Krasnodar rice: growing and harvesting

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Rice, as you know, is a southern culture. Asia is considered the traditional region of its cultivation. However, rice is also grown here in Russia. Moreover, most of the area used for this crop is concentrated in the Krasnodar Territory. Rice is grown in this region using a special technology.

A bit of history: farms in the 1920s

Cultivate rice in the Kuban began in Soviet times. In the 1920s and 1930s, large areas of floodplains overgrown with reeds were drained in the Krasnodar Territory. It was these damp lands that they decided to use for planting rice. The area of the first experimental plot allotted for this crop was 50 ha. Created by domestic farmers, a new exclusive method of growing rice has been constantly improved in subsequent years. At first, the yields of this crop in the Krasnodar Territory amounted to only about 21-22 centners per hectare. In the future, these figures have steadily increased.

Approximately 10 years after the beginning of rice cultivation in the Kuban, two reservoirs were built to create irrigation systems. They were designed in such a way that subsequently there would be enough water resources for 70 thousand hectares of rice fields.

Economy of the region during the Soviet era

A complete irrigation system for this crop was created in the USSR by the 80s of the last century. Until the 1990s, the rice industry was considered one of the most profitable in our country. The total area of sown fields in Soviet times was about 300,000 hectares.

With the collapse of the country, the rice farms of the Krasnodar Territory also fell into decay. In the 1990s, the yield of this crop in Russia approached the first historical indicators and amounted to only 25 ha / centner. At the same time, the sown area was reduced to 90 thousand hectares.

Home problems today

Today the rice industry of the Krasnodar Territory is reviving. In 2014, the area allocated for this crop was already about 167 thousand hectares. But, unfortunately, the region's rice industry is still experiencing some difficulties. So, for example, until 2016, not a single new irrigation system was built in the region. All used in the fields were created back in Soviet times.

Rice cultivation in the Krasnodar Territory: features

This southern plant is cultivated in Russia using a special technology. The method of its cultivation, of course, is similar to that used in Asian countries. However, there are quite significant differences in the technology of growing rice in the Kuban.

For example, rice in Krasnodar has never been cultivated in the same place year after year for decades. Farms of the region without failobserve crop rotation. Every two to three years, wheat or soybeans are planted in the rice field. This allows you to significantly increase crop yields and reduce the likelihood of damage by pests.

Rice harvesting in the Krasnodar Territory is carried out only after the fields are completely drained. This is also one of the features of the technology used in the south of Russia. In Asian countries, in most cases poor, the fields are usually not drained. Farmers often gather rice there by hand, right in the water. Of course, the work is very hard. Russian farmers use, of course, modern equipment when cultivating and harvesting this crop.

In some regions of the region, and in particular, on the left bank of the Kuban, the thickness of the fertile soil layer in the fields is only about 15 cm. Therefore, when growing rice, local farms are forced to use quite a large amount of fertilizer. In order for cereals to be supplied to food industry enterprises and quality stores in the future, farmers conduct a thorough analysis of plant leaves before applying top dressing. In laboratory conditions, this determines which substances the culture lacks at a given specific time. In accordance with the data obtained, feeding is also carried out. The soil with this approach to business is not contaminated with any unnecessary chemicals.

How rice is grown in the Krasnodar Territory: technology

This crop is sown in the Kuban by checks. So called small fields with an area of 5 hectares. Rice is actually a plantunusual. Unlike most other cereal varieties, it is able to transfer oxygen from leaves to roots. That is, it can be grown almost completely submerged in water.

The main elements of the irrigation system in rice fields are:

• source;
• general distribution channel;
• irrigation canals.

The source of water supply to the fields can be either an artificial reservoir or the Kuban River or some nearby lake. Special pumping equipment is installed in the distribution channels. Irrigation trenches are separated from them by valves. Shallow grooves are dug along the checks themselves. When the valves are opened, water begins to flow into the irrigation canals. Then it moves into the grooves on the checks and is distributed in all directions. This is how flooding occurs. The water level rises to the required level during landing in about a day. Sometimes it takes a little longer.

In order to monitor the level of water rise, the producer of Krasnodar rice installs special rails with a scale on the checks. Actually, the control itself is carried out by agronomists of farms when they go around the fields. Workers-irrigators in the future, if necessary, raise or lower the valves of the channels, thus adjusting the level.

Yields and prospects

As already mentioned, the rice industry in the Krasnodar Territory continues to revive. To date, the yield of this crop in Russia is about200 thousand tons of grain annually. This is quite enough to cover the internal needs of the country. Russia even has the opportunity to import about 50 thousand tons of cereals annually. Domestic Krasnodar rice is supplied mainly to neighboring countries.

In terms of productivity, Russian farms in 2016, according to statistics, even caught up with Italian ones. In this case, a comparison can be made, since the domestic complexes and farms of this southern state are located almost at the same latitude. Italian rice varieties in Russia, thanks to the use of modern domestic cultivation technologies, grow faster, get sick less and produce larger grains.

According to many experts, rice growing in the region is a very promising industry. The modernization of farms, the purchase of new modern equipment, the improvement of the general training of workers - all this, according to forecasts, can lead to an increase in yields by almost a factor of two.

The rice industry in our country is, unfortunately, quite costly. According to estimates, farms spend up to 60,000 rubles a season to grow just one hectare of this crop. But the profits of such agrarian complexes can be quite large. The quality of Krasnodar rice is simply excellent. And therefore, both domestic consumers and foreign consumers are very willing to buy it.

How the crops are harvested

Thus, subject to the cultivation technology, this crop is very productive -Krasnodar rice. How to grow it, we found out. Rice harvesting in the south of Russia is carried out after drying using special combines. This modern technique is also responsible for threshing grain.

Today, the yield of rice in the Kuban is about 1 million tons per year. By 2017, 99 farms are engaged in growing this crop in the region. 23 of them are small businesses.

Product processing equipment

As you know, rice goes on sale not in ears, but already in the form of cereals. Unfortunately, equipment designed for processing this crop, including combines, is practically not produced in Russia. The same that is available usually does not cope with the loads during harvesting. Therefore, for the processing of rice in the Krasnodar Territory, imported equipment is usually used. It is bought most often in countries that are traditional rice producers - in China, Japan, South Korea, etc.

Selection

Of course, the rice industry in the Krasnodar Territory can develop not only if new technologies and modern equipment are used. Much in this regard also depends on what varieties of this crop will be grown in the fields. In the region, among other things, selection work is carried out with rice. Both Krasnodar round-grain and long-grain rice are displayed at the stations.

To get a new variety of this crop of any variety, unfortunately, is quite difficult. It takes about 7 years to select. However, such difficulties do not stop the farmers of the region. In the region, not only ordinary, but also elite varieties of crops are constantly being bred.

Consumer reviews of Krasnodar rice

Both round and long-grain rice is grown and, consequently, goes to store shelves in the region. Reviews of this domestic cereals from consumers have earned simply excellent. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, since Krasnodar rice is grown in compliance with crop rotation, it is an environmentally friendly product and the most beneficial for he alth. Secondly, the excellent quality of domestic cereals is also determined by the climate of the Krasnodar Territory itself. In the Kuban, it is not as hot as, for example, in Vietnam or China. Therefore, the ears in this region are quite rarely infected with various kinds of pests that do not tolerate low temperatures very well.

The high quality of Kuban rice is evidenced by the fact that the market today includes counterfeit Asian products sold under the guise of Krasnodar. Such rice is grown in the worst conditions and, of course, does not have the same excellent taste as harvested in southern Russia.