Growing mustard plant as a catch crop - why and how?
Mustard plant, due to the rapid emergence and significant growth of the green mass, it is very popular and valuable crop grown by farmers after harvest of the main crop as a catch crop cultivator, which can be used for green forage for animals or plowed as green manure.
Green matter can be utilized after the period of 50 to 70 days from seeding at low costs incurred in its production. Well-developed mustard plant plowed as green manure can replace about 20 tons of manure, which is very important on farms where there is no livestock production.
Mustard plants grown as polonium after cereals apart from providing the soil with organic matter plays a very important role as a plant phytosanitary, because it reduces likelihood of numerous dangerous diseases and pests that threaten crops.
Mustard plants also have properties eradicating cyst and particularly some varieties, such as Barge, Concerta, Litember, Maryna, Martigena, Metex, Raden, Rota, Sirola and Tango.
Mustard plants can be grown in pure stand, as well as accompanying plants which include: phacelia, buckwheat, phacelia of buckwheat. These plants are perfect for each other because they have a very similar climate and soil requirements, have similar growth and agronomic requirements.
The best conditions for the rapid growth of the mustard plants is adequate rainfall and moderate temperatures (rather cool) in August and September.
Soil for mustard plants
The preparation of mustard plants is not particularly difficult and brings on lighter soils plowing or disking to gruberowania or a depth of about 10 cm and on heavier soils it is recommended that the plate plowing depth of 14-18 cm, preferably which will affect plant development, but due to to reduce the cost does not exclude growing analogous to that which is recommended for light soils.
If cultivation is carried out using a disc harrow stubble cultivator or very good solution is to equip them with a special drill to secondary crops, the purchase cost is relatively low and greatly facilitates sowing catch crops in a single pass.
In order to increase the amount of green mass can be used very moderate mineral fertilization, which do the sowing that fertilizers were carefully mixed with the soil.
Regarding the date of sowing of mustard it should be sown as soon as possible after harvest of the main crop. The optimal time for the beginning of August to 20 August. Mustard can also be hay later, but it involves getting a smaller amount of green mass especially when combined with adverse weather conditions.
It is very important to obtain satisfactory yields mustard is to ensure adequate staffing of plants, which will provide a compact canopy. For this purpose, more than doubles the seeding compared with sowing of the mustard seed and the sowing of 18 - 25 kg / ha.
Mustard seed in mixtures should be sown in the following amounts:
If cultivation is carried out using a disc harrow stubble cultivator or very good solution is to equip them with a special drill to secondary crops, the purchase cost is relatively low and greatly facilitates sowing catch crops in a single pass.
In order to increase the amount of green mass can be used very moderate mineral fertilization, which do the sowing that fertilizers were carefully mixed with the soil.
Regarding the date of sowing of mustard it should be sown as soon as possible after harvest of the main crop. The optimal time for the beginning of August to 20 August. Mustard can also be hay later, but it involves getting a smaller amount of green mass especially when combined with adverse weather conditions.
It is very important to obtain satisfactory yields mustard is to ensure adequate staffing of plants, which will provide a compact canopy. For this purpose, more than doubles the seeding compared with sowing of the mustard seed and the sowing of 18 - 25 kg / ha.
Mustard seed in mixtures should be sown in the following amounts:
- 7 to 11 kg of mustard seed + 3-4 kg of phacelia + 40-50 kg of buckwheat, or
- 9-14 kg of mustard seed + 3-5 kg of phacelia
Of course, the principles of selecting the appropriate standard seed we use exactly the same as when drilling for example. Cereals, or soils with a higher culture, we use less seeding.
Plowing mustard seed green manure should be made no later than the end of October to a depth of 20-25 cm. It should be noted that the procedure performed at the time when the plants are still green, not woody and will easily break the soil in the period from plowing until sowing spring crops.
The benefits of plowing 10-14 tons of mustard 1 ha is in addition to previously mentioned is the introduction to the soil:
Plowing mustard seed green manure should be made no later than the end of October to a depth of 20-25 cm. It should be noted that the procedure performed at the time when the plants are still green, not woody and will easily break the soil in the period from plowing until sowing spring crops.
The benefits of plowing 10-14 tons of mustard 1 ha is in addition to previously mentioned is the introduction to the soil:
- 30-50 kg/ha P2O5 ,
- 125-150 kg/ha K2O,
- 80-100 kg/ha N
We offer mustard seeds for catch crop - contact us for details.
Yellow
Mustard Seeds
Yellow mustard is used as a spice. The hot, burning taste of mustard comes from the essential oils inside the seeds.
Brown
Mustard Seeds
Brown mustard seeds are used as condiment, but also in medicine. Their colour ranges from dark brown to black.
Oriental
Mustard Seeds
Oriental mustard contains tannins that make good environment for mites, as well as Gram(+) and Gram(-) bacteriae.