In this guide you will learn what the agricultural calendar looks like in the case of 4 popular crops in Poland. How to prepare for sowing rapeseed, wheat, maize and sugarbeet? When to sow and when to fertilize? What micronutrients to use? Start preparing for the next season now.
Rapeseed is sown the earliest in the north-eastern regions, already in the 1st and 2nd week of August, while in other areas this date falls on the second half of August.
Sowing rapeseed should be preceded by pre-sowing plowing, made to a depth of about 20 - 22 cm, and soil harrowing. The average sowing depth of winter rape is 1.5 cm to 3.5 cm. On light and dry soils, the seeds should be sown deeper than on compact and moist soils. In the case of a seed sowing rate of 40 pcs/m2, it is recommended to use a row spacing of about 18 - 25 cm.
Rapeseed requires fertile soils, rich in humus and calcium, with a pH always above 6.0 (at a lower pH, the root system does not develop properly, which condemns the plants to worse yield).
In the case of rapeseed, liming (carbonate lime, dolomite, magnesium lime) is required one year in advance, immediately after the forecrop. It is recommended to fertilize with easily digestible P and K forms directly for sowing plowing. The most commonly used NPK compound fertilizer: in autumn 100 - 150 kg, in early spring - 300 kg with the assumed yield of 3.2 t/ha).
In autumn, rapeseed is fertilized in the proportion of 40 - 60 kg N/ha. If necessary, additionally, foliar application of a 10% urea solution. In spring, using a dose of 150 - 180 kg N/ha, use only about 50 - 70 kg/ha of nitrogen before or at the start of vegetation. The second part of the dose (about 60 - 100 kg N/ha) in the form of ammonium or amide nitrate can be used one or two times, from the beginning of the budding phase to the loosening of the buds in the cluster. Rapeseed, as a sulfur-loving plant, responds well to early spring fertilization with sulfur. It is advisable to use nitrogen and sulfur-containing fertilizer in early spring.
In order to provide rapeseed with micronutrients, it is necessary to provide foliar feeding with boron, which is contained in foliar fertilizers.
The following fungicides are used to protect rapeseed: tebuconazole and prothioconazole (systemic mean). They are dosed in the following proportions: in autumn 0.75 l/ha, and in spring 1 l/ha. The substances are used to combat, among others: black cruciferous, downy mildew, dry cruciferous rot or gray mold. They act as a habit regulator and plant protection agent.
Prothioconazole and fluopyram (systemic) are in turn dosed in the proportion of 1 l/ha. The substances protect the rapeseed during flowering until the petal falls. They help to fight black cruciferous rot, scleroderma and gray mold.
Insecticides, i.e. thiacloprid (systemic), has a contact, gastric effect. It is recommended to use it in the proportion of 0.3 l/ha. It fights shell pests such as: common pollen beetle, curculionidae beetles.
Thiacloprid, deltamethrin (systemic) act contact, gastric. In doses of 0.5 - 0.6 l/ha, they fight such threats as: beetles, common pollen beetles and cabbage midge. Deltamethrin (contact, gastric action) is dosed depending on the pests: for fleas and pods, 0.15 l/ha is enough; however, common pollen beetle requires a proportion of 0.1 l/ha.
Post-harvest cultivation (stubble cultivation, multiple harrowing), after pre-crops (white mustard, rape, turnip rape, oil radish) make a positive impact on wheat.
At the stage of pre-sowing cultivation, the plowing should be carried out to an average depth, 2 - 3 weeks before sowing. An early sowing date is important so that the tillering phase does not shift to spring. Late sown plants have shorter side shoots, spikelets are less fertile, and the root system is weaker. The wheat is sown in such time so that it develops 4 - 6 leaves before spring. This developmental stage is the best for hardening plants before winter. Sowing dates in Poland range from 5.09 to 5.10, depending on the region.
It is important to apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers "under the plow" in autumn. In times of water shortage, even 10 cm deep - due to drought.
In autumn, cereals consume only 30 - 50 kg of nitrogen and potassium and 15 kg of phosphorus. Even before sowing, it is necessary to secure the larger amounts of phosphorus and potassium, without fear of their losses. When straw is left in the field, use 80 - 100 kg of urea or other nitrogen fertilizer to protect the sorption and to decompose the organic material faster. It is additional nitrogen - not included in the nutrition of wheat. In autumn, with prolonged good weather conditions, it is advisable to apply up to 30 kg N/ha of nitrogen, for example in the form of urea spray, with the addition of microelements. At a yield of 8 t/ha, wheat takes up 184 kg N, 80 kg P2O5, 160 kg K2O, 40 kg MgO and 40 kg CaO. We deliver most of these ingredients in the fall. For pre-sowing fertilization, NPK multi-component fertilizers, adapted to the needs of winter wheat, are recommended.
