February 22, Lepel /Own. inf./. Folk wisdom states: prepare your sleigh in summer and your cart in winter; a second proverb adds: you reap what you sow. At OJSC "Chareyshchina", they decided to inquire about the seed stock.
February 22, Lepel /Own. inf./. Folk wisdom states: prepare your sleigh in summer and your cart in winter; a second proverb adds: you reap what you sow. At OJSC "Chareyshchina", they decided to inquire about the seed stock. The consultant was the farm's chief agronomist, Valentin Parych.
Valentin Nikolaevich has dedicated his entire life to agriculture. In 1989, he moved here with his family, fleeing Chernobyl from the Vetka district, and has lived and worked in Chareyshchina ever since. He possesses extensive experience; his strong memory retains information about which crops grew in which fields in which year, and in many cases, he can name the variety, reproduction, and yield without error.
For spring sowing, the farm has planned 1305 hectares, of which 600 are for spring cereals. The lion's share of the spring grain acreage, 322 hectares, is planned for malting barley. The farm cultivates two varieties: Brorovar, of Belarusian selection, and Josephine, of French selection. For Brorovar, 60 tons of the second reproduction are available, and for Josephine, 50 tons of the same quality. Moreover, only 80 tons of seed material are needed to sow 322 hectares; the rest is not rushed to be sold or used as animal feed. Many years of experience show that not all winter crops survive the winter in good condition, and a certain portion has to be re-sown, which is why a certain reserve of spring seeds is necessary.
To improve quality, it is planned to purchase an additional 20 tons of Josephine malting barley seeds of the first reproduction by spring. The seeds are supplied by the specialized enterprise "BelSoLod". Why is preference given to French-selected varieties? The main quality of malting barley is its low protein content, with a maximum permissible value of 12%. Josephine surpasses Brorovar in this regard, as the latter's value is slightly higher.
Only 90 hectares are planned for spring wheat sowing, as the main harvest is expected from winter wheat, which covers 400 hectares. For spring sowing, 45 tons of Rassvet variety seeds of the second reproduction have been accumulated, with a requirement of 23 tons. In addition, five tons of Rassvet elite seeds will be purchased from the district variety testing station. Why elite?
-- Each subsequent reproduction may reduce yield by up to ten percent, so in our case, the yield difference could be up to 20%. This is why it is important for farms to monitor breeding work.
Six tons of seed are required for sowing 25 hectares of oats. Currently, "Chareyshchina" has 30 tons of "Zavet" variety seeds of the second reproduction, and another three tons of elite seeds are planned to be purchased from the "Algovskoye" farm in Vitebsk district.
Leguminous crops will be represented by "Zaozersky" variety feed peas of the first reproduction. Six tons are required for the planned 163 hectares of sowing, and 25 tons are available.
All seed grain is stored in the granary in the village of Zabaroŭje. Valiantsin Parych personally checks its preservation. On the one hand, grain is a simple thing, it does not require special storage conditions and is not afraid of cold. On the other hand, the main enemies of grain – rodents and moisture – can destroy the results of the hard work of a large team over the entire year in a short time. Therefore, even before storage, the roof was inspected and repaired where necessary, and poison against mice and rats was laid.
In the spacious, dimly lit room lie mountains of grain – the guarantee of a future rich harvest. The specific smell of the granary was immediately felt. Anyone who has worked in agriculture will never confuse it; it is the smell of prosperity, reliability, and confidence in the future. The grain is cleaned of weeds and debris, sorted; barley is on the right, other crops are on the left. Valiantsin Mikalayevich takes a handful of grain into his palm; it is "Jozefin" barley. The grains flow like a light stream between his fingers. The preservation is excellent; the grain could be sown right now.
The largest area, 370 hectares, is planned to be allocated for corn this spring – a nutritious feed for livestock. Two tons of corn seeds remained from last year at "Chareyshchina," and another 11 tons have already been purchased and delivered this year, which should be sufficient.
OAO "Chareyshchina" is well-known as a potato-growing farm; more than one hundred hectares are allocated for this crop every year. 2013 will not be an exception; 125 hectares are planned to be planted this year. 500 tons of "Skarb" variety potatoes of the first reproduction are stored in the potato storage facilities of the villages of Staraselle and Zabaroŭje. The potatoes are periodically checked, inspected, and sorted to remove damaged tubers.
This year, it is planned to sow 210 hectares of spring rapeseed, and the entire required volume of seeds, according to the agreement, should be provided by the Vitebsk Oil Extraction Plant closer to the sowing campaign. The plant is primarily interested in obtaining the required volumes of high-quality rapeseed, therefore it selects the varieties and supplies the seeds to the farms itself.
Overall, OJSC "Chareyshchina" is ready for the start of the sowing campaign; seeds have been accumulated in the required quantity and quality. The only thing the farm feels a pressing need for is preparations for treating the seed material immediately before application to the soil.
Vasily MATYRKA.
In the photo: Valentin Parich monitors the condition of the seed material.
Photo by the author.
