For a change, one soldier of the agricultural squad in the Malevo tract collects an average of about 300 kg of apples

In the apple orchard, the working day is measured not only in hours, but also in kilograms: for a shift, one soldier of the agricultural squad in the Malevo tract collects an average of about 300 kg of fruits

In the tract of Malevo of Nesvizhsky district, at the site of OJSC "Gorodeysky Sugar Plant", now is a hot time: apple harvesting is underway. Together with the employees of the enterprise, students of the Nesvizh State College named after Y. Kolas work here. A few hours in the garden - and for couples. Correspondent "R" visited the change of the student squad and learned how they manage to combine seasonal work with study.

Helping young people during the apple season for an industrial garden has already become traditional. For some, the current shift is a new experience, and someone already knows this site well, its employees and can tell those who were here for the first time.

Sophomore Kirill Kachanovich's proposal of the curator of the group in college to combine assistance to the enterprise with the opportunity to earn interest immediately. Everyone has their own tasks at the site. The girls are engaged in harvesting, Cyril helps shake trees, carry the collected apples and load them into a container. The process itself, the student admits, requires strength, but he copes: he worked, rested a little - and back to work.

“The work, of course, can be difficult, but nothing supernatural: the main thing is to do what you ask, and not be lazy,” says Kirill.

For his classmate Valeria Salei, this is also the first season in the student squad. Sophomore says when she found out about this opportunity, she didn't think about it for a long time:

- I wanted to go and help the workers and make money.

The day of work begins with the road. Transport from the Gorodeisky Sugar Plant delivers students to the site: at 08:30 the group leaves, at about 09:00 arrives at the site, and by 12:30-13:00 the shift ends. Students work on a five-day schedule.

For Valeria, the current earnings are an opportunity to save money. Kirill plans to spend his earnings on the necessary things. Both have decided to return to the garden next year. The college emphasizes that students do not have to choose between classes and seasonal work. The schedule is designed to be there and there. The teacher of the Nesvizh State College named after Y. Kolas Galina Boltutskaya accompanies students, but not always. Every day there are different teachers with the children, they are responsible for their health and monitor the progress of work.

- We try to organize everything so that children do not fall out of the learning process. Those who work the first shift go in pairs after lunch. Those who go out in the second, learn in the morning, and then go to the garden, explains Galina Boltutskaya.

The work attracts mainly senior students. Among those who wish are future teachers of physical culture, and specialists in foreign languages, and students of the “primary education” direction, as well as other specialties.

- Our guys are very responsible, hardworking, understand that this is not only an opportunity to earn money. They help the household, which means they do the right thing, because the products then go to the consumer, said Galina Boltutskaya.

For the plant, youth assistance during the cleaning period is a contribution to the overall result. Students work under a contract, for each kilogram of apples collected, payment of 10 kopecks is provided.

- What we collected, we earned. We keep records: which group came, how many people were, who was absent. Then we divide the total harvest by the number of students. Everything needs to be honest so that everyone understands what they get paid for. On average, one student collects about 300 kilograms per shift, explains Vitaly Dominikovsky, head of the horticultural section of Gorodeysky Sugar Plant.

Before starting work, everyone is instructed on safety. Information is entered in the journal, in addition, students are instructed on labor protection by a specialist of the plant. Workers are provided with gloves.

There are simple rules: next to tractors you can not use phones, headphones and Bluetooth devices. If you need to call, you need to move away from the equipment to a safe distance.

- If I see apples left behind, I say, "Guys, come back, pick them up." They come back, they see their mistake and it doesn't happen again. But in general, young people are responsible, they do not idle, he says.

This year, for the first time in the summer, schoolchildren were attracted to the harvest in the industrial garden - only 80 children. At the beginning of the school year, students took the baton - there are also 80 of them.

The area of the garden in the Malevo tract is 170 hectares. The company has another industrial garden, which is located in the Stolbtsovsky district. The timing of cleaning on the sites varies: varieties do not ripen at the same time. As of September 25, about 940 tons of apples have been harvested in the two gardens.

- We plan to finish cleaning on November 7 so that everything is clean. We want to do another processing after that. With such assistants we must cope! – says Vitaly Dominikovsky.

Part of the harvested fruit is sent to two workshops for the production of fruit products - in Gorodey and Columns. Here, apples become the basis for juices, nectars, confitures, fillings and additives, as well as purees. There are commercial apples. They are sold through company stores: in Gorodey, Nesvizh, Columns and Kletsk. Cleaning apples is only one stage of a large cycle. The farm monitors the condition of plantations throughout the year and works according to the technological requirements of growing apples.

After harvesting in recent years, they try to carry out mineral nitrogen treatment so that the trees enter the next season with the necessary reserve. In the winter months, pruning begins. When the main production at the plant stops, its employees are involved in this work. Individual brigades from the outside are not attracted: pruning is performed on their own.

The student group comes to the garden at the moment when it is necessary to harvest the crop in time. For us, this is additional help during a stressful period, and for students - an opportunity to see the production from the inside, earn and test yourself with business, - sums up Vitaly Dominikovsky.

stepanchuk@sb.by