crops |
| Square-nested | Planting several seeds into the soil in the corners of a square for fast germination, better growth and fully mechanized weeding. | Potatoes, corn, cotton |
The choice of sowing method is determined not only by the specified conditions, but also by the agricultural technology available to the enterprise and economic benefits.
Reference. More than 440 species of millet grow worldwide.
Millet seeding rate for row sowing method
Depending on the chosen method of planting seeds into the soil, it is necessary to maintain the correct ratio of the amount of grain per hectare of area:
- in arid or steppe areas with narrow-row sowing - 3 million germinating grains per 1 ha, with wide-row sowing - 2.5 million;
- in forest-steppe zones using any of the sowing methods - 3.5 million seeds per 1 hectare.
Under unfavorable weather conditions, the seeding rate should be increased by 15-20%.
Sowing dates
Depends on varieties (early, mid- or late-ripening), region, weather conditions, degree of weed infestation of the field.
In the southern, drier zones, the crop ripens even when planted in early July. However, you need to monitor the dryness of the soil - if its top layer is dehydrated, you can no longer sow.
If the timing of the onset of spring coincides with long-term observations, millet can be planted as early as mid-May, starting with the most weedy fields. Until mid-June - provided that the optimal level of soil moisture is maintained - in areas that are clearer of weeds.
Reference. The food uses grain, known to everyone as millet.
Sowing depth
Depending on the degree of soil moisture, millet is planted:
- to a depth of 4-5 cm when moderately damp;
- 7-8 cm when dry;
- 10 cm on light soils.
Due to the presence of epicotyl, millet tolerates deep planting well.
Optimal growing conditions
To obtain friendly, quick shoots, it is necessary to take into account the temperature of the soil and air when sowing millet.
Minimum temperature for germination
Millet should be sown only when the threat of frost has passed and the soil has warmed to +12...+15°C.
The most intensive seed germination is observed when the air temperature is +25...+30°C. The critical minimum is +8…+9°С. At this temperature, seedlings appear in 10-15 days, at +15°C - after 5 days, at +20...+25°C - in a maximum of three.
If after emergence the temperature drops to -3...-5°C, the plants will die.
Reference. Millet porridge indispensable in dietary nutrition - it removes toxins from the body and has a positive effect on all systems and organs.
How millet grain grows and blooms
Millet is a herbaceous annual, reaching 1.5 m. Well-developed root system, hollow branched cylindrical stems with slight pubescence, lanceolate leaves. The drooping panicle inflorescence can reach up to a third of the plant's height.
The spikelets are located at the end of the branches one at a time. Each has two self-pollinating flowers. By the end of the growing season (for different varieties from 60 to 120 days), the fruits ripen - round grains with a diameter of about 2 mm of different colors depending on the variety (from white or yellow to red and even black).
Cultivation technology
Millet is also used as an insurance crop. Thanks to late sowing dates, they can replace dead seedlings of winter or spring cereals.For almost all crops, millet is the optimal predecessor. It is not recommended to sow it just before or after corn due to the risk of stem moth infestation.
Suitable predecessors for millet:
- pulses;
- row crops;
- perennial herbs;
- weed-free winter cereals.
Soil preparation:
- weed removal;
- accumulation and retention of moisture;
- fertilizer.
When applying fertilizer to the soil, the following proportions per 1 kg of grain must be observed:
- 3.3 kg – potassium;
- 3.0 kg – nitrogen;
- 1.4 kg – phosphorus;
- 1 kg – calcium.
Nitrogen fertilizers increase the yield of millet, and do not stimulate the growth of powerful green mass, as in most cereals. Organic fertilizers are applied when growing predecessors to reduce the risk of weed growth.
If there is a lack of any microelements in the soil, they are added at the stage of emergence. To stimulate good development of the root system, additional phosphorus is added at the beginning of the growing season.
The variety is selected taking into account zoning, soil acidity, soil fertility, timing of grain germination, and amount of precipitation. About 50 varieties of this crop are zoned in the Russian Federation.
The best ones:
- Saratovskoe 853 - for the southern and south-eastern regions.
- Dolinskoye 86 – for the center and east of the Russian Federation.
- Veselopodolyanskoye 367 – for the central Chernozem region, south and southeast.
- Kazanskoe 506 - for Siberia and the Urals.
- Novourenskoye 241 – for the center and northeast.
- Omsk 9 – for Siberia, Udmurtia and the Nizhny Novgorod region.
- Podolyanskoye 24/273 – for central and black earth regions.
Seed preparation
To disinfect and increase germination, it is necessary to treat the seeds with Fenoram, Vitavax or Baitan two weeks before sowing.Then they are kept in air for 5-7 days with periodic shoveling to increase germination energy.
Crop care
Care includes post-sowing rolling and pre-emergence harrowing, as well as a number of standard procedures:
- Rolling with ball and ring rollers for greater seed-to-ground contact in dry areas.
- Harrowing with light tine, net or seed harrows to loosen the soil crust and undermine weeds. This procedure is carried out twice during the growing season - before emergence and during bushiness.
- Weed control. Spraying crops in the tillering phase with herbicides: "Agritox" - 0.9-1.5 l/ha, "Elant" - 0.6-0.8 l/ha, "Magnum" - 8 g/ha.
- Pest protection. In the phase of sweeping millet against the stem borer, insecticide treatment is carried out: “Karate Zeon” - 0.2-0.3 l/ha, “Senpai” - 0.2-0.3 l/ha. For aphids and millet mosquito: “Rogor-S”, “Kemidim”, “BI-58” - 0.7-0.9 l/ha.
- Inter-row cultivation as weeds grow.
- Hilling in the booting phase.
- Harvest. Since the grain ripens unevenly, if the harvesting technology is not followed, you can lose up to 20-25% of the grain. Therefore, it must be carried out separately: when more than 75% of the millet is ripe, mowing is carried out with reapers and threshing for 3-5 days. The cleaned grain is dried and stored while maintaining a humidity level of 13-14%. In direct harvesting, harvesting occurs when the millet is 100% ripe. This way you can get additional green mass.
If millet cultivation technology is not followed, crops may die or lead to economic losses due to low yield.
Reference. The most productive and high-quality cereal is considered to have a reddish tint.
Productivity per 1 ha
Millet is a drought-resistant crop that ripens even where other crops die. Its yield depends on the variety, cultivation technology, and natural and climatic features of the region. If you follow the rules of agricultural technology, millet can produce up to 14-17 c/ha.
The sown area of millet in the Russian Federation in 2018 amounted to 259.8 thousand hectares, having decreased by 54% over 10 years. The largest area under this crop is occupied in the Saratov, Rostov, Orenburg, and Volgograd regions. In total, 217.2 thousand tons of grain were harvested, and the yield was 11.6 c/ha.
Conclusion
Despite a significant reduction in the area under millet, it continues to remain one of the leading crops in the Russian Federation. This indicates the great demand for cereals, its quality characteristics, easy agricultural technology compared to other ones, high yields and beneficial properties for humans.
In addition, millet is an effective forage crop that, in addition to grain yield, produces powerful green mass with minimal production cost. If the cultivation technology is followed, the economic profitability of this cereal is very high.