The art of direct sowing – Mewi

As for plant production, drought and heat are limiting factors. As a result of climate change, extreme weather situations occur more and more frequently. In order to prevent, respectively of avoiding the negative consequences on crops, one of the methods is direct sowing.

According to Michael Horsch, on direct sowing, things are as clear as possible: «Those who practice direct sowing as religion renounce profit and, in the worst case, can ruin their farms. We, Horsch, are dealing with 40 direct years. With all the ups and downs. «As for direct sowing, there are many things to consider.First of all, Direct sowing is not a matter of technology. The good soil structure, the balanced rotation, the good cover of the soil and the duration of the sowing are important.«

In the recent past, in Europe, direct sowing was mainly used as a topic for the formation of humus. The combination of not processing the soil and planting interspersed crops can increase the weight of the organic substance in the ground. If we take a closer look at direct sowing, all over the world, we will find the most diverse motivations: in the dry regions the emphasis is clear on the saving of water. In the warm and partially subtropical regions, the soil must be covered so that the ground temperature does not increase in an interval that damages the plant. In areas with large rainfall, it is necessary in particular to sow directly and cover the ground to prevent erosion. And let's not forget the markets with very low productions: reducing costs through direct sowing is another topic.

Direct sowing as a method of water savings

According to Michael Horsch, we will have to pay more attention to the topics relating to everything related to the sides to find an optimal method.

Due to climate change and the most extreme heat waves (35-40%) in recent years, that some farmers still worry, farmers are thinking more and more about the direct cultivation of the subject and the creation of water. This problem affects, in particular, parts of Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Why could a direct sowing (at least partially) be direct sowing? «Let's take the countries mentioned above as an example. Corn, autumn wheat, winter rapest and sunflower are the main crops. After the rapese /sunflower, when it is still very dry, in September and October, it would be advisable to sow the wheat with avatar, after a crossing. And after the corn, normally, you can sow the wheat quite well with a sowing with a single disc, provided that there are not too many straws on the field. In this case, straws must first be incorporated, for example with a disk grapes. If you want to sow the corn in the spring -this is done, for example in Brazil, it is necessary to make decisions on a base -casus, because if the ground temperature remains too low, it is a risk!«

The covered soil

The Cultro machine (with a knife roll) can stop the growth of an interval harvest.

The dark cultivated fields do not reflect solar radiation and not cultivated or covered. They absorb sunlight and warm up faster. This, of course, depends on the type of soil. Therefore, for example, the dark brown soils, almost black they feel considerably faster than light or even slightly red soils. «Suppose that if we cover the soil with vegetable residues, soil protection has improved. Since evaporation is reduced, the water retention capacity is reduced and erosion is reduced.«This is also advantageous for germination and the development of the roots, that is, a culture can develop better if the soil does not tend to be overheated.»Especially spring, there may be a subtle line between these statements, because there are regions in which the ground may not reach the minimum temperature. What is good on the one hand can be a disadvantage, on the other, if the ground does not heat up.«If it is too hot in the ground, it is no longer possible to sprout and fix the roots of the plant.

Once the minimum temperature is reached, the plant ceases to grow. If the temperature is even largely exceeded so that proteins degenerate, the development of plants is completely compromised. In some regions, which are fighting with the extreme heat, this is a great challenge. Another advantage of the soil roof is that it maintains the humidity that is brought to the surface in the upper layer of the ground. Therefore, a sort of microclimate is created in which residual humidity accumulates in the vegetable layer and guarantees a good dawn.

«You just have to go barefoot through a grain culture without surface residues, in June or July. Even if the population is dense, it burns the feet on the black clay soil, although the ground is covered with growing plants. This shows that there is a connection and that a population resists better if the residues are on the surface. Another problem that I noticed is that if the straws in desires are too long, respectively if the straws remain too long on the field, among others the mice feel very comfortable. I saw it recently, in Romania. The rape did not seem too bad, but on the field it was a hole for the mice next to another! The same goes for snails. If there is too long a straw and too much humidity for a long time, the snails devour the rapeseed, wheat, etc.«

Interval crops and direct sowing

The angles of the closing wheel can be adjusted according to soil conditions. For direct sowing or on very heavy soils they can be, for example, set for the «aggressive» mode.

The establishment of a cultural culture before direct sowing is always preferable. But a prerequisite is that these intermediate cultures combine and are provided sufficient with water. The interval cultures can be closed to the increase in soil humus content. In addition, another member of the rotation can always separate the previous culture from the following cultures. «In conventional agriculture, this separation is carried out by means of the elaboration of the soil.«If the total rainfall is low, the farmers, of course, wonder if the crops do not need extra water.»It is obvious that this is not simply possible in some regions. Because if summer it does not rain in the pause of the harvest, nor the interspersed crops grow and therefore it does not make sense to grow them. «How can you actively stop the growth of an intermediate culture?

This can be done by Frost or with the help of knives /claws or by glyphosate. «In this case, it must be verified which method makes sense in each region, because in Europe the use of glyphosate will no longer be an option, therefore other measures will be necessary to stop growing.«Another question that is always asked when it comes to direct sowing is if it is incompatible with soil processing. Not – not – even on the contrary!» In my opinion, a combination of both could be the key to the future. The reasons are varied. interspersed.

I noticed that even in countries like Brazil, where direct sowing is practiced for years, the ground is deeper, at 30-40 cm, since the soil, despite intermediate culture, is compact. But in what direction the subject will take it direct sowing In Europe? Does this have a future here? «We must act starting from the hypothesis that the weather extremes will be more and more and that we will have warmer and more dry years. I don't think we'll see only a directly pure sowing, that is, without any soil processing, in our climatic conditions. In my opinion, farms will have to prepare their land in order to sow directly in the dry years if necessary. This means: always perfectly distributed straws, cereal stems as soon as possible, avoiding – respectively the reduction of compaction /traces during the harvest (for example, using CTF).«