Cereals today
Types and characteristics of grain crops
Varieties
How to grow:
- Grain crop growth phases
- Growing stages
Features of growing grain crops on an industrial scale
Grain production is the basis of human civilization. "Fertile Crescent" – such a name was given to the territory in the Middle East, the birthplace of agriculture, and it clearly shows how much civilization depended on grain crops. The Silk Road ran along the Eurasian "bread belt". The surviving decrees of the Chinese Empire said that agriculture was the basis of its success and prosperity.
With the development of agriculture, the population grew establishing bigger communities, towns, cities. They had to manage grain collection and storage, make decisions on workforce balancing – this is how government authorities emerged. Farming brings forth sedentary life – no one needs to move around in search of food anymore, everything they want is always here.
The first mention of the result-oriented grain cultivation and processing dates back to the early Neolithic period. Back then, wheat, barley, rye and oats were domesticated. A little later, China began to grow rice and millet. Independently of each other, people of Mesopotamia, East Asia, and the Nile Valley started using organic fertilizers (compost, manure, ash) to make plants grow faster.
Cereals today
Grain production is the main branch of agriculture, foundation of economic systems. Heavy crops increase the outputs of bread, biofuels, cereal extracts, syrups, molasses, animal fodder, etc.
Industries closely related to agriculture:
- mechanical engineering,
- animal husbandry,
- selection,
- chemical industry (fertilizers),
- public welfare.
Types and Characteristics of Grain Crops
Wheat, barley, oats, corn, rice, buckwheat and peas are best marketed on a global scale. As of 2021, Russia remains the world’s largest wheat exporter, it also sells barley, corn and other crops. Main buyers: Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan.
- Bread grains — these include wheat, rye, rice, oats, corn, millet, barley, buckwheat, etc. Almost all belong to the grass family, buckwheat — to the buckwheat family.
- Legumes — beans, peas, lentils, and other legumes.
Grain is classified according to its application: for the food industry, for fodder (animal food). Food grains are used to make flour and cereals, in beer brewing, alcohol and oil production, etc. The classification is conditional, because flour, butter and fodder are often made from one kind of grain.
Other classifications:
- By families — cereals, legumes, amaranth, buckwheat, oilseeds.
- By composition — high in starch, protein, fat.
- By purpose — flour-grinding, cereal, fodder, technical.
- By sowing time — spring and winter.
Characteristics
Cereals differ from each other in appearance, taste and shape. We all know the taste of buckwheat, rice, peas or lentils. But despite these differences, they are very similar in composition. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats percentage: 10-15, 1.5-6, 55-70% respectively, plus vitamin B complex, provitamins A, D. The composition may vary depending on soil, fertilizers, climate, variety. All cereals and legumes are easy to store, the grain is dried on its stalk, then the crop is dried in barns, where, provided the temperature and humidity conditions are observed, it can retain its taste and useful substances for several years.
According to the structure, they are divided into:
- Climbing, i. e. legumes with pods.
- Straight – bread grains with ears, corn being an exception.
Varieties
Let’s have a look at the most productive varieties of crop leaders in the world market.
Wheat is a bread grain and one of the most popular cereal crops in the world. There are winter and spring wheats, soft (common), and durum. Flour is made from soft flour, pasta and cereals are made from durum.
Popular varieties:
- Altaiskaya 50,
- Bezostaya 1,
- Varyag,
- Don-95,
- Zarya,
- Moscovskaya 39,
- Simbirka,
- Spartanka, etc.
Rye is the second most important cereal, it can be winter or spring. More than 50 varieties of rye are grown in Russia, including Vyatka, Omka, Bezenchukskaya.
Barley is used in food and brewing industries, and for the production of fodder. Varieties: Kovcheg, Borisfen, Selena Star, Dobrynya 3.
Oats are used primarily as a highly nutritious feed for horses, poultry, as well as for cereals, flakes, and vegetable milk. Varieties: Borets, Talisman, Lev, Strigunok.
Corn differs from other cereals by a long powerful stem, inflorescences in the form of cobs. It is used as food, consumed fresh, canned, dry in cereals and flakes. Flour, oil, starch, animal feed are made from corn. Varieties: pop corn — Krasnaya Strela, Zeya, dent corn — Red Corn, Blue Jade, sugar corn — Honey Nectar.
Buckwheat is used in the form of cereal, flour, as a honey plant. Varieties: Agidel, Bogatyr, Devyatka, Kama, Ufimskaya.
Rice — long-grain, medium-grain and round-grain, used as food in the form of cereals, flour, oil, and drinks. After milling, bran is fed to animals. Varieties: Arborio, Devzira, Valencia, Basmati.
Peas — sugar edible, or shelling for conservation and fodder. Varieties: Dakota, Zaznayka, Premium, Venzel.
How to Grow?
The main grain-growing companies in Russia are agricultural organizations and farms. Despite the difference in the structure, shape, application and taste of grain, the cultivation mechanism is the same for everyone.
Phases of growth of grain crops:
- Swelling and germination of seeds — before sprouts emerge, a grain needs a temperature of 10-20 ℃, water — up to 100-125% of its mass. In salty soils, swelling is delayed. The process is slowed down by a lack or excess of water, frost, hot dry weather, crust on the soil surface.
