Potatoes, beets, apples: how the harvest of fruits and vegetables in the Mogilev region is progressing

The agrarians of the region reached the finish line of the autumn field campaign. According to the Mogilev regional agricultural sales, winter crops are actively sown, fodder harvesting continues, as well as corn harvesting for silage and grain. The buckwheat harvest is almost complete. Considerable attention is paid to the mass harvesting of vegetables and fruits. So, at the beginning of the week, 2.3 thousand hectares of potatoes were harvested, which is 53 percent of the plan. About 93 thousand tons of tubers were dug up with an average yield of 407.5 centners per hectare.

Nice tubers! In JSC "Dawn named after K. P. Orlovsky" Kirov district in full force unfolded mass harvesting of fruits and vegetables. The current season pleases farmers with high yields - indicators for the collection of potatoes, apples, berries and table beets significantly exceed last year. In order to complete the campaign in the optimal agricultural time and prevent losses, the management of the farm had to additionally attract seasonal workers. A significant part of the harvest is sent to retail chains and store shelves directly from the fields.

300 hectares have been allocated for potato plantations this season. Half of these areas have already been removed. According to forecasts, the gross harvest will be about 12.5 thousand tons. Of this volume, about 3 thousand tons will go to the stabilization fund, and the remaining surplus will go to retail trade.

Experts note the high quality of the collected tuber-fertile products - potatoes have a good yield and excellent marketability.

The chief agronomist of the enterprise Andrey Skrablevich stressed that the average yield at the moment is 435 centners per hectare. Some varieties show even higher productivity. For example, "vega" - up to 500 centners.

At the same time, Dawn took a clear course on import substitution.

- The strategic task is to significantly increase the share of Belarusian breeding in the fields. This year, domestic varieties of “scarb” and “mastak” were planted on seeds. The obtained seed material will allow us to significantly expand the area for Belarusian potatoes next season, says Andrei Grigorievich.

There are four special harvesters for potatoes. The high pace of work is largely provided by experienced advanced workers. Among the leaders of the harvesting campaign is Yuri Belyavsky. The mechanizer is considered the main specialist in this culture. In JSC "Dawn named after K. P. Orlovsky" he worked for 35 years, almost 20 of them - on potatoes. Moreover, in a full cycle: from the preparation of equipment, planting, immersion, feeding and chemical weeding to the final smoke.

Bulba is our second bread and brand of the country. Therefore, the task of farmers is to fully provide Belarusians with a quality product for traditional dishes. I love wizards and wizards, Yuri Ivanovich smiles.

Next to experienced masters and a young shift. For 23-year-old tractor driver Maxim Meredov, this is only the third season in the fields. The young agrarian, a native of Myshkovichi, recently married and connects his future exclusively with his native enterprise:

- I knew from school that I would be a farmer, I liked the technique since childhood. I don’t want to go to big cities. We need to return to a small homeland and make it better. I love my work, especially when the harvest is so good. So far, I am only involved in cleaning, but I want to fully master the entire plume of potato work. In parallel, mass cleaning of dining beets is gaining momentum. For this popular culture from the so-called borsch set allocated 15 hectares, which is 5 hectares higher than last year.

We grow three varieties of dining beets. Due to the timely introduction of feeding, favorable weather conditions and promptly organized irrigation, the yield is one and a half times higher than last year and is 550 centners per hectare. There are only 4 hectares left for cleaning, this week we will complete it, says chief agronomist Andrei Skrublevych.

Part of the collected vitamin products will be laid in the stabilization fund, the rest will go to retail chains. Moreover, due to the limited storage capacity, vegetables are often shipped almost from the field, which allows to supply consumers with fresh products at an affordable price.

Dining beets in Dawn are removed only by hand, which eliminates damage to vegetables and preserves their presentation. To ensure high rates of work on vegetable plantations, the management of the farm attracted the unemployed population through the labor exchange. Also, a young shift arrived - about 40 students of the Zhilich State Agricultural College. Immediately after the beets, young fielders will remove carrots. In the active phase entered the harvesting campaign in the gardens of the farm. After two extremely difficult years, when farmers were left almost without crops due to spring frosts, this season promises to be truly generous. Gross harvest of apples in Dawn is expected at the level of 3 thousand tons. For comparison, last year this figure did not reach thousands of tons.

High quality of fruits ensures the maximum yield of commercial products. The state order in the amount of about 10 tons of the farm plans to close as soon as possible, after which the apples will be sent to its own trading network and for export.

The total area of the garden in Dawn is 150 hectares. Of these, 115 are already fruiting, and 30 are young plantations that are gaining strength. “We are reforming the horticultural direction,” says the chief agronomist Andrei Skrablevich.

- The total area of plantings will be optimized due to the transition to intensive technologies. Now 50 hectares are already under drip irrigation, in the future we plan to increase this area to 100 hectares, which will allow to receive much more products from a smaller land area.

The farm completely collected early varieties of apples “Geneva Earley”, “Helena”, “glory to the winners”. Gardeners switched to cleaning the variety “Belarusian sweet”. In addition to apples and pears, cherries and buttocks are cultivated here. Black currants demonstrated high efficiency this season: from 10 hectares, farmers collected almost 22 tons of berries against one and a half tons last year.

From 70 to 80 people are involved in cleaning the garden every day. Significant assistance is provided by the local greenhouse plant and citizens sent by the employment center. In the harvesting campaign is actively involved and staff members of JSC "Dawn".

Economists Anastasia Sibirkova and Irina Belyavskaya among them:

- Despite the physical exertion, such a change of scenery helps to relax the soul, work for the overall result and get additional material income!

FACT

On a working visit to the Shklovsky district on September 18, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko set a task to cultivate more potatoes in Belarus:

- We need to increase production. Therefore, the Government is tasked with finding sales markets for the winter. We have to decide where to grow potatoes. What kind of bulbas that don't produce potatoes? We gotta go and do it.

soloveva@sb.by