In recent years, spring drought has become something that accompanies us every year. So how to get a good yield of spring crops with the least possible exposure to drought conditions?
When preparing a field for sowing spring crops, we should take into account the requirements of the plant. Spring plants, contrary to appearances, have greater requirements than winter plants. They are also far more vulnerable to drought, which has been occurring far more frequently in recent years. With this in mind, the primary goal when tilling the soil for sowing spring crops should be to protect the field from evaporation after the winter melt, sowing fertilizers and thoroughly mixing the soil. Early spring tillage should be limited to shallow operations to shake the top layer and thoroughly break up clods. The most common spring tillage mistakes include: Tilling too early or too late when the soil is too wet or dry, and tilling too deeply, causing significant water loss.
To plow or not to plow?
What about plowing then? To plow in the spring or not to plow?
There is no clear answer to this question. Whether spring plowing makes sense depends mainly on the amount of rainfall that occurs during the growing season. There are cases when spring plowing turns out to be a necessity, such as: intercropping winter crops, converting fallow land into arable field, or simply lack of time to perform plowing in the fall. In such a situation, we recommend sowing as soon as possible after plowing so that the moisture that remains in the soil can be used immediately for emergence. Much better than spring plowing will be deep cultivation with a no-till combination. The KRYPTON PLUS no-till aggregate with a roof roller will perform very well in this role. The machine can work at a depth of up to 30 cm, and the roof roller beautifully compacts the soil, leaving the characteristic depressions in which water will collect.
When and how to fertilize under spring cereals
For spring-sown cereals, it is important to provide nutrients to start, so that the plant has something to draw on in the very early stages of development. First and foremost, we need to take care of PH, or soil acidity. The spring cereal most sensitive to acidity is, of course, barley. Let’s remember that soil pH will not be regulated in a month or two. It is a long-term process. If the soil reaction is not at the best level, and the spring crop has already been sown, then granular lime sown post-harvest (type 06a chalk will be the best choice) may be a good solution. Such a treatment can save the plantation, while it is a short-term measure. What about NPK fertilization? Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are recommended to be sown in full before sowing and thoroughly mixed with the soil to a depth of 10 to 15 cm. An excellent choice for this procedure will be the COBALT tillage unit, which, thanks to its durable spring tines, can successfully work to a depth of up to 20 cm. In the case of nitrogen fertilization, about 2/3 of the total planned dose of nitrogen should also be distilled before sowing and mixed into the soil. A very good choice in this case will be nitrogen in amide form, which acts slowly and remains available to the plant for a long time. The rest of the nitrogen should be given at the beginning of stalk shooting. Then we should choose nitrogen in the fast-acting nitrate form.