- Sprouting — for spring crops, sprouts appear 7-10 days after sowing, for winter crops — after 90-100 days. For a good harvest, it is important that sprouts are even and thick, sticking to sowing norms and applying fertilizers. After 10-14 days from the first sprouts, 3-4 true leaves emerge, the root system is formed.
- Tillering — side shoots grow from underground nodes, which join the main stem. At the same time, a secondary root system grows. The number of side shoots depends on the characteristics of variety, climate, soil moisture. For different crops, the process of shoot formation is different, for example, they appear with a third true leaf in wheat, and with 6-7 leaves in corn.
- Booting — stem growth and formation of generative organs. At this stage, it is especially important to water and feed plants on time. Leaf area increases rapidly, roots develop.
- Heading — ear (panicle) emergence. A period of increased growth. Lack of moisture and hot weather disrupt the formation of future grains.
- Flowering — occurs during heading or immediately after it. Self-pollinating plants are pollinated by their own pollen; in cross-pollination, pollen is carried by insects or the wind.
- Ripeness — consists of three stages: formation, filling, and maturation. Grains become hard, full, moisture content decreases to 8-12%. Time to harvest.
- Post-harvest ripening — in a barn, the ripening process is completed. Seed germinating ability improves, fatty acids turn into fats, synthesis of protein compounds ends.
On average, from the moment of sowing the grains to full ripening, 3-4 months pass. The exact time depends on the variety, crop type, and weather.
Growing stages:
- Tillage.
- Fertilization.
- Seed preparation and sowing.
- Handling and care.
- Harvesting.
- Drying and storage.
Tillage
Frost-resistant winter crops are sown before the winter, in early autumn. Spring crops are sown in spring, in mid-April. Soil preparation depends on it. Preparations for planting winter crops begin immediately after harvest. Lands for spring crops are being prepared in spring.
What does tillage consist of?
- Plowing – soil is fertilized, stems and roots are chopped.
- Leveling – cultivation in autumn, harrowing in spring.
Fertilization
Fertilizers are first applied at the plowing stage, usually these are organic matter, manure, or compost. Secondly – before sowing, these are granular nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, superphosphates. In the process of growth, plants will be fed two or three more times.
For winter crops, fertilizers are applied in two stages. The first, before winter – phosphate and potassium fertilizers and organics, so that the plants form strong roots and make it through the winter. The second, in early spring – nitrogen fertilizers, for intensive growth. Once again, nitrogen is applied when the first node emerges and during the last leaf period – for better yield.
Spring crops are first actively fertilized when the above-ground shoots emerge. With nitrogen: on the day of sowing, when the first node appears, at the heading stage. With phosphorus: before pre-sowing cultivation. With potassium: during plowing.
Seed Preparation and Sowing
Before sowing, seeds are treated with a special chemical composition, which increases their resistance to diseases, pests, and stimulates growth. On an industrial scale, the process is automated.
The treated seeds are ready for sowing. The timing depends on the variety, local climate, soil, and other conditions. It is important that the entire amount of grain is sown at about the same time, otherwise the harvest will be delayed. Seeders are used for planting, some of the models immediately apply fertilizer.
Handling and Care
Without proper care, any change in conditions – disease, pest attack, sudden changes in temperature – will affect the yield. The crop care program starts from the first sprouts and ends at the harvest stage. The procedure varies depending on the terrain and climate. Basic care consists of protection against diseases, pest control (treatment with insecticides), lodging prevention, for winter crops – snow retention, spring soil loosening.
Harvesting
As a rule, crops are harvested with the help of combines. When maturation is uneven, stems are different in length, a lot of plants are lodged, a two-stage harvesting method is used – first, mowing with row harvesters; three to five days later, threshing with combines.
Drying and Storage
Grains without stalks and ears are brought to granaries or to an elevator. There, they are dried, checked for quality and sent for processing.
Features of Growing Grain Crops on an Industrial Scale
Demand for grain is constantly growing, so the government offers strong support to industries and farms that grow wheat, rye, barley, and other crops. If you rent equipment and a field and invite workers, your task is only to manage the processes. Risks, such as pests, abrupt change in weather, non-observance of crop rotation, can be prevented or minimized.
Where to begin?
Begin with the advice of an agriscientist working in your area. They will help you choose a field, assess the soil condition, prepare a feeding plan, and recommend varieties of crops with maximum yield. Production can be registered as an agricultural enterprise, such form of incorporation allows you to hire people.
Next, you need to:
- Buy or rent a plot – preferably, about 500-600 hectares.
- Purchase grain for sowing.
- Find a team for sowing and caring for plants, an agronomist, an accountant, tractor and combine operators.
- Find equipment: sowers, plows, tractors, mowers, combine harvesters, cultivators.
- Build or rent barns for storing seeds of grain crops and fertilizers, warehouses for equipment.
Where to Sell?
Clean grain is bought by grain processing enterprises, food storage depots, animal feed manufacturers, and farms. Products can be exported to China, Turkey, Europe.