The use of the nitrate form should be avoided in the fall due to the increased hydration of plants and thus their susceptibility to low temperatures. Additionally, it is recommended to use micronutrient supplements.
Use the remaining amount of nitrogen in the form of divided doses in the spring. After the winter period, the most important thing is to provide plants with phosphorus and magnesium (root regeneration and chlorophyll restoration), and then nitrogen. The safest form is the amide or urea form.
1st time. The application of 50% of the total spring N dose depends on the condition of the canopy after starting vegetation and on branching. The first dose affects the number of productive blades and the diversity of the ear elements.
2nd time. Nitrogen doses are the beginning of shooting phase (influencing the number of grains in the ear). Particular attention should be paid to fertilization with potassium and magnesium. Wheat absorbs potassium very intensively from the stage of shooting until flowering.
3rd time. The third dose falls on the heading phase and affects the percentage of protein in the grain. As in 2nd application, special attention should be paid to fertilization with potassium and magnesium.
From the stage of starting the vegetation, we use dedicated micronutrient fertilizers for wheat according to the recommended doses.
Maize is a plant with relatively low soil requirements. The field culture, pH in the range of 5.0 to 7.0 and the availability of water are important. The basic cultivation procedure is deep winter plowing - 30 cm. Spring treatments are limited to levelling and harrowing (it is important to keep water in the soil). Immediately before sowing, the soil should be loosened with the pre-sowing mashine to the sowing depth.
Maize has high fertilization requirements: 150 - 200 kg N, 80 - 120 kg P2O5; 140 - 180 kg K2O/ha. The availability of calcium, magnesium and trace elements is important. We apply liming at least 4 weeks before fertilization. Sulfur and magnesium are best delivered in the form of kieserite or magnesium sulfate: 1/3 of the dose in autumn, the remainder in spring.
On fertile soils, urea can be applied once, not later than 7 days before sowing. Before sowing, high doses in the ammonium form should rather be avoided, because in an alkaline environment the ammonium form turns into ammonia, which disturbs the emergence of maize.
On weaker soils, we use divided doses:
We supply all micronutrients using fertilizer dedicated to maize twice, in the stages of 4 - 6 leaves and 8 - 10 leaves. They contain Zn, Mn, Se and B. In this way we satisfy the total micronutrient requirement of maize, taking into account the required micronutrient ratios.
We can combat the weeds in maize directly after sowing or after emergence from the 2nd true leaf.
Sugarbeet is a crop that has high requirements for soil and fertilization. In late autumn it is recommended to pre-winter plow - leaving the field in a sharp furrow until spring. Subsoiling is recommended in case of compacted ground. In the case of subsoiling, pre-winter plowing is carried out to a depth of 18 - 20 cm. The type of treatments depends on the forecrop. In dry summers, the fields are leveled with a toothed harrow - it results in better water infiltration. Cultivation without plowing into intercrop mulch is becoming more and more popular. This limits water loss. Cultivation is highly dependent on rainfall (required 600-700 mm/year). Spring treatments include harrowing and levelling.
The beet is sown in the 2nd - 3rd decade of April. The required substrate temperature is 5 degrees Celsius. The sowing depth is 3 - 5 cm for coated seeds and 2 - 3 cm for uncoated seeds. The initial temperature fluctuations have a significant impact on the delay in emergence.
Beetroot requires a substrate with a neutral pH: pH 6.5 - 7.0. Liming should be performed before sowing the forecrop, or after harvesting the forecrop, before stubble cultivation. In autumn, apply P, K fertilizers and cover plowing.
The beetroot tends to grow vegetatively. Therefore, the ratio N : P : K = 1.0 : 0.8 : 1.2 is important. The solution is to use compound fertilizers. The average nitrogen dose per hectare is 180 kg N (light soils) and 240 N (heavy soils).
We supply nitrogen in two doses: pre-sowing and in the 5 - 6 leaf stage. Magnesium and sulfur similarly or when using fertilizers from the NPK group and dedicated micronutrient fertilizers.
Due to the beet's high demand for boron, foliar fertilization is necessary. We deliver the full range of microelements with dedicated fertilizers containing a complete set of microelements with boron and sodium.
In the early stages of development, the beet's nutritional requirement is low. It grows critically in the phase of storage root growth and vigorous leaf development. 75% of the total dose of N, P and K is taken in those periods.
Thanks to our calendar, you know exactly when to sow and how to fertilize rapeseed, wheat, corn and sugarbeet crops. All you have to do is stock up on high-quality fertilizers. Their wide assortment can be found in the offer of Dr Green.