Irrigation with probes in beet is the best technique to control its quality and quantity.
La remolacha
Today we are going to dedicate an article to beets, one of the best vegetables, both for human consumption, animal consumption or sugar production. It is an exceptional food for its energy contribution, as well as vitamins and proteins.
In the beet, everything is used, the leaf and the root, each part with characteristic properties that vary according to the variety of beet that we grow and the sucrose that it accumulates. Fundamentally the varieties are referring to their root, rounded or elongated. Also because of its color that can vary from white, orange and red.
Beetroot can be cooked for consumption but it also has other applications such as:
- The extraction of sugar and therefore has to have a special crop with a number of hours of sun, so that its root accumulates as much as possible.
- The dye E162 that is extracted from red beets.
Beet cultivation
It is a biennial plant that has the particularity of the development of its taproot. It can be grown throughout Spain, it adapts well to temperate and cold climates but with a degree of humidity.
The first year is when the beet develops and accumulates sucrose in the root. It needs a good number of hours of light to accumulate a greater amount of sucrose.
In the second year it blooms and produces seeds for its reproduction.
It likes loamy and loamy soils, but adapts to sandy loams with adequate irrigation. Clays are not suitable for him.
Probe irrigation in beet
The irrigation of the beet depends on the type of terrain and the climate of the area.
- Throughout the northern zone, with heavier terrain and a more humid climate, we must look for the ideal time so that it does not have land flooded by the rains. It normally needs little watering. Controlled watering in summer is sufficient. It is normally grown for livestock use as fodder.
- In the rest of Spain, beetroot needs controlled irrigation, giving it the water it needs and when it needs it. The plantations are more extensive and it is cultivated for all kinds of uses.
- When it sprouts, it needs a lot of humidity and during the development of the crop we must give it short irrigations, measuring the humidity of the soil so that it has just enough water and does not suffer water stress. You also don't want to be overwatering continuously.
General considerations to take into account for irrigation with probes in beet
The Plantae probes, in addition to the weather station and the flow meter, will give us several answers for the control of beet irrigation:
- Calculate the evapotranspiration of the area, with climatic data, the measurement of hours of rain, relative humidity and ambient temperature.
- Las necesidades hídricas del cultivo en cuando a la cantidad de humedad del subsuelo que debe tener el bulbo húmedo para un aporte de agua y nutrientes adecuado.
- La absorción del terreno, cuanto más arenoso más necesidad de riegos frecuentes. Analizar la textura es importante para el control de la humedad.
- Measurement of the thermal integral or hours of heat, to assess the accumulation of sugars.
Control with sensors in sugar beet adapts to any type of irrigation. It can be by furrows, sprinkler or drip.
Las sondas nos van a medir:
- La profundidad del bulbo húmedo. De esta manera podemos adaptar los períodos de riego para que tenga el agua que necesita y sin encharcamientos.
- The temperature of the subsoil that indicates the health of the root system.
- La conductividad que muestra la acumulación de sales que puede perjudicar la absorción de los nutrientes porque el terreno se compacta. Muestra mucha sensibilidad a la salinidad en la primera época de su crecimiento.
- La humedad relativa, muy importante en el cultivo de la remolacha cómo ya hemos indicado.
- The amount of flow applied, to prevent possible failures of the irrigation system.
All measurements are followed from the mobile or tablet in real time and with the support of our Plantae Agro team.
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