Topinambur cultivation technologies

Abstract

The cultivation technologies of topinambur have been analyzed in the article. Topinambur has been considered as a forage crop for many years, but analysis of recent scientific studies has shown that it is a culture of integrated use. First of all, it is a valuable food plant. Due to the unique biochemical composition of tubers, the dry powder of them is a good biologically active supplement to many food products. Topinambur is also a valuable raw material for the technical processing and production of bioethanol. Generally accepted cultivation technology of topinambur on ridges with 70 cm row-spacing does not always provide normal conditions for its growth and development due to narrow row-spacing, which does not allow to provide the necessary plant nutrition. In studies, conducted by V.I. Starovoitov, it is established that the generally accepted cultivation technology of topinambur on ridges with row-spacing of 70 (75) cm does not provide normal conditions for growth and development of topinambur, especially in wet years, which leads to a yield depression or complete destruction. In their view, the use of ridge technology with a ridge width of 140 cm for topinambur is most promising. RUE "RPC NAS of Belarus on Agricultural mechanization" and SSI "CBG NAS of Belarus" have proposed and are now testing the cultivation technology of "earth pear" on ridges 1.5 meters wide in two and three rows with row spacing of 75 and 42 cm. The scheme of topinambur planting 132x35+35+35x30 cm is considered in the article. Under this scheme, the distance between internal cuts of wheels of a forage harvesting complex is 169 cm. This space is quite enough for placing four rows with spacing of 35 cm. It should be stressed, that such a scheme of layout is also acceptable for using machines while harvesting the tubers. The use of green mass removal machines using the above-mentioned scheme does not cause the ridge deformation. It is noted that the yield of topinambur largely depends on the width of the row spacing. The schemes for planting tubers have been developed, taking into account the running clearance of machines used for harvesting both green mass and tubers. Original designs of machines used for topinambur harvesting are described. The purpose of these studies is to develop a scheme of topinambur planting to provide the movement of a harvesting machine on the field that harvests the green mass, and a hauling unit used for its transportation without bruising of topinambur tubers in ridges, and the development of original schemes of machines for topinambur tubers harvesting, capable for high-quality and lossless harvesting.