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Oilseed radish Tambovchanka is an annual honey plant belonging to the Cruciferous family. The plant and rapeseed are very similar in a number of ways. Often the culture is used as green manure – green top dressing. The seeds of the vegetable are half made up of vegetable oil. Oil radish is widely used in cooking, pharmacology, and cosmetology. It also acts as a raw material for biofuels. This type of radish does not form a root crop. It produces only seeds and flowers. The height of one individual, on average, reaches 1,5 meters. The leaves are usually “cut”. The fruit of the vegetable is an 8-centimeter pod with seeds. The root of the culture is a branched rod thickened in the upper part. The special value of the plant is in the possibility of growing greenery even at low ambient temperatures. You can sow a vegetable in cold regions. It tolerates moisture deficiency well and is suitable for growing on heavy soils of clay composition.
Radish as siderat
Vegetables, like rapeseed, are increasingly used as green manure. This phenomenon is gaining industrial proportions. This is due to the depletion of the soil.
Soil protection and enrichment
Radish is characterized by a strong, developed root system. The long stem allows the plant to absorb nutrients from the lower layers. The tops of the crop rot and become rich in organic matter and humus top dressing.
The use of an oilseed vegetable today is quite effective. Culture reliably protects the land from erosion in autumn and spring. And if the remains of plants are left in the garden, then in winter they will be able to reliably hold snow, that is, they will provide the soil with water and protect it from deep freezing.
The vegetable has a positive effect on the structure of the earth. It loosens the soil and ensures its drainage even at a considerable depth. As a result, the soil passes moisture and air better.
The remains of the root and its processes nourish the earth with minerals. There are 85 kilograms of nitrogen per kilogram of soil, 25 kilograms of phosphorus and a centner of potassium.
Phytosanitary qualities
The culture contains essential oils, which helps protect the culture itself and the soil from fungi and pest attacks. Oilseed radish often acts as a prophylactic to avoid attacks by wireworms, potato scab, and nematodes. The dense green mass of the vegetable perfectly shades the ground and prevents the germination of weeds. The pod is also used to control weeds that are difficult to remove, such as wheatgrass. Decayed leaves are an excellent breeding ground for soil-friendly microorganisms.
However, it is forbidden to use this species as a green manure precursor of cabbage.
Video “Sowing radish”
In this video you will see how to sow this crop correctly.
Radish as a fodder crop
Like rapeseed, radish is used as livestock feed. This use of the vegetable became possible due to its high yield and rapid ripening. From a hectare it is easy to collect 300-400 centners of fruits, and by systematically fertilizing the land, the figure can be raised to 700 centners. Between sowing and the formation of plants takes about one and a half months. During the season, you can mow the tops three times. Greens are given to animals in their pure form, sometimes it acts as a raw material for the preparation of silage, haylage, briquettes, grass meal. Radish is ensiled with other herbs, and also included in oat and pea mixtures. After the formation of 4 leaves, the plant is an excellent accompaniment to corn.
For food, it is better to plant a vegetable together with sunflowers, legumes and cereals.
Weeding the crop allows you to walk animals on pasture even in autumn. The formation and development of plants occurs at a temperature of 5°-6°. Radish frosts are not terrible: they develop well even at -4 °. And already formed sprouts tolerate well even an indicator of – 7 °.
The culture is very nutritious. Its energy value is similar to mixed fodder, alfalfa and clover. There is a lot of protein in a vegetable: up to 26%. In this case, the protein consists of the optimal number of amino acids. Radish contains a lot of zinc, potassium, iron and other elements. During flowering, a kilogram of green mass has 30 milligrams of carotene and 600 milligrams of vitamin C.
Rare as honey
An oil-bearing vegetable, like rapeseed, is an excellent honey plant. Such a radish has a long flowering period (about a month) and is able to produce nectar even in the cool season. Collection of “honey” is usually carried out in early spring and mid-summer. Although, usually during this period, honey plants are already fading. Nectar contains up to 20% of the mass of sucrose, fructose and glucose. It has a pleasant smell and a number of medicinal characteristics.
However, radish honey thickens quickly, so you can’t leave it in combs for the winter.
Bees love to collect rare nectar in the morning and on cloudy days. The flowers of the culture bloom early: at 6-7 o’clock.
Cultivation
You can plant an oil-type radish at different times. It all depends on what goal you are pursuing by deciding to grow a vegetable. The seeding rate usually falls between April and mid-September. The most prolific individuals are those that were planted in April. For food and as green manure, radish is sown, keeping a distance of 0,15 meters. On average, 2-3 grams of seed falls per unit area. In this case, the seed should be buried no more than 3-4 centimeters.
More will be required to implement late sowing of seeds. At the end of the first decade of August, the rate increases twice. This is due to the slowdown in the development of culture in the cool season. It is worth noting that it is better not to use late crops for sideration.
To collect honey, as well as to obtain seeds, the vegetable is sown in 40-centimeter aisles.
The first shoots appear after 4 days, and after a month and a half, the first mowing can be carried out. Color appears a month after the formation of sprouts.
For green manure for winter crops, the plant is removed 3 weeks before sowing.
In order for the tops of the vegetable to rot, and humus is formed from it, it is necessary to provide the remains of the plant with a moist environment (wet soil).
In the case of preparing the land for sowing in the spring, the radish should be in the ground until the first frost.
The seeds are usually harvested in late autumn. The pods do not change their shape, so the seed dries out under normal conditions. This feature of the culture allows you to save on electric drying.
In our country, the following varieties of oil radish are most in demand: Sabina, Nika, Prygazhunya, Brutus, Raduga, Tambovchanka.
So, honey radish is of industrial and strategic importance, therefore it is becoming more and more popular every day.
Video “Overview of honey radish”
In this video you will see the features of this variety.